YOUR AD HERE »

Cheers to 90 years

I want to acknowledge another nonagenarian — my father, Paul Bushong — who will celebrate his 90th birthday Tuesday with one thing on his mind: anticipation of yet another Aspen ski season. Paul started skiing on the East Coast decades ago and certainly thanked his lucky stars when he and my mother to the valley over 20 years ago. He’s been shredding the mountains of Aspen ever since, and I imagine he will be disappointed if he doesn’t get in his typical 40 or 50 good days on the hill this year.

Paul’s enthusiasm and love for skiing are captured by an experience my wife and I had with him several years ago at High Alpine. We were skiing a favorite line of his from the top of Reidar’s when he cut through the trees to Showcase before continuing (at some velocity) to bear skier’s right through the trees over to The Edge. We caught up and suggested we start heading back over in the direction of Gwyn’s (our original plan) to which he replied, “I would — I just can’t turn left!” Following a full knee replacement, he returned to High Alpine (and the rest of Snowmass) the following season to continue to feed his passion — fortunately, he’s now able to look and ski in both directions!

Though he eschews attention, I wanted to recognize one of the many special skiers devoted to the “Power of Four” which continues to be such an important part of Paul’s truly golden years. We should all be so lucky.



Craig Bushong

Carbondale