One advantage of Aspen is that Ajax, Buttermilk and Snowmass are all run by the same company, the Aspen Skiing Company. Tickets and gear are interchangeable--you can buy a three-day ticket at one place and ski one day at each mountain for no increase in price, if that's what you want.

However, Aspen Highlands, Aspen's fourth mountain, is a law--and an ownership--unto itself. If you plan to travel here, be sure to leave enough money to buy another ticket.

Interestingly enough, although the Highlands aren't considered the easiest slopes around these parts (see Buttermilk, above), they have the reputation as training slopes. Don't be surprised to see a number of small lifts, adorned with groups of three-and-four-year-olds bundled up to the max.

Just remember not to lose your balance when they cheerily ski past you on the Wall, a hellish black slope tastefully adorned with rocks and trees. You're never too young or too short to ski in Aspen.

And if skiing's not your thing at all?

Don't worry--you won't be bored. Aspen has shops. Aspen has art galleries. Aspen has a Hard Rock Cafe and a Boogie's Diner, where you can browse through outrageously priced fashionable clothing while waiting for burgers and fries.

When you're finished, head to the Rocky Mountain chocolate factory for dessert. Just be sure to recycle any paper or plastic--Aspen is enviro-conscious to the max. And don't gawk at celebrities--it isn't polite.

Oh, and one other thing--Aspen is a beautiful town. At night, the snow and icicles glisten and gleam. The houses precariously perched on nearby Red Mountain look like jewels. And, on a clear night, it's not just the streets of Aspen that are filled with stars--the sky more than holds its own.