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3 days ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
Why is Aspen Skiing Co. in a tizzy? Suddenly this is the hot topic. Forget quiet rumors you heard about them selling out. Last Tuesday, they hit the panic button and Wednesday morning we heard the alarm, or at least read about it in this paper (“Steve Crown speaks up on ski company’s motives and recent changes,” April 16, Aspen Daily News). What can be made of an interview where the reporter starts off, “You scheduled this meeting with me.
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1 week ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
Aspen began as a rough-and-tumble mining town. Then it tried to be a ghost town and barely failed in that. Almost without trying, it became a ranching community. Then, of course, came the skiing persona. Now we are adjusting to Aspen’s fifth identity in barely 125 years. She’s a high-end shopping mall with upscale eateries that promise a unique dining experience, just like in all their other prestigious locations around the world.
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2 weeks ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
Before I ever skied it, I knew Aspen Mountain was special. My dad skied there. It was “Ajax” to him. I would stare at its steep face when I was half as tall as I am now and it looked twice as high. It terrified me — in an alluring way. I just knew magic was happening up there.
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3 weeks ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
I am certain that many of you have already heard the worst-kept secret in town. My friend and fellow columnist at the Asspen Daily News is jumping ships. I would call him a traitor, but I can hardly blame him for the decision he’s made. I would certainly do the same if given the opportunity. Lo Semple will be heading to the The Times at the end of this month.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
If you are looking to give to a charity with local roots, global reach and incredible impact, hold on to your heart, because I’ve got one for you. It’s called Action in Africa. If you like checking boxes, lick the tip of your pen: Its focus is kids in one of the poorest countries in the world. They feed them. They educate them. They help them recognize their potential and see opportunities. They provide scholarships for secondary and university educations.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
In the Aspen municipal election on March 4, supporters of Referendum 2, allowing the Colorado Department of Transportation to use Marolt Open Space for future Highway 82 alignments, spent $162 for each “yes” vote received. By comparison, Donald Trump spent only $14 per vote to become the president of the United States. I don’t care for large sums of money being spent in small-town elections. It stifles respectful community argument and erodes the feeling that we might all be in this together.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
I have never done prune juice, not even a sip. Some say it’s no more dangerous than sauerkraut, but even that can mess you up. Oh, I’ve been tempted. Enduring a jet-lagged breakfast in a foreign street cafe after a nine-hour flight when neither mind nor body knows what day it is? Man, that would be a perfect time to give it a go. The third morning of a backpacking trip at sunrise on the shore of a gorgeous mountain lake before anyone else is awake? Ah, no better time than that to sneak a little hit.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
This year marks the 10th anniversary since Aspen said “no.” The last time we displayed any nerve was in 2015 when Mark Hunt proposed building his Base Camp hotel across the street from Carl’s Pharmacy. Since then, we have been on a “yes” roll. We approved Gorsuch Haus and, without even unrolling the plans, they handed them off on the run, baton style, to the Russian in Scandinavian clothes in a developers’ relay race to overbuild Aspen’s last tranquil neighborhood.
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1 month ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
I like to watch other skiers. I try to distill what makes us crazy about skiing. I’ve been at it for six decades and still can’t tell you precisely why. Yes, there is snow, the elements, mountains, views, grace in movement, resisting G-forces, relaxation, camaraderie and, still, none of it fully explains the immense joy I get mostly skiing the same old runs on good ol’ Aspen Mountain. Why am I not bored?
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2 months ago | 
aspendailynews.com | Roger Marolt
All time is measured the same. A minute here is a minute there. Yet, one moment does not pass the same as another. A seven-minute session with your molar beneath the buzzing bit of a dentist’s drill ricocheting off un-numbed nerve endings while burnt-tooth smoke fills your nostrils feels like eternity. Meanwhile, carving turns on a perfect pitch of untracked snow for seven minutes passes in a flash that renders reality suspect.
