{"id":2453147,"date":"2020-01-12T22:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T05:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=319021"},"modified":"2020-01-13T08:58:22","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T15:58:22","slug":"aspen-gay-ski-week-kicks-off-43rd-year-of-festivities-fundraising-for-lgbtq-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-gay-ski-week-kicks-off-43rd-year-of-festivities-fundraising-for-lgbtq-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen Gay Ski Week kicks off 43rd year of festivities, fundraising for LGBTQ+ community"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7307692307692\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-319021-978\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-1024x594.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times | Pride colors light up the Limelight Hotel for Aspen Gay Ski Week on Sunday, January 12, 2020. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Pride colors light up the Limelight Hotel for Aspen Gay Ski Week on Sunday, January 12, 2020. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Maddie Vincent\/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.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-1024x594.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Pride colors light up the Limelight Hotel for Aspen Gay Ski Week on Sunday, January 12, 2020. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-1-1024x555.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times | Skiers turn down Ruthie's Run on Aspen Mountain Sunday as part of the first \" mountain du jour group skiing day of aspen gay ski week. the lgbtq celebration and fundraiser is in its year. vincent times class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Skiers turn down Ruthie&#8217;s Run on Aspen Mountain Sunday as part of the first &#8220;mountain du jour&#8221; group skiing day of Aspen Gay Ski Week. The LGBTQ+ celebration and fundraiser is in its 43rd year. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Maddie Vincent\/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.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-1-1024x555.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Skiers turn down Ruthie's Run on Aspen Mountain Sunday as part of the first \" mountain du jour group skiing day of aspen gay ski week. the lgbtq celebration and fundraiser is in its year. vincent times><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-2-1024x654.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times | A group skiing as part of the first \" mountain du jour experience for aspen gay ski week pose a photo near buckhorn cabin on sunday january vincent times class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>A group skiing as part of the first &#8220;mountain du jour&#8221; experience for Aspen Gay Ski Week pose for a photo near Buckhorn Cabin on Aspen Mountain Sunday, January 13, 2020. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Maddie Vincent\/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.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/gayskiweek-atd-011320-1-2-1024x654.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"A group skiing as part of the first \" mountain du jour experience for aspen gay ski week pose a photo near buckhorn cabin on sunday january vincent times><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-gay-ski-week-kicks-off-43rd-year-of-festivities-fundraising-for-lgbtq-community\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-gay-ski-week-kicks-off-43rd-year-of-festivities-fundraising-for-lgbtq-community\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Near the base of the Silver Queen Gondola on Sunday morning, over 20 skiers split into three groups, met their mountain guides and rode to the top of the Aspen resort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">These skiers weren\u2019t taking a lesson or a part of any sort of clinic. They were taking part in the first \u201cmountain du jour\u201d skiing experience of the annual Aspen Gay Ski Week, which kicked off its 43-year anniversary Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As the group of skiers turned their way down and across Aspen Mountain, some said they\u2019d been coming to the Gay Ski Week celebration and fundraiser for decades because of its positive, fun culture. Others said they were attending for the first time, and some even said they had stumbled upon it in the past, becoming a part of the LGBTQ+ event by happenstance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That\u2019s how it was for Kevin McManamon, executive director of AspenOUT, the nonprofit behind Aspen Gay Ski Week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He said he was visiting the local area with friends over 24 years ago at the same time as Aspen Gay Ski Week and has been a part of the event nearly every year since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI was just here to ski with some friends and said, \u2018Wait a minute, why are there so many gay people here?\u2019\u201d McManamon recalled, laughing. \u201cI discovered it by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">First working the week as a volunteer and now serving as AspenOUT\u2019s executive director, McManamon said the annual Gay Ski Week is promoted and produced almost fully by the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This year, the week has a new sponsor, W Aspen, which will host the opening cocktail reception and several apres ski events over the week \u2014 featuring bartenders and dancers from The Abbey, a famous gay bar in Los Angeles \u2014 and is partnering with the Family Equality Council and R Family Vacations to host a LGBTQ+ family-focused weekend of events in Snowmass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Starting with ULLR Night and an LGBTQ Family Night at the Treehouse, and ending with a pool party and friendship dinner, the inaugural LGBTQ+ family weekend is set to host 27 families as part of Aspen Gay Ski Week, and may even include a summer counterpart this year, <a id=\"N0x1c19e60N0x1b6c3c0:N0x1c19e60N0x1c44ce0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-gay-ski-week-to-welcome-families-next-month\/\">as previously reported. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe have a very loyal following but our growth will be with families,\u201d McManamon said. \u201cThat\u2019s where the future of gay travel is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But while this year\u2019s Gay Ski Week includes a few new twists that are bound to be a part of the event moving forward, McManamon said a lot of what keeps so many people coming back year after year is the traditional Aspen Gay Ski week festivities \u2014 like the night out at the Caribou Club, downhill costume contest on the Little Nell run and the pink flamingo pool party \u2014 along with the fundraising the weeklong celebration does for the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Through lift tickets, rentals, apres-ski event sales and the annual silent auction, McManamon said Aspen Gay Ski week raises over $100,000 every year, which divides out into grants and scholarships for both national LGBTQ+ initiatives and local ones, <a id=\"N0x1c19e60N0x1b6c4e0:N0x1c19e60N0x1c44ed8\" href=\"https:\/\/aspenout.org\/\">like those through AspenOUT<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Looking to the future, McManamon said he hopes the week will continue to find ways to grow, highlight Aspen as a welcoming mountain town to the LGBTQ+ community, and serve as an annual event the entire city enjoys taking part in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI have a lot of friends who are bartenders and servers and say this is their favorite week of the year. The city loves us,\u201d McManamon said of Aspen Gay Ski Week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe (LGBTQ+) community is really integrated into the Aspen community, but it\u2019s not that way everywhere else. \u2026 There are lots of LGBTQ+ beach towns, but if you don\u2019t want to go to the beach we should be the mountain town you feel you can come to. I think Aspen-Snowmass is at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-gay-ski-week-kicks-off-43rd-year-of-festivities-fundraising-for-lgbtq-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pride colors light up the Limelight Hotel for Aspen Gay Ski Week on Sunday, January 12, 2020. (Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times).Maddie Vincent\/The Aspen Times Skiers turn down Ruthie&#8217;s Run on Aspen Mountain Sunday as part of the first &#8220;mountain du jour&#8221; group skiing day of Aspen Gay Ski Week. The LGBTQ+ celebration and fundraiser is [&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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 21:11:37","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&#039;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\/2453147","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=2453147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2453163,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453147\/revisions\/2453163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}