Lorenzo Semple:
"...My idea of extreme athleticism at the time was putting on a pair of tights and Oakley blades, strapping snowshoes on my feet and running up, then back down Buttermilk as fast as I could on my lunch hour. I religiously skied moguls all day on Aspen Mountain with Atomic race skis, wearing Ancona stretch pants and a Spyder jacket. I thought big air was hitting a catwalk and doing a twister/spread combo, or a mule kick. If you were lucky enough to see a guy up on Ajax doing a heli it was like seeing a bald eagle in the wilderness; a rare treat. My, how things have changed.
We had just lost the men’s World Cup downhill to Vail, and in their infancy the Winter X Games seemed a risky, unknown replacement. There was a lot of hand-wringing going on about Aspen’s precious image at the time. Snowboarding was forbidden on Ajax. When it was announced the X Games would be held here, there was a lot of talk about how it had nothing to do with skiing, and how no one would buy a lift ticket. It might be bad for our town’s image, some said. And it proved to be, but in a good way.
Who would have thought that a decade later a snowboarder would be one of the highest-paid athletes, and you could walk into a store and buy pot. The former DMV office in Holland Hills is now a weed shop. Can you imagine if the legendary old driving test officer was still here to see that happen? He’d probably go on a three-state killing spree...."
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