Change is in the air in Aspen as three longtime employees set to move on

Three Aspen One employees with nearly a century of combined experience at the company will be retiring in the next fiscal year, according to the company that owns and manages the four world-famous Colorado ski areas of Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk.

Chief Human Resources Officer Jim Laing, Senior Vice President of Mountain Operations Katie Ertl and Vice President of Communications Jeff Hanle will all be moving on at different times.

“We are a growing and evolving organization and with that comes natural change and transition,” an Aspen One spokesperson wrote in an email statement to RealVail.com. “The recent internal transition announcement of three valued teammates has been planned for years and are part of that natural change cycle.

“We are deeply grateful for their many years of dedication and service. While they will be missed, these changes provide an opportunity for Aspen One to build upon their legacy, continue to evolve, and continue to raise the bar in serving our guests, employees, and communities.”

Laing will become a senior advisor to the company beginning Oct. 1 for an eventual retirement on June 1, 2025. He in his 30th year with this company and is the longest tenured executive officer in the company’s history. Lisa Flynn will then take over the Aspen One HR organization.

Ertl, a native of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley, started her tenure at Aspen Skiing Company as an 18-year-old ski pro (instructor) while attending the University of Colorado and worked her way up to SVP of Mountain Operations in 2017. She has been with the company 37 years — 25 years in management and leadership roles.

“Katie will continue in her current role through Dec. 1 of this year and will then transition to become a senior advisor to Aspen Skiing Company CEO Geoff Buchheister for the remainder of the upcoming winter season,” according to an internal communication obtained by RealVail.com. “Katie’s direct reports will report into Geoff while the team works on their longer-term evolution.”

Ertl did not return a phone call requesting comment.

Aspen One Vice President of Communications Hanle has been with the company for more than 26 years after coming over from the radio industry. He’ll stay on through March 31, 2025, and the company is posting a job listing to find his replacement soon.

Hanle declined to comment on his pending retirement.Off-the-record sources emphasized to RealVail.com that these moves were all anticipated and not part of a broader restructuring of executive leadership ahead of any major new changes.

Rumors of a potential full acquisition of Aspen One by Alterra Mountain Company, which is partly owned by Henry Crown and Company — or some other entity — have swirled in recent months, especially since the untimely death of Jim Crown in 2023. But industry observers find that scenario unlikely.

“First, I’d be absolutely shocked if the Crowns sold Aspen,” former Aspen Skiing Company Chief Operating Officer and now-retired member of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame John Norton said in a phone interview last spring. “There’s a reason Aspen’s not already part of Alterra, and that’s the Crown family.

“I just don’t think it’s in the cards,” Norton added. “They’ve been great owners for Aspen, and sure, Jim was the managing partner, but he’s got six or seven brothers and sisters and cousins. I think the Crowns love Aspen.”

The four Aspen mountains can be accessed for up to seven days each on Alterra’s multi-resort Ikon Pass. The Ikon Pass offers unlimited access to Solitude Mountain, and up to seven days each at Snowbasin, Alta, Deer Valley, Snowbird and Brighton, all in Utah, as well as a slew of other ski areas around the world. It’s the chief competitor with Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Park Record in Park City, Utah.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts
• Fund Real Vail

David O. Williams

Managing Editor at RealVail

David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.

Latest posts by David O. Williams (see all)

• Change is in the air in Aspen as three longtime employees set to move on - September 19, 2024
• Williams blasts Williams in GOP turf war over ‘LGBTQ stuff’ but also still backs Trump for prez - September 18, 2024
• Evans’ spokesman in crucial CD8 race defends 2020 election interference claims - September 14, 2024