Back 2 Back Blower Days in Aspen.

Blower and Bluebird. Powder Days in Aspen. Bonnie's never looked better.AspenSpin Ski Log {Mar 28-29, 2011}.

After about 750 ski days and over 10,000,000 verts AspenSpin has developed some credibility in the field of POW-ology.  We've hit every POWDER DAY in Aspen over the past 8 seasons, usually on Ajax.  Monday and Tuesday presented a formidable one-two punch in the annals of POW.  We'll still stand by our call of BEST DAY EVER-- 12/7/07. It will be difficult to surpass the legendary Winter of 07/08 followed closely by the almost as Epic season  of 08/09.  Some locals are still talking about 82/83 and 54/55 but the two BLOWER DAYs we just experienced have to go down in history for their epicness and their contrasting styles.  Ebony and Ivory, Hot and Cold, Love and Hate, Elizabeth Milias and Mick Ireland.....Monday was a BLIZZARD and Tuesday was a BLUEBIRD. 

BAM!! The storm hit when no one was expecting it. BAM!  It started puking on Sunday night & didn't stop until sun up on Tuesday.  Almost 3 feet all told.  Click  POW POW Party for photos.

MONDAY:  Contrary to popular opinion Monday might have been the best day of the two.  Sunday we got a quick 4"-5" on Aspen Mountain.  Monday morning  the ski report said another 5", but those who know ----knew it was more than that.  It snowed at least 3" between the report at 7am and the lift opening at 8.50 (shhh its secret).  It kept snowing all day adding another 4" or 5".  We'll call it a foot ---give or take, but it was consistent, fluffy and blowing snow all day.  Free Re-fills were claimed.   The best part--nobody was around.  Sure all the familiar faces were out on a Monday--but zero tourists.   It was very very sweet, taaaaasty, you might say.  Laps in Trainor's,  soft head plants on the Shoulder, accidental air on Kristi's....it was a very good day, and we rejoiced.

TUESDAY: Tuesday had a special look about it from the beginning.  Bright, blue, crisp, cold with another 5"-7" overnight.  Call it almost 3 feet in 3 days....we'll take it.  First Tracks?  I dunno 8.15am ready to schralp...thats pretty early.  WTF? TIA?  Got the dog walked and headed over, booted up, breathe-right strip affixed,  Chinese herbal balm on the knees. Boom. First Bucket. Boom.  Lets just say AspenSpin has a few friends in the ski school.  Literally the first bucket.  It was sooooooooooo sick.  Check the pix...we've never seen such untouched freshness on Ajax.  Aspen Mountain is small and it can get ripped up pretty fast, but we were the first ones to the top. For First Tracks we broke trail on the high traverse and took Ruthies to StrawPile to the Race Course following one of the best skiers in Aspen on a 3000 vertical untracked POW lap.  We made it to the bottom before the Gondy opened 4 biz and the Line was staggering.  The sun was out and it was warming up fast.  We wanted to hit the Chow again ASAP.  The line was about twenty minutes deep...bogus, just then we got the ski instructor's nod.  "C'mon up"...shouted our Red Coated friend.  First in line again....BOOM...get a Red Onnnee.  Timing is everything.  It was so soft, and so good and so sunny and so beautiful. 

Livin' the Dream , thats how AspenSpin describes it.

Monday was siiiiiick in Aspen with a foot of POW. Tuesday was Bluebird and Deep.

 OMG. It's snowing in Aspen.

Ski,Stretch and Ice

Cold One Ice TherapyEveryone thinks skiing every day and partying every night is such a cake job.  They assume it's a no brainer and all we do is snarf POW and meet tons of models and other beautiful people.  YES, AspenSpin does make it look easy, but in reality its a very difficult job.  Sure the perq.s are pretty good, but the side effects can kill. 

Being on the mountain for over 100 days a season can be tough on your body.  Extended time in ski boots can wreak havoc on your feet. Plantar Fasciitis, hammer toe are occupational hazzards.  The Winnebago sized moguls on Aspen Mountain can make your knees weak.   Up and down all day,  every day, launching accidental airs on the Ridge of Bell and so forth. 

 The Aspen Club and Cold One have kept AspenSpin in the game all season. The pros at The Aspen Club have devised a custom program of exercises and stretches that promote strength and flexibility.  We've been doing them religiously all season.  The folks at COLD ONE turned us on to Ice Compression Therapy.  Every day...we ski, we stretch and we ice.  Cold One makes it easy with their fitted, re-freezeable compression wraps.  The cold therapy has been quite helpful combating muscle pain and soft tissue issues.  Cold One gives us a complete solution for Icing.   You can benefit from our experience and get a special AspenSpin discount of 10%.   Click COLD ONE and enter the code ASPIN2011.

It been a great season so far.  Stretching and Icing have helped make it pain free.

 

 

Spring Skiing RIPS in Aspen.

This past weekend in Aspen was packed with options.  A couple of 4"-6" mini POW storms kept the Spring skiing at maximum enjoyment level.   Entertainment, events, competitions, parties and visitors kept things hopping all weekend.  AspenSpin is vowing to finish strong and then hit the beach hard. 

Check our pix from this past weekend.  SPRING RIPS.

Pepper played a free show at the base of Ajax. The Hawaiian rockers went shirtless in a POW strorm, they rocked the open-air house with a very tight set. They also threw out hundreds of F-Bombs. The people loved it.

The building is gone, The legend lives on. The Wienrstube, a 50 year institution in Aspen was leveled in one day. The pile of rubble ieft in its place is a testament to Greed, Ego and back room dealings.

The Grand Traverse. An extraordinary back country ski race between Crested Butte and Aspen. Competitiors traverse the Elk Mountains overnight and brave the elements. The guy on the left has competed in all 14 Grand Traverse races. Rock of Love. A team of hotties who ripped laps at the 3rd Fallen Friends Memorial at Aspen Highlands. Fallen Friends celebrates the mountain lifestyle and memorializes our friends who are no longer with us.

 Gondola laps until 6pm on Aspen Mountain. Messner and his ladies took advantage of the late closing at Ajax on Sat. Saturday Night's All Right. Homies gather in Aspen.

Sunday Morning Over Easy. One more POW Day to finish off a fantastic Spring weekend in Aspen. The lifts stay open until April 24. Conditions = SICK

Apres Ski Aspen.

Apres Ski in Aspen.Springtime in The Roaring Fork Valley is glorious.  When the clock hits daylight savings time in Aspen the whole town energizes.  Late afternoon skiing becomes de rigueur and après ski becomes more of an early evening activity. 

Yesterday started off as a gray bird, then evolved into blizzard-like conditions and eventually...right before our eyes transformed into a bright, beautiful bluebird afternoon. Après Ski in Aspen is always serious business, but yesterday things got turned up to 11.  Three "not-to-miss après ski events were scheduled to take place simultaneously between 4-6 pm.  What was AspenSpin.com to do? ....the same thing we always do...hit all three parties and document the good times.  That's our gig, we get there, we get after it and we get some digi to share with world.  

Apres Ski in Aspen...a one day retrospective. Click  APRES 4 pix.

 John and Paula hosted their annual First Tracks / Ajax appreciation party at the base of Ajax 

 Ajax Lifties. Thanks for a great season. 100+ days of fun.Nancy, Mick and Jeff firing up for the Quiznos Pro Challenge Bike Race rolling through Colorado August 22-28, 2011BIG wave Legend Buzzy Kerbox and BIG mountain artist Kim Mcdonald hosted an Apres Art event at Jet Set. 

Social Consciousness in Aspen.

Team Rubicon in Action. Disaster ReliefAspen is a small town at the end of the road. 

We the people who live here have a passionate social conscious  and  feel the responsibility to give back to those less fortunate than us, especially in times of crisis. The Boyz at ESCOBAR ASPEN are "up to good"...partying with a purpose.  On Sunday March 27, 2011 Escobar is holding a fundraiser for TEAM RUBICON, an International a disaster relief organization.  See the invite below.

Maybe you've heard?? Our planet is under siege.  Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tsunami and other natural disasters are becoming more and more prevalent.  TEAM RUBICON  (TR) is a team of dedicated volunteers who provide "immediate, efficient emergency medical response to 3rd World disaster zones".  

Jesse, Panama Ops.Jesse Levin, one of the entrepreneurs behind Escobar Aspen has had first person experience with Team Rubicon.  Levin spent 6 months volunteering in earthquake torn Haiti.   During his time in Port Au Prince, Levin became aware of the work that TR was doing, he became an instant supporter.  Jesse and his partners at Escobar are asking the people of Aspen to give back.  Come out to ESCOBAR ASPEN this Sunday Night, 3/27/11 to party with a purpose.  The stated goal of this event is to raise $4000 for Team Rubicon.

Per their website :TEAM RUBICON

We are a new way of thinking in disaster response. We bridge the gap between catastrophe and large-scale response, uniting military veterans with medical professionals.  We utilize flat command structures, social networking technology, and simple decision making processes. We don’t wait for ideal situations to develop, we make dysfunctional situations ideal.

We are volunteers not satisfied with standing on the sidelines.  We believe that inaction is not an option; that our skills are needed, and that Team Rubicon is a model for delivering them.  We are 21^st century “Medical Minutemen.”

We are capable of doing MORE with LESS.  We are self-sustaining, self-reliant and self-deploying.  We bring only what we need, deploying rapidly to where we are needed.  We arrive on-site, identify problems, create solutions and GET THE JOB DONE.

We are doctors, firefighters, medics, nurses, physician assistants and military veterans.

We are Team Rubicon.

So finish the weekend strong , come to Escobar on Sunday March 27, 2011 at 8pm.  Win some serious raffle prizes from TAD and Rite in the Rain, and help Team Rubicon BRIDGE THE GAP.  Thank you.