Resort height: 2422m
The mountains
The skiing in Aspen is split between four self-contained mountains, ranged along the south side of the Roaring Fork Valley. Three of them - Ajax, Highlands and Buttermilk - are all within sight of one another. The fourth, Snowmass, is 12 miles west, and is technically a different ski resort altogether.
No-one really thinks of it in that way, however, and the pleasure comes from sampling all four in the course of a visit - especially the ones in the middle, Highlands and Buttermilk, which are usually deserted. Ski them in the middle of the week, with the sun out and soft, grippy snow beneath your skis, and every minute of the long journey to get there will seem worthwhile.
What's more, there's terrain to suit everyone in Aspen - tree-skiing moguls, a huge terrain park, and a bowl (at the top of Highlands) where the pitch of the ski slopes is as much as 45 degrees. But the people who will enjoy Aspen most are the intermediate skiers - as far as this correspondent is concerned, there's no finer place on the planet for them to ski.
Getting there
Of course, if you've got your own Lear Jet - it's a piece of cake. Aspen has its own airport, 20 minutes out of town. Mere mortals tend to head for Denver and change planes there - or else jump on a three hour transfer.
Rating: 
9/10
Après-ski
Few places can match Aspen for high-end drinking and dining. The Sky Bar at the Sky Hotel is where everyone goes before dinner - and the place is rammed in all but the quietest weeks. Dress up, keep your ears open and give the evening time to develop: you could well end up talking to someone veeeery interesting!
Dinner in Aspen brings a mind-boggling array of choices - the sushi for example is fresher than you'll find in many seaside towns. Takah Sushi has some of the best. For a gastronomic splurge it's hard to beat the Montagna in the Little Nell hotel.
Rating: 
10/10
Non-skiers
You've come to the right place in Aspen - though you could spend a fortune in the process. Superb spas, yoga centres, sleigh rides, dog-sledding, celeb-spotting and Bond-Street style shopping are all part of Aspen life. Plus of course just hanging out amidst such ludicrous affluence is a spectator sport in its own right. In many ways an Aspen holiday is the ultimate bribe to be offered a non-skiing wife, husband or partner.
Rating: 9/10
Cost of living
You could spend a small fortune on a ski holiday in Aspen: and over Christmas and New Year people frequently do. But it needn't be this way. Stay in a B&B, condominium (self-catering apartment) or a catered chalet run by a British tour operator, and you can have a holiday in one of the world's best ski resorts for something approaching an ordinary price - provided you think £1000pp is ordinary for a one-week trip.
Rating: 
8/10
Attractiveness of the resort
Snowmass, at the other end of the ski area, also has accommodation but the main town is the place to base yourself for the full Aspen effect (unless you've got small children). Together, the combination of handsome 19th-century buildings, posh shops and snowy mountains is a potent one.
