The Party Political Platform for Aspen.

It's official.  Because it's on Facebook.

Andrew M.  Israel, aka AspenSpin, aka Andy Party aka The Political Virgin has declared his candidacy for Aspen City Council.  

The time has come for me to speak up.  I believe the political process in Aspen is broken.  I have personally lost trust in "the system" and it's my goal to be a catalyst for positive change in Fat City.

To quote Moe and Larry of the the 3 Stooges--- "can we fix it"--- "i dunno can we?"  Now is the time for me to try.   Most people know me as the #1 blogger in Aspen who skis every day and party's every night.  But I am very proud of my past professional, philanthropic and academic success.

I grew up in suburban Detroit.  It was sort of a Leave it to Beaver type childhood, with two grounded parents. I am the youngest of 3 brothers.  I earned a B.S. in Accounting  from Michigan State University,1980 and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, 1985.  I practiced as a C.P.A. in Michigan and Colorado for 3 years prior to attending The Wharton School. I am currently a licensed Real Estate Broker in Michigan and Colorado.  I spent more than 5 years working for The Taubman Company, a super-regional shopping center developer, owner and manager.  At Taubman I worked on projects such as Beverly Center in L.A., Cherry Creek in Denver and The Mall at Short Hills in NJ.  I had a wide variety of real estate experiences at Taubman, including leasing, management and strategy.

In 1992, I began a new phase in my career, managing money at Morgan Stanley in NYC.  In those days Morgan had a small but elite high net worth division.  I was chosen to join that group as one 200 professionals around the World .  I performed as a stock broker, investment advisor, money manager and hand holder to the top 1% of the 1%.  Billionaires only.  My timing was fortuitous and I developed a talent for picking and trading stocks and equity options.  I personally profited handsomely from the 90's bull market and managed to "retire" to Aspen in 2003.  Since then I have logged over 1100 ski days.    I served as a PSIA Level 1 Certified Ski Instructor for 3 seasons at ButterMilk and then founded AspenSpin in 2006.  AspenSpin a is a life-style blog that documents the over-the-top social scene in Aspen. The rest.... it's documented history on Facebook, twitter and AspenSpin.

The Party Political Platform for Aspen is quite simple;

1)  No 7 hour meetings.   Not only is a meeting that long and late ridiculous, its unproductive.

2)  Simplify the process. One set of codes and laws enforced consistently for everyone. 

3)  Promote financial stewardship and fiduciary responsibility as a core value in the City of Aspen.

Aspen Drinks; The Après Ski Cocktail Classic.

Aspen is a town that likes to drink.  With 100 bars in the six block core of Aspen, grabbing a cocktail is quite easy. Skiing is probably still the main sport in Aspen, but Aprês skiing may have the highest level of participation.

Click 4 Pix:   ASPEN DRINKS

The APRÈS SKI COCKTAIL CLASSIC  ( ASCC) relocated their offerings from Snowmass to Aspen for their 3rd annual event.  The ASCC presents a wide variety of alcohol related programs throughout the weekend.   Seminars, spirit and cocktail paired dinners, tastings and sponsored bars took place all over town.  According to ASCC producer Joe Lang, "well over 2000" revelers enjoyed the festivities this past weekend.  Liquor brands, (both major and micro) from all over the world were in Aspen showcasing their products.   The ASCC is all grown up and is poised to stake it's claim on the Aspen event calender.   Sign up for next year, Click  APRÈS SKI COCKTAIL CLASSIC.

AspenSpin is forgoing the grog this entire ski season.  A. Party has not had one sip of booze since early November. But that doesn't mean we don't like to have fun.  We attended the ASCC grand tastings and participated in the city-wide pub crawl.  Despite staying away from the firewater...we did get all jacked up on ginger beer, but still managed to snap some siiiiiick pix.  There were a lot of inebriated people cruising the streets of Aspen...which made our job that much easier.

Click 4 Pix:   ASPEN DRINKS

Black Ski Summit 2015 with The National Brotherhood of Skiers.

A. Party went undercover brother at Snowmass for the 2015 Black Ski Summit with the National Brotherhood of Skiers.  The Black Ski Summit is the largest African American ski event in the universe.  Well over 1000 skiers of color hit the increasingly snowy slopes of Aspen/Snowmass for a week of skiing, snow boarding and even mono-boarding along with serious socializing.   More than 50 ski clubs from across the country joined in the fun to shred and party and enjoy the mountain lifestyle.

Click to learn more about the National Brotherhood of Skiers.   

CLICK 4 PIX:  THE BROTHERHOOD  
NBS Founder Art Clay and current President Diana Starks

AspenSpin was reminded by several vociferous attendees that "The NBS always brings the Snow".   Thank you NBS, thank you Ullr... we've been vigorously snow dancing for 8 weeks in Aspen and it's finally Winter again.  I digress. 

The NBS started in 1972 and is the "go to" organization for brothers and sisters who ski.  Past Ski Summits have attracted upwards of 5000 attendees.  The NBS camaraderie and the members sheer joy was palpable at Snowmass.   The various clubs wear their colors proudly on the slopes complete with large flashy logos and custom gear.  I don't think it's surprising  to anyone if I admit that the slopes of Aspen are usually devoid of true funk and soul...so it's fantastic to see the big time fun that is happening with the NBS.  Over the years The Summit is responsible for numerous marriages (sometimes they are inter-club marriages) and even a few divorces.

SAY IT LOUD...I SKI and I'M PROUD.

AspenSpin was invited as a guest to the annual NBS picnic at Two Creeks.  We got to enjoy plenty of laughs along with some authentic BBQ all accompanied by some funky, funky, funky tunes.  We mingled with The JIM DANDY SKI CLUB out of DETROIT (my home town) established in 1958.   THE BLAZERS out of Philly.  The ALL SEASONS hailing from OAKLAND, The SNO-GOPHERS from the Windy City, CAPITAL SKI out of D.C. , The SNO-BURNERS from The Big Apple and many many more.  But our favorite club, by far was SUGAR and SPICE which is a virtual or on-line  only club.  Sugar and Spice attracts sweet and spicy ladies from all over the U.S.  You go girls.

So it was great to shred Snowmass (conditions are good and getting better) and picnic with The Brotherhood. Thank you to The NBS for having so much fun in Aspen/Snowmass... because its truly contagious. Special thanks  to the NBS for bringing the POW POW...again.   

CLICK 4 PIX:

THE BROTHERHOOD

The Jim Dandy Ski Club from Detroit. Est. 1958

Sugar and Spice, a virtual ski club (on-line only) has members from all over the USA, South FLA in the house. Sunshine Slopers

R.I.P. Marty. Aspen back-country avalanche claims local skier.

R.I.P. Marty / Courtesy PhotoLong-time Aspen local skier Marty Gancsos lost his life in an avalanche in the Aspen back-country on February 23. He was 64.  He is survived by his partner Marilyn along with family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all his people.

R.I.P. Marty.

I ran into Marty almost every day on Aspen Mountain. I knew Marty well enough to say hi...but not well enough to know his last name.  I was aware of one thing about Marty... he loved the POW POW and he loved to ski. When I realized that Marty was not actually a member of The Dogs (an Aspen Mountain ski gang), I warmed up to him.  We skied a few laps together.  He showed me some nooks and crannies in the Cone Dumps and the Bonnie Brae area.  You can learn a lot from a guy who's been skiing Ajax regularly for 40 years.  We all can learn from the events that led to Marty's last run.

Marty was a good guy.  A friendly guy.  He was a strong, expert skier who skied almost every day.  He lived his life by his own set of rules and he did not apologize for that. His love for skiing was obvious and he proclaimed it emphatically on every gondola ride.

Yesterday was the first real POW day we've had in a while.  Avalanche danger was high to extreme.  Marty and an un-named partner chose to ski a line, out-of-bounds, off the backside of Ruthies that leads down to Castle Creek Road.  It was a bad choice.   While his ski partner was un-injured, Marty paid the ultimate price and he will never ski another day.

Yes, Marty was doing what he loved.  Thats very true and it sounds almost romantic.  But really, it's just a tragic end to a good man's life.  And "doing what you love" is not a good enough reason to die . With all due respect to his memory, an experienced skier like Marty should have known better.

The mountains giveth and the mountains taketh away   In the ski world and around Aspen it seems to me that too many people are taking too many chances doing what they love.   The back-country is not to be be trifled with.  You hear this statement a lot  "I know that run".  Well...my adventurous friends... if you know that run...you know it can slide.   Yesterday's ski conditions:  8"-10" on top of the settled snow that had fallen about 8 weeks ago and has since been baked by record highs.  You didn't need to be a snow scientist to know that snow conditions were ripe for problems.

Today, the day after, you could feel tha pall over Aspen Mountain. It's a beautiful bluebird Colorado day. As blue as I've seen, but still so sad.    The whole town mourns when one of their own goes down. But it wasn't just the avalanche that killed Marty...it's was bad decision making.  I pray that all the rippers and shredders and sled-heads and skinners and uphillers and back-county-experts...the people who "know that run" can take something positive from Marty's final turns.  If you make good choices you can have a blast in the back-country, if not...RIP.

Respect the Mountain.  Respect the conditions.  Make good decisions and you will enjoy many great ski days ahead.  If it looks and feels sketchy...it probably is.  Playing it safe and making conservative decisions in the back country can save your life.  

It's a tragically sad day in Aspen.  Yes, he was doing what he loved, but a good man lost his life.  

R.I.P. MARTY

 

Tons of Laughs at Aspen Laff Fest 2015

It was BIG fun again.  The 2015 Aspen Laff Festival took center stage at the Wheeler Opera House with 3 nights jam packed with comedy.  AspenSpin has been a little under the weather but we did manage to snap a few sick pix.  The Wheeler was shaking with laughter.

Click 4 pix.

ASPEN LAFF FEST 2015