Aspen Idea Culture Tours offers custom hikes and nature seminars in Aspen, Colorado.
Embrace the Aspen Idea
ERICH BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home, that wilderness is a necessity.” - John Muir
Aspen Idea Culture Tours provide more than guided outings through the mountains of Aspen. They offer context with the “Aspen Idea” through nature, history and philosophy. They provide a wilderness experience by drawing from the transcendent influences of poetry and contemplation. They offer an antidote to the frenetic pace of 21st century living and invite a spiritual connection to the natural world.
Day hikes, overnight hut trips, snowshoe walks and ski tours invite you to breathe deeply, slow down, relax, and awaken your senses to the beauty, wonder and restorative health of the natural world.
Program originator and guide Paul Andersen is an Aspen book author, journalist, historian, seminar leader, and naturalist who provides custom tours tailored to small groups seeking a unique and meaningful experience in Aspen’s beautiful backyard. Outings are designed to inspire personal enrichment amid the sublime beauty of the mountains. Programs are open to almost all ages and fitness levels.
Contact: Paul Andersen (970) 927-4018; andersen@rof.net
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home, that wilderness is a necessity.” - John Muir
Aspen Idea Culture Tours provide more than guided outings through the mountains of Aspen. They offer context with the “Aspen Idea” through nature, history and philosophy. They provide a wilderness experience by drawing from the transcendent influences of poetry and contemplation. They offer an antidote to the frenetic pace of 21st century living and invite a spiritual connection to the natural world.
Day hikes, overnight hut trips, snowshoe walks and ski tours invite you to breathe deeply, slow down, relax, and awaken your senses to the beauty, wonder and restorative health of the natural world.
Program originator and guide Paul Andersen is an Aspen book author, journalist, historian, seminar leader, and naturalist who provides custom tours tailored to small groups seeking a unique and meaningful experience in Aspen’s beautiful backyard. Outings are designed to inspire personal enrichment amid the sublime beauty of the mountains. Programs are open to almost all ages and fitness levels.
Contact: Paul Andersen (970) 927-4018; andersen@rof.net
Praise for Aspen Idea Culture Tours
"As a Colorado native and lover of ideas as well as the mountains, I consider it a privilege to be able to turn to Paul Andersen to help others refine their understanding of the invigorating power of ideas and nature."
– Todd Breyfogle, Head of Seminars, Aspen Institute
"Paul Andersen can speak in depth to the history, ecology, philosophy, and geography of the area. Most important, Mr. Andersen loves the backcountry and is passionate about sharing that love with others. I cannot imagine a better guide."
– Peter Looram, former director of the 10th Mountain Hut System
"Paul Andersen excels as a nature guide, making vivid connections to man’s long-time presence here. He is always mindful of the participants’ potential physical limitations, pacing his hikes to allow for all levels of competence and endurance."
– Leigh Hafrey, senior seminar moderator, Aspen Institute
"These walks are safe, informative, educational, and entertaining. Mr. Andersen is the 'historian laureate' of the Roaring Fork Valley."
– Randy Udall, former Outward Bound leader
"Paul Andersen leads unique programs based, not on adrenalin or thrills, but on contemplation of one’s deepest relationship to nature. He offers a perspective shift that is in great need today in our fast-paced, industrialized world."
– Elliot Gerson – Head of Public Programs, Aspen Institute
– Todd Breyfogle, Head of Seminars, Aspen Institute
"Paul Andersen can speak in depth to the history, ecology, philosophy, and geography of the area. Most important, Mr. Andersen loves the backcountry and is passionate about sharing that love with others. I cannot imagine a better guide."
– Peter Looram, former director of the 10th Mountain Hut System
"Paul Andersen excels as a nature guide, making vivid connections to man’s long-time presence here. He is always mindful of the participants’ potential physical limitations, pacing his hikes to allow for all levels of competence and endurance."
– Leigh Hafrey, senior seminar moderator, Aspen Institute
"These walks are safe, informative, educational, and entertaining. Mr. Andersen is the 'historian laureate' of the Roaring Fork Valley."
– Randy Udall, former Outward Bound leader
"Paul Andersen leads unique programs based, not on adrenalin or thrills, but on contemplation of one’s deepest relationship to nature. He offers a perspective shift that is in great need today in our fast-paced, industrialized world."
– Elliot Gerson – Head of Public Programs, Aspen Institute
Biography and Resume
Paul Andersen was born in Chicago in 1951. Throughout his childhood he spent summers at a cottage on a lake in Wisconsin, where he first discovered a lasting affinity for wild nature. After graduating from New Trier High School in 1969, he attended college in rural Gunnison, Colorado, graduating with a degree in English. The Rocky Mountains became a constant allure that led him into backpacking, mountain biking, skiing, and mountain climbing.
As editor of the Crested Butte Chronicle from 1979-1984, Andersen reported on the growing pains of a small, historic mining town at 9,000 feet in the Central Rockies. Chief among the issues for this fledgling ski resort was a land use conflict between large-scale industrial mining and recreation/resort values in the mountain west.
Andersen moved across the Elk Range to Aspen in 1984, where he spent ten years as reporter/editor for the Aspen Times. In addition to covering local government, politics, and the Aspen cultural and art scene, Andersen wrote about telemark skiing, winter hut trips, climbing 14,000-foot peaks, and mountain bike touring. His many bicycle travels have taken him through the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, and Europe.
A professional writer for 35 years, Andersen’s career includes television scriptwriter, book editor and author, magazine contributor, seminar leader, and columnist and contributing editor for the Aspen Times, where he writes a weekly opinion column – “Fair Game.” He has contributed to a dozen magazines, authored eight books, and written a screenplay produced by IMAX Films.
In 2005, Andersen partnered with Aspen Institute Vice President Elliot Gerson to create “The Wilderness Seminar,” which takes participants through a philosophical discussion exploring the role of nature and wilderness in contemporary life and throughout human history.
Today, through Aspen Idea Culture Tours, Andersen leads custom single- or multi-day mountain excursions for enriching body, mind and spirit. His 3-day Wilderness Seminar features outdoor sessions and two nights in a rustic mountain hut on the edge of the Hunter-Frying Pan Wilderness Area near Aspen.
Andersen, 61, is a dedicated writer and active mountaineer. He lives in a log cabin at Seven Castles in the Frying Pan Valley with his wife Lu and their 18-year-old son, Tait. Their greater backyard, 25 miles from Aspen, is a canyon wilderness where their nearest neighbors are elk, deer, bighorn sheep, coyotes, mountain lions, eagles and owls.
RESUMÉ
PAUL ANDERSEN
P.O. Box 2047
Basalt, Colorado 81621
(970) 927-4018 - phone
e-mail: andersen@rof.net
STATISTICS:
61 years old
Born January 29, 1951
Married with a 19-year-old son (Prescott College, Ariz.)
CURRENT WORK EXPERIENCE
Free-lance writer/columnist/editor/contributing editor to the Aspen Times. Writing includes a prize-winning weekly opinion column for the Aspen Times, screenplays, magazine features, TV documentary scripts, books, plays, short stories, business reports, manuscript editing.
MAGAZINES
Snow Country, Outside, Travel & Leisure, Powder, Ski, The World & I, Aspen Magazine, Air Destinations, Roaring Fork Valley Magazine, Crested Butte Magazine, Colorado Outdoors, Rocky Mountain Sports and Fitness, Colorado Expressions, Sojourner, Alpine Living, SnowWorld, Aspen Peak.
TELEVISION
Documentary scripts for Outdoor Life series "Action Zone"; ESPN series "Expedition Earth"; PBS documentary "Ranching: A Culture in Crisis"; American Adventure Productions and Freewheelin’ Films of Aspen, Colorado.
FILM
Screen story credit for IMAX - “China: The Panda Adventure” – produced in 2000.
SEMINAR LEADERSHIP
Body, Mind, Spirit: Aspen Community Seminar
Nature and Society: Executive Seminar, Aspen Institute
Call of the Wild: Youth Wilderness Program for Tomorrow’s Voices
Wild Spirit: Nature and indigenous cultures program, Whistler Forum, British Columbia
The Literature of Place: High school seniors college credit seminar, Tomorrow’s Voices
BOOKS
2010 – Moonlight Over Pearl: Ten Stories From Aspen
2009 – Aspen: Rocky Mountain Paradise
2007 – Aspen’s Rugged Splendor
2004 – Power in the Mountains: The History of the Aspen Electric Utility
2001 – Destination Aspen (edited autobiography)
2000 – East of Aspen: A Field Guide to Independence Pass
1999 – Aspen: Body, Mind & Spirit
1998 – Elk Mountains Odyssey: Scenic and Historic Byway Guide
1995 - Angel on my Shoulder (edited biography)
1992 - Aspen: Portrait of a Rocky Mountain Town
1990 - Aspen in Color: Seasons of a Mountain Town
As editor of the Crested Butte Chronicle from 1979-1984, Andersen reported on the growing pains of a small, historic mining town at 9,000 feet in the Central Rockies. Chief among the issues for this fledgling ski resort was a land use conflict between large-scale industrial mining and recreation/resort values in the mountain west.
Andersen moved across the Elk Range to Aspen in 1984, where he spent ten years as reporter/editor for the Aspen Times. In addition to covering local government, politics, and the Aspen cultural and art scene, Andersen wrote about telemark skiing, winter hut trips, climbing 14,000-foot peaks, and mountain bike touring. His many bicycle travels have taken him through the desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, and Europe.
A professional writer for 35 years, Andersen’s career includes television scriptwriter, book editor and author, magazine contributor, seminar leader, and columnist and contributing editor for the Aspen Times, where he writes a weekly opinion column – “Fair Game.” He has contributed to a dozen magazines, authored eight books, and written a screenplay produced by IMAX Films.
In 2005, Andersen partnered with Aspen Institute Vice President Elliot Gerson to create “The Wilderness Seminar,” which takes participants through a philosophical discussion exploring the role of nature and wilderness in contemporary life and throughout human history.
Today, through Aspen Idea Culture Tours, Andersen leads custom single- or multi-day mountain excursions for enriching body, mind and spirit. His 3-day Wilderness Seminar features outdoor sessions and two nights in a rustic mountain hut on the edge of the Hunter-Frying Pan Wilderness Area near Aspen.
Andersen, 61, is a dedicated writer and active mountaineer. He lives in a log cabin at Seven Castles in the Frying Pan Valley with his wife Lu and their 18-year-old son, Tait. Their greater backyard, 25 miles from Aspen, is a canyon wilderness where their nearest neighbors are elk, deer, bighorn sheep, coyotes, mountain lions, eagles and owls.
RESUMÉ
PAUL ANDERSEN
P.O. Box 2047
Basalt, Colorado 81621
(970) 927-4018 - phone
e-mail: andersen@rof.net
STATISTICS:
61 years old
Born January 29, 1951
Married with a 19-year-old son (Prescott College, Ariz.)
CURRENT WORK EXPERIENCE
Free-lance writer/columnist/editor/contributing editor to the Aspen Times. Writing includes a prize-winning weekly opinion column for the Aspen Times, screenplays, magazine features, TV documentary scripts, books, plays, short stories, business reports, manuscript editing.
MAGAZINES
Snow Country, Outside, Travel & Leisure, Powder, Ski, The World & I, Aspen Magazine, Air Destinations, Roaring Fork Valley Magazine, Crested Butte Magazine, Colorado Outdoors, Rocky Mountain Sports and Fitness, Colorado Expressions, Sojourner, Alpine Living, SnowWorld, Aspen Peak.
TELEVISION
Documentary scripts for Outdoor Life series "Action Zone"; ESPN series "Expedition Earth"; PBS documentary "Ranching: A Culture in Crisis"; American Adventure Productions and Freewheelin’ Films of Aspen, Colorado.
FILM
Screen story credit for IMAX - “China: The Panda Adventure” – produced in 2000.
SEMINAR LEADERSHIP
Body, Mind, Spirit: Aspen Community Seminar
Nature and Society: Executive Seminar, Aspen Institute
Call of the Wild: Youth Wilderness Program for Tomorrow’s Voices
Wild Spirit: Nature and indigenous cultures program, Whistler Forum, British Columbia
The Literature of Place: High school seniors college credit seminar, Tomorrow’s Voices
BOOKS
2010 – Moonlight Over Pearl: Ten Stories From Aspen
2009 – Aspen: Rocky Mountain Paradise
2007 – Aspen’s Rugged Splendor
2004 – Power in the Mountains: The History of the Aspen Electric Utility
2001 – Destination Aspen (edited autobiography)
2000 – East of Aspen: A Field Guide to Independence Pass
1999 – Aspen: Body, Mind & Spirit
1998 – Elk Mountains Odyssey: Scenic and Historic Byway Guide
1995 - Angel on my Shoulder (edited biography)
1992 - Aspen: Portrait of a Rocky Mountain Town
1990 - Aspen in Color: Seasons of a Mountain Town