Mac Smith has to smile as he steps on the escalator at the Aspen Highlands base, rising from basement administrative offices to a courtyard of restaurants, shops and hotels.

"Highlands isn't what it used to be," said Smith, head of Highlands ski patrol whose tenure has spanned three decades.

Despite the escalators and other additions that came after Aspen Ski Co. bought the rugged ski area in 1994, Highlands maintains the reputation of having the least frills and the most consistently challenging terrain of the company's properties, which also include Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk and Snowmass.

At the core of Highlands' toughness is Highland Bowl, a spectacular alpine cirque that ranks as some of the steepest inbounds skiing in North America. With several hundred acres of terrain, there is plenty to choose from, but it's all rated double-black diamond.

The more mellow runs maintain an average pitch of 35 degrees over the 1,500-foot descent, and a few of the steepest runs hit a pitch of 48 degrees.

The hard work isn't just going down, either. To ski or ride Highland Bowl requires a hike up. There is no chairlift the last 800 vertical feet to the top of the bowl, and there definitely are no escalators.

But ask anyone ascending the boot-packed, knife-edge ridge, and they'll say the 45-minute hike is part of the allure. Many say the views of the Maroon Bells are "the best in Aspen." And the bowl itself offers scenery that probably won't be forgotten, either.

"It's a whole different experience than riding lifts," Aspen local Jim Veshancey said. "As they say, you've earned your turns."

On a powder day, the bowl becomes truly epic, as evidenced by a large red flag with the word "EPIC" in white, which the ski patrol hoists on the few days a year with extraordinary conditions.

"If there is 2 feet of snow, you are floating and falling and floating and falling," Smith said. "It's like skiing in your dreams."

That Highland Bowl is open to the public is a testament to skillful avalanche control, impressive logistics and a lot of hard work by a dedicated ski patrol, particularly in the early season.

The key to avalanche prevention is keeping the base compacted as snow accumulates throughout the season. Because the slopes are too steep for groomers, the bowl must be packed out in the early season by men and women on foot, step by step.

Members of the ski patrol, joined by volunteers earning points toward a season pass, descend the bowl tied to safety ropes, stomping the snowpack.

"They pack every inch of that bowl with their feet," Smith said. "It's like being on a StairMaster seven hours a day."

Then they hike up and down, up and down, five days a week for six weeks before the bowl opens. It's a labor of love, Smith said. To give is better than to receive, and this is the ski patrol's gift to the community.

Highlands' former owner toyed with opening the bowl to the public first through backcountry tours, then heliskiing in the early 1980s.

In 1984, an avalanche took the lives of three ski patrolmen, and after that, Smith said, "The bowl stood still."

It wasn't until 1997 that, with renewed interest, Highlands opened a small portion of the bowl.

"Every year after that we added little chunks, slowly moving around the bowl," Smith said. "You take something experimental and turn it into something operational."

Aspen local John Case said he appreciates the effort. Back when Highland Bowl was out-of- bounds, Case and friends made it an annual spring tour to spend all day hiking to the top and skiing down the consolidated corn snow. Now he can access the bowl all season.

"It's unlike any other ski area experience. It's like a mountaineering experience in a ski resort," Case said. "It's such a long steep pitch, and it just goes and goes and goes."