When I first opened the Zai web site I was greeted by a poem written by Leo Tour "In the beginning was the mountain". I was sure that I was going to learn about a new bottled water from the purist of mountain springs or possibly even a zen retreat. I was in fact entering a kind of temple, a secular one, where the worshipers follow not a god, but snow and a the sport of skiing.

The word Zai means "tough" in the little know dialect of Sursilvan which is spoken in the mountains of Switzerland and specifically in the town of Disentis where the Zai skis are crafted. As seems fitting, the town lies below an ancient Benedictine monastery. The personal dream of Simon Jacomet, who insists that his skis be made by people who have skiing and the mountains in their heart and soul, the company produces some of the finest and most technologically innovative ski equipment on the slopes. The skis are produced in a small and tightly controlled production plant using state of the art machinery and assembled by hand.

All of the Spada skis are limited editions, only 111 pairs of each model are made. The newest innovation just out for this winter season is a special ski that uses a carbon-stone-technology with a rubber exterior. Zai was the first manufacturer in the world to use a stone core in their skis and is still trendsetting in their product development being the first to use a natural rubber surfacing. It is not just rhetoric that the skis are "of the mountain" as each pair has Grisons granite in the core of the ski. As with all carefully thought out designs the skis themselves are beautiful too, they will definitely not get lost in the pile on the ski racks outside the lodge at lunch.

Available in the United States exclusively at the high end winter sports retailer Gorsuch whose stores in all the nicest ski areas of Colorado, such as Beaver Creek, Vail and Aspen, sell the Zai Spada skis for $5,900.00 a pair.

It's always a bit risky to brand anything as "in the style of" and architecture is an area where it seems particularly fraught. I've seen far too many faux Frank Lloyd Wright homes. This home in Aspen, Colorado takes its inspiration from Mexican architects Luis Barragan and Ricardo Legorreta. We've seen the work of each of these architects before. The Campbell Divertimento is attributed to Barragan while Ricardo Montalban's home was a Legorreta.

Looking at those two homes one can definitely see the inspiration. This five-bedroom home offers clean, squared spaces, flat terracotta walls and an interesting use of water features. The overall effect is a lot more Southwestern than anything usually seen in Aspen. The home is on 5.73 acres and has two master suites, a media room with cherrywood cabinetry, professional kitchen, a large central gallery for displaying art and a fitness room, air conditioning. The use of Colorado sandstone floors and earth tones creates a tranquil feel. Windows of varying sizes from tiny squares to floor-to-ceiling view watchers make the most of the available light. This home is listed at $13.5 million.

I'm sorry to hear this news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that another grand resort has hit hard times. Aspen's historic Hotel Jerome, has been scheduled for an auction. The hotel, which opened way back in 1889, was purchased in 2007 by a pair of investors, Elysian Worldwide LLC and Lodging Capital Partners LLC. The deal was financed with a $48 million mortgage provided by Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Inc. Now an entity identified as Jerome Property LLC has said that the owners failed to pay the mortgage's $36.3 million balance. The foreclosure filing was recorded on September 24 and the foreclosure auction will be held in January unless something changes.

Meanwhile, the hotel, which is managed by Rock Resorts, remains open and is preparing for the busy ski season with a bunch of special offers and packages. The hotel is one of Aspen's most beloved landmarks and the J-Bar is a popular destination famous for the Aspen Crud, a milkshake and bourbon concoction that is a bit like a Mudslide that punches you in the gut.

Today's home is an incredible new luxury compound is Aspen, Colorado that includes two large residences on two contiguous lots located on over two acres on the Ridge of Red Mountain. The compound offers direct views of Aspen Mountain, Independence Pass, and the entire valley. The main home is a contemporary estate that is 11,300 square feet with five bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, theater, wine room, gym huge recreation room and resistance pool. The home is rendered in stone and dark wood with curved roofs and glass windows facing the mountains. The second home is a 4,178 square foot guest home with five bedrooms and a two car garage. This estate is listed at $35 million which makes it one of the more expensive listings in the area but still millions below some of the properties in the area.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

We keep hearing about how bad the real estate market is and chronicling the many price drops but recently a home sold for $43 million and it wasn't even on the market. The ten-bedroom mansion in Aspen, Colorado is on 4.5 acres at the base of Red Mountain and sold through Joshua &Co. The 21,400-square-foot home has become what brokers say is the most expensive home that has sold in the U.S. so far this year.

The Wall Street Journal shows the home which was designed by Charles Cunniffe Architects. There are a host of pictures of the home on the Cunniffe website (the kitchen is particularly worthy of note). The wood, glass and stone home on 4.5 acres was built in 2006. It has an outdoor pool, guest house and a four-car garage. Inside the home, windows frame mountain views from the living areas and private spaces. It has an elevator, wine cellar, home theater and 10 bedrooms.

Newton Bartley, a real estate agent with Joshua & Co. referred to the sale as a "straight, cash deal." The Aspen Times says that the buyer, who has not been named, became interested in the home at the end of the last ski season. Several Aspen homes on the market are priced higher than this one including Elk Song Ranch which is listed at $58 million and is shown below.

Today's home is a recently built modern home in Aspen, Colorado. It was designed by Studio B Architects and their website says that the home was designed for an art collector looking for a home for his collection. The silvery exterior is made of zinc panels, concrete and glass. There are five bedrooms total in an open floor plan that allows for room for monumental works of art. The home also includes a 2600 bottle glass wine room, exercise room, office, and a partially heated rear patio. A rooftop deck offers views of Aspen Mountain. The home won the 2008 American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Residential Design and the Merit Award for Built Architecture. It is listed at $7.5 million.

Today's estate is located in the Snowmass Village area of scenic and still pricey Aspen, Colorado. The home was built in 2004 by the current owner and is being sold for the first time. The property is on over 40 acres and the grounds offer outdoor entertaining areas with a hot tub, pizza oven and water features. The living space is over 13,000 square feet with seven bedrooms including a master suite with an attached exercise room, walk-in closet, and steam shower in the master bath. There are two media/family rooms, a game room, a private office with a deck and a bar and four-sided fireplace in the living room. This home is listed at $25 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

The real estate market in Aspen, CO has recovered somewhat and its priciest zip code is now the most expensive neighborhood in the U.S., according to a new ranking by Forbes. Back in February we reported on the dire straits of Aspen real estate, when Sotheby's International Realty shuttered its Aspen office in the wake of plummeting sales. Now Aspen's south end 81611 zip code, home to ultra-luxe ski lodges, is top of the field with an impressive $6.5 million median home sale price, the magazine reports. However the seasonal nature of the Aspen market gives it a yearly boost which might well mean its triumph is temporary; and indeed the big picture is still pretty glum. "In 2007, the market in our valley was $2 billion in sales," top Aspen broker Steve Walker tells Forbes, "this year it'll be between $500 million and $1 billion. In volume and dollars, it's been a 50% drop."

We predict that Beverly Hills, which is currently in 3rd place, will quickly eclipse Aspen especially since a mansion was just sold there for $31.5 million, the most expensive property sold in California so far this year, while a second recently changed hands for $22 million. The former, a 27,000-sq.-ft. Norman-style estate on 2 acres with 10 bedrooms, 14 baths and seven fireplaces, had originally been listed at $45 million and was on the market for almost nine months. Aspen's neighboring Snowmass Village has also experienced a resurgence. Other neighborhoods that have clocked recent gains include the Hollywood Hills and Chappaqua, NY, while the second most expensive zip belongs to Alpine, NJ, a luxurious New York suburb home to Wall Street execs and rap moguls like Sean Combs and Damon Dash.

Want to live in the country's priciest zip? There are several choice Aspen properties available including this $60 million estate, this $58 million spread and this cozy $43.8 million ski lodge. Here's the new list of the top five most expensive zip codes in the U.S. as determined by median prices (which are quite high overall right now at the top end):

1. Aspen, CO, 81611: $6.5 million
2. Alpine, NJ, 07620: $4.7 million
3. Beverly Hills, CA, 90210: $4.04 million
4. Snowmass Village, CO, 81654: $3.99 million
5. Newport, CA, 92661: $3.9 million

The new Swiss watch company Aspen Jewelry & Watches does not have a real relationship with the ski town Aspen, Colorado for which the watches are named. They do however have a license to use the "Aspen" name in connection with watches, exclusively in certain areas. They recently released their first watch, the Aspen One in Aspen Colorado (of course). There to help announce the new timepiece was business woman and supermodel Elle Macpherson. A face like hers is enough to draw attention, and better yet she was there to donate an almost $50,000 diamond version of the Aspen One watch to a local non-profit, the Challenge Aspen and Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club (AVSC). They will sell the watch (auction likely) to raise money for ski trips to families with members who have disabilities.

The new Aspen One watch is an interesting timepiece. A few versions of the watch are available in white or rose gold, with diamonds or without. The 45mm case is very thick, because it flips open to reveal a height resistant compass. The watch movement is a ETA 2894-2 with a chronograph module. The style of the watch is pretty sober actually and will likely have a lasting design. The face reminds me of the also relatively new Bremont brand watches. You can tell that with the compass, the case is almost amusingly thick, but when you spend this type of money, you probably want some bulk in your investment. As a watch that is named for a ski city, the watch will have an unusually high altitude and cold temperature resistance - for a luxury watch that is. Prices start at about $39,000 and peak at about $50,000. They also come with a fancy pair of Casteljin & Beerens deerskin gloves.

Via National Jeweler.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

In what is a sure sign that the luxury property market in Aspen, Colorado has finally hit rock bottom, Sotheby's International Realty is closing its office there next week. "We are going out of business," managing partner Mike Russo tells the Aspen Times. "We couldn't scale back enough to survive." Back in November my colleague Deidre Woollard reported that Aspen's property market was in free fall. The dollar volume of real estate sales in Aspen plunged by a whopping 46 percent in 2008 versus 2007. Despite scaling back its operation, Sotheby's Aspen lost $60 million worth of deals that were under contract to sell in October and November, which put the nail in the coffin. "We didn't know it would decline to this level," Russo says.

Flagging bookings at many of the finest winter resorts in the country have created a boon for skiers in search of bargains. As the New York Times reports, enticing deals are to be found at such popular -- and typically pricey -- ski areas as Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole and Lake Tahoe.

Vail Resorts is providing three nights' lodging and three days of lift tickets for the cost of two at its four ski areas in Colorado (Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone) and Tahoe's Heavenly Mountain Resort. In Jackson, rates for the four-night Skier's Dream package at Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa have been reduced by $100 per night. Aspen/Snowmass has partnered with Frontier Airlines to offer a free flight, among other incentives, to group and family travelers. For a blizzard of more special offers, check out ski.com.

While many luxury labels are in the dumps these days, luxe French sport line Moncler is bucking the trend and opening new stores instead of shutting them. They recently opened their first freestanding US boutique in Aspen, and also just opened an impressive new shop in another ritzy ski resort, Gstaad. The Gstaad boutique features a luxurious alpine chalet theme with bluestone floors, pinewood ceilings and walls designed to evoke downhill skiiers in motion. Moncler, founded in France in 1952 and now based in Milan, has collaborated with the likes of Balenciaga, Yohji Yamamoto and Fendi, and is a favorite with stars such as Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Victoria Beckham and Kanye West. It's high-end Gamme Rouge line (above) is designed by Italian fashionista Giambattista Valli. Last summer we reported that private equity firm The Carlyle Group acquired a 48% stake in the company.

Earlier this week we told you about Land Rover's polo team sporting in the snow in Aspen. Now the British auto maker has signed on to sponsor the inaugural Desert Palm Nations Polo Tournament in Dubai this Friday. The event is designed to "highlight and celebrate Dubai's achievements in the sport of polo" and will also serve as the official launch of the Desert Palm, Dubai, a Per AQUUM Resort & Spa and "the first dedicated boutique polo spa resort in the world." Participating in Desert Palm Nations tournament and representing the UAE team, sponsored by Land Rover, will be Adolfo Cambiaso, the number one polo player in the world, who will also playing for the first time in the Middle East. The tournament is set to become an annual affair and a highlight of the social season.

Snow polo was first introduced in 1985 in Switzerland's swank St. Moritz, and caught on immediately among the bon ton. It's no surprise that swells in equally upscale Aspen, CO decided to stage their own snow polo tournament nine years ago, the only one of its kind in the United States. The ninth annual World Snow Polo Championships just took place there, and the Land Rover America's Polo Cup Team, fielded by the famed British auto marque and the luxurious St. Regis Aspen Resort, made a strong showing.

The Land Rover team - comprised of John Gobin at 8 goals, (one of the highest rated arena polo players in the world) at position 3; Doug Barnes at position 2, rated at 3 goals; and Team Captain Tareq Salahi at position 1, rated at 1 goal - usually plays on grass, and of course some changes to the game are required for playing on snow.

For one thing, the polo ponies are shod with special cleated shoes to provide better traction in the snow, and the ball is larger, lighter, and painted bright red to accommodate winter conditions. The Championship is a four-team elimination tournament comprised of local and international players mounted on Colorado-raised ponies; teams are comprised of three players and play consists of four seven-minute chukkers.



The game played on snow is every bit as dramatic, aristocratic and, of course, expensive as the original. In Aspen, the Land Rover America's Cup Polo Team played a dramatic match against the Roaring Fork Polo Team, scoring the winning goal in the final five seconds. Prizes were presented by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and model Michaele Salahi. The game has now become so popular it has even spread to the Middle East; a tournament was held in Iran in 2006 and it and will be played in Dubai next winter, no doubt on artificially created snow.

The Land Rover America's Polo Cup is the world's most prestigious and largest international televised charity grass polo sporting event. The Land Rover team will take the field at the America's World Cup on May 9th, 2009 at their host club, the Capitol Polo Club in Potomac, Maryland. The first polo match will feature the New York Empires vs. the Washington DC Patriots. The main polo match will be the World Cup, in which team USA will being challenged by Australia in a weekend featuring concerts, fashion shows, military exhibitions and a spectacular fireworks show said to rival the 4th of July.

Russian oligarch (and former Luxist mascot) Roman Abramovich, who has lost a whopping $20 billion in the global financial crisis, has reportedly canceled a lavish New Year's Eve party he'd planned to host in Aspen next month. Abramovich (above, with hot young girlfriend Dasha Zhukova) had booked the event at the resort's luxe Piñons restaurant, but it's now been called off, the Aspen Times reports. "Nobody really knew about it, and it wasn't supposed to get out," the restaurant's maitre d' told the paper. "We're fine, we've got our regular New Year's reservations." As my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported, Abramovich purchased the amazing Wildcat Ridge estate in Aspen for $36 million last spring. The modern 11 bedroom mansion is perched at an elevation of 9,200 feet with incredible mountain views.