Former Aspen Skiing Co. CEO Pat O’Donnell is concerned about the future of the ski industry.
“I’m worried about the soul and passion to keep this going,” he said during a speech at the Hotel Jerome on Thursday night.
O’Donnell was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the International Skiing History Association, which held its annual gathering in Aspen this week. In an impassioned and at times rambling acceptance speech at the group’s gala dinner on Thursday night, O’Donnell spoke at length about his long and storied career and all the people he knew who turned their passion for the outdoors into careers, and made a difference along the way. He alluded to his concerns early in his speech when he said he was going to have a “call to action to pass on to the next generation.”
O’Donnell recalled being a young adult working in Yosemite, Calif., sitting around a campfire with Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins. Chouinard, who would go on to found Patagonia and be considered one of the industry’s first corporate green leaders, was then selling pitons out of his truck, recalled O’Donnell. And Tompkins, who founded The North Face and Esprit companies, eventually bought millions of acres in Chile and Argentina to preserve.
O’Donnell also remembers being presented with opportunities to work with Ansel Adams and buy into Starbucks in its early stages. He counted as an influence actor Robert Redford, who is known for his dedication to the environment, and spoke in awe about a long conversation with a friend who was on the Apollo 8 mission circling the back side of the moon for the first time.
He made a point several times that you often don’t know that you’re surrounded by visionaries, or a part of history in the making.
“All this stuff is going on but you don’t know what’s going on until you look back,” O’Donnell said.
More than once, O’Donnell mentioned how honored he was to be part of Skiing Heritage Week, for the lifestyle and passion all the attendees represented.
“God bless the pioneers that got us here,” he said at a group breakfast at the Sundeck Thursday morning. “It provided employment and this way of life. It’s not only a great lifestyle, but a great way to earn a living, and I’m just proud to be a very, very tiny part of it.”
Later that night, O’Donnell expressed his desire to go back to the old days of the outdoor industry, when as he put it, people were passionate about the products they were creating and were identified with them — like Vail being indelibly linked with its founder, Pete Seibert.
“Now you look at these public companies and wonder who is going to come next,” he said. “Let’s look at it ski area by ski area — who will be standing at this podium years from now? The noose is tightening now.”
O’Donnell said that he wasn’t worried about the Aspen Skiing Co., mainly because its under private ownership that has more than a bottom-line feeling for its product. He also called his 13-year tenure in Aspen — he retired in November 2006 — “the high point in my career.”
But he did worry that ski areas like Aspen would no longer have the kind of work force it used to have.
“The difference is the ski bum, with the passion, soul and freedom is gone,” he said.
That’s why it’s imperative, he said, “to pass on the legacy of this passion. It’s something we have to instill in the next generation.”
O’Donnell also took a jab at real estate and development, now widely considered to be the basis of ski resort growth.
“How many real estate people — or whatever it may be — are diluting the base of our core product?” he asked.
He ended his speech with some advice and deep thoughts for the industry.
“I think this whole thing is fragile,” he said. “Capital investment is great, but is it the long-term answer to keeping skier days up? I don’t know. ... Rocks ride just below the surface, and blizzards often start with a gentle, light snow.”
O’Donnell received a standing ovation.
lutz@aspendailynews.com
