Aspen Mountain opens Saturday for summer
Aspen Snowmass kicks off summer 2023 operations Memorial Day weekend, with the Silver Queen Gondola at Aspen Mountain running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday. The gondola will continue to operate on weekends only until June 16, when daily operations will begin.
Daily operations at Snowmass will commence June 21, with the Elk Camp Gondola, Elk Camp Chair and the Meadows chair running daily.
Phase 2 of the Pandora’s terrain and lift project is underway, and due to construction activity, there will be no extended skiing this summer season, Aspen Skiing Co. officials said. Crews have begun glading work and access roads have been plowed. Lift construction is scheduled to begin June 1 with a scheduled completion date of Nov. 1. In addition, new snowmaking lines are being installed on Dipsy Doodle to bring more early-season terrain into play. Officials asked that hikers and bikers be aware of the construction activity.
“I’m looking forward to my first summer season here in the valley,” says Geoff Buchheister, CEO, Aspen Snowmass. “Aspen Snowmass is a company run by skiers for skiers, and while we would all love to have a few more days on the snow, we have decided to concentrate our efforts on the new Pandora’s expansion work.Next December we will all appreciate this decision when we get into the new terrain.”
Summer events includelive music, mountaintop yoga, sunset bike evenings, and both a trail running and mountain biking race series. The full details on operations and what’s new for Summer 2023 are outlined below. For more information:aspensnowmass.com.
Aspen Police bike auction set for June 2
It’s back! The city of Aspen Police Department is hosting its bike auction on June 2, outside of the police station at 540 E. Main St.
Bikes up for auction have been abandoned and left around town over the past two years. A preview of the items begins at 10 a.m. and bidding begins at 11 a.m.
The auction is also an opportunity to learn about city’s bike transit options, as well as register your bike so you can be reunited with your bike in the event that it is lost, officials said.
In case of inclement weather, the auction will relocate to the Aspen Police Department’s garage off Rio Grande Place.
Questions? Contact 1-970-920-5400.
More speakers for Aspen Ideas Festival
Leaders from the private sector, including CEOs, investors, technologists, and business innovators, are among the speakers attending theAspen Ideas Festivalthis summer. The Aspen Institute’s signature summer festival returns to Colorado in partnership with NBCUniversal News Group, with more than 300 speakers and thousands of attendees set to participate.
The Aspen Ideas Festival runs from June 24-30; passes to attend areavailable now.Business and finance leaders will engage in discussion on an expansive range of topics, including questions about sustaining growth in a rapidly changing economy, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to benefit society, the latest innovations driving sustainability, and more.
Among those attending:
- Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors
- Chip Bergh, President and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.
- Joseph Briggs, Economist, Goldman Sachs
- Cesar Conde, Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group
- Kenneth L. Davis, MD – CEO of Mount Sinai Health System
- Rob Falzon, Vice Chair, Prudential Financial
- Andreas Forsland, Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Officer, Cognixion
- Jendayi Frazer, President and CEO, 50 Ventures
- Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia
- Lisa Gevelber, Founder, Grow with Google
- Shane Grant, Group Deputy CEO, CEO of the Americas, and executive vice president, Danone
- Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer, DeepMind
- Broderick Johnson, Executive Vice President, Public Policy and Digital Equity, Comcast
- Don Katz, Founder, Audible
- Mike Kohler, Managing Director, Deloitte Tax
- Dave Limp, Senior Vice President, Devices and Services,Amazon.com
- Patrice Louvet, President and CEO, Ralph Lauren Corporation
- James Manyika, Senior Vice President of Research, Technology, and Society, Google/Alphabet; Chairman Emeritus, McKinsey Global Institute
- Frank McCourt, Executive Chairman and Former CEO, McCourt Global; Founder, Project Liberty
- John Mennel, Managing Director, Monitor Deloitte
- Christina Montgomery, Vice President and Chief Privacy & Trust Officer, IBM
- Jessica Orkin, CEO, SYPartners
- Dina Powell McCormick, Global Head of Sustainability and Inclusive Growth, Goldman Sachs
- Lata Reddy, Senior Vice President of Inclusive Solutions, Prudential Financial; Chair, The Prudential Foundation
- David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group
- Charlie Scharf, President and CEO, Wells Fargo
- Eric Schmidt, co-founder, Schmidt Futures; former CEO, Google
- Angela Williams, CEO, United Way
- Tom Wilson, Chair, President, and CEO, The Allstate Corporation
- Dalila Wilson-Scott, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation; President, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation
- Mike Wirth, Chairman and CEO, Chevron Corporation
Many business leaders attending will be interviewed by leading journalists from CNBC, including Squawk Box anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin and The Exchange anchor Kelly Evans, as part of the Festival’s partnership with NBCUniversal News Group.
DanceAspen to offer first summer program
DanceAspen’s first-ever summer program, “Solstice,” will premiere onAug. 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. at theWheeler Opera House.
“‘Solstice’ will be DanceAspen’s most exciting program yet. It is an honor and privilege for the company to welcome the level of creative brilliance that Cayetano Soto and Matthew Neenan bring to the stage. I also look forward to bringing back one of our all-time favorite works by the iconic Danielle Rowe,” saidLaurel Jenny Winton, executive director of DanceAspen.
The summer premiere will feature new creations from choreographers Matthew Neenan and Cayetano Soto.In addition to the piece by Neenan, and the two American premieres by Soto, DanceAspen will welcome back a return of “Everyone’s in St. Barth’s,” by choreographer Danielle Rowe.
Garfield County wants to sit down with state transportation leaders over traffic
Garfield County has sent the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) a letter requesting roundtable meetings with local governments to discuss forecasted growth in the area and the impact it will have on a congested road system.
The letter, which was addressed to CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew, cites increasing population projections and the need for a “safer, more efficient, and reliable multi-modal transportation system for the I-70 and State Highway 82 corridors.”
“According to population and employment forecasts, particularly along the I-70 corridor, Garfield County’s population is estimated to grow by 40%, from 62,000 residents in 2020, to 86,000 in 2040,” the county’s letter notes. “The number of jobs in Garfield County will increase by 40% over the same time period, from an estimated 36,000 jobs to 51,000.”
In recent years, local roadways have also experienced disruptions due to natural disasters, such as wildfire, debris flows, rockslides, and more, further impacting already heavy traffic flows.
“It seems vital to us that CDOT, the most important transportation stakeholder in our region and the state, be involved in, and, ideally, facilitate a series of transportation roundtable meetings for local governments in Garfield County,” the letter states.
The letter was approved unanimously by the Board of County Commissioners, 3-0, and signed by the board, and is expected to be signed by the towns of Parachute, Silt, New Castle, and Carbondale, and the cities of Rifle and Glenwood Springs. The letter can be read on the county’swebsite.
Valley View adds urologist
Rocky Mountain Urology Center at Valley Viewannounced the addition ofboard-certified Urologist Scott Castle, MD.
Joining board-certified urologists Aashish Kabra, MD; Jamie Lowe, MD; and nurse practitioner Ashley Gilley, ANP at Rocky Mountain Urology Center, Dr. Castle is a general urologist. He is also a leader in da Vinci surgery, a minimally-invasive treatment for benign and cancerous conditions.
As the only full-time urology practice in the region from the Roaring Fork Valley and Vail to De Beque, Rocky Mountain Urology Center has locations in Aspen, Eagle, Rifle, and Glenwood Springs.
For more information: 970.928.0808
Sound immersion event at Carbondale Library in June
Ildi Ingraham will present a Sound Immersion at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, at the Carbondale Branch Library.
Organizers explain the experience as deep peace and bliss a while listening to the healing sounds of crystal and metal singing bowls, gong, and chimes. Bring a mat, pillow, blanket, and anything else to be comfortable. This event is free and open to all. For more information, call the library at 970-963-2889.
Pace of auto thefts falls in first quarter
The first quarter of 2023 shows a 22% decline in auto theft versus 2022, the state police reported this past week. The Q1 numbers of auto theft occurrences resemble numbers from 2020.
“The noticeable decline of auto theft is a testament to the resiliency of our citizens and the collaborative effort of many law enforcement and key partners across the state,” said Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “However, now is no time to rest and relax your vehicle securities. CATPA and the Colorado State Patrol ask you to continue to stay in this fight to reduce auto theft and overall crime in your communities.”
Auto theft is a catalyst crime that often sets off a chain reaction of other crimes, according to the state police, citing as examples burglaries, smash-and-grab robberies, reckless driving, eluding, drug crimes, and weapons offenses.