Beneath a bluebird sky, the scene outside my hotel window is wintry perfection. Ten centimetres of snow have fallen overnight, coating the streets of Aspen in a pillowy, white layer that’s yet to be disturbed. “Hope you’re all rugged up,” says Aspen local Lea Tucker in the lobby of the Limelight Hotel.
Extra layers are a must before heading down the mountains. Credit: Mark Daffey Oh, I’m rugged up, all right. I know from previous experience that any gaps in my clothing will become apparent the moment I point my skis downhill, so I’ve thrown on extra layers.
It’s an earlier start than usual, but with good reason. We’re booked in to First Tracks, the free activity allowing privileged access to the slopes on Aspen Mountain each morning, and only available to guests who stay at one of the four hotels or lodges owned by the Aspen Skiing Company. Since I’m staying at one of them, I’ve been looking forward to this all week.
Our group of six piles into a car before hopping out near the Silver Queen Gondola, each of us cradling our skis. To qualify for First Tracks, we must all be Level 7 skiers or above ..
. whatever that means. Since two of our group live in Aspen, including Lea, I assume they’re much better than me.
Not that they’d say that, for in Aspen there’s always someone else who’s better again. It’s 8.15am when we board the gondola for the 14-minute ride to the mountain’s 3417-metre-high summit.
Below us, fitter skiers than me are “skinning�.