You may think you know Aspen from paparazzi snapshots of a fur-clad Ivana Trump on the slopes in People magazine or reading about Jack Nicholson holding court at the local outpost of the super-hot restaurant Matsuhisa.

If you think the famous skiing destination is all Hollywood glamour and Wall Street money, you aren't completely mistaken. The long line of lear jets parked at Aspen airport you see on the way into town is proof positive that you are entering Robin Leach country.

The old west style brick and weathered wood buildings which once supplied dry goods to miners now stock Gucci party dresses and Louis Vuitton bags. It looks like nothing so much as Rodeo Drive at the bottom of a ski mountain. This one time silver mining town is now more interested in the finished product at ultra high end jewellers such as Bulgari in the inadvertently, but aptly named, 'Brand building'.

The upscale grocery store parking lot is clogged with enormous luxury SUVs. Police in sporty new Saabs keep the streets, and jewels, safe. And with real estate in very short supply now running at roughly twice the price of Manhattan, Aspen's millionaires are being replaced by billionaires. If you like your skiing with a heavy dose of glitz, there is nothing quite like Aspen in North America.

But that is only part of the picture. In the Walter Paepcke park on Main street with my Weimaraner research assistant, I meet many locals who are eager to dispel the official, press generated view of Aspen. They are quick to point out that Aspen is still a small town of long time locals and ski bums first and foremost. The majority of streets are lined with modest 1950s and 60s bungalows, many of which are still occupied by original owners. They may be wealthy on paper due to the dizzying surge in real estate prices over the past twenty years, but they still live the kind of nature loving, Colorado Rocky mountain lifestyle that late Aspen resident John Denver sang about.

While Denver's songs such as 'Rocky Mountain High' represent the region to most outsiders, the park's namesake, visionary founder of modern Aspen, Walter Paepcke is the true local hero. A wealthy Chicago industrialist and art patron, Paepcke and his wife Elizabeth came to the ghost town which was Aspen in the late 1940s with a dream of creating an 'Athens in the mountains'. A place where 'body, mind and spirit' could be reinvigorated with not only sporting, but also cultural and intellectually stimulating activities. This utopian vision Paepcke labelled 'The Aspen Idea' is a popular and frequently mentioned ideal among locals even now.

Aspen housed 18,000 people in its silver mining heyday in the 1880s, but had dwindled to only 800 when the Paepckes arrived. In addition to developing the obvious attraction of skiing, the Paepckes invested heavily in the creation of cultural and educational endeavours such as the Aspen Institute - an internationally recognized think tank, the Aspen Music Festival and School, the International Design Conference and, in 1949, the Goethe Bicentennial celebration.

The Goethe Bicentennial was perhaps the most significant early event in Aspen's cultural flowering. At Paepcke's request and expense, two thousand intellectuals, writers and artists from around the world descended upon this heretofore unheard of town in Colorado to honor the work of the great German humanist, Goethe. Philosopher Albert Schweitzer opened the twenty day convocation of such luminaries as Ortega y Gasset, Arthur Rubinstein, Stephen Spender and Thornton Wilder exploring the life, work and inspiration of Goethe.

The Aspen Music Festival began in the following summer with a similar line-up of high profile classical musicians. Today its 200 concerts are spread over nine weeks and is the most popular reason to visit Aspen in the summer. With a mixture of pride and sadness in their voices I am frequently told of the local music director who is leaving this year to take the position of executive director of Carnegie Hall in New York.

The multi-faceted Paepcke was also a design and architecture enthusiast, partly responsible for attracting many of the former Bauhaus School founding members to Chicago as they fled Nazi Germany. Paepcke's company, the Container Corporation of America, a courier and trucking concern, employed high design in service of the bottom line, combining art and business in a fresh way in advertising and corporate identity. It is fitting then, that the first of his annual design conferences, which are now held on the Bauhaus architect Herbert Bayer designed Aspen Institute campus, was titled, 'Design as a function of Management'. This year's International Design Conference in Aspen (www.idca.org) attracted prominent architects, designers and media from around the world, all gathered to consider the theme 'The more things change, the more things stay the same'.

The Food & Wine magazine festival is another major summer time draw for tourists. Celebrity chefs like Charlie Trotter and Jacques Pepin, Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay give cooking demonstrations and mingle amongst the 300 plus booths featuring restaurants and vintners from all over the world.

After the hedonistic food & wine festival, visitors feel compelled to explore hiking, biking, white water rafting, golf, fly-fishing and ballooning opportunities. The summer activities have been so popular in recent years as to eclipse the number of winter visitors.

But it isn't all culture and class, healthy living and fresh mountain air. Reading of drunken escapades in one of the three local newspapers (two daily, one weekly and three glossy lifestyle magazines - as sure a sign as any of the considerable advertising revenue in this tiny burg) I start to understand what my informants mean by Aspen's "characters". There is a healthy, if that is the word, saloon culture co-existing only a lurch and a stumble away from the Frette fine Italian linens boutique. Off the record stories of some of Aspen's more colourful residents remind me of the town's wild west roots. The more things change....

And there are signs that the hi-gloss international fashion houses will not be allowed to completely over-shadow the rough edged mining town that Aspen once was. There is a considerable constituency resisting tourism, gentrification and growth in all forms. Gonzo journalist and Aspenite Hunter S. Thompson once campaigned for Sherriff, and nearly won, on a platform of zero growth and legalization of all drugs. A bumper sticker this paranoid travel writer saw more than once reads: "If its tourist season, why can't we shoot 'em?"

Hotels - high-end: Four five star 'ski-in' hotels - St. Regis, Aspen Park Lodge and Little Nell

St. Regis Aspen - 315 E. Dean St. Aspen, CO 81611 T. 888-454-9005 F. 970-925-8998 www.stregisaspen.com

Aspen Club Lodge - 709 E. Durant Avenue Aspen, Colorado 81611 Toll Free (800) 882-2582 Fax (970) 925-6778 www.aspenclublodge.com

The Little Nell - 675 East Durant Avenue Aspen, Colorado 81611 Phone 970-920-4600 Fax 970-920-4670 www.thelittlenell.com

The Sardy House and Hotel Jerome are both meticulously maintained heritage properties dating from the 1880s silver boom.

Sardy House - 128 East Main Street Aspen, CO 81611 T. (800) 321-3457 F. (303) 920-4478 www.sardyhouse.com

Hotel Jerome - 330 East Main Street Aspen, CO 81611 T. 800-331-7213 F. 970-920-1000 www.hoteljerome.com

Rustic, low to mid price private cabins with fireplaces and kitchenettes.

L'Auberge cabins - 435 W. Main Street Aspen, Colorado 81611 www.preferredlodging.com/lauberge.html

Location - Located in the Roaring Fork Valley in the White River National Forest, Aspen is three miles from the Aspen/Sardy Field airport, 220 miles southwest of Denver, and 130 miles northeast of Grand Junction.

Transportation - By Plane There is daily service into Sardy Field, Aspen, located 15 minutes from downtown. Aspen is a half-hour flight from Denver International Airport via United Express, which offers at least 12 daily flights. Northwest Airlines flies nonstop twice daily between Aspen and Minneapolis/St. Paul, and America West Express offers year-round nonstop service between Phoenix and Aspen. There also is service into Eagle County Regional Airport, located 70 miles from Aspen. American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United Airlines and United Express fly nonstop from 11 U.S. cities into Eagle. On-demand air charter service is provided by Aspen Base Operations, Inc. and Aspen Aviation. Call Aspen Central Reservations at 888-290-1324 for the latest information on air service into Aspen via Sardy Field and Eagle.

By Train - Amtrak 800-USA-RAIL, 970-872-7245, travels a spectacularly scenic route from Denver to Glenwood Springs. Taxi, limousine and bus service are available at the station.

By Car - From Denver, Aspen is 220 miles or four hours via I-70 west to Glenwood Springs, connecting to Highway 82 east direct to Aspen. Another scenic route from Denver takes approximately 3-1Ú2 hours via I-70 west to Highway 24 south, then west onto Highway 82 over Independence Pass (open only during the warm weather months, typically May 31-Oct. 31) into Aspen. From Grand Junction, Aspen is an easy 2-1Ú2 hour drive east on I-70 connecting to Highway 82 to Aspen.

By Ground - There is ground transportation service from DIA to Aspen. Car rentals also are available at DIA and Aspen/Sardy Field. Bus Service in Town Free bus service is available throughout Aspen from early morning until late evening. There is a nominal fee for service along the Roaring Fork Valley corridor. The Roaring Fork Transit Agency (RFTA) is the third largest transit system in Colorado, and has been honored with several prestigious state and national awards. RFTA provides transportation service on a year-round basis. For more information, call 970-925-8484.

Parking The City of Aspen has instituted a paid parking program in the downtown core. A parking garage is located at 425 Rio Grande Place with charges on an hourly and daily basis. Visitors with cars will need to familiarize themselves with Aspen's Pay & Display Parking system. For more information, call the City of Aspen Transportation & Parking Department at 970-920-5267.

AccomodationsAspen has accommodations for approximately 9,000 persons for any budget ranging from simple bed and breakfast lodges to luxury hotels and spacious condominiums.

Reservations - Aspen Central Reservations 800-262-7736 or 970-925-9000 Aspen Ski Tours 800-525-2052

Climate - Summer daytime temperatures range from 65 degrees to 85 degrees in town, with cooler temperatures at higher elevations. High altitude (7,908 ft.) means dry air and low humidity. Nighttime temperatures drop to 50 degrees and below. Most days are clear and sunny with occasional afternoon rain showers. For more information, contact the Aspen Chamber Resort Association at 970-925-1940 or 800- 262-7736, or visit the ACRA Web site at www.cfmenchamber.org. Aspen Design Conference - www.idca.org