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Aspen Ski Tours history
Aspen Ski Tours company history timeline
In 1972 the company purchased a 52 percent share of Sunday River, a ski resort in western Maine, which had many weaknesses, including a poor marketing program and a shortage of indoor space.
1973: Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol begins the Cloud Nine Restaurant deck jump.
Sherburne raised its share of ownership in Sunday River to 67 percent in 1973.
In 1974, an ambitious $23 million commercial development proposed by Laurel Resorts, Inc. was opposed by a rare alliance of business and environmental groups.
After quickly gaining ground as a leader in the burgeoning ski travel industry, the two savvy ski-town entrepreneurs changed the brand name to Aspen Ski Tours in 1974, which would remain the company title for the next two-plus decades.
1975–76: Ski bum culture peaks, causing the Aspen Ski Corp. to suspend the three-mountain ski pass’s validity on Aspen Mountain, because rowdy locals are driving away ticket-buying tourists.
In 1976, safety straps gave way to ski brakes, reducing lacerations from windmilling skis.
1977: Snowmaking is installed on lower Buttermilk; cost: $800,000.
20th Century Fox bought the company in 1978.
1978: Twentieth Century Fox buys the Aspen Ski Corp.
1979: First Gay Ski Week is held.
By 1979, Seven Springs snowmaking capacity combined with 15,000 person per hour uphill capacity made it the choice for the boomer generation.
1980: Limited reinstatement of full three-mountain ski pass with partial validity for Aspen Mountain: a season’s pass is sold for $300, good on Snowmass and Buttermilk, with an Aspen Mountain validation sticker an extra $10 per day.
Aspen Skiing Corporation became Aspen Skiing Company in 1981, when Marvin Davis bought 20th Century Fox and it became privately held.
1982 Nordic World Championships Oslo NOR. New skating step adopted with shorter skis made of carbon fibre.
1983–84: A massive avalanche in Highland Bowl kills ski patrolmen Chris Kessler, Tom Snyder, and Craig Soddy while they are doing control work.
1984: United States Ski Teamer Bill Johnson follows his Sarajevo Olympic downhill win with another at the America’s Downhill on Aspen Mountain.
Information from the late Jakob Vaage, 1984.
1985: Snowboarding is allowed on a trial basis at Buttermilk.
1986: The Silver Queen Gondola opens; a ride to the top of Aspen Mountain now takes fourteen minutes versus thirty on the preexisting chairs.
1987: A four-mountain ski pass costs $595 with an Aspen Mountain daily surcharge.
In 1987 it recorded some 1.6 million skier visits, bringing in revenues of $66.1 million.
1988: Snowmass allows snowboarding.
1988–89: The landmark Little Nell après-ski deck and bar are torn down, replaced by the Little Nell Hotel.
The company also continued to make large investments, including the installation of "high-speed quads" (introduced at Killington in 1988), which were faster, four-person chair lifts.
He had a 35 year lease but gave it up in 1989 after have only one profitable season.
The first known snow park was built at Bear Valley ski area in California in 1989.
1990: Elan and Kneissl build prototypes of deep-sidecut “shaped” skis, escaping from the classic Telemark geometry toward a generation of easy-carving skis.
1991–92: The full three-mountain season pass (Aspen, Buttermilk, and Snowmass) is reinstated at $1,600, without an Aspen Mountain surcharge.
In 1991, Laurel Mountain Recreation Inc., a non-profit composed of Westmoreland area businesses and economic officials was formed to revitalize Laurel Mountain.
The Crowns and ASC purchased Aspen Highlands in 1993, in a joint partnership with developer Gerald Hines.
In 1994, they attempted to take Laurel non-profit and raise approximately $1.3 million to that end but the application for nonprofit status was turned down.
In 1995 it completed its 36th year of consecutive profitability.
The National Ski Council Federation was formally established in 1999.
In 1999, George Mowl signed a 35 year concessionaire lease and presumably took over with the goal of helping to push sales of lots in Laurel Mountain Village.
While the rope tow was ideal for shorter hills, it too grew tiresome for those that wanted to reach summits of 2000 feet or more.
2000: The Aspen Skiing Company tries to change name of Aspen Mountain to Ajax to avoid marketing confusion over having a snowboard ban on only one of four mountains.
2001: SkiCo president Pat O’Donnell reverses course and allows snowboarding on Aspen Mountain, beginning April 1.
2002: Highland Bowl opens to its summit for hiking up and skiing down.
In 2003, The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources terminated Mowl’s lease and Somerset Trust Company took over all of the concessionaire’s assets at Laurel.
In September 2004, Ski.com acquired Lynx Vacations, GoWest Tours, Adventures on Skis, Sportours, and AnyMountain Tours in order to expand its domestic operations and to provide international and group travel.
In 2004, Seven Springs entered into an agreement to run Laurel Mountain as “The Springs at Laurel Mountain”. As many improvements were deemed necessary, Seven Springs chose not to run the area the following year.
2005: Nick DeVore wins the first Colorado Freeride competition on Burnside Cliffs, Snowmass, jumping three cliffs on telemark skis.
2009The 2009 editions of the FIS World Championships are hosted by: Liberec (Nordic), Val d’ Isere (Alpine), Inawashiro (Freestyle) and Gangwon (Snowboarding).
In June of 2010, Ski.com acquired Rocky Mountain Tours to further solidify its position as the leader in the industry.
2010 The State of Pennsylvania approves a grant for $6.5 million to support the revitalization of Laurel Mountain.
2011: The Power of Four ski mountaineering race debuts, a grueling event with 12,000 feet of vertical gain over twenty-five miles.
The company rebranded the property in 2012 as The Limelight Hotel, repositioning this Aspen institution as Aspen’s most inviting hotel.
2012: Snowmass adds 230 acres of hike-to terrain on Burnt Mountain.
2013–14: Aspen’s four mountains now have a total of forty-two ski lifts with a combined capacity of 55,213 skiers per hour.
2014–15: A strong snow start is stalled by the second lowest January total ever: 5.26 inches.
2014FIS debuts several new Olympic events at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and has a record number of 49 medal events at the Games.
Fall, 2014 The State of Pennsylvania released grant funds for revitalization of Laurel Mountain.
By Tim Cooney 2/1/2015 at 12:00am Published in the Midwinter/Spring 2015 issue of Aspen Sojourner
Fall, 2015 Construction begins
2017: FIS men’s and women’s Alpine World Cup Final comes to Aspen Mountain.
Eye of the Archive: Entrance to Aspen, Gone to the Votes September 14, 2018
The 2018-19 season also marked the first time that an athlete earned more than 1,000,000 CHF in proze money as American Alpine Skier Mikaela Shiffrin cracked the mark after her successful season.
04/15/2019 Photography by Aspen Sojourner Staff
An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Friday, repeating until April 17, 2020
03/11/2020 By Aspen Sojourner Staff Photography by Adam Gilbert/Big Beard Creative
2021 marks the 50th anniversary since Skip and Barry founded S&L Travel Partners and to this day, our Mountain Travel Experts remain deeply committed to passing along unforgettable mountain experiences to all of our beloved customers.
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Aspen Ski Tours competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Snow | 1954 | $21.4M | 420 | - |
| Summit at Snoqualmie | - | $49.9M | 780 | - |
| Okemo Mountain Resort | - | $31.6M | 261 | - |
| Liberty Mountain Resort | - | $6.0M | 154 | - |
| Jiminy Peak | 1948 | $57.0M | 750 | 10 |
| Aspen Snowmass | 1946 | $85.0M | 1,240 | 181 |
| Arizona Snowbowl | 1938 | - | 270 | - |
| Smugglers' Notch Resort | 1956 | $26.6M | 200 | - |
| Waterville Valley New Hampshire | 1829 | $96.0M | 50 | 12 |
| Mountain High | 1931 | $40.9M | 900 | 3 |
Aspen Ski Tours history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Aspen Ski Tours, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Aspen Ski Tours. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Aspen Ski Tours. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Aspen Ski Tours. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Aspen Ski Tours and its employees or that of Zippia.
Aspen Ski Tours may also be known as or be related to Aspen Ski Tours and Ski.com.