To really find the backcountry goods in a new zone, insider knowledge pays off; you need to immerse yourself in a group of skiers and riders who call a place home. And, Aspen, one town on my checklist of places to explore close to home, is a place where the locals prove a stereotype wrong. A visitor might assume the Aspen community to be reserved and cliquish, but in my experience exploring the town’s surrounding Elk Mountains, I’ve found that reputation to be perpetuated by outsiders.