It’s been a banner year for sales of single-family homes worth more than $20 million in Pitkin County, and a home in Snowmass Village with a list price of $37.5 million is now under contract.

If the Snowmass Village home closes with the seller’s receiving his asking price, it will set a new record for the value of a single-family home sold in Pitkin County.

Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia sold one of his homes in the exclusive Starwood neighborhood for $36.5 million earlier this month, which is the highest sale price to date in the county for a single family home without the potential for additional development on the property.

The house in Snowmass Village now under contract belongs to Leon C. Hirsch, founder of U.S. Surgical Corp. He owns several other properties in Connecticut and Montana.

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Top-10 properties top out at $88 million
Brent Gardner-Smith
Aspen Daily News
January 7, 2008

In an area known for its lavish real estate, ever wonder what the priciest properties are worth? According to the local Multiple Listing System, or MLS, the 10 most expensive pieces of real estate in the valley include a ranch for $88 million, two properties in downtown Aspen for more than $37 million, and seven private homes starting at $28 million and topping out at $60 million.

Buyers can choose between a $60 million stone castle in West Buttermilk, a $58 million estate in Owl Creek and a $43.8 million Tuscan-style estate with 10-foot doors throughout. In all, there are now more than 20 single-family homes with price tags of more than $20 million on the market. But this phenomenon is not typical, even for Aspen.

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December snowfall approaches record
Troy Hooper
Aspen Daily News
December 28, 2007

Snowfall in Aspen is inching towards a December record.

Look no further than the buried cars, grinning skiers and official statistics to see that this December already boasts Aspen's second biggest snowfall total since the city began collecting such data in the 1930s. As of yesterday morning, there were 57.4 inches recorded for December at the city's official weather station at the water plant. Snow continuously dropped from the sky yesterday and more was in the forecast, so by today the 1953 mark of 58.3 inches is expected to be exceeded.

The highest inch count ever recorded was in 1983, when 72 inches, or 6 feet, fell in the city.

"It's been a phenomenal December," said longtime weather watcher Jim Markalunas. "The average total for this month is about 24 inches, so we've more than doubled that. It's one to remember."

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