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Phoenix → Aspen

PHX–ASE · Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

San Juan Mountains is the main event, and it has company: 3 more worth looking at out the right.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

PHX to ASE: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.PHXASELEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 59 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftQuarter in59 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 59 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Meteor Crater

    LeftQuarter in16 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Meteor Crater sits roughly 16 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Painted Desert

    RightHalfway9 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Painted Desert, about 9 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Canyon de Chelly

    RightHalfway9 mi off the route

    Canyon de Chelly is about 9 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Shiprock

    RightHalfway18 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Shiprock sits roughly 18 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. San Juan Mountains

    RightThree quarters11 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for San Juan Mountains, about 11 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Maroon Bells

    Either sideNear the end1 mi off the route

    Maroon Bells sits close enough to ASE that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

491 mi
Great-circle distance
34°
Course out of PHX
37°
Course into ASE
6
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Aspen → PhoenixLeft side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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