Apparently I struck a chord with the great people of Snowmass Village a few months ago when I tried, miserably, to be a bit tongue-in-cheek about my experience there.<\/p>\n
I sometimes forget that my sarcasm comes off a bit differently in print, but I soon remembered that it does.<\/p>\n
In the comments section on Facebook below my little missive<\/a>, you would have thought I was the worst person on the planet (I\u2019m not by the way, but I can introduce you to some who I know are).<\/p>\n I was called an elitist and a whiner and told not to come back.<\/p>\n On the street, people were pointing in my face, telling me the \u201carticle\u201d was bulls\u2014 and tell me to f-off.<\/p>\n What you are reading, by the way, is not an \u201carticle\u201d but a first-person opinion piece about life in the mountains.<\/p>\n But I digress. Geez. OK, I get it. People sure are sensitive.<\/p>\n A few people agreed with some of the points I was making about improving logistics surrounding the village and the bus system to get you there.<\/p>\n I did rant quite a bit about minutia, but it didn\u2019t seem like it at the time. Even my friends who were staying in one of the penthouses in Base Village, which was what brought me there in the first place, made some valid points about why my complaints were misplaced.<\/p>\n And for the record, I am just fine going past the roundabout and I don\u2019t hate you, Snowmass.<\/p>\n A couple of PR whizzes, who I have known for decades and represent Snowmass and its development partners, reached out to me with genuine concern on how to find solutions to the problems I pointed out.<\/p>\n They invited me back, this time to show me all the great things Snowmass has to offer. And they were successful.<\/p>\n We toured the new One Snowmass, Lumin, Collective and Limelight buildings, all of which bring vitality to Base Village. The free-market, multimillion dollar condos that are going like free pancakes on a powder day are gorgeous and offer sweeping views of the village and the mountains.<\/p>\n Obviously if people are investing millions into new properties at the base, they don\u2019t have the same issues as I do when it comes to signage and bus schedules in the village.<\/p>\n The PR ladies flipped the switch for a nice, warm, sunny spring day to ski and then we had a delicious lunch at the Crepe Shack (hint: red wine beef braised short ribs).<\/p>\n My PR friends allowed me to show them my logistical issues when it comes to the arrival center in the Game of Thrones-esque parking garage and listen to me about the timing of the bus to get there.<\/p>\n I had a different lens on Snowmass that day and I appreciate them taking the time to show me the little things that make it better when going to the \u2019Mass.<\/p>\n Who knew there were public bathrooms and lockers right on the plaza level of Base Village?<\/p>\n Sometimes you can lead a horse to water and make her drink.<\/p>\n So, consider this my mea culpa, Snowmass, on most of my jabs.<\/p>\n But whoever is in charge of the signs and bus routes, just minor changes would make major strides for people trying to find their way.<\/p>\n I will be back and I will be happy about it. Just look for the girl with the skis that have a sticker that says, \u201cRelax, it\u2019s Aspen.\u201d I also will be carrying a map. And to Chris Tullar, one of the Facebook commenters, I will take that free hug if you see me.<\/p>\n