We started Alpine Property Management as a small mom and pop business in 2005 initially working only with
caretaking second homes. Our landlord at the time became our very first client and we still work for them today.
We soon grew into working with vacation rentals. We’ve prided ourselves on good slow growth and now look
after about 100 homes and condos.
Shay moved to the valley in 1998 after finishing a master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Commerce
from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky. Since corporate jobs were a little hard to
come by in the area she went on to work at the Idle Spur and met her future spouse, Ashton. After working for a
few years at the Adaptive Sports Center and starting a small construction cleaning business she started to think
that a larger city might be better able to put that graduate degree to work.
Ashton originally moved to the valley after finishing at the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in
political science in 1992. As is the case with most folks that come here idealizing the thought of skiing more
and working less, Ashton ended up working more and skiing a moderate amount those first few years. He
worked as a painter and then started a home brew shop. He eventually became the head brewer of the then Idle
Spur/Crested Butte Brewery. He actually has a few awards to his name from his days there and likes to wax
poetic about 2 things...golf and beer.
In 2001, they moved to Buffalo, NY where Ashton grew up and where they both went to work in the corporate
America mold. Ashton went to work for the family business SOPARK, a specialized electronics manufacturer
and Shay went to work at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the chamber of commerce for the Western New York
region. After 3 years in Buffalo, we began to realize just how much we missed the mountains and our friends
here in Crested Butte. We had met many wonderful people in the Western New York region but we began to
realize what a special place Crested Butte really was. We bought a lot here, sold our house in New York and
moved back with our first daughter still in diapers. Upon moving back, Ashton set to work building our home
and spent the next few years building.
Having had a few years of caretaking prior to leaving Crested Butte at the Shenandoah Buttes or what is now the
Crested Butte Retreat we decided to start Alpine Property Mgmt in 2005 with just 1 house. Ashton kept building
and Shay started looking after the business and our 2 daughters. As time progressed and the business grew, we
were both able to make a living from it. To live in a ski town is an incredible opportunity but to live and create a
viable business in a seasonal market is a tough endeavor. We also started Alpine Property Realty in 2012 to help
our visitors with any real estate needs that they might have. We’ve weathered many a year with a smile on our
faces and are grateful for the homeowners that have trusted us with their homes, the tourists for giving us the
opportunity to share our incredible valley have and of course our crew of amazing and dedicated employees.
Without these 3 components we wouldn’t be here.