Willoughby: Early Aspen ski races

Hosting ski races was simultaneous with opening ski slopes, and that was not a coincidence.

The formation of the Aspen Ski Club was encouraged by André Roch during his time in Aspen advising the Highland Bavarian partners. At the conclusion of his work, he laid out what would become Roch Run; its major asset was that it would, when completed, be the best run for a downhill race in the country. He made the argument, and he was right, that Aspen was competing for resort recognition, and to win, hosting major races would be the best advertisement.

Aspen’s first race, dubbed the Winter Sports Carnival, was held before Roch Run was cut in February of 1937. It was on the slopes the Highland Bavarian partners were developing at the bottom of Little Annie Basin, the area just above the Castle Creek Road above their lodge. Roch directed the event that included a downhill, slalom, and jumping, The Roaring Fork Winter Sports Club, the precursor to the Aspen Ski Club, hosted the events. There were three races for each category, and competitors were broken into age categories.

Tom Flynn, a partner in the Highland Bavarian, donated the trophies. Jerry Hiatt won the men’s, although he raced in the 13-20 year old category, and my aunt Frances Herron won the women’s. My uncle, Frank Willoughby won the jumping.

The Aspen Ski Club expanded the number of races in 1938 and hosted the Rocky Mountain Ski Association championship races. That first year, it was more than a regional event as Otto Schniebs – the coach of Dartmouth and an Olympic coach, who was working for the Highland Bavarian partners – helped attract teams. It included DU, CU, Mines, and some East Coast teams. He also got the German champions team to come and a couple of Canadian champions, as well.

That same year, the Elks Club began sponsoring team races. The first year, it was just Aspen, Glenwood, and Grand Junction, but the next couple years, the number of clubs doubled to include Steamboat Springs, Rifle, San Juan, Gunnison, and Cedaredge.

Each club (except Aspen that had two) sent six team members, and the results were the total of the top five for each team. Aspen won most years. The 1940 race had 1,200 spectators.

The Elks added a new kind of race that was a spectator favorite, the rope race. Two skiers were attached to the ends of a rope and made their way down the mountain. In 1941, Darcey Brown and Bob Perry won the rope race. The Times described the race: “Some of the racers get a bit tangled up and couldn’t quite agree on which way they should go.”

The races, beginning in 1938, were on the Aspen Ski Club slopes on Aspen Mountain. Roch Run was cut for downhill races, a slalom slope accessible from the boat tow was added, and, using a Work Progress Administration grant, the 55-meter ski jump was constructed. The downhills challenged even the very best skiers with many falling on the way down. Imagine this description of the 1941 race today: “There was only one mishap when Aspen’s George Tekoucich got off to a flying start only to end up in an aspen tree with one boot torn completely from his foot and the ski and boot left hanging in the tree.” A racer from Grand Junction coming behind him (They started by the clock, so one was not finished before the next one started) stopped to help Tekouchich get out of the tree, then raced on and finished 18^th.

After hosting a string of the Rocky Mountain Regional championships, Aspen, with much effort on the part of the Aspen Ski Club, was chosen for the 1941 National Championships. The first National was in 1933 in Warren, New Hampshire. Colorado’s first hosting was the following year at Estes Park. Aspen’s big rival for reputation, Sun Valley, hosted the Nationals in 1937, ’40, ’48, ’57, and ’56.  Aspen, before 1960, tied that hosting total in 1941, ’53, ’54, ’57 and ’59.

Aspen’s dream of being known was realized from the 1941 Nationals. An estimated crowd of 2,000 watched on the first day and 5,000 on the second. Toni Matt (an Austrian living in the East Coast) won the men’s and Gretchen Fraser the women’s. Aspen had six entries in the men’s, resulting in a 4^th in the downhill and a 6^th in the slalom. The races were covered on national radio broadcasts, and Time Magazine covered the event and described Aspen in complementary terms.

Pearl Harbor did not close the Ski Club operations, but the club took a three-year hiatus from hosting races.

Tim Willoughby’s family story parallels Aspen’s. He began sharing folklore while teaching at Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at redmtn2@comcast.net