Aspen / Snowmass is consistently on the top of the SKI BUMS "wish list," and we're thrilled to host our first trip to America's most gay-friendly ski resort. With four distinct ski areas that appeal to a wide variety of skill levels, the terrain here is easily as impressive as the crowd.

New for 2009: You've got the option of beginning your trip in Aspen, or starting off with us at the spectacular Vail, Colorado, then enjoying a private door-to-door ground transfer to Aspen, just two hours away. Enjoy six uninterrupted days of skiing and riding at two of America's very best ski resorts.

Learn more about Vail >

Click on the tabs at right to learn more about our trip to Aspen.

Our spacious rooms include plush, comfortable beds, mini-fridges, coffeemakers, DVD players, and in-room WiFi. Start your morning with a trip to the complimentary breakfast buffet. In the evenings, put up your feet in front of one of the big stone fireplaces or have a relaxing soak in the big outdoor pool or hot tub. The Stonebridge Inn is an ideal location to take prime advantage of this expansive, gorgeous terrain... and it's all just steps from where we're sleeping.

• Mountainside access; it's about a 30 yard walk to the edge of a beginner trail that descends to the lifts. View the location on an interactive map >
• Complimentary ski / snowboard check

Amenities include:

• Complimentary daily breakfast buffet
• Mini-fridge, coffee maker, TV, DVD player, in-room wi-fi
• Outdoor heated swimming pool and hot tub, weight room
• Room service, laundry, ice machines, vending
• Complimentary airport shuttle

• If you've got a roommate in mind, you may sign up with another member and share a room. Or, SKI BUMS can easily match you up with someone.
• Note: For both Vail and Aspen, you are not required to sign up with a roommate who is doing the same Option that you are. If you've got a roommate for Aspen but not for Vail, we can arrange a roommate for you.
• Take note that about half of our trip participants sign up without a specific roommate in mind.
• Single occupancy rooms are also available; to inquire about the single occupancy upgrade, simply email us.

• 3-day combined ticket for use at Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. We've got access to the entire resort area.

• Combined skiiable acres: 5,303 acres


• Highest Summit Elevation: 12,510’ (Snowmass)


• Base Elevation: 8,104’


• Mapped Trails, Bowls, Chutes, & Glades: 336


• Vertical Descent: 4,406’ (at Snowmass*)

• About half our participants will bring their own skis / snowboards. If you'd like to rent equipment, we have a discounted offer from a partner rental shop. Inquire about rental rates >

Although Aspen has become the American answer to the European glitz of St. Moritz, what often surprises first-time visitors is how seriously the locals take their skiing and riding. The terrain demands it. Stretched along 12 miles of highway, the four areas of Aspen / Snowmass serve up some of the world's finest runs. Aspen Mountain -- which the locals call "Ajax," has no beginner terrain, so it draws smaller crowds. You can ski or ride into the town of Aspen to take a casual lunch or call it a day at après-ski. Newbies will fall in love with beginner / intermediate-friendly Buttermilk, considered by many as the best teaching mountain in North America. Meanwhile, Aspen Highlands may be small, but it packs a punch; the 48 degree drop at Highland Bowl is a double-diamond doozy. Finally, the grandest of them all, Snowmass, is larger than the other three areas combined. It also has the largest vertical drop in Colorado, giving you the kind of long, exhilarating runs that skiing and snowboarding were made for. With its wide-open runs that stretch more than five miles long, and more than 50% of the trails marked intermediate, it's built a reputation for being just plain fun. Best of all, the whole area is served by a series of free shuttle buses, and they're so convenient that you're really not limited to one ski area per day.

Click on "Skill Levels" for more specific recommendations.

Skill level groupings

On every SKI BUMS trip, we begin by introducing you to other skiers and boarders who enjoy the same type of terrain that you do. For this trip, we expect a strong number of intermediate, advanced and expert skiers and boarders, with a few adventuresome beginners along for the fun. You'll get to meet them at our Meet & Greet, on the first night of our arrival.

SKI BUMS trips do not include air transportation (except when we're traveling overseas). You'll need to book your own flight. For this trip, we've got discounted airport transfers, which you'll need to book on your own. SKI BUMS will provide ground transportation for those who are traveling with us between Vail and Aspen.

We've got three signup options, which are:

The itinerary for this trip is unique, because a portion of this trip's participants will also be joining us on our trip to Vail -- which immediately precedes this one. To learn more about the sign-up options, click "pricing," at right.

Wednesday: arrivals

Check-in on Wednesday begins at 4 P.M. To join our Wednesday night meet & greet, you should plan to check-in at our lodging by 7:00 P.M. The room reservation will be waiting under your name. (Those of us who are traveling from Vail expect to arrive between 7 and 8 P.M.; others will begin their trip with us here in Aspen.) You'll have the chance to meet all of the trip's participants on Wednesday evening at our meet & greet cocktail reception, followed by a group dinner (see "Meals," below). We'll distribute lift tickets, the trip's detailed itinerary, and introduce you to the SKI BUMS staff.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday

The daily itinerary for this trip will have an extra dose of flexibility, to give you the chance to focus on the ski areas you're most excited about. We'll all start the day bright and early on Thursday with a skill-level group up at the base of Snowmass, and spend our first day there. Friday and Saturday's destinations are up to you. Some experts will want to put in extra time at Aspen Highlands, while intermediate skiers and boarders may want to gobble up the massive terrain at Snowmass. We'll name lunch gathering spots to re-connect with other BUMS, but you'll always have the option of joining the group or breaking away to do your own thing. It's your vacation to relax and enjoy yourself.

In the afternoons, we'll gather for après-ski, and we'll be scheduling a good dose of our fun in the town of Aspen itself.

Meals

• Daily breakfast buffet is included
• On Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, we'll have group dining reservations, but our meals are not pre-paid. Friday night is a "free night" to make your own dinner plans with new friends.

Sunday: departures

On Sunday, check-out is at 10 A.M., and they'll gladly hold on to your luggage if you'd like some extra time.

See "Transportation" for more info about planning your travel for Wednesday and Sunday.

Get the backstory -- the "inside scoop" on SKI BUMS planning!

There's more than one reason why they call it "The Big Burn."

Decades ago, a forest fire cleared a huge area on the mountains above Snowmass, Colorado, one of four ski areas at the Aspen / Snowmass resort. Roughly one mile wide and one mile long, the Big Burn is so wide that the locals say a hundred skiers could descend at the same moment without bumping into one another. Today, snowboarders carve wide, big arcs across its expansive terrain, while skiers can get a taste of Super G turns, enjoying more room than they'd ever find at a resort in the East.

The vertical drop at Snowmass, however, is what gives you another burn -- in your quads. An astounding 4,406 feet, the distance from top to bottom at Snowmass is bigger than anywhere else in the lower 48. That makes for long, exhilarating runs. Snowmass alone is among the biggest resorts in North America, and when you add in three additional ski areas -- Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk -- you've got more than enough runs to keep you happy.

We've got three days -- and a ski-in, ski-out property -- to help you get the best of it.

Enjoy a full week in Colorado

New for 2009, you've got the option of spending a full week with us in Colorado, at two of the world's very best ski resorts, enjoying a private door-to-door ground transfer between the two. Six uninterrupted days of skiing and riding through awe-inspiring mountains, ultra-comfy, slopeside accommodations, and a built-in group of new friends to enjoy it with? We think that's pretty dreamy.

Learn more about the optional Vail portion >

The big question on Aspen is always this: where do you stay? There's no doubt that the town of Aspen has some of the tawniest offerings anywhere; many of its hotels are so luxe that they make a night in New York City seem cheap. It ultimately comes down to a simple decision: stay in Aspen itself, where the shops and cafes and such are within walking distance, but pay nearly twice as much to sleep there, or stay at Snowmass, enjoy easy access to a huge ski area, but board a shuttle bus to explore the town of Aspen? We decided to go with the access to the slopes; it's always great to finish a day on the slopes, exhausted, knowing your hotel and a hot tub is right there waiting for you. And, we hope that by offering this trip at a lower price, more participants will be able to include our trip to Vail.

Mid-February, of course, is a gorgeous time to ski and ride in Colorado; the snow is famously dry and abundant at this time of year, and spring conditions haven't started yet, so nothing's melting. If you've never been skiing or riding in the West, mid-February is a beautiful time to visit -- be prepared to be wowed. And, take note: although it's President's Week in New York City, most American schools only have Monday, the 15th off, so you shouldn't expect above-average crowds in Colorado.

In the end, Aspen / Snowmass is one of the world's most famous resort ares for two big reasons: a spectacular variety of terrain, and a swanky, gay-friendly town with plenty of fun distractions. We expect to do an awful lot of exploring while we're there, and if you're looking for an excellent group of people to explore it with, you should come along.

Our members have told us that they'd love to spend more time out West; to give our trip some fun variety, we've got three options for the week of February 15 - 22:

To learn more about our trip to Vail, which takes place on the three days before our trip to Aspen, click here >

Wednesday, February 18 to Sunday, February 22

Included:

• 4 night double-occupancy accommodations at the Stonebridge Inn, a slopeside hotel at the base of Snowmass
• 3 day all-access lift ticket to Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass
• Welcome reception on Wednesday, February 18th
• Optional add ons: Single occupancy

Option Two payment schedule:

• $500 desposit
• $459 due January 7

Price for Option Two: $959

Sunday, February 15 to Sunday, February 22

Included:

• 3 night double-occupancy accommodations at the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa, a ski-in, ski-out hotel at the base of Vail
• 3 day all-access lift ticket to Vail Mountain Resort
• Welcome receptions on Sunday, February 15th

--- And ---

• Private door-to-door ground transfer shuttle from Vail to Aspen on Wednesday, February 18
• 4 night double-occupancy accommodations at the Stonebridge Inn, a slopeside hotel at the base of Snowmass
• 3 day all-access lift ticket to Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass
• Welcome reception on Wednesday, February 18th
• Optional add ons: Single occupancy

Option Three payment schedule:

• $600 desposit
• $629 due January 7
• $600 due January 31

Price for Option Three: $1829

Cancellation policy:

• On or before December 31: $100 fee
• On or before January 7: $200 fee
• On or before January 14: $600 fee
• After January 15: No refund