As recorded in the January 1975 Aspen Snowmass Guide, the annual Winterskol festival featured a highly anticipated event in Snowmass: “The Ski Splash has become the best known, best loved Snowmass event, even if the sport has no chance of getting in the Olympics.” Along with the splash, other events included a snow sculpture contest, a citizen’s cross-country ski race, pool tug-of-war and skijoring.

“Nearly a thousand trees were cut,” claimed the Aspen Times Snowmass Report in December 1972. A hoard of people gathered in Snowmass to chop their own Christmas trees during the event, which was “a cooperative effort of the Aspen District of the Forest Service and the Aspen Skiing Corp. Tree cutters paid $1.50 per tree and came away with some fine specimens which can cost over $10 if bought in town. The Ski Corp. operated a very efficient and speedy shuttle service to transport people from (the) No. 6 lift parking lot up to the cutting site which is being cleared for a new ski trail. Fires burned at each point and were welcome in the near zero temperatures.”