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Fearing an onslaught of diamond-encrusted ski boots, chinchilla salopettes and prices scarier than a cliff drop in a whiteout, I gave Aspen a wide berth for years, stoking my love for Colorado's magnificent "champagne powder" in less rarefied Rocky Mountain resorts like Vail and Copper Mountain.
When I got over myself and rocked up in the American glitterati's ski town of choice, you could have knocked me down with a mink eyelash.
This manicured former silver mining town in the White River national forest might be so drop-dead glamorous its ski school uniform was designed by Ralph Lauren, but instead of the snooty, monied atmosphere I'd expected, I found Aspen much more defined by the liberal, artsy credentials which forged its modern identity in the 1950s and 60s, when intellectuals, artists and philosophers began to flock here for various high-minded symposia, a tradition which thrives still.
Relaxed, friendly and proudly cultural, this town offers a fur- lined welcome to pretty much anyone.
The J-Bar was where I felt it first. With its pressed-tin ceiling, 120-year-old, hand-carved maple bar and antique till, this saloon has the pedigree of a museum piece and, as part of the elegant Victorian Hotel Jerome (+19709201000, hoteljerome.rockresorts.com), one of the smartest addresses in town. But like the rest of Aspen's many attractions, it's there to be enjoyed, not revered, and punk rock kids gearing up for the global snowsports jam the Winter X Games (expn.go.com, January 21-27) rubbed ski jackets with well-heeled hotel guests and locals on their way home from the (real estate, almost invariably) office, while the jukebox belched out rowdy party classics from the Doors to the Kinks to the Vapors' Turning Japanese.
The next surprise was the great deals on offer. Good-quality accommodation is across the board - the best deal in town is the St Moritz Lodge (+18008172069, stmoritzlodge.com, and the Mountain House Lodge (+18669202550, mountainhouselodge.com) isn't far behind with large family/four-person rooms including a cowboy-killing breakfast buffet and hot tub.
Up on the hill, a day for a lift pass isn't cheap by anyone's standards, but nor is it disproportionate among North American resorts, none of which draw the traffic of Europe's big crowd-pullers.
Besides, tour operators package passes much more cheaply, and online advance deals at aspensnowmass.com (at least seven days ahead) can cut your day rate. And the bangs-to-buck ratio is excellent - Aspen's beautifully maintained ski area is made up of four huge mountains, each with its own distinctive terrain, and adds up to a colossal 5,200 skiable acres linked by free shuttle buses.
Factor in, as this chairlift geek did, the 60-90 minutes of lift- queuing time you save daily, the sheer luxury of uncrowded slopes, the free coffee at the base (free daily mountain tours too, if you fancy - see the same website) and free next-day snowboard transfer which came with my rentals to the mountain of my choosing, and you're in credit.
From Snowmass's endless gladed runs to Buttermilk's "world's longest terrain park" to Aspen Mountain's (call it "Ajax" to sound like a local) thrilling steeps and bumps to Aspen Highland's legendary hike up to the 12,500ft summit over powder-magnet Highland Bowl (25 minutes, they told me; this sea-level dwelling smoker nailed it, sweating like an elk in a sauna, in 55), I had the ride of my life. Every day, for a week.
For the best deals on food and drink, the smart money follows the small army of young folk from all over the world who help staff the resort. No-frills grills, Mexican cantinas and bakery cafes offer UK high street-beating prices, and even at the chic, buzzy Italian Mezzaluna (624 East Cooper Avenue, +9709255882, mezzalunaaspen.com), lipsmacking mains still don't come close to a tenner.
For cut-price gourmet adventures, the "bar menu" is a boon in top- end joints like Cache Cache (205 South Mill Street, +19709253835, cachecache.com), Elevation (304 East Hopkins Avenue, +19705445166, elevationaspen.com) and Olives Aspen (15 East Dean Street, St Regis Resort +19709203300, stregisaspen.com), offering slightly scaled down picks (still, being American, substantial) from the dining room menus at slashed prices, if you can do without a tablecloth.
Elevation's owners have just opened Social next door (+19709259700, social-aspen.com), adding upscale tapas to Aspen's hip mid- range menu. For my money, the best value and most seductive dinner option in town is at Explore (221 East Main Street, +19709255338), a tiny vegetarian bistro in a bookshop whose imaginative, satisfying cooking even earned the grudging respect of the two sworn salad swervers who ate with me.
Bar-wise, sure it's worth visiting The Greenhouse in the "five-star/five-diamond" Little Nell's hotel (675 East Durant Avenue, +9709204600, thelittlenell.com) on a Friday afternoon to ogle the most chi-chi apres in town, but unpretentious places like Zane's Tavern (10 Village Square, Snowmass Village, +19709233515, zanestavern.com) - check noticeboards for free comedy nights - and Cooper Street Pier (508 East Cooper Avenue, +19709257758) are more exotic as you'll meet local people - and pay local prices.
Aspen's year-round population might be just 6,000, but this community has a city-high entertainment threshold and America's best apres. Jazz clubs, cinema, theatre, billiard rooms and clubs, they're all here, without special seasonal mark-up.
It's not just that you don't have to be A-list to fit right in in Aspen, that's not even how to get the best out of this warm, eccentric and layered town. If you're not a supermodel, captain of industry, ex- president or Catherine Zeta-Jones, just follow two simple rules. Stay away between December 21 and January 4, when small phalanxes of Mexicans shaking dustsheets herald the decanting of Beverly Hills into multi-million dollar holiday homes for a fortnight of paparazzi kiss chase, and prices for everything rocket.
