Shuffle and Repeat

Very much looking forward to KT Tunstall's return to BellyUp Aspen at the end of next month. 

In anticipation of which I have my KT Tunstall playlist on shuffle and repeat. 

Great review of Madame Trudeaux off her newest album, Tiger Suit, on NPR's website. I particularly like "it stomps and rolls with glammy antagonism, and Tunstall gnashes through it with a candy-coated sneer."

Off-season hours

The following is a list provided by the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (which I poached from the Aspen Daily News) that details which restaurants and bars that are open and closed for the spring off-season.   

39 Degrees Lounge at Sky Hotel    Closed April 12-May 30
Ajax Tavern    Open
Asie    Open, no lunch Saturdays and Sundays
Aspen Brewery    Open
Bad Billy’s     Open
Bentley’s    Open
Big Wrap    Closed April 24-May 16 (Enjoy the beach, Babs!)
Boogie’s Diner    Open, closed one week in May
Brexi    Closed April 12-May10
Brunelleschi’s Dome Pizza    Open
Butcher’s Block    Open, closed Mother’s Day
Cache Cache    Closed April 10 -May 27
Campo de Fiori    Open
Cantina    Closed April 12 - 19
Caribou Club    Closed April 11-June 10
Domino’s    Open
Double Dog Pub    Closed permanently (Such a loss!)
Elevation    Open
Ellina    Closed until the first week of June
Elkhorn Bar and Grill    Closed April 5-June
Escape at Explorer    Open for lunch only
Frank Thirion French Pastry Café    Open
Garnish Café at Aspen Club    Closed April 10 to end of May
Gisella    Closed April 25 - May 27
Grape Bar    ?
Hickory House    
Open, closed Monday and Tuesday
Highlands Pizza Co.    
Open Thursday through Sunday. Open 7 days/week by May 15
Hunter Bar    Open
Il Mulino    Open Tuesday through Saturday
Ink Coffee    Open
Jacob’s Corner Hotel Jerome    Closed April 19 -May 6
J Bar at the Hotel Jerome    Closed April 19 -May 6
Jimmy’s    Open
Johnny McGuire’s Deli    Open
Jour De Fete    Open
Kenichi    Open
Krabloonik    Closed April 11-mid June
L’Hostaria    Closed Sunday and Monday
La Palapa    Closed April 12-mid May
Little Annie’s    Open
Little Nell (Montagna)    
Closed April 12-May 20, begin serving breakfast only April 30
Little Ollie’s    Open
Louis’ Swiss Pastry    Open
Lulu Wilson    
Open, closed Sundays and Mondays
Main Street Bakery & Café    
Closed last week of April, first week of May
Matsuhisa    Closed April 11-12
Mezzaluna    Open, closed Sunday’s in May
Mustang    Closed Sunday and Monday
N9NE Steakhouse    
Open Tuesday through Saturday in April; May ?
New York Pizza    Open
Pacifica    Closed April 4 to early June
Paradise Bakery    Open
Parallell 15    Open
Peaches    Open, closed Sundays
Pine Creek Cookhouse    Closed April 5-mid June
Pinons    Closed April 11-June 4
Plato’s at Aspen Meadows    Closed April 12 -May 3
Poppycocks    Open
Red Mountain Grill     Open
Rustique    Open, closed Sunday and Monday
Sabra’s Deli    
Open, closed Sundays until mid-May
Sage    Open with bar menu only
Social    Closed April 11-May 27
Specialty Foods of Aspen    Closed Sundays April and May
Starbucks    Open (not what the barista at Starbucks told me)
Steak Pit    Closed permanently (so sad)
Su Casa    
Closed Sunday and Monday in April, then May 2-20
Syzygy    Closed April 4 -June 11
Takah Sushi    Closed April 11-May 27 (I already have reservations for May 29!)
Taster’s    Open
The Restaurant at the St. Regis    
Open Thursday through Sunday
Toppers    Closed permanently (I'll miss their mushroom pizza)
Ute City    Open
Victoria’s Espresso & Wine Bar    Open (but when will they be serving wine again?)
Wienerstube    
Open breakfast and lunch daily; dinner Wednesday through Saturday
Wild Fig    
Open, closed Sundays and Mondays
Willow Creek Bistro at Aspen Highlands    
Closed April 4 for dinner until first week of June
Woody Creek Tavern    Open
Zane’s Tavern    Closed April 13-20
Zocalito    Open

You CAN get here from there

Per the Aspen Snowmass and Colorado Mountain Express websites (I particularly like the train option):

Travelers to Aspen/Snowmass have Numerous Options during Temporary Interstate Closure

Crews Working Now to Reopen I-70 after Rockslide

Alternate Routes to Aspen/Snowmass The recent rockslide on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon has temporarily limited access to Aspen/Snowmass from the east via the interstate; however travelers still have many options to get to the resort via air and ground routes. Crews are working on the highway now and could reopen two lanes within a day or two. Colorado Department of Transportation will be providing updates frequently as they make progress on reopening the route. Please check the C-DOT website for the latest conditions. More than half of the winter visitors to Aspen/Snowmass arrive directly into Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) and are unaffected by the incident. Travelers coming to the resort through Denver International Airport, Eagle County Airport or via I-70 from the east have many options. Air Access Currently there are seats available on flights into Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. Air travelers can reroute their flight or add a leg by contacting their airline or travel agent. Travelers who had planned to drive from Denver can book seats on these flights directly in to the resort, and arrive just three miles from downtown Aspen and six miles form Snowmass Village. Most hotels in the resort have free transportation to and from the airport. Visitors can also reroute flights into the following airports: Grand Junction Walker Field (GJT):   124 miles from ASE (2 hours via I-70 west), served by American, Delta, United, U.S. Air & Allegiant Montrose County Airport (MTJ):  135 miles from ASE (3 hours over McClure Pass), served by American, Continental, Delta & United Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN):  174 miles from ASE (3 hours via Rifle/Craig), served by American, Continental, Delta & United Gunnison County Airport (GUC):  199 miles from ASE (4 ½ hours via Montrose), served by American, Delta & United Ground Access Access to Aspen/Snowmass is still possible from both the east and west via shuttle services, rental cars and Amtrak. The trip is currently six hours from Eagle (287 miles) and seven and a half hours form Denver (379 miles). Amtrak runs regularly scheduled train service from Denver’s Union Station to Glenwood Springs (only 45 minutes from Aspen/Snowmass). Trains depart daily at 8:05 a.m. and arrive in Glenwood at 1:53 p.m. and tickets are just $39 one way. The daily train from Glenwood to Denver departs at 12:50 p.m. and arrives in Denver at 7:18 p.m. There are shuttle services, taxi, rental cars and public bus options available for the 40 mile trip between Glenwood Springs and Aspen/Snowmass. Passengers may take a shuttle services or taxi from Denver International Airport to Union Station.

You can't get there from here

 

from ColoradoDOT on Twitpic

A photo of the rockslide on I70 in Glenwood Canyon which occurred around midnight last night.  I70  is closed indefinitely.  Steve drove through the canyon at about 5 pm yesterday.  To get from Aspen to Denver when I70 and Independence Pass are closed adds about 5 hours to a 4 hour road trip.  But, to Amtrak's relief, since the train tracks through Glenwood Canyon are on the other side of the river from the highway and the rock slide, the tracks were unaffected by the rock slide and  the trains between Glenwood Springs are still running.

What did you do this weekend?

Not my video but a fair representation of my weekend

Exhaustion

This poor guy was in this tree at 7:30 am and was still in the same tree at 8 pm.

At lunchtime, there was quite a crowd milling about, including Aspen police officers and Colorado Department of Wildlife officers. The DOW officers were doing a fine public relations job, patiently fielding questions from the visitors. No, the bear wasn't going to be tranquilized nor would he be put down. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was not tagged. He had no strikes. He was likely up the tree because he had gotten spooked and he would come down when he wasn't spooked any longer.

I wonder if he's still up there . . .

(check out Aspen Daily Photo and Mountain Musings 365 Photoblog for more pics)

Race and Humor

The Aspen Ideas Festival is ongoing this week and today I attended Race and Humor, which was basically Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and writer and blogger for the Atlantic, interviewing Larry Wilmore, the Senior Black Correspondent for the Daily Show.

I realize I'm probably in the minority here but I was more acquainted with Coates from his recent interviews on NPR promoting his book which was recently released in paperback than I was with Wilmore of whom honestly I had never heard. Many of you probably already know this but Wilmore's a funny guy. He started his career as a stand up comedian and then moved into writing, starting with In Living Color. He styles himself as a contrarian and is just full of piercing, witty observations.

During the Q&A period, an audience member asked him if he was offended by the ghetto portrayal of the "twins" in Transformers 2. The audience member specifically referenced (and mischaracterized) a line in the movie where the twins said they couldn't read an ancient language. Wilmore's one line response was that he didn't care if a Transformer can't read.

In response to another audience member's question about Dave Chappelle's rationalization for walking away from his TV show and $50 million dollars (that he felt that his mostly white audience was laughing at him, not with him), Wilmore basically said (in a very biting and humorous way) that he thought Chappelle was stupid to walk away from all that money, especially given the fact that Chappelle wrote all his own material and thus had control if he didn't like how people were reacting.

He's written a book of satirical essays, I'd Rather We Got Casinos, that I'd like to read when it comes out in paperback. I'm also going to make an effort to find some of his Daily Show video clips online.

I also had the opportunity to briefly chat with Coates afterwards to tell him how impressed I was with his article on Michelle Obama in the Atlantic.

The Year of the Meatball

Food & Wine was excellent as always but there was a slightly toned down vibe. Not to say there wasn't excess. It is Aspen, after all.

But the event which usually sells out in March still had tickets available at kick off and was selling day passes for the first time since in more than 10 years. The PR people were spinning like crazy, calling it a "soft" sell out. The schedule was pared back, with at least one, if not two, fewer seminars. And the Grand Tasting pavilions weren't quite as crowded, either with vendors or with patrons. The food during the Grand Tastings wasn't as over the top either, although it's amazing how high end a good chef can make mac 'n cheese taste. No caviar this year but still, tenderloin, scallops, shrimp, tuna, lamb, ribs, Korean bibimbap, pot stickers, paella, prosciutto, Thai food, shrimp po' boys, and meatballs. Lots of exquisitely seasoned, tender meatballs of all persuasions.

And the wines. Yum! I, who doesn't like chardonnay, fell in love with a $150 a bottle chardonnay from Evening Land Vineyards, their Oregon Seven Springs Chardonnay. And of course, I found the Destination Riesling tables (yes, plural) and sampled all 15 or so rieslings. Selbach-Oster!

The Seyval Blanc that Brian Duncan served on Sunday morning is my best new find. Always nice to have a tasty alternative when I can't find a Riesling on the menu.

I managed to pace myself quite well during all the Grand Tastings until Sunday when I quite lost control. Steve had to come get me (or I wouldn't have been able to find my house) and I had to go home and pass out at, like, 1 in the afternoon.

Really important off-season information

2009 Spring Restaurant Openings (and Closings)

Aspen Daily News Staff Report

Friday, April 3, 2009

39 Degrees Lounge @ Sky Hotel, Closed 4/13 - 5/22, 925-6760

Asie, Open, 920-9988

Aspen Brewery, Open, 920-2739

Bentley’s, Open, 920-2240

Big Wrap, Closed 4/25 - Open 5/17, 544-1700

Boogie’s Diner, Open, 925-6610

Brexi, Open, 925-2838

Brunelleschi’s Dome Pizza, Open, 544-4644

Buenos Aires Fusion, Closed 4/12 - Opens 6/6, 920-7722

Butcher’s Block, Open, 925-7554

Butch’s Lobster Bar (SM), Snowmass, 923-7311

Cache Cache, Closed 4/12 -, 925-3835

Campo de Fiori, Open, 920-7717

Cantina, Open, 925-3663

Caribou Club, Closed 4/11 - Opens 6/1, 925-2929

Cecily’s, Open, 920-9090

Century Room (Hotel Jerome), Closed 5/2 - Opens 5/22, 920-1000

D-19, Open Wed. - Sat., 925-6019

Dish, Closed 4/12 - Open 5/30, 925-7119

Domino’s, Open, 925-3230

Double Dog Pub, Closed Sundays & Mondays, 925-3459

Elevation, Open *bar only, 544-5166

Elkhorn Bar and Grill, Closed 3/28 - Open 6/?, 925-1500

Explore Bistro, Closed 4/1 - Open 6/1, 925-5338

Frank Thirion French Pastry Café, Open Mon - Fri, 925-3569

Garnish Café, Closed May Open 6/1, 920-5833

Grateful Deli, Open, 925-6647

Gusto Ristorante, Closed - Open 6/4, 925-8222

Hickory House, Closed Monday & Tuesdays, 925-2313

Highlands Pizza Co., Open, 920-3088

Ink Coffee, Open, 544-0588

J Bar @ the Hotel Jerome, Open, 429-7674

Jimmy’s, Open, 925-6020

Johnny McGuire’s Deli, Open, 920-9255

Jour De Fete,Open Monday - Friday breakfast & lunch, 925-5055

Kenichi, Open (Closed on Mondays), 920-2212

Krabloonik, Closed 4/12 (reopen early June), 923-3953

L’Hostaria, Open (Closed Sundays & Mondays), 925-9022

Little Annie’s, Open, 925-1098

Little Nell (Montagna), Closed 4/12 - 5/20, 920-6330

Louis’ Swiss Pastry, Open, 925-8592

Lulu Wilson, Open, 920-1893

Main Street Bakery & Café, Closed 5/1 - 5/10, 925-6446

Matsuhisa, Open: lounge -*downstairs Open Thurs-Sat, 544-6628

Mezzaluna, Open (Closed on Sundays), 925-5882

New York Pizza, Open, 920-3088

Pacifica, Closed 4/11 - 6/1, 920-9775

Paradise Bakery, Open, 925-7585

Parallell 15, Open, 309-6883

Plato’s @ Aspen Meadows, 4/14 - 6/1, 925-4240

Pine Creek Cookhouse, Closed 4/5 - Open 6/19, 925-1044

Pinons, Closed 4/5 - Open 6/15, 920-2021

Poppycocks, Open, 925-1245

Poppies, Open, 925-2333

Red Mountain Grill, Closed, 544-6336

Rustique, Open, 920-2555

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Open, 925-1167

Sabra’s Deli, Closed 1 week mid-April, 920-3489

Sage, Snowmass, 923-0923

Social, Open upstairs Closed Sun - Mon, 925-7900

Specialty Foods of Aspen, Open 7 days incl. Sun 11AM - 4PM, 544-6656

Starbucks, Open, 544-6830

Steak Pit, Closed 4/18 - 5/8, 925-3459

The Restaurant @ the St. Regis, Open *formerly Olive’s, 920-3300

Su Casa, Closed 5/3 - 5/19, 920-1488

Syzygy, Closed, 925-3700

Tang, Open, 544-9888

Taqueria Sayulita, Open, 920-0066

Takah Sushi, Closed 4/12 - Open 5/28, 925-8588

Taster’s, Open 4/1, 925-1952

Tavern @ the Little Nell, Open, 920-6334

Toppers, Open, 920-0069

Victoria’s Espresso & Wine Bar, Open, 920-3001

Wienerstube, Open, 925-3357

Wild Fig, Open, 925-5160

Willow Creek Bistro, Closed 4/5 - Open 5/20, 429-2327

The Wine Spot, Closed 4/12 - mid June, 920-9463

Woody Creek Tavern, Open, 923-4585

World Link Café, Open, 544-0001

Zane’s Tavern, Closed 4/14 - Open 5/1, 544-9263

Zele Coffee, Closed April 12 for good, 925-5745

ZG Grill, Closed 4/5 - June, 920-9449

Zocalito, Open, 920-1991

Courtesy of Aspen Chamber Resort Association; dates and times are subject to change

X Games

Went to X Games this evening to go stand on the Superpipe, something I'd never done before. We were watching the Men's Snowboard Superpipe qualifier which is quite the big name event. Shaun White, Mason Aguirre . . .

At one point, we were watching Superpipe qualifiers (snowboarders), Big Air practice (skiers) and Snocross (snowmobilers), all laid out in front of us.

We barely even had to turn our heads.

I did learn that if you're going to go watch anything from up on the Superpipe, you really need to wear your crampons. It's bloody slippery up there (literally bloody too).

The crowd was very young and very drunk, although not so much up at the top of the Pipe. You had to work to get up there so it kinda weeded out the riff-raff.

Heading home, rather than deal with the obnoxiousness, we walked the three miles back to Aspen which was very nice and quiet. But once I got to town, I couldn't resist walking around to check it out and it was quite the mob scene. The line at New York Pizza was down the stairs, out the door and down the block.

ESPN and Aspen SkiCo have just announced that X Games are going to be in Aspen until at least 2012. I'm ok with that. It is obnoxious but it's only four days a year.

Freaky s**t

You may have heard on the news that Aspen had a bomb threat yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure how it's playing in Peoria but let me tell you, here in Aspen, on so many levels, it's some freaky s**t.

4 bombs, real incendiary devices, were left around Aspen yesterday afternoon, two at banks and two abandoned in an alley. 16 blocks were evacuated and cordoned off. Due to the fact that Aspen is not much larger than 16 blocks, these devices effectively shut down the city on New Year's Eve. The repercussions will be felt for some time.

At 2:30 pm, employees at Wells Fargo noticed a suspicious package with a note, a "credible" threat, which resulted in the evacuation of the bank. A few minutes later, the same thing occurred at Vectra Bank.

At 2:44 pm, Steve and I were in the ATM foyer of Wells Fargo with about a dozen people. We were making an ATM deposit. The majority of the other people were trying to get in the bank. There were signs on the door stating that the bank would be open until 4:30 pm on New Year's Eve and there was much confusion regarding why the doors to the main lobby were locked and the place was deserted.

There was no one telling us not to be there. There was really no indication that we shouldn't be there. But I had had a similar experience with Wells Fargo in the past. That time, it ended up being a gas leak at a nearby construction site. As I related that story to Steve, he decided that it might be wise to continue on our way.

And so we did. (If we had left it up to me, my nosiness would have kept me there until I was told by the authorities to leave. Not much of a self-preservation reflex there.)

We walked back into (or I should say, around the outskirts of) downtown at about 8:45 pm to see if any of the New Year's Eve activities were taking place. The bonfire at Wagner Park was limping along with a meager turnout but the 8:30 pm fireworks were delayed, then merged with the midnight fireworks which were then canceled in toto.

The evacuation wasn't lifted until early this morning. The whole incident has had a horrible impact on businesses in Aspen. New Year's Eve is one of the biggest days for the restaurants and stores in the downtown core. Restaurants which are struggling this year were looking forward to tens of thousands in food and beverage sales. Servers were looking forward to hundreds of dollars in tips for one night of hard work. Food will be wasted, payrolls might not be made, bills may not be paid.

I know that many people consider Aspen to be the land of the rich and famous but Aspen is really home to thousands of hardworking people trying to scratch out a living and make a life. Many, many of those people are now going to suffer.

All because of some troubled soul, some crank who was thinking god knows what. I've posted his letter to the banks and his note to the Aspen Times below and as far as I'm concerned, they are very disturbing.

I'm so excited . . .

I just can't hide it

I'm about to lose control

and I think I like it!

(channeling the Pointer Sisters here)

Saturday, since Rachel was checking out tour dates for the Jonas Brothers, I started checking out tour dates for KT Tunstall.

I'm seeing a lot of Europe dates, but then there's some east coast dates, some Ohio dates, oh look, she's in Denver (that's within striking distance), then Salt Lake City (that's only 6 hours away), back in Denver and then . . .

Holy shit!

She's playing Belly Up Aspen!

60 seconds later, I had three tickets for August 25th in my hot little hands.

I love the Internet!

My new favorite drink

Yum.

Now, all of Food & Wine was basically yum (except for some of those red wines that I really just can't wrap my palate around).

But,

this drink was especially yum. My mom and I had seconds and my dad even drank one (although he claimed it was for my mom, even as he was drinking it down).

2 Shots Champagne* or Dry White Wine
1 ½ Shots St-Germain
2 Shots Sparkling Water or Club Soda

Method: Stir ingredients in a tall ice-filled Collins glass, mixing completely. Think of Paris circa 1947. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Variation: Think of Sartre circa 1947. Be the lemon twist.

* Or Sparkling Wine, Prosecco or Cava

Food & Wine Classic

And it begins . . .

I was sitting down to write tonight's post when someone banged at our door.

Who the heck is banging on the door at 9:30 pm?

Open the door to . . . no one. And then it dawns on me.

Fireworks!

They're doing fireworks for the opening of Food & Wine!

So, Ellie and I stood outside and watched the fireworks over Aspen Mountain, Ellie barking and me laughing.

Woo-hoo! Three days of fun have begun!

Lift-served skiing on Aspen Mountain this summer?

Per SkiCo spokesman, Jeff Hanle:

It's a possibility. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a probability.

noted in the 4/27/08 Aspen Times Weekly.

Before I moved to Aspen Memorial Day weekend of 1999, I visited Memorial Day weekend of 1996 and again the same weekend in 1998.

Both years, the gondola was running to upload and download foot traffic for the holiday weekend.

But in 1998, we were surprised to see that, in addition to foot traffic, there was skier traffic.

They were skiing the top of Aspen Mountain.

Maybe this year too . . .

Powder Posse

More local perks.

One of the snow safety tools which the Aspen Highlands Patrol utilizes in its avalanche prevention efforts is ski tracking. In addition to boot packing, ski cutting and bombing, ski tracking plays an integral role.

Part of the problem with closing on April 6 and not reopening until April 19 is that there's no one out there skiing in the interim.

Not as big a deal if there's little or no new snow but . . .

We've had 9 inches in the last 24 hours. And there's more coming. In fact, it's falling right now.

So . . .

The Aspen Times 04/10/2008, Page A02
Aspen Highlands to form powder posse

Aspen Times Staff Report

Feel like making tracks in all that powder collecting on Aspen Highlands?

The Aspen Skiing Co. is organizing a "powder posse to ski track the mountain and break up the layers of accumulating snow on Friday. Though Highlands is currently closed, it will reopen for the final two weekends of April. "When planning to extend the season at Aspen Highlands, one of the risks was getting so much post-season snow that we'd be required to ski track the mountain. Fortunately, that concern has materialized, says a Skico email announcing the plan to round up a posse.

To join in the effort:
You must be an expert skier or rider in good physical shape.
You must be comfortable in deep snow on expert terrain.
Sign a waiver.
Bring lunch and liquids.

Interested participants should show up 9:30 a.m.Friday at Highlands. No ski pass is necessary and the parking will be free. Participants will be directed where to ski and ride. Posse members don't need an avalanche transceiver, shovel or probe, according to the Skico.

Throwing up

Just quickly throwing up a post since the patrol banquet is tonight and I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to post anything later.

I'm looking forward to the banquet. It's at L'Hostaria which has really good food and it's generally a fun party with real awards, funny awards, a slide show and live music.

Par-tay

Aspen Highlands Closing Day party has reached legendary status.

Each year, it's a bigger deal. This year, for the first time in my almost 10 years, they actually brought in porta-potties.

There was a pond skimming contest, a live band, a DJ, costumes and a ton of craziness.

The bartenders inside were mixing vodka and cranberries in beer pitchers and margaritas in ice buckets and all the drinks were subject to some seriously heavy pours.

The only downer was the rather contemptuous attitude ZG Grill, the party's host, has towards its customers. They usually have a $20 minimum for credit cards but today they jacked it up to a $40 minimum and of course, the local ATM was out of order.

In addition, they had huge signs saying "NO FREE WATER. BOTTLED WATER $2"

The former violates their merchant agreement with Visa/Mastercard and I've got to think that the latter violates liquor laws.

But who's telling?

Went skiing

Aspen Highlands closes tomorrow.

Sorta.

Since the snow is still so good and there's still so much of it, Highlands closes tomorrow and then reopens for the weekends of 4/19-20 and 4/26-27.

But since tomorrow is still officially closing day, tomorrow will be the big blow-out closing day party. I mean, the BIG BLOW-OUT closing day party.

Yesterday morning when we were driving back upvalley, we passed a Coors truck towing a Coors trailer with multiple taps. Steve said, "I'll bet they're going to Highlands for the party Sunday."

Sure, enough, today when we went to Highlands to meet some friends, there was the Coors trailer set up on the deck at the base.

Along with 10 or so porta-potties.

Today dawned a pretty grey day so ordinarily we would not have wandered out to go skiing. But friends from Breckenridge called last night to say they would be up at Highlands today so I prevailed upon Steve to do the social thing and go into his office on his day off.

We had fun. The snow conditions were variable, crunchy then soft then sticky but, if you paid attention, you could avoid the yucky stuff.

There was, however, an event yesterday which cast a very sad pall over the mountain. Wallace Westfeldt, a 22 year old local professional snowboarder who grew up in Aspen and whose father used to run the Aspen SkiCo ski schools, died during a film shoot yesterday out of bounds near Highlands.

Very tragic.

Aspen Shortsfest

Aspen Shortsfest started yesterday.

I don't like short stories. Not sure why but I don't.

So Steve thought I might not like short films. But they're different.

Not sure why but they are.

Anyhow, for the first time in the almost nine years that I've lived here, I went to a Shortsfest event last night.

Tried to go to two but got shut down on the second one. They sell passes to the whole 5 day long festival and then they sell advance sales individual tickets. Then, because they never know how many passholders are going to show up, they have a waitlist line that they let in once they determine how many empty seats there are.

For the second event, for which we couldn't get advance sales tickets, we were the first people in the waitlist line who didn't get in. As Steve said, we were the biggest losers. At least we weren't the only losers. You know, misery loves company.

But enough about the event we didn't see. What about the event we did?

It was Competition Program One and it was made up of 8 different shorts, 3 animated and 5 live action.

I really didn't like two of the animated shorts, Bill Plympton's Boomtown and The Wise Man. They were just too esoteric and too self-satisfied with their artistic skill. The other animated short, John and Karen, was cute and funny and honest. It was the awkward apology scene between a couple after one offends the other. Oh, and the couple are a polar bear and a penguin.

Since Steve and I were late, we missed most of the first live action short, It's My Turn (Ismet Ergun). I liked all four of the others, although one, Alagados, was a rather formulaic look at a youth trying to rise out of the ghetto in Brazil. Left in Baghdad was a touching portrait of a wounded Iraq war veteran and Just One Hour was a funny, twisted proposition between complete strangers.

But my favorite was Sikumi (On the Ice), a dark, character piece about a crime in the remote Arctic.

Steve's at the second event tonight but I couldn't go since I had parental schlepping duties to fulfill. I think he bought tickets for both of us for something tomorrow.