High Points: A winter of wonderful options

How much wood would a woodchuck chop if a woodchuck could chop wood?

It’s a tongue twister for sure, and it reminds me of the massive pile of firewood we have outside our house all ready to burn in our fireplace — if it ever gets cold and snowy enough to need the warmth on any given evening.

As I sit here at my computer, it’s 43 degrees outside. My walk with my dog, Crouton, today was an obstacle course: part what little snow we have left melting quickly, part mud that squelched under my boots and covered Crouton’s paws, and part ice that’s slick and slippery as, well, ice.

Come on kids, it’s late January already. Where’s the snow? Nowhere in sight for quite a while, unfortunately. And those snow gods I mentioned in an earlier High Points post? Out to lunch somewhere nice and sunny, I suppose.

It used to be that come late October, we would be teased with a dusting of snow on the peaks, an early sign of a glorious winter ahead. Time to get out our gear: freshly tuned skis, boots and poles, toasty warm ski outfits, hats, and gloves. Time to count the days until the slopes open and anticipate some top-to-bottom turns in the sunshine.

Well, teased we were this year. Fortunately, there is much to do around Aspen and Snowmass in the winter that doesn’t have anything to do with snow. We can climb aboard a reformer at 02 Aspen, take a SoulFire Power Flow at Aspen Shakti, or a fast-paced Vinyasa Flow class at Arjuna Yoga.

In a shopping mode? Lululemon in Aspen is the spot in town for top-notch workout clothing and gear, such as “Funnel-Neck” fleeces, backpacks, and cross-body bags. Pitkin County Dry Goods will outfit women with clothing from designers including APiece Apart, Emporio Sirenuse, and Proenza Schouler, and men with favorites from Boglioli, Harris Wharf, and Massimo Alba. On the sportier side, Ute Mountaineer is a wonderful place to shop for hiking, skiing, climbing, backpacking, and lots of other seasonal sports, and it is smack in the middle of town in the historic ELKS Building.

Other high-end local designer shops include Gorsuch, which opened its first store in 1962, in Gunnison, Colorado, and was just named one of The New York Times’ Top 50 Best Clothing Stores in America. There you’ll be tempted by high-end fashion skiwear and home goods. Kemo Sabe Aspen, which also has shops in other places these days, got its start here in 1990 in Snowmass. Looking for iconic boots, calf leather tooled belts, felt hats, and other accouterments? This is your place.

On the other end of the shopping spectrum, popular consignment shops — including The Little Bird, Susie’s, and Uptown Exchange in Aspen, and Heirlooms down valley a bit in Basalt (well worth the short drive below the roundabout) — are some places to find carefully curated, affordably priced, contemporary clothing. And the Aspen Thrift Shop sells donated goods at affordable prices and then makes grants to other nonprofit organizations in the valley.

Should all this shopping wear you down, take a break, and make a beeline to one of several convivial cafés around town. At Sant Ambroeus, pair an espresso with hazelnut sponge cake Giandula. Swedish Hill, atop the Aspen Art Museum, where admission is free and the building alone is a piece of art, serves up pastries, sandwiches, soups, cocktails, beer, and wine depending on the time of day — all enjoyed with sweeping views over town and up to Aspen Mountain. Explore Booksellers on Main Street, an Aspen institution for 50 years, has recently opened a casual community café upstairs. Buy a book and settle in for an enjoyable read in a welcoming atmosphere.

We might not have the winter we want, but the winter we have is not so bad after all.