Carlin Karr, wine director at Frasca Hospitality Group, doesn’t like to be limited when it comes to the opportunity to discover new wine. Her motto is, “Taste all the time, all wines, at all quality levels to keep myself as open minded as possible.”

After presenting on “Iconic Italian Whites” alongside Bobby Stuckey at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen on Saturday, Karr took some time to talk with Wine Ink columnist Kelly Hayes. Their discussion outside the Aspen Mountain gondola touched on topics such as what Karr feels is the most important part of her job as wine director and sommelier and what the last wine she uncorked at home for pleasure was.

What takes a wine from simply being good to iconic? Aspen alumn Bobby Stuckey, proprietor of Boulder’s Frasca Hospitality Group and a Food & Wine Classic favorite, dives into this question and more with Wine Ink columnist Kelly Hayes at the 2022 Food & Wine Classic.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to race down a ski hill and skim over a pond to the snow on the other side? According to Urban Dictionary, pond skimming is “a time honored tradition at every ski mountain.” On this episode of The Drop-In, Kaya Williams is taking us along for a trip over the pond as she participates in her first-ever pond skim as part of the closing weekend festivities at Snowmass Ski Area.

Snowmass closed for the winter 21/22 season on April 17. Aspen Mountain is the only Aspen Skiing Co. mountain that remains open for lift-served skiing. Aspen’s closing day is set for April 24, 2022.

We’re doing a little experiment on today’s episode of The Drop-In to answer the question: “How long does it take to ski a top-to-bottom lap on Aspen Mountain?” We started the clock when we walked on to the Silver Queen Gondola and stopped it once we unclipped from our skis at the base of the mountain. How long do you think it took?

As a reminder, currently only two mountains remain open for the season in Aspen-Snowmass. Snowmass Ski Area closes on April 17 and Aspen Mountain closes on April 24.

“Skiing is all of our love language, so I’m glad to share that with you guys,“ said adaptive athlete and Aspen-Snowamss resident Tony Drees to his friends and family as he set off for his first-ever Highland Bowl hike.

This episode of The Drop-In is something special. Join us as we make the hike up Highland Bowl with Tony Drees, who in his own words is “a one-legged guy out here celebrating my 101st day skiing.” This is Drees first ski season living in Aspen-Snowmass and he was determined to not only collect a 100-day pin in his inaugural season but also to hike the Bowl for the first time. It was a day of community, celebration and honoring why we all choose to be in the mountains.

Thanks to Tony, his wife Maria, Aspen Skiing Co., Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol, Challenge Aspen, his friends and everyone who came together and provided support to make this hike possible. It was definitely one of our favorite Bowl hikes to date!

Take a break from your Monday doldrums to join Kelsey on Ajax for some Pad Thai at the Sundeck and spring laps in the sunshine. Also, tune in for all the happenings in town this week!

What’s it like to get first chair at one of the Aspen Skiing Co. resorts? On this episode of The Drop-In, Kelsey and Rose arrive to Tiehack at Buttermilk just before 9 a.m. and get to experience first chair and first tracks down on the spring corduroy. Buttermilk closes for the season on April 3, 2022, so make sure you get out and say goodbye to the ‘Milk before the lifts stop spinning this season!