{"id":2449403,"date":"2019-10-01T22:24:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T04:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/longevity-project-aspen-panelists-highlight-what-longevity-means-to-them-at-soldout-event\/"},"modified":"2019-10-02T10:31:25","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T16:31:25","slug":"longevity-project-aspen-panelists-highlight-what-longevity-means-to-them-at-soldout-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/longevity-project-aspen-panelists-highlight-what-longevity-means-to-them-at-soldout-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Longevity Project: Aspen panelists highlight what longevity means to them at soldout event"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Panelists laugh while talking to an audience about their personal beliefs and how they live their lives in the mountains at the Mountain Chalet in Aspen on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong>
Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The noun \u201clongevity\u201d has two definitions: The first is \u201ca long duration of individual life\u201d or \u201clength of life\u201d; the second is \u201clong continuance.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for five Aspen locals, the definition of longevity is more nuanced than what a dictionary implies.<\/p>\n

Alex Ferreira, X Games and 2018 Winter Olympics freeskier and medalist, said longevity for him means being able to ski until he\u2019s 100.<\/p>\n

Christy Mahon, one of the most accomplished ski mountaineers in the state, said the word means taking care of herself and morphing her lifestyle to what gives back to her heart, soul and body. And orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tomas Pevny said it means knowing his limitations and embracing the wisdom that comes with living a long, prosperous life.<\/p>\n

For the five panelists who talked about their life experiences in Aspen and beyond Tuesday night for The Aspen Times\u2019 Longevity Project event, chasing longevity had its nuances for each and some universal ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so exciting to be in a town that\u2019s constantly active,\u201d Mahon said of how living in Aspen impacts her lifestyle. \u201cWe motivate each other and seeing what\u2019s being done by others is just contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the fifth floor of the Mountain Chalet, a sold-out crowd of roughly 125 people listened as moderator Penn Newhard, founder of the Carbondale-based Backbone Media company, asked the panelists about what motivates and challenges each of them in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n

Most of the panelists expressed their love of the mountains and the Aspen area\u2019s active, adventurous culture as empowering and difficult. All highlighted camaraderie and community as their keys to success.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnection is so vital to our longevity and when we don\u2019t have it, we struggle,\u201d panelist and mental health professional Christina King said. \u201cThere is a lot of individualism and competition in this valley. I think we get distracted by that sometimes and forget to wrap our arms around each other, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mountain Rescue Aspen member and avalanche educator Greg Shaffran expressed similar thoughts, noting that the backcountry rescue and mountain safety nonprofit couldn\u2019t operate without its dedicated team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs individuals we\u2019re OK,\u201d Shaffran said, \u201cbut as a group we can combine and do some really amazing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

After roughly 45 minutes of discussion and an inspiring video featuring 99-year-old Klaus Obermeyer \u2014 the German native and longtime Aspen local known for his positive spirit and for helping revolutionize the ski industry \u2014 the panel concluded and National Geographic adventurer Mike Libecki took the stage. Overall, the speakers highlighted the importance of self-care and creating meaningful connections with others as key determinants of a long, prosperous life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all want to be like Klaus. It\u2019s a good way to live,\u201d Shaffran said of chasing longevity. \u201cI think finding diversity in your life sets you up for success down the road \u2026 but I also think longevity is about what you are able to leave and what kind of effect you can have on other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panelists laugh while talking to an audience about their personal beliefs and how they live their lives in the mountains at the Mountain Chalet in Aspen on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times The noun \u201clongevity\u201d has two definitions: The first is \u201ca long duration of individual life\u201d or \u201clength […]<\/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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449403","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 16:04:22","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":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449403"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449425,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449403\/revisions\/2449425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}