Skibobs at Snowmass

“One small business in West Village has already come and gone,” revealed The Aspen Times on Jan. 11, 1968. “The Skibob Shop has been closed because operations of skibobs at Snowmass, begun experimentally, did not work out. Chuck Cole, operator of the skibob concession, said that his original agreement with the Aspen Skiing Corporation specified that the novel snow-traversing apparatuses could be used on the Snowmass lifts experimentally until January 15, but if there were complaints from other patrons they might not be allowed later. Jim Snobble, manager for the Ski Corp. at Snowmass said that complaints from skiers as well as loading difficulties on the lifts prompted the management to ban the skibobs from the area. Contrary to rumors, both Snobble and Cole said there were no incidents or injuries involving the skibobs. Said Snobble, ‘We hated to see them go. They are obviously popular. But the chair interval on our lifts is so close that they used considerable trouble loading. And we think that the skibobs will require their own lifts and their own runs. We don’t think, after trial, that you can mix skibobbers and skiers.'”