Back in Time | Aspen

“Record crowd will see running of Rocky Mountain Ski Assoc. Downhill and Slalom races here Saturday, Sunday,” The Aspen Times announced on March 2, 1939.

“Roch Run, the fastest and toughest ski course in the U.S., is in excellent shape for RMSA’s biggest ski meet. All attention of winter sports circles and thousands of snow sports fans in the Rocky Mountain region is being focused on Aspen as the dates of the Rocky Mountain Ski Association’s annual downhill and slalom championship events approach. Top ranking skiers from all the western states are on their way to this picturesque old mining camp to participate in what leading ski clubs state will be Colorado’s greatest ski meet on the steep slopes of Aspen’s famous Roch Run, the toughest and fastest ski course in the United States, ranking second in the world to the famous Olympic course in Garmisch Partken Kirchen, Germany. Seventy-five of the West’s best skiers will pit their skill and daring against the inviting challenge of Roch Run, which is 9,750 feet long with an altitude drop of 2,700 feet, in an endeavor to set a new course record for the full length run. The course averages a 28 percent grade. Race officials report the course in excellent condition.”

“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.

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