Back in Time | Aspen

“Aspen, scene of the 1950 World Ski Championships downhill and slalom races Feb. 13 to 18, gets feature play in the Nov. 8 issue of Look magazine, which has just appeared on the news-stands,” the Aspen Daily Times announced on Oct. 27, 1949.

“In a six-page spread dealing principally with the skiing activities of the former ghost town that is playing host to the first World Ski Championships ever to be held in the United States, the magazine pictures Aspen boosters from the Sun Deck knitters to the lore-filled old miners.

Among skiers shown are Leonard Wood, executive secretary of the Alpine events of the World Ski Championships, which are being conducted under the auspices of the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) and the National Ski Association of America; Friedl Pfeifer, coach of the United States Women’s Championships Team; Dick Durrance, designer of the Aspen World Ski Championship trails; and Herbert Bayer, world-famous artist who designed the poster for the FIS World Ski Championships.  

In addition, Aspen fans will be delighted to see pictures of landmarks… the world’s longest chairlift, charming Victorian architecture. Aspen’s pioneer ski booster, and popular Mike Magnifico.

In putting such emphasis on the village that is scheduled to be the most important ski spot in the world this year, Look is focusing the attention of 18,453,000 readers on the magnificent skiing to be found in the Colorado Rockies.”

“Back in Time” is contributed by Aspen Historical Society and features excerpted articles and images from past Snowmass Sun/Aspen Times issues. We can’t rewrite history, but we can learn from it! Visit archiveaspen.org to view the vast Aspen Times photographic collection in the AHS Archives.

Aspen Historical Society actively preserves and passionately presents local history in an inspired and provocative manner that will continue to anchor the local community and its evolving character. For more, visit aspenhistory.org.