Kaya Williams

4 weeks ago | aspenjournalism.org | Kaya Williams |Curtis Wackerle

St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old Snowmass has been called a “sacred place in the sacred valley,” a “monastic Camelot,” and a “cathedral of nature” imbued with spiritual and environmental care. More than 3,700 acres encompass irrigated ranchland, a historic chapel and cloisters, a contemporary retreat center and an abundance of open space — shrubby hillsides, dense forests and sprawling fields, stewarded for nearly 70 years by monks with a deep respect for the natural world.

1 month ago | aspenjournalism.org | Kaya Williams |Curtis Wackerle

The COVID-19 pandemic was just arriving in the Roaring Fork Valley when the threat of a virulent virus became an all-encompassing crisis in the middle of March 2020. The first local case was confirmed March 8, and more were emerging. Events had already been canceled, a state of emergency declared. On March 14, 2020, Colorado Gov.

2 months ago | aspenjournalism.org | Kaya Williams |Curtis Wackerle

With a steady gaze and unwavering voice — the confidence of rote memorization — a long-COVID patient can tell you exactly what their body experienced as it was ravaged by an invisible illness. “Long-haulers” in the Roaring Fork Valley describe tingling skin that itches like lice on their scalp, tinnitus that rings “like thousands of crickets” in their ears, migraines akin to “a sharp needle through the eyeball” and chest pain that feels as if an orange has been shoved under their sternum.

2 months ago | aspendailynews.com | Kaya Williams

With a steady gaze and unwavering voice — the confidence of rote memorization — a long-COVID patient can tell you exactly what their body experienced as it was ravaged by an invisible illness. “Long-haulers” in the Roaring Fork Valley describe tingling skin that itches like lice on their scalp, tinnitus that rings “like thousands of crickets” in their ears, migraines akin to “a sharp needle through the eyeball” and chest pain that feels as if an orange has been shoved under their sternum.

2 months ago | aspendailynews.com | Kaya Williams |Lucy Peterson

Perhaps the only position that hasn’t been seriously explored in the six-decade entrance to Aspen debate is the one that’s against it altogether: If no one could arrive or leave town ever again, at least it would solve the traffic.