5:48
Morning Edition host Eleanor Bennett talks with recently retired Aspen Highlands Patrol Director, Mac Smith, about his memories of growing up on the mountain and running the ski patrol for four decades.
Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol Director Mac Smith passed the baton on Jan. 31 after 42 seasons on the job. Though, he will remain on the patrol during the winters and help as needed throughout the next several years.
He first stepped foot on Highlands when he was only 8-years-old, and got his start on the mountain washing dishes at the Merry-Go-Round restaurant after graduating from Basalt High School in 1971.
“I fell in love with the mountain in my teenage years,” Smith said. “It’s got more of my blood, sweat and tears into that place than anything else in my life.”
Anna Stonehouse/Aspen Times file photo
Sunday was a day that was inevitable but still hard to fathom when Mac Smith stepped down as Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol director in his 42nd season in the post.
Smith, 68, will remain on the ski patrol for the foreseeable future during winters and work on special projects during summers. He said Monday he is “half-retiring.”
“Elvis hasn’t left the building. He’s just gone to a different room,” Smith said with his signature sense of humor.
Lori Spence, a longtime member of the Highlands patrol, was appointed as acting director. She is the first woman to serve as director of the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol.
Jan 15, 2021, 10:06 am 1.3K Shares
Beautiful mountain ranges can be seen the top of Aspen Highlands Ski areas on March 17, 2017, in Aspen. The views from the top of Highlands Ski area are spectacular. The peaks include from far left to right: Thunder Peak, 13,932 ft., Pyramid Peak, 14,018 ft., Maroon Peak 14,156 ft., and North Maroon Peak, 14,104, dead center in photo. To the right are Sleeping Sexton and Buckskin Pass at 12,462 ft. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)
In the eternal race for powder turns, fast groomer laps or just family fun on the slopes, skiers and snowboarders often forget to look up and see the forest, not just the trees they’re trying not to ride into. Those views, of course, take in Colorado’s national forests, home to nearly every ski area in the state. Their soaring peaks, verdant valleys and amazing vistas make Colorado one of the prettiest states. And whether it’s up on the lift, at the top of the mountain, or even in town or in the vill