Written by Anne Gilbert Coleman, as part of the Roaring Fork Research Scholarship for the Aspen Historical Society in 1995, the paper provides insights into the history of the development of skiing in Aspen.

Introduction:

Colorado holds a place of honor in the ski world. The Rocky Mountain scenery and climate attract millions of people to Colorado every year, and 1994 .ski magazine readers ranked three Colorado areas as the best ski areas in North America. One-fifth of the nation’s 55 million skier-visits were in Colorado that year, and the state’s economy, accordingly, has come to depend on skiing and the ski industry. As of 1994, the ski industry brought $2.5 billion a year in direct and Indirect revenue to Colorado, and in Colorado towns west of the continental divide, skiing accounted for one in every three jobs.
This description of the modern ski industry is really another way of saying that people love to ski, and they love to ski in Colorado. There is something about the sport of skiing that draws them in spite of high prices, cold weather, ungainly crowds, and the risk of injury. John Litchfield, a skier since the 1930s, 10th Mountain Division veteran, and co-founder of the Aspen Ski School, said skiing is “the single greatest sport on the earth,” because “it’s completely individual–its all up to you. You can be wild, crazy, calm–all in the healthy outdoor air.” Most skiers agree that the ability to
express yourself outdoors on a beautiful mountain provides a sense of freedom, autonomy, and connection to the landscape that no other sport can offer. The slope, the weather, and the scenery combine to create an experience that can be both peaceful and exhilarating.