History: Summer mudslide in Snowmass

“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.”