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Postseason play at Aspen Highlands?

Aspen Times Staff Report
Aspen, CO Colorado

ASPEN ” OK, so now we know which 65 teams are headed to the Big Dance in college basketball. Next, we’ll find out about the postseason at the local ski areas.

Aspen Skiing Co. officials said they will announce Tuesday or Wednesday how they will extend the season. Notice, they said “how” not “if.”

Skico Vice President of Operations Rich Burkley submitted a proposal to Skico CEO Mike Kaplan that was awaiting review Monday. Burkley placed the proposal in a spot Kaplan is guaranteed to find it, said Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle.



“Mike’s out teaching a [ski] lesson and the plan is waiting on his boots,” Hanle said.

A lot of rumors are circulating about what exactly the Skico will do. While Burkley wouldn’t share his specific plan, he previously said the ski season could be extended at Aspen Highlands as a sort of “thank you” to locals.




Highlands, like Buttermilk, is scheduled to close at the end of the day Sunday, April 6. Aspen Mountain and Snowmass remain open one week longer. Aspen Moun­tain and Snowmass must close as scheduled, Burkley said. The electrical system for the Silver Queen Gondo­la must be overhauled. That work must begin immedi­ately to have the gondola operational for summer.

At Snowmass, work will begin immediately at the Sam’s Knob Restaurant, forcing the closure of the Village Express chairlift out of the base area. Skico has ruled out running the Elk Camp gondola from the base because there would be too much terrain for the ski patrol to sweep at the end of the day to justify an extended open­ing there, Hanle said.

An extended season at Highlands is the focus “at this point,” he said.

Stay tuned.