When Snowmass director of skiing Stein Eriksen loaded the first chairlift on December 16, 1967, all eyes were on Snowmass-at-Aspen, then the country’s largest and most complete winter resort. Former Olympic ski racer Bill Janss had spent the previous nine years buying up ranches in the pastoral Brush Creek Valley for the project, spurred by a tip from his friend, a local ski instructor who had searched the state and realized that the slopes of Baldy Mountain were ideal for skiing. Public and private snowcat ski tours confirmed this, generating nationwide buzz for the deep powder and endless vertical. Inspired by his years spent skiing in Europe, Janss planned Snowmass to emulate ski villages in the Alps, nestled against the slopes and with nature as their defining principle. After just nine months of construction, Snowmass opened in December 1967 with five chairlifts and 50 miles of trails during a festive and frenzied weekend of last-minute preparations and celebrations, with journalists on hand from nearly every major media outlet in the country. Lift tickets were $6.50 and rooms in the seven slopeside lodges were $20. Over 50 years, Snowmass has grown into a year-round family resort and vibrant community, with a mountain whose possibilities continue to be explored. Ski-terrain expansions have included the powder fields and steeps of the Hanging Valley and the vast above-treeline bowl of the Cirque, as well as three impressive terrain parks. Summer recreation opportunities include The Lost Forest complex of hiking and biking trails, an alpine coaster, canopy tour and more. We look forward to what the next 50 years will bring.
