http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080514/VALLEYNEWS/887020856Is Aspen's ski season really over?
Charles Agar
Aspen Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
May 14, 2008
"ASPEN, Colorado - Ski season might not be over just yet.
With the mountains still crusted in white, the Aspen rumor mill is churning about reopening Aspen Mountain or Aspen Highlands.
Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman Jeff Hanle said Tuesday that it could happen.
"It's possible," Hanle said. "It's going to depend on the weather, other events and staff."
Rumblings about a late-season opening began in the corporate offices, Hanle said.
"We're all skiers, and we think it would be fun to go skiing," he said.
Hanle confirmed the possibility of a short-term opening of Aspen Mountain on the weekend of June 13, just days after a scheduled repair to the Silver Queen Gondola should be complete.
But Hanle said everything's up in the air. Skico executives haven't yet looked at the costs nor made any specific plans.
Some Skico higher-ups had talked about opening Aspen Highlands for Memorial Day, Hanle said, but he stressed that with the large staff needed to run Highlands it was "highly unlikely, but possible."
The staff requirements to run Aspen, however, are simple, Hanle said, noting that a few ski patrollers, gondola staff and lift crews at Lift 3 at the top of Aspen Mountain (skiers would download on the gondola at the end of the day) are all that's needed.
"At this point, there's plenty of snow," Hanle said.
The road up Aspen Mountain has been plowed, Hanle said, and it would require some crews to cover it up or there would be some very limited skiing.
The gondola at Aspen has been running sporadically in recent days, but Hanle stressed that crews assembling a new low-wattage system simply were running tests.
