Telluri Gay Ski Week

Contents:

• AN LGBTQ PARTY ON THE SLOP AT TELLURI GAY SKI WEEK
• THE STORY OF ASPEN GAY SKI WEEK
• 10 GAY SKI WEEKS AND WTER PRI CELEBRATNS
• TELLURI GAY SKI WEEK
• THE 10 BT GAY SKIG VATNS
• WELE TO GAY FRIENDLY WTERN SLOPE/ROCKY MOUNTAS

AN LGBTQ PARTY ON THE SLOP AT TELLURI GAY SKI WEEK

Some might say ASGW (Aspen Gay Ski Week) was and is the first form of LGBTQ+ Pri Aspen.

Fd out why Condé Naste lls “The alpha and the omega of gay ski weeks. Wily regard as the top ski statn for LGBTQ travelers, Aspen Snowmass livers wh four mountas of terra, imprsive après ski, smopolan rtrants, world-class hotels, and the annual exuberance of Gay Ski Week—the natn’s biggt (and longt nng) on-snow pri event.

Gay Ski WeekLearn moreAmeri's longt-nng Gay Ski Week is packed wh activi om morng to late to the night. Takg place every January, Gay Ski Week clus events like drag bnch, group ski days, daily cktail gathergs, après pool parti, edy shows, dance parti, a drag para down the slop of Aspen Mounta, and so much ’t make to Gay Ski Week?

THE STORY OF ASPEN GAY SKI WEEK

History of Gay Ski WeekIn 1977, lol John Bch and gay ski club lears om Chigo, Los Angel, and beyond fally phed to secure space rtrants and public plac while visg Aspen. Their goal was to acmodate and celebrate a wir range of visg gay ski clubs—and the rult was the official start to the longt-nng Gay Ski Week Ameri.

Gay Ski Week is the anizatn’s largt fundraisg event every January, but the anizatn hosts shows, muny iativ, parti, programmg, and events year-round. Plan Your Trip Now Gay Ski WeekA full week of parti, live mic, edy, great dg and — of urse — skig and ridg on Aspen Snowmass' famo terra.

10 GAY SKI WEEKS AND WTER PRI CELEBRATNS

“I thk ’s amazg, ” said Wilson about Telluri’s Gay Ski Week. “I’ve never done anythg snowy and gay at the same time. ” (Photos by Kelsey Bnner for The Washgton Post)For one week a year, Telluri, Colo., hosts a celebratn of gay rights, drag and apr-skiTELLURIDE, Colo.

— As you drive to Telluri, Colo., late wter, you’re greeted by a banner readg “Telluri Gay Ski Week: Thanks for Comg Out, ” lettg you know om the moment you enter the town that you’re wele. Although gay ski weeks are filled wh apr-ski parti and drag, the origs of the week-long celebratn are rooted LGBTQ rights. The first gay ski week was hosted by Telluri’s fellow rort town of Aspen the 1970s by lols Jon Bch, David Hoch, Tom Duterberg and Rsell Anrson.

The group of lols would host parti for visg gay tourists ndos, bee beg openly gay was not wily accepted at this 1977, Bch got trouble for dancg wh another man at a bar, and spurred gay rights actns the town. In 1979, Aspen beme the first municipaly the state to pass an anti-discrimatn policy for gays and lbians. Now, rort towns around the world host gay ski weeks.

TELLURI GAY SKI WEEK

Telluri’s gay ski week, which started 2002 by Mounta Village, now brgs one of the largt ski groups to the area each year. SBG Productns, the anizer for this year’s event, timat about 2, 000 were attendance year, Telluri’s gay ski week had new events, cludg Gay Sleigh, a horse-drawn rriage ri, and a mounta drag race.

Organizers also put emphasis on gay artists and wrers wh cultural events such as an art walk, book signgs and a fashn show. Like durg other gay ski weeks, people e om all over the world to celebrate wh their muny and ski world-class mountas. “I like that timacy of Telluri Gay Ski Week, bee you make iends.

”For many, gay ski week celebratns are also a time for healg and acceptance. G Kenworthy, a retired profsnal etyle skier and Olympic silver medalist who grew up Telluri, said there have been tim where he feels as if he has “subsects of his life” as a profsnal athlete and also a gay man, but durg this week, he had another opportuny to marry the two.

THE 10 BT GAY SKIG VATNS

Like I’m a skier, I’m gay and I feel like to have this week here has been so amazg. “This is the fay I choose to be wh, ” Bolen said of the gay muny at ski week. Many attendance said they felt acceptance and cln at Telluri’s gay ski week.

Arguably the biggt party of the wter season, Aspen Gay Ski Week has matured. It was the party culture of the ’70s clashg wh old-fashned unacceptance that led to the formatn of a nonprof to n Aspen Gay Ski Week and e as a force for good the muny. Durg the , a group of lol men had started regularly hangg out wh gay visors om ski clubs around the untry.

WELE TO GAY FRIENDLY WTERN SLOPE/ROCKY MOUNTAS

By 1977, the rnns beme more official, wh each club hostg parti their ndos on different nights for a week January, and the lol ntgent throwg the wele as liberal as Aspen was, beg gay public wasn’t universally accepted (hence the ndo parti)—a realy that spurred Jon Bch, one of Aspen Gay Ski Week’s founrs, to advote for gay rights after gettg trouble for dancg wh another man at a lol bar. In 1979, Bch and other lol supporters had reason to celebrate when Aspen beme the first municipaly Colorado to pass an anti-discrimatn policy for gays and lbians. Boulr and Denver followed Aspen’s example, but 1992, Colorado voters passed Amendment 2 to the state nstutn, which revoked gay protectns and prohibed any new on om beg enacted at lol and state levels.

) Women celebrate Aspen Gay Ski Week at the base of Aspen Mounta 2022.

This anti-gay policy triggered a wispread and effective boytt of Colorado tourism, particularly pafully felt Aspen, where Gay Ski Week had bee a major wter event and talyst for gay tourism year-round. A legal challenge ensued, and shortly after the US Supreme Court led that Amendment 2 was unnstutnal 1996, Aspen Gay Ski Week was fold to a new 501c3 nonprof: the Aspen Gay and Lbian Communy Fund (now AspenOUT) olst and largt gay ski event the untry (more than 3, 000 people are expected this year), Aspen Gay Ski Week has evolved far beyond ndo parti.