Vacheron Constantin Snow Golf Cup Aspen 2016

Active Saturday

The second highlight of the Aspen trip for me was a Saturday morning snowmobile tour with our new friends.  We drove in a caravan of two-seat snowmobiles through snow and ice amid Aspen trees, earth's largest and oldest living organism, as acres of trees are joined through their roots as a single organism, some colonies of which have survived for as long as 80,000 years.  This took us near the famed Seven Castles hiking trail:

We paused briefly on our climb toward the Maroons:

The trek brought us to a vantage point for Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, the most photographed place in Colorado.  I think Annie's photograph captured it well:

After snowmobiling, we were driven to another fine lunch at the Snowmass Club, where everyone compared watches and experiences.  It may have been at this meal that I was able to handle the exquisite Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 that Vincent wore.

The afternoon was unscheduled, and we walked around the charming town of Aspen, which has a nice mix of ski-related shops, interesting clothing boutiques, restaurants, and luxury brands, including a VC authorized retailer.

In the evening, we all assembled at the Silver Queen Gondola behind the Little Nell for a ride up Aspen Mountain.  As we arrived, VC staff offered us hot chocolate, hot cider, or hot tea, and a VC-Logo blanket:

At the Aspen Mountain Club, we were treated to another cocktail reception, this one accompanied by a wide assortment of watches, including selections from the Heures Creatives, Malte, Patrimony, and Traditionnelle collections, and even an Equation of Time with Tourbillon in a bell jar, which appeared like a phantasm among my poorly lit photos.

To enhance appreciation of the experience, there were watch and wine pairings:

Another gourmet meal was served at the Aspen Mountain Club, this time with extra sweets on perfect dishes:

With desert, Annie revealed her new-found appreciation for a skeletonized and enamel Vacheron worn by another guest, Andrea, and for the Heures Creatives and Metiers D'Art collections.

After dinner there was an awards ceremony in which Miles, the overall winner, was presented with a magnificent Maltese Cross sculpture by Ridgway, Colorado, artist Lisa Issenberg of Kiitella:

The rest of us received a 4-inch diameter medal on a suede lanyard designed by the same artist:

Thanks to Dennis and Joani for the link to the artist's photos.

Here is our long-term contributor Robert ("Respo") receiving his well-deserved medal from Vincent Brun (left) and Yann Bouillonnec (right):

I found my undeserved medal so big, so heavy, and so well-placed at center mass that I think of it as VC body armor!




Departure Sunday

On Sunday morning, many of the Orange County contingent departed for the airport and the same flight, so we enjoyed the company of some of our new friends, including Daren, Eric, Dennis, and Joani.  I learned that Dennis had already arranged to take delivery of his new Quai de I'lle this weekend.

Annie and I are very grateful for the generous hospitality we enjoyed in our trip to Aspen for the first North American Vacheron Constantin Snow Golf Cup.

Thank you, Vacheron Constantin, Vincent Brun, Yann Bouillonnec, the wonderful staff from New York, Daren Gaussa, Eric Shen, and Justin Schaefer!

You made these two clients very happy:

Regards,

Park