Which STAR will I be assigned into Aspen?

It depends on your direction of flight. From the east you get the MMARY. From the southwest, the LOYYD. From the south and southeast, the HAREI. There is no real ambiguity about which one you will be given, so you can brief the arrival before you ever file.

What climb gradient does the LINDZ departure require?

465 feet per nautical mile up to 10,600 feet, then the standard 200 feet per nautical mile above that. Departing IFR you either meet that performance or you request a VFR climb from clearance delivery.

Why does Aspen depart aircraft toward arriving traffic?

Aspen routinely runs opposite direction operations, landing south on runway 15 while departing north on runway 33. The controller times departures to launch while an arrival is inbound, so from the arrival you can see an airplane lifting off pointed at you. The LINDZ is designed for exactly this: the departure track offsets from the arrival course and climbs above it, so separation comes from the procedure rather than from the controller improvising.

Where should I divert if I cannot get into Aspen?

Rifle is usually the answer. It has substantially lower approach minimums, so on a day when Aspen is out Rifle is often comfortably in, and it has a good FBO plus a straightforward drive to Aspen up Interstate 70. Expect company, though. Weather bad enough to send you to Rifle is bad enough to send everyone else there too.

What tailwind should I expect landing at Aspen?

Runway 15 is the primary arrival runway and landing that direction frequently means a tailwind. There are 8,000 feet of pavement, but a tailwind component increases ground roll substantially, so decide what you are willing to accept before you start the approach rather than while you are flying it.

← High Country IFR

01 · At a Glance

Aspen / Pitkin County

Q: What departure will I get out of Aspen?

The LINDZ, every time. Every IFR departure off Aspen flies it, so brief it as a certainty rather than a possibility. It takes you north out of the valley, and from there you turn right on course for the SXW or JNETT gates, or left for the SLOLM or HBU gates.

Q: How do I get an IFR clearance at Aspen when the tower is closed?

Call Denver Center on 119.85. The Aspen tower is open 0700 to 2000 local, and within those hours you call clearance delivery the way you would at any towered field. Outside them there is nobody in the tower to call, and 119.85 off the Aspen transmitter works on the ground at the airport.

ASE

7,820' MSL

Aspen has a reputation and it has earned every bit of it. But most of what makes it hard is knowable before you go. The arrival you’ll be assigned is decided by the direction you’re coming from, the departure is a certainty rather than a guess, and the things that surprise first-timers here surprise them mainly because nobody told them in advance.

02 · How the Flow Actually Works

Think of arrivals as a bowl draining counterclockwise. Whichever arrival you’re on, you get flown around the airport in a counterclockwise circulation until you’re essentially straight north of the runway. Only then do you get turned back toward the field and cleared for the approach, pointed south at runway 15.

There’s a reason the three arrival gates sit where they do. Eagle County is just north of Aspen and Rifle is just west, both with their own traffic. Feeding Aspen from the east, southwest and south keeps arrivals clear of both.

Departures don’t mirror that. Everyone goes north out of the valley on the LINDZ, and then it splits: right turn on course for the SXW and JNETT gates, left turn for SLOLM and HBU.

Arrivals · counterclockwise

Departures · LINDZ, then split

North up. Schematic only: it shows direction of circulation and which gate feeds from where, not tracks or distances.

03 · Which Arrival You’ll Get

Three arrivals feed Aspen, split by where you’re coming from. There is no real ambiguity here, so you can brief the one you’re going to get before you ever pick up the clearance.

MMARY

East

Coming from the Front Range and everything east of the Divide.

LOYYD

Southwest

Traffic from Utah and the western slope, and from the Four Corners direction.

HAREI

South and southeast

From the San Luis Valley and the New Mexico side.

04 · Two Numbers to Accept Before You Commit

Both of these are yours to accept or decline, and both are easier to think about on the ground than on the approach.

Tailwind. Runway 15 is the primary arrival runway, and landing that direction frequently means landing with a tailwind. There’s 8,000 feet of pavement, which sounds like plenty right up until you work out what a tailwind component does to your ground roll. Decide what you’re willing to take before you start the approach, not while you’re flying it.

Climb gradient on the miss. The missed approach asks only for the standard 200 feet per nautical mile, which looks unremarkable written down. What makes it different here is that the whole gradient is flown above 10,000 feet. You’re asking your airplane for that number in thin air, possibly on a hot summer afternoon, possibly with de-ice running and whatever that costs you. The requirement is ordinary. The conditions you’d be meeting it in are not.

05 · They Launch Into the Face of Arrivals

Most airports don’t depart airplanes toward the ones that are landing. Aspen does it routinely, and if nobody warns you it is a genuinely startling thing to watch from the arrival.

The field regularly runs opposite direction operations: landing south on runway 15 while departing north on runway 33. The controller times the departure to go out while an arrival is inbound. So there will be moments on final where you can see an airplane rolling and lifting off pointed more or less at you.

That’s the system working as designed, not somebody improvising. The LINDZ is built for it. The departure track offsets from the arrival course and climbs above it, so the separation comes from the procedure itself rather than from the controller sorting it out in the moment. Knowing that before you see it is the difference between a normal approach and a very uncomfortable one.

06 · When It Doesn’t Work, Go to Rifle

If you can’t get into Aspen, the answer is usually RIL. Rifle has substantially lower approach minimums, so on a day when Aspen is out, Rifle is often comfortably in.

It also has the infrastructure to make the diversion an inconvenience rather than a crisis: a good FBO, and a straightforward drive up Interstate 70 to finish the trip on the ground if it comes to that.

The catch is that every other pilot knows this too. Weather bad enough to send you to Rifle is bad enough to send everyone else there as well, so plan for the possibility of congestion getting in, and getting back out again.

07 · Departures and the Gates

You will get the LINDZ departure. Not usually, not most of the time. Every IFR departure off Aspen flies it, so brief it as a certainty rather than a possibility. It takes you north out of the valley, and which way you turn on course from there depends on your gate.

The gradient is the gate. The LINDZ asks for 465 feet per nautical mile up to 10,600, then the standard 200 above that. Going IFR, you either meet that number or you request a VFR climb from clearance delivery. Decide which one you’re doing before you key the mic, not after you’ve been read a clearance.

JNETTEastRight turn

Back toward the Front Range and everything beyond it.

SXWNorthRight turn

The route will always carry JESIE and RLG with it.

SLOLMWestLeft turn

Toward Utah and the western slope.

HBUSouthLeft turn

Toward the San Luis Valley and the New Mexico side.

08 · Getting Your Clearance on the Ground

Between 0700 and 2000 local, the tower is open and this is unremarkable. Call clearance delivery the way you would at any towered field.

Outside those hours it catches people out, because there’s nobody in the tower to call. Get your clearance from Denver Center on 119.85. That’s the same Aspen transmitter that covers a good deal of the high terrain around here, and it works on the ground at the airport.

Procedure names here are given without their revision numbers on purpose, since the number changes every time a chart is amended and the name does not. This page describes what to expect, not what to navigate by. Fly the current charts.

Related Guides

Aspen (ASE): VFR Mountain Flying Guide

The same airport from the piston VFR side: which passes to cross, and the cameras and AWOS to check before you go.

The Return Rule

What to do once you do not like what you are seeing, on any route into the mountains.

Flying in for the first time?

I worked this airspace at Denver Center before I instructed in it. If you want the arrival walked through against your actual trip, your direction of flight, and the weather you’re likely to get, that’s something I do two ways: a pre-trip briefing on the ground, or riding right seat as your destination guide while you fly your airplane.

Talk About Your Trip