Aspen History: A snowy solution to housing hardships in 1969

“This miss is a real snow bunny,” asserted the Aspen Illustrated News on March 6, 1969. “Housing is so hard to get in Aspen these days most people aren’t even complaining about the exorbitant rents anymore. But one local young miss has eliminated herself from all the competition for conventional floor and roof space by setting up house-keeping in a rent-free, if not draft-free, igloo on the slopes of a nearby mountain. 23-year old Miss Myra Fritch, Aspenite for some five years, has taken up permanent residence in one of the icy abodes, explaining that she loves the woods and the privacy and wouldn’t mind living that way for years. With the igloo, Miss Fritch is quite satisfied. ‘It’s always cold, but inside my sleeping bag I’m very warm and in the morning I can jump out and get dressed before I realize how cold it is. With my dog and myself in here I stay warm if I keep my jacket on.’ The igloo is mostly below the surface of the snow cover, and is about six feet square on the outside. ‘When spring gets here it could get awfully wet, so pretty soon I’ll be putting up my tent.'” The image above shows Myra Fritch and her husky in front of her igloo, 1969.