The Snoopy Shrine (Aspen Mountain)
In May 2009 the author received an e-mail from local Bill S., the creator of the Snoopy Shrine and the person who maintains it, in which in part, he said:
"I started the shrine in the 2002-2003 season. I started the shrine because I don't like the emphasis on drugs in some of the other shrines. Snoopy is a clean living guy with a good attitude who likes root beer and chocolate chip cookies...as evidenced by his tummy! The second year I put up a sign that said, 'This is a drug free zone.' It didn't last very long. I selected Summit because I like the complex fall lines on Summit. I keep a ski journal and I started writing down how many times I skied it each day. I started keeping track in about 1980 and now have skied it nearly 2500 times. I'm an old hockey player and Snoopy is also an old hockey player....My wife Jane K. and daughter Alexa F. give me plenty of help with the Snoopy shrine. The three of us make a summer hike to visit it each year."
This appears in an Aspen Times Weekly article of Saturday, February 18, 2006, "Calling all seekers: Find your shrine on Ajax," by Kimberly Nicoletti: "The newest shrine gives a shout out to Snoopy. Located off Summit, a Snoopy flag proclaims, 'Let it snow,' and cutouts of the comic dog decorate tree trunks. [Mountain Manager Steve] Sewell just discovered the shrine the other day, and when asked what he was going to do about it, he at first said, 'No comment.' But when faced with the idea of dancing dog’s demise, he admitted: 'How can you take Snoopy out?'"
The shrine includes two large color flags with images of Snoopy on them (“Merry Christmas” and “Let it Snow”), a Halloween flag, several Christmas tree ornaments (Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Linus), and various pictures of Snoopy, some with other members of the “Peanuts” gang. There is also a Snoopy dog house.
See this article in the Snowmass Sun newspaper, "Snoopy Shrine offers fun-filled family memories" by David Wood, December 28, 2011. This article is set out in full at the bottom of this page.
This shrine suffered some vandalism damage in March 2012. See the letter to the editor set out below in a section following the photos.
In August of 2014 both Aspen and Snowmass made the Travel+Leisure list of "America's Quirkiest Towns." The Snowmass write-up (#16 of 20) mentions the Golf Shrine, the Snoopy Shrine, the Jerry Garcia Shrine (even though the Garcia and Snoopy Shrines are on Aspen Mountain), and features the author's photo of the Hunter S. Thompson Shrine. Click the link and advance to #16: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-quirkiest-towns/2?xid=TLDaily082314QuirkiestTowns. (Contrary to what the article says, David Wood does not conduct Shrine tours.)
This Tony Vagneur quote, which mentions the Snoopy Shrine, appears in this January 28, 2017 Aspen Times article: "Oh, yeah, hats off to Bill for the Snoopy Shrine, if you know what I mean." http://www.aspentimes.com/opinion/vagneur-a-different-aspen-mountain-each-season/
The Snoopy Shrine is on Aspen Mountain.
Photos of the shrine are below.
If you have any photos of or information about this item that you would like to share for use on this page, please send to the author at [email protected].
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
Click on images to enlarge.
Many thanks to Bill Schaffer for sending the following photos showing the Snoopy Dog House, the Halloween Flag, and the flag set up for the Snoopy Shrine as of the end of the 2010-2011 ski season.
Snoopy Dog House
Snoopy Dog House
Halloween Flag
Halloween Flag
Flag Set Up
Flag Set Up
The photos in the section below were taken in February 2012.
The photos in the section immediately below were taken in March 2013.
Click on images to enlarge.
April, 2 2012
Dear Editor:
As I get ready to leave Aspen for three months over the summer, my favorite time of year, I've been reflecting on all the things I love about this community. There are the obvious things like the Wheeler; Belly Up; live music — be it classical, jazz or the songwriters competition — on the streets; the fact that I met my agent at the writers festival and didn't have to struggle through the muck of the New York literary scene; and that I was hired for my first published work by Aspen Peak and the job included meeting and interviewing my idol, to name a few.
The love and support I get as a performer always will rank high on the list, and I will be forever grateful to the people who allow us to perform and come to our shows at Escobar and Steve's Guitars time and again and say hello on the street even if we've never formally met. I love that the local papers advertise our shows for free. I love that I can show up at the J-Bar to support my friend Dan Sheridan's awesome CD release and randomly bump into three of my favorite guys in town, old friends I never get to see, and make a new friend who offers to promote my shows.
I love that I can get in the gondola, have a conversation with a couple of tourists I've never met who are 20 years older or younger than I am and turn them on to one of my favorite runs on the mountain. I love that I can leave my wallet, iPhone and car keys on the bar at Justice Snow's and come back 10 minutes later to find them untouched. I love that I walk into Peach's and the gang behind the counter asks about my day and starts my drink before I even order it. I love that I have such amazing customers to wait on at Matsuhisa who don't just pass through but rather forge relationships that frequently lead to hugs goodnight after their meal and, recently, from a very special family whom I'd only waited on twice, a going-away present of a cookbook that I'd mentioned being excited about.
And I love that my hard-core conservative, Republican, finance-guy father gets a twinkle in his eye when he talks about the Snoopy Shrine, which we started together a few years ago on Summit, a run that he's skied more than 3,000 times and that we've always called Some Mutt.
So, to the person or people who destroyed the five or six shrines on the mountain, and to whoever wrote “phonies” on the sign coming into town, I just want to say I feel sorry for you ... you're missing out on the best parts of this community.
Alexa Fitzpatrick
Aspen
Below is the article about the Snoopy Shrine that David Wood wrote for the Snowmass Sun newspaper.
Not all Aspen/Snowmass shrines are dedicated to real people; the cartoon character Snoopy has a shrine dedicated to him on Aspen Mountain, near the Summit run (which Snoopy calls “Some Mutt”).
The creator of this shrine, Bill S., had this to say about the shrine: “I started the shrine in the 2002-2003 season. I started the shrine because I don't like the emphasis on drugs in some of the other shrines. Snoopy is a clean-living guy with a good attitude who likes root beer and chocolate-chip cookies, as evidenced by his tummy. The second year, I put up a sign that said, ‘This is a drug-free zone.' It didn't last very long. I selected Summit because I like the complex fall lines on Summit. I keep a ski journal, and I started writing down how many times I skied it each day. I started keeping track in about 1980 and now have skied it over 2,500 times. I'm an old hockey player, and Snoopy is also an old hockey player. ... My wife, Jane K., and daughter, Alexa F., give me plenty of help with the Snoopy shrine. The three of us make a summer hike to visit it each year.”
This appeared in an Aspen Times Weekly article on Feb. 18, 2006, titled “Calling all seekers: Find your shrine on Ajax,” by Kimberly Nicoletti: “The newest shrine gives a shout out to Snoopy. Located off Summit, a Snoopy flag proclaims, ‘Let it snow,' and cutouts of the comic dog decorate tree trunks. [Mountain Manager Steve] Sewell just discovered the shrine the other day, and when asked what he was going to do about it, he at first said, ‘No comment.' But when faced with the idea of the dancing dog's demise, he admitted, ‘How can you take Snoopy out?'”
The shrine includes two large color flags with images of Snoopy on them (“Merry Christmas” and “Let it Snow”), a Halloween flag, several Christmas-tree ornaments (Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus) and various pictures of Snoopy, some with other members of the “Peanuts” gang. There is also a Snoopy doghouse.
David Wood ([email protected]) is the author of the best-selling book about the Aspen shrines “Sanctuaries in the Snow — The Shrines and Memorials of Aspen/Snowmass.” He donates all of his profits from book sales to The Roaring Fork Valley Scholarship Fund. The book can be purchased in Snowmass Village at Snowmass Sports, the Stew Pot, Sundance Liquor and Gifts, and the Village Market, as well as at various locations in Aspen.
Click on images to enlarge.
