Affordable? Aspen? Yes!

IN recent years, the Aspen Skiing Co. decided to change its marketing pitch. The new strategy: Convince the masses that they’re welcome, despite the resort’s long-standing reputation as the premier outpost of implausible wealth and snobbery in the Rockies.

The problem with such a shift is that, sooner or later, word reaches the likes of me. Economic profile of me: drives beater Subaru, makes well under six figures and has little use for a $25,000 carved bear.

So in late March, my partner, Julie, our 12-year-old Lab and I piled into the Subaru to make the roughly 900-mile trip from Pasadena to Aspen. Why drive? Because we couldn’t afford to go if we spent an additional $500 to $1,000 on airline tickets.

So, was the skiing worth the hassle? Well, yes.

On our first day, we finished up by skiing Aspen Mountain’s 3,200 feet from top to bottom, where we were each handed a glass of Champagne by a private jet service there that day to woo new customers.

We did what people of our economic stature do and chugged two flutes apiece, burped and went merrily on our way.

We’d been through Aspen before -- on a summer road trip in 2004 -- and glimpsed it during TV coverage of previous Winter X Games, which start here Thursday. Despite its well-earned reputation for wealth, we found the town charming, pedestrian-friendly and well-scrubbed, with many authentic Victorian buildings.

That, to us, was a striking departure from California ski towns. The skiing may be great at Mammoth or Tahoe, but planners in both places appear to have been aiming at capturing the charm of a Reseda strip mall.

So it was both the town and the skiing that brought us back to Aspen, which is about a four-hour drive west of Denver. The Aspen Skiing Co. operates four resorts in the area and, cumulatively, they offer 5,246 acres of terrain, with Snowmass almost the size of Mammoth. The hardest part of each day was deciding where to ski -- and if that’s your biggest problem, then, of course, you don’t have any problems.

The four resorts we visited were Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. To simplify, Aspen and Aspen Highlands have the steepest terrain and are not for beginners; Buttermilk is the easiest and has a terrain park with some features and jumps the size of a small house; Snowmass is a behemoth, the kind of resort that takes at least two days to fully explore.

We started with Aspen Mountain because it looms just above downtown and has long enjoyed a reputation for chewing up skiers and spitting them out.

The funny thing is that the mountain is just not that large in terms of acreage but offers 3,267 feet of vertical. But it’s tall. A single gondola ride takes you to the top, and you can ski all the way down without hitting any flat spots. The intermediate (blue) runs would be expert (black) runs most anyplace else, and a few of them -- such as Ruthie’s Run -- are like speedways.

Next up: Aspen Highlands, a five-minute drive from town. The first thing we noticed was that it was empty. The second was that this is the locals’ hill. It has a layout similar to that of Aspen Mountain but with a twist: You can hike from the top of the highest lift to the Highlands Bowl.

I didn’t do it, out of principle, laziness and fear -- OK, mostly fear. Every time I glanced at it, the bowl seemed as though it were getting steeper -- and it was easily visible from our hotel, so I spent a lot of time glancing. The snow is reputed to be the best in the state, and I spent the better part of the 14-hour drive home trying to come up with a better excuse for not having tried it.

We landed at Snowmass on Day 3. The resort is the farthest from town -- a 20-minute drive or bus ride -- and the base area was a mess because Snowmass was building a new village to replace the old one, which was uncharacteristically blah for the area.

But the blah factor really didn’t matter because the skiing was voluminous. At one juncture, we spent an hour doing laps on the remote Campground lift, which offered 1,400 feet of vertical on half a dozen or so blue and black runs. We saw maybe 20 skiers in that time.

Then we turned to the Big Burn, where many of the trees were thinned out in the late 1800s by a fire. A single lift rose 2,002 vertical feet in eight minutes, allowing skiers to descend on any of half a dozen routes -- bumps as well as groomed boulevards. A day could be spent on that lift alone, although it’s but one of 19 primary lifts on the mountain.

The final resort was Buttermilk, which in recent years has become home to the Winter X Games. It has the gentlest terrain of the four resorts, and it’s the only one where an intermediate skier can probably ski the entire place.

We showed up at 11 to find 3 inches of new snow. The runs beneath the Tiehack lift were still untracked. It’s times like this that you learn not to ask questions and just ski.

The imperfections

SO, was this the perfect ski vacation? No.

Aspen may be ready for the masses, but it’s fair to wonder if the masses are ready for Aspen. This is a town, after all, where the cops drive Volvo SUVs and where, according to a USA Today report in July, 35 homes were on the market for more than $10 million apiece. Gulp.

It is also a town where one sunny morning I came across a German fellow sitting in the middle of a hotel walkway in his long johns and ski boots, pounding down Budweisers as polka music blasted from the stereo in his room. Obscene wealth, try as it might, can’t squash the human spirit.

As for the cost, there are a couple of ways to mitigate. One very smart thing we did was going late in the season, a good way to secure a deal (and late-season conditions could be good; Colorado’s had a great snow year thus far).

After a lengthy perusal of the Internet and travel guides, we reserved a room at the dog-friendly Aspen Meadows Resort, which was a five-minute drive or a 15-minute walk from downtown. The lodging-and-lift deal was a good one: about $2,700, which included eight nights, two seven-day lift tickets plus a pet fee. It also helped that it was late in the season; we probably saved about $250.

I hesitate to call $2,700 a deal, but in the relative world of Aspen, it was as good as any we could find. Some of this is just because skiing has become incredibly expensive, whether in Aspen or Mammoth. We certainly could have saved hundreds by renting a house at Tahoe and driving there, but we decided the extra dough was the price of trying something new.

When we arrived at the resort, no one could find our lift tickets (kind of a problem on a ski trip), although they finally materialized the next morning. Then they put us in a smoking room for a night (we had requested nonsmoking) and later stuck us in a section of the hotel near where another wing was being constructed.

The room was quite nice and the breakfast -- included in the deal -- was great. Too bad the service was so spotty.

As for the dozens of restaurants in town, we weren’t blown away by the offerings. We visited when the off-season was looming, but the quality, as is the case in many tourist places, was in inverse proportion to the cost. My favorite meal was a burger and beer at the bar in the Hotel Jerome.

On the other hand, I thought we made the right call driving and not flying. Most of the route is scenic, and we were spared the torment that is the modern airport experience. On the way home, we stayed just outside Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. We even had time on our last day for a short hike in Bryce in the morning and a walk in Zion National Park later that day. Nice.

And I did find things I would recommend about Aspen: Take the time to walk its neighborhoods, and don’t miss a movie at the old Wheeler Opera House. On a sunny day, head up to the Sundeck at the top of Aspen Mountain and spend too much time staring at the peaks of Maroon Bells. At Snowmass, find a run called Sandy Park, which resembles a roller coaster, and ski it like there’s no tomorrow.

And for those who are worried that rampant development will turn Mammoth into the next Aspen, I carry you this message: It has a long way to go.

steve.hymon@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Aspen glow

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, United flies nonstop to Aspen, Colo. United, Delta and America West offer connecting flights (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $388.

LIFT TICKETS:

The best deals at Aspen are early and late in the season; late season is usually the better gamble because there’s a better chance snow will have accumulated (although, so far this year, Colorado is having a monster snow year).

Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Snowmass lift-ticket prices: adults, $82; ages 13-17 and seniors 65-69, $74; 7-12, $52; 6 and younger ski free. Tip: You’ll probably save money by shopping around for a lift-and-lodging deal. Info: (800) 525-6200, www.aspensnowmass.com.

WHERE TO STAY:

Hotel Jerome, 330 E. Main St., Aspen; (800) 331-7213, www.hoteljerome.com. The historic downtown hotel offers luxury and a short walk or shuttle ride to the slopes of Aspen Mountain. Doubles from $660.

Aspen Meadows Resort, 845 Aspen Meadows Road, Aspen; (800) 452-4240, www.aspenmeadowsresort.dolce.com. The hotel is in a campus-like setting high above the Roaring Fork River, a five-minute drive to town or a nice walk. Doubles from $250.

Hotel Aspen, Aspen; 110 W. Main St.; (800) 527-7369, www.hotelaspen.com. This hotel is just a couple of blocks from downtown and has small but comfortable rooms. Doubles from $199.

WHERE TO EAT:

Little Annie’s Eating House, 517 E. Hyman Ave.; (970) 925-1098. Very popular for its big burgers and servings of ribs and chicken at moderate prices. Excellent prime rib and horseradish sauce. Main dishes from $16.

Blue Maize, 308 S. Hunter St.; (970) 925-6698. A casual Southwestern-fare spot with a popular bar. Good shrimp fajitas. Main dishes from about $13.

The J-Bar, 330 E. Main St. (inside the Hotel Jerome); (970) 429-7674. The bar is casual and often smoky -- there is a nonsmoking room -- and the burgers are good. Main dishes from $12.

Gusto Ristorante, 415 E. Main St.; (970) 925-8222. Good pasta, pizzas in a hip setting. Applause-worthy rigatoni with mushrooms. Main dishes from $14.

TO LEARN MORE:

Colorado Tourism Office, 1625 Broadway, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80202; (800) 265-6723 www.colorado.com

-- Steve Hymon