Aspen is small, the airport is short, and the weather can shut everything down in twenty minutes. The principals we move there from Christmas through mid-March have learned to plan for friction. Our operation maps every variable two weeks ahead.
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field, KASE) runway is 8,000 feet at 7,820 feet elevation. Bombardier Global 6500, Gulfstream G550, Falcon 7X land it routinely. G650ER and BBJ are runway-marginal in winter and weight-limited; we recommend Eagle County Regional (KEGE, 35 minutes by car) for the largest cabins. Weather can divert flights to Rifle or Grand Junction with two hours notice — we monitor the METAR every six hours during principal weeks and prepare alternate ground transfers.
Sardy Field — the short runway
Sardy Field FBO services (Atlantic Aviation, Aspen Base Operations) handle US Customs for international arrivals. Wheels-down to Hotel Jerome or the St. Regis Aspen: 8 minutes. Our chauffeur stages the Cadillac Escalade ESV or a winter-optimized G63 with the Pirelli Scorpion Winter setup in the FBO lounge, ready 30 minutes before scheduled wheels-down.
Time budget Christmas week (the most operationally intense period of the year): plan for 90 minutes of FBO ground time at arrival, not 20. Customs, baggage match, ski equipment offload — Aspen is the only US airport where international arrivals routinely have 6+ ski bags per passenger.
Hotel Jerome, St. Regis, Little Nell — the lodging map
The Little Nell — only ski-in/ski-out at the base of Aspen Mountain, the most operationally relevant for serious skiers. Hotel Jerome — historic, downtown, walkable to everything in Aspen Village. The St. Regis Aspen — most modern luxury, butler service, the easiest for first-time Aspen principals. Each has a ski concierge who delivers boots-warmed equipment to the slopes; our chauffeur coordinates the morning hand-off so the principal goes from breakfast to gondola in 8 minutes.
For Snowmass (the more family-friendly mountain), we recommend The Snowmass Club or Viceroy Snowmass. Transfer time Aspen-Snowmass is 22 minutes via Highway 82, or 12 minutes via the back road in winter conditions if your chauffeur knows it. We maintain a separate driver in Snowmass for the day so the principal does not wait at lunch.
The Inner Circle
The Quiet Letter
Once a month, a short letter from our concierge: new destinations, off-season opportunities, and itineraries we'd otherwise reserve for repeat clients. No marketing, no noise, ever.
The mountain logistics — and the security protocol
Ski concierge handles the resort-side logistics: pre-fitted boots, daily-tuned skis (Stockli, Volkl, Bogner — all available), heated locker assignment, lift-line bypass. Our chauffeur handles the road-side: morning gondola drop-off at 09:00, lunch at Element 47, Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro or Bonnie's mid-mountain (we book ahead), afternoon collection at the base or top depending on the snow.
For principals with security concerns — particularly during the December 23 to January 2 window when Aspen hosts visible UHNW arrivals, several heads of state, and corresponding press attention — we deploy a low-profile close protection officer riding in the vehicle (not on the slopes), coordinating with Pitkin County Sheriff's Office on credentials. Aspen is a low-threat environment but very high-visibility; the protection brief is paparazzi and incidental, not threat-based.