I write to you as someone who for four decades has been traveling to Aspen along with a large coterie of friends and family members to enjoy all of the great skiing and summer hiking this very special place offers. These activities can be pursued in many other places easier to travel to from Connecticut. What keeps us coming back is the great charm and atmosphere of the town and its people.
Sadly, I see that charm disappearing as the small-town feeling of the years becomes smothered by massive new buildings replacing small hotels, all of this creating a look-alike community not so different from that which exists elsewhere. Why go through the hassle of coming to Aspen, I predict many will ask.
The oversized plans for the Gorsuch hotel is a good example of what inspires this letter. The pristine upward views on the right side of Aspen Mountain will now be blemished by an enormous structure running upward to the highest point on the mountain. I ask, why? Because a gaggle of developers dream of more?
I hope the citizens of Aspen vote this project down; I see it as an encroachment too far and one that in no way enhances the experience of being here. And I certainly hope voters aren’t misled by the developer’s phony threats to pull out if they get a “no” vote; that’s the only way Aspen can force a far better outcome!
Don Gilbert
New Canaan, Connecticut