1. READ: The definitive book on Aspen’s allure 
Chances are, you love Aspen. But do you know Aspen, and how it became a cultural magnet known around the world? Time-traveling Colorado author Susan Dalton pulls readers close to the campfire to share Ute City’s origin story in her latest book, Aspen Journey: Past to Present (Red Tambourine Publishing, 2023). Written with guidance from Aspen-native editor Judy Haas, the richly illustrated coffee-table tome peels apart Aspen’s historical layers—the mining boom and bust; ski industry growth following 10th Mountain Division occupation; birth of the Aspen Idea; freak power into modern prosperity—to help answer the burning question: What is it about this magical place? Enjoy the voyage and share your discoveries using 16 historical postcards enclosed within. $85, at Explore Booksellers, Carl’s Pharmacy, and Aspen Historical Society. 

2. USE:  A cool tool to last a lifetime 
Surely the only shop in Aspen where customers can don a bison-hide coat, throw a tomahawk axe behind a metal-mesh curtain, and chop charcuterie with an American-made blade, New West KnifeWorks on the Hyman Avenue mall takes “experiential shopping” to edgy new heights. Pro pick: the limited-edition Maroon Bells Santoku, launching in December. Etched with North America’s most-photographed mountainscape, the hand-honed and -finished, seven-inch blade is set into a sleek handle of curly maple and durable yellow resin evocative of fall aspen foliage. Serialized in 100 editions and produced by a single maker from start to finish in the shadow of the Teton Range in Victor, Idaho, each knife showcases New West’s high-tech precision manufacturing as it fits in the human hand. Stop by to try it and enjoy free sharpening for life on any knife purchased.
$575-600, 413 E Hyman Ave

3. GO: Shop local 
With all due respect to Gucci, Prada, Dior, and Moncler: local shops are an endangered species in Aspen. Which is why Here House social club founders Michaela Carpenter and Candice Olson publish the Radically Local Map, featuring 120 independent businesses (food, retail, art, fitness, entertainment, public services) in the downtown core. The duo defines “local” simply: Does the owner have a valley address? Or is the business subsidized by locations elsewhere?

“We’re a little fed up with this culture of complaining,” Carpenter says, of residents griping about the town losing its character. “Aspen is such a pay-to-play community now, we literally wanted to exclude that culture. No one pays to be on the map.”

The nonprofit recently released a second printing, available at Here House. Reminds Carpenter, “Your spending power is your superpower.”