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Letter: Maroon Bells Bash exceeds wildest expectations

On Aug. 2, our three organizations hosted the Maroon Bells Birthday Bash to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness and of the Wilderness Act; the legislation that forever protected this special place.

The turnout, the outpouring of goodwill and the sheer joy that everyone brought to the occasion exceeded our wildest expectations! That is what community looks like.

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who came together to create a truly wonderful tribute to our beloved wilderness and the heroes who safeguarded it for us.



It was a reminder of what a big heart and generous soul this community has. We are a people who appreciate and cherish the magnificent backcountry that surrounds us. And we are a people who celebrate a shared love of all things wild.

Thank you especially to the city of Aspen, Pitkin County and Snowmass Village for your generous financial support. Thank you also to the dozens of businesses whose sponsorship enabled us to make the event affordable to all. There isn’t room here to name them all, but a big shout-out has to go to Crystal River Meats and Sweet Coloradough for their amazing donations of enough brisket and donuts for 1,500.




Thanks also to the 90-plus volunteers whose hard work and creativity made the event the success that it was.

And thanks, again, to those wilderness heroes whom we honored onstage, and the others who were not able to be there. It was their foresight, and the legacy of protected lands that we all now enjoy, that we celebrated at Aspen Highlands.

Sloan Shoemaker

Wilderness Workshop

Scott Fitzwilliams

U.S. Forest Service

Chris Lane

Aspen Center for Environmental Studies