Is the man pictured in this photo a ski clown or a ski bum?
Before you answer, please know that this is a trick question.
This photo depicts Ralph Jackson, an Aspen bon vivant who claimed to be both a ski clown and Colorado's original ski bum.
Jackson was the scion of a Boston family that ran a bookbinding business. In the winter of 1937, Jackson suffered a serious injury while skiing in New Hampshire, which left him with a serious concussion and a broken leg. The injuries he sustained in that accident left him with a unique, and some would say, "clownish," skiing style that would reverberate through the rest of his life.
Decades after his crash, Jackson found himself living in Aspen, where he enjoyed the good life and created his ski bum/clown persona. Much of Jackson's ski clown schtick was centered on a costume that included a beaver fur coat that was salvaged from the town dump, a distinctive top hat, and a long cigarette holder.
Regardless of its humble origin, the costume was enough to establish Jackson as an Aspen legend (that and his "underground ski school").
Like most legendary figures, Jackson has passed on, but his memory lives on in the upper crust mountain resort he bummed around in for so many years. In this case, his memory lives on in the form of a bronze statue depicting him in his full, clownish glory. If you want to see his costume up close, go ahead and visit the Aspen Historical Society, where his hat, coat and cigarette holder are on display.
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Comments
Ralph! I knew him well.
Ralph! I knew him well. Good friend of my Dad, Howard M Harrington aka (Shorty).
A lot of guys after WW2 decided Aspen was the place. It was about working 6
Months of the year and skiing the entire season, from open to close. Some guys like Ralph became a fixture but he was not alone! Ralph taught me how to do a few tricks. I still do 360’s to this day. He was hilarious, his hat and coat, outrageous on the slopes he drew a crowd. He could ski with one leg in the air and another craving back and forth across the slopes, mixing in some 360’s here and there. He’d stop once in awhile pull out that ridiculous long cigarette holder of his, cock his chin up, elegantly place the cigarette in it and survey the slopes as people crashed into each other trying to figure out what, who, this guy is? I loved to ski with him, he was the ski movie star of Ajax Mountain, (Aspen Mountain) . He skied in all kinds of weather and always with the same hat and coat. At night, if there was a good party Ralph was sure to be invited. He was as good at a party as he was on the slopes. Ralph is one of a number of dedicated ski bums who helped create the Aspen mystique. I hope the Aspen Historical Society has documented the other “bums” too. Thanks Ralph!
“The Underground Ski School”,
“The Underground Ski School”, it became a thing. I remember the Aspen Ski School had the lock on official teaching lessons. Ralph and the other “bums”, could ski very well and unofficial lessons occurred.
Ralph took it further and created, “The Underground Ski School” openly flaunting his ability to teach, but everyone looked the other way. Heads got bumped, Ralph won.
Ralph could ski in all conditions, and was a good teacher. Patient and funny. He was smooth with his trick skiing, as he slid along and made everything he did grandly stylish on the slopes. On the moguls he just smoothly carved his way amongst the monsters, never fighting the slopes, making it all so easy. And he was encouraging in a charming and witting way, “yes, he said all could do it”. I was lucky to have been able to ski with him over the years. And Ralph knew so many people, my father and also my Dad’s best friend, Bryant Baker.
Another legend to note is in the old days, The Hotel Jerome Bar was, the gathering place for endless story telling, drinking, mixing, and whatever! Wow! An eccentric mix of humanity at its finest in the 60’s and 70’s helping to sustain that Aspen mystique these guys and gals created. I saw it all. I understand Ralph has a statue in Aspen and I see that as an acknowledgment of the world that Ralph and others epitomized. I just wonder what they would think of the gated community of exclusivity that Aspen has become? Probably, if Ralph was alive today he start it up all over and do it again! Despite the Gates! Hahaha Go Ralph!
And man, would I like to be around and see that!
Hi Michael - Thanks for
Hi Michael - Thanks for sharing your memories of Ralph and Colorado's early ski days. We love hearing those first hand accounts!
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