March is FACE TIME in Aspen.  If you want to see and be seen,  If you want maximum exposure to the sun and fun--show up in March.  We've got locals, tourists, celebs, athletes and CEOs.  Do you recognize anybody?

The Colorado Rockies surrounding Aspen are the BIG BOY mountains.  2nd homeowners and tourists tend to forget that our "hood" can be extreme and unforgiving.  Travel into and out of Aspen is never easy.  Snow, wind, lightning, a short runway, A-Town is not the most convenient resort in the Torah.  Even summer-time flights can be "kinda bumpy".

Late last night there was a rock-slide on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon closing the road between Aspen and Denver.  The humongous slide shut down a major U.S. travel artery... indefinitely.    This was no ordinary road delay.  One eyewitness described rocks "the size of a semi-trailer" smashing down on a beautiful and super-curvey slice of Interstate 70 outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Cabin Fever-- yeah its real.  Check these pix courtesy of CDOT.  We're stuck inside of Aspen... with the rock slide blues again.  I-70 is closed man.

The OSCARS according to AspenSpin.  

BEST PICTURE:  The Hurt Locker  

BEST ACTOR:     Jeff Bridges / Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS:  Gabourey Sidibe / Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Stanley Tucci /The Lovely Bones

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Vera Farmiga / Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR:  James Cameron / Avatar

BEST DOCMENTARY:  The Cove   

Front of the House. Pinons Owner Rob Mobilian and his staff are always friendly.Pinons Restaurant is renowned for serving the finest meals in Aspen, Colorado. Established in 1988, Pinons is historically one of the toughest reservations to score in Aspen ( A-Spin can get you in).  Pinons serves traditional American cuisine fused with local ingredients in a contemporary mountain setting. Pinions is upscale, elegant, casual  and BIG FUN all at the same time.

CLICK OR CALL  PINONS  970-920-2021.

Pinons has Where's the Beef? Pinons / Aspen, Coloradoearned AspenSpin's vote for BEST STEAK in Aspen.  Pinons owner Rob Mobilian and his crew are "all about the beef " --and we love them for it.  Pair that with the fantastic selection of fine wines and you'll never have to eat anywhere else in Aspen.

Pinons bar menu is AWESOME too. At the bar, they serve a 2-course option for $35 and a 3-course option for $40.  AspenSpin has reserved the end seat at the Pinions Bar  (near the TV) for March Madness.  The month of March in Aspen allows us to combine two of our favorite sports-- extreme people watching and NCAA Hoops.  At Pinions we get to enjoy both of our passions while devouring the best food in Colorado.

In addition to the numerous "foodie" awards that Pinions has won, their highest achievment is inclusion into the AspenSpin's WALL of FAME.  Take our personal recommendation-- try Pinions, we guarantee you'll love it.  Click the pix to enlarge.

Back of the House. Pinons -- Rated BEST STEAK in Aspen by AspenSpin.

 BEEF EATERS.The Boyz from Tulsa. No one goes hungry at Pinons Restaurant in Aspen.

Rippin' Skis 2011 Volkl Kendo from Gorsuch.The 3" rule was in effect in Aspen yesterday.  Everybody at AspenSpin got the day off to ski the 3 inches of POW  POW on Ajax.  Our friends at GORSUCH SKI SHOP made the day a little more special by busting out a brand new pair of 2011 VOLKL KENDO skis.   Gorsuch is always ahead of the curve when it comes to new equipment and they shared the wealth with AspenSpin by letting us rip the sick new 2011  Kendos.---an extension of the famous Volkl Mantra line.

Lifestyle Shot with the 2011 Volkl Kendo.Lets just say we're are stoked on Volkl.  Our quiver of skis is already pretty full, but we're gonna make room for the Kendos next year.  We rode the 177's, 88mm underfoot (127-88-109) with a slight kick tail---a slimmed down version of the Volkl Mantra.  These sticks are so responsive that they actually turned themselves----for real.  We took a few groomers to get the feel.  The Kendos are extremely stable (full vertical side-wall) and super quick turning.  They felt a little stiff at first, but once we got used to the ultra-engaging shape --these 2 planks rode like a finely tuned race car.  We eventually took them into more challenging terrain-- The Dumps, Super 8 Gully, Henry's, Corkscrew etc. We avoided all rocks, stumps and obtacles (as we promised Jared).  These bad boys gave us everything we needed. High performance does not even begin to describe a ski that converts flawed technique into downhill energy and confidence. If you're looking for an all mountain ski that's substantial, yet zippy and can take you anywhere on the mountain-- put the Volkl Kendo on your list for 2011. 

Kendo means "way of the sword" and according to Andy-Party, these boards "carve dat sh*t up".

Ed Cross, Canadian Racer, Travis Dawson and Johnny Aspen hanging with the Kendos.

2 Germans, One Swiss. Face time w/ the Volkl Kendos.