The Sunday Times February 6, 2022 21Travel USA special
CHRIS’S FAVOURITE SKI RUNS IN AMERICA
HIGHLAND BOWL, ASPEN
There are four different resorts in Aspen,
and one is the Aspen Highlands. Its
marquee run is the Highland Bowl and it’s
one of the most beautiful in all of Colorado.
The views are certainly as spectacular as
anywhere in the world. The top is 3,800m
so it’s quite high. A snowcat can take you
part of the way and then you need to hike
the rest with skis on your back.
aspenchamber.orgCHUTE 75 PALISADES, TAHOE
Formerly known as Squaw Valley — the
huge California resort changed its name
last autumn — this site has a chairlift
called KT-22. It goes up from the village
and underneath it is Chute 75. It’s a
wonderful, long, steep run that will make
your heart pump and your legs burn.
I always say if you can ski that, you can
ski anything.
palisadestahoe.comTHE BIG, MONTANA
Big Sky is an incredible resort just south of
Bozeman. They have an amazing cable car
that’s like a small version of the Aiguille du
Midi lift, in Chamonix. At the top of Lone
Peak is the Big Couloir, or the Big for short.
It’s aesthetically pleasing, another one for
advanced skiers, and it really gets the
heart rate up. It’s the run you come home
from your holiday saying, “I did that”.
bigskyresort.comI
love the Alps and I love
skiing in the States, so I
hesitate to compare the
two. They’re just so
different. But that’s the
joy of skiing — everywhere you
do it, the culture is so distinct.
Right now I’m in Aspen,
Colorado, sitting in a well-
known mid-mountain
restaurant called Bonnie’s
having just finished a ski run
(aspensnowmass.com). It’s
so mild, it feels more like late
March than early February.
We used to get loads of
skiers from the UK coming
to the American slopes in the
Eighties and Nineties. Then
for some reason it dropped
off and it became more
about visitors from Brazil
or Mexico. But two tables
from where I’m sitting there’s
a group of six guys from
the UK, so maybe it’s a case
skied so much in my career, all
around the world, that I could
probably pick a region, and
country, just from the feel
of its snow.
Hardcore skiers just want
to ski. That’s always the
way. They’ll come
to a country and
see nothing else
except for the
slopes of the
resorts they
visit. And that’s
great. But the
more relaxed
skier has so many
options in the US for
combining skiing with
some other area or aspect of
the American experience
— perhaps a few days on the
coast, or in a national park;
maybe New York on the way
home. If you’re going to come
all this way, it makes sense.of “the Brits are coming!”
I certainly hope they are,
because they’re in for a treat.
The slopes aren’t crowded,
the atmosphere is relaxed and
the snow conditions are
fantastic. I always say
that you can tell
everything you
need to know
about snow by
the sound it
makes when
you’re skiing.
Loud snow is
not good. Silent is
best. In these parts
we have a lot of
silent snow.
In Colorado we’re some
2,000km from the ocean
so we have what’s called a
continental snowpack; it has
less moisture in it so it’s lighter
and fluffier. In California it
would be much thicker. I’veI could probably
identify a region,
and country, just
from the feel of
its snowMake this the year you try skiing USA-style, says
extreme-ski world champion Chris Davenport
A snowcat tows skiers towards Highland Peak
in the Aspen Highlands ski area, ColoradoWHITE
OUT
p
Big-mountain
skier Chris
DavenportkBig-mountain
skier Chris
DavenportHIT THE SLOPES
See our digital edition
for a video of Chris in actionResorts that are close to
major cities — maybe
Breckenridge or Keystone,
which are both very near
Denver; or Snowbird and Park
City, near Salt Lake City in
Utah — can get busy with day-
trippers. But at resorts that are
further away from population
centres, such as Big Sky in
Montana, or Aspen, you really
can feel like you have the
mountain all to yourself.
One word of warning,
though: the après-ski scene
is much more subdued here in
the US. Covid hasn’t helped —
with a number of bars closing
— but also the focus is just
slightly different.
Given everything that has
happened during the course
of the pandemic, a ski
vacation is as good a choice as
any right now: whether you’re
with mates or family, you’re
getting a workout, loads of
fresh mountain air and some
astonishing scenery. All those
things have never been more
attractive.
Interview by Duncan CraigChris Davenport, 51, is one of
the greatest-ever big-mountain
skiers, a two-time extreme-
skiing world champion, TV
commentator and motivational
speaker. A pioneer of ski
mountaineering, he has climbed
and skied the 100 highest peaks
in Colorado and has tackled the
Lhotse Face of Mount Everest.
He lives in Aspen, Colorado,
with his wife and three sons
(chrisdavenport.com). Seven
nights’ B&B at the Limelight
Hotel in Aspen from £4,426pp,
including flights and lift pass
(ski-i.com)ZARGONDESIGN/GETTY IMAGES; DAN LEETH/ALAMY; KEOKI FLAGG; ASPEN SNOWMASS