1960’s and 70’s

 During the mining days of Aspen, Shadow Mountain not only kept a watchful eye over the town below, it was also home to many mines, home stakes and even a few mysteries of its own.  One of Aspen’s two railroads passed by at the foot of Shadow Mountain while the other railroad traversed the valley on the Red Mountain Side.  Although called Shadow Mountain it was really the west side of Aspen Mountain and not a separate geological edifice.  I do not know when Shadow Mountain ends and Aspen Mountain begins but I suspect some of Aspen’s remaining “old timers” might know.

By the early 1960’s the mountain and many of its remaining cabins, mines and abandoned shafts had long been dormant or abandoned.  The mountain and all its hidden treasures became a playground for the local kids and “collectors” of Aspen’s past.  At one time many of the kids had collected valuable items like assay
cups (small ceramic bowls), glass transformers and even an occasional abandoned mine car, although most of the cars were already landscaping features throughout the valley.

In the mid-1960’s the “Hippie” scene was taking place all over the country and Aspen was no exception.  Soon the parks filled up with the “fun loving” beatniks, clothing optional.  The smell of roasted cannabis permeated every nook and cranny of the valley.  The local law enforcement turned a blind eye to most of the hippies but often, under public pressure, drove them from the parks so the local rugby games or family picnics had a place to be.  For some of the hippies the constant pressure to “fit in” was too much and they ended up
leaving the valley for greener pastures.  Others worked their way into society and remain to this day.  Even more of the Hippies headed to the hills around town.  Many of the abandoned miner’s cabins soon filled up with uninvited guests and Shadow Mountain soon had a bustling population of Hippies and squatters.

For the kids of the valley that meant we were no longer welcome and were constantly being chased off by the very people who retreated from a similar fate.  Over the years some of the cabins were slowly converted into mansions while others were torn down or burned down and eventually the area was no longer open to any of us.  At one time there was even an old railroad parlor car parked along the base of the mountain, it had been converted in to a restaurant with the unimaginative name of, “The Parlor Car.”  With property alues climbing at an astronomical rate, even the Parlor Car was soon replaced by a large home.

Many of the old mines and caves have been obliterated by now, replaced by homes and driveways, but for the kids of that era we still remember the place as a playground filled with adventures and buried treasures.