{"id":1310777,"date":"2019-05-28T07:16:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T13:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character\/"},"modified":"2019-05-28T07:16:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-28T13:16:00","slug":"hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds gather atop Aspen Mountain to remember Sam Coffey and his larger-than-life character"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.8562401263823\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-979490-305\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Passerby's touch the photos of the late Sam Coffey lining the path on the way to his memorial service Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Passerby&#8217;s touch the photos of the late Sam Coffey lining the path on the way to his memorial service Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2.jpg\" alt=\"Passerby's touch the photos of the late Sam Coffey lining the path on the way to his memorial service Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | A large crowd gathers Monday morning on Richmond Ridge at the top of Aspen Mountain to celebrate the life of local Sam Coffey.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A large crowd gathers Monday morning on Richmond Ridge at the top of Aspen Mountain to celebrate the life of local Sam Coffey.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"A large crowd gathers Monday morning on Richmond Ridge at the top of Aspen Mountain to celebrate the life of local Sam Coffey.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Sam Coffey's friends and family look on Monday as speakers celebrate Sam Coffey's life at a memorial service on Aspen Mountain.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Sam Coffey&#8217;s friends and family look on Monday as speakers celebrate Sam Coffey&#8217;s life at a memorial service on Aspen Mountain.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Coffey's friends and family look on Monday as speakers celebrate Sam Coffey's life at a memorial service on Aspen Mountain.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Hundreds made the walk Monday morning from the Aspen Mountain gondola to Sam Coffey's memorial on Richmond Ridge.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Hundreds made the walk Monday morning from the Aspen Mountain gondola to Sam Coffey&#8217;s memorial on Richmond Ridge.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-3.jpg\" alt=\"Hundreds made the walk Monday morning from the Aspen Mountain gondola to Sam Coffey's memorial on Richmond Ridge.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Ski boots filled with flowers and pictures of Sam Coffey pay homage to the loss of a beloved local.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Ski boots filled with flowers and pictures of Sam Coffey pay homage to the loss of a beloved local.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-4.jpg\" alt=\"Ski boots filled with flowers and pictures of Sam Coffey pay homage to the loss of a beloved local.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Hundreds of Sam Coffey's friends and family and those touched by Coffey attend a memorial in his honor Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Hundreds of Sam Coffey&#8217;s friends and family and those touched by Coffey attend a memorial in his honor Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-5.jpg\" alt=\"Hundreds of Sam Coffey's friends and family and those touched by Coffey attend a memorial in his honor Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-6.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Ski racer and musician Mark Engel dedicates a song to Sam Coffey at a memorial service Monday held on Richmond Ridge.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Ski racer and musician Mark Engel dedicates a song to Sam Coffey at a memorial service Monday held on Richmond Ridge.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-6.jpg\" alt=\"Ski racer and musician Mark Engel dedicates a song to Sam Coffey at a memorial service Monday held on Richmond Ridge.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-7.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times | Sam Coffey's mother, Cathy, cheers as Mark Engel concludes a song dedicated to Coffey at a memorial service Monday.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Sam Coffey&#8217;s mother, Cathy, cheers as Mark Engel concludes a song dedicated to Coffey at a memorial service Monday.<\/strong><br \/>Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/05\/samcoffey-atd-052819-2-7.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Coffey's mother, Cathy, cheers as Mark Engel concludes a song dedicated to Coffey at a memorial service Monday.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText HeadLarge\">One more lap<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">On the heels of Memorial Day Weekend skiing that saw long lift lines and good snow conditions, Skico announces Ajax will open next weekend. <span class=\"STND:STND BriefText Bold\">PAGE A3<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sam Coffey was a man without friends, for anyone who met him instantly became family. Standing atop Aspen Mountain on Monday, Cathy Coffey looked at a crowd estimated at near 1,000 people as she talked about her son. Sam\u2019s sister JoAnna, or JoJo, stood at her side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was the world to me,\u201d Cathy said. \u201cMy heart and JoJo\u2019s heart is shattered and severed beyond belief without Sam here on Earth, but his spirit will live on and because of our family, the ski group Freaks, and this wonderful community and friends, JoJo and I will save a piece of our hearts for all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s memorial service on Richmond Ridge was more of a family reunion where each person came to say goodbye to their son, their brother, their cousin. Sam Coffey, the tall, friendly, larger-than-life skier from Aspen, was all that and more to anyone who crossed paths with him. He was the sort of person who existed to make everything around him better, and it was his overwhelming joy for living \u2014 and especially for skiing \u2014 that brought so many to the top of Ajax on Monday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/well-known-aspen-skier-sam-coffey-dead-at-29\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">Coffey unexpectedly died May 20<\/a>&nbsp;after suffering a series of strokes while vacationing in Mexico. He was 29.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was not supposed to make this speech until I had made at least a couple of best man speeches for Sam,\u201d Wiley Maple joked while trying to hold back tears, Baker Boyd there next to him. \u201cWhen Baker called me with the news, I collapsed on the mountain. He said, \u2018One of us had to go first. It\u2019s fitting that Sam went, because he always went first.\u2019 First to kiss a girl, first to win a race, first to drink a beer. We followed in his wake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/sam-coffey-remembered-as-personable-fun-friend-who-just-loved-to-ski\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">Maple and Boyd were Coffey\u2019s best friends from childhood.<\/a>&nbsp;They found each other through the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, where the trio called themselves the \u201cStallions,\u201d a friendship formed from chasing girls, joyful shenanigans and, of course, skiing. Maple may have been the one to eventually make the World Cup as a ski racer, which included competing in the 2018 Olympic downhill, but even he spent his years looking up to the magnetic character who was Coffey, as did most others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s safe to say I\u2019ve been obsessed with Sam since I first met him. I don\u2019t think there was anything Sam, Wiley and Bake did that I didn\u2019t try to copy at one point or another,\u201d said Aspen\u2019s Bobby Moyer, who was four years younger than Coffey. \u201cSam taught me, more than anything, that if you are going to do something, do it all the way and never, ever stop having fun. He made us all into better versions of ourselves. Being around Sam made you better. His lust for life and his frantic desire to enjoy every pleasure of what it means to be alive is contagious and has infected everyone that knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Coffey was himself an accomplished ski racer, having been a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspen-graduate-makes-podium-at-ncaa-ski-championships\/\">two-time All-American<\/a>&nbsp;at the University of New Hampshire. He even served as Maple\u2019s ski technician on the World Cup circuit this past winter. An avid traveler and adventurer, about the only thing Maple loved as much as his family and skiing was Aspen itself. Alongside Maple and Boyd, he co-founded the \u201cFreaks\u201d ski gang and never missed a chance to heckle the likes of Vail.<\/p>\n<p>A talent in the world of ski marketing and public relations, Coffey left that life behind soon after&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/longtime-snowmass-local-skier-and-family-man-joe-coffey-dies-at-64\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">his father, Snowmass icon Joe Coffey, died in January 2018<\/a>&nbsp;after a long battle with melanoma. This past year was the best of Sam Coffey\u2019s life, according to Maple, and while it was a life cut short, it was a life lived to its fullest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSam\u2019s family is his best friends, and his best friends are his family,\u201d said Sierra Rintel, a close friend of Coffey\u2019s who attended UNH with him. \u201cIt\u2019s insane to think about how many people Sam knew and his impact on them. He did such a good job of making other people feel special. It was easy for him, because he truly loved everyone. His contagious smile, laugh and personality made us all want to be around him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cathy Coffey hinted that her son was maybe ready to turn a new page in the coming years. Surely he would have returned to Maple\u2019s side on the World Cup next winter, where he made quite the impression traveling alongside members of the U.S. Ski Team these past few months. But after that, he may have settled down, although his vivacious approach to life certainly would have remained and it certainly won\u2019t be forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSam had an exuberant personality full of gusto that can never be suppressed or duplicated,\u201d Cathy Coffey said. \u201cI have no regrets with how Sam didn\u2019t waste a moment of his life. He told me after one more ski season coming up in Europe, he would be ready to venture back to more marketing in the ski industry and sometime have a family. I replied, \u2018You have lots of time for that,\u2019 but he didn\u2019t, because God had much greater plans for Sam. Sometimes God picks the undoubtedly good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/hundreds-gather-atop-aspen-mountain-to-remember-sam-coffey-and-his-larger-than-life-character\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Passerby&#8217;s touch the photos of the late Sam Coffey lining the path on the way to his memorial service Monday morning on Richmond Ridge.Jeremy Wallace \/ The Aspen Times A large crowd gathers Monday morning on Richmond Ridge at the top of Aspen Mountain to celebrate the life of local Sam Coffey.Jeremy Wallace \/ The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 05:02:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}