Aspen: The favorite ski resort of the rich and famous | CNN

Aspen: ‘A gem in the mountains, a crystal city in the Rockies’

3 minute read
Updated 5:34 AM EST, Thu January 10, 2019
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Aspen: Where the stars go skiing
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Private jets, $40 million mansions, and streets lined with boutique clothes stores – welcome to Aspen, a ski resort tucked away in the Rocky mountains that’s long been a playground for celebrities.

The average house price in Aspen is $5 million, and according to Forbes it’s one of the top 10 most expensive zip codes in America.

No surprise, then, that the likes of Lance Armstrong, Elle Macpherson, Heidi Klum and Seal have all been known to grace the town’s ski slopes over the years.

Kevin Costner married Christine Baumgartner at his ranch in Aspen, illustrious golfer Jack Nicklaus has a house there, and John Denver lived in the town until his death.

The numerous celebrities past and present who fell in love with the resort – including Denver – are remembered by a shrine tucked away on one of the ski slopes.

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How to spend an Aspen holiday in style
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Aspen, though, hasn’t always been a popular spot for the rich and famous. It was in the 19th century following a silver mining boom that it began to prosper, before taking off as a ski resort in the 1940s.

“It was like a gem in the mountains, a crystal city in the Rockies. It became world famous, and the fame of Aspen has just continued on,” Tony Vagneur, a Colorado native who is now president of the Aspen Historical Society, told CNN Alpine Edge.

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It was when Aspen first hosted the skiing world championships in 1950, explains Vagneur, that its reputation as one of the world’s premier ski destinations started to blossom.

“That got the attention of all of Europe,” he adds. “So many people came and got to ski the mountain. That was the catalyst for everything we have today.”

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<strong>Zermatt (Switzerland): </strong>The famed Valais village of Zermatt sits below the iconic Matterhorn peak. This car-free resort offers upscale boutiques, world-class skiing and a thriving apres-ski scene.
Zermatt (Switzerland): The famed Valais village of Zermatt sits below the iconic Matterhorn peak. This car-free resort offers upscale boutiques, world-class skiing and a thriving apres-ski scene.
Zermatt/Leander Wenger
<strong>Grimentz (Switzerland): </strong>The small Valais village of Grimentz is chocolate-box perfect, with its old-school chalets and unspoiled valley. It sits in the Val d'Anniviers, a side shoot of the great Rhone Valley.
Grimentz (Switzerland): The small Valais village of Grimentz is chocolate-box perfect, with its old-school chalets and unspoiled valley. It sits in the Val d'Anniviers, a side shoot of the great Rhone Valley.
Grimentz
<strong>Wengen (Switzerland):</strong> The classy village of Wengen, which can only be reached by cog railway or cable car, gazes out across the deep Lauterbrunnen valley and up towards the famous 4,000-meter peaks of the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau.
Wengen (Switzerland): The classy village of Wengen, which can only be reached by cog railway or cable car, gazes out across the deep Lauterbrunnen valley and up towards the famous 4,000-meter peaks of the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau.
Jungfrau Region
<strong>Kitzbuehel (Austria): </strong>The Tyrolean town of Kitzbuehel hosts the historic Hahnenkamm race every January, when the world's best ski racers fling themselves down a steep ribbon of ice -- 40.4 degrees at one point -- known as the Streif.
Kitzbuehel (Austria): The Tyrolean town of Kitzbuehel hosts the historic Hahnenkamm race every January, when the world's best ski racers fling themselves down a steep ribbon of ice -- 40.4 degrees at one point -- known as the Streif.
Kitzbuhel Tourism/Bernhard Spoettl
<strong>Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy): </strong>Just two hours north of Venice, Cortina d'Ampezzo sits in a sunny bowl fringed by the towering needles of the eastern Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage region, some of which soar to more than 3,000 meters. The James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" (1981) was filmed here.
Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy): Just two hours north of Venice, Cortina d'Ampezzo sits in a sunny bowl fringed by the towering needles of the eastern Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage region, some of which soar to more than 3,000 meters. The James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" (1981) was filmed here.
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Lech (Austria): </strong>A former farming village done good, luxurious Lech caters for the more discerning end of the money spectrum, plus vacationing royals. The town sits in an open bowl among gentle peaks on the banks of the Lech river, part of the famous Arlberg region.
Lech (Austria): A former farming village done good, luxurious Lech caters for the more discerning end of the money spectrum, plus vacationing royals. The town sits in an open bowl among gentle peaks on the banks of the Lech river, part of the famous Arlberg region.
Michel Porro/Getty Images
<strong>Alpbach (Austria): </strong>Named "Austria's most beautiful village" in a 1983 television contest, Alpbach continues to maintain its cutesy homespun looks and traditional architecture. All upper floors of new buildings must be clad in wood to preserve the bygone feel.
Alpbach (Austria): Named "Austria's most beautiful village" in a 1983 television contest, Alpbach continues to maintain its cutesy homespun looks and traditional architecture. All upper floors of new buildings must be clad in wood to preserve the bygone feel.
Alpbach Tourism
<strong>Megeve (France): </strong>Megeve was one of the first purpose-built resorts in the Alps, developed by the wealthy Rothschild family in the 1920s, but unlike some of France's more recent purpose-built carbuncles the old farming roots have been retained.
Megeve (France): Megeve was one of the first purpose-built resorts in the Alps, developed by the wealthy Rothschild family in the 1920s, but unlike some of France's more recent purpose-built carbuncles the old farming roots have been retained.
JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images
<strong>Courmayeur (Italy): </strong>The quaint old town of Courmayeur sits on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc tunnel. The skiing begins from a sunny plateau above the town with stupendous views of more than a dozen of Europe's highest peaks.
Courmayeur (Italy): The quaint old town of Courmayeur sits on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc tunnel. The skiing begins from a sunny plateau above the town with stupendous views of more than a dozen of Europe's highest peaks.
Courmayeur/Gughi Fassino
<strong>Saas-Fee (Switzerland): </strong>Saas-Fee is home to the world's highest revolving restaurant at 3,500 meters which is a perfect spot for taking in the 360-degree panorama of 4,000 meter peaks, including the Dom, the Taschhorn and the Alphubel on the surrounding skyline.
Saas-Fee (Switzerland): Saas-Fee is home to the world's highest revolving restaurant at 3,500 meters which is a perfect spot for taking in the 360-degree panorama of 4,000 meter peaks, including the Dom, the Taschhorn and the Alphubel on the surrounding skyline.
PhotoPress/Saas Fee
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Today, crowds continue to flock to Aspen for major skiing events. It is thought that 70 private jets arrive at the airport each day during weeks that the town hosts the skiing World Cup.

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Aspen’s popularity, however, has also made it a victim of its own success, something local radio host Tony Egan knows all to well.

“Deny it or not, when you live at 8,000 feet in a ski business climate change is real,” Egan tells CNN Alpine Edge.

“There are billions of dollars worth of jets in the airport, they can’t even all fit here. The town changes a bit, not a lot, but the mountains, they don’t change a lot.”