Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/601986
photography by NathaNiel Wilder (girviN); JordaN Curet (burr); ross daNiels (Keillor) from left: With Linda Girvin celebrating the successful auction of her cover art for our Summer 2015 issue at the Wyly Community Art Center (now The Art Base); with Emily Burr at the Aspen Music Festival and School and Aspen Peak Grammy Party, featuring Kishi Bashi; getting photo-bombed by Garrison Keillor at the Aspen Words Summer Soirée. This summer i chose To live as a double agenT —as both an Aspen insider and a standard- issue gawker in our miniature metropolis. By summer's end, my husband and I had collected stacks of programs and ticket stubs—glorious empty-nester memories of everything an Aspen summer offers. Ticket not required: morning jaunts to the Aspen Club or an am Little Cloud Trail ascent on Ajax. A morning mountain bike over Smuggler into Hunter Creek lets you turn to face the not-very-distant peaks of Maroon Bells and Capitol, a haze of evaporation rising from the valley below. Several nights a week we strolled to alfresco dinner and a concert at the Herbert Bayer tent or Harris Hall. But the calendar was packed cheek by jowl with an embar- rassment of cultural riches. I consulted a pro, my editor, Damien Williamson. How can you do it all? He answered, "You can't possibly. Pace yourself." So we ticked items off a list: violin con- certo at Harris Hall; Aida with enormous weather balloons standing in for African elephants (pageantry and operatic voices still rumble in my chest); Cosi Fan Tutte at The Wheeler, performed in the '60s style of Mad Men. At Aspen Meadows, I could look out from a sunny Aspen Ideas lecture and recall days when, as a child, I played with my siblings on the curving lawn and sculptures, as children still do. There was the Aspen Music Festival and School's Feast of Music gala, with two stages at the Jerome—six courses, paired with wine from six countries, and musical delights performed by greats from the clas- sical world. More? Lots more. JAS Café with the Django Festival All-Stars, and Cabaret at the Theatre Aspen tent (we left our troubles at the door). The Buddhists at the Red Brick chipped away at my family's karmic plaque. We enjoyed Bagels & Bass on the rooftop of the Aspen Art Museum; strolling through the Saturday market with a cup of Jeffreezz Italian ice, kibitz- ing with friends, pawing through local produce; and two Sunday afternoons at Aspen Valley Polo Club in Carbondale, observing world-class studs. We took two river trips down the Roaring Fork, one Fruita mountain biking trip, a partridge in a pear tree, and in a few days we'll embark on the annual fall hike to Crested Butte. There were a few performances and events I missed, in the name of aging at a humane rate. One thing helped: Michael Bruno's HousePad app (see page 186) kept me organized at home, leaving more time for the activities I love. But now, here's to a quiet Aspen off-season, then an El Niño winter, a turn in fresh powder, and the Sugar Plum Fairy with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Follow me on Twitter at @alexpubap and on Facebook at facebook.com/aspenpeak.magazine. alexandr a halper in 40 aspenpeak-magazine.com Letter from the Publisher