When I last posted I mentioned that there was a bomb threat in Aspen. I assumed the threats were probably bogus but they actually turned out to be real. Most of the business district of Aspen was evacuated and blocked off. It started sometime during the afternoon and was not resolved until around 3am after several real bombs were located. The suspect was found after he committed suicide sometime around 1:30 am. Needless to say, New Years Fireworks were canceled along with most other celebrations. Since I’m staying 10 miles outside of Aspen in Snowmass Village I was unaffected but it was a big deal. No one was hurt but many businesses took a large loss on what is usually one of the best nights for bars and restaurants…The perpetrator was a long time local who was apparently disgruntled over town politics or something. I'm not too sure of the details... Rumors fly.... Crazy things happen...I drove into Aspen around 7am New Years morning to snowshoe up Aspen mountain. I met an old friend by the name of Mark along with others. Talk was all about the Bomb incident but things were already getting back to normal. The walk up the mountain was nice. It’s a fairly steep grind all the way to top with an elevation gain of 3,000+ feet. It was a clear morning so the views were awesome as usual. I spent some time at the top before taking the Gondola down. Uphilling as a sport is a bit of an oddity but it's quite popular between the communities of Aspen and Vail. There are a number of races throughout the winter with the biggest one taking place in March. It’s called Americas Uphill and is held on the same route I snowshoed up on New Years day. The race attracts over 400 participants and is very competitive. The vast majority uphill on Snowshoes while others use various varieties of cross country skis with climbing skins. Skins allow the ski to slid up with out slipping back.
After uphilling in the morning I pulled out the skate skis for the afternoon and zipped around the cross country trails of Aspen Valley. While doing so I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen for years. His name is Tom and he’s married to a woman by the name of Diane. Diane is one of the first people I met when I moved to the Aspen area in 1984. Tom is now the principal for Aspen Middle School. Tom and Diane have two sons. One in 7th grade and the other in 10th grade. They live in a house in Aspen that has a great view and backs up to cross country ski trails. There’s also a lift right below them that accesses Aspen Highlands ski area. Wow ! What a spot ! Of course they all ski. The sons are most enthusiastic about ski jumping and Tom and Diane think it's pretty cool…..What a life !…. Anyway, Tom and I got to talking and he invited me to join him along with family and friends for a Turkey dinner. Naturally I took him up on the offer and it turned out to be a very nice evening. It was really great to catch up and to see how fast their sons have grown. The years pass by so fast……
Today I spent my time cross country skiing around an area known as Ashcroft. It’s about 10 miles outside of Aspen at the end of Castle Creek valley. It’s one of my favorite places in Colorado. In the 1880’s Ashcroft was a silver mining town. At its peak it boasted a population of 3,500 with 20 saloons and 6 hotels. Very little of the town remains but there are a few abandoned buildings that are preserved in arrested decay by the local historical society. It’s a very beautiful place that offers good skiing in winter and great hiking in the summer. Today I experienced spring like conditions with temps in the upper 30’s combined with a good deal of sun..….
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