The Edge

For a comfortable cruiser, though, Rash suggests Golden Horn as a solid blue. "It's wide open, faces the front of the mountain looking down into the valley," Rash says. "It's got a consistent pitch, and they groom it well--never any bumps. It's a great run to learn on." For those who are looking for bumps, Rash names the Sodbuster run in Steeplechase area. Full of double blacks, Steeplechase "starts out rather steep at the top and then mellows out a little in the middle," Rash explains. "Then the bottom section is a good section of consistently round, large bumps, not those really pointy bumps, which makes them nice to turn around on the tops or in the troughs."

Rougher bumps can be found at Scarlett's Run, Rash says, on the front of the mountain. "It's a blue," Rash says, "but at most ski areas, it would be a black. It's always bumped out, but it's popular." For untracked snow, Rash proposes the Temerity area, between Steeplechase and Highlands Bowl. "Temerity is my favorite double black overall," he says. "Any of the runs there are great, with lots of trees, very steep. You'd better be able to turn very well to go in there. But you're bound to find untracked stuff." He adds that if the sun is setting up on that side of the mountain, Olympic Bowl is another likely spot for fresh stashes. That's also the area he says has the best view. "When you're skiing down there, you're skiing into the Maroon Creek Valley, looking at Pyramid and the Maroon Bells, and you can see the Fourteeners, too."

Rash says that on powder days, snowboarders also head to the Steeplechase and Olympic bowls, but he cautions that they need to be truly experienced to navigate there. "In Steeplechase, the cliffs at the top of Kessler's Bowl are real popular with the snowboard crowd, but there has to be a lot of snow for it to be safe," Rash cautions.

For 'boarders into carving, Rash lists Wine Ridge, Heather Bedlam and the aforementioned Golden Horn. "And then any of the runs in what's known as mid-mountain are very good for snowboarding," he adds. "Those are beginner runs, but even the expert carvers like to use them." He also puts Riverside Drive, Red Onion and Prospector as phat choices.

On the easier end, Rash sends beginners looking to move up to blues to Heather Bedlam, a cruiser that's kept groomed. "It'll give green skiers a little bit of a feeling of exposure, and it has a good, consistent pitch," he says. And for solid intermediates looking to challenge themselves, Hayden, traversing through the trees to Boomerang, offers an easier-going blue-to-single-black transition, he adds.

It's even easier to find a good burger in Aspen, Rash says. "Boogie's Diner [534 E. Cooper Ave.], by far, has the best one in town. I can get a great turkey burger there, too." He goes to New York Pizza (409 E. Hyman Ave.) "because it's cheap," but his favorite pizza is at Farfalla Trattoria (405 E. Main St.). "It's a small Italian restaurant," he explains. "It's very good, but a little pricier."

Rash points out that "you're not going to find McDonald's prices anywhere in Aspen," but that Explore Booksellers (221 E. Main St.) offers "wonderful bistro fare, excellent vegetarian dishes and pasta for moderate prices." For fine dining, Rash says he and his wife are "kind of stuck on Mirabella Restaurant [216 S. Monarch St.] for sort of American-Middle Eastern food." He says the lamb dishes are their favorite, along with "anything wrapped in grape leaves." He adds that there are two other places they go to for higher-end meals: Pinons (105 S. Mill) and The Restaurant at the Little Nell (675 E. Durant St.).

Rash says many locals lament the fact that the popular Hotel Jerome (330 E. Main St.) stopped its Friday Afternoon Club, but he says the bar at a new restaurant, Bang Cafe & Bar (325 E. Main St.), that sits right across from the Hotel Jerome, has become the hot place to go. "It's also trying to fill the niche of Chinese," he adds. "Not that they're a Chinese restaurant, but they do have some dishes, and they're pretty good." Rash says The Cantina (411 E. Main St.) is a popular local bar, too, "but I don't recommend it for dining," and he says that Cooper Street (508 E. Cooper Ave.), Little Annie's Eating House (517 E. Hyman Ave.), the Red Onion (420 E. Cooper Ave.), and Bentley's at the Wheeler (328 E. Hyman Ave.) are the top bars, even if some of them are more like "frat bars."

Rash doesn't think Aspen has any good Mexican eateries, but he thinks it's a hotbed of excellent Japanese. His two favorites: Takah Sushi (420 E. Hyman Ave.) and Kenichi (533 E. Hopkins Ave.). "It's amazing that we can get such fresh seafood here," he says. "And I think the food at those two spots is pretty much equal in quality." And two other longtime Aspen eateries offer good, relatively inexpensive steaks: Skiers Chalet Steak House (710 S. Aspen) and the Steak Pit (305 E. Hopkins Ave.).