Aspen Skiing Company facts for kids
The Aspen Skiing Company, also known as Ski Co, is a company located in Aspen, Colorado. It manages the popular Aspen/Snowmass resort. This resort includes four different ski areas: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. In 2023, the company became part of a new, bigger company called Aspen One.
History of Aspen Skiing
The Aspen Skiing Company started in 1946. It was founded by Friedl Pfeifer, a ski instructor from Austria, and Walter Paepcke, a businessman from Chicago. Other founders included Judge William E. Doyle, James J. Johnston, and H. F. Klock. Mr. Paepcke also helped create cultural places in Aspen, like the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival.
The company opened the Aspen Mountain Ski Resort on December 14, 1946. Its first chairlift, called Lift-1, was the longest in the world at that time. In 1950, the company hosted the FIS World Alpine Championships. This was the first big international skiing competition held in the United States.
Over the next few years, the company grew. It opened Buttermilk in 1958 and Snowmass in 1967. In 1993, the Aspen Skiing Company also took over Aspen Highlands. This ski area was started in 1958 by Whip Jones, a famous Colorado skier.
In 1977, the company was bought by Twentieth Century Fox. After this, ticket prices for skiing started to go up. In the 1970s, a day ticket cost just over 10 dollars. Now, prices are similar to other ski resorts.
In 2012, the Aspen Skiing Company built a special power plant in Somerset, Colorado. This plant turns methane gas from a mine into electricity. It can make 3 megawatts of power.
What Aspen Skiing Company Does
Besides running four ski areas, the company also owns and operates hotels. These include The Little Nell and The Limelight in Aspen. There are also Limelight hotels in Ketchum, Idaho, and Snowmass, Colorado.
The company also runs restaurants both on and off the mountains. It has a ski and snowboard school called The Ski and Snowboard Schools of Aspen Snowmass. This school offers lessons for all skill levels, from beginners to experts. The ski season usually starts around Thanksgiving Day and lasts until mid-April. The exact dates depend on the weather and how much snow there is.
The Crown family from Chicago currently owns the Aspen Skiing Company. Mike Kaplan is the President and CEO of the company. In March 2022, Aspen Skiing Co. announced a big plan to improve Buttermilk. This $23 million project was finished in time for the 2022-2023 ski season.
Protecting Water Rights
The Aspen Skiing Company has supported a law called the Water Rights Protection Act. This law helps prevent federal agencies from making companies give up their water rights to the United States. Water is very important for ski resorts, especially for making snow.
In 2012, a court decided that ski companies should keep their private water rights. However, the United States Forest Service wanted to make a new rule. This rule would require ski resorts to give their water rights to the government to get permits to operate on federal lands. The ski industry in Colorado supported the Water Rights Protection Act. They believed this law was needed to stop the Forest Service from demanding their valuable water rights. David Corbin, a Vice President at Aspen Skiing Company, explained that the company would not be able to operate without enough water.
See also
- Aspen Community Foundation
