St. Benedict’s Monastery sale a pivot point for land stewardship and cultural heritage

This week, the sale of St. Benedict’s Monastery — where for nearly 70 years Trappist monks had been living lives of work and prayer, caring for their 3,700 acres of the Capitol Creek Valley while welcoming the community for religious services and spiritual renewal — made national news. Kaya Williams, an Aspen Journalism freelancer who has been the leading journalist following this long-developing story, was among the first to know. In partnership with Aspen Daily News, we broke the story that the monks had announced on Sunday their final public Mass would take place next month. And then, again first to be reported by AJ and ADN, the shoe many had been awaiting dropped on Tuesday: sale deeds recorded showing that the Trappist order had sold the landmark property to a nondescript LLC for $120 million. The Wall Street Journal picked up the story from there, reporting that the buyer was none other than Palantir CEO Alex Karp, whose data analytics company known for working with government and military clients is among the most influential and controversial in tech. 

Williams was in a position to lead because she had been embedded in monastery coverage for the last year and a half. In her prior role as the arts and culture correspondent for Aspen Public Radio, she teamed up with Aspen Journalism and our data editor Laurine Lassalle to publish the November 2024 in-depth breakdown on the monastery’s origins, its role in the community, a decades-long effort to ensure the perpetual preservation, and the particulars around the process then underway to list the property and attract a buyer. In long form print and over a three-part audio series, the reporting was recognized earlier this year with the A-Mark Prize for Responsive Journalism and Best Editorial Collaboration in the Colorado Press Association’s Better News Media Contest. Williams continued following the developments as the property went under contract in the spring, only to see the deal fall through the day before it was supposed to close. When rumors began circulating a few weeks ago that a new deal was imminent, she kept her pencil sharp.

Through this work, Aspen Journalism readers have gained essential context on a landmark shift in local land stewardship and cultural heritage. These stories not only document a historic real-estate event but also illuminate the spiritual, environmental and civic dimensions of a place that has shaped the Roaring Fork Valley for generations and the roles of influential figures like Father Thomas Keating and Father Joseph Boyle. (It’s notable that this week’s sale includes a stipulation that monks and family members still be able to visit a small cemetery on the grounds where these men and other St. Benedict’s brothers are laid to rest.) By reporting on efforts by local partners and groups like the Friends of the Monastery to preserve open space and spiritual heritage, the story framed the sale not just as a real-estate transaction but as a pivot point for broader community values and land-use debates. While it’s not the outcome many had hoped for, the story did not go uncovered. If you haven’t yet, delve into this timeless series.

The final public Mass at St. Benedict’s Monastery is set for Jan. 11, followed by a reception of appreciation for the small number of monks who remain on the property.

This newsroom is funded by grants and donations. It’s what keeps this in-depth work independent, local, collaborative and available for all to read.

Do you value this reporting? If so, consider a year-end donation to keep reporters on the stories you care about. Thank you to those who have already contributed to bring us close to our goal. To get us there, NewsMatch and Colorado Media Project will double the impact of donations up to $1,000 until we reach our goal – or by Dec. 31!

Thank you, as always, for reading and supporting the valley’s only nonprofit, investigative news origination.

– Curtis Wackerle
Editor and Executive Director
Aspen Journalism

St. Benedict’s Monastery

St. Benedict’s Monastery — a 3,739-acre Trappist property in Old Snowmass, Colorado historically stewarded by monks since the 1950s — has sold for $120 million. The decision to close came from higher-ups in the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, which includes about 150 Trappist monasteries and nunneries around the world. This series covers the history of the monastery and the sale. 

From crisis management to long-term acceptance

Local organizations are shifting from short-term crisis response to long-term planning as federal Forest Service staffing and funding decline in the White River National Forest. With fewer seasonal workers and growing visitor use, volunteers and partner groups stepped in for law enforcement, trail upkeep and sanitation this past summer. Now, a coalition of valley governments, nonprofits and land managers is forming structured stewardship and education efforts to sustain public-lands care into the future.

Leaving Las Vegas, still no deal

Not to be subsumed by the monastery news, Water Desk Editor Heather Sackett has been in Las Vegas this week for the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference, which is essentially the Super Bowl of water meetings, bringing together the top water managers from the seven states relying on the Colorado River. Her reporting from the desert highlights a basin under stress from climate-change-driven drought and political stalemate, as the states spin their wheels and their rhetoric in so-far unrealized efforts to agree how to share the deeper cuts that will be needed in the future to keep the system form collapsing.

A sobering December forecast shows Lake Powell’s water level potentially dropping below the minimum level required to generate hydropower by next fall, with the paltry start to winter dimming the picture as states and the federal Bureau of Reclamation approach the expiration of existing water-management guidelines in 2026 guideline expirations. At the closing CRUWA session, state negotiators reiterated entrenched positions with little progress toward a new management deal, underscoring deep divides over future cuts and reservoir operations. 
Meanwhile, emerging conservation studies reveal nuanced challenges for water managers — from the limited savings of high-elevation irrigation cutbacks to social barriers in voluntary conservation participation — offering lessons for crafting effective responses amid escalating scarcity.

Thanks to NewsMatch, donations up to $1,000 will be matched through Dec. 31. Will you double your impact and support this work?

Follow us on social media and share stories with your community

• Facebook
• Instagram
• X

local. nonprofit. investigative