Skarvan: When ski bumming was possible

I landed in Aspen in 1982, the same year John Doyle moved here. We were truly blessed to experience an era when ski bumming was possible. We skied daily. Wealthy folks enjoyed their time with local ski bums skiing and partying with us, sharing community.

When asked about the biggest changes in Aspen, I quickly mention social stratification. The wealthy don’t want to spend time skiing and partying with locals anymore. Where we once partied, we’re welcome as caterers in their homes.

Since COVID, the gap has exploded between ultra-wealthy and working locals, who don’t have time to ski weekly due to rising costs to ski and work requirements. Aspen is urbanized in every way, including folks driving rapidly every day and everywhere, even to go for an e-bike ride. We’re experiencing record real-estate pricing and construction, with over 1,000 construction sites considering short-term rental (STR) income become another way to capitalize on Aspen investments. STRs increased to 3,000 in Pitkin County, while very negative construction and STR impacts are felt by locals and visitors in every neighborhood.

We’ve experienced a growing affordable housing crisis, traffic and its safety issues, stress and pollution. The white elephant in the room? Highly controversial and boasting 300,000 square feet of luxury development at 1A, the largest project we’ve ever seen is breaking ground in 2026 offering years of construction and additional impacts.

Please join me in voting for long-time working locals John Doyle and Rachel Richards, with deep local passion, knowledge, political experience, and traditional values that have made Aspen special. We need to return to our values and goals, including housing more of our workforce and genuinely caring for our environment our Aspen Area Community Plan demands.

Thanks, and please vote by March 4!

Erik Skarvan

Aspen