Aspen: Winter Line Up

 

The winter season in Aspen always sees a surge of new activities and the winter of 2013 to 2014 will be no exception. This is the time of the year when many new stores and restaurants open and countless festivals are held.

Renovated Hotels & Museums

•  In the fall of 2013 The Little Nell was renovated to add more new suites, with the next group of new suites slated for renovation in the spring season of 2014. The suites at The Little Nell will have a more eclectic feel to them by the time the renovations are completed.

•  The historic Hotel Jerome underwent a multimillion dollar renovation and reopened in the winter of 2012. The lobby is now more open and airy, offering the perfect place for hotel guests to socialize. The hotel’s new Auberge Spa is becoming guests’ favorite place to rejuvenate and even participate in Yoga.

•  The Wheeler Opera House  will be marking its grand re-opening on December 21, 2013. Among the renovations performed on the Opera House was one that added a new balcony providing guests with a beautiful view as well as state-of the art technology including sound, film and lighting. The Wheeler Opera House frequently hosts performances and feature films as well as various festivals.

•  And opening soon.. the Aspen Art Museum! By the summer of 2014 construction will have been completed on the Shigeru Ban, which will be a new 30,000 square foot room in the Aspen Art Museum. The museum has been around since 1979 and houses many pieces of contemporary art.

Food & Wine News

• NEW! David Burke Kitchen will open in Feb. 2014 from New York City chef David Burke. The menu will be farm to table using local and seasonal ingredients. Dishes will include venison, elk, wild boar, pig, trout, short ribs, aged cheeses and more to round out the menu selection. (204 S. Galena)
• NEW! Acquolina Trattoria & Pizzeria  is a new trattoria and pizzeria serving up authentic Italian cuisine in a fun atmosphere. The expansive menu is available for both lunch and dinner, and a condensed bar menu will be offered during happy hour. The restaurant will be open year-round, daily starting Nov. 29. (415 E. Main St.)
• NEW! Spring Café opened their doors to Aspen in summer offering a full organic food and juice bar. Aspen’s first all organic eatery serves breakfast, lunch and early dinner offering salads, hearty vegetarian sandwiches, soups and baked goods. Spring Café cooks with organic cold-pressed oils, sea salt and fresh herbs, and their dairy and eggs are locally sourced and cruelty free. (632 E. Hopkins)
• NEW! Trecento Quindici Decano, translating to “315 Dean,” is the St. Regis Aspen’s newest restaurant concept. Trecento Quindici brings the best of Italy to Aspen with hand-crafted Italian cuisine served in a Mediterranean villa-inspired design. Executive Chef David Viviano prepares fresh pasta and sauces daily as well as pizza baked to order. The space is family friendly with an adjacent game room featuring table tennis, air hockey, a Nintendo Wii and arts and crafts. (315 E. Dean St.)
• NEW! M&M Catering & Cooking School offers catering from early morning breakfast to gourmet dinners, cooking classes, and meal delivery services including box lunches, dinners, backpacks, picnics and private jets. The M&M chefs focus on using seasonal, local foods and make an effort to use organic whenever possible.

Arts, Culture & Retail News

• NEW! GoLite opened their doors this fall offering high performance apparel and equipment. The Boulder based brand carries both men’s and women’s outdoor gear and clothing. GoLite products and high performance gear is designed for consumers to be able to experience nature with less weight, fuss and weight. (414 E. Cooper Ave.)
• NEW PROGRAM! Aspen Center for Environmental Studies offers morning birding in fall, winter and early spring. The program, which runs on the first Tuesday of the month from Oct. through April at Hallam Lake. Guests will exercise their birding skills, learn non-breeding plumages and observe foraging behaviors of migratory and resident species with naturalist Rebecca Weiss. (100 Puppy Smith St.)
• NEW PROGRAM! The Limelight Hotel is introducing a new way to explore the mountain for non-skiers with their new winter adventure for non-skiers. Complimentary snowshoe tours will be offered on Wednesdays during the winter seasons, January through March. Limelight Hotel will also offer their “Inside Tracks” program, allowing guests to receive the insider’s scoop on Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Snowmass while meeting other guests and skiing with Aspen’s top ski/snowboard professionals. (355 S. Monarch St.)
• NEW CLIMBING AREA! Pitkin County Open Space and Trails (OST) acquired Gold Butte as open space in Jan. 2013 and began working with an enthusiastic steering committee of local climbers to develop this climbing management plan. The climbing area is now easily accessible to the public from town with parking at the Sunnyside pull-off on McClain Flats Road and at Stein Park. For a Gold Butte climbing guide click here.
• NEW EVENT! Wintersköl, Aspen’s annual toast to winter, plans to add a new event to this year’s celebration, the first annual Fat Bike Race. The Wintersköl Fat Bike Race will be held in town on Smuggler Mountain Road, one of the most popular recreation areas in the immediate Aspen vicinity. Details for the race will be announced in Dec. 2014.

12 Days of Aspen, Dec. 20-31, 2013

• During the 12 Days of Aspen, the charming downtown of Aspen becomes a winter wonderland of holiday cheer. Free ice skating, visits with Santa’s reindeer, s’more-making parties, cookies, cocoa, holiday drink specials, and more light up the streets of Aspen. To top it all off, ring in 2014 with a New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza over Aspen Mountain.

X Games Aspen , Jan. 23-26, 2014

• The X Games Aspen, the premier action sports event in the world, returns to Aspen/Snowmass for its 14th year in a row with snowsports’ greatest athletes battle for glory in events including ski and snowboard slopestyle, superpipe, freestyle and big air.

Aspen Music Festival & School Winter Series, Feb. 13 – March 15, 2014

• The Aspen Music Festival and School returns for their winter music series with three elegant recitals in the beauty of Harris Concert Hall. The winter series will be: Feb. 13: pianist Joyce Yang; Feb. 20: violinist Jennifer Koh; March 15: star violinist Robert McDuffie with pianist Elizabeth Pridgen.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Feb. 14- March 29, 2014

• Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is an internationally acclaimed professional dance company that brings dance to Aspen year-round.  The 2014 winter series will have performances Feb. 14- 15, Les Ballets Tockadero De Monte Carlo March 16 and an encore performance underwritten by Bebe and David Schweppe March 29.

Aspen International Fashion Week, March 13-16, 2014

• Aspen International Fashion week will showcase and market winter resort, ski and technical outwear. The four-day event includes daily après ski events and shows, nightly runway shows, in-store presentations and after hour rock shows.