SkiCo hosts summit lunch at Buttermilk for International Women’s Day

Swathes of community members braved the blizzarding slopes of Buttermilk on Thursday in anticipation of International Women’s Day, uphilling from the resort base to a summit lunch complemented with champagne and a raffle. 

The third annual Uphill Champagne Lunch, hosted by Aspen Skiing Company at the Cliffhouse Restaurant, kicked off two days in advance of the official holiday, led by the women of SkiCo’s marketing team.

“We’ve gotten pretty far in terms of equality, but there’s still a lot more to go to get to gender parity,” said Tucker Vest Burton, SkiCo marketing director, as music bumped through the packed cabin.

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She added that as a modern feminist, gender parity means working toward equality for everyone, as all aspects of equality are intertwined.

“It’s not just about gender equality for women. It’s about equality for all,” she said, whether it’s sex, class, gender, or other identity sectors. 

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SkiCo partnered this year with Women of Winter, a Montana-based nonprofit empowering women and girls — and prioritizing women of color — to get outside and become leaders in snowsports.

“They really just represent everything that we’re trying to do,” Vest Burton said. “We’re trying to break down barriers for women to get into places of leadership, but also women of color to get into the industry.”

Alyssa Gonzalez, Boulder-based Women of Winter volunteer speaking on behalf of the organization at the lunch, said they provide 160 scholarships to help participants achieve ski and snowboard instructor, freestyle, and avalanche level 1 certifications.

“And that dramatically is changing the actual people you see on the mountain,” she said. “And so that’s a big impact on the actual communities — just to be taught by a Black woman how to ski or to see an Asian woman teaching other women and just being able to have that diversity shows people that there’s more than just white people out there.”

She estimated that 30 to 40 participants receive new certifications per year via the organization’s scholarships, while others continue their work in outdoor leadership by earning recertifications. They also recently partnered with the National Brotherhood of Skiers — the largest organization for Black skiers in America — offering a scholarship to help get Black individuals in snowsport leadership positions through teaching certifications.

Nonprofits Cobalt and the local chapter of the Social and Political Understanding of Reproductive Rights (SPURR) were also at the summit lunch championing reproductive rights. 

With 600 members from Aspen to Carbondale, SPURR was formed after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, and seeks to educate as well as provide resources and engagement opportunities relating to reproductive rights. 

More information about the organization can be found at spurrcolorado.com.

Cobalt offers the largest and oldest abortion fund in the state, helping those in need with abortion care, according to Cobalt Political Director Kiera Hatton. They gave $1.94 million of assistance in 2024 to those in need of financial resources, according to cobaltadvocates.org.

The two organizations helped pass Amendment 79, which enshrines women’s right to abortion in the Colorado Constitution, and are currently working on passing additional pieces of legislation to protect women’s reproductive rights in Colorado, Hatton said.

“The federal government has launched attacks on the right to abortion,” Hatton said. “And therefore, we must protect it within the state of Colorado.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.