Aspen Mountain (often called by its former name of Ajax among locals) is a ski area in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, located in

Pitkin County Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen, Colorado, Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederi ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, just outside and above the city of

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

. Aspen Mountain forms the end of Richmond Ridge, a long ridge that extends south at approximately to join the main spine of the Elk Mountains. Founded in 1946 by Walter Paepcke, Aspen was the first ski area venture of the Aspen Skiing Company. It is one of four adjacent ski areas operated by the company as part of the Aspen/Snowmass complex. At only , it is somewhat small compared to other ski areas, especially compared to the much larger nearby Snowmass ski area, and retains a unique cultural flavor that harkens to the earlier days of recreational skiing in the state. The ski area is located within the White River National Forest and is operated under a permit from the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

. It has three restaurants on the mountain; two are on top (one is a club that only allows members), and one is mid-mountain.

History and description

Before 1946, the mountain had been the site of skiing, which used a crude boat lift and

jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

trails up the back side of the mountain on Midnight Mine Road. In 1941, Aspen's first national downhill and slalom championships were held March 8–9. Fritz Benedict visited Aspen for the first time, the father of the 10th Mountain Hut and Trail System. The foundation of the ski area in 1946 was accomplished with the installation of the single-seat

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

, Lift-1. When it began operations on December 14, 1946, it was the longest chairlift in the world. Many of the first employees were veterans of the U.S. Army's

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

, which had trained in Colorado at

Camp Hale Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River Valley at an elevati ...

north of

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

, including Friedl Pfeifer of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and Pete Seibert. Before the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, Pfeifer had headed the ski school at Sun Valley and did the same at Aspen; Seibert was a member of the Aspen ski patrol who later founded Vail Mountain in 1962. In its fourth season, Aspen hosted the 1950 World Championships, the first world championships held outside of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the first since

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. Lift-1 ran until 1972, when it was replaced by two double chairlifts, Shadow Mountain (commonly referred to as 1A) and Ruthie's. Access to the mountain was radically changed in 1986 with the installation of the Silver Queen

Gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

, which ascends to the summit up the east side of the area with a vertical rise of . The area's lifts include 1 high-speed quad, one high-speed triple, two quads, and three doubles. The gondola is one of two lifts, along with the Little Nell chairlift, which ascends from Gondola Plaza in the heart of downtown Aspen. The configuration allows visitors to ascend the mountain from the town center and ski down the Little Nell Run back into town. The mountainside contains hidden and open remains of the intense

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

activity from the

Colorado Silver Boom The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each st ...

in the late 1880s and early 1890s. In January 2001, it was decided to end Aspen Mountain's long-time ban on

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

. However, as a courtesy to season-pass holders, the resort was not officially opened to snowboarders until April 1, 2001. The longest run is , and the lift capacity is 10,755 riders per hour. The average annual

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

is , and it has snowmaking capabilities of , approximately one-third of the area. The mountain is considered moderate to difficult, with no "green" (beginner) runs. Its sister mountain, Aspen Highlands, also has no beginner terrain as of December 2017. Novice skiers must go to Snowmass or

Buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...

. Approximately 26% of the terrain is considered expert. The season on the mountain ranges from late November to early April. It is typically the last area, along with nearby Snowmass, in the resort complex to close for the winter. The ski area has a unique "homespun" culture that dates from its early foundation as part of the Utopian social experiment in Aspen created by Walter Paepcke in the 1940s, retaining somewhat of a throwback culture in comparison to the other three areas of the complex. The culture is reflected in the numerous homemade memorials and tributes that dot the trees of mountains created in honor of famous personages such as

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

and Hunter S. Thompson. It is rumored that under the Bell Mountain lift on Aspen Mountain was the home of the first Panty tree of bras, panties, thongs, and Mardi Gras necklaces as early as the late 1950s. A small lodging, shopping, and residential development is under development near the ski lift at Aspen Mountain. The ski lift itself will be moved closer to town. Originally proposed by a group with Aspen creds, it narrowly passed a vote in Aspen. However, it was soon sold, at a substantial profit, to the OKO Group, an international real estate development company owned by Vladislav Doronin, a controversial transaction.

Terrain and Lifts

*Trails: 76 * North: 50% * East: 27% * West: 23%

Spring skiing on Aspen Mountain

File:Aspen Mountain spring skiing 2015.jpg, Ruthie's run File:Aspen Mountain spring skiing Copper run.jpg, Copper gulch File:Aspen Mountain spring skiing over Aspen.jpg, At the bottom with Aspen view

References

* Beidleman, Neal (2006) ''Aspen Ski and Snowboard Guide'' Wolverine Publishing * ''Skiing Heritage'' (1997) "Skiing Comes to Aspen" Volume 9 #2 * Shelton, Peter (1996) ''Aspen Skiing: The First Fifty Years'' Western Eye Press * Asmus, Brad (1993) ''The Local's Guide To Skiing Aspen'' * O'Rear (1966) ''The Aspen story'' NY: A. S. Barnes

External links

* {{Roaring Fork Valley, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Pitkin County, Colorado Ski areas and resorts in Colorado Roaring Fork Valley Aspen Skiing Company Tourist attractions in Pitkin County, Colorado White River National Forest