From 2003 through 2010 the Aspen Times newspaper invited members of the public to vote on what they thought was the "Best Shrine."  This was discontinued starting in 2011.  Below are the results and quotes from the articles announcing the results, and links: 

2003:  "We knew there were a lot of ski shrines tucked away on our four mountains, but we had no idea just how many. Does everyone know there's a shrine for Britney Spears, or are we just out of the loop?  How about Yankee Stadium?  Guess we need to spend more time in the trees. And judging by this year's winner, the people casting votes spent plenty of 'quality' time hanging out in the woods.  The shrine for the Grateful Dead's late, gray-haired leader, Jerry Garcia, was far and away the most popular.  Jerry has been an all-time Aspen hero, and apparently the legend lives on.  Way back in second was the John Denver shrine.  Denver wrote 'Rocky Mountain High,' but perhaps wasn't as much of a hanging-out-in-the-trees kind of guy ...The Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix shrines also proved popular.  Our favorite answers:  Some people apparently missed the header at the top of this category that stated 'On the Mountain.'  St. Mary's Catholic Church is certainly a beautiful shrine, but last we checked it was smack dab in the middle of town.  Either way, a good handful of people called it their favorite shrine.  The roundabout also got a vote, though we're not sure what it's a shrine to.  Endless highway construction?  The way Aspenites go around and around?  Our favorite answer was 'the new shrine we are going to build for Toad.'  Toad Olson, the kids ski instructor who died recently, certainly deserves the best shrine Buttermilk can offer. Everyone pitch in."   July 25, 2003.

2004:  "BEST SHRINE:  Jerry Garcia.  The shrine to Jerry Garcia on Aspen Mountain is perhaps Aspen's most well-known shrine.  You might say the Jerry shrine leads all others in skier visits.  Located near the top of the FIS chair in the woods off Ruthie's Run, the Jerry shrine is one of dozens of shrines on the four area mountains dedicated to cult figures and - let's be honest - the establishment of woodsy nooks in which to get high.  That said, toking up at the shrine to the hippie guitar hero from the Grateful Dead is sometimes a sketchy proposition - it's the shrine where you're most liable to be visited by a class of ski school kids.  'Jerry who?'"   January 9, 2005.

2005:  "BEST SHRINE.  There were 24 entries in this category (are there really that many shrines out there?), but only three received enough votes to be actual contenders.  The Grateful Dead must still be hip, because the Jerry Garcia shrine on Aspen Mountain won with 21 votes.  The John Denver Sanctuary in Rio Grande Park came in second, despite being a landscaped sanctuary and not really a "shrine" in the informal-nook-in-the-woods sense of the word.  The Elvis shrine came in third with 14 votes.  Whatever happened to Marilyn Monroe and Ludwig the Dream King?"  September 3, 2005.

2006:  "The shrine to Jerry Garcia, the late and great guitarist for the Grateful Dead, shrine is without a doubt the biggest, baddest, most popular and most colorful shrine of them all.  John Denver got a number of votes, as did the Storm King memorial, but the ragtag monument to Captain Trips has the mojo and wins every year."   September 2, 2006.

2007:  "Jerry Garcia has dominated this category in recent years, but Elvis appears to have come back to life.  Other vote-getters in this uniquely Aspen category included John Denver, Jimi Hendrix, Fort Frog, “lady shrine highlands” and “naked lady smoke shack.”  Yankee Stadium made the list, and this one piqued the staff’s interest: “Future Harley Baldwin.”   September 1, 2007.

2008:  "Elvis came back to life briefly last year, at least where Aspen’s Best is concerned, but Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia surged back to prominence in 2008.  The Garcia shrine, tucked into a glade high on Aspen Mountain, is easy to reach and a great spot to relax, so it’s no surprise that it reappears again and again as Aspenites’ favorite shrine.  Other vote-getters, in descending order, included John Denver, Elvis, Eric Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, Chicks on Sticks and, from someone who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, “Don’t Care.”   January 11, 2009.

2010:  "Any mountain-town newspaper could poll its readers about their favorite restaurants, trails and places, but the only place you'll see a question about shrines is in Aspen.  The readers’ favorite among the hidden, richly decorated nooks at our local ski areas is the shrine to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.  But numerous votes came in for Elvis, John Denver, Marilyn Monroe and Hunter Thompson as well.  There were also a couple of votes for the memorial to the firefighters who died on Storm King mountain near Glenwood Springs in 1994."  June 9, 2010.

 

2011: The article was renamed "Local's Choice" in 2011 and the "Favorite Shrine" category was dropped until 2016.

 

 

Rootsrated, "The Inside Story Behind the Mysterious Shrines of Aspen Ski Slopes" by Allison Pattillo, January 17, 2016, https://rootsrated.com/stories/the-inside-story-behind-the-mysterious-shrines-of-aspen-ski-slopes

S-Media (Snow Sports Culture) article that mentions the Aspen Shrines:  "SHRINES--What do Jerry Garcia, Michael Jackson, Yankee Stadium, Guiness Beer, Bowling, 9-11 and Dale Earnhardt all have in common? They, along with 60 odd other people, places, things, sports or food have shrines erected in their honour by locals in and around Aspen Snowmass’ four mountain resorts. The shrines are not easily found or seen, for often than either being found by accident or with the help of local knowledge. The Aspen Times described the shrines as a tradition where “locals have been ducking into favorite hideouts on Aspen Mountain and nailing pictures, license plates, beads, silk flowers, wind chimes and other memorabilia to tree trunks in honour of their particular heroes."  Click this link and advance to page 43:  https://issuu.com/snowsportsmedia/docs/fullpdf_nov2013

Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh, Scotland), November 16 2014, "Hidden Shrine to Scots Set Up in Ski Resort" by Stephen McGinty. 

The Seattle Times, "Search For Shrines If You Ski At Aspen," November 16, 2014.

ScottishShrine.com.  See this page for the Scottish Shrine on Aspen Mountain:  http://www.scottishshrine.com/

"Shrines on Aspen Mountain" video, JourneyMarco, Published on Apr 18, 2015. "There are over 100 shrines hidden in the woods on Aspen Mountain. Many are dedicated to famous singers like the Grateful Dead, Elvis and John Denver. There's even one for Snoopy and a memorial for 9/11. These shrines are made up from all sorts of memorabilia and they are little tributes to the stars or events they are dedicated to."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0naOHSt7Vk

The Sidney Morning Herald, "Almost heaven," by Debbie Hunter, October 14, 2007   http://www.smh.com.au/news/ski/almost-heaven/2007/10/11/1191696064111.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

The Sidney Morning Herald/Traveller AU, October 20, 2017, "Top 10 tombs and museums dedicated to death and the afterlife" by Brian Johnston.  The Aspen Shrines are listed as #4 of the 10:  "The first mountain shrines at this Colorado ski resort appeared in the 1970s, hidden among the trees just off the runs; ask ski instructors for locations. They celebrate mostly dead pop celebrities from Elvis to Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix to Michael Jackson, and consist of photos, magazine pages, Mardi Gras beads, whiskey bottles and other assorted memorabilia. The best shrine might be to Jerry Garcia off Ruthie's Run."  A photo of the Jerry Garcia Shrine by Chad Spector is featured.  Click here for the article:  http://www.traveller.com.au/the-traveller-10-resting-places-gz2nm1

Sierra Golfer magazine, "Golf and Skiing" by David Wood, April 2009.  This article contains some material on The Golf Shrine at Snowmass.

SKI magazine, "Aspen's Secret Shrines, In Pictures" by Jake Bogoch, January 2010,  https://www.skimag.com/adventure/aspens-secret-shrines-in-pictures/ This article is a review of David Wood's book "Sanctuaries in the Snow" which is available for purchase on this site; see:  http://www.aspensnowmassshrines.com/index.php?The-Book

SKI magazine, "Dropping In: John Denver's Moral Victory" by Rob Story, December 12, 2005.  https://www.skimag.com/ski-resort-life/dropping-in-john-denvers-moral-victory

Skiresorts.com, "Aspen's Secret Ski Shrines" October 12, 2009, by Greg Fitzsimmons.

Snowmass Sun, "A shrine for its time, Golf shrine draws luminaries, locals," March 30, 2011, by Madeleine Osberger, Sun Staff Writer.

Snowmass Sun, "A Shrine is Born" February 14, 2007.  (This article is about the creation of The Golf Shrine at Snowmass.)

Snowmass Sun, "Ajax shrines removed, Snowmass memorials damaged" April 5, 2012, by Andre Salvail.  

Snowmass Sun, "Last Shot" December 21, 2016, page 15, a photo of the Golf Shrine on Snowmass, showing that Arnold Palmer was now memorialized there.  http://www.aspentimes.com/news/snowmass/snowmass-last-shot/ 

Snowmass Sun, "Paying Homage at the Shrine" January 14, 2009.  (This article is about PGA Tour player Chris DiMarco visiting The Golf Shrine at Snowmass.)

Snowmass Sun, "Shrines Revealed in 'Sanctuaries in the Snow'" by Madeleine Osberger, December 23, 2009.  This article is a review of David Wood's book "Sanctuaries in the Snow" which is available for purchase on this site; see: http://www.aspensnowmassshrines.com/index.php?The-Book

Snowmass Sun, untitled article of March 5, 2008 about Nick Buoniconti and Gabriel Hjertstedt visiting The Golf Shrine at Snowmass.

Snowmass Sun newspaper, ("The Shrines" series).  During the 2011-12 ski season there appeared in the Snowmass Sun newspaper a 21-part series of articles about various Aspen/Snowmass Shrines, all written by David Wood.

1. Jerry Garcia Shrine
 
2. Hunter S. Thompson Shrine

3. John Denver Shrine

4. Golf Shrine

5. 9/11 Shrine

6. Snoopy Shrine

7. Eric Smith Shrine

8. Michael Houser Shrine

9. Pete Bedford/Wacky Jack

10. Marilyn Monroe Shrine (and other shrines dedicated to women)

11. Aspens Skiing Pioneers

12. Kitty Cat Shrine

13. Elvis Presley Shrine

14. Adam Dennis, John Nicoletta, and Raoul Wille Shrines

15. Chris Polk and Robert Kesselring Shrines

16. Harland Adams, Nicholas Blake Davidson and Paul Krauss memorials

17. Gasperl, Kessler, Snyder, and Soddy Memorials

18. Todd Olson and Chuck Severy

19. Shrine Line

20. Brandon Zukoff

21. Vaughan, Hendrix, Jackson, Drummer

Somekindofbliss, February 7, 2015, "Shrines in the Snow" http://somekindofblissblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/shrines-in-snow.html

Telluride Daily Planet, "(Hunter S.) Thompson Tribute," December 27, 2017, Allen Best, http://www.telluridenews.com/opinion/columnists/article_f88b8aca-eb29-11e7-81ee-5bb85f77d8be.html 

Travel & Leisure.  Snowmass is #16 in this August 19, 2014 article "America's Quirkiest Towns" by KATRINA BROWN HUNT, and they used the author's photo of the Hunter S. Thompson Shrine.  Here is a quote from the article:  "This ski town landed in the survey’s top 10 for being friendly and smart, but quirky isn’t too far behind.  After all, it seems locals have a habit of attaching stuff to trees.  The Sanctuaries in the Snow tour, led by a retired attorney, will take you to see the area’s best mysterious shrines—elaborate homages in the woods devoted to, say, Jerry Garcia, golf, or Snoopy."  Click this link and scroll down to #16:  https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/americas-quirkiest-towns#2074322

Travel Channel (Video):  "REAL: Aspen, Kinga Philipps exposes the different sides and issues associated to this popular ski resort destination."  Advance to the 11:00 mark of the video to see the John Denver Shrine on Aspen Mountain."    (15:19)

The Tribune (Chandigarh, India), November 30, 2014 article "On the Aspen Trail."  http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/spectrum/travel/on-the-aspen-trail/12592.html

Vail Daily, “Aspen chairlift turns 60, Among Lift 1's first riders was a St. Bernard named Bingo” by Scott Condon, January 11, 2007.  See:  https://www.vaildaily.com/news/aspen-chairlift-turns-60/

Vail Daily, "Aspen Shrines Pay Homage to Musicians" by Sarah Mausolf, January 5, 2008.  https://www.vaildaily.com/news/aspen-shrines-pay-homage-to-musicians/

The Watch (Telluride), “Stephen Butts Dies in Canada Avalanche” January 21, 2005.

Westword, March 1, 2012, "Secret Stashes/Shrine On!" by William Breathes, http://digitalissue.denverwestword.com/display_article.php?id=988351

Wintersport CanadaAmerica, "Skiing in Aspen:  Spot Elvis, Marilyn or the Beattles!  Tree Skiing with Surprises!  September 18, 2019," by Josee Schouten,  https://www.wintersportcanadaamerika.nl/shrines-totempalen-aspen-snowmass