Sitting in the lobby waiting for a dry cleaning pickup … internally struggling with the angst of the anticipated cost of having a down jacket dry cleaned … flipping through a copy of The Wall Street Journal Magazine (October, 2026) to escape from the imprisonment of “waiting time” … becoming stunned by multiple advertisements … and then … finding myself intrigued, Aspens’ Existential Crisis.

Do memories of the 60s still linger within Aspen and Steamboat Springs?

I read, “In June, Aspen’s city council members gather for a presentation from the mountain town’s largest employer about the state of its business–and future of the place itself.

‘What does Aspen want to be'” read one slide prepared by David Tanner, president and CEO of Aspen One, which owns four mountains …”

How does one even own one mountain?

“‘The deck laid out three options: ‘A ski town.’ ‘A gated community for the ultra-wealthy.’ ‘A playground for influencers.’

Aspen has been soul-searching for half a century, since hippie ski bums began ceding ground to luxury real-estate developers, but the question of its identity has become more urgent as the city of roughly 7,000 has transformed into a year-round billionaire retreat.

It was time for the community to confront the headwinds it was facing. Tanner and his fellow executives told the council. … transportation remained a major barrier for visitors.

Aspen caters to the super rich, but it needs the plain-old rich, too. It’s a city that’s hard to reach–no direct commercial flights from New York or Miami–and expensive to stay in. … ‘We can’t understate the importance of getting the airport done,’ Tanner told the officials at City Hall. ..

‘It’s like an existential crisis’ … ‘Who are we? What do we stand for?’

… As the city contends with a string of challenges–declining snowfall and plummeting real-estate sales among them–it is the runway reconstruction that has become one of the hottest-button topics. … A rabbi referenced the runway overhaul in a recent sermon. …

… the Federal Aviation Administration recently told Pitkin County that it would stop funding renovations unless Aspen added more distance between the runway and taxiway …

The effort is expected to cost over $250 million, but the FAA will cover 90% of the bill…

90% of $250 million? 90% of $250 million for … who? what? … a ski town? A gated community for the ultra-wealthy? A playground for influencers? a year-round billionaire retreat?

Who actually is shouldering the cost of this 90% of 250 million project? You? Me? Ultra-wealthy? Influencers? Billionaires?

Really, Brenda! Aspen is in the middle of an existential  crisis. Quit being so self-serving. Be honest. Do you really need to have your winter coat dry-cleaned?

but … I need to ask

Who are we? What do we stand for? What do we want to be?