1960’s

Skitching, bumper hitching, bumpershining, poggying or “hooky bobbing” – no matter what it is called.  In the 1960’s the kids of Aspen could have won Olympic Gold had it been a sanctioned sport.  Back then the technologies and chemicals to keep the streets free of snow and ice were limited to shovels and snowplows or an occasional dose of salt.  The City of Aspen Streets Department did a good job of keeping the streets plowed in the winter leaving a smooth layer of snow or ice on top of the road surface after every snow storm.

For the kids, and some adults, this turned Aspen into a giant ice rink after every good snow storm.  Although it was illegal, many of us would walk to the slopes to go skiing but at the end of the day, we just skied all the way home.  The same went for those of us who played hockey at the Brown Ice Palace, skating to or from the rink was much easier than walking especially if we had all of our pads, sticks and helmets in tow.

On some winter evenings the kids would all congregate in the “core area” of town down on Cooer Street.  The Cooper Street Pier, Red Onion and Pinocchio’s were all down there so it was a logical place to go to meet up with friends.  If conditions were good enough a virtual tournament would ensure to see who the best “skitcher” was.  Some of the passing cars encouraged the activity and would even go a safe speed when their bumper was full.  Other drivers would yell and scream at the kids to stay away, or they would speed up.  When the drivers sped up it was like a giant invitation for the elite skitchers into the game.

When the police showed up everyone scattered like roaches in the light.  As soon as they left we would eventually return to Cooper Street and continue the events.  On a few rare occasions some of the “bolder” kids would actually skitch on the bumpers of the police cars until they were noticed and then they would scurry off into the darkness.

Even though the practice was considered dangerous I do not recall anyone seriously injured over the years.  There were a few bumps and bruises and a couple of times where kids would end up underneath cars when they unexpectedly stopped but no one ever went to the hospital or jail for that matter.

With magnesium chloride and the other the chemicals put down on the roads in cold weather these days, they rarely have the conditions optimal for Skitching anymore.