Use these tips to keep prices down and the smile factor up.

Choose your moment

· Consider going for the last week of the season (around 7-14 April). Two of the mountains, Highlands and Buttermilk, are closed, but there are no queues, passes are half-price and many of the restaurants sell off stock cheaply. The snow is usually still pretty good, despite temperatures in the 70s.

Bed and board

· Check out the Virtual Hostel for last-minute deals. Prices can be as low as $39 per person a night, based on two sharing. Normally you would expect to pay about $100.

· Call Aspen Central Reservations on 00 1 800 262 7736 (international rates charged outside the US). If you're prepared to holiday in nearby towns such as Basalt or Glenwood Springs, rates per night are as low as $29 per person. There are also well-priced deals for those who book months in advance.

· Consider staying in Snowmass rather than Aspen. It's cheaper.

On the slopes

· If you're unsure where to eat or ski, ask an ambassador, or adviser. You'll find them at the foot of the slopes. They are happy to chat free of charge and they offer free tours.

· Go on a free daily Snowcat ride up Snowmass Mountain at 4:30pm. Book far in advance on 00 1 970 925 1220.

· Pay $15 for unlimited tubing at Tube Town in Snowmass. A dream of a cheap afternoon.

· Try free downhill nature tours and see tracts of land owned by Michael Douglas. Meet at the Wapiti Wildlife Centre at the top of Elk Camp on Snowmass for a guided tour. They leave at 11am and 1pm on weekdays.

· Consider booking a small group lesson for you and your friends. The cost - for a full day's outing - is $99 each, but the average size of the group is four, so you learn a lot.

· Drink free coffee handed out at the bottom of Aspen Mountain.

· The on-mountain guest service centres lend goggles and other items if you've lost them.

Food and drink

· Ask to eat at the bar. Many Aspen restaurants offer vastly reduced prices if you sit on stools such as those in Cheers.

· Check out the Commonwealth Pub at the base of Aspen Highlands. There are cheap drink-and-eat specials ($7 for a beer and food) plus free live music most afternoons. It is one of Aspen's great suntraps, so get there early.

· Eat at the Red Onion at 420 East Cooper Avenue, the Cooper Street Bar and Restaurant, and Little Annie's Eating House at 517 East Hyman Avenue. These Aspen institutions serve huge, incredibly cheap portions. Look out for the lunch specials: a meal and a beer for around $6. The Red Onion and Cooper Street have live music most nights and entry is free. Also check out Mezzaluna at 624 East Cooper Avenue. A pizza is $5, with beer at just $2. Very chilled.

· Try the all-you-can-eat salad bar ($8) at the Steak Pit on East Hopkins. It's a threat as much as a challenge.

· Check out Café Cirque at Snowmass. Live music daily and cheap beer. Marvellous.

· Try the margaritas at La Cocina on East Hopkins - you get two for the price of one during happy hour. Or try the Cantina on the corner of Mill St and Main St, where happy hour lasts from 4pm to 6.30pm and the margaritas cost just $2.50.

· For a cheap night in, ring for a pizza. Domino's offers free delivery.

· Paradise Bakery at the corner of Galena and Cooper Street sells cheap one-day-old bread and pastries, which taste just as good as those baked on the same day.

· If you're eating in, shop for groceries at City Market at 711 East Cooper Avenue, which has a good range of fresh meat and chilled beer plus a large help-yourself salad bar.

Getting around

· Use the free shuttle-bus services between the four mountains.

· Hire a bike from Aspen Sports on 408 East Cooper Avenue.

Children

· If the kids are bored, hit the Silver Circle Ice Rink, at the base of Ajax, where 90-minute sessions cost $6.50 for adults and only $4.50 for the kids.

· Take them to free storytelling by the campfire, every Monday and Wednesday evening at the Pokolodi Lodge in Snowmass. There are free marshmallows to boot.

Culture

· Try one of the free tours of the Aspen art museum on Thursdays; admission, too, is free on Saturdays.

· Sample the live jazz at Syzygy on East Hyman Avenue. It's good and, even better, it's free.

Shopping around

· Read the local daily free newspapers. They will tell you where the day's best deals are and what après-ski entertainment is scheduled for the evening. We recommend the Aspen Daily Times, if only because its slogan - 'If you don't want it printed, don't let it happen' - is a work of genius. Tune in to Aspen's own cable TV station, Channel 16, which broadcasts live from 7am to 10am each day.

· Get your free postcards at all Aspen Skiing Company outlets.

· A word of warning: don't get drunk and then shop with your plastic at any of the following shops: Alper Furs and Leathers, Christian Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Prada. The resulting bills will be eyewatering.