White-hot snow
Aspen, US
Perks and quirks Although it no longer holds the world record for the longest single-stage gondola (which, for a time, belonged to the Silver Queen linking Aspen to Aspen mountain), the Colorado resort can claim the crown for snow-side culture: it has its own art museum, many galleries, a literary centre (Aspen Words), the Aspen Music Festival, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and the Aspen Institute, which seeks to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues, from climate change to the supply-chain crisis.
Known for The most spectacular renaissance any town could hope for. Once a thriving silver-mining town, it slid into a decline that lasted four decades after the Panic of 1893, a period of economic depression in which the value of silver plummeted. In 1936, however, a group of entrepreneurs saw fresh opportunity in the snow and created a new ski area to meet America’s burgeoning passion for winter sports—and the rest is history.
Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street come together on the Aspen slopes—notably on Red Mountain, also known as Billionaire Mountain—with present
