Aspen Invites You to Name New Ski Runs

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Aspen, Colorado, is one of those fabled places—like Banff or Chamonix or Kitzbühel—that everyone wants to see, if only once. In Aspen, the draws include cascading white snow above a jewel-like town; the early ski history; the melding of mountain sports and culture; the music festival and the writers’ conference and the Aspen Institute. And the musicians and movie stars, though we’re not sure even they can afford it there anymore.

I remember seeing a guy on a cross-country ski trail who I smiled at, out of habit (he smiled back—it was a beautiful day), and then stared at, thinking, Did we go to high school together? Then realizing it was Wyatt Earp, I mean Kurt Russell. As a longtime local who now lives downvalley, I always enjoyed seeing the glitterati. Martina Navratilova on a panel of women in sports, and she was honest and great. Peter Dinklage at the airport. Kate Hudson hanging around. Even John Denver, long ago. I’m afraid I would not recognize the Kardashians, though, even if I sat in the gondie with them.

Now you, too, can be part of the fabulousness. The Aspen Ski Company recently did something it has never done before: it’s asking for public input to help name the trails on Aspen Mountain (aka Ajax), which will be home to a new 153-acre area called Pandora, with all terrain above 10,000 feet, opening in time for…