I: Informant, M: Me

M: So the first one I wanted to ask you about which I’ll ask {name blanked for privacy} about too when I have my interview with her is about the Aspen Panty tree because we saw it when we were going and I thought that would be really fun because I didn’t see anything about it in the archives.

I:Well that that was a. Long ago well I wouldn’t say long ago. It started theoretically in Aspen that’s the reputed legend. It was a tradition that was started by some woman who had gone to a party and decided she was going to have some fun with one of the other party goers and the guy that she met, I guess they got together and had some fun {referring to sexual relations}. Next day, to commemorate the experience with her he took the bra that she was wearing that night and as a skiier going up the mountain the next day, threw it into a tree as a goof.

M: Yeah

I: And so that everybody else, his friends going up the mountain that day would know that he had met this girl and that they had had some fun.

M: Yeah

I: So that turned into a thing, a tradition in Aspen and other people saw it and thought it was funny and started doing the same thing except it wasn’t restricted to just to bras, there were other things thrown out there, things that would get a little more risqué, and then

M: Like what?

I: landing in the trees. So you’d get bras, panties, and you know in Mardi Gras

M: Did you say ties too?

I: Ties, they are throwing all kinds of things in the tree. Hats.

M: Now is it only the people who um only the people who get laid sort to say and it has to be the opposite sex {or partner} to throw it or can you throw your own?

I: As I’ve learned it is as you go up the mountain you are supposed to take this off while you are on the lift.

M: Oh

I: You are not supposed to…literally if you are a woman you are supposed to reach under all your layers of clothing, pull you bra off and throw it over onto the tree. Now the funny thing is, the people in Aspen are a very, let’s just say not risqué community. They you know like to have fun and ski, maybe drink a little too much.

M: yeah

I: But they don’t allow things in town. Like they don’t like vaping. Vaping is banned.

M: Yeah

I: They consider it to be inappropriate because of the damage it does, particularly to the kids.

M: Yeah

I: So when they saw that this was going on, the ski patrol everyday would go up and take all of the stuff out of the tree.

M: uh-huh (Yeah)

I: Which was a pain because they had to climb up the tree. They actually developed a rig that would hang off of the lift, they stopped the lift and hang off the lift and pull the stuff out of the tree.

M: Yeah

I: And that’s a big nuisance. Well by the end of the day, people were already throwing stuff back at the tree. SO they eventually just cut the tree down.

M: *laughing because I know how this ended up working out according to the legend*

I: and instead of it stopping there, they just went to the next tree another 50ft up the hill and made that the panty tree. So they realized after a while that they weren’t going to win this war and it has held ever since. It’s been going on for 3 or 4 decades 

M: Is it on a specific ski route?

I: Yes, it is on Bell Mountain.

M: Uh-huh (agreeing)

I: What happened afterwards, it kind of fell out of vogue because when you got on the gondola, they built a beautiful enclosed gondola, there was no way for you to reliably wad up your panties or your bra and throw it out the window and actually make it to the tree. It was almost an impossible throw. It’s too far away so nobody did it anymore {correction: less people did it}. So they only way you could do it was if you took the outdoor, very old, kinda scary to ride Bell mountain chair lift specifically to go over that tree, which I do, but I do it to ski- I’ve never thrown anything in the tree beside Mardi Gras beads and uh it kind of a thing. You have to be kind of wanting to do it and wanting to go through a little bit of pain because you are outside and it is cold, the wind is blowing, to do that. Whereas most people are in the gondola enjoying a nice warm ride up the hill that goes a lot faster.

M: Yeah

I: So you gotta be motivated.

M: mkay

I: You gotta want to do it.

Context: The informant learned about this underwear tree by seeing it in person in Aspen and asking the locals about it about 6 years ago. We both see this tree every time we go skiing in Aspen and take that particular ski lift. It’s mainly been covered in bra the last few times I went.

Analysis: This Underwear tree is a perfect example of monogenesis with diffusion as this very specific custom, started specifically in Aspen and then spread to Vail and from there, spread to other ski mountain. The underwear tree has now become a staple in many ski mountains. Additionally, this piece of folklore shows how folklore can have multiplicity and variation and different meanings to different people because while I have been told about this legend twice with similar details, when I researched it, I found out that initially started as a protest of the hiring of the 1st woman ski patrol (more competition for the job openings). To the patrols and mountain management, the underwear tree had a different story and meaning entirely than it did for the party crowd of Aspen. Nonetheless, both parties participated. This folklore also shows how folklore can evolve to be inclusive of the times, as we progress in time, women have been taking much more pride and ownership of their sexuality and gender equality has become much more prevalent. Thus, as this developed, the underwear tree needed to progress as well. So there is now also a tie tree right next to the underwear tree- the tie symbolizing the men in the sexual encounters.