Buttermilk

The Buttermilk ski area is found in Aspen, Colorado amidst the Rocky Mountains and is known as the area where the easiest ski pistes are found. Due to this fact, it is also the location of one of the top best ski schools for children across the United States.

Buttermilk is part of the Aspen ski area trio and is considered the compliment to the other ski areas which mostly cater to expert and intermediate skiers only. It also offers many snow parks and was made famous as the current home for the annual ESPN Winter X Games.

Compared to the other ski areas in the region, Buttermilk opens later in the season during the second week of December and extends its season into the first week of April traditionally. This is due to the fact that it is at a much lower elevation than its counterparts at only 2,399m.

Its highest vertical rise is also smaller than its counterparts at only 619m, which has helped earn its title as a safe haven for beginner skiers. This is also reflected in its smaller area of terrain of only 190 hectares out of which there are 44 trails that combine to cover 34km.

The longest run at Buttermilk is 4.83km with most trails designed for beginner and intermediate skiers with a few difficult trails but absolutely no expert trails. On the other hand, as mentioned, Buttermilk is also a haven for snowboarders due to the presence of two terrain parks that offer just about everything.

In fact, the Buttermilk Park which is the main snow park contains over one hundred different features that include the X Games slopestyle course and a 22 foot superpipe. Beginners are also accommodated at the park system with Panda Pip and Ski & Snowboard Schools Park known locally as the S3 park.

The lift system at the ski area is basic but enough to accommodate most skiers' needs on the smaller slopes with two quads, three doubles, two tows, and two snowboard school lifts in place. The lifts open daily at 9am and continue to run until 3:30pm so you want to make sure that you hit the pistes early if you do not want to spend your time trekking up the piste sides. There is not a lot of off piste activity at the ski resort with just a few restaurants, but the city of Aspen is close by which offers plenty of entertainment options.