Aspen’s other side
Do you remember the first time you approached Aspen Mountain? Imagine that experience going something like this …
You walk over (not up) towards a new lift next to the historic tower that anchored Aspen’s first chairlift, the world’s longest. As you approach the lift your senses are raised by the graphic and video emersion thanks to Aspen’s first ski museum that takes you on a ride through the skiing heritage that you are about to become part of.
Steps away from the new lift your heart rate responds to flashes of historic moments from the 1950 FIS World Championships, Ingemar Stenmark battling Phil Mahre, Stein Erickson and Pfreidl Pfeifer, Spider Sabich and Jean Claude Killy, Aspen’s Andy Mill and Bill Marolt, Bill Johnson, Tomba, Kitt, Klammer, Vonn, Bode … Mikaela Shiffrin hoisting the World Cup Globe … all this (and so much more) happened right there in front of you. You get the chills as you take a seat, and the mountain’s reverence begins to set in.
Aspen’s skiing heritage, if voters approve on March 5, can finally be celebrated in all its fantastic glory. Aspen owns it and the exclusive right to celebrate it. The mountain already has its glitzy portal. What a wonderful opportunity to present “Aspen’s other side” at a new western portal.
Sure, no proposal of this size is perfect. Hopefully the voters will not allow perfect to stand in the way of something that can be so very special. While there are certainly devils in the details, there are also lots of angels.
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Mike Hundert
Chairman, Bob Beattie Ski Foundation
Board Member, International Skiing History Association