Aspen CO trip! Tips?

[USNA12]

Hey all, looking to knock a bucket list item off and fly myself into Aspen this Tuesday morning to board and then leave that late afternoon to San Diego. 

I am parking tomorrow night at KFLY hopefully, then leaving early when winds are hopefully low to go to KASE. I do not have O2 yet so trying to figure that out. Maybe those green throw away bottles for a few hits while above 12,500?

Would love any routes/tips on what to do and watch out for. I have flown around mountains before in military aircraft, and have 150 hours in my Mooney in the last 9 weeks so very current. This area is just unfamiliar, so looking for tips on the most beautiful and fun routes.

 

I just watched this video and his (dont) crash course.

 

 

[Fly Boomer]

3 hours ago, USNA12 said:

I have flown around mountains before in military aircraft, and have 150 hours in my Mooney in the last 9 weeks so very current.

I'd say that goes beyond "very current"!  More like "been living in the airplane".  

[Fly Boomer]

4 hours ago, USNA12 said:

I just watched this video and his (dont) crash course.

Here is another video that will get your attention:

https://youtu.be/aoiGkRUNFow

[PT20J]

I haven't been to Aspen, but I've flow around those (and other) mountains quite a bit and I got my T-shirt at Leadville in my M20J. There are a few general mountain flying rules:

It's generally safest to follow the highways since they usually follow the lowest route. Just watch out for tunnels. 

Fly on the upwind side of a canyon, not in the middle. The upwind side will be smoother and have an updraft whereas he downwind side will be rougher air with downdrafts. If one side doesn't have smooth air, try the other side. In addition to smoother air, flying to one side rather than the middle gives you more room to turn around if necessary.

If you need to cross a ridge, plan to cross it at a 45 degree angle. Then, if it gets too turbulent (wind speed often increases dramatically at ridges due to venturi effect) you only have to make a 90 degree turn to turn away. When approaching a ridge, look at the ground on the other side of it. If you can see more and more ground detail as you approach you will clear the ridge whereas you are too low if objects begin to disappear from view.

The horizon is at the base of the mountains. The AI is your friend.

Unless you are very familiar with the terrain, insist on good VFR weather. It is amazing how a ceiling will drive you lower and make even familiar terrain look different. What you want to avoid at all costs is making a wrong turn (another good reason to follow roads) and flying up a blind canyon without enough room to turn around. That's what kills most pilots in the mountains. The other mistake when flying under an overcast is to fly too high which actually tends to cut down visibility. A good rule is to mentally divide the airspace below an overcast into thirds and fly in the lower two thirds.

When flying anywhere near the service ceiling, I generally just use a speed halfway between Vx and Vy.

Remember when landing that your groundspeed will be a lot higher for normal approach IAS and so you will need a higher descent rate and it will seem like you are going too fast. You'll also use a lot of runway for takeoff.

I tried the oxygen blast things and I didn't notice a difference and it only raised the O2 level on my pulse oximeter for about a minute. I think you'd need a lot of them to do much good.

Have a good trip,

Skip

[N201MKTurbo]

You want to approach Aspen from the west. Although Meadow Lake is close to Aspen as the crow flies, it probably isn’t the best choice for getting there. However you get across the rocks, you want to descend towards Carbondale, then reverse course and fly down the river at pattern altitude. You will not see the airport until you are on a short right base to the airport, so be set up for it. It really isn’t that hard. Independence pass can be wicked in the winter, and the summer, and the spring and fall for that matter.

I used to go there from Denver on a regular basis for work. I serviced the computers at the ticket counter. I would cross at Loveland pass, fly to Glenwood, Carbondale and then to Aspen.

[N201MKTurbo]

When leaving Aspen, you can climb in circles over the city, but it is a lot easier to climb up the river till you are high enough and then go that way.

One thing I discovered about Independence pass is if there is high pressure (the H on the weather map) right over Aspen. On an otherwise beautiful calm day, the high pressure area will pressurize the Aspen valley and the air will spill out through Independence pass creating really scary turbulence on a day you wouldn’t expect it. 

[cliffy]

Bring $$$$$$$  :-)

[N201MKTurbo]

Aspen mountain is kind of fun. I like all the chutes through the trees. Most of them aren't as scary as they look when you first look at them. A little mogely in the turns.

[rickseeman]

2 hours ago, cliffy said:

Bring $$$$$$$  :-)

I've heard those horror stories, but when I landed there one summer they treated me like a King. Put my airplane under covered parking and didn't charge me anything. I guess I just got lucky.

[N201MKTurbo]

4 minutes ago, rickseeman said:

I've heard those horror stories, but when I landed there one summer they treated me like a King. Put my airplane under covered parking and didn't charge me anything. I guess I just got lucky.

When I used to go there on a regular basis the FBO was Aspen Base Operations. I went enough that they knew me. After a while they would park the Mooney in the premier parking spot and put the GVs in the south 40...

I worked at a couple of travel agencies along with the ticket counter and a bank. I got to know quite a few of the well known locals and got to go to a few parties. Aspen is a very tight community. If they know you and accept you things are cheap and easy. If you are just some random tourist, well it is the job of the whole town to take you for all you are worth... Everybody in Aspen knows everybody else, dropping the right names will make things happen. Unfortunately, that was almost 40 years ago, so I have nothing to help you with at this time.

[KSMooniac]

I flew there many years ago in my J for a spring skiing trip with my brother, who lives nearby.  Usually I go to Rifle as it is far easier, safer, and cheaper but Aspen was a bucket list landing.  I was coming from the east at 16,500 initially (it took a loooong time to get up there) instead of flying the valleys.  That might have worked against me as I got cleared to land and cancelled several times before actually being able to get in due to departing traffic going down the valley.  They sent me back to the east and south, and made me come in to land on 33 instead of 15...that involved crossing a ridge at ~14k IIRC, then a circling dive bomber approach to land downhill and downwind.  It worked out just fine, but I was not mentally prepared for that possibility and it was a bit stressful.  I wonder if I had been meandering along in the valley at 11 or 12k, if they would have held departing traffic until I landed?

Parking for 5 days cost as much as 20? gallons of fuel too, and neither were a bargain.  I'm still glad I did it once.

[N201MKTurbo]

I just looked it up. Aspen Base Operations was sold to Trajen in 2006 and later that year Atlantic bought all the Trajen FBOs, so Aspen Base Operations is now Atlantic.

I checked their price for 100LL and it is surprisingly cheap!

[N201MKTurbo]

I had just landed at Aspen once and was standing on the ramp and watched a Falcon 50 land and park. A single teenage girl got off with a pair of skis!

I can picture this in my head…

”Daddy, can I use the jet to go skiing today? Please, pretty please?”

I shouldn’t be so sexist, she could have been asking her mommy….

BTW, the two pilots and the flight attendant got off after her.

[Jeff Uphoff]

21 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

I'd say that goes beyond "very current"!  More like "been living in the airplane".  

No kidding. Spend any more time in there and you should consider installing a kitchen and a shower!

[N201MKTurbo]

I noticed in the video that he said he was down and clear of the runway before he crossed the hold short line and then stopped before he crossed the line. I got chewed out about that once. He is technically still on the runway.

[cliffy]

Went in there once in a DC-9 years ago. We were the big iron that day :-)

Gas is cheap because no one wants to carry the weight out of there.

Just like KMDW for the airlines

Edited March 7, 2023 by cliffy

[dzeleski]

On 3/6/2023 at 8:21 AM, cliffy said:

Bring $$$$$$$  :-)

I go to Aspen/Snowmass a few times a year, in fact I just got back yesterday. I have not flown my J there... yet so I cant comment on the landing/parking costs. Lodging is expensive but everything else is fairly reasonable for being so far into the mountains. Lift tickets are a little more then other areas but for the quality of the mountain, services, shuttles, and some trails that are an hour long between lifts its worth the cost in IMO. Food costs are similar to LI/NYC.

When I do eventually get the courage to fly my J there ill be finding a flight school to give me a few hours of local training and mountain training. I've flown in the NE "mountains" but 3-7k mountains are a different game then the Rockies.

[PilotX]

I have only flown in (twice) in an R182, non-turbocharged. It just isn't a big deal. Read the chart, know that you aren't their priority and be prepared for a beautiful approach and at least $80 landing fee.