Aspen

Past to Present

Aspen Journey—Past to Present describes the progress of a remote area of the Rocky Mountains into a 21st-century mecca for culture and powder skiing. Aspen is like no other place!

Historical photos documenting the life, work, and pastimes of the people who settled in Aspen are inside this book, along with antique prints, old paper memorabilia, and vintage postcards. These stories belong to courageous prospectors, brave business entrepreneurs, and ordinary people who wanted to call Aspen “home.” They arrived during the mining boom and stayed to sustain Aspen through The Quiet Years. Perhaps they were enchanted by the indescribable essence of Aspen – the things that set Aspen apart from so many other cities and towns across the U.S.

The prospectors and miners used skiing as a helpful method of getting around in the snow. Skiing became a recreation for a small, isolated community blessed with featherweight snow and soaring peaks. Aspen’s future as a ski destination finally became a reality when Walter Paepcke, Elizabeth Paepcke, and their partners created the Aspen Skiing Company in 1946. Many men from the 10th Mountain Division who trained at nearby Camp Hale returned to Aspen after WWII to follow careers in the ski business. The Paepckes also developed Aspen into a cultural haven, beginning with the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation and Music Festival in 1949. They inspired the creation of the Aspen Institute and the International Design Conference.

Aspen has managed to rise to mythic proportions. No one can explain Aspen, but everybody wants to be there.

An Extra: Inside, you will find 16 postcards to pull out, send to friends, or share with family. They will help you remember Aspen.

Aspen

Past to
Present

Aspen Journey—Past to Present describes the progress of a remote area of the Rocky Mountains into a 21st-century mecca for culture and powder skiing. Aspen is like no other place!

Historical photos documenting the life, work, and pastimes of the people who settled in Aspen are inside this book, along with antique prints, old paper memorabilia, and vintage postcards. These stories belong to courageous prospectors, brave business entrepreneurs, and ordinary people who wanted to call Aspen “home.” They arrived during the mining boom and stayed to sustain Aspen through The Quiet Years. Perhaps they were enchanted by the indescribable essence of Aspen – the things that set Aspen apart from so many other cities and towns across the U.S.

The prospectors and miners used skiing as a helpful method of getting around in the snow. Skiing became a recreation for a small, isolated community blessed with featherweight snow and soaring peaks. Aspen’s future as a ski destination finally became a reality when Walter Paepcke, Elizabeth Paepcke, and their partners created the Aspen Skiing Company in 1946. Many men from the 10th Mountain Division who trained at nearby Camp Hale also returned to Aspen after WWII to follow careers in the ski business. The Paepckes also developed Aspen into a cultural haven, beginning with the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation and Music Festival in 1949. They inspired the creation of the Aspen Institute and the International Design Conference.

Aspen has managed to rise to mythic proportions. No one can explain Aspen, but everybody wants to be there.

An Extra: Inside, you will find 16 postcards to pull out, send to friends, or share with family. They will help you remember Aspen.