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1 week ago | 
aspentimes.com | Lorenzo Semple
Did you happen to read the article by Colin Susynski (pronounced: sue-shin-ski) — “Bureau of Land Management study to help determine whether to allow e-bike use on popular mountain bike trails” — about potentially allowing mountain e-bikes on the Crown Mountain Trail complex? My thoughts are: Go ahead — give it a try, and see what happens; if it passes, I may even take my e-bike down there and check it out. If other municipalities want to allow e-bikes on their single-track, let them.
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2 weeks ago | 
aspentimes.com | Lorenzo Semple
They say Aspen produces no tangible product. Au contraire, Aspen is one big stress factory. I say we’re a leading manufacturer of stress in Colorado. We crank out bales of the stuff. Our gutters run deep with cortisol, and our anxiety sweat smells like onions. I am by no means “above” the obligatory self-degrading art of groveling. I’ve been licking ski boots for tips in the rutted trenches of customer service for so long, I’m starting to like the taste.
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3 weeks ago | 
aspentimes.com | Lorenzo Semple
Crypto currency, Bitcoin, block chain, meme coins? Call me old-fashioned, a boomer, a troglodyte, or even a financially clueless ungulate, but I just don’t get it. Don’t waste your time trying to explain it to me, either. The only bit of coins I have is my change jar. I’m perfectly happy depositing my loot in Alpine Bank and maxing-out my 401K every year. Beside, money bores me. To tears.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve now come to loose grips with the fact that at this gentle arc of my 50-year ski career, the less I ski the healthier and generally happier I am. I’ve been a mere pale-faced shadow of my former raccoon-eyed, ski-chum self. There will be no fanfare, no doves, balloons or confetti released, no commemorative cannon blast, or achievement awards. I’ve lost my adoration of the inanimate 100-day pledge pin.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
I think I might be allergic to the Silver Queen Gondola. Lately, every time I ride the blasted thing, it’s like I’m trapped inside a high-altitude torture chamber. It’s all too much.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
Fret not, my fairly weathered friends: The ski stoke, spirit, force, energy, vigor, verve, vibe — whatever you want to call it, is still sky high in Aspen. Case in point? Aspen Highlands last Friday and Saturday and Buttermilk last Sunday. The four ski areas in general have been the epicenter of our town’s soul. There’s something about these last few weeks of ski season that always feels acutely local to me.
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2 months ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
The 30 days from March 20 until April 20 make up the most excruciating “month” of the year for me. Right now I’m attempting to breathe a long emotional exhale; a proverbial sigh of relief. As I limp into the three-tiered rolling brownout of ski area closures, the end is in sight. The end of the season is coming on slower than a clogged carotid artery. To speed up the process, I’ll be at Buttermilk this Sabbath for “Bacon Day,” bidding adieu to my first true ski love.
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2 months ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
The 30 days from March 20 until April 20 make up the most excruciating “month” of the year for me. Right now I’m attempting to breathe a long emotional exhale; a proverbial sigh of relief. As I limp into the three-tiered rolling brownout of ski area closures, the end is in sight. The end of the season is coming on slower than a clogged carotid artery. To speed up the process, I’ll be at Buttermilk this Sabbath for “Bacon Day,” bidding adieu to my first true ski love.
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2 months ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
I feel as if Aspen is awkwardly stumbling toward the April Fools’ Day runoff election. Voter turnout is lower than the paltry flow of the Roaring Fork River. The margins are close. The city council is divided. Aspen’s trademark apathy has risen belly-up to the surface of Stillwater like a bloated, dead rainbow trout. Ironic, isn’t it, for a community that prides itself for being so “passionate” and “forward thinking” to have a roughly 40% voter turnout for one of the biggest issues of our generation?
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2 months ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Lorenzo Semple
Did you see the latest in-depth article by Aspen Journalism? (“AI vehicle counters to provide better input on upper-valley traffic flow,” March 16, Aspen Daily News)I was wondering what that space-age, lunar-lander-looking thing by the Sunnyside trail was. I figured it for a newfangled weather station of some sort. Turns out, it’s an Artificial Intelligence car-counting contraption that’s been monitoring my nefarious vehicular comings and goings. Now I know.
