I arrived at the University of Denver from New Jersey in 1972, just in time for daily ski lift prices at Aspen jump to a whopping $10. Nevertheless, several of my buddies and I would make the six-hour drive and share the cost of a $12 hotel room for a couple days of skiing. After graduation I was offered a job in the printing business in Grand Junction, about 120 miles down the road from Aspen. My sales territory included Aspen and Telluride... I was in heaven. Work a day; ski a day. Alas, nothing stays the same... the billionaires pushed the millionaires out of Aspen and the cost of everything went sky high. The cost presently for a lift ticket is $244 (was $264 over the holidays). A room at the Hotel Jerome will set you back in the neighborhood of $2,000 a night. Ouch.
The Aspen Photo Conference in 1951 was attended by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Dorothea Lange, Berenice Abbott, Eliot Porter, Beaumont Newhall, and many others. The group stayed at the Hotel Jerome where rooms at that time cost $4 a night. For anyone interested in the history of photography, you must read and see the photos from this event...
https://archive.aperture.org/article/1955/3/3/the-aspen-photo-conference
https://rupert-jenkins.squarespace.com/colorado-photo-history-blog/2021/...
My picture of Aspen here was made in 2013, one of the first from my new Nikon D800e. I intended for it to be in color because black and white to that point had never been of any interest to me. But I shot the photo in late winter when everything looked so drab, and the color picture reflected that. Out of curiosity I flipped the image to black and white and it was like a whole new world opened. While this image isn't arguably award-winning, it jump-started my love affair with black and white photography. It's meaningful to me too, because back when my knees were in better shape, and I could afford it, I knew most every crack and crevice up on that mountain. Made a few bucks selling printing in Aspen too. Good times.... back when I looked forward to winter rather than dreading it.