The last run is rarely the best one. Legs are gone, the light is flat, and everyone is already thinking about the terrace. That is fine. In the better ski towns the hours between the lifts closing and dinner are the point of the whole trip, and each town does them a little differently.
Here is where to go once you have clicked out of your bindings, from Colorado and Utah to the Swiss and French Alps. Most of these just need you to turn up before the sun drops behind the ridge.
Aspen: Ajax Tavern, at the bottom of the gondola
Aspen Mountain comes straight down into town, and Ajax Tavern sits at its base, beside the Silver Queen Gondola at The Little Nell. The patio fills from mid-afternoon with people still in their ski boots, and the truffle fries are, by long agreement, compulsory. Go early for a table in the sun. When the shade reaches the terrace, the evening moves a few blocks into town, which is the other good thing about Aspen: you can walk everywhere afterwards.
Park City: take the Town Lift down to Main Street
Park City's trick is the Town Lift, which drops you from Park City Mountain almost directly onto Historic Main Street. The street is lined with restored silver-mining era buildings, and it is where most of the town ends up by five o'clock. Walk it from the bottom up, stop wherever looks warm, and save dinner for later; Main Street stays busy well into the evening. The altitude is higher than most visitors expect, so go gently on the first night.
Verbier: Farinet, on the Place Centrale
Verbier's après has a reputation, and most of it was earned at Farinet, on the Place Centrale in the middle of the village. There is usually live music on the terrace in the late afternoon, and the crowd is a mix of seasonaires, chalet guests and people who meant to have one drink three hours ago. It is loud and it is friendly. If you want something quieter, the square has other bars, and the village is small enough that you will find one.
Courchevel 1850: La Folie Douce
La Folie Douce is up on the mountain rather than in the village, which changes the plan. The terrace becomes a party in the afternoon, with DJs and performers, and at some point you still have to ski back down. So go while you can still make a sensible decision about the last run, or know where the nearest lift down is. Afterwards, 1850 itself is smarter and calmer, better suited to an early aperitif than a second round of dancing.
St. Moritz: a drink at Badrutt's Palace
St. Moritz does après in a jacket. Badrutt's Palace has been looking out over the lake since 1896, and a drink there after skiing is less about volume and more about sitting down somewhere very comfortable with a view of the Engadin light going pink. Dress up slightly. Nobody will say anything if you do not, but you will notice.
Zermatt: the huts on the way home
Zermatt is car-free, and the runs back into the village pass a string of mountain bars. Hennu Stall, on the way down from Furi, is the famous one, and it gets busy. The rule is simple: the Matterhorn will still be there tomorrow, but the light on it at four o'clock will not, so find a seat facing it. Then take the last stretch slowly, because the village is at the bottom and so is dinner.
What to wear once the boots come off
Après is mostly a question of layers. You come in off the hill warm and damp, sit outside while the sun goes, then walk back through a village that is suddenly several degrees colder. A ski jacket is too much indoors and too loud in a bar. What you want is one good, heavy layer you can pull on over a base layer and forget about.
Ours is the I Stayed For Après heavyweight crewneck: a dense, soft sweatshirt with a small navy goggles print on the left chest. It is cut unisex, so it works on either of you, and it is heavy enough to stand in for a jumper on the walk home. Wear it with ski trousers on the terrace, then with jeans at dinner. If you would rather see the rest, the full range is in sweatshirts.
A few practical notes. Bring proper boots for the walk; ski boots on cobbles are how ankles end up in stories. Keep a hat in a pocket, since the temperature drops fast after sunset at altitude. And leave the goggles on the helmet, not on your head indoors.
Après-ski: a few questions, answered
What do you wear to après-ski?
Something warm and easy that looks fine in a bar. Most people keep their ski trousers on and swap the shell jacket for a heavyweight crewneck or hoodie over a thermal base layer, with snow boots instead of ski boots if they can manage it.
Is a crewneck warm enough for après?
Indoors and on a sunny terrace, yes, if it is a heavyweight one worn over a base layer. For the walk home after dark, add your jacket over the top. A heavy crewneck sits comfortably under a ski shell.
What time does après-ski start?
Roughly when the lifts start to close, which in most resorts means mid to late afternoon, earlier in midwinter. Terraces are at their best in the last hour of sun, so it pays to be there before the crowd.
Where is the best après-ski in the Alps?
It depends on what you want. Verbier and Courchevel are known for the party; St. Moritz is smarter and quieter; Zermatt has the huts and the view. In the US, Aspen and Park City both have après that spills straight into town, which makes the evening easy.