July 28, 1950 – November 18, 2025
Longtime Little Annie Basin resident Peter Bisset, 75, passed peacefully on Nov. 18 at an elder care facility in Glenwood Springs. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, to parents Allan and Helen, he grew up enjoying skiing, hiking and canoeing with his three younger sisters, Sandra, Kathy and Lisa. During his formative years at a school in Vermont, Peter excelled in Nordic skiing, qualifying for Olympic tryouts.
He turned to a more spiritual way of life when he began following Guru Maharaji in the 1970s, which led him to India and eventually Aspen in the 1980s, where he took up residence in a one-room miner’s log cabin on the backside of Aspen Mountain at 10,000 feet. There, he lived a rugged and rustic lifestyle with no running water, an outhouse, a snowmobile and plenty of “standing dead” trees to warm him year-round. In the winters, he taught Alpine and Nordic skiing and was a house painter during the summer months. He was an active proponent for “rural and remote” zoning created to keep the backside undeveloped and wild. He summited all of Colorado’s 14ers during many of those summer seasons.
Where the winters were harsh and the snow and skiing plentiful, with stunning views of mountains in all directions, Peter lived 40 memorable years doing what he loved: skiing, hiking, reading, writing poetry (and a children’s book), making ceramics, meditating, playing his drums, photographing nature, listening and dancing to music, while always reveling in the majesty of his beloved mountains and pushing himself to the edge of experience.
Peter will be remembered as one of Aspen’s hippie era characters — free spirited, fun-loving and creative.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, on top of Aspen Mountain along Richmond Ridge, including a noon to 1:30pm potluck and a 1:30 to 3pm memorial. People can drive up from Castle Creek Road on Little Annie Road, or possibly the frontside of Aspen Mountain. For those who want to ride the Gondola, once you get off the Gondi head east onto the Nature Trail. Walk past the Hero’s Chair and, along the ridge just before Grant’s Cabin, which sadly is now a pile of ashes, look for signs and balloons guiding you there. Parking near the road is available. Bring an umbrella or raincoat in case of rain, and food or snacks to share, along with Peter stories!