The Jimi Hendrix Shrine (Aspen Mountain)
Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 and died on September 18, 1970. He was a singer, songwriter and guitarist, and is recognized as one of the most influential guitar players in rock music history. He achieved worldwide fame in 1967, playing at the Monterey Pop Festival, and later he headlined the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He died the next year at the age of 27. He is buried in Renton, Washington. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Jimi #1 in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. (Top Ten: 1. Jimi Hendrix, 2. Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, 3. B.B. King, 4. Eric Clapton, 5. Robert Johnson, 6. Chuck Berry, 7. Stevie Ray Vaughan, 8. Ry Cooder, 9. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, 10. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.)
Pictures of Jimi line the trees at his shrine and there is also a yellow plastic guitar hanging in one of the trees there. There is also a street sign (“Jimi Hendrix Pl”). It is located near the stone remains of an old miner’s cabin, and rails in the ground from the old rail cars are still visible in the summer when there is no snow on the ground. There is quite a collection of old skis resting against the stone wall here too.
In the Aspen Times Weekly newspaper issue of September 19, 2009 is an article by Scott Condon which discusses the Jimi Hendrix Shrine. See "Down in the dumps, a lode of history to be found" at https://www.aspentimes.com/news/down-in-the-dumps-a-lode-of-history-to-be-found/ This is a quote from this article: "Surreal scene at Hendrix Shrine. At the Hendrix Shrine itself, two walls of an old stone foundation remain from what was presumably an old mining work shack or living quarters. Rusted tin roofing and rusted metal from ancient machinery litters the ground. Someone placed an old door to a boiler or stove, emblazoned with the name of the manufacturer from Denver, high on a perch on the stone foundation. It's a surreal scene at the Hendrix Shrine, just as it should be. At the north end of the site, there is a small, fading picture of Jammin' Jimmy pasted onto the trunk of a good-sized aspen tree, juxtaposed against this ancient stone wall in the background."
In a March 11, 2010 article entitled "Ajax Shrines + Snow Culture" (Aspen Writers Foundation) a person named Darryl Hoffman stated the following regarding the Jimi Hendrix Shrine: "There is a bench there which faces out across Spar Gulch and up at Bell Mountain. Town can just barely be seen as you look down the mountain. The Shrine is just tucked in the trees enough to have the perfect serenity that one seeks while in the mountains. Sitting on the bench, Jimi all around you. One cannot help but enjoy the moment in the same way as Jimi would have done. The backdrop of an old mine brings Aspen's rich history together with the snow culture that it has now become. It was not until recently that I learned the history of the shrines on Ajax. This shrine was built by an Aspen local and his friends back in the day. In a recent conversation, Bert explained to me that the bench that I have spent many a session on used to be an old ceiling beam in his buddy's house in the 70's. Of course I had to ask if their intended use was the same as what we all use it for now. Just as I had suspected, it was indeed. It is good to know times have not changed too much in Aspen. The most memorable time spent with Jimi was at the X Games Thirteen with Travis Rice and crew. Travis dropped off the fifteen foot mine shaft and then threw snow into the air showering all of us as Lebron does before every Cavs game. Uttering the words "Jimi Lives!" his SnowsouL was clearly evident. Following this display Travis disappeared over the edge leaving us again with Jimi on our home mountain. It is times like these that remind us why we live in the mountains, and why SnowsouL is anything and everything we desire in the search for that Ultimate day on the Mountain. Be cool."
An article in the March 30, 2012 Aspen Business Journal by Madeleine Osberger, "Shrine crimes: Who is dismantling some of Aspen's ski area shrines?" mentioned the Jimi Shrine. (It suffered some vandalism in 2012, but was restored in 2013.)
See an article that was in the Snowmass Sun newspaper of April 25, 2012, "Four Former Shrines Dedicated to Musicians" by David Wood, set out in full below at the bottom of this page.)
"SHRINE SHIHAN" Tim Mooney conducts a tour of three of the Aspen Mountain Shrines in this Aspen 82 video (2:47): https://vimeo.com/channels/aspen82/61424611. "Aspen Mountain | Shrine Tour part 2." Included in this part 2 tour are these Shrines: Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Michael Houser.
This January 15, 2016 video shows parts of the Jimmy Hendrix Shrine, the John Denver Shrine, and the Michael Houser Shrine. It also mentions, but does not show, the Jerry Garcia Shrine and the Elvis Presley Shrine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZmlxf_NdfQ
The Aspen Chamber lists this Shrine in its March 10, 2016 article as a "must-see" Shrine. http://www.aspenchamber.org/blog/7-must-see-shrines-aspen-mountain "7 Must-See Shrines on Aspen Mountain."
This August 22, 2015 article by Tim Cooney mentions the Jimi Hendrix Shrine in a couple places: https://www.aspendailynews.com/the-aspen-public-tramway-the-first-bucket-on-aspen-mountain/article_c7c6ef11-2c21-5397-bb86-7a93dc1a88e8.html
This shrine is covered in the book, "Sanctuaries in the Snow--The Shrines and Memorials of Aspen/Snowmass." The book may be purchased on this page on this site: http://www.aspensnowmassshrines.com/index.php?The-Book
A photo (shown below in the photo section) by Anna Stonehouse of the Jimi Hendrix Shrine was on the front page of the October 24, 2017 Aspen Times. The same photo was also used in a March 15, 2018 Aspen Times article ("High Country: A spring break reefer refresher") by Katie Shapiro. This was the caption used under the photo in both cases: "The Jimi Hendrix shrine on Aspen Mountain near the Dumps made it through another season on the hill. Most find the mountain shrines in the trees during the ski season when it's easier to get around, but over the weekend it was just as peaceful at the site honoring the late guitar player." Here is the link to the 2018 article: https://www.aspentimes.com/news/weekly/high-country-a-spring-break-reefer-refresher/ This article is about the "do's and don'ts" of cannabis consumption in the Aspen/Snowmass area; it recommends that you "duck into one of Aspen/Snowmass infamous shrines for a (cannabis) session."
The Jimi Hendrix Shrine is on Aspen Mountain. Photos of it are below.
Click on images to enlarge.
The photos in this section were taken in 2013. Click on images to enlarge.
By David Wood
Snowmass Sun, April 25, 2012
There are many shrines on Aspen Mountain dedicated to various musicians, including Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, Michael Houser, the Beatles, and John Denver. There used to be four other shrines with a musical theme, covered below, but they are no longer in existence. All four were destroyed by vandalism. The vandalism to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Shrine occurred during the 2010-11 ski season, and the vandalism to the other three occurred just last month.
The Stevie Ray Vaughan Shrine
This shrine used to be located at the cabin that was occupied by silver miner William (Billy) Zaugg back in the mining days. Stevie Ray Vaughan's name was burned into the wood over the door to the cabin (although his last name was misspelled). Also there were photos of Stevie posted on the outside and inside of the cabin and on the trees around the cabin. Some yellow roses were tacked up to two of the trees. Now there is a wooden sign over the door to the cabin that says “Bill Zaugg's Cabin, the last miner to live on Aspen Mountain.” This sign was put up after Vaughan's named was burned into the wood over the door, and partially obscures it.
Laminated pictures of Jimi used to line the trees at his shrine and there used to be a yellow plastic guitar hanging in one of the trees there. There was also a street sign reading “Jimi Hendrix Pl.” This shrine was located near the stone remains of an old miner's cabin, and rails in the ground from the old rail cars are still visible in the summer when there is no snow on the ground. There was quite a collection of old skis resting against the stone wall here too. In an Aspen Times Weekly article of Sept. 19, 2009, we find this quote by Scott Condon: "Surreal scene at Hendrix Shrine. At the Hendrix Shrine itself, two walls of an old stone foundation remain from what was presumably an old mining work shack or living quarters. Rusted tin roofing and rusted metal from ancient machinery litters the ground. Someone placed an old door to a boiler or stove, emblazoned with the name of the manufacturer from Denver, high on a perch on the stone foundation. It's a surreal scene at the Hendrix Shrine, just as it should be. At the north end of the site, there is a small, fading picture of Jammin' Jimmy pasted onto the trunk of a good-sized aspen tree, juxtaposed against this ancient stone wall in the background."
The Michael Jackson Shrine was in the trees near the Buckhorn Cabin. It contained several large cutouts of Jackson, several laminated photos of him, some Tibetan prayer flags, a metal sign saying "King of Pop" with some musical notes on it, and some wind chimes.
The Drummer Shrine was near the Michael Jackson Shrine. It honored deceased great drummers, including Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Keith Moon, John Bonham, and Richie Hayward. It included a large drum hung from a tree by a chain, a drumhead where visitors could sign in, and laminated photos of each of these drummers.
