John Norton
During John Norton’s career in Crested Butte and Aspen, he made the Colorado ski resorts and communities better. His contributions to marketing programs, special events, terrain expansion, community alliance-building, and the guest experience encouraged other resort leaders to seek out other opportunities and programs to keep pace. John pioneered the opening of extreme terrain in the state, first with the North Face, Phoenix Bowl, and Headwall at Crested Butte and later the Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands. Among his many accomplishments are pioneering non-stop airline programs, founding the adaptive program at Crested Butte, introducing “ski-free” programs to attract new customers, and convincing Aspen Skiing Company to lift the snowboard ban to develop a four-mountain experience to accommodate all demographics, abilities, and lifestyles. In addition to making snow sports more inclusive and lifting the snowboard ban, John ensured that ESPN’s X Games would stay in the state and be held in Aspen, where they are still held to this day. Skiers and snowboarders in both Crested Butte and Aspen are well-served today because of the long-lived contributions and durable not-for-profit organizations that John helped build. During John’s Aspen tenure, he served on the board of Colorado Ski Country USA and on the Executive Committee of the National Ski Areas Association.