- Whip Jones
Whipple Van Ness "Whip" Jones (
November 8 ,1909 –June 29 ,2001 ) was a ski industry pioneer, founder, developer and the original operator for 35 years, of theAspen Highlands ski area inAspen ,Colorado . Whip Jones and the company he founded, Aspen Highlands, won aUS Supreme Court case against his rival, theAspen Skiing Company . Jones was also a philanthropist, and was inducted into The Colorado Ski Hall of Fame and The Aspen Hall of Fame for his work with Aspen Highlands.Early years
Jones was born in
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin to Esther Olin Whipple (1884-1977) and Frank William Jones I (1876-1936). He married heiress Mary Sue McCulloch (1913-1996). He was a captain in the Missouri State Guard and worked as a Trust Officer at the St. Louis Union Trust Company. At the outbreak ofWorld War II he transferred to theUS Army Air Corps and rose to the rank ofLieutenant Colonel . [New York Times ;July 3 ,2001 ; Whipple Van Ness Jones]Founder of Aspen Highlands
Jones was the builder and the owner of the
Aspen Highlands , one of the four ski areas of Aspen, Colorado.Aspen Highlands had its beginning in 1956. Jones owned the land at the base of the mountain and became interested in developing it after the Forest Service suggested it would be a "great place for a ski area." Jones first offered the opportunity to
Aspen Skiing Company who turned it down. He then hiredDick Durrance to do a feasibility study and [http://skimuseum.net/hof/benedict.html Fritz Benedict] to design a lodge. Jones went ahead with the project on his own, and laid out a well-balanced set of ski runs: 25% beginner, 50% intermediate, 25% advanced. Jones financed the project by selling the lumber from the cleared ski runs and using low cost labor. When the area opened in 1958 it had three lifts, including the world's longest single section double chairlift and eventually grew to over 50 trails. [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/images_bio_htm_files/Whip_Jones.htm] The base area of Highlands Mountain is located 1 1/2 miles from the village of Aspen.upreme Court antitrust case
Throughout his ownership,
Aspen Highlands and founder Jones remained at odds with the local rivalAspen Skiing Company , which owned and operated the three other ski areas Aspen Mountain (Ajax), Buttermilk and Snowmass in Aspen, with Jones owning the remaining independent ski area,Aspen Highlands . In 1979, Jones sued theAspen Skiing Company , alleging violations of theSherman Act . Aspen Highlands and Aspen Skiing had, for several years, cooperated to sell an "all-Aspen" ticket that allowed a skier to visit Aspen Skiing's three mountains and Aspen Highlands. However, the rival companies were unable to agree on a means to administer this program and distribute proceeds. In 1978, Aspen Skiing decided to discontinue the all-Aspen ticket, and to instead sell only the ticket to the three Aspen Skiing mountains. Aspen Skiing also refused to sell Aspen Highlands any lift tickets to the Aspen Skiing mountains (even at full price), thereby preventing Aspen Highlands from offering its own multi-mountain package. The issue made it to theUS Supreme Court and was decided as ussc|472|585|1985 with Jones winning over $10 million dollars in treble damages.Halls of Fame
In 1998, Jones was inducted into the Aspen Hall of Fame [http://www.aspenhistory.org/hofnom.html] and in 2000, he was inducted into the [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/ Colorado Ski Hall of Fame] [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/images_bio_htm_files/Whip_Jones.htm] . At the induction ceremony, the Colorado Hall of Fame noted: [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/images_bio_htm_files/Whip_Jones.htm]
Whip's vision and marketing ingenuity proved invaluable when he had to compete with the larger Aspen Ski Corporation... His innovative marketing lured many a skier to the Highlands with the promise of fun. Many Coloradans remember with nostalgia the wine and cheese parties, [http://skimuseum.net/2004inductees.html Stein Erickson's] flips on skis, and the opening of Steeplechase near the top of Loge Peak--a steep, avalanche-prone slope that gave expert skiers a taste of adventure.
Death
He died on Friday,
June 29 ,2001 inTallahassee, Florida after a long illness.Harvard endowment
In 1992, after the longest continuous ownership of any ski area in Colorado, Jones donated the Highlands to
Harvard University . [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/images_bio_htm_files/Whip_Jones.htm] The $18.3 million gift remains one of the largest donations the University has ever received. The proceeds endow the "Whipple V.N. Jones Cornerstone Scholarship Fund" and the "Whipple V.N. Jones Professor of Economics Chair" held until recently byAndrei Shleifer [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/14/harvard_professor_loses_honorary_title_in_ethics_violation/] .External links
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901EED61139F930A35754C0A9679C8B63&sec=&pagewanted=print New York Times funeral notice]
* [http://www.stolaf.edu/people/becker/antitrust/summaries/472us585.html Supreme Court case]
* [http://www.coloradoskihalloffame.com/images_bio_htm_files/Whip_Jones.htm Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame biography]
* [http://skimuseum.net/hof/whipjones.html Colorado Ski Museum biography]
* [http://www.heritageaspen.org/recre5.html Aspen Historical Society]
* [http://genweb.whipple.org/d0177/I35611.html Whipple Family Association]ee also
*
Aspen Highlands
*Aspen Skiing Company References
Persondata
NAME=Jones, Whipple Van Ness
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Jones, Whip;Jones, Whipple V.N.;Jones, Whipple V. N.;Jones, Whipple "Whip"
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American Entrepreneur and Ski Industry Pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH=1909-11-08
PLACE OF BIRTH=Oconomowoc, Wisconsin ,United States
DATE OF DEATH=2001-06-21
PLACE OF DEATH=Tallahassee, Florida ,United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.