Fallen Friends and Protect Our Winters

If you've been to Aspen, Colorado than you know our Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the world.  The majestic Rocky Mountains, the roaring rivers and the high alpine forests provide us with the beautiful natural amphitheater in which we live and play.

Whether you are a local or a tourist it's easy to understand the attractions of Aspen.

 Saturday AspenSpin attended fund-raisers for two extremely important issues, Fallen Friends and Protect Our Winters.  They are issues that affect us locally but have global implications.  At A-Spin we tend to focus on the good times... but these two subjects are becoming increasingly crucial in mountain communities across the globe.

Clic 4 Pix:  Fallen Friends & Protect Our Winters

FALLEN FRIENDs is a memorial event at Aspen Highlands to honor those skiers and riders who have paid the ultimate price. Many of our friends have lost their lives...sure, it's doing what they love, but it's not worth it.  Fallen Friends is a blow out party "for the brothers who aren't here", but it's small compensation for the pain and sorrow of losing a loved one.  Aspen and other ski towns have lost waaaaaaaaaay to many young people to the mountains. Skiing and riding have always been inherently risky endeavors...the syndrome of "pushing the envelope" has created an increasing number of fatalities in the mountain and action sports communities.  We get it...going BIG is fun.  An adrenaline rush is a great feeling.  Sending a previously un-skied line or hucking an un-huckable cliff might get you sponsored or get you a starring role in a ski flick.   AspenSpin will say it loud and clear.  IT'S NOT WORTH IT.   Think before you go.  If it seems to sketchy...it probably is.  RESPECT MOTHER NATURE because she can take you any time she wants to.  Nuff said. 

PROTECT OUR WINTERS.   AspenSpin is not a climate change expert and we cannot solve this immense  worldwide problem with our little blog. But we can help raise money and awareness to fight climate change.  All of us on earth have a COMMON GOAL to find a solution to PROTECT OUR WINTERS (POW).  Chris Davenport and Jeff Halverty along with The Regal Nightclub gave back by throwing an informational fund-raiser.  Click the POW link to find out how you can help.  Act locally... start doing the little things at home. Recycle and re-use.  If we all work together we can Protect Our Winters and keep shredding.

Enough preachin'.  Click my SICK PIX....thaz wut i do.

FALLEN FRIENDS               PROTECT OUR WINTERS

HBO's Jon Frankel and POW Host Chris Davenport at the Protect Our Winters Event

Occupy Cloud 9 @ Aspen Highlands

A beautiful day at Aspen Highlands. 12/26/11In an effort to effectively open the lines of communication and create an actionable, cohesive message, AspenSpin joined the 1% for a friendly lunch at Cloud 9 at Aspen Highlands.  Our group of six included 4 moguls from Detroit, one mogul from Jersey and one ski bum / blogger....yours truly.

Click 4 pix  OCCUPY CLOUD 9.

Cloud 9 is an exclusive, ski-in, ski-out (if u can) on-mountain restaurant situated in an Alpine Hut slopeside at Aspen Highlands.  The wine began flowing from the get-go.  The A-Team, as this group of skiers is affectionately known, left their wives, kids, nannies and problems behind to enjoy a day of skiing and a bacchanalian mid-day meal at Cloud 9.  Luckily the cell service at Cloud 9 is almost non-existent...therefore we were not interrupted by those pesky "deal making calls" that ring these guys up 24/7.

We were greeted with drinks on the deck by Cloud 9's famed Chef Andres Fischbacher. We kicked our skis off outside and Andres immediately un-corked the first of many bottles of wine.   The place was packed with other "one percenters" willing to pay BIG bucks to eat, drink and mingle like European Kings. 

The Cloud 9 staff is always very friendly...that is until the special orders and food proclivities begin to surface.  "No meat, no dairy, i'm a vegan, gluten free, kosher and completely organic" was the request from one of the higher maintenance members of the group.   "I'll have what he's having" said another guy at the table.  When a third member went for the vegan risotto with no sauce, it left just 3 of us to pound out sizzling raclette made with glorious meats and cheeses.   The meat eaters ordered venison ragu, osso bucco and pheasant sausage to satisfy our cravings for more meat. The vegans focused on the wine.   The food was great...but it was overshadowed by the copious amounts of red wine that flowed like a river.  It turns out that the vegans dig the vino. 

After a 3 hour lunch...no one could move.  We contemplated spending the night in an effort to "Occupy Cloud 9".  The authorities nixed that idea.  As mentioned, cell service is sketch up there...so no bothersome calls from the girls...or the kids...or the office. The lack of communication was defining.   Aspen Spin's inability to tweet or check in on Facebook left us in a tizzy, so we all decided to carefully ski down the steep and icy slopes of Aspen Highlands.  We made it to the bottom safely and without inncident.

Slightly disheveled, we de-booted, struggled with our ski equipment and made it to the safe zone... a fully decked out mini-van complete with a designated driver.  It was a short ride back to the "real world"...that is if you consider Aspen, the real world.  Massive hangovers ensued, and no business was completed and best of all no moguls were harmed by the events revealed above.  TIA.  This is Aspen.

The Six.The meat eaters stuck together at Cloud 9. Aspen Highlands. 12/26/11 click 4 pix.Andres Fischbacher kept us happy at Cloud 9.Veggie Raclette at Cloud 9. click 4 pix.

Cat Track Empire.

Aspen is cool.  There's always something happening here.  The town is gearing up for the Christmas rush...which is coming soon, get ready.  We finally got a mini-POW-day today and AspenSpin enacted the 3 inch rule...our entire staff gets the day off to ski.  The Aspen Ski Co. called it 6 inches...aaaahh we'll give it to 'em.  Everybody in town was thrilled to see a few freshies. 

The pace in Aspen is fast.  STEIN ERICKSEN vadled into Aspen to celebrate his 84th Birthday.  Hosted by Todd Shaver and the ASPEN BUSINESS LUNCHEON, Stein drew a crowd of more than 250 to his party.   AspenSpin is saying it, STEIN ERICKSEN is the most influential skier of all-time.  Sun Valley, Aspen, SugarBush, Boyne Mountain, Park City and now Deer Valley all owe a large debt of gratitude to Stein Ericksen.   About 40 of Stein's former colleagues were in the crowd and showed off their Norwegian sweaters.  Hearing his stories and meeting Stein are Hall of Fame moments. 

Click the pix:  STEIN ERIKSEN in ASPEN

Edible Aspen threw down with a Local's Food Fare at the St. Regis.  Food, wine, liquor, flowers, crafts and hats from FREE TIME GOODS.  Sign us up. 

Click 4 pix.  EDIBLE ASPEN FOOD FARE.

Highlands and Buttermilk both opened last weekend.  The "new" Merry-Go-Round showed off its $6 million remodel at Aspen Highlands.  The brand new $7 million Tiehack lift was dedicated by Aspen Legend, Klaus Obermeyer, 92.  We got out there...did you? 

Click for pix ASPEN HIGHLANDS OPENING.

STEIN ERIKSEN in ASPEN (Click 4 Pix)

EDIBLE ASPEN FOOD FARE (Click 4 Pix)

ASPEN HIGHLANDS OPENING (Click 4 Pix)

The Final Spin

The Final Spin. Aspen Closing DayAnother super-epic ski season in Aspen, Colorado is officially etched in the tablets of time.  2010/11 will go down in the scrolls as a very good year.  While not fantastic (think 07/08), the snow was pretty consistent all year.  We did score plenty of late season POW that had the locals calling for more.  Today, Easter Sunday was Aspen's official closing day.  The Power of Four is shutting it down after 150 days of fun.  Aspen Highlands played host to the now traditional raging party to cap off the season.   Over the past 5 years the Aspen Highlands Rave has become the #1 party in skiing.  You could argue with A-Spin about that--but you would be wrong. 

Click 4 PIX.  THE FINAL SPIN

It been a wild 5 year ride at AspenSpin. BIG fun was experienced.   Everyone has their own definition of "living the dream", but Aspen Spin has been willing to document and share ours on the internet.  A-Spin is the real deal, it's authentic.  You can't fake skiing every day and partying every night. We could bore you with stats, but what for?  After 5 years of pointing, shooting and posting we now measure our hits in the millions.  We've collected more t-shirts, stickers and chapstick than anyone in captivity.  We have the maximum number of facebook friends, we hit every single POW Day and we were the first to tweet in Aspen.  WTF? Who knew.

Everyone is media now.  Anbody with an i-phone thinks they are John Cameron Swayze.   Photos  <click> are now so easy to share <click>.  A-Spin was just a little ahead of the curve.  It's unclear what's next for us.  Another summer in La Jolla for sure.  Next Fall....dunno?  We'll probably be back for more, but we will need DOG-FRIENDLY housing and that always presents a problem.  Aspen landlords are a funky bunch, greed and paranoia about their sh*tty condos from 1965 make them tough to deal with.  Owning a sh*tty condo from 1965?---thats one option, but "no thanks" even at the current "discounted" prices.  Migrating down-valley?? Traffic jams and road rage---thats in our past.  We'll see what shakes out.

Until we meet again, THANK YOU ASPEN for being AWESOME.  Stay that way.  The POW, the PIX and the PEOPLE have made Aspen a great place to be for 8 years (5 with A-Spin).  Aspen is the "Capital of Skiing". The natural beauty, the open space, the bedazzling Rocky Mountains of Colorado combine to make the entire Roaring Fork Valley a special place; to be treasured. 

To all our people, the spinners; have a fantastic Summer....we'll see ya on-line...or off. 

Click 4 Pix.  The Final Spin.

A.Party / OUT

  

 

 

Aspen Highland Bowl

Earn your turns, bro.   The Aspen Highland Bowl is the closest thing to backcountry skiing within the confines of a ski resort.  Mac Smith and his crew of dedicated ski patrollers at Aspen Highlands have created the best in-bounds skiing in the world.  There's one catch, you have to hike up about 1000 vertical feet to get at it.  The Loge ski lift lets you off at about 11,000 feet and the top of Aspen Highland Bowl is just 2000 steps away.   Live-a-little --- take a lap.

Get after it---but don't poach our lines.   Learn more, click ASPEN HIGHLAND BOWL.

Vince Lahey, TV Star and Big Mountain Skier greets A. Party at the top of Aspen Highland Bowl.

Happy to be alive after 2000 steps at 12,000 feet. Aspen Highland Bowl.

You never know who you'll meet at the top of Aspen Highland Bowl. NASCAR racer Brian Vickers (left) and his crew, including Dave from Campo.