Aspen isn't just for ski bums anymore. While this town, situated within the Roaring Fork Valley, is home to some of the country's best snow-covered trails, it's also a playground for the rich and famous -- and a favorite haunt for celebrity-watchers. Actors and actresses, high-ranking government officials and corporate CEOs make Aspen a regular stop on their leisurely holidays. And rather than engaging in competition with tourists for coveted hotel rooms and timeshare, they're electing to take the initially pricey but perhaps ultimately less expensive route. In addition to purchasing existing residential properties, visitors with big bank accounts are buying up parcels of land on which they ultimately build private, sprawling vacation homes with spectacular tree-top and mountain views.

Many deep-pocketed residents have built their homes at a strategic position that allows them to open the back door, strap on their skis, and head for the hills. But for some, skiing is only one of the competitive sports in which they engage while in Aspen. Shopping is taken very seriously here. Local store-owners and residents frequently spot celebrities cruising the retail shops of Aspen for expensive jewelry, clothing and sports gear, among other items. The shops in Aspen and nearby Snowmass (another top-notch ski resort) cater to every whim; the sky (or perhaps your credit limit) is truly the limit here.

While you probably wouldn't associate Aspen with being a good spring and summer destination. After all, it's probably too late to ski, and how much shopping can one really do? (OK, that's a question some of us shouldn't answer.) Seriously, though, Aspen is an entirely different world come spring and summertime. The weather is cool and dry, the recreational activities plentiful, and the streets (not to mention the hotel rooms and vacation properties) a little less crowded. The leaves have sprouted on the trees, despite the snow-capped mountains, and mountain streams flow. It's the perfect time of year to explore the town.

For those who like to play hard, the world is your oyster in Aspen. Choose from fly-fishing, kayaking and white-water river rafting; horseback riding and llama trekking (yes, you read right); rock-climbing and hiking; golf; mountain biking; jeep tours; or, if you're borderline crazy, balloon rides, helicopter rides and paragliding. Hey, Aspen can bring out the extreme in all of us.

Of course, no report of Aspen would be complete without acknowledging its world-class skiing. Aspen is comprised of four mountains: Aspen Mountain (also called "Ajax"), which sits in the heart of the town of Aspen, accessible to many residents by foot. Snowmass, which claims the bragging rights to the longest vertical drop in the United States, and which maintains its own village chock-full of residential properties, shops, eateries and other cultural attractions. Highlands, located just minutes from "downtown" Aspen, is where many locals head for skiing without quite as many tourists. Highlands has trails that accommodate all levels of skiing. Buttermilk is an excellent place for beginners. The mountain specializes in beginner programs and children's skiing. Many first-time skiiers find Buttermilk a friendly, unintimidating place to begin their ski training. During the winter and early spring, the purchase of a single lift ticket will give you access to all four mountains. Snow conditions are generally favorable from Thanksgiving until mid-April.

If you catch the Aspen bug and decide this town's for you, get ready for sticker shock when you begin to explore available properties. Sotheby's has several properties for sale in Aspen, which is usually a good indicator of the quality of a region's luxury properties. Seven-figure asking prices are quite common here, although certainly not every Aspen resident is rolling in dollar bills. The most expensive homes, in addition to being large, are sitting upon prime pieces of property that afford grand views and usually come with many acres: 50, 80 or more, upon which many residents keep horses. Architecture is perhaps more diverse than you'd expect, ranging from ranch-style homes to log cabin-style to modest A-frames to Victorian-style.

Condominums can be just as expensive, depending, once again, upon your views and your accessibilty to the mountain. A search of local condominums for sale uncovered a one-bedroom, one-bath condo located a mere block from one of Aspen's ski lifts, and priced at $350,000. There's a spectacular amount of lots available for purchase, as well; they range anywhere from $150,000 to well over $1 million.

Peak Properties of Aspen provides a wonderfully helpful breakdown of home price ranges on its company Web site. According to the information provided by Peak, a home of $300,000 and under is somewhat hard to find in Aspen, although you'll probably be able to land yourself a studio or one-bedroom condo within this price range. If you're willing to move away from the town a bit, you can indeed find plenty of options in the lower Roaring Fork Valley, within the surrounding towns of Basalt, Carbondale and El Jebel, among others.

Heading up to $500,000, you can purchase a two-bedroom or three-bedroom condo or a small lot (between one-third and three-quarters of an acre) just a stone's throw outside Aspen town limits. If you can move up to $1 million (I realize that many of you are laughing at the moment), here's where your options really begin to expand. You can purchase a three-bedroom townhome, a relatively nice home or a "prime" piece of land in Aspen. Congratulations, millionaires!

If $1 million is a drop in the bucket, head up to $2.5 million, where you'll reach what Peak Properties refers to as "the heart of the Aspen market." Within this price range, you can purchase a new home in one of Aspen's best subdivisions, prime parcels of land (including plenty of privacy and river- and mountain views), a luxury townhome within spitting distance of an Aspen ski lift. If you have $5 million to spend, well ... do we really need to go there?

So a rambling log home isn't in your budget -- not this week, anyway. Find yourself some timeshare or a nice vacation package with a hotel room, and visit this year-round paradise in the Rockies. While it's not within everyone's budget, it's a relaxing, fun-filled destination. You might not be able to afford that Cartier watch in the window, but if nothing else, you can indulge in two very popular sports: enjoying breathtaking mountain views and prime people-watching.

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Published: June 7, 1999

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