Ski · Aspen Snowmass
Aspen's four mountains: which one?
One lift ticket, four very different mountains. How they compare, and which one to ski on which day.
One lift ticket, four very different mountains. How they compare, and which one to ski on which day.
The short version: Buttermilk for beginners and children, Snowmass for everyone and for size, Aspen Mountain for intermediate-to-expert skiing straight from town, and Aspen Highlands for experts and Highland Bowl. Aspen Mountain and Highlands have no beginner terrain at all.
Statistics are from each ski area's published figures as compiled on Wikipedia, checked September 2026. A single Aspen Snowmass ticket or pass covers all four, and free RFTA skier shuttles run between them in winter.
Paul Montiel · Aspen · Updated September 2026
Buttermilk or Snowmass. Both take ski school from age 2½; Aspen Mountain and Highlands start at 5 and have no beginner terrain.
Snowmass. Everyone can ski the same mountain and meet for lunch.
Aspen Mountain, with long groomers and the gondola from town and Snowmass's long intermediate terrain.
Aspen Highlands and Highland Bowl, then Aspen Mountain's steeper lines and Snowmass's expert terrain (30% of the mountain).
Buttermilk or Snowmass while everyone adjusts to the altitude.
Aspen Mountain from town; experts to Highlands.
Highland Bowl for those who want it; the rest back to Snowmass for the big day.
Buttermilk, the gentlest of the four, and Snowmass. Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands have no beginner terrain.
Snowmass, at 3,362 acres with 4,406 feet of vertical, larger than the other three combined.
Yes. Aspen Snowmass tickets and passes cover Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass, and free RFTA skier shuttles connect them in winter.
It's intermediate to expert: there are no green runs, and about half the terrain is advanced or expert.
We plan the week mountain by mountain: rentals delivered, lessons booked on the right mountain for each skier, and the house set up around it.
Everyone on the right mountain at 9:30 on the first morning, with no rental queue and no forgotten forms. Lessons booked a month ahead, skis fitted at the house the night before, and a massage for the parents while the children are in ski school.
A private lesson matched to the skier and the mountain.
Fitted at the residence, not in a shop queue.
A day that never leaves the residence: a late breakfast, a massage in the afternoon light, a long lunch cooked for you, and oxygen and water on hand. For the day after a big ski day, or the day before you fly home.
Aspen Mountain (ski area) · Snowmass (ski area) · Aspen Highlands · Buttermilk · RFTA routes — checked September 28, 2026.
Levels, ages and dates. We'll suggest the mountain for each day and book the lessons and rentals to match.
Plan the ski days