Locals’ Guide to Hiking Highland Bowl

Slogging up the ridge at to the top of Highland Bowl with my teenager in tow made me realize, there’s got to be a better way. Three locals’ share their wisdom.

Hiking Highland Bowl is one for the bucket list. But next time, bring a ski carrying pack. Photo by Nathaniel Wilder, courtesy of Aspen Snowmass.

Hiking Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands is a rite of passage for any diehard skier. It’s a 782-foot bootpack ascent from the top of the Loge lift. Prayer flags ripple in the wind at the summit, the views of the Maroon Bells are spectacular. Below an amphitheater of 30-plus degree steeps fans out below your ski tips.

My 17-year-old son and I made the trek earlier in the season. The on-piste trails had been on the bony side on Saturday, but on Sunday, Aspen Highlands was reporting four inches of fresh snow, and it had continued to dump all morning. We joined the conga line of dozens of other skiers and riders inching up the ridge, rabid for fresh snow.

To skip ahead, I’ll tell you the descent was beyond fabulous. We found fresh powder in the trees in the G-Glades. We moved through a snow squalls where the snow was pounding down so hard and blowing up with such fury that we felt as if we’d been dropped into a milk bottle and shaken, not stirred.

We made it to the top of the bowl. A triumphant moment. Now, who brought the snacks?

Then the skies would clear and we’d thread the trees, spraying surf-style roostertails of powder behind us. For 2,500 vertical feet, we whooped. We grinned. It’s not often a mom can have such joyful moments with her sometimes salty, surely hormonal 17-year-old son.

Now to back up: the hike. I’ve hiked the Bowl several times (once when I was pregnant), so you’d think I’d have the hike up dialed. Not so.

After the first 15 minutes, I thought to myself, we should have started earlier to avoid the rush. The line that serpentined its way up the knife-edge ridge was like a Black Friday lineup for Apple Airpods and Hachimals.

I had my skis strapped to a ski-carrying backpack, but my son was shouldering his skis, which compromised his blood flow, leaving him with gloves full of cold little piggies. As I was huffing my way up, it occurred to me I should have taken a few puffs from my asthma inhaler. That would have been a good idea.

“Do you have any water?” my son said to me about halfway up.

“Um, doh.”

Over the course of the hour hike, I had many realizations about how we could have been smarter about our hike up.

Tapping into Aspen Highlands’ Cognoscenti

I decided to tap longtime Highlands locals to gather their tips, tricks and advice for a successful uphill hike of Highland Bowl. Read on for words of wisdom from Mac Smith, director of ski patrol at Aspen Highlands, Matt Ross, a two-time 24 Hours of Aspen racer, and Cindy Hirschfeld, a former ski instructor and the editor in chief of Aspen Sojourner.

Toting skis or snowboard on your back makes the hike much easier–and helps keep your hands warm. Photo by Jordan Curet.

Go Hands Free
Wear a ski- or snowboard-carrying pack or strap setup: Patrol HQ, located at the top of Loge Peak, sells “Bowl Straps” for carrying skis or snowboards for $10. “It’s a long piece of webbing and getting it on is a little like origami,” says Hirschfeld. But having your hands free makes it easier to hike and it helps keep your hands warm.

Click here for more ski and snowboard carrying packs and devices for hiking the Bowl.

Follow Trail Etiquette
There’s a definitive boot packed trail up the ridge, and different hikers are moving at different paces. That can cause traffic jams. “If you’re going to stop to take a rest, rearrange your gear, or you’re just moving slowly, step to the side and let others pass,” says Ross. Hirschfeld adds: “Some locals are on a mission to get in a certain number of laps. If there’s a big gap ahead of you, the etiquette is to let the faster hikers by.”

That said, Mac Smith, the longtime Highlands ski patroller who’s been in Aspen for 47 years, has another perspective: On a powder day, there’s a conga line going all the way to the summit. The pace is going to be the pace. As long as you’re moving, and you’re continuing your stride, the person behind you should be patient.” If you do pull off to the side, be smart about it and make sure you’ve picked a safe spot.

Cinch up the Neck Gaiter
If you want to avoid what patrol calls the “Highland Tattoo,” wear a neck gaiter. There’s a danger of getting frostbite specifically on the right cheek, as the winds tend to come from the southwest and the northwest. “Be cognizant of the interface between the gaiter and goggle,” advises Smith. “It’s an issue up there.”

A neck gaiter can prevent you from getting a “Highland Tattoo” from frostbite to the right cheek.

Know How to Self Arrest
Most runs in Highland Bowl are 35 degrees. That’s steep. You need to have the skills to tackle the descent and to know how to self arrest if you do take a spill. “Get on your belly, grab the poles at the basket, and slam them into the ground,” says Smith. Self arresting is a technique you should always have in your back pocket whenever you’re skiing steeps.

Hitch a Ride
Depending on conditions, the resort often runs a free snowcat that transports hikers from Loge Meadow to the edge of the bowl at Whip’s Veneration. There’s no shame in taking a ride on the snowcat, says Hirschfeld. “It cuts off the first part of hike, a good 15-20 minutes. Some locals are too proud to take a ride. I have no such delusions.” Smith wishes more people took the snowcat as it enables skiers and riders to get in two or three laps instead of just one. “People getting extra laps helps us compact the snow in the Bowl.”

HIghland Bowl is Aspen Highlands’ crowning glory. And a hike and ski that should be on every skier and rider’s bucket list. Photo by Matt Power.

Stay Hydrated
“You’re going up to 12,392 feet with a 782-foot ascent from the top of Loge Lift,” says Ross. “You need water to keep you going.  Be sure to drink plenty of it and then drink some more.” Drink a cup of water before you leave the lodge and carry water with you. Collapsible water bottles are a lightweight option. If it’s a cold day, a container of warm herbal tea might hit the spot. And toss a few energy bars in your pack, too. You’ll definitely burn some calories on the hike up.

Click here for more water-toting gear ideas hiking the Bowl.

Dress in layers
“It’s going to be a workout, especially if you are coming from sea level,” says Ross. “Make sure you take off some layers prior to starting to help regulate your body temperature and decrease the amount you perspire.” If you’ve got a jacket or pants with pit zips or thigh vents, open them up and get some air flowing. Hirschfeld recommends bringing along a lightweight beanie and attaching your helmet to your pack for the hike up.

Click here for apparel ideas for layering up.

Look closely. It’s Mac Smith, director of the ski patrol at Aspen Highlands. He’s wearing a helmet.

Wear a Helmet
This one seems like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t protect their grey matter on the slopes. “I’ve seen people doing a slide for life down Full Curl, and it is not pretty,” says Ross. Naturally, the ski patrol agrees: “Anytime you’re skiing in extreme areas, having a helmet is a good idea. There are moments where it can save your life,” says Smith.

Click here for helmet reviews. 

Don’t get Summit Fever (But it’s okay if you do)
Of course, everybody wants to get to the summit. “People get ‘Peakitis,’” says Smith. And it is cool at the top of Highland Bowl. There are prayer flags, an old chairlift seat, and the views are spectacular. (Bring your camera for a selfie with the Maroon Bells.) The Bowl’s highest point accesses the north-facing G-Zones, which tend to hold good wintery snow, says Smith. However, he suggests checking your surroundings as you hike. “In a good season, people are missing pristine skiing because they’re hiking right by it. Sometimes in the delta between Steep and Deep and Box Car, there are perfect lines in untracked snow,” he says. During a snow cycle in a good year, the Y Zones can be great, and you can access them without a hike (via the Hyde Park Traverse).

The view from the top alone is worth the hike up. Photo by Jeremy Swanson.

Enjoy the Journey
Smith has hiked the Bowl often enough that he’s grown philosophical about it. Sometimes people dread the uphill slog. “Slow down. Take a breath. Take in the vista—Pyramid Peak, The Maroon Bells, and fourteeners like Castle Peak and Conundrum,” says Smith. “Feel the Hemingway moments in your life.”