ML - Aspen Peak

Aspen Peak - 2015 - Issue 2 - Winter - Lift Off

Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak

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Dave Stapleton ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 163 T H E L O C A L S THE STA PLETONS The first Stapletons came into this valley over Taylor Pass in 1881 and homesteaded land on what is now the airport. David Stapleton, 81, a member of the family's fifth generation, and his wife, Sigrid, were instrumental in making Aspen what it is today. "Our story is simple," he says with a hearty laugh, "If there was a job to be done, we did it. That's all there is to it." In addition to raising five children and running a successful insurance business, David wore many hats—city councilman, firefighter, president of the hospital board, president of the Hall of Fame, president of the ski club, 17 years on Mountain Rescue, technical delegate for the Women's Downhill at the 1980 Olympics. "Do you want me to go on?" he asked in response to a question about some of his accomplish- ments. "We always tried to pass the message to our kids to get involved." His eldest son, Dave ( PICTURED), 57, heeded the advice. As a kid, he was perhaps the fastest skier this valley has ever seen. "I was racing World Cup at 17. I traveled the world nine months a year skiing," he recalls wistfully. After his time on the Pro Ski Tour ended, he returned to Aspen, where he opened the ski shop Stapleton Sports. Both Stapletons cut their teeth as members of the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, and when Dave saw that the club needed a worthy training facility, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. The $15 million capital campaign he spearheaded has given the AVSC one of the premier ski-racing facilities in the world. The Stapleton Training Center, as it has been designated, not only helps local skiers get ready for high-level competitions, but it also plays hosts to the fastest men and women on skis. "This year we'll have the Austrian, the Swiss, and the Norwegian national teams training here before the World Cup races," Dave says. "Our kids get to shadow the very best skiers in the world." For more than a century, the Stapletons have left their marks in Aspen. And Dave, continuing his family's long legacy in the Roaring Fork Valley, wants to make sure that dreams do come true: "The goal today is to make ski-racing available to every kid who wants to race." All clothing, Stapleton's own WAR DRO B E - M U ST: "I have no wardrobe. But I do have an old cloth race bib that I wore when I skied the Hahnenkamm, in Kitzbühel [Austria], that I actually just had framed. It was the coolest thing I've ever worn." FAVO R ITE N IG HTS P OT: "Campo de Fiori (205 S. Mill St., 970-920-7717; campo defiori.net)." FAVO R ITE APR È S -S KI LOC ATIO N : "Mezzaluna (624 E. Cooper Ave., 970-925-5882; mezzalunaaspen.com)." WH E R E YO U TAK E FR I E N DS WH E N TH E Y CO M E TO TOWN : "Ruthie's Run, on Aspen Mountain, and I make sure they have GS skis and a helmet—'cause I'm gonna torture them."

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