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Aspen Skiing Co.’s top official advised customers in a letter Tuesday to temper their expectations but not curb their enthusiasm for the 2020-21 ski season.

Schools in Aspen, Vail, and Crested Butte are reporting record interest and enrollment as part-time residents relocate to their vacation homes and urban buyers flock to mountain retreats.

It’s quiet here. Granted, on most days, it’s quieter here than in cities, but this is different. Like closing your eyes in a dark room and finding that what you would have called darkness a moment earlier was a cheap imitation. As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, I’ve found myself absorbed in frequent waves of an emotion that is not quite guilt, but something very much like it.

The science of keeping the flora in a sewage treatment system balanced was knocked out of kilter when coronavirus shut skiing down and water use dropped 50% in two of Colorado’s most popular ski communities.

When I first moved to Colorado, I thought my family and I would somehow magically pick up skiing, hitting the slopes every winter. But as it turns out, skiing is not an easy thing to start up on your own in your 30s.

After a hard-fought day schussing the slopes, nothing replenishes the fuel tank like a good ol’ burger, with just the right blend of protein, carbs, and yes, grease. We combed America’s ski towns and adjacent mountain resorts for the tastiest—and weirdest—beef between two buns, bringing you our unequivocal list of where to hang your helmet for the best hamburgers worth your fully salivated après-ski time and attention.

Heavy, accumulating snow will reach all the way south to San Diego’s mountains and dump up to two feet of snow in Arizona and the Four Corners.

Mother Nature has begun to smile upon on the West, particularly the northern and central Rockies where significant amounts fell on resorts from Alberta to southern Colorado.

Both the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass streamline skiing and riding costs during the winter. Now that summer's here, they switch gears to make warm-weather times in the mountains more affordable, too.

Aspen Mountain will once again offer skiing and riding as part of continued summer operations this weekend, Jun. 8-9, with 130 acres of terrain on a 58-inch base depth.

Aspen Mountain will open for summer operations Memorial Day Weekend May 25-27 with skiing and riding. In addition to opening 130 acres of skiable terrain, Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of Aspen Mountain’s summer operations with access to sightseeing and food/beverage options at the Sundeck restaurant. There will be a live DJ outside on the deck Saturday and Sunday.

April has arrived at that means it is time to break out the sunscreen and coolers for fun days in the sun at your favorite mountain resort. SnoCountry took at look at some of the happenin’ events around the country this April.

In the late 1800s, as gold miners moved through the Colorado Rockies, they came upon the would-be ski resort of Aspen, with Mount Sopris as its crown jewel. The land was rich, but also sacred to the indigenous Ute tribe, who cursed their visitors out of despair. Anyone who slept in the shadow of Mount Sopris would be doomed never to leave.

There’s no shortage of luxurious hotels in the West that will indulge your every need. SnoCountry took a look around and came up with a quintet of the hotels that coddle and pander with the best.

Summiting a 14,000-foot peak is a popular pastime in Colorado, since 56 of the 68 14ers in the continental U.S. lie within its borders. And a handful are close enough to cop in a single day.

Sunrise on Mt. Mansfield from Sterling Pond. (Sunrise Mountain Guides)

Backcountry and sidecountry ski touring are all the rage now, but heading out of bounds without some experience can be at best a frustrating undertaking and at worst a dangerous one. SnoCountry.com has found the prefect combo of ski hotels that not only offer the comforts of a destination resort, but guide service to bring your adventure goals to reality.

Sun Valley set to go with early discounts. (Sun Valley/Facebook)

Once the snow begins to fly, skiers and riders make plans to get up into the hills as soon as possible – and stay there as long as possible. As a result, many Rocky Mountain resorts lay out early season ticket and lodging deals.

Snowmass Base Village gets new life. (Snowmass Village/Facebook)

There’s lots going on at Snowmass this summer as ownership works to finally build out the resort base area and to establish the Colorado mountain as a major summer destination.

64 oz. Gnar Burger at Squaw (Rocker@Squaw/Facebook)
Few foods capture the spirit of skiing and snowboarding as much as the venerable hamburgers, and resorts town eateries tout all manner of this longtime mountain favorite.

In the summer, Colorado resorts become a hub for warm-weather fun both around the base areas and on the mountains.