The school’s ‘best exam’: Over 100 Aspen students take geology final on Buttermilk summit

Aspen High School (AHS) students peered off the summit of Buttermilk Mountain at the snow-capped peaks of the Elk Mountain range, stark against a piercing blue sky on Wednesday, temperatures hovering in the mid-teens.

The Elks, explained ski-gear clad geology teacher Marc Whitley, illustrate the geological features the students studied this semester. They learned about four mountain types: domed, folded, fault-block, and volcanic mountains, which are all visible from the top of Buttermilk — one of the reasons the class took to the summit for their final.

“It provides the opportunity to make their learning relevant,” Whitley said. “In my mind, that’s what anchors learning: relevancy.”

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(For the sake of the students’ final, specific mountains in the valley will not be defined by their geological categories. Finals continue all week.)

Whitley’s class is one of five to have already taken their final on top of Buttermilk or to do so later this week. Between 110 and 115 students will take the exam, he said.

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The summit final is a longstanding tradition in the AHS geology class, according to Barton Tofany, another geology teacher.

Both Tofany and Whitley took geology at AHS as students. Tofany said he took a summit final for a geology class in the early 2000s.

“It is an absolute dream come true,” he said of coming full circle to teach. “When I was a student here, the school had a huge impact on my life.”

He said the purpose of the class is to get students thinking about how various geological features in the valley relate to each other, as well as to the larger geological process. He strives to teach them about the impact the local geology has had on humans.

“The reason we live here is ultimately tied to geology,” he said.

The Ek Range Thrust Fault, a huge slab of rock that slid over the Aspen area in the dinosaur era, produced the silver and lead that brought miners to the area in the 1800s, he said.

Following the miners, ranchers moved to the valley to provide food for the population, including Tofany’s grandfather in 1885.

“(We) try to continue passing along that story to the next generation of students we have,” he said.

Though students have taken summit geology finals for decades, this is the second year Buttermilk has hosted the exam. Students used to take the final on Highlands, but Tofany suggested they switch to Buttermilk for the accessibility of the terrain, as some students ride the chair without ski gear.

“I have never taken a test on top of a mountain,” junior Jeimy Ayala said.

“It’s the best exam of the school,” added junior Jazmin Soza.

Sophomore Spencer Irvin said the test is a lot more fun than sitting in the classroom.

“We’re applying knowledge to real life stuff going on in the valley instead of just getting asked questions about rocks,” Irvin said.

Sophomore David Asher added that it’s nice to get to ski or snowboard after a long exam.

The Aspen Skiing Company makes the summit exam possible for the students.

“We are proud to continue this long tradition of supporting Aspen High School students and teachers, allowing them to experience their natural surroundings in this context, fostering a greater love of the outdoors and a deeper understanding of the incredible place they call home,” Geoff Buchheister, CEO of SkiCo said in a press release. 

The AHS geology program was founded by Mike Flynn, who taught Whitley but has since retired from teaching at the high school. Travis Moore, a former AHS geology teacher, started the tradition of the summit geology exam. Now former AHS students continue the tradition.

“I think growing up here,” said Ellie Parker, long-term AHS science substitute and former geology student helping with the Wednesday exam, “you don’t always realize how incredibly lucky we are with some aspects of going to school in these mountains.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.