Snowmass Beginner Skiing
Snowmass is the best ski resort for beginners out of the 4 resorts in the local Aspen/Snowmass area. Assay Hill and Fanny Hill and both wide, easy, green circle ski slopes that are located in the vicinity of Snowmass Village. Beginners can also travel higher up on the mountain via the Elk Camp Gondola and Village Express chairlift, where there are more easy ski trails that descend to the bottom.
Assay Hill
Assay Hill branches off from the Funnel Bypass trail as it traverses just below the Elk Camp Gondola. This area is flat, wide, and serviced by its own chairlift that runs above the hill. The Viceroy Hotel is the large ski hotel that is located alongside Assay Hill. This area should be less crowded than the Fanny Hill beginner learning area. Fanny Hill will often have lots of skier traffic that consists of people who are descending from higher parts of the mountain. Meanwhile, Assay Hill mostly only has skiers and riders that want to ride on this slope. You won’t see as many experts bombing through here just because they need to get to the other side
Fanny Hill
Fanny Hill is the main beginner ski slope at Snowmass, and it is centrally located in the Snowmass Village base area. The free Skycab gondola runs above this trail, along with the Village Express. Fanny Hill is wide, mild-sloped, and an easy place for first-time skiers to get on the snow. Expect this zone to be busier than the Assay Hill beginner learning zone.
Moving up the mountain via the Village Express...
Beginners can take the Village Express chairlift and get off at the mid-station in order to catch some green beginner ski trails back down. You’ll have the chance to scope out some of the intermediate terrain around the lift on your way up as well.
The two photos below look down from the Village Express lift, just above Lunchline. You can see a mild pitch below the lift, but the terrain is starting to get steeper. The terrain is also less likely to be groomed up here compared to Fanny Hill or Assay Hill.
Take a left off of the top of the Village Express chairlift and you’ll see the Max Park trail on the right as you start to head in that direction. This used to be a beginner ski trail and has now been changed to a blue intermediate trail. Max Park is still marked as a slow skiing zone.
The photo above was taken after getting off of the Coney Glade lift, and traversing a short distance toward this gully and junction. Max Park is the trail descending down the middle of this area, with the other trails descending into the gully from both sides. From this angle, you can see why it was once a green circle, and is now an intermediate trail. It’s just a little bit too steep in that upper part to be a true green circle by most standards.
Funnel Bypass and the Elk Camp Gondola Territory
Can beginners ride the Elk Camp Gondola? The answer is YES! Check out the beginner terrain in the photo below, taken from beneath the Elk Camp Gondola. Skiers will find a mix of beginner and light intermediate terrain here.The Meadows surface lift and beginner learning area is also located at the top of the gondola.
There are intermediate ski trails throughout the mountain that beginners can step up to once they are ready. The trails descending towards the Alpine Springs lift below are a perfect example of this. This area includes beginner and intermediate terrain.
