DENNIS MURRAY

Dennis Murray is one of the lords of creation in Aspen. In Aspen, the real lords of creation are not the billionaires with 25,000 square-foot houses and revolving starlets with implausible breasts. They are the bar tenders and dry-wall guys who can actually ski the powder and whose life is mostly lived outside those little strings that mark the out-of-bounds areas on Ajax and Highlands and beyond. Dennis Murray has skied it all. He has skied places that barely hold snow. He has pointed out "runs" on The Maroon Bells that made me feel queezy, sitting in the car. He is way strong, a stranger to fear and a ton of fun to be with. He is all smile and heart, and women find him attractive.

One afternoon, after a major day in the back country, he was skiing an ordinary traverse on an ordinary trail at Jackson Hole on the way to the parking lot. He caught an edge - went out of control for a moment. And found his tree.

He was instantly paralyzed and almost suffocated in the powder in which he fell. Luckily, someone found him in time and he was rushed to the hospital. The only damage was to his lower spine. He has the use of his hands and upper body but he cannot walk or ski conventionally. His hundreds of pals in town raised a surprising amount of money to help out, he has a job with the City and he and his girlfriend, Lisa, have a terrific employee-housing unit at the base of Ajax. Which he cannot ski in ski out.

Actually, that's not quite right. He has taught himself to ski on one of those sit-down mono-skis that you steer with your body and with little skis on your hands, like outriggers on a canoe. He is terrifyingly competent on it, and a real challenge to normal skiers who try to keep up with him. He doesn't go out of bounds any more. But we were at a wedding together this summer, high on the back of Ajax mountain - out-of-bounds country. He was looking down at it speculatively from his wheel chair, which he powers over the rocks and grass by hand like a truck. He was looking down with a funny little smile that his friends would recognize from years ago. As if to say, Maybe this winter. He is still all smile and heart and a ton of fun to be with.