Après - Season 4 Winter | Spring 2023

AN EXPERIENCE as remarkable AS OUR COLLECTION.

We love winter in Aspen, when the snow blankets the slopes and our woodburning fireplace warms the lobby of The Little Nell. This ski season we have much to celebrate, starting with the highly anticipated expansion of Aspen Mountain, which will add 1,220 vertical feet and more than 150 acres of new chutes, glades, and trails. Formerly referred to as Pandora’s, the new high-speed quad and surrounding terrain pod was renamed Hero’s, with a special run down the center commemorating the late Jim Crown, whose vision and leadership helped make this ambitious expansion a reality.

While I’m already acutely aware of the talent, knowledge, and dedication of our wine and culinary team, it means the world when they’re recognized on a global level. This past fall, Element 47 was recognized as a Michelin-recommended restaurant, and The Little Nell was honored with the award for Best Hotel Wine List in the World by The World of Fine Wine. We look forward to celebrating both accolades with you this ski season.

Discover more news from The Nell on the following pages,  such as our new, state-of-the-art spa, which offers the ultimate in relaxation and restoration, with a variety of integrated rituals, bodywork, and skincare solutions in partnership with premier experts such as aesthetics and anti-inflammatory pioneer Dr. Barbara Sturm and all-natural skincare line Seed to Skin Tuscany.

Please enjoy our latest issue of this biannual publication, and, as always, we welcome your feedback, questions, and comments as we aim to create the very best experience for your every visit.

Cheers,

Henning Rahm General Manager

The Little Nell

Welcome to Aspen

CEO & PUBLISHER

Jason Cutinella

GLOBAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian McManus

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Lauren McNally

MANAGING DESIGNER

Taylor Niimoto

DESIGNER

Eleazar Herradura

CREATIVE SERVICES

Marc Graser VP Global Brand Storytelling

Gerard Elmore VP Film

Dan Bradley VP Global Branded Video

Sheri Salmon People & Creative Services Director

ADVERTISING

Mike Wiley VP Sales mike@nmgnetwork.com

Alejandro Moxey Senior Director, Sales

OPERATIONS

Joe V. Bock Corporate Affairs

Merri Gruesser VP Global Development & Strategic Operations

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NMG Network 2023 –2024 by NMG Network, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. Opinions are solely those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by NMG Network.

En Pointe

Peer behind the curtain of a dancer’s ambitious second act. 82

About Face

Stories from the past come to life in Jim Paussa’s black-and-white portraits of notable Aspenites. 96

An Artist’s Fingerprint

Alleghany Meadows leaves his mark on ceramics and in the creative communities of western Colorado.

112

Living Native with Skyler Lomahaftewa

Star Power

The winter night sky is one of Aspen’s best treasures. 40

The Meier High Club

With local roots and Colorado trees, Meier Skis makes some of the most sustainable and sought-after skis in the industry.

54

Powder and Purpose

A former NFL star finds refuge and new meaning in the mountains.

The Northern Ute tribe member offers a primer on the Roaring Fork Valley’s native inhabitants. 122

Turning the Tables on Andrew Wickes

The former competitive freeskier, small business owner, and podcast host takes the interview seat. 132

A Winter Wedding

A couple plans their dream union at The Nell.

135

Partner Content: Canada

Goose

Canada Goose nestled on East Hyman Avenue offers the brand’s iconic parkas and expanded product categories.

136

Best in Glass

A set of recent accolades recognizes The Little Nell’s worldclass wine and dining program.

140

Scene of Serenity

Discover The Little Nell’s brand-new spa.

142

Dog Days of Winter

Glimpse a day in the charmed life of a pet guest at The Little Nell.

143

Partner Content: Hermès

Hermès has found the perfect setting in the Rocky Mountains for its first boutique in Aspen.

144

The Last Word with Carol Hooper

Get to know The Little Nell’s longtime chef concierge.

A snow-laden scenic by photographer Craig Turpin.

Episode 16: En Pointe

The artists of DanceAspen prepare for an upcoming performance in this poetic snapshot of life behind the curtain.

For more episodes from Season 4 of Après TV, tune in to Channel 1 in-room at The Little Nell, and be on the lookout for next season of Après for more stories of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.

thelittlenell.com

SHEILA ATIM Actor, Musician, Writer & Composer

"M80," from the series Deep Sky Companion.

Artwork by Lia Halloran

The winter night sky is one of Aspen’s best treasures.

Text

by

Cindy Hirschfeld

Barton Tofany recalls camping out as a child in his family’s Old Snowmass backyard and watching meteor showers and other celestial events. “When I was 5 or 6, one of the big comets was coming by, and I remember going outside to look at it and thinking it was super cool,” he says. Those experiences resulted in a lifelong love of astronomy that the Aspen High School science teacher now shares with students.

But Tofany also appreciates what he didn’t comprehend as a kid: the Roaring Fork Valley is a superb place to view stars, planets, and other objects in space. “Being born here, I thought this was always the way it is,” he admits. “It wasn’t until I got older and realized that there’s so much light pollution in other areas that you couldn’t do good stargazing there.”

Artist Lia Halloran’s work “M90” depicts Messier 90, an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. The piece is part of her series Deep Sky Companion, inspired by a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier.

Images by Christopher Crawford, Lia Halloran, Thomas O’Brien, and Eli Stoken

Indeed, looking up into the night sky around Aspen can astonish those unaccustomed to seeing so many stars, and with such clarity. Year-round constellations like Ursa Major, which includes the Big Dipper, and Cassiopeia, shaped like a “W,” twinkle brightly. The Milky Way often looks as if a celestial artist brushed a swath of glitter and white powder across an inky canvas.

Ryan Eliason, who runs private viewing tours in summer through his company, Aspen Stargazing, loves sharing Aspen’s advantageous setting with others. “A lot of our guests come from big cities where they can’t see a star with the naked eye, much less the details of another galaxy,” he says.

Aside from the lack of light pollution, what else makes the area so great for seeing stars? The atmosphere holds less humidity at high elevation, which makes the view of space clearer. Plus, Eliason says, “Our weather is pretty amazing, with more than 300 clear nights a year.”

On top of all that, it turns out that winter, especially, is not only great for carving turns down Aspen Mountain but also for spotting what’s in the sky. Cooler temps translate into even less humidity, which Eliason says makes the sky look “a little bit crisper.”

Some constellations only appear at this time of year. “The winter night sky is a fun one,” Tofany says. Orion, the hunter, stalks through space, easily

“Globular Cluster, after Cecilia Payne” is from artist Lia Halloran’s series Your Body Is a Space That Sees, inspired by the contributions of a group of pioneering women in astronomy known collectively as the Harvard Computers.

recognizable by his three-star belt. (“You’ll always see it if you’re facing south,” Tofany notes.) Nearby, Canis Major, the Great Dog, includes Sirius, the sky’s brightest star. Taurus (which encompasses the star cluster Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters) and Gemini, as well as planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus, also light up the night.

In addition, the winter brings a trio of meteor showers: the Geminids, which peak in mid-December, followed by the Ursids in the second half of the month and the Quadrantids in early January. And in late January, Venus, Mercury, and Mars will align in the morning sky before sunrise—among the few planetary alignments that occur throughout the year, Eliason says.

To see all the celestial action, stargazers needn’t venture far from Aspen. Eliason’s go-to viewing spots include nearby Mollie Gibson Park at the base of Smuggler Mountain and Wagner Park downtown. For darker skies, he and Tofany suggest driving away from town toward the closure gate on Independence Pass or partway up Castle Creek Road. Intrepid viewers can even skin or snowshoe on one of the four ski areas. (Just keep an eye out for grooming machines.)

Beyond a feast for the eyes, stargazing also offers a poignant reminder of our place in the cosmos. “It proves the point that nothing is as big of a deal as it seems,” Eliason says. “We’re just a little blip in the grand scheme of a universe. I like that perspective.”

The Aspen Stargazer’s Guide to the Galaxy

Use an app or map to ID stars and planets.

Eliason likes the app Night Sky, while Tofany uses Stellarium Mobile. Eliason also recommends skymaps.com, which offers a different downloadable map each month.

Stargazing is best around the new moon.

Eliason won’t even run his tours if the moon has more than 70 percent illumination; otherwise, he says, “Even with a telescope, you’ll see little blobs with no details, and you won’t be able to see many stars with the naked eye.”

The sky doesn’t have to be pitch black.

Eliason says that about an hour after sunset is typically dark enough to see most details in the night sky.

Give your eyes time to adjust.

It takes at least five minutes to kickstart your night vision, which will continue to improve over the course of an hour or more, Tofany says. Averting your vision helps, too. “When you look slightly off from what you’re trying to focus on,” Eliason says, “you see more detail.”

If you can’t access a telescope, bring binoculars. They help magnify the night sky enough that you might see the rings on Saturn, some of Jupiter’s numerous moons, or a double star in the Big Dipper, Eliason says.

Use your imagination.

“People think that constellations are going to look identical to what they’re supposed to be,” Eliason says. But it takes more than just connecting the dots to see the bull in Taurus, say, or the dog in Canis Major.

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies hosts its annual Stars Above Aspen astronomy night at the top of Aspen Mountain.

With local roots and Colorado trees, Meier Skis makes some of the most sustainable and sought-after skis in the industry.

40

Ted Eynon was on a chairlift, naturally, when it occurred to him to leave the corporate world for the ski industry. He’d recently sold his software company and was looking to start a new chapter—a chapter, he told his ski buddy in 2012, that he hoped would involve more snow and fewer spreadsheets.

About a week later, that friend sent him an article about Meier Skis, a Glenwood Springs-based company founded by Matt Cudmore in 2009. At the time, Cudmore was building hand-made skis in his garage using wood from local beetle-kill pine, sourced with help from his brother, who worked for the Colorado State Forest Service. “It seemed like Matt was onto something,” Eynon remembers. “He was using a clear topsheet to show off the natural beauty of the wood. He was using all locally harvested wood.”

Established in Glenwood Springs, Meier Skis relocated to Denver in 2017, where customers can watch the team build skis on site.

by Jay Bouchard Images by Andrew Miller

Eynon was intrigued enough to make a trip to Glenwood Springs, where he hopped on another chairlift—this time at nearby Sunlight Mountain Resort with Cudmore. “We skied, we had a few beers together at the end of the day, and we decided to go into business together.”

With Eynon on board, Meier Skis expanded rapidly. They pulled the business out of the garage and secured warehouse space in downtown Glenwood Springs. In addition to beetlekill wood, which gives the skis their stunning blue hue, they incorporated Colorado-sourced aspen and poplar, as well as maple from out of state, to create their signature core. And rather than cover the skis completely with graphics, they let the wood do the talking. “We learned a lot when we were in Glenwood,” Enyon says. “We built a following there.”

Eventually, Meier outgrew its warehouse space in Glenwood Springs, and Eynon saw a bright future for the business on Colorado’s Front Range. In 2017, he moved the operation to Denver and became the sole owner of the business, as Cudmore left to pursue other interests. With more than 6,000 square feet of storefront and factory space on Broadway Street, Meier Skis has positioned itself as the industry’s first “craft skiery.”

As you walk through Meier’s doors, it’s hard to tell if you’re in a ski shop or a brewpub. Yes, there are skis

everywhere—in the windows, on the walls, even on the ceiling—but there are also stools, a bartop, and complimentary local beer on tap. Behind the bar is a clear window through which customers can watch employees lay out and press new skis (and the occasional snowboard).

Looking closely, it’s apparent that Meier has set out to be one of the most ecofriendly manufacturers in the industry. Beyond building its skis from locally sourced wood, the epoxy that holds the skis together is made from plantbased resin, and Meier uses significantly less toxic ink on its topsheet graphics compared to other companies. And when any product is ready to ship, rather than using packing paper, Meier repurposes the sublimation paper used to transfer ink onto each topsheet. The company is also trying to cut down on its singleuse plastics by incorporating more biodegradable material into the process.

But don’t worry: Meier hasn’t sacrificed quality to meet its environmental goals. The company’s products are heralded by skiers of all types, including the pros. Owen Leeper, an Aspen native and professional skier now based in Jackson, Wyoming, rides Meier; he even has a signature ski, the Leeper, which is available for purchase in three sizes. Athletes across the world—from British Columbia to Switzerland—also rep Meier, proving that what was once a Glenwood Springs startup has become a sustainable force in the ski industry.

Beetle-kill pine is among the local woods used to manufacture Meier Skis, giving the fallen trees a second life while clearing the forest floor of flammable debris.

In honor of the company’s roots in Glenwood Springs, Meier Skis’ Ted Eynon names a few of his old haunts in the Roaring Fork Valley.

A Winter Adventure

“Off the backside of Ajax (Aspen Mountain), there’s a road called Little Annie that’s covered with snow in the winter and runs off the back of the mountain down to Castle Creek Road. You can either skin up and ski down Ajax or take a lift up Ajax and ski down it. It’s a trail less traveled, and it’s well worth it.”

A

Shoulder-Season Ride

“Downvalley in Carbondale is Red Hill. Once you slog up the hill—it’s steep but not too far—you’ll be rewarded with flowy bike trails and incredible views while surrounded by seemingly endless red rock cliffs and formations.”

The Best Breakfast

“I’ve had many hearty breakfasts at the Hickory House in Aspen. It’s really a smoked-meat barbecue-rib joint, but they also have a great breakfast in a relaxed atmosphere. Steak and eggs, why not? You just need to get out on the mountain to burn it off after!”

The Locals Bar

“If you like it down and dirty in a ski town like I do, where you can mix with the locals and learn the secret stashes of the town, then try Zane’s Tavern in Aspen. It’s got great pub food, cold beers, and screens to catch a game. It’s actually not that divey, but hey, it’s Aspen.”

An Aspen Memory

“Back in the early ’80s when I first skied Aspen with my family, we would close out every day on the deck at The Little Nell. We’d stay for a couple of cold ones while soaking in the sun and watching skiers try to make it down the last pitch.”

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We’ve been working with Ted Ligety, 5x world champion, to crack the code of the perfect arc. Working with Ted, we’ve been able to quantify the techniques that will turn your own skiing from good to flawless. We were able to precisely measure the hallmarks of Ted’s turn - his early edge angle, the way he rolls his skis in unison, and how he balances against the outside ski.

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- Ted Ligety, 5x world champion

world champion, Ted Ligety. Ski:IQ 163

A colorful moment in the mountains.

Image by Dean Blotto Gray courtesy of Burton Snowboards

Powder and Purpose

A former NFL star finds refuge and new meaning in the mountains.

Text by Kelly J. Hayes

Images by Spencer Miller; Michael Reaves; along with Jesse Dawson, Dean Blotto Gray, and Brandon Parrish courtesy of Burton Snowboards

Kenny Stills is in a good place. “Last year was my first winter in Aspen,” says the former wide receiver, who spent the winter couch surfing with friends and eventually renting a place in Aspen for the ski months instead of suiting up for the 2023 NFL season. “It was expensive, but I can honestly say it’s the best money I ever spent. It provided me with so much joy and really helped me in a time when I thought I might struggle and be at my worst.”

Many athletes find it difficult transitioning to a new chapter at the end of their professional careers. “We peak at such a young age, and the question is always,

Kenny Stills, pictured on opposite page, finds community at Burton Snowboards’ annual Culture Shifters event in Aspen

‘What’s next?’” Stills says. “But I was always very conscious of the end. I planned my whole career around it. I made sure that I handled things for myself and didn’t delegate responsibilities to other people. I was always on top of everything because I wanted to make sure I was ready for the day it was over.”

Though he admits he felt some trepidation in the lead-up to his final game with the New Orleans Saints in January 2022, Stills says, “I have no desire to run around and be somebody’s entertainment anymore.”

It helped that he already had plans for his life post-NFL. “Dad (former NFL player Ken Stills) was a skier, and we had gone a handful of times to the mountains,” Stills says. “Then three years ago, friends in Aspen brought me here and set me up with a snowboard lesson. From that moment on, I was hooked. I was still playing in the league, but I knew that as soon as my career was over, I was headed for the mountains.”

Stills got almost 90 days on the slopes his first winter here, spending most of his time in the powder on Aspen Highlands. “It really helped having a substitute for ball,” he says. “It was an adrenaline rush, being in the flow state, having to learn, sucking at something, and the competitive fire to get better.”

That mindset and dedication earned Stills a reputation for grace and speed

on the field—he caught 38 touchdown passes in his nine-year career—but he’s made an even bigger name for himself as an athlete with a social conscience.

On September 11, 2016, when he was with the Miami Dolphins, Stills took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality, following the lead of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who adopted the practice during the 2016 NFL preseason.

Then, in July 2020, he was among a group of 87 protesters who were arrested for gathering outside the home of Kentucky’s attorney general to demand justice for the police shooting of Breonna Taylor. “It was a moment that changed my life,” Stills says. “The thing that I am most proud of is being able to stand in my truth.”

With all his activism around issues of race, Stills is well aware of the ski industry’s overwhelming lack of diversity. (According to surveys by the National Ski Areas Association, Black skiers and snowboarders make up just 1.5 percent of guests at its 300 alpine resorts nationwide.) It’s a longstanding reality that’s given rise to initiatives such as the National Brotherhood of Skiers, which held its inaugural Black Summit in Aspen in 1973, and Culture Shifters, an annual gathering that Stills has been a part of since 2022.

Photographer Spencer Miller documents a chance encounter with Kenny Stills on a powder day.

“Getting more Black and brown people on the mountain is important,” Stills says. “It just makes those spaces even more incredible than they already are.”

Led by pro snowboarder Zeb Powell and sports commentator Selema Masekela in partnership with Burton Snowboards, Culture Shifters brings people of color to Aspen to “ride, break bread, conversate, and learn about the work each of us do,” as Stills describes it. The event has grown from 50 riders in 2021 to more than 300 in 2023.

Beyond his involvement in efforts to diversify the mountain, Stills is also taking a moment to enjoy his newfound freedom. “I’m not married, and I don’t have kids, so I get to bounce around a lot,” he says. This year he spent three weeks exploring India and recently returned from an NFL-sponsored trip to South Africa, where he introduced football to local youths. And he is growing the nonprofit Kenny Stills Foundation he established, whose mission is to provide young people with resources and enriching experiences surrounding mental health and wellness.

The cause hits close to home for Stills, who confronted periods of darkness before finding refuge in the mountains and a passion for snowboarding that’s been filling his cup in ways he never

knew at the peak of his NFL career. It’s why Stills is also working to build a program to bring retiring athletes to Aspen to help them transition out of the sport and connect to the outdoors.

“I don’t think you understand the feeling of freedom that comes with being on the mountain until you experience it,” Stills says. “Aspen is incredible— the terrain, the snow—and I have an amazing crew of people I get to ride with. I’ve never been better, and Aspen has been a big part of that.”

I love my job, so it’s easy to put my clients first—every day—to understand their desires and earn their trust. Unforgettable experiences and authentic connections forge great relationships. If you dream about owning or selling a home in 2024, let me put my Mountains of Experience to work for you.

Peer behind the curtain of a dancer’s ambitious second act.

Text by Katie Shapiro

Images by Sidney Sherman, James Stukenberg, and Wendy Wetmore

On a crisp fall morning at Dance Progressions—one of Aspen’s longest-running dance schools—Laurel Winton is alone in the studio finishing up a solo barre session. The rest of the place is dark and deserted, as Winton’s fellow artists are scattered around the country on a break between contracts with her nonprofit contemporary dance company, DanceAspen. In the meantime, the 34-year-old founder and executive director is preparing for her company’s return to the rehearsal space it leases for summer and winter and planning for its third year of performances in Aspen and around the state.

Winton has been immersed in the Aspen community since 2017, when she was offered a coveted spot as a guest artist in Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s annual

The artists of DanceAspen get ready for a touring performance in Crested Butte

production of The Nutcracker. “As soon as I came out here, I thought, ‘This place is like The Chronicles of Narnia .’ It’s crazy how beautiful it is,” Winton says. “I also loved the people so much that I expressed my desire to stay here in Aspen, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet hired me with a full-time artist contract the following spring.”

Cut to 2021 and the venerable dual-city company announced it was dissolving its residency and performing arm in Aspen—leaving its 11 Aspen artists without a stage. (ASFB still operates a school and a Fund for Innovation in Dance, along with presenting select performances in both Colorado and New Mexico.) “It was during one of the last ebbs and flows of the pandemic,” Winton recalls. “We were all in shock. We took some time to try and figure out what we were going to do, but there was nothing else, really, for us in terms of continuing to dance in, and for, Aspen.”

With a resume that includes training at the prestigious San Francisco Ballet School, holding a long-term position with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, playing the role of Penny in the national Broadway tour of Dirty Dancing, and appearing in the CBS television series Bull , Winton could have easily found her next gig elsewhere. But her heart and her community were in Aspen.

Enlisting the help of four of her fellow former ASFB artists, she launched DanceAspen with a sold-out performance at the Wheeler Opera House in September 2021. Since then, she’s added three more artists to the

DanceAspen founder Laurel Winton and her fellow artists wear multiple hats behind the scenes.

DanceAspen residency roster, including breakout star Sammy Altenau. “I’ve worked with organizations whose directors have ‘danced in my shoes,’ but a lot of them decided what they wanted their organizations to look like long before I ever came into the picture,” Altenau says. “Laurel is now our leader, but she remains deep in both the creative and performative space. She’s had enough experience to know what her strengths are and what needs to happen to bring amazing culture to a community, and she has an immense curiosity for what it means to direct a company, with a role that’s constantly changing from boss, administrator, and fundraiser to performer, stage manager, and every other function of a company you can think of.”

DanceAspen is truly grassroots, with Winton and her artists wearing multiple hats behind the curtain. DanceAspen artist, company manager, and marketing director Kaya Wolsey, who has worked alongside Winton since its inception, explains, “In a traditional company, a dancer's primary responsibility is to show up and perform. This singular focus allows for undivided attention on dancing and physical well-being. However, in the long term, this approach may hinder a dancer's career longevity. Many dancers retire without having the chance to

explore other facets of this world or to nurture their broader interests.”

As for Winton, it’s her role as a performer that’s been on the back burner as she builds DanceAspen. With an established list of donors—many of whom have supported ASFB in the past—she’s mainly focused on fundraising and is currently in the middle of a campaign to raise $100,000 to be matched by the famed and philanthropic Estée Lauder family. From there, the focus will be holding auditions to bring new artists into the fold.

When the artists of DanceAspen reconvene for the upcoming season, the tight-knit group will spend five days a week in the studio, honing their skills in technique classes and rehearsals from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in preparation for two winter performances at the Wheeler Opera House and others still to be announced.

“It’s really been an amazing journey already,” Winton says. “Usually you build consistency and sustainability with a company over a very long period of time, but we’ve gotten to a pretty good point in just two and a half years where we can start to ask, ‘How are we going to grow?’ Not, ‘Are we going to continue to exist?’ To begin to plan further out is really exciting—I just want to keep the momentum going.”

I’m honored to have had the opportunity to facilitate the sale of 1001 Ute Avenue, the most expensive house in Aspen’s history, a testament to the trust my clients place in my expertise and guidance in the luxury real estate market.

The most coveted listings are often hiding, just like 1001 Ute Avenue. Call me. I have the keys to all the hidden doors.

Stories from the past come to life in Jim Paussa’s black-andwhite portraits of notable Aspenites.

When photographer Jim Paussa moved to Aspen permanently in 1998, he became fascinated with the people and events that helped reshape the former mining town into a top ski resort. So he approached some of its central characters to see if he could take their portraits. “I asked people when I photographed them, ‘Who else should I photograph?’” he says. “It was very organic. I didn’t have any preconceived notions of my version of Aspen history.”

Paussa is proud of the photographs individually, but he believes they work best as a group. “The photos have more power when you put them together,” he says. “So when you see all the pictures in one place, these people come back to life. The power of what they did, what Aspen used to be—you feel it. It’s palpable when you look at all of them and see how they contributed to make something big.”

Text by Scott Condon

Images by Jim Paussa

The Centenarian

Aspen legend Klaus Obermeyer turned 103 years old in December 2022, marking the centennial anniversary of his first time skiing in Bavaria. It was there, at age 3, that he MacGyvered his first set of skis by nailing his shoes to boards from an orange crate, foreshadowing his many innovations to come. Obermeyer moved to Aspen to teach skiing in 1947 and began tinkering with ski clothing and gear to keep his clients returning for more lessons. For a student who didn’t have warm enough clothing, Obermeyer fashioned a parka out of a blanket his mother sent with him to the United States. He would soon go on to launch Sport Obermeyer, a skiwear company credited with numerous alpine inventions— the nylon windshirt, high-altitude sunscreen, dual-layer ski boots, to name a few—that he continues to oversee. Obermeyer is admired among Aspenites to this day for his eternal optimism, healthy lifestyle, and unwavering pleasantness.

The Aviator

Betty Pfister had the distinction of being one of the unsung heroes of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, who flew U.S. military aircraft during World War II. She served in the ferrying division, transporting aircraft and testing planes that were repaired after damage in combat. She formed the Pitkin County Air Rescue Group in 1968, which initiated searches for downed aircraft and lost adventurers in the mountains around Aspen, and she served as its president until she retired in 1991. Pfister was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1984 and received the Congressional Gold Medal alongside her fellow WASPs in 2009.

The Innovator

It’s hard to imagine anyone bringing more smiles to the faces of kids and parents in Aspen than Nick DeWolf. As co-creator of the famed dancing water fountain on the Hyman Avenue Mall, which he programmed to never repeat a pattern, DeWolf has been inspiring joy (and keeping kids guessing where and when the water will spout) on the streets of Aspen since the fountain was built in 1979. A computer whiz who earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at age 19, DeWolf was a pioneer in his field, and his work in semiconductors led to advances in the computer industry.

The Entrepreneur

It would have been easy for George Stranahan to sit back and live a life of leisure, Aspen style, as heir of the Champion Spark Plug fortune. Instead, he dedicated himself to enriching the lives of countless others in the Roaring Fork Valley. His philanthropic endeavors were many and varied, spanning his move to Woody Creek in 1956 and his passing in 2021. He founded a school, a physics center, a community hub, and several nonprofits, including organizations dedicated to social justice and the Roaring Fork Valley’s immigrant community. Of all his myriad ventures, which also included a craft brewery, the state’s oldest whiskey distillery, and the fabled Woody Creek Tavern, the physicist said his role as an educator was most important.

The Architect

Sam “Coondog” Caudill looked every bit the mountain man that he was. The renowned architect and conservationist was best known for holding the Colorado Department of Transportation’s feet to the fire when it expanded Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon. He initially opposed the project, then led a citizens’ advisory committee to mitigate its impacts on the environment during construction, which was completed in 1992. He moved his architecture business to Aspen in 1952, and his firm designed several prominent buildings, including the Pitkin County Library, Pitkin County Jail, and a renovation of the Hotel Jerome.

The Public Servant

Concerned that development pressure would “cover us with a solid mass of condos,” as she was quoted upon her induction into the Aspen Hall of Fame in 1992, Eve Homeyer campaigned for and was elected mayor of Aspen in 1970. But becoming Aspen’s first female mayor was far from her only accomplishment. She led the effort to buy the land that became the municipal golf course and successfully lobbied for two one-penny sales taxes to preserve Aspen’s open spaces and operate the local bus system. During her campaign in 1970, she pledged to give up driving if she was elected. She more than kept her promise, walking and riding the city bus well after she exited office in 1973.

The Maverick

At 6 feet 6 inches tall, Bob Braudis had an imposing physique and a disarming demeanor that served him well as Pitkin County sheriff for 24 years. Approachable by all and popular with most for his live-and-let-live attitude, he was revered by locals for his dedication to peace. He believed in settling non-violent crimes through care and compassion rather than hardcore policing and alienated the Drug Enforcement Administration for refusing to participate in undercover stings. He was as friendly with dishwashers at the local restaurants as he was with movie stars. Braudis could have been sheriff for life, having cruised to victory in six elections until resigning in 2011 after a health scare.

The Raconteur

Bil Dunaway was known as the voice of Aspen for doggedly covering the stories and issues of the town for almost 40 years as the owner and an editor of The Aspen Times. Prior to his longtime post at The Times, Dunaway fought for the U.S. Army’s storied 10th Mountain Division during World War II and traveled extensively after the war, participating in the first-ever ski descent of the north glacier of France’s Mont Blanc in 1953. His love of skiing attracted him to Aspen in 1956, where he broke a leg during a ski race on Aspen Mountain. While recuperating, the journalist by training visited The Aspen Times and agreed to purchase the paper. His coverage in the coming decades forced more open city governance and sounded a clarion call over controversial topics, including exposing a rat-infested water storage system.

The Patroller

Patty Spilsbury was one of the first women to work on the Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol. “I was tired of waiting tables. Lucky for me it was a time when they were being forced to hire women,” she said of joining the ranks in 1981, when there were just three other women on the patrol. “It was a little rough, but fortunately some others paved the way.” She adjusted to working in the male-dominated environment and served on the patrol for 33 years before retiring in 2014. As an avid skier, serving on the ski patrol was a dream job, especially on Aspen Mountain. “It’s the mothership,” Spilsbury said.

The Educator

After graduating from college in 1973, Aspen native Willard Clapper returned home to teach elementary and middle school, becoming immensely popular among his students by the time he retired from full-time teaching in 2001. (He continued teaching the after-school program he co-founded in 2000 to foster civic engagement and environmental stewardship among high school students.) Clapper’s other passion was serving as a volunteer firefighter. He served every position except chaplain in his 35 years with the department. An estimated crowd of 1,000 people attended his memorial service at the Aspen Fire Station in 2014.

An Artist’s

Alleghany Meadows leaves his mark on ceramics and in the creative communities of western Colorado.

Text by Andrew Travers Images by Will Sardinsky

Drawn to the art form’s utility, Alleghany Meadows has been been making functional ceramics for 30 years

Preparing tea for a visitor at his Carbondale studio, potter Alleghany Meadows serves it in a cup made by his own hand. A recent creation of red and white clay coated with clear and cobalt blue glaze, it’s marked by indentations from Meadows’ fingers and sgraffito writing etched in his illegible cursive. Meadows made the vessel in early 2023, when he traveled to Italy to teach and immerse himself in Etruscan ceramic traditions while working out of a 16th-century potter’s studio. Viewing a small, ancient cup in a museum in Rome, he noticed something that shook him to his core.

“There was a potter’s fingerprint that was perfectly preserved from maybe 2,500 years ago,” Meadows recalls with awe, back at home and perched above his pug mill and wheel in Studio for Arts and Works (SAW) in Carbondale. “I can imagine the exact moment when that person touched that piece of clay. That’s how I wanted to touch clay then—to leave a mark.” Meadows has certainly left his mark on the creative community in western Colorado. As the owner of SAW, the vibrant makers’ hub he co-founded with Gavin Brooke and moved to its current 8,000-square-foot space in 2011, he provides affordable studio rentals for an evolving cohort of 25 local artists.

In running SAW for a decade, Meadows found that artists were hungry to build community and connection. He found that same hunger in the nearby desert town of Fruita. “There were skilled professional artists living two miles away from each other who had never met one another,” Meadows says. So he and Brooke joined forces again in 2022 to open Fruita Arts Recreation Marketplace (FARM) in a former hardware warehouse, bringing the SAW concept down the

Western Slope. (Unlike SAW, FARM also houses commercial tenants, including a bike mechanic and a Rocky Mountain PBS newsroom).

The SAW and FARM projects removed Meadows from his potter’s wheel and directed his attention instead on construction budgets, lien waivers, and spreadsheets. “I’ve been introduced to people as a developer,” Meadows says with a laugh. “But yeah, I am. It’s a development.”

Those initiatives in community building came after he made a name for himself nationally as a potter and as founder of Artstream Nomadic Gallery, a restored 1967 Airstream trailer that he took on the road in 2002 and that has since made hundreds of stops around the country and represented more than 150 contemporary ceramic artists throughout North America. He’s currently renting it out to the Carbondale Clay Center, and he hopes to soon pass it on to the next generation of arts organizers in the community.

“It is interesting, in that passing along, how we create a context for people to grow,” Meadows says of the creative cross-pollination he’s been working to foster through Artstream Nomadic

Gallery, SAW, and FARM. “Amazing things can happen when you build that space.”

Meadows is himself the product of influences from those who came before him. He’s worked alongside some of the greats of the ceramics world, including assisting Anderson Ranch Arts Center founder and American raku pioneer Paul Soldner in constructing his bespoke wine cellar at the Soldner Center in Aspen. At 19 Meadows studied in Karatsu, Japan, under master potter Takashi Nakazato, and later they converged again when he and the Japanese potter became fixtures at the Ranch in the 1990s. Nakazato returned to serve as a visiting artist at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in summer 2023.

Spending an evening with his mentor crystalized for Meadows the effect Nakazato had on him and his craft. “While I was working with Takashi, it became incredibly clear to me that I wanted to make work that people could actually drink from or use for food presentation,” he says. “Seeing him again, I realized it’s been 30 years now that I’ve been making utilitarian work, and that initial inspiration and commitment came from my time working and living in his house.”

Meadows is driven by the potential for someone to pick up his work—to hold it and use it—whether it’s a visitor sipping from one of his ceramic cups in the communal kitchen at SAW or a waiter serving diver scallops and

Meadows’ Studio for Arts and Works is located along the Rio Grande ARTway, a one-mile stretch of paved trail lined with art installations and creative hubs in downtown Carbondale.

pickled mushrooms on his one-of-a-kind stoneware dishes at Bosq in Aspen. His recent projects include new sets of dishes for chef Barclay Dodge of Bosq, owner of the recently Michelin-starred tasting-menu restaurant, with whom Meadows has been collaborating for five years. “I might’ve made 40 of these for him, and every one is different,” Meadows says proudly as he runs his hands over a recently glazed dish destined for the tables of Bosq.

Witnessing the galvanizing effect his SAW and FARM projects have had on the region’s artist communities, one wonders: Is there overlap between creating community and creating a pot?

Yes, Meadows says: “Being an artist is trying to make something when you don’t know what the outcome is going to be—basically inventing something from setting up a context.” Holding up one of the Etruscan-inspired mugs bearing his fingerprint, he continues: “It’s a leap of faith that people are going to want to come rent studios. It’s making something that is aesthetically energized. There’s a huge amount of overlap.”

A living piece of Ute culture.

Image by Trevor Triano

The Northern Ute tribe member offers a primer on the natives who once called the Roaring Fork Valley home.

I’m Uncompahgre on my mother’s side, and on my father’s side, I’m Hopi and Choctaw. On the Hopi side, my family is from a village called Shungopavi in Second Mesa, Arizona, and my paternal grandmother is Choctaw, originally from Oklahoma. Generally, with most native tribes, you go to live with your mother’s side of the family, so I grew up on the Uintah and Ouray reservation in northeastern Utah, where the Ute people were sent when they were forced out of Colorado. Returning to the ancestral homelands of my tribe, the Uncompahgre Utes, was a big part of my decision to move to the valley.

My great-grandfather was the bear dance chief on our reservation, and he passed the responsibility on to me. Other tribes have bear dances, but none do the dance like we do. A lot of other Ute traditions we have today come from other tribes: sun dances, peyote meetings, sweats, pow wows. The only real original dance of the Ute people is the Ute bear dance.

But there was a time on my reservation when nobody was going to the bear dance. Native people were looked down on in mainstream society, and that was where a lot of loss of culture happened. Older generations didn’t share the language and culture with their kids because they didn’t want to subject them to the racism and hostility that they themselves experienced. Even native people would make fun of each other for being native.

I do notice a resurgence of interest in Ute culture today, but sometimes people don’t know where to begin, or they fall into inaccurate portrayals of our culture because there’s no one there to teach them otherwise. It’s hard, too, when there are so many things distracting Ute youths from their culture and language. A lot of Ute people on the reservation don’t practice or have knowledge of our culture anymore.

They’re working to incorporate tribal culture into the curriculum at Uintah River High, the tribal high school on the reservation—I think we need to build on that a lot more and start looking at approaches other than typical institutionalized education. The way Ute people have always been taught was hearing stories about coyote, buzzard, rabbit, and all these characters who taught lessons about how to be a good person. I think we need to incorporate more of that mindset into schools, alongside math, English, and everything else.

Around 2011 or 2012, I met Nina Gabianelli and Lisa Hancock of the Aspen Historical Society, and they brought me on board to do educational programs on Ute history and culture in local schools. It grew from there and

now I’m doing at least 10 or 15 school visits over the next two months.

What I’ve learned going into the schools is that there’s not much knowledge at all on native people. A lot of the kids thought we were all dead. It’s my job to jump in and say, no, we’re still here, on reservations and in cities, and just like everything evolves, we’ve evolved as well. Just because we’re not riding horses, living in tipis, and dressed in buckskin or feathers doesn’t mean we’re not Ute people. I remind the kids that they didn’t come to school in a horse and buggy.

I’ve run into some natives here in the valley—a few Navajos, maybe one Chippewa—but I don’t know of any other permanent Ute residents, so I feel like it’s my responsibility

Skyler Lomahaftewa has been working with the Aspen Historical Society for more than a decade to share Ute culture with the Roaring Fork Valley community.

to dispel some of the stereotypes and other misconceptions about native people. Things like natives on reservations getting handouts from the government—a reservation is like a small state within a state, so we get federal funding and grants just like any county or state, but each tribe has different treaties and relations with the federal government. We’re not just a big, broad native nation. The tribe I’m a part of, we were put on land with nothing but rocks, lizards, and desert, come to find out later it’s full of oil and gas, which we develop and profit from. Other tribes don’t have that resource— they got put on whatever land they got.

My great-grandfather didn’t have rights as a citizen until 1924—he was born a foreigner in his own country. I was born in 1975, before the American Indian

Religious Freedom Act was passed. People think this is all in the past, but none of it was very long ago.

My focus going into local schools is on the Ute culture and language as a modern reality versus something you read about in a book or learn from a non-native person. Eventually I intend to create a 501(c)(3) to do Ute bear dances in the valley. We did one at the end of an exhibition on Ute history I worked on with the Aspen Historical Society, and I thought it was a good turnout of Ute people coming and enjoying the bear dance. That was the success, in my opinion. Non-native participants are always welcome, but that isn’t my focus. It’s more meaningful to me to return Ute culture to the area—to have the Ute people return to this valley and practice our culture for ourselves.

The former competitive freeskier, small business owner, and podcast host takes the interview seat.

I always have a lot of projects swirling around in my mind that I never feel like I have time for, but since I’m going skiing no matter what, I knew my podcast, The Gondolacast, was something I could do at the same time. I’m never going to neglect going skiing.

I started by getting in the gondola with strangers, but for the most part, now I invite specific characters in the story of Aspen—Olympians like Alex Ferreira and Wiley Maple, or the mayor and the sheriff. The whole premise is that we’re heading up to ski. The first ride always feels a little crusty— people are cold, maybe it’s their first-ever interview—but after we take the first run and are back on the gondola, the conversation changes. There’s excitement in recapping the route. That’s the best part of this podcast for me.

I keep a running list of people I want to interview each season—one news article could break, and there’s my next guest. A huge get for the upcoming season would be developer Mark Hunt because no one’s really heard from him yet. Talking to personalities like him are like getting messages in a bottle about the future of Aspen. I like that it’s a contribution I can make to this town.

When I ski down into town, I can see the bright blue Moncler building that was formerly Aspen Drug, which my parents used to own. The family business is in Snowmass Village now, but it’s

still a special sight and reminder of their legacy. I work to carry that on through the service and selection at both of our stores, Sundance Liquor & Gifts and The Snowmass Dispensary. I love playing curator and think we have the best wine selection in the valley—visitors from around the world have been shopping with us for almost four decades. And now, we also offer the best cannabis in the state. I’m a flower guy at heart, and since we’re independent, I can source from the best growers.

After competing as a freeskier growing up, I judged events like the Winter X Games in Aspen for a long time. Judging lost its allure as I was becoming more passionate about music —I lived in Berlin for a few years working as a DJ and producing music—but freeskiing shaped who I am. It guides my tolerance for risk and how I analyze comfortability in sketchy situations, and it’s still my church. It’s still when I feel the most me and the most alive.

What's so fun about skiing each of the four mountains of Aspen Snowmass is that you can make a plan based on the day’s conditions. A perfect day for me is the little fitness lap I developed for Highland Bowl. I ski down from my house to the bus stop and then head straight up to hike it. I like to go out early, breathe deep, feel the burn, and get back in time for a cup of coffee with my wife. I can get door to door in two hours. Breakfast at Bonnie’s and

Aspen native Andrew Wickes splits his time between his two family businesses, Sundance Liquor & Gifts and The Snowmass Dispensary.

cruising on Ajax together is pretty untouchable, too. This season, the first Saturday on Hero’s, the newly expanded terrain on Aspen Mountain, is going to be so cool—talk about feeling that local flair.

I feel an extreme commitment and loyalty to this place. Even when I’m not physically in Aspen, my dreams only ever take place in Aspen. It’s weird—I’ve traveled and lived all over the world, but I’ve never dreamt anywhere else. I definitely feel like Aspen is changing, but the more people give up on Aspen and move away, then who will be left to keep anything positive rolling?

When you get on the gondola on a powder day, the chances are high you’re riding with one of those longtime locals who arrived here in the ’70s, like my parents. Skiing alongside them brings me hope that the spirit of Aspen is still alive and well.

Candlelight dreaming in the Sundeck.

Image by Rich Lander

Olivia and Joe Sutherland tie the knot at the top of Aspen Mountain in April 2023.

A couple plans their dream union at The Nell.

With their mutual love of skiing and Aspen, Olivia and Joe Sutherland always wanted a winter wedding at The Nell. Wedding planner Aimee Monihan, founder of Mountain Occasions, first started planning the wedding in late 2019. The couple was living in New York City at the time, where Joe worked in finance and Olivia, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, was a professional dancer, a Rockette, and a Broadway star.

The couple moved to Dallas, Texas, during the pandemic, and after Olivia got pregnant, they rebooked the wedding for 2021. When Olivia became pregnant with their second child, they chose to postpone again until April 2023. (Their two small children would go on to serve in the wedding party as a flower girl and a ring bearer.)

Along with their team of collaborators, the bride and groom created a thoughtful experience from start to finish. As guests arrived via gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain, they were greeted by a warming station with hot apple cider and hot cocoa, along with blankets and hand warmers to keep everyone warm during the outdoor ceremony.

A lavish spread of passed canapés and a raw bar was available at cocktail hour in the ASPENX Mountain Club. Dinner was served in the Sundeck, where guests enjoyed a delicious three-course meal paired with fine wines selected by The Nell’s sommeliers. Afterward, petite desserts made by The Nell's pastry chef were offered. Next, espresso martini shots were passed around, energizing everyone, including the many professional dancers in attendance, to make the reception an incredible dance party.

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Image

Rich Lander

At the end of the evening, the newlyweds were sent off through a tunnel of guests holding sparklers. For the ride down the mountain, all were given a togo bag of sliders, fries, and more petite desserts, along with fleece blankets, for the coziest winter wedding experience imaginable.

Coordinators : Aimee Monihan and Amy Siudak of Mountain Occasions

Venue : The Little Nell (Emily Alexander, Director of Events)

Photographer : Chard Studios

Videographer : Kelley and Paul Glister of 618 Studios

Lighting & Draping : Halcyon Productions

Rentals : Colorado Party Rentals, Nüage Designs

Hair & Makeup : Malle Gambuti and Jess Robson of Gambuti

Robson Hair and Makeup

Band : Azizz

Paperie : The Detail Department

Dress : Ines Di Santo

Shoes : Jimmy Choo

Performance luxury brand Canada Goose is gearing up for Fall/Winter 2023 with an exciting lineup of new staples and collaborations set to drop during the season ahead. The brand, which has opened several new locations throughout the United States this past year, will have select new styles and exciting collaborations available for fans at its Aspen location.

Canada Goose nestled on East Hyman Avenue offers the brand’s iconic parkas and expanded product categories.

Coming into a new season, the 3,100-square-foot Aspen location opened in November 2022 and continues to create an immersive experience that is an integral part of every Canada Goose retail location, its heritage, purpose, and function. New for Canada Goose is the brand’s expanded product assortment, which includes new women’s collections and apparel. The Clair Collection joins as the newest women’s collection for Fall/Winter 2023, with a sleek, new hyper-feminine design that includes detailed quilting and flattering shaping, made for ultimate style and comfort. Additionally, Canada Goose will be expanding the men’s collections with the new Lawrence Collection, a new era of lightweight down featuring a modern quilt design with a durable, water-repellent fabric for lightweight protection. The brand will also be highlighting some of its newest collaborations at the Aspen location, such as its collection with designer Rokh and artist Matt McCormick.

Enjoy Canada Goose’s newest offerings at the East Hyman Avenue location in Aspen, Colorado.

A set of recent accolades recognizes The Little Nell’s world-class wine and dining program.

The Little Nell was honored twice recently with awards for exceptional wine and outstanding food, a pairing that has been a part of the hotel’s ethos since its very beginning.  In September 2023,  The World of Fine Wine, a quarterly publication that presents the most prestigious and rigorous wine list awards program, held its annual awards ceremony in London. The esteemed regional winners for the 2023 list, announced months prior, were invited to take part in the global category ceremony in London.

Having been named the regional winner for “Best Hotel Wine List in North America,” The Little Nell was invited to the awards. The Little Nell’s wine director, Chris Dunaway, attended the event and was presented with the overall award for “Best Hotel Wine List in the World,” which he accepted on behalf of the hotel.

The finalists, and ultimately the winners, of each category are determined through an intensive independent judging process involving a panel comprised of some of the world’s most respected wine experts, including masters of wine, a master sommelier, and a world champion sommelier. “What a special accolade to help celebrate the great wine legacy at The Nell,” Dunaway says. “We’ve worked tirelessly for the past 34 years to source and share some great fine and rare wine with our guests, and to be mentioned in the same breath with the great properties represented at the 2023 World of Fine Wine Awards was truly a great honor. And to be there and win on the world stage has us all buzzing with excitement. We’re looking forward to sharing that excitement with our guests this upcoming season and beyond.”

Also in September 2023, the first edition of the Michelin Guide Colorado selection was revealed. Three regions were considered for the guide: Denver and Boulder, Vail and Beaver Creek, and Aspen and Snowmass. Among the Aspen and Snowmass winners were chef Barclay Dodge’s Bosq Aspen restaurant, which received a Michelin star, while Element 47 at The Little Nell, Prospect at Hotel Jerome, and Mawa’s Kitchen each received a “recommended restaurant” distinction.

Best in Glass

Images by Jamie Jaye Fletcher and Megan Wynn

Sommelier Jesse Libby serves guests at Element 47 during a dinner featuring Michelin-starred guest chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Matthew Zubrod, culinary director for The Little Nell stated, “To be acknowledged by the highest standard of culinary excellence is very flattering. We will continue to strive for a Michelin star designation and are very grateful for the recognition we have received thus far.”

Eliza Voss, vice president of destination marketing for the Aspen Chamber Resort Association noted, “We are delighted to congratulate Barclay Dodge and the Bosq Aspen team for their Michelin star. And congratulations to our ‘recommended’ restaurants Element 47, Mawa’s Kitchen, and Prospect. We always knew the culinary scene in our community was something to be proud of, and now we can share these accolades with the world.”

a recommended-restaurant distinction to

The Michelin Guide awarded

Element 47, helmed by The Little Nell’s culinary director, Matthew Zubrod.

Discover The Little Nell’s brand-new spa.

The Spa at The Little Nell is a jewel in the hotel’s crown, having undergone a thorough renovation helmed by the acclaimed firm Luis Bustamante Interior Design of Spain to debut this ski season. Bustamante most recently renovated The Little Nell’s living room and lobby in 2020, and the ASPENX Mountain Club atop Aspen Mountain in 2021.

The Spa at The Little Nell features three treatment suites, each containing a private changing room with a steam shower. Two treatment suites also feature fireplaces and hybrid infrared/halotherapy saunas.

Conceived as a blend of performance hub and spa retreat that speaks equally to the modern wellness movement and the timeless appeal of authentic personal care, The Spa at The Little Nell takes a thoughtfully curated approach to well-being.

Weaving timeless healing modalities with the latest advances in recovery and performance therapies, The Spa’s menu features a variety of integrated rituals, bodywork, and skincare solutions in partnership with premier experts such as aesthetics and anti-inflammatory pioneer Dr. Barbara Sturm and all-natural skincare line Seed to Skin Tuscany.

Situated next to The Spa, a new, state-of-the-art fitness center will feature the finest cardio and strength equipment, including Woodway treadmills, Peloton stationary bicycles, Technogym machinery, a functional training station from TRX, and ample space for free movement and self-directed workouts.

Join us for a journey of restoration, relaxation, and rejuvenation in this new space on the lower level of The Little Nell.

A golden retriever recounts a day in the charmed life of a pet guest at The Little Nell.

After hopping out of the car, I feel instantly at home thanks to the friendly gentlemen who offer me a   treat and lots of scratches behind my ears. I like this place already!

We walk through the big doors to The Little Nell, where I’m greeted by a front desk manager named Renee, who gives  me a blue bandana that I can keep!

We head up to our room, where the fireplace is already roaring and silver bowls are filled with fresh Colorado  tap water and treats. My plush bed is all set up, so I snuggle in for a nap.

My parents head out to dinner, and I hear a knock at the door. One of the gentlemen who I met at check-in is here to go for a walk around Aspen. When I return, my new friend Brandon leads me back to my room and ensures everything is just so. This is the life!

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The Little Nell takes pride in being a pet-friendly hotel, and pets take notice of its welcoming atmosphere and friendly hospitality

Blending seamlessly with its serene surroundings, Hermès’ second store in Colorado is an exquisite space of wood and stone, where artistry and natural elements converge harmoniously.

Hermès has found the perfect setting in the Rocky Mountains for its first boutique in Aspen.

Resembling an inviting chalet, the interior pays homage to the honey color of local larch wood. A bay window offers panoramic views of the nearby peaks, and plush carpeting atop the gray-blue Aspen stone flooring mimics the soft moss and undergrowth of a forest.

Women’s and men’s silks, accessories, fragrances, and leather goods are featured on the ground floor, and the mezzanine houses the brand’s equestrian and other collections in the gray and bright gold tones of the region’s birch trees. Natural light bathes the second floor, which features a shoe lounge, men’s and women’s ready-to-wear fashion, and jewelry and watches displayed in a yellow velvet boudoir.

Original artwork adorns each level, including a creation by Jean-Luc Favéro, dedicated to the piebald horses from the Émile Hermès collection, and Yann Stofer’s photograph, “Horse in the Snow,” aligning with the brand’s spirit of innovation, constant search for beautiful materials, and freedom to create.

Follow @hermes on social media or visit www.hermes.com.

Open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Get to know The Little Nell’s longtime chef concierge.

What was your journey to becoming chef concierge at The Nell?

I originally worked in sales and marketing for high-end luxury health and spa clubs in the Boston area before being recruited to Aspen as a director of sales for the Aspen Club & Spa. Our mission was to roll out Aspen Clubs throughout the country, though on the heels of 9/11, this vision did not come to fruition. After spending a year or so in Aspen, I thought, how could I leave the most heavenly place in the world? So, I turned to hospitality. I was head concierge at Hotel Jerome for a year or so, then I became the secondever chef concierge at The Little Nell, a position I’ve held for going on 17 years. My predecessor, Joy, was chef concierge at The Nell for 16 years. Now that speaks of tenure and a love of the profession!

What are the top activities or experiences you recommend in ski season for guests of The Little Nell?

Downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, horsedriven sleighs, dogsledding, and spa services. First Tracks is available daily for Nell guests, where you meet at 8 a.m. and are led by ski instructors down a groomed trail. The views and tranquility are truly special. Our sister brand ASPENX offers premium retail and rentals, plus the Beach Club atop Aspen Mountain. For groups and families, ASPENX can customize experiences such as Buckhorn Après, Powder Tours, Full Moon Ski Tours, Winter Stargazing, and much more.

Is there a particular story you’d like to share from your years as a concierge here?

My favorite memory is of a lovely married couple staying in a suite at The Little Nell for the wife’s 50th birthday. The husband asked for our assistance with a quick and unexpected getaway during their trip. To her surprise, our drivers took them to Aspen’s private airport, where we had arranged for a roundtrip flight to Las Vegas in a Hawker 700. With the assistance of a Les Clefs d’Or concierge friend, we reserved a hotel suite at The Bellagio for one night and dinner at JeanGeorges Steakhouse. We also purchased tickets to three separate shows, all with the best seats, and he asked her to choose her favorite. The next day, when they returned to Aspen, they checked back into their suite at The Nell to find Champagne and chocolate strawberries awaiting them. A perfect celebration!