Ross King: I bumped into a couple of A-listers in Aspen, but Gary Barlow gave it a swerve

I’m filming in one of my favourite places in the world – the glamorous ski resort of Aspen in the Colorado Rockies.

I’ve been splitting my time between the world-famous five-star spots The Little Nell and The Limelight.

Everyone’s been here and I just missed celebrity guests Beyoncé and Jay Z, and Gigi and Bella Hadid… or perhaps they missed me!

But guess who I did bump into? Not Gwyneth Paltrow – someone could sue me over that and I don’t want to miss half a day’s skiing!

No, I caught up with my old pals and Aspen regulars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, and got chatting to them about what makes the place so special.

“Michael’s been to Aspen before Aspen was Aspen,” Catherine joked.

“It’s gone through a lot of changes over the years,” Michael added. “The culture that originally brought Aspen together was that you couldn’t tell the players without a program. Whether you were rich or poor, a drug dealer or from Wall Street, it was a mix. Since then it’s gotten a little more upscale and it has lost most of that mix, but it’s a beautiful town and a lovely spot.”

Of course, the couple had their own very special moment here at the resort as it’s where they got engaged on the cusp on the new millennium.

“What a night that was,” Michael recalled. “I asked her to marry me on New Year’s Eve, 1999, but we were sick as dogs, I was on my knees and coughing.”

Catherine said for that reason Aspen would always have a special place in their hearts, and so do I because they always see me when they’re here!

Just under two hours from LA, the resort is all about sustainability, from the town to the hotels and restaurants, but it’s about to get even bigger and better with a 160-acre expansion. Coupled with international travel being back after the pandemic, it’s buzzing like never before.

There are four incredible mountains to ski and it even has an Aspen X beach on the top of Ajax Mountain complete with sunbeds and breathtaking views.

Last time I was here was with Gary Barlow, so I couldn’t help but FaceTime him from the slopes.

“I can’t believe you’re there – how dare you be there without me!” he laughed. “For years you tease me about that wonderful place and I must say, I love being there, it’s amazing.

“Skiing with you was fun, but then again you learned a lot with me being more advanced!”

When I was here with Gerard Butler it was during the Covid days and we were masked. I almost didn’t recognize him until he shouted, in his 300 character’s voice: “This is Aspen!”

One of my favourite moments on this trip was when I visited the amazing Aspen X to get my boots and skis. I’ve said before they treat you like James Bond and when I walked in the manager said: “Ah Mr King, we’ve been expecting you!”

Well life here is certainly double-snow heaven!