Turkish delight

Misery for sale: $59.

This ski season is like a champion race horse that’s suffered a badly broken leg. The humane thing to do is to shoot it in the head and put it out of its misery. And our misery.

The Aspen Skiing Co. has dropped ticket prices to $59 from $72.

Rain, hail and a little bit of fresh snow at the very top were all on offer for the low, low price of 59 bucks. And that’s not all. Velcro snow, the kind that forces you to do standing sit-ups, was everywhere for the discount skier.

And the gondola was acting up, too! It took about 25 minutes to reach the top at about 2 p.m. And later look-sees found the bucket at a standstill more often than not.

What saved the day yesterday was the Aspen Synchronized Skiing World Championships, held on North American above Bonnie’s Restaurant. Eight teams of eight skiers each from around Colorado and the nation of Turkey carved, wove and turned their way down the hill to the cheers of a small but devoted crowd.

Last year, according to one event organizer, the springtime competition was called the Aspen Synchronized Skiing Championships. The fact that the Turks entered a team this year added international spice to the event, and the championships became worldly.

Three teams were neck and neck with just one run to go – the Divas from Aspen/Snowmass, the Ghost Riders from Telluride and the A Team from Bachelor Gulch.

Alas, the winner remains a mystery, as event organizers failed to call in the final results. But given the inclement weather and the promise of free beer after the competition was over, that’s an understandable oversight.