Over
the past twelve years Aspen, Colorado has provided a picturesque and relaxing
setting for the National MD/PhD Conference. Known for outstanding skiing and
winter activities, Aspen is also a summer paradise, offering some of the best
hiking, mountain biking, camping, whitewater rafting and shopping in the
Rockies.
Aspen is located approximately 3.5 hours west of Denver and is easily accessed by car or plane. A comprehensive resource for travel to Aspen is Aspen Central Reservations. Through Aspen Central Reservations you can make hotel reservations, get special airfares, rent cars and make arrangements for leisure activities while you are in Aspen. Contact them either by the above link or by calling the group sales department at 1-800-26-ASPEN. Tell them that you are with the National MD/PhD Conference. Besides this, we are currently in the process of arranging discounts with individual hotels and have some other discounts detailed below. Check back to this page for new information as we work out these arrangements.
Getting There
By Plane: A number of
different carriers fly directly into the Pitkin County Airport from Denver,
Colorado Springs, Chicago, San Fransisco, Dallas and other cities. We actually
suggest flying into Denver or Colorado Springs and taking a connecting flight
into Aspen.
A special deal: United
Airlines is offering a 10% discount off the unrestricted mid-week coach fare
or 5% discount off the lowest applicable discount fare, including First Class,
to all attendees of the Thirteenth annual MD/PhD student conference. An
additional 5% discount will apply when tickets are purchased at least 60
days in advance of the attendees travel. This special offer applies to travel
on domestic segments of all United Airlines, United Express and Shuttle by
United flights into Denver or Aspen. Also, at the time you make your airline
reservations with United you may receive a 10% discount on Alamo and Avis rental
cars. This discount fare is only available through United's Meeting
Desk at 1-800-521-4041. The Student Conference's meeting ID code is
571JN. Reservationists are on duty seven days a week from 7 am to 12 midnight
Eastern Standard Time.
By Van: In case you want to fly into
Denver, but not rent a car to drive to Aspen, there are several resort shuttles
that can take you there by van. A van discount has been arranged. Contact
Aspen Central Reservations for more information as well.
Another special deal: Airport Shuttle of Colorado is offering
conference attendees 20% off the standard rate for van service between Denver
International Airport and Aspen. The discounted rate is $64.80 each way. Call
1-800-222-2112 and mention the National MD/PhD Student Conference. Our group
code is MDPHD. It is recommended that reservations be made at least 24 hours in
advance to be guaranteed a seat. All reservations must be prepaid. You can
walk up to the counter and receive the 20% discount, but you are not guaranteed
a seat. It is also recommended that you inquire about the time and number of
vans running on your travel days.
By Car: Two routes exist from Denver to Aspen, however they both start out the same:
Independence Pass: This is definitely the more scenic route. It is only open in the summer months and provides breathtaking scenery, not to mention a fairly scary drive over Independence Pass. To begin, take I-70 west from Denver and go through the Eisenhower Tunnel and the Silverthorne area (factory stores! Yes!). Exit I-70 west onto highway 91 south (the Copper Mountain exit) towards Leadville. Go through Leadville, staying on highway 91 south until the highway 82 turn off. Take highway 82 west through Twin Lakes, over Independence Pass and into Aspen.
Glenwood Springs: While not as exciting, this route takes you through the central mountains, Vail and scenic Glenwood Canyon. To start, take I-70 west from Denver, through the Eisenhower Tunnel, over Vail Pass, through Vail and Glenwood Canyon, until you reach Glenwood Springs. From Glenwood Springs take highway 82 east to Aspen.
Lodging
A variety of
accommodations are available in Aspen, as you might imagine. These range from
the Ritz-Carlton to a campground just outside of town. While staying in Aspen
may seem like an extremely expensive adventure, there are some reasonable places
to stay.
Aspen
Central Reservations can take care of your lodging needs too.
Some important information: There are two other conferences taking place in Aspen the weekend of the MD/PhD conference. Because of this, we were unable to arrange any lodging discounts for conference participants. Sorry to those of you who were hoping for a deal. More importantly, the other conferences will create a larger demand for accommodations. We recommend that you make your lodging reservations as soon as possible.
While you are in Aspen
Almost anything
you can think of, you can do in Aspen, from paragliding to just sitting in a
park and reading. It just depends on how much you want to spend. As in
previous years, we will be contracting with Colorado Riff-Raft to set up a
Sunday afternoon white-water rafting trip. Also, there is usually a
student-guided mountain biking trip which takes place on Sunday afternoon.
Rental mountain bikes are plentiful in Aspen and we will be scouting out some of
the less expensive places this spring. We suggest you check out
Aspen/Snowmass Online to find information
on a range of activities, concerts, etc..