Buttermilk (ski area)

Buttermilk Mountain
Location	Pitkin County, Colorado, USA
Nearest city	Aspen, Colorado
Coordinates	39°12′18″N 106°51′38″W
Top elevation	9,900 feet (3,000 m)
Base elevation	7,870 feet (2,400 m)
Skiable area	435 acres (1.76 km2)
Runs	44 total 35% beginner 39% intermediate 26% advanced 0% expert
Longest run	3 miles (4.8 km)
Lift system	8 total (3 high-speed quad chairs, 1 double chairs, 4 surface/ski school)
Terrain parks	2, 1 superpipe
Snowfall	200 in/year (5.08 m/year)
Web site	http://www.aspensnowmass.com

Buttermilk Ski Area is frequently considered the easiest skiing mountain in Aspen, Colorado. Buttermilk has also been the host to the ESPN Winter X-games multiple times. It contains three ski areas: Tiehack (difficult),Main Buttermilk (regular), and West Buttermilk (easy). It was part of the original Aspen trio of 1960s: Aspen Mountain (ski area), Aspen Highlands, and Aspen Buttermilk.^{[citation needed]}

Buttermilk is the little known secret mountain in Aspen. It's view from the Cliff House is the most gorgeous view in the world of Pyramid Peak. The Mongolian Grill at the Cliff House is a delicious mixture of vegetables and a meat of your choosing. Vinny, the head chef, makes daily specials that are well work the usual $14.95- $19.95 that they cost. This year (2012-2013) the Cliff House's theme became Asian with the staff wearing Asian inspired jackets and lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

The Ski and Snowboard school is excellent. Instructors, called Ski Pros, come from around the world to teach. Lessons are given in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and probably a few more. You can quickly learn to ski in a few days. Snowboarding typically takes three days to learn. Give yourself the time to learn.

Buttermilk has three high-speed detachable quads. A detachable quad comes off at the top (Drive Station) and the bottom (Return Station) slowing from close to 1,000 feet per minute down to 150 feet per minute. It's quite slow at the top and bottom for people to get on and off the lift. The new Tiehack chair (code named Enterprise) was installed in the summer of 2011 and has shortened the time up the eastern part of the mountain from 18 to 6 minutes.

File:Sunrise

Sunrise at Buttermilk