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History: Summer mudslide in Snowmass

A mudslide at the Campground area of Snowmass Ski Area, showing the damage to Old Divide Road, near the top of the slide. The damaged ski lift runs from the bottom left-hand corner of the photo to the top. At the bottom of the slide are trees and debris carried by the mudslide. This image appeared on the cover of the July 18, 1985 edition of The Aspen Times.
Devon Meyers/Aspen Historical Society

“Snowmass Village Town Marshal Gary Haynes has requested a meeting with the Communications Users Board to determine whether there was a breakdown in communication during two mudslides last weekend in Snowmass Village,” The Aspen Times reported July 18, 1985. “The mudslides, the second of which was one of the biggest in recent Snowmass history, occurred in the Campground ski area southwest of town. As many as four Aspen Skiing Co. lift towers were damaged. The slide occurred on land owned by Harland Adams. The area was closed to skiing. Officials have not determined damage estimates or an absolute cause for the two slides. One lift tower was completely displaced, another was damaged to the extent that it will have to be replaced. The extent of damage to two other poles has not been determined. A ditch known by various names, one of which is the McKenzie-Wildcat Ditch, is being studied as a potential cause of the mudslide, which measured 250 feet in width, 1,250 feet in length and covered a total of about 14 acres.”

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