Baxter, longtime Skico employee, moving on

Snowmass mountain manager Rob Baxter has decided not to return this winter. Baxter, who has been with the Aspen Skiing Co. since 1978, said it was time for him to step down and do something different. “I don’t know what that is,” he said, “which is scary on one hand and energizing on the other.”

Baxter spent his first few seasons with the Skico as a patroller on Aspen Mountain and eventually became ski patrol director and later the Aspen Mountain manager. He’s been the mountain manager at Snowmass for the past five years, working alongside Snowmass Ski Area general manager Doug MacKenzie. “He’s a great guy. You could always go to Rob with anything and he’d listen to you,” MacKenzie said. “He’s been in the business long enough to have seen it all and he’s definitely one of the better guys in the industry.” While Baxter isn’t certain what the next step is, it seems a sure bet that fly-fishing will be part of the mix.

“I’ve got a passion for fly-fishing,” he said. “In my past I’d guided for quite a few years, and I might do something like that. I’ll take a little time and see what opportunities there are.” MacKenzie said Baxter’s prowess on the river has earned him the nickname “The Professor.” “He can probably teach the entomologists a few things,” MacKenzie said. “He’s been on several television shows and featured in fly-fishing magazines.

“If you go [fishing] with him, it’s a whole different universe.” Reflecting on his on-mountain career, Baxter said: “The Aspen Skiing Co. has been absolutely fantastic to me and my family. I’ve been with them a long time. I have a lot of great memories and I’ve met a lot of great people.” Steve Benson’s e-mail address is sbenson@aspentimes.com