People visit Colorado’s many winter ski areas to, well, ski. Eating is often a secondary pursuit because it tends to also be secondary for the resorts, most of which seem to serve the same, uninspired lineup of chili, chicken tenders, and single-patty burgers that only taste good because they’re not the squished PB&J your pal is chewing between bites of stolen fries.

Given that that’s the competition, executive chef Mitch Levy, who leads Aspen Skiing Company’s mountain dining team, didn’t have to take too big a step to push his fleet of 15 restaurants to the forefront of Colorado’s fast-casual, on-mountain dining scene. He took a massive leap anyway. That’s why there’s a Mongolian grill, a French-market-inspired food hall, and many other themed eateries, in addition to multiple high-end, high-altitude options, scattered across Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass, and Buttermilk. “We’re not cookie-cutter in any way,” Levy says. “We like to illustrate what the thought is behind the restaurant within the menu presentation.”

So, in late 2023, when Levy and his fellow chefs came up with the idea to launch a series of seven signature burgers, they knew each would need to live up to that lofty reputation. After sampling the goods, we’re confident that they do.

1. Sundeck Signature Burger

Sundeck Signature Burger at Aspen Mountain
Sundeck Signature Burger at Aspen Mountain. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: Two cooked-to-order, grass-fed beef patties are topped with American cheese, crisp pickle chips, and bacon along with freshly cut butter lettuce, rings of red onion, and ripe tomatoes on a brioche bun slathered with the Sundeck’s special “Dub” Sauce, which features caramelized onions, dijon, and dill pickle relish.

Chef’s take: The Sundeck’s 30-foot ceilings, central stone fireplace, and rotating assortment of made-to-order bites (wagyu hot dogs, ginger carrot soup, and a mushroom veggie burger served with kale slaw and sriracha sesame aioli, to name a few) all cater to Aspen’s famously upper-class clientele. As a result, Levy and his team wanted the Sundeck Signature Burger to be simple yet high-end, “something that’s just comfort food-y and regular, wholesome and delicious.”

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2. Merry-Go-Round Boomerang Burger

Merry-Go-Round Boomerang Burger at Aspen Highlands
Merry-Go-Round Boomerang Burger at Aspen Highlands. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: “A tower,” Levy says, of two locally raised, grass-fed beef patties loaded with pastrami bacon, onion rings, pepper jack cheese, spicy barbecue sauce, and LTO. But forget the buns, hun—those ingredients are merrily sandwiched between two grilled cheeses.

Chef’s take: The steep, double-fall-line terrain at Aspen Highlands draws a more grassroots (and grass-loving) brand of locals, Levy explains. The Boomerang is made for them. “If you were just starving,” he says, say after skiing down double-blacks like Mosh Pit or Deception, “then you would look at this burger, and you’d go, ‘Oh man, if we could just serve that between two grilled cheese sandwiches, it would be insane.’ ” So, that’s what he built: a multi-tiered behemoth in which to indulge after hitting bowls of any variety.

3. Buttermilk Mountain Lodge Signature Burger

Buttermilk Mountain Lodge Signature Burger at Buttermilk
Buttermilk Mountain Lodge Signature Burger at Buttermilk. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: This Italian-meets-Mediterranean take on the American staple pairs two grass-fed, raised-eight-miles-down-the-road local beef patties smothered in provolone with crisped pancetta, housemade balsamic tomato jam, and a blistered tomato-and-pepperoncini garnish stabbed into a brioche bun.

Chef’s take: Creating a burger to serve alongside Buttermilk Mountain Lodge’s homemade pastas and pizzas involved drawing inspiration from the classic chicken parmesan sandwich while adding Levy’s own chef’s-kiss twist. “That one is amazing,” he says. “It’s just dripping with provolone and dewy with balsamic tomato jam and salty and briny with the pancetta bacon.”

4. Cliffhouse Signature Burger

Cliffhouse Signature Burger at Buttermilk
Cliffhouse Signature Burger at Buttermilk. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: House-pickled carrots, cabbage, and red peppers add a healthy hit to double grass-fed beef patties, Asian barbecue pork belly, and kimchi sriracha mayo atop a brioche bun.

Chef’s take: “The Cliffhouse gets a ton of uphill traffic,” Levy says, pointing to the brigade of what he playfully calls “health nuts” who regularly skin (or hike) up Buttermilk Mountain before skiing down it. To match both their clean-eating propensities and the Cliffhouse’s overall Mongolian-grill theme, he made this Asian-inspired burger the most nutritious of the bunch. How, you ask, could a burger the size of a softball earn a “healthy” designation? Why, this one leaves off the cheese.

5. Elk Camp Signature Bacon Cheeseburger

Elk Camp Signature Bacon Cheeseburger at Snowmass
Elk Camp Signature Bacon Cheeseburger at Snowmass. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: The double grass-fed beef patties are back—this time loaded with candied bacon, LTO, and a roasted garlic caramelized onion marmalade—but the showstopping ingredient is, no question, the Boursin cheese, which is made in-house with “a lot of butter, a lot of cream cheese, and a lot of fresh herbs,” Levy says.

Chef’s take: Inside this easy-access eatery (peds can visit too—Elk Camp is steps from the same-named gondola), you could opt for tri-tip steak and pork loin roasted on the walk-in-closet-size rotisserie or slices of hand-tossed ’za. Don’t. Instead, snag a side of freshly blanched broccoli or a plate of organic greens and make your way to the outdoor grill for the signature burger. Trust us. The Boursin cheese is that good.

6. High Alpine Signature Haus Burger

High Alpine Signature Haus Burger at Snowmass
High Alpine Signature Haus Burger at Snowmass. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: Layers of sliced pastrami, kraut, and a healthy (but certainly not in the nutritional sense) dollop of homemade Thousand Island sauce all sit on two Swiss-cheese-covered patties of grass-fed beef loaded onto a pretzel bun.

Chef’s take: You’ll walk under a pair of elk antlers and an edelweiss-adorned “Willkommen” sign to enter this Bavarian-themed, on-mountain dining option. “It’s got that Alps feel,” Levy says of High Alpine, which also serves up spaetzle, fondue, and 16-inch pretzels designed to share. This signature burger is reuben-esque, so expect a delectable “mouthful of sauerkraut-y unctuousness.”

7. Ullrhof Signature All-In Burger

Ullrhof Signature All-In Burger at Snowmass
Ullrhof Signature All-In Burger at Snowmass. Photo by Daniel Bayer

What you’re biting into: Three grass-fed beef patties, all covered in American cheese, dwarf traditional lettuce, tomato, and red onion on a brioche bun lathered with a caper-y special sauce.

Chef’s take: With a menu stacked with sammies, shakes, and fries, Ullrhof is Aspen Snowmass’ take on the classic burger joint. That meant Levy had to go above—literally—and beyond with the signature option. Enter the third patty. All three meat layers are seared on a flat-top grill Levy quips is roughly an acre wide. Doing so adds a touch of crispy crunch to the outside of each patty. “It’s a classic diner burger,” he says. “It’s drippy and it has that hangover-cure grease to it.”