Saint Benedict’s in Old Snowmass is a Trappist Monastery established in the 1950s. For almost 70 years the monks here have been holding mass, working the land, and providing spiritual guidance to the Roaring Fork Valley. Kaya Williams is a reporter for multiple publications including Aspen Journalism and she’s been closely following the story of St. Benedict’s, as well as attending mass there. She says it’s served an important role in the valley.
Williams: So a big part of their history and role in the community has just been taking this huge parcel of land, like 3,700 acres, really caring for it thoughtfully and treating everything there as something of value and something to be seen... kind of [like] that philosophy that we hear a lot in like outdoor ED circles, that you are a part of nature and not apart from nature. And so that's a big part of the connection there. And then there's this whole spiritual aspect, right?
They're monks, they're Catholic monks. A lot of people have gone there who are Catholic and who find a connection that way. But there are also a lot of people who aren't Catholic, who might even be a little spiritually skeptical, who have gone up there and interacted with these monks, seen and felt the way that they have cared for this place, and felt themselves clarified or invigorated or had an aha moment up there.
KDNK: In recent years the monks' population has dwindled, leading to higher ups in the monastic order deciding to sell the property. It was recently purchased by Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp for $120 million.
Palantir is a publicly traded company based in Denver. Karp cofounded the enterprise with Peter Thiel. Thiel is a tech giant in his own right, and is well known for putting millions behind JD Vance’s Senate run, and mentoring the Vice President, while also espousing anti-democracy viewpoints.
Palantir counts among its clients the U.S. Department of Defense, Amazon, and Israel. The company sells products that allow clients to sort through data. A big part of the pitch is that Palantir products can replace an entire fleet of software with a single system. The business is named for the Palantiri, all-seeing crystal balls from the Lord of the Rings franchise. The company has spent a great deal of time trying to clarify that they do not sell or mine data, but allow customers to plug in data they already have for analysis and storage.
St. Benedict’s new owner, as reported by Forbes, is one of the richest people in the world. Palantir is worth over $480 billion*.
While Karp has in the past supported democratic political candidates, including giving money to the Biden/Harris campaign, more recently he has thrown support towards President Trump. Palantir is a donor for the White House’s new ballroom, and won a $30 million dollar contract last year to build Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or ICE, an AI-powered platform called ImmigrationOS which would help them choose who to deport. Karp keeps his personal information close, He has loudly identified as a center/center-left figure for some time, but is staunch in his defense of Israel, ICE, and lauded Trump as a ‘peace president’ when referring to the Russia Ukraine war.
Alex Karp is also an avid cross-country skier and owns other properties in Vermont and Norway known for their world-class skiing.
Williams says that Karp may be one of the better options for the property’s future.
Williams: I thought I knew who Alex Karp was reading the recent headlines, and then I read this book, the philosopher in the Valley, and I was like, okay, there's, there's a lot more to this person where like at first you see the news and you're like, why this guy? But then I'm reading about, you know, he likes solitude, he likes cross country skiing.
He does Tai Chi. Maybe it's not like the most outlandish, like maybe it's not the most totally preposterous idea for this guy to be acquiring the monastery. A lot of his personal values seem to align with living in a quiet, peaceful, private place.
KDNK: Pitkin County has some strict development codes on the books, so even if Karp, or anyone else did want to hypothetically build a suburb or a shopping center, it would be close to impossible. Williams says the best-case scenario depends on who you ask.
Williams: You know, somebody who really, really just wants to see elk roaming free through the property might say like, Hey, you know, [it] could be a lot worse and somebody else who is going to miss going to mass there every week is going to probably have a different answer. So like everybody has a different interest and different visions in what the monastery will be. For some of them this might be a best case or better case scenario for some of them, anything other than monks, there would be not the best case scenario.
Williams says that the next home of the monks will be decided by their higher ups in the monastic order. The final mass will be held on Sunday. This is a developing story that KDNK will continue to cover.
*This number is subject to fluctuation.
