The City of Silver and Snow: Aspen

The sun shines down on the mountains above the city, and people ski down their snow-covered slopes. It’s another perfect day in Aspen, one of the most  popular destinations in the US not only in the winter but also all year round.

UTE CITY

Aspen is a city of around 7,500 people. It is situated along the Roaring Fork River in a remote part of the Rocky Mountains, in the US state of Colorado. Founded by prospectors in 1879, it was originally named Ute City after the indigenous Ute people, but was later renamed Aspen, after the aspen trees that are abundant in the area. 

BAD TIMES

Thousands of prospectors moved to Aspen and by the early 1890s the city was at the centre of the most productive silver-mining area in the US. But then came the Panic of 1893, a period of economic depression that caused the collapse of the silver market. The population of Aspen began to decline and by 1930 only about seven hundred people lived there.

SAVED BY SNOW

The city’s fortunes changed, however, in the late 1930s, when an industrialist from Chicago called Walter Paepcke began acquiring its properties and redeveloping them. In 1946, he opened the first ski resort in the area, Aspen Mountain, and installed a gondola to transport people between the resort and the city below. 

ANNUAL EVENTS

Today, Aspen Mountain is one of four ski areas adjacent to the city that make up the winter resort complex Aspen Snowmass, the third largest resort in the US. People visit the resort in the summer to go hiking and biking, and in the winter to go skiing and snowboarding. And they also visit Aspen for other fun events and activities. 

CULTURE

In 1949, Paepcke founded the Aspen Music Festival and School, an annual festival that is on for eight weeks every summer. The city also has a short film festival in April, and a summer programme of outdoor theatre and ballet performances. So, no matter when you go, there are always many fun and fantastic things to do in beautiful Aspen.