Springtime in Aspen is time to kick up our heels! With plentiful snow & sunshine, it's a sensational time for enjoying winter & summer sports, including ridge top snowshoeing, hiking & biking.
As Aspen's longest running originally owned adventure sports company since '96, our almost 3 decades of teaching & guiding experience will will directly & positively affect your adventure experience. As pioneers, we offer NEW one of a kind adventures each season; another reason for our exceptional longevity.
We're open year round, as there's always outdoor fun to be enjoyed in Aspen! We're not part time lovers, like others.
Your private individual or group adventure will not be a "cookie cutter" public Aspen tour or group nature tour with a minimally experienced guide. We want your adventure to be very special, customizing every aspect of YOUR recreational adventure, while providing the high level of care you deserve.
We'll even bake you Erik's Organic Chocolate chunk cookies, which are internationally renowned!
Minimize risk & maximize your valuable time in Aspen or Snowmass snowshoeing, cross country skiing, fat biking, mountain biking, road biking, e-biking, hiking & flatwater canoeing with the area's most experienced & versatile guides & instructors. You'll be professionally guided in the best areas for your abilities and goals, while gaining skills. New skills lead to new thrills, without those pesky spills, making you safer, performing better & therefore, having more FUN.
Self-guiding does not maximize skills, performance & fun, leading to compromised experiences & hundreds of visitors ill prepared, lost & injured, creating record mountain rescues in the Aspen area each year. Know before you go or hire a pro, whose #1 focus & priority is your safety. There is no substitute for experience & knowledge in the mountains, where the risk can be as high as our peaks.
April '25 UPDATE:
Our non-mellow yellow Lab & Sun Dog mascot Marley just turned two years young & would love to hike with you! Like us, our energetic girl lives to share what she loves.
If that wasn't awesome enough, two feet of snowfall blanketed our favorite ridge top snowshoeing spot this past week, making for sweet springtime base layer & baseball hat snowshoeing. Guests who've snowshoed around the globe, often call it "world class snowshoeing" as this route offers abundant snow, mind blowing views, rolling terrain in & out of the high alpine forest & option for lunch in the Sundeck Restaurant or patio atop Aspen Mt. to follow.
Crossing into summer sports, we're also offering you hiking & biking, especially enjoyable on our beautiful paths & low traffic roads on warmer sunshiny days.
Want to celebrate Spring Break in style? Our one of a kind Champagne Snowshoeing Adventure TM has been a big hit this season & includes a Veuve Clicquot toast accompanied by Paradise Bakery croissants, topping off world class ridge top snowshoeing. Cheers to great times with family & friends!
Give you a Spring break? OK! Complimentary trailside picnic lunch for groups of 3 or more guests for private all-inclusive snowshoeing, hiking or biking instructional adventures. Take in the incredible mountain views, while savoring meat or veggie legendary BIG WRAPS & organic fruit.
BONUS: Enjoy 20% off hourly adventure rates in April!
Offering road cyclists, hybrid riders & e-bikers the opportunity to start their season on the right pedal stroke, with "base building" rides on flatter terrain spinning at a conversational pace, which are great fun & the ideal way to build your foundation for cycling season.
NOW accepting reservations for summer adventure! Book in April & take advantage of 25% off our hourly rates for private instructional all-inclusive adventures. Simply mention code word "Marley" for this special discount.
Scroll down for more, including year round instructional adventure options...
Adventure in Aspen & Snowmass with the original Sun Dogs.
OUR STORY:
After a dozen years of racing & establishing our adventure sports school to share what we'd learned & loved, there was no manual on how to teach mountain biking in the mid-90s. We literally had to write it, as we developed and refined our teaching methodology, saving our guests years of time & effort as compared to "The School of Trial & Error" or "School of Hard Knocks." OUCH! No need for all that pain & wasted time.
With a lot of passion, hard work & a bit of traction & success, we added long time local athletes & instructors and pioneered NEW exhilirating adventure sports programs, most recently one of a kind adventures like on snow FAT BIKING & flat water canoeing in our nature preserve. Your time is Aspen is precious. Maximize your time, while gaining NEW SKILLS with some of the most experienced cycling & adventure sports instructors in America offering you 100% guest satisfaction & rare 100% clean safety record.
It's a compliment the copy cats would follow. But, when you're not the lead dog, the view's always the same! It's all about having fun, with safety #1, for YOU as our guest.
Please contact Founder/Owner, Head Instructor & Chief Baker (have you tried his organic dark chocolate chunk cookies?) Erik Skarvan any time for more. He lives & loves to share!
970 925 1069 or sundog@sopris.net
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OUR DAILY HOURS
We're open 8:00 AM-5:30 PM daily 365 for Questions, Rates & Reservations...or just talk shop. Better yet, talking getting out of the shop!
CONTACT
WE'LL HELP YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR ATHLETIC ADVENTURES & QUALITY TIME IN ASPEN & OPEN THE DOOR TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
Quickly, safely & enjoyably GAIN NEW SKILLS & experience NEW THRILLS!
Aspen & Snowmass Mountain Biking Private customized Instruction & Guided Tours
As Western Colorado's original mountain biking instructors in 1996, we love to share mountain biking skills; our primary passion and save you years of time & effort as compared to "the school of trial & error" or tips from friends. You will also experience Aspen's most amazing mountain biking trails & Snowmass' sweetest singletracks.
You may want more than just another "cookie cutter" Aspen bike tour. Riding with Sun Dog Athletics, you'll not only experience the best of Aspen mountain biking trails for your ability; you'll immediately improve your abilities for bike handling, climbing and descending. As pioneers in western Colorado, we developed and evolved mountain biking instruction, honing our teaching process over 28 years of teaching and guiding. Our competition, including those who focus on higher risk downhill mountain biking, don't offer half our teaching and guiding experience. You benefit by maximizing your time, efforts and investment progressing quickly & safely. New skills mean new thrills...& less spills! Why just take an Aspen mountain biking tour, when you can be guided and significantly improve your riding with a highly passionate & experienced mountain biking instructor?
We're perfectly capable of customized a guided tour or adventure as well, as we aim to please; mountain biking is all about BIG FUN!
Aspen & Snowmass Road Biking Instruction & Private Customized Guiding/Tours
Gain NEW skills to become a road warrior!
You may be able to survive the ride, but why not thrive? We'll show you our favorite (& somewhat secret) Aspen & Snowmass road bike rides and techniques to immediately improve your safety, performance & enjoyment. New road biking skills focus on efficiency with body position & pedal stroke, climbing, descending, cornering & drafting. This is Aspen road biking adventure at its best!
Aspen & Snowmass Private Customized Fitness/Nordic Hiking
Bonus: Dog friendly! You and your family will experience the most amazing Aspen hiking trails and get a great workout at your own pace.
Why get an experienced instructor for hiking? We'll help you or your private group maximize the experience in terms of the most beautiful and appropriate location, offer you new skills and state of the art gear, including trekking poles, which add significant stability, propulsion & additional calorie burn. You'll see more stunning views, get a better workout and learn much more about hiking, the local flora, fauna and rich history than if you go on your own.
Aspen FAT BIKING
Experience the best of Aspen fat biking and release your inner child!
Fat biking is not only the fastest growing part of cycling; it's the hottest new sport on snow because it's release your inner child fun! As Colorado's original FAT BIKING instructors, we'll take care of all the details, from the finest and fattest bikes, to the most gorgeous Aspen & Snowmass FAT BIKING locations and key fat biking instruction to maximize the experience. Join us, MAXIMIZE YOUR RIDE & DAY and experience the healthy kind of FAT!
The Best of Aspen & Snowmass Snowshoeing
Feel the float at your own pace & put a smile on your face
Since snowshoeing has been our primary passion for almost 40 years, your fully customized private adventure will be the most amazing outdoor experience of your time in Aspen. We offer you incredibly beautiful locations, state of the art instruction and Colorado made snowshoes, including the world's first EVA foam snowshoes from our partner Crescent Moon Snowshoes in Boulder, CO. Are you ready to rock the snowshoe revolution with Eva? Once you feel the foam; light, cushioned with rocker, it's the only way you'll roam! We also offer you all the latest accessories, like adjustable snowshoeing poles & gators & boxed Flow Spring Water & Honey Stinger Organic Waffles to keep you well hydrated & powered up! Gear matters and so does passion and experience. Our long time experience will directly & positively affect your adventure experience.
Flatwater Canoeing
Peaceful paddling through the North Star Nature Preserve
This is a truly one of a kind Aspen canoeing adventure. Learn a few basic paddle strokes or simply kick back for the most beautiful, peaceful escape on the magical meandering waters of the upper Roaring Fork River through our wonderful nature preserve. There may not be wild rapids, but there's plenty of wildlife to enjoy. Outrigger floats, like training wheels for a boat, ensure no sudden swimming adventure in the frigid snow-melt. This customized half day excursion is limited to one or two guests in "Winnie," our super stable & safe 17 foot Wenonah special edition Lewis & Clark canoe.
Our love of canoeing goes back over 50 years, to the days of growing up in Wisconsin. That love & experience translates directly to your one of a kind Aspen canoeing adventure.
Athletic Event Announcing
Professional Announcing and MC Services
Sun Dog Athletics Owner Erik Skarvan has become "The Voice" of Roaring Fork Valley events for over 25 years announcing local and national level endurance sports events, including road & mountain bike races, running races, triathlons, ski mountaineering & ultra races including most recently the popular Grand Traverse and Power of Four races. He's been a live sports announcer at X Games, NORBA National Finals & the Blue Ribbon Alpine Challenge women's pro bike races (seen here). He's acted as an enthusiastic Master of Ceremonies at local fundraisers, live & silent auctions.
Erik brings his 35 year background as a multi-sport endurance racer, high energy, unique humor and local knowledge which informs & entertains the competitors & race fans like no one else. His motto "the next best thing to racing is talking about racing" reveals his love of event announcing. Erik Skarvan offers your event unparalleled racer insight, energy, passion, dependability and professionalism.
Please contact us today @ (970) 925-1069 message us via the form above or e-mail sundog@sopris.net for further details, rates, reservations or just to talk shop. We love to share our passion for adventure sports!
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