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Nightlife

Few places so adroitly offer genuine wildlife and wild life experiences. Aspen/Snowmass offers something for everyone: billiards to jazz clubs, wine bars to throwback saloons. The après-ski scene is arguably second to none: a beer buys entrée to those habitats where the beautiful and wealthy hang out like exotic, endangered species. If you weren't invited to the latest celebrity parties, worry not. We've got the scoop on where there's always a chance one famous face will splash another with designer cocktails – and where Aspen just plain rocks. Remember, if you over-indulge, the free in-town bus runs until 2am and your bartender can arrange a free cab ride, courtesy of Aspen's enlightened Tipsy Taxi program.

Après-ski
The Greenhouse Bar at the Little Nell (675 E. Durant Ave.; 970/920-4600) remains Aspen's primo "see-and-be-scene.” The bar menu is bar none (fresh raw bar, sushi, fondue), while high-end bottles and high-society luminaries from film and Wall Street are sensuously backlit for maximum exposure. Next door, Ajax Tavern (685 E. Durant Ave.; 970/920-9333), operated by the team behind Napa's TraVigne is the place for awesome Cal-Ital lunch or après-snack accompanied by one of the many wines by the glass (or cool cocktails) as you survey the comings and goings at the Silver Queen gondola from the deck on a sunny day. We love the warm unpretentious waitstaff and ambience inside at dinner, too. The vibe at Sky Hotel's 39 Degrees (709 E. Durant Ave.; 970/925-6760) is more fun than fancy. Décor favors polka dot pillows and abstract animal print rugs, the music sounds like a soundtrack for a Quentin Tarantino movie, bottles are backlit in hallucinogenic colors, and friendly Euro-waitresses wear futuristic pink and black form-fitting jackets. Everything is an update of an old classic, including the surprisingly affordable drinks (“Get a fresh face for the night” with the hot-pink Botox Martini – Stoli Razberi, cranberry juice, Red Bull and a wrinkly reconstituted cherry). Not only does Mezzaluna (624 E. Cooper Ave.; 970/925-5882) have a great deck (and wood-burning brick oven) just a block from the gondola, you can score two beers and a gourmet pizza (try the primavera – julienne zucchini, peppers, carrots and basil pesto) at happy hour daily 3-5:30pm for $11 ($13 for imported brewskis). Your pigskin-covered barstool at J-Bar (Hotel Jerome, 330 E. Main St.; 970/920-1000) probably propped up 19th-century miners and 21st-century world-champion ski racers. Order an “Aspen Crud” and the terrific burger, then ask the bartender to display the drawers, signed by everyone who's manned the amazing hand-carved maple bar since the 1890s.

Nightlife
Eric's Bar (315 E. Hyman Ave.; 970/920-6707) is the spot for over 50 single malt Scotches and under-30 singles, as well as a microbrew/martini menu second to none. You can puff yourself up puffing stogies at its Cigar Bar or rack ‘em up in the Pool Room. Eric's mom, Mary Lynn Casper, runs the terrific Mexican joint upstairs, Su Casa. Jimmy's: An American Bar & Restaurant (205 S. Mill St., upstairs; 970/925-6020) welcomes a hard-drinking hard-partying core for “fierce American food” in a handsome clubby room. The great cheap bar menu (specials like a half pound of Alaskan king crab legs on Thursdays) keeps things hopping well past midnight, as so do the weekly free Latin Dance Party Saturdays – fueled by an amazing list of 76 tequilas and mezcals on tap (corner owner Jimmy Yeager and get him talking about the stuff for a true education).

If you can't get into the private Caribou Club (411 E. Hopkins Ave.; 970/925-2929) Aspenites would say you're not very imaginative. Granted, the table fee might run up to $1,000 (depending on your choice of cocktails or wines from the extensive list), but mingling with Billy Crystal or Diana Ross in the Great Room (a Western fantasia of antler-and-crystal chandeliers, billowing bronze swag, polished hardwood wainscoting, cowboy art in gold frames, Native American throws, bentwood bar stools), savoring equally haute food, and surveying the scene on the disco dance floor is . . . priceless. For those who want to boogie like it's 1999, Lava Lounge (426 E. Hyman St.; 970/925-5282) strobes the smooth faces of the barely legal and would-be-trophy wives on the prowl. Live music? Belly Up (450 S. Galena St.; 970/544-9800) the sister of the über-hip SoCal spot, features a wildly eclectic line-up (electronica Grammy nominees Crystal Method to Chris Isaak) as laser lights sweep the gorgeous crowd. And in Snowmass, the Blue Door (Silvertree Hotel, Fanny Hill; 970/923-8338) offers late night Cajun munchies and a reverse happy hour until 1:30am to accompany live bands, DJs, house music, dance floor, big-screen plasma TVs broadcasting sports, and fun special events.

See Aspen Travel Guide