We owed our "finding' of Aspensnowmass entirely to Meghan and Jane and what a remarkable place to have lived for the last 10 years. We had intended just to stay for a year (thus the year's lease of Akasha's house). It didn't take us long to realise that we had found, from our perspective and given our love of all the things this valley has to offer year round (on which more later), pretty much the perfect place for us - and crucially a place where our children, and any family they acquired, would want to come and visit. Of course wanting to come and being able to afford to come are two very different things though ! Hopefully this will be a changing dynamic.
That first winter it just snowed and snowed virtually from the moment we arrived. Our good friend Harry Noble came to stay before Christmas. The property next door came up for sale and he gave us what little encouragement we needed to negotiate for its purchase. We easily found new tenants to take over the year's lease of Akasha's house and we moved in to No. 270 in February. By good fortune we actually had occupation (albeit unfurnished at that stage in the case of 270) of both houses when all 3 kids came out to ski in Feb 2007 with their partners.
The rest of the winter went by in a whirr, both of us working for Skico at that stage. Mary on the mountain doing all the things Guest Services at Snowmass do, and me driving the employee shuttle buses (and importantly keeping a lot warmer!). Temps regularly going down to -15 degree F. 8 hour shifts working outside often in the shade on Mary's part was no small feat. And she continued to do it for another 7 winter seasons. In 2014 the foot slogging in freezing temperatures paid off and she got promoted to working the Guest Services desk on Aspen Mtn underneath the gondola. This year 2016/17 she's been given the highly coveted job of concierge Guest Services desk inside the ticket office at Snowmass.
At the end of the season in mid April before heading off on our bicycles, I got a taste of what it'd be like if I had retired without a job to get up for in the mornings. I didn't like it ! Sure I'd have got used to it, but let me assure those that do plan to "retire' at 60, it's not what it's cracked up to be. Depends of course on personality type, and some will adjust easier than others. For me it was the realisation that you suddenly might not be useful to anyone ! Plus the feeling if you've been brought up in the strict presbyterian mindset that unless you have to struggle for it, you've no right to be enjoying yourself. The anto-hedonism ethic if you like. I'm still fighting it 10 years on!
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| The guest sevices locker room |
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| Cold, but better than 'teaching' recalcitrant teenagers |
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| Same theme - better than sitting in an office. |
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| Harry - our first visitor - December 2006 |
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| Yie Mae and Stu from whom we purchased '270' and with whom we stayed friends |
Next installment. Our First Spring and Summer, and Still Adjusting
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