Boogie's Bash for the Buddies

Want to attend the summer’s hottest party in Aspen? Want to have an amazing time in the name of supporting a great cause? If so, you should consider attending Boogie’s Bash for the Buddies on July 2nd. This is one of the most popular social events of the summer, where all proceeds go towards supporting the Buddy Program. The Buddy Program is a mentoring program that pairs adults in the Roaring Fork Valley with youth from Aspen to El Jebel. The concept is simple yet extremely important for the valley’s youth. The mission statement of the Buddy Program is to “strengthen the community by guiding and inspiring the youth through mentoring.” According to mentoring.org, the following are known benefits of mentoring programs: Improving self-esteem, keeping young people in school, helping to improve academic skills, leading young people to resources they might not find on their own, providing support for new behaviors and attitudes, increasing young people’s ability to seek and keep jobs, and enhancing parenting skills. This year’s Bash for the Buddies, as in years past, will be held at Boogie’s Merry-go-round ranch at 1650 McClain flats road. The theme is “our children, our future.” The dress is Italian chic (whatever makes you feel good). There will be cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, both silent and live auctions, and a seated dinner. For further information and for purchasing information, go to www.buddyprogram.org. www.theinnsbruck.com www.theinnsbruckaspen.com

Food and Wine Classic 2010

The gondola is running, Independence Pass is open, the trees are blooming and flowers are back. Yes, it’s almost time to celebrate the official kick off of summer with the annual Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the onset of summer than with this classic event. This year, just as years past, will not disappoint. This event runs from June 18-20. As usual there will be cooking demos, wine seminars, reserve wine tastings, grand tastings, and private grand tastings. These events will be run by wine and culinary experts from around the globe. There are three pass types that are currently still available. The first is the “Grow for Good” pass, which cost $3,100 each. This pass allows VIP access to all events in addition to access to events exclusive for Grow for Good pass holders. Food and Wine will donate $1,000 out of the pass price to the Grow for Good Campaign, which is an initiative that supports local farmers and promotes sustainable agriculture. The next available pass is the Consumer and Trade Pass, which cost $1,185 each. This pass gets you into all the main events. Lastly you can purchase tickets for Friday and Saturday’s grand tastings for $295 per ticket per tasting. Even if you choose not to directly participate in Food and Wine, the summer season and all it has to offer is underway which means there are plenty of great activities to indulge in. Summer in Aspen is short but very sweet, so don’t let it pass you by! We still have some great deals available both for the Food and Wine Classic and the entire summer season. Call us toll free at 1-866-925-2980! www.theinnsbruck.com www.theinnsbruckaspen.com

Cycling/Mountain Biking Around Aspen

Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley are a Cycling and Mountain biker’s paradise. Beautiful scenery abounds whether you are in the wilderness on a challenging mountain bike ride or a leisurely road bike on a paved bike path. There are many rides for each discipline ranging from easy to very difficult. Two of the more popular road bike rides easily accessible from town are the Ashcroft and Maroon Bells loops, both of which are in the “difficult” category. The Ashcroft loop takes you 11 miles up Castle Creek road to a historic ghost town, for a total of 22 miles of cycling. The Maroon Bells loop is approximately 10 miles from highway 82 and ends up at the base of the stunning Maroon Bells. The total distance of this ride is approximately 20 miles. Traffic is limited on this access road during the summer to make this ride even more enjoyable. Two of the more popular mountain bike rides around Aspen are the Government Trail and The Sunnyside trail, both of which are challenging at times from a technical and aerobic standpoint (for me at least!). The Government trail connects Buttermilk and Snowmass. Throughout the ride there are plenty of phenomenal views, wild flowers, and cool sections through Aspen forests. It is important to note that this trail crosses private property at certain points, and portions of it are closed early on for elk migration. The Sunny Side trail is usually accessed by biking up to the four corners region starting from the Hunter Creek valley. My favorite part of this ride is the sun as it peaks through the leaves of the beautiful aspen forest. Towards the end of the ride there are some gorgeous wild flowers and great views of the valley. The Sunny Side trail will take you back to Cemetery Lane right near town. These are of course just a few of the many rides around Aspen. The possibilities are really endless, especially if you are willing to drive out of town a ways. Go to www.aspenchamber.org for more rides. www.theinnsbruck.com www.theinnsbruckaspen.com

7th Annual Chili Pepper and Brew Fest

The weather has been quite nice lately and I can’t help but think of all the fun events coming up as Spring rolls on and Summer is just around the corner. In exactly one month from now, the 7th annual Chili Pepper and Brew Fest will take place on June 4th and 5th on Fanny Hill in Snowmass village. How can I not be excited for an event that combines great music, great chili, and great beer all in one of my favorite places? The Chili Pepper and Brew Fest allows local and national chili aficionados to square off in a competition vying for the “best chili” award as determined by us, the samplers. In addition to all the great chili, those of us 21 or over are allowed to wash down the chili by sampling beers from some of the top microbrewers from all over the country who will be competing for various honors in the “Summer Ale Brew Fest 2010” according to the Chili Pepper and Brew Fest website. And for all you home brewers out there, you are encouraged to compete in the home brewing category. But wait, it gets even better. All of the above will be taking place alongside musical performances by The Kyle Hollingsworth Band featuring special guest Michael Kang of the String Cheese Incident, Brett Dennen, The Wailers, and George Clinton and the Parliament/Funkadelics. This has become a popular event so buy tickets early to secure a spot and save a few bucks! Go to: snowmasschiliandbrew.com for more information. Our current special awards those who book early, so give us a call toll free at 866-925-2980. www.theinnsbruckaspen.com www.theinnsbruck.com

Great Experience, Small Price to Pay

What a fun place! The Innsbruck is perfectly located on Main Street in Aspen Colorado within walking distance to everything. The Innsbruck has amenities such as hot tub, heated resistance pool, and fitness room. All of our Condos are completely renovated with luxury finishes including granite, stone, plaster walls, fire places and of course, a fully stocked kitchen perfect for apres entertaining. The staff at The Innsbruck Aspen provides advice, ski services, rides around town 24 hours a day, and even discounts on equipment rentals. The Concierge at The Innsbruck sets up all guests with all the right inside access. Great experiences await you for a small price to pay. Ownership opportunities right on Main Street starting at $99,000. Why wait??

Intellectual Aspen

It’s no secret that there is a multitude of fun ways to break a sweat in Aspen. Whether you visit in the summer or the winter, Aspen offers many fun activities that are physically demanding and rewarding. What a lot of people may not know is that Aspen offers a lot of ways to break a mental sweat! While there are many intellectually stimulating events in Aspen in both summer and winter, I will focus on winter at the moment since it’s that time of year. The Aspen Institute’s “2010 Great Decisions Series” officially started on February 2, and will continue until March 23. According to the Aspen Chamber website, during this 8 week event, “participants gather to discuss key foreign policy issues facing the world today.” Topics to be discussed throughout the series are special envoys, preventing genocides, global crime, U.S. – China security relations, the global financial crisis, Russia and its neighbors, The Persian Gulf, and peace building and conflict resolutions. These lectures will be given at the Aspen Institute from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. The cost is $195 and $175 for donors to the Institute. For a detailed schedule of the lectures, go to: www.aspeninstitute.org/aspenevents . Another great way to get some intellectual nourishment while in Aspen is through the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). One program they host is called “Potbelly Perspectives” in which they host a speaker each week to discuss their world travels and adventures through stories and pictures. This series runs through the entire winter on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 at Hallam Lake in Aspen. Tickets are only $4.00 for adults. Hallam Lake is a nature preserve that has an environmental learning center with resident birds of prey, nature exhibits, an indoor trout stream, a nature trail loop, bird watching, a naturalist on site, and evening programs. Hallam Lake nature preserve is open Monday-Friday, from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm. Entry is free (donations are encouraged). Going along with the FREE theme, ACES also offers the “Naturalist Nights” in partnership with the Aspen Wilderness Workshop. According to the ACES website, this series “focuses on scientific research, environmental policy work, and natural history information that is of interest to the Aspen community.” This program runs throughout the winter until April on Thursday nights from 7:30-8:30 at Hallam Lake. Admission is free but donations are encouraged. The days getting longer and the sun is shining. Mid February until the end of the season is usually my favorite time of year to hit the slopes. Hopefully I will see you out there!

Winter X-Games 14

Winterskol was successfully wrapped up about a week ago and the always popular gay ski week is coming to yet another successful finish. Some may find themselves asking “what now?” The answer to this question is “X-Games of course!” We are now less than a week away from X-games 14, a very exciting four day event that only seems to grow bigger and more entertaining with time. This special event will take place from Thursday, 1/28 through Sunday, 1/31. This year’s X-Games promises to outdo previous years’ X-Games as it will have all the familiar events and more. The super pipe will remain 22’ high, up from what now seems like a measly 18’ in earlier years. Only this year the pipe will be 20’ longer than last year which will allow the amazing athletes to throw down some additional airs at the end of their runs. Another exciting event that is new to the four day competition is the aptly named “Snowmobile Knockout” event, in which participants are challenged to catch as much air as possible off a series of progressively bigger jumps. This event will take place in the snow-cross area of the venue (eastern part of Buttermilk) and therefore will need to be set up at the last minute. This is a testament to the hard work and organization of the 2,000+ people that have been working (some of them around the clock) to make this amazing spectacle possible. In addition to the sports action that will be taking place over X-games, there will be plenty of lyrical entertainment as hip-hop moguls Snoop Dog, 50-Cent, and Too $hort are all scheduled to perform throughout the weekend. 50-Cent is scheduled to put on a daytime concert at Buttermilk Mountain on Saturday, 1/30. Snoop Dog and Too $hort are scheduled to play at the Belly Up music venue on both Friday and Sunday nights respectively. In addition to the X-Games action and multiple concerts, Skico is offering a great deal for college students (valid college I.D. required). They are offering the “college x-pass” which will allow college students to purchase a two day lift ticket for $87 during the X-Games. In addition to this heavily discounted ticket price, those who purchase the x-pass will get 35% off of rentals at Four-Mountain Sports. And of course the best part of X-Games is that all the events are FREE for spectators! Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading!

Here is a link to the ESPN X-Games blog and website. A detailed schedule of events can also be found by visiting this site. Enjoy!

http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/2010/wx14/countdown/blog