Aspen or Copper Mountain?

Neither town has a beach, and swimming isn't a reason to choose either one. Both have only cold, snowmelt-fed water nearby. Aspen offers summer rafting on the Roaring Fork and a few alpine lakes to wade into. At Copper, the big reservoir is used for boating, so in practice your swim will be in a heated lodge pool or a hot tub.

Aspen eats far better. Its downtown grid has chef-led dining rooms, sushi and steak counters, serious wine lists, a June food and wine festival and a summer farmers' market. You could book somewhere different every night, though there is little at the cheap end.

Copper Mountain's food is resort food: burgers and chilli at the mid-mountain lodges, plus pizza, Mexican and pub plates in the village. Many guests cook in their condos. For a memorable dinner you have to drive to Frisco or Breckenridge.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but Aspen at least has a past you can see. Its red-brick Victorian downtown from the silver boom, the Wheeler Opera House, the painted cottages of the West End and Herbert Bayer's modernist Aspen Institute campus fill an easy afternoon, with the ghost town of Ashcroft just up the valley.

Copper Mountain is a purpose-built village of condos and lodges with no history of its own on show. For mining-era streets you have to drive to Breckenridge or Leadville.

Aspen has a real winter party scene. Après-ski moves from the slopeside decks into downtown lounges and hotel bars, and at Christmas, New Year and the X Games a few small clubs stay busy late with a well-dressed crowd.

Copper's evenings end early. The bars at the foot of the lifts fill with skiers still in their boots, then the village empties as people head back to their condos, and there are no clubs at all. Breckenridge, half an hour away, is where Copper guests go for a later night.

Both are excellent mountain bases, and the difference is in kind. Aspen gives you four separate ski mountains, from gentle Buttermilk to steep Highlands, and the Maroon Bells and Elk Mountains wilderness are a short bus ride from town. September brings the golden aspen groves.

Copper is one large, neatly divided ski area at the foot of the Tenmile Range, with high treeless bowls and Vail and other Summit County resorts within a short drive. In summer you can step onto the Colorado Trail from the resort, but the village sits about 550m higher than Aspen, so you will feel the altitude more.

Copper Mountain is the better base for exploring. Breckenridge's Victorian main street, silver-boom Leadville and Vail's Alpine-style village are all close, Georgetown has a historic narrow-gauge railway, and Denver's museums are within reach when I-70 is clear.

Aspen's valley offers smaller outings: railway-era Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and the quarry village of Marble. In winter, when Independence Pass closes, the road to Leadville is cut off and the list gets shorter still.

Both work for a ski vacation with children, but Copper Mountain is the more practical choice. Its car-free village core, its central ski school and its snow tubing, coaster and indoor trampoline centre keep children busy right next to the condo.

Aspen has good beginner terrain at Buttermilk and Snowmass, summer coasters and ropes courses, and fountains to play in downtown, but much of the town is aimed at well-off adults. Copper's altitude of nearly 3,000m is harder on very young children for the first couple of days.

Aspen is much easier without a car. The flat downtown grid is walkable from end to end, the gondola leaves from its edge, free buses run to all four mountains and down the valley, and the local airport is minutes away.

Copper works well inside the resort, with walkways, lifts and a free shuttle, and county buses run to Frisco. But Denver's airport is about two hours away by road, and reaching anything beyond Summit County usually means driving I-70, with snow on the passes and heavy weekend traffic.

Aspen is the only one of the two where shopping is part of the trip. Its few pedestrian blocks hold international designer boutiques, jewellers, Western leather and fur, and commercial art galleries, which makes for a good evening of window-shopping if luxury is your taste.

Copper's village sells rentals, outdoor gear and resort-branded clothing. For anything more, you drive to the Silverthorne outlets or Breckenridge's main street.

Both are expensive, and Aspen is one of the most expensive places anywhere. Its lodging, lift tickets, ski school and meals are priced for a very wealthy crowd, and even staying down in Glenwood Springs only softens the cost.

Copper Mountain is somewhat easier on the budget. Condo kitchens cut restaurant spending, Frisco and Silverthorne offer cheaper beds, and the food never reaches Aspen's prices. Both get noticeably cheaper outside the ski season.

Aspen is far ahead here, especially in summer. For about eight weeks the Aspen Music Festival fills the Benedict Music Tent with orchestral, chamber and opera performances, and you can listen free from the lawn outside. Jazz, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and talks at the Aspen Institute add to the summer, and the Wheeler Opera House runs concerts, comedy and film all year.

Copper offers plaza bands on summer weekends and acoustic sets at après-ski. For a real programme, people drive to Breckenridge.

Aspen is better for slowing down, at least outside peak ski weeks. It has resort spas with altitude-recovery treatments, yoga in the parks and riverside paths, and the big mineral pools and cave vapour baths of Glenwood Springs are an hour down the valley.

At Copper, relaxing mostly means an outdoor hot tub facing the slopes and the athletic club's pools and massages. The nearest hot springs are a long drive away, and the higher altitude makes the first nights' sleep harder.