Who doesn’t love a festival? A time to people to come together, connected in unison, based on a shared passion. Art festivals like Art Basel, music festivals like Coachella, or even Oktoberfest as a celebration of the love of beer are a few that instantly come to mind. Well, about seven years ago an enterprising chap decided that he loved to ski and wanted to create festivals to bring his closest 1000 friends along with him. Those festivals are today filled with unbridled skiing fun, amazing events, and endless parties at Ski Weeks around the world, just as you will find in the Ski Week Aspen each year.

Ski travelers from around the world descend in Colorado during the springtime skiing season for the Ski Week in Aspen. The week is a wonderful combination of posh ski events, exciting times to be had in classy apres-ski bars but also some uniquely memorable events like the Torchlight Descent, Pond Skim, and the Parade of the Nations which make the Ski Week even more exciting than a normal week of great skiing.  All of this along with the camaraderie with new friends and fellow ski enthusiasts make Ski Week a memorable event to cherish.

The Ski Week began in 2014 in Obertauern, Austria, and then, due to the popularity of the event, spread to Hakuba in Japan, Chamonix in France, and Aspen in Colorado in 2016. This event brings together around 400 skiers and snowboarders from 37 different nationalities around the globe.

Ski Week guests are taken care of from arrival to departure all the way through. From 5-star accommodation, great skiing, après ski, and nighttime fetes, there is also a bevy of over the top entertaining events taking place as well. They’ve thought of it all even yoga each day brought to you by Lulu Lemon, to stretch out those sore muscles and to get you ready for the day ahead.

While you may stay with other guests on the Ski Week in Timberline Condominiums, a luxurious 5-star alternative would be the St. Regis Resort. The Little Nell is another luxury option, with 92 rooms for you to choose from with 8 Champalimaud design suites that will make your stay as relaxing as possible, with modern and cosy fireplaces.

The skiing in Aspen makes the Ski Week even more enjoyable for guests. The 131 different runs provide some of the best powder snow skiing, with 48% of beginner to intermediate slopes and 52% of advanced to expert slopes. For those who are less confident skiers, Buttermilk mountain is the perfect place to practice, and if you head over to the Tiehack section in the East, the views of Maroon Creek Valley are truly stunning.

The Aspen mountain is full of thrill with moguls for confident skiers to jump over, Bell Mountain being a favourite for this type of skiing, but also long relaxing slopes like Ruthie’s Run and Buckhorn which are ideal for intermediate skiers. However, it can be tricky for beginners here as the runs are predominantly more advanced runs, and trails that funnel into the Spar Gulch can be busy and intimidating at certain times of the day.

Skiing on the Aspen highlands is also an exciting experience, like the descents at Steeplechase, Olympic Bowl, and Highland Bowl which are great fun on powder snow days, and have some of the most dramatic views in all of the country as you can see the Maroon Bells, stunning mountains mirrored in an untouched lake, and the Pyramid Peak, a breath-taking, tall, snowy mountain. Enjoying all of this brilliant skiing with the 400 other skiers is an unforgettable experience, and the ambiance provided by the beauty of Aspen makes the Ski Week perfectly complete.

Ski Week guests come together after their morning ski runs for some pretty amazing events put on by the organizers. The Parade of Nations takes place is a chance for the international guests to fly their country’s colours in a festive procession to music alongside 40 other nationalities of skiers and snowboarders for a soul-nurturing event that’ll leave you with goosebumps.

A visually moving sight to see is the Torchlight Descent– an after-sunset spectacle, where guests will take a flaming torchlight and ski down the mountain, creating a spectacular fire-light procession down the mountain, giving skiers a mesmerising once in a lifetime experience.

Ski Week’s most memorable and entertaining event is the Guest Slalom race and Pond Skim competition. This finale and marquise event will take guests slalom racing to get their knees and thighs burning before this challenge gets competitive and turns into the famous Pond Skim. This ultimate challenge gets skiers to try and skim over a freezing  15m long pond, with judges give points for style, technique, and performance, no matter whether you manage to ace it all the way across or gracefully face plant your crash.

Ski Week would be incomplete without a chance to indulge in the legendary Aspen  Apres Ski and nightlife. Ski Week arranges special gatherings for their guest to bend the elbow after a long day on the slopes. The New Belgium Ranger Station is a popular choice with 12 different beers on tap, and hand-crafted prosecco-infused cocktails as well as light meals. Another Ski Week favourite is Venga Venga, a Mexican themed bar on the edge of the slopes, with warming flame pits and aesthetic hanging lights. The relaxing sun terrace and tequila bar overlooks the slopes so patrons can drink in style, as you watch others in chairlifts overhead, and admire the picturesque scenery of Aspen.

Throughout the week there is a vast array of entertainment from chilled out get togethers to full throttle parties. The finale of which is at the Belly Up bar: the hotspot for concerts and club music, with a high energy dance floor. For a slightly more low-key vibe, there’s the smaller room with a stage for local bands, making it an unbeatable evening experience whether you fancy dancing your feet off, or enjoying some high-quality local music.

By the end of this amazing week in Aspen, guests are assured a ski adventure they will never forget and especially the Torchlight Descent, Pond Skim, and Parade of the Nations. The entire holiday brings together so many skiers that by the end of the week, guests will have made friends from all across the globe, and before they even get back home, they will be itching to book their tickets again for the following year.