Several of the shrines and memorials on the mountains of Aspen/Snowmass are dedicated to people who were involved in the early years of skiing in Aspen.
There is a statue of Friedl Pfeifer, with a brass plaque below it, in the Gondola plaza at the base of Aspen Mountain. He helped to build Aspen as a ski resort after World War II (where he was a member of the 10th Mountain Division) and was one of the founders of the Aspen Skiing Corporation, the Aspen Ski School, and Buttermilk Mountain.
There used to be a 10th Mountain Division shrine on Aspen Mountain. It is no longer in existence, but on August 2, 1997, there was erected in the Gondola plaza a bronze sculpture and plaque dedicated in perpetual memory of the 992 young men of the 10th Mountain Division who gave their lives in the Aleutian Islands and Italy in 1943-1945, and also 10th Mountain Division veterans who came to Aspen after the War. The monument was donated by Bert Bidwell, longtime Aspen resident and 10th Mountain Division veteran.
Inside the Ullrhof mountain house at Snowmass there used to be a display for the 10th Mountain Division. It is not there anymore, having been removed at the end of the 2006-07 ski season. A sign posted in that display said “Original 10th Mountain Equipment.” One item that was included in the display was a photo of Bert Bidwell.
There is a brass plaque dedicated to Fred Iselin at Aspen Highlands. He was a ski instructor and author, who arrived in Aspen in 1947. The plaque reads as follows: “1914-1971, Fred Iselin, From the mountains, to the mountains”.
The “Shrine to Aspen's Skiing Pioneers” is located in the Elk Camp area on Snowmass. It consists of a laminated sign, and laminated photos of some of the early pioneers of Aspen skiing, such as Fred Iselin, Dick Durrance, Stein Eriksen, Klaus Obermeyer, and others.
There is a shrine on Aspen Mountain called the “Aspen Ski Hall of Fame Shrine,” which remembers many of those involved in the early ski history of Aspen with photos of each: Bob Beattie, Fritz Benedict, D.R.C. Brown, Dick Durrance, Stein Eriksen, Fred Iselin, Whip Jones, Steve Knowlton, Johnny Litchfield, Klaus Obermeyer, Walter Paepcke, Friedl Pfeifer, Andre Roch, Pete Seibert, and the 10th Mountain Division.
David Wood (AspenShrines@aol.com) is the author of the best-selling book about the Aspen shrines, Sanctuaries in the Snow-The Shrines and Memorials of Aspen/Snowmass. He donates all of his profits from book sales to a local charity, The Trashmasters Scholarship Fund. The book can be purchased in Snowmass Village at Snowmass Sports, the Stew Pot, Sundance Liquor and Gifts, the Village Market, and 81615, as well as at various locations in Aspen.
There is a statue of Friedl Pfeifer, with a brass plaque below it, in the Gondola plaza at the base of Aspen Mountain. He helped to build Aspen as a ski resort after World War II (where he was a member of the 10th Mountain Division) and was one of the founders of the Aspen Skiing Corporation, the Aspen Ski School, and Buttermilk Mountain.
There used to be a 10th Mountain Division shrine on Aspen Mountain. It is no longer in existence, but on August 2, 1997, there was erected in the Gondola plaza a bronze sculpture and plaque dedicated in perpetual memory of the 992 young men of the 10th Mountain Division who gave their lives in the Aleutian Islands and Italy in 1943-1945, and also 10th Mountain Division veterans who came to Aspen after the War. The monument was donated by Bert Bidwell, longtime Aspen resident and 10th Mountain Division veteran.
Inside the Ullrhof mountain house at Snowmass there used to be a display for the 10th Mountain Division. It is not there anymore, having been removed at the end of the 2006-07 ski season. A sign posted in that display said “Original 10th Mountain Equipment.” One item that was included in the display was a photo of Bert Bidwell.
There is a brass plaque dedicated to Fred Iselin at Aspen Highlands. He was a ski instructor and author, who arrived in Aspen in 1947. The plaque reads as follows: “1914-1971, Fred Iselin, From the mountains, to the mountains”.
The “Shrine to Aspen's Skiing Pioneers” is located in the Elk Camp area on Snowmass. It consists of a laminated sign, and laminated photos of some of the early pioneers of Aspen skiing, such as Fred Iselin, Dick Durrance, Stein Eriksen, Klaus Obermeyer, and others.
There is a shrine on Aspen Mountain called the “Aspen Ski Hall of Fame Shrine,” which remembers many of those involved in the early ski history of Aspen with photos of each: Bob Beattie, Fritz Benedict, D.R.C. Brown, Dick Durrance, Stein Eriksen, Fred Iselin, Whip Jones, Steve Knowlton, Johnny Litchfield, Klaus Obermeyer, Walter Paepcke, Friedl Pfeifer, Andre Roch, Pete Seibert, and the 10th Mountain Division.
David Wood (AspenShrines@aol.com) is the author of the best-selling book about the Aspen shrines, Sanctuaries in the Snow-The Shrines and Memorials of Aspen/Snowmass. He donates all of his profits from book sales to a local charity, The Trashmasters Scholarship Fund. The book can be purchased in Snowmass Village at Snowmass Sports, the Stew Pot, Sundance Liquor and Gifts, the Village Market, and 81615, as well as at various locations in Aspen.
