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Max D. Eberli

Aspen Times Staff Report

Former Aspen lodge owner Max D. Eberli died Sunday, June 11 at his home in Basalt.

A celebration of his life is planned Saturday, June 17 at 11 a.m. at Valley Pines Senior Center, 1400 E. Valley Road, (next to the Mid Valley Clinic) in Basalt.

Eberli was born in Baden, Switzerland on Aug. 11, 1910. He had a master’s degree in business and traveled to Colombia, South America to work in the import/export business for five years. There, he was contacted by famed mountaineer Paul Petzel to lead climbers in a series of successful first ascents in the Andes. Petzel later sponsored Eberli’s move to the United States.



Eberli settled in Chicago, where he met Alma Grimmich while trekking with the Prairie Club. They married in Fort Collins, Colo., shortly before he joined the 10th Mountain Division. Fluent in five languages, Eberli served as an interpreter during World War II.

The Eberlis, married 42 years, first lived in the Chicago suburbs and adopted two Swiss children. Max worked for Abbott Laboratories for 18 years. He and Alma were both avid hikers, climbers and skiers and pursued these passions throughout the world. They were members of both the Chicago Mountaineering and Colorado Mountaineering clubs.




In 1969, they purchased a lodge in Aspen and ran Gasthof Eberli for 10 years. The couple retired to Basalt; Alma died in 1986.

Eberli is survived by daughter Rita and granddaughter Sophia Rose of Basalt; and son Richard “Dick” and his wife Patrice, and grandsons William and John, all of Menlo Park, Calif.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salvation Army, 5445 County Road 154, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601; Planned Parenthood, 1517 Blake Ave., Glenwood Springs, CO 81601; or Roaring Fork Hospice, 410 20th St., Suite 203, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601.