Soon graduation was upon me and I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree. Having decided that this new, post-graduation chapter of my life would be focused on formal training in figure skating, I commenced a search for a new figure skating coach. Once I found the right coach, I planned to pack up and move across the country to work with them. I chose to target my search on coaches in Colorado, a state with a rich figure skating history. Colorado is home of the world-renowned Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs as well as many other figure skating clubs with well-respected figure skating programs.
My search was occurring in the mid-1990s before the widespread use of the internet, so I went about researching coaches the old fashioned way: by going to the library and looking up ice rinks in a phonebook. I would jot down the phone numbers of various rinks and then call them on the phone and ask to speak with their figure skating director. I was worried I would have trouble finding a coach due to my age of 23 years and the fact that I was relatively new to the figure skating scene. However, my search yielded a coach happy to work with me at the Aspen Ice Garden in Aspen, Colorado. She had worked with adult skaters before and was planning to host Aspen’s first ever Adult Skating Week the following summer. She had a special place in her heart for adult skaters, finding them highly motivated with a strong work ethic and truly appreciative of their opportunity to skate. For adult skaters skate of their own volition, they make a conscious choice to skate. In addition to having found this gem of a coach, I felt comfortable with the idea of moving to Aspen. I had visited the town before in my growing up years with my family when we would attend the summer concerts at the Aspen Music Festival, so Aspen had a sense of familiarity and nostalgia about it.
The above three photos were taken during a hike along the Hunter Creek Trail, one of my favorite places to hike in the Aspen area. Clockwise, from left to right: 1) Close-up of aspen leaves, with their unique, distinctive and immediately recognizable shape. The delicate leaves emit a satisfying sound as they quiver and shake when a breeze passes through, making an aspen grove one of the most calming and relaxing places to experience. 2) Aspen tree trunks. The eye-like markings are formed when the tree sheds its branches. 3) Hunter Creek. The water tumbles over the rocks and boulders as if falling down a staircase.
Once I made the decision to move to Aspen, I bought a subscription to the local newspaper, The Aspen Times. I thought reading the paper would help me learn about and acclimate to life in the town I was about to move to. I spent time poring over the paper’s classified ads, searching for a place to live. I found a listing for a reasonably priced room for rent in the home of a long-time Aspen resident. Due to the high cost of living in Aspen, a storied ski town popular with celebrities and the wealthy, many locals rent out rooms in their homes in order to afford to live there. The home was located at the base of Smuggler Mountain, which in the mid-1990s was a more affordable area popular with those who lived and worked in Aspen year round. It was the perfect location for off-ice training, too, just steps away from Smuggler Mountain Road, a dirt road popular with hikers, snaking up to the top of Smuggler Mountain. I called the number in the listing and crossed my fingers. Luckily, the owner was willing to rent to me. I mailed a check with the first and last months’ rent plus a security deposit. The move was set!
Upon arrival in Aspen, I was mindful of crafting a life centered on figure skating. While I initially accepted a full-time position working eight to five, five days per week, I promptly quit the job when I realized it prevented me from skating as much as I wanted to. For most of the figure skating practice sessions were during the day at times convenient for children who were either home-schooled or able to skate right after school. Instead, I found two part-time jobs that I could work around my skating schedule.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived at the Aspen Ice Garden. I had a fear that the younger skaters and their parents would not accept me due to my age. Would they resent me for taking up space on the ice, given that at the age of 23 I was probably not going to the Olympics? I soon discovered that my fears were unfounded. The skaters and their families were very nice and welcoming. One mother commented that my constant movement on the ice was impressive, that I was focused and didn’t waste time. And a recent high school graduate asked if I had trained at the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, saying she thought she recognized me as one of the skaters she’d shared the ice with when she trained there. It was indeed an honor to be mistaken for someone who’d trained at the world renowned Broadmoor Skating Club! So my fears of not being accepted soon withered away. The support from the other skaters and my coach helped nurture and confirm a feeling in me that my figure skating pursuits were legitimate, allowing me to develop and blossom as a skater.
The above two photos are from my time training in Aspen. The one on the left was taken at the entrance to the Aspen Ice Garden shortly after I arrived in town. Of course when I skated I wore contact lenses! The one on the right was taken at a rink on Colorado’s front range when I was there for a skating test. The element I am practicing is called a “basket,” due to the shape created by the upper body and the free leg. I was able to perform this element early on in my formal figure skating training, proof that progress in figure skating is not always linear. Bizarrely so, skaters are often able to perform a random advanced element much earlier in their training than would be expected. Likewise, sometimes an element that is generally regarded as easier can take a longer time to learn. It just depends on the individual skater. In my case, I have been fortunate to have a strong sense of balance and self-awareness on the ice. These things, combined with simple flexibility, allowed me to hit and hold the basket position with confidence.
While most of my existence in Aspen was spent on the ice, I did take time to explore the area every now and then. The above two photos were taken in early fall along Independence Pass (Colorado Highway 82). The pass reaches an altitude of 12,095 feet at its summit and is closed from October to May each year due to extreme snowfall and winter weather conditions. The photo on the left was taken at the site of the ghost town of Independence. In the photo on the right, I’m enjoying soaking up the brilliant Colorado sun!
Now, I’ll address the elephant in the room. People are often curious when they find out that I lived in Aspen if I was sighting celebrities and other famously wealthy people all the time. This stereotype of Aspen is only partially true. While on occasion I would spot a famous face, the reality is that most of Aspen’s year-round residents, the people who make Aspen their home, are not wealthy and famous. For example, most of the parents of the children I skated with worked in the service industry, running businesses that catered to tourists and those who owned vacation homes in the town. Some of the businesses owned and operated by the parents I met were an Italian restaurant, a Persian rug company, a hair salon, and a cute little ski lodge. Still others worked in non-profit and civic organizations aimed at providing services to residents of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. The day to day routine of Aspen’s year-round residents is not that much different from most people living anywhere else in the US. They’re just surrounded by beautiful mountains in one of the most picturesque towns in Colorado!
And a fun fact for those who follow figure skating: four-time US National Champion Jeremy Abbott was training at the Aspen Ice Garden when I was there. He was a pre-teen at the time. Because the figure skating world is relatively small compared to most other sports, it is not uncommon to cross paths with a future champion at some point.
COMING SOON: A post about my figure skating goals for my time in Aspen, including working on United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) tests in the Freestyle and Moves in the Field disciplines.
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Finding Balance on the Edge: Figure Skating & Travel Journeys by Carolyn Tir 