crested butte magazine summer 2010
DESCRIPTION
Crested Butte Magazine Colorado, Gunnison, Real Estate, Lodging and moreTRANSCRIPT
SUMMER 2010
CRESTEDBUTTEMAGAZINE.COM j COMPLIMENTARY
CrestedButteMagazine.com 3
If you’ve spent much time here, you know that Crested Butte is a unique and wonderful place.
The brokers at Red Lady Realty have deep roots in the community, and the experience to assist
you in fi nding the perfect home or property. They’re also eager to share their knowledge
of the area, to help you learn the ins and outs of life in the Butte.
RedLadyRealty.com
in the Buttein the Buttein the Buttein the Butte
Doug KroftBROKER GRI/OWNER
209-0373
Jackie InghamBROKER ASSOCIATE
349-5007
Glena GallowayBROKER ASSOCIATE
596-0139
Steve MeredithBROKER ASSOCIATE
349-5007
Shelley Garcia-WhiteBROKER ASSOCIATE
209-9900
Shelley Garcia-White Maggie DethloffBROKER ASSOCIATE
209-7880
Sam LumbBROKER ASSOCIATE
275-2448
Joe GarciaBROKER ASSOCIATE GRI
209-4034
Molly EldridgeBROKER ASSOCIATE RSPS
209-4234
Linda PittBROKER ASSOCIATE
901-1047
Chris GibsonBROKER ASSOCIATE
596-6633
Diane AronovicBROKER ASSOCIATE
209-0405
Mollye BellBROKER ASSOCIATE
901-4251
Kathy HoogeOFFICE MANAGER
349-5007
Crested Butte’s Oldest Real Estate Company
RLRCBmagFullPgAd_S10.indd 1 4/13/10 8:14:32 AM
CrestedButteMagazine.com4
inparadise
K B U T
CRESTED BUTTE
CRESTED ADVENTURE PARK
Get everything from single activity tickets to a variety of packages at the Adventure Center in the courtyard at Mountaineer Square.(970)349-2262 Private parties available, call for details.
Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting.ridecb.com
Phot
os: T
om S
tillo
Private parties available, call for details.
Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting.Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting. Inspire your passion.TM
REACH NEW HEIGHTS AT THE
ADVENTURE PARKLocated at the ski
base area, it features bungee trampolines, rock
climbing tower and a new mini golf course.
cbmrCBmagFullPgAds_S10.indd 2 4/13/10 11:01:37 AM
CrestedButteMagazine.com 5
inparadise
K B U T
CRESTED BUTTE
CRESTED ADVENTURE PARK
Get everything from single activity tickets to a variety of packages at the Adventure Center in the courtyard at Mountaineer Square.(970)349-2262 Private parties available, call for details.
Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting.ridecb.com
Phot
os: T
om S
tillo
Private parties available, call for details.
Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting.Open daily 9:30 – 5:30 weather permitting. Inspire your passion.TM
REACH NEW HEIGHTS AT THE
ADVENTURE PARKLocated at the ski
base area, it features bungee trampolines, rock
climbing tower and a new mini golf course.
cbmrCBmagFullPgAds_S10.indd 2 4/13/10 11:01:37 AM
CrestedButteMagazine.com4 CrestedButteMagazine.com
Forum8LEGEND OF THE BLUE STONES by Shelley Read
11THE ADVENTURE OF HOME by Molly Murfee
13THINKING LOCAL by Sandy Fails
Long story short16 HEEDING THE CALL OF HAITI by Shelley Read
18 MIKE EHREDT’S RUN OF COMPASSION by Dawne Belloise
20 THERAPY IN THE SADDLE by Erin English
23 LETTERBOXERS HIDE AND SEEK IN PARADISE by Dawne Belloise
25 WORDS: WRITERS, READERS AND RIDERS CONNECT
27 SCARE THAT BEAR by Sandy Fails
29 SAD ASPENS by George Sibley
30 NEWS FOR THE CULINARY AND PERFORMING ARTS
32 MOUNTAIN BIKE HERITAGE: “GROWN-UPS ACTING LIKE KIDS”
34 STELLAR GLIMPSES AT GUNNISON’S OBSERVATORY
35 ENDORPHIN-FEST AT HARTMANS by Luke Mehall
38 RICKY SANDOVAL, RENAISSANCE TEEN by Laura Puckett
42 RAYNOR CZERWINSKI, PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
photos this spread > 1,2, 3 > alex fenlon 4 > nathan bilow 5 > brooke warren 6 > xavier fane
3
2
1
CrestedButteMagazine.com 5CrestedButteMagazine.com
Features43THE OTHER COVERSWe just had to use these Cover Photo Contest finalists somewhere.
49“HOW COULD YOU TURN THEM AWAY?” by Rachael Gardner | New York immigrants Tim and Terry Bonney didn’t
plan to share their home with horses, mules, llamas, sheep, dogs, cats and
birds, but now they wouldn’t have it any other way.
52CASTING THEIR FATE by Erin English | To the valley’s fanatics,
fly-fishing is science, art, even religion.
60RARE BIRDS by Dawne Belloise | Hang-gliders and paragliders soar
with their winged brethren in the ever-changing skies around Crested Butte.
67TALES OF A FORMER CAMP DOGGER by Brooke Murphy
| Campfire spoon music, homemade whiskey, buffalo meatloaf and calico
bloomers turn a curiosity-seeker into a Rendezvous regular.
71ONE STEP AT A TIME by Laura Puckett | Reshaping our culture
may be a long haul; but dynamo Nordic ski coach and ultra-marathon
runner Duncan Callahan specializes in long hauls.
76MOUNTAIN MATRIMONIALS by Rachael Gardner |
Emily Post needs a new category to encompass Crested Butte’s
not-quite-by-the-book weddings.
81A TRIBE AND ITS TOTEM by Sandra Cortner | How a motley,
fun-loving crew created Crested Butte’s first interactive public arts
installment 37 years ago.
87BLUEGRASS IN PARADISE by Shelley Read | The Crested Butte
Music Festival gets grassy.
91A HOUSE OF MANY STORIES by Sandra Cortner | With its
energy innovations, reclaimed materials and design inspired by a miner’s
tale, the Tipple House goes for character and ingenuity over ostentation.
98 CALENDAR/PHOTO ALBUM
103 LODGING GUIDE
107 DINING GUIDE
112 PHOTO FINISH
5
4
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CrestedButteMagazine.com6 CrestedButteMagazine.com
Vol. XXXII, No. 1Published semi-annually by Crested Butte Publishing
PUBLISHERS | Steve Mabry & Christopher Hanna
EDITOR | Sandy Fails
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | MJ Vosburg
GRAPHIC DESIGNKeitha Kostyk
PHOTOGRAPHERSDawne BelloiseNathan BilowSandra CortnerRaynor CzerwinskiDusty DemersonXavier FanéAlex FenlonPaul GallaherKevin KrillLuke Mehall
Brooke MurphyRob O’DeaKosmon ParranJames Ray SpahnTom StilloMike TittelBrooke WarrenRebecca Susan Weil
WRITERSDawne BelloiseSandra CortnerErin EnglishSandy FailsRachael Gardner
Luke MehallMolly MurfeeBrooke MurphyLaura PuckettShelley ReadGeorge Sibley
CrestedButteMagazine.com 7CrestedButteMagazine.com
VISIT OUR WEBSITE. Whether you live here, visit here or wish you were here, you
might enjoy wandering around www.crestedbuttemagazine.com. There you’ll
find the current magazine, archived issues, photo galleries, dining and lodging
information, staff bios and the editor’s blog. In the blog, I comment on life in
Crested Butte, including updates to some of the stories you’ll see in these pages.
I’d love to read your comments as well.
SEE THE PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS. The vivid landscape by Raynor
Czerwinski on the front of this issue was chosen from the Crested Butte Magazine
Cover Photo Contest held this spring. You can view some of the finalists in the
“Other Covers” photo spread. Our thanks to all who submitted their shots for the
contest. What amazing photographers we have in this valley!
May you enjoy these pages and the wonders of Crested Butte.
— Sandy Fails, editor
COVER PHOTO | Raynor Czerwinski
ONLINE | crestedbuttemagazine.com
E-MAIL | [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTIONSCrested Butte PublishingP.O. Box 1030, Crested Butte, CO 81224970-349-7511 • $8/year for two issues
ADVERTISING970-349-6211E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright 2010, Crested Butte Publishing. No reproduction of contents without authorization by Crested Butte Publishing.
Editor’s noteKeeping in virtual touchI typically indulge in a little philosophy and awe in the editor’s note, but you’ll find
plenty of that in this issue’s new “Forum” section. Instead, I’ll raise a quick toast
to the fascinating people and stories this town holds and then pass on some
practical information.
photo > xavier fane
CrestedButteMagazine.com8
MysonOwenfirstheardaboutthe
legendofthebluestonesfromhisfriend
Kaiawhentheywerebothfiveyearsold.
ShehadhearditfromherfriendNori,
whohadhearditfromDylan,whohad
hearditfromEli,whohadactuallyfound
oneoftheelusiveturquoise-painted
stonesandshoweditoffatplaygroup.
Somekidsbelievedthebluestones
hiddenallaroundtheupperendofthe
valleybroughtgoodluck;othersbelieved
themtobeendowedwithmagicalpowers
somightyastobetheenvyofDumbledore
himself.Theyheardfromtheirfriendsthat
thestonesweredispersedbyfairiesor
leprechaunsorglitter-wingedangels.Some
saidthestonescamealiveatnightandslyly
hidthemselves.Somebelievedtheywere
fallenstars.Onepartofthelegendtheyall
agreedupon:thebluestonesweremeantfor
thechildrenalone;adultswerenottotouch
them,iftheywereabletoseethematall.
Owenbeganhisquestforabluestone
withaGalahadiantenacity.Hepeered
underElkAvenuebenches,crawledonhis
handsandkneesaroundthebaseofthe
bigpinebythepostoffice,pawedthrough
thepansiesinthedowntownplanterboxes.
OneafternoonasheandKaialeapedfrom
theswingsintheCrestedButteSouthpark
andracedtothetopoftheslide,Iheardit:
theunabashedthrilloffive-year-oldvictory.
“Treasure!”heshouted,holdinghisfist
triumphantlyabovehislittleblondehead,
tinypatchesofturquoiseglowingbetween
hisgrubbyfingers.Kaiasquealedwith
delightathissideasifhehadjustwon
Olympicgold.Owenshotdowntheslide
andintomyarms.Whenheunfurledhis
hand,thepaintedstoneread“Believe,”
writteninperfectlypenciledscript.He
beamedatmeasIreadthewordforhim,
absorbingthesentimentstraightintohis
preciousspongeofaheart.Treasure,indeed.
Ifyouwanttoknowwhatisspecialabout
aplace,askthechildren.Theyknowa
lotthatadultsdonot,proneasweareto
obliviousness.Aswerushdirectlyfrompoint
AtopointB,ourmindsatangleofpastand
plansandproblems,anykidwilltellyou,
we’rebypassingallthegoodstuff.Ihad
livedtwodecadesinCrestedButtewithout
noticingthebluestonesorbeingprivyto
theimaginativegeniusoftheirlegend.
Oncemysonandhisfriendstaughtme
abouttherocks,Ibegantomoreslowlyand
patientlywalkthroughtownwiththemso
thattheymightsearchnooksandcrannies.
Evenwhennottrailingatroopofkids,I
sometimesfindmyselfstrollingatthatcalm
paceandkeepinganeyeoutforflashesof
turquoise.Thebluestonessilentlylurking
allaboutandtheideathatamysterious
citizenpaintsandhidesthemtoaddatouch
ofmagictoourchildren’slivesremindsme
thatsmallactsofkindnessreallydomatter,
thatitisoftenthemostsimpleandheart-felt
gesturesthatbeautifytheworld.Anditalso
makesmelovethistownjustalittlebitmore.
Mysonissevenyearsoldnow,andhehas
acollectionoftenbluestonesdisplayed
artfullyinaplaceofhonoronhisbedroom
shelves.Someofhisfriendsbelievethe
legendrequiresthemtore-hideablue
stoneafteritisfound,butOwenbringseach
onehometobeadmiredandexhibited.
Hecanreadtheirwordsofwisdomnow—
“cherish”and“celebrate”and“represent”—
andcanrecalltheexactlocationofeach
gloriousdiscovery.Henolongerimagines
thestoneswereplacedtherebyleprechauns
orfairiesbutbelievessomethingfarmore
magicalabouttheirorigin.Whenasked
whyhisbluerocksaresospecialtohim,he
cupsoneinhispalmlikeagoldeneggand
replies,“Becauseofthekindnessoftheguy
orladywhopaintstherocksandhidesthem.
Thatpersonmakesalotofchildrenhappy.”
So,althoughIamagrown-upandI
fullygetthatit’snotreallyaboutme,I’d
neverthelessliketoaddatheoryofmyown
totheever-evolvinglegendoftheblue
stones.Ibelievetheyareindeedplaced
herebyanangel—morefleece-cladthan
glitter-wingedismyguess—senttomake
agreatplacetobeakidevenbetterand
toinspiretherestofustodothesame.I
don’twanttoknowwhoheorsheis,and
neitherdothechildren,soIhopenoone
willtell.ButIdowanttothankthatangelfor
thissmallactofkindness.Whatagiftitisto
knowthatinourtown,treasureabounds.
pho
to >
pau
l gal
lahe
r
Forum
CrestedButteMagazine.com 3
Grand TasTinGSaturday, July 24
2:00 - 5:00—at—
Adventure Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort—for—
$70 advance / $80 day of event —as well as —
chef & restaurant events—for tickets, full schedule and lodging specials, call —
303.809.0404—or click —
crestedbuttewine•com —or visit crested butte land trust office at —
308 3rd sT crested butte
Proceeds from the Festival benefit the Crested Butte Land Trust, an organization whose mission is to protect unrivaled views, provide trails, and preserve wildlife habitat.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 11
Iwantedtoexperiencestandingon
somethingsohigh,Ilookeddownonthe
clouds.Iwasalreadyaclimber,soadd-
inghigh-altitudemountaineeringtomy
recreationalresuméwasonlyonestep
further.Aftertraining,thentravelingtoa
landbisectedbytheequator,Ifulfilledmy
wish.NotonlydidIplacefootstepsabove
theclouds;Iwatchedtheapexofthat
mammothmountain,Chimborazo,stretch
itspyramidalshadowthroughthelightof
sunrisetotheedgeofthehorizon.From
there,nothingbutspace.Fromover20,000
feetIcouldseethecurvatureoftheearth.
Ecuador.CostaRica.Nepal.Panama.
Alaska.Thailand.Ilivedandworkedinthe
borderlandsofMexico,theblueholesofthe
Bahamas,theGaspePeninsulaofCanada.
IntheEvergladesofFlorida,throughthe
slotcanyonsofUtah,overtheknobby
graniteofJoshuaTree.TheSmokiesand
Adirondacks,SanJuansandCollegiates.
Itwasoneclimacticexperienceafterthe
other.FornineyearsIlivedthelifeofthe
westerngypsy-theoutdoorvagabond.
ButIbegantowantabed,aplaceto
hangmyclothessotheyweren’trumpledin
abackpack—methegophereternallysift-
ingthroughmylifecrammedinthecamper
shellofmytruck,asprayoflongunder-
wear,trailmapsandcrustycookwareflying
outfrombehindme.Beingateacherand
burgeoningwriter,Icravedadeskwheremy
papersdidn’tflyoffinflockswiththewind.
ImovedtoCrestedButteinthesnowy
solitudeofaNovember,toalittleatticon
Whiterock.Ipulleddishesoutofstorage
boxesI’dforgottenIhadandsetuphouse.
Theinertiaoftravelingforsolongwas
strong.There,everythingwasawide-eyed
experience;goingtothemarketwasan
expeditioninitself.Here,Ijustwenttothe
store,pulledoutmyordinarygreenmoney,
paidandleft.Therewasnomarvelingwith
theclerkaboutourstrangenesstoeachoth-
er,nolaughingovermispronouncedwords.
Ihadtheconstantfeelingofmissingouton
something,thattheworldwaspassingmeby
andIwasn’tgrabbingeverylastpieceofit.
“WhathaveIdone?”Iworried.
ThefirstspringIdidn’tjointhemigration
ofanimalsparadingtosomewhereelse,I
walkedoutPeanutLakeRoad
intheslickgrayness.Itwascold
andsoggy,theweathergiving
ahalf-heartedattempttorain
andsnowatthesametime.
Thewinter’sbountystilllayin
heapsonthenorthsideofhills
andboulders.Therestofthe
earthwasaswirlingsoupof
mudanddecayingplantmatter
fromthevegetativeoppres-
sionofninemonthsofsnow.
Idesperatelycraved
warmth,blueskies,sunshine
onmyskin,flipflops.Instead,
itdumpedwet,heavysnowon
meuntilIthoughtIwasgoing
tocrawloutofmyowncasing.
SoIsetupthepracticeof
tryingtonoticeeverylittlede-
tailofspring–eachnewpiece
ofmelted-outground,abud
onawillowbranch,anewcrack
intheicegivingwaytoliquid–
thatdemonstratedtomethat
summerwould,eventually,arrive.Istarted
aphenologycalendar–recordingthefirst
bloomingflower,thefirstbirdsongofspring,
thefirsttimeitrainedinsteadofsnowed.
“April4,”Iwrote.“Sandhillcranesflew
overgoingnorthafewdaysago–three
flocksof50orsocalling.TheresaandIsaw
fivegreatblueheronsinholesontheice
aswewereskiingoutPoochesParadise.
Aspideriscrawlingonthescreenofmy
office.Snowstillhalfwayupthewindows.
It’sdoingthatbluebird-snow-springthing.
CoyotesyelpingupnearTrappers.”
“April22:Geeseandducksarefilling
PeanutLake.TheSlateismeltedout.The
willowsofthewetlandsarestartingtopeek
through.Beginningbudsonaspentrees.”
Itooksolaceintreasurehuntingforcolor
andfindingthefirstpasqueflowersupCe-
mentCreek.Glacierlilies,springbeauties
andbluebellsontheWoodsWalkinlate
April.ByMay,marshmarigoldsandbut-
tercups.Thedive-bombingwhirrofthe
firsthummingbirdasJuneapproached.
Theexerciseofnoticingandrecording
pho
to >
xav
ier
fane
Forum
Grand TasTinGSaturday, July 24
2:00 - 5:00—at—
Adventure Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort—for—
$70 advance / $80 day of event —as well as —
chef & restaurant events—for tickets, full schedule and lodging specials, call —
303.809.0404—or click —
crestedbuttewine•com —or visit crested butte land trust office at —
308 3rd sT crested butte
Proceeds from the Festival benefit the Crested Butte Land Trust, an organization whose mission is to protect unrivaled views, provide trails, and preserve wildlife habitat.
CrestedButteMagazine.com12
clothing
jewelry
lingerie
gifts
star studded styler ight here in the but te
310 el k avenue crested butte 970 349 2107www.milkywayboutique.com
helpedtostaveofftheinsanityofoffseason.
Itwasalsoanexerciseoffaith,andhope.It
becameaninvestment.Ihadareasontodon
myknee-highrubberbootsandventureout
intothemuckinsteadofpacingaroundinside.
Perhapssomethinghadhappenedsince
yesterday–abladeofgrasspushingthrougha
mattedhummockorthemuskygreentasteof
theairthatcomesfromwarmedcottonwood
bark.Itwas,therefore,inthegrimslateofApril
andMay,wheneveryoneelseseemedtobe
frolickingonsouthernbeaches,thatIlearned
themostaboutlivinginmynewhome.
Inaplace,thisslowwalkofintimacygoes
beyondaconsciousnessofmountainsand
theirbeauty.Theprocessperhapsbeginsby
learningthenamesofthings–peaks,rivers,
valleys–fromscouringovermapsandque-
ryingfriends.Thenrealfootstepsclimbing
intospecificcirques,trundlingoverpasses,
splashingthroughthesmallcreekdrainages
thatcarvethewrinklesintheearth’sflesh.No
longeristhemountainaninterestingsilhouette
onthehorizon.Itsphysicalsubtletiesbecome
thehomeofmemoryandexperience.Tocall
ontheseplacesbyname,withtheircreatures
andplants,isapracticeofenduringfriendship.
Lifethenbecomesanintertwiningofplaces
andexperiences,findingandcreatingthe
connectivetissuethatbindsmehereandto
theotherhumanswalkingthesesamepaths.
NowIseethesnowypeakwheremyfriend’s
ashesarescattered,piecesofbonesand
tearsflowinginrivuletsinthespringmelt-off.
Thatglorious,lazyconversationaboutmen
andmothersonthetopof401,aswelayfor
hoursinthewaist-highwildflowers.Savor-
inglocalelk,harvestedfromthewoodsof
KeblerPass,cookedoutsideoverafireat
Irwin.Thesecretnookintheaspenscreated
especiallyforrollingaroundinashowerand
matofgoldencoins,beneathadaysoblueit
poureditselfoverourbodieslikeeffervescent
water.Theleavesthatnowresideinaglass
jaronthekitchentable,aremembranceof
passion,forgivenessandthefierceoptimism
inthelegendthatcatchingthesegilded
medallionsmid-airmadeforgoodfortune.
Theknowingisaslowletting,likethe
trickleofspring,piecebypiece—attimes
sotinyastobeimperceptible—untilall
atonceyoustandinsideofbrilliance.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 13
offering exclusive residential slopeside real estate in mt. crested butte
call 1.970.349.1349 for real estate opportunities
As developers of Wildhorse At prospect, our intention from the very inception of this project
was to create a place for memories.
Your investment of bringing family together has long term value. You are providing a special place where generations will share the great outdoors, the splendor of the mountains
and memories for many years to come.
Welcome home.
Ilikethe“ThinkLocalFirst”campaignby
theCrestedButte-Mt.CrestedButteCham-
berofCommerce.It’snot“Thoushaltnever
setfootinaWal-Mart”butsimply“Consider
localoptionsfirst.”
IntheeraoftheInternet,it’seasytoprice-
shoponline.ButtheChamberremindsusto
ponderafewfacts.
First,there’slocalservice.Youmightsave
afewbucksbuyingabicyclingcomputer
online.Butwho’sgoingtoinstallit,offer
instructionortroubleshoot?Whoonlineis
goingtotellyouwhichroadsaredryenough
topedalorinviteyoutoridesomeFriday
afternoon?
Thenthere’slocaleconomy:Ofevery$100
spentinalocallyownedstore,$68remains
inthecommunitythroughtaxes,payroll
andotherexpenditures.Onaverage,locally
ownedbusinessesgivethreetimesgreater
supporttoareanonprofitsthanchainstores.
Buyinglocallysupportsyourneighbors,
whosupportotherbusinesses.Themoney
getspassedamongus,notshippedoutof
town,andallowsgoodpeopletocontinue
livinghere.
Whenyoupatronizeuniquelocalbusiness-
es,youhelpkeepourtownfulloffascination
andcharacter.Thenfolkscancontinueto
chatwiththeHartiganbrothersoverlunch,
orgetNanLumbtohelpthemchoosejust
therightHolly’sHat,ordiscussapainting
withtheartistwhocreatedit.Target,Sports
AuthorityandMcDonaldshavetheirplacein
theworld,butit’snotonElkAvenue.
Localbusinessesaretunedintolocal
needs...likethenurserythatsellsplantsand
offersfreeadvicetailoredtoourenviron-
ment.
AtabrainstormingsessionforThinkLocal
First,otherideasemerged:encouraging
governmentstohirelocallyforconstruc-
tionprojects(andeducatingcontractors
inhowtogetthosejobs);interconnecting
ourresources,suchashelpingrestaurants
findnearbysourcesforproduce,meatand
eggs;and“keepingCrestedButtefunky”by
strengtheningourattributesratherthandrift-
ingtowardgenericblandness.
ImightoccasionallywanderintoWal-Mart
orbuyonline.ButIappreciatethechamber’s
remindertoconsiderlocaloptionsfirst.Asa
committeemembercommented,“It’sfalse
economytolookonlyatthepricetag.”
Forum
© 2
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31 Gold Link – Mt. Crested ButtePrime “top corner” location in Gold Link subdivision. This setting offers the best views and direct ski-in/ski-out access to the Homeowner’s trail and the Gold Link lift. $2,395,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
758 Journey’s End – Crested ButteThis is a dream location on a 35 acre tract within a short walking distance to town. Very private and amazing views of Emmons, Mt. Crested Butte, Paradise Divide and the town of Crested Butte. $3,795,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
25 Walking Deer – Mt. Crested ButteThis is the ultimate ski home in Mt. Crested Butte. Very easy ski-in/ski-out location adjoining Prospect lift. Amazing views of the East River Valley. Top-of-the-line finishes throughout this home. $4,950,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
188 Bethel Road – Smith Hill RanchesEnjoy 35 acres of privacy within 10 minutes of the ski area and the town of Crested Butte. Both house/guest house are constructed with 100 year old custom logs featured on the exterior and interior. $4,750,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
Site S141 SkylandGreat elevated golf course lot in the Back Nine towards the end of Country Club Drive. Fantastic views of town, Whetstone, and Mt. Crested Butte. $260,000.
Call Meg at 970.209.1210.
3 Black Diamond – Mt. Crested ButteThis extraordinary new home is a mountain master-piece, located slope-side in the exclusive Summit neighborhood of Mt. Crested Butte. This opulent ski-in/ski-out residence offers priceless views from every window and sun-drenched balconies. $3,500,000. Call Karen at 970.209.2668 or Darci at 970.596.4958.
Home Sites at LarkspurCrested Butte’s newest subdivision located less than two miles from downtown. Surrounded by majestic views of Whetstone, Mt. Crested Butte and Paradise Divide. Priced from $41,940.
Call Meg at 970.209.1210.
27 Treasury – Mt. Crested ButteBeautiful mountain home located near the base area, and within walking distance of the ski lifts. Quality home with brand new kitchen, convenient location, tremendous views and a great value. $775,000.
Call Bill at 970.209.5799. CB-RealEstate.com
63 Birdie Way – SkylandThis home is in excellent condition. It has been well maintained by the original owners, decorated per-fectly and comes furnished excluding some personal items. Quiet area with fantastic views of Whetstone Mountain. $649,000.
Call Dalynn at 970.596.3397.
830 Sopris – Crested ButteCharming home in historic Crested Butte enjoys a prime, spacious corner location at 830 Sopris Avenue on the sunny side of town. It is near the school, the town park and Elk Avenue shops and restaurants. $1,395,000.
Call Karen at 970.209.2668.
2 Silver Lane – Mt. Crested ButteGreat corner location in Gold Link Subdivision. This 5 BD home is just a short walk to skiing. Two living areas, two wet bars for entertaining, fireplace, 2-car garage and views! $1,395,000.Call Joel or Charlie of the Mtn Office at 970.349.6692.
Inspired Mountain Living
Inspired Mountain LivingInspired Mountain Living
You want to feel at home in Crested Butte before
you buy. You want regular communication and
unparalleled service by sales professionals who
live and work in the area that inspires you.
That’s where Prudential Becky Hamlin
Realty, Inc. comes in. Our sales professionals
have the knowledge and skills to make your
experience of home ownership a delight while
treating you to a Crested Butte only locals know.
Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691
Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692
CBProperty.com
Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691 – Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692 – CBProperty.com Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691 – Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692 – CBProperty.com
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31 Gold Link – Mt. Crested ButtePrime “top corner” location in Gold Link subdivision. This setting offers the best views and direct ski-in/ski-out access to the Homeowner’s trail and the Gold Link lift. $2,395,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
758 Journey’s End – Crested ButteThis is a dream location on a 35 acre tract within a short walking distance to town. Very private and amazing views of Emmons, Mt. Crested Butte, Paradise Divide and the town of Crested Butte. $3,795,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
25 Walking Deer – Mt. Crested ButteThis is the ultimate ski home in Mt. Crested Butte. Very easy ski-in/ski-out location adjoining Prospect lift. Amazing views of the East River Valley. Top-of-the-line finishes throughout this home. $4,950,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
188 Bethel Road – Smith Hill RanchesEnjoy 35 acres of privacy within 10 minutes of the ski area and the town of Crested Butte. Both house/guest house are constructed with 100 year old custom logs featured on the exterior and interior. $4,750,000.
Call Joel or Charlie of the Mountain Office Team at 970.349.6692.
Site S141 SkylandGreat elevated golf course lot in the Back Nine towards the end of Country Club Drive. Fantastic views of town, Whetstone, and Mt. Crested Butte. $260,000.
Call Meg at 970.209.1210.
3 Black Diamond – Mt. Crested ButteThis extraordinary new home is a mountain master-piece, located slope-side in the exclusive Summit neighborhood of Mt. Crested Butte. This opulent ski-in/ski-out residence offers priceless views from every window and sun-drenched balconies. $3,500,000. Call Karen at 970.209.2668 or Darci at 970.596.4958.
Home Sites at LarkspurCrested Butte’s newest subdivision located less than two miles from downtown. Surrounded by majestic views of Whetstone, Mt. Crested Butte and Paradise Divide. Priced from $41,940.
Call Meg at 970.209.1210.
27 Treasury – Mt. Crested ButteBeautiful mountain home located near the base area, and within walking distance of the ski lifts. Quality home with brand new kitchen, convenient location, tremendous views and a great value. $775,000.
Call Bill at 970.209.5799. CB-RealEstate.com
63 Birdie Way – SkylandThis home is in excellent condition. It has been well maintained by the original owners, decorated per-fectly and comes furnished excluding some personal items. Quiet area with fantastic views of Whetstone Mountain. $649,000.
Call Dalynn at 970.596.3397.
830 Sopris – Crested ButteCharming home in historic Crested Butte enjoys a prime, spacious corner location at 830 Sopris Avenue on the sunny side of town. It is near the school, the town park and Elk Avenue shops and restaurants. $1,395,000.
Call Karen at 970.209.2668.
2 Silver Lane – Mt. Crested ButteGreat corner location in Gold Link Subdivision. This 5 BD home is just a short walk to skiing. Two living areas, two wet bars for entertaining, fireplace, 2-car garage and views! $1,395,000.Call Joel or Charlie of the Mtn Office at 970.349.6692.
Inspired Mountain Living
Inspired Mountain LivingInspired Mountain Living
You want to feel at home in Crested Butte before
you buy. You want regular communication and
unparalleled service by sales professionals who
live and work in the area that inspires you.
That’s where Prudential Becky Hamlin
Realty, Inc. comes in. Our sales professionals
have the knowledge and skills to make your
experience of home ownership a delight while
treating you to a Crested Butte only locals know.
Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691
Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692
CBProperty.com
Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691 – Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692 – CBProperty.com Downtown Crested Butte 970.349.6691 – Slopeside in Mt. Crested Butte 970.349.6692 – CBProperty.com
CrestedButteMagazine.com16
Whenthedevastating7.0earthquakestruck
thetinyCaribbeanislandnationofHaiti
onJanuary12,localbusinessownerand
EMTGregWinslowimmediatelycalledhis
brother,Mark,aDenverphysician.“When
arewegoing?”Winslowasked.Thebroth-
ersdiscussedthefinancialandpractical
obstaclesthatmadetravelingtoHaiti
impossible.“Yes,Iknowit’snotpossible,”
repliedWinslow,“butwhendoweleave?”
Aswasfeaturedinthewinter2007-2008
Crested Butte Magazine’s“FromParadise
toHaiti,”Winslowhasdedicatedsignificant
timeandresourcesoverthepastdecade
toprovidingmedicalcaretotheHaitian
villageofPetit-Bourg.TheHaitians’remark-
ablekindness,strengthandgenerosity
haveenrichedhisunderstandingofhis
ownlife’spurpose.Hesays,“Thepeople
therearenowpartofmyfamily,partof
whoIamasaperson.Icouldnotsithere
knowingsomanypeoplewereindistress,
knowingIcouldbedoingsomething.
Really,therewasnochoicebuttogo.”
Within24hoursaftertheearthquake,
Winslow,hispartnerBetsyFolkerthand
brotherMarkhadorganizedsevendoctors,
nursesandEMTsfromDenver’sChildren’s
Hospitalwillingtoaccompanytheminto
thecollapsedcapitalcityofPort-au-Prince.
Thegroupsolicitedandorganizeddonated
medicalsupplies,andWinslowbegan
figuringoutawayintothecountryviahis
Haitianconnections.SisterMaryofthe
still-standingMathew25Housemission-
aryhomeintheheartofthecityoffered
thegroupaplacetosetupamakeshift
hospital.NoneoftheChildren’sHospital
volunteersotherthanMarkhadbeentothe
thirdworldbefore.Winslow,buoyedbytrust
inthecorrectnessoftheirmission,prom-
isedhe’dgetthemthereandbacksafely.
“Wegotinwhenotherscouldn’t,”says
Winslow,“becauseweknewexactlywhat
weneededandwhereweweregoing.”
Sixdayspost-earthquake,theyarrived
afteraharrowingflighttofindSisterMary
downtoonebottleofTylenol,aboxof
band-aidsand5,000peopleinneedof
medicalcarecampingonhersoccerfield.
Another15,000patientsawaitedhelpin
anearbytentvillage.Withinanhourand
ahalf,Winslow’sgroupwasperforming
surgeriesonSisterMary’skitchentable.
Winslowdescribesas“brutal”thetwoma-
joraftershocksandtennearsleeplessdays
andnightsthatfollowed.Hesayswithboth
prideandlament,“Wecamehomeknow-
ingweprovidedlife-savingmeasuresforso
many,yettherewassomuchmoretodo.”
Thus,afterlittlemorethanamonth’s
respite,WinslowandFolkerthreturned
toHaitiinearlyMarchtoprovidemedi-
calcarefortheirbelovedPetit-Bourg,a
poornorthernvillageof85,000thathad
swelledtomorethan120,000asaresult
ofthequake.Theywereagainmetwith
overwhelmingneed.Inresponse,thepair
hasatleastfourmoretripstoHaitiplanned
thisyear.“Wewentfrom‘wecan’tpos-
siblyaffordtogo’togoingsixtimes,”
saysWinslow.“Whatelsecanwedo?”
Asever,Winslowisdeeplymovedbythe
resiliencyandspiritoftheHaitianpeople.
Incontrasttomediareportsofwide-spread
post-quakeviolenceandchaos,hecitesthe
manhewitnessedcradlinghischildwith
abrokenfemuryetinsistingthatamore
criticallyinjuredneighborbeattended
tofirst,orasix-year-oldboywhosipped
onlyafewdropsfromahard-wonbottle
ofwatersohecouldsharetheprecious
liquidwithall30childreninhisorphanage.
WinslowaidsthepeopleofHaitiwith
similarhumility.“I’mjustanaverageperson
workinginextraordinarycircumstances,”
hesays.Heasksonlyonethinginreturn:
thattheworldnotforgetHaitionceitis
outofthemediaspotlight,forrebuild-
ingthenationwilltakeseveralyears
andtheloveanddedicationofmany.
To learn more or make a donation to Winslow’s Haiti Relief Fund, visit www.teammatthew25house.com.
Worthy deeds
Heeding the call of HaitiGREGWINSLOWRESPONDSWHENHISBELOVEDHAITINEEDSHIMTHEMOST. ByShelleyRead
“WECAMEHOME
KNOWINGWEPROVIDED
LIFE-SAVING
MEASURESFOR
SOMANY,YET
THEREWASSO
MUCHMORE
TODO.”
Top>AftermathoftheearthquakeAbove>GregWinslow(thirdfromright)andfellowmedicswhoflewintohelp
CrestedButteMagazine.com18
It’snotaboutwarorpeace,rightorwrong.
It’saboutcompassion.FormerCrestedButte
residentandretiredpostalworkerMikeEh-
redthassetoutacrossthecountryonasolo
jaunttohonorthosewhohavefalleninthe
Iraqwar.AlthoughhelivesinHope,Idaho,
thesedays,ProjectAmericaRunwasbornin
CrestedButte.
“Itwasinthebreakroomatthepost
office.Iwouldsitthere,backin2005,and
readtheobitsintheDenver Post.Iraqwas
atitspeakoffatalities,”Mikeexplained.
Asaveteranhimself,hewassomovedby
theindividualprofilesthathewantedtodo
somethingpersonaltopaytribute.“Inever
servedinaconflict,butit’sallconnected
whetheryou’rebuildingbridgesoronthe
frontlines.There’sthisbondwhenyouserve
inthemilitary.”
Histribute:a4,300-milerunacrossthe
country,plantingaflageverymilebearing
thenameofanAmericansoldierlostinIraq.
HeemphasizedthatProjectAmericaRun
isnotapoliticalstatement.“Ihonorand
remember,that’sit.Idon’twanttotaintthe
purityoftheproject,ofwhatI’mdoing,to
talkaboutpolitics.”
RunninghasbeenpartofMike’slifefor
decades.Helaughsthatitallstarted37years
agoattheimpressionableageof12,taking
onabetfromaschoolmatethathecouldn’t
runfivemiles.Butitreallykickedinasachild
attemptingtogetoutofthehouse.
“Oneofmyearliestmemorieswaswhen
Igotgroundedbymystepdad,whosaidI
couldn’tleavetheyard.Imeasuredtheyard
andfiguredoutitwouldtakeme57lapsto
doamile.”Hechortled.“Itdrovemystep-
dadnutstoseethetopofmyheadpassing
bythewindoweveryminutewhilehewas
tryingtodrinkhisbeer.But,”headded,“I
stayedintheyard!”
Althoughhe
gothookedonrun-
ning,Mikerealizedhe
neededtobranchout.
“Ididn’twanttobeone
dimensional.Iwanted
toexperienceother
things–ski,mountain
bike,paddle,adventure
race.”Buthereturnedto
runningwhenhemoved
toCrestedButte,utiliz-
ingtheextensivetrail
systems.Hewasthen
introducedtohundred-
mileracesanddecidedthelongerthebetter.
Evencoasttocoast.
“Theconceptcametometoplacean
Americanflagattachedtoayellowribbon
withthenameofeachofthefallenservice
memberseverymile–onelife,oneflag,one
mile,”Mikesaid.Hehitontheideawhile
runninginthebittercoldnightinIdaho.
Theflagsarebeinglaiddowninreverse
chronologicalorder;thefirstflagplacedwas
Transcontinental compassion MIKEEHREDTISRUNNINGACROSSAMERICATOHONORTHOSEKILLEDINIRAQ.byDawneBelloise
Worthy deeds
CrestedButteMagazine.com 19
Creative Fashions • Stylish Jewelry • Holly’s HatsBamboo Clothing • Fair Trade Gifts • Handcrafted Cards
Home Decor • Art
418 Elk Ave. • Downtown Crested Butte • 349-1415
Susan Anderton draw
ing
themostrecentfatality.CarryingaGPSMike
isabletomeasureeverymile,photographand
registerthelocationofeachflagonGoogle
EarthfromhisiPhone.Thereareabout4,400
flagsand700yardsofhand-labeledyellowrib-
bonmarkedwitheachname,age,rank,home
andfatalitynumber.Theflagswerebundled,
putintoboxesof300andshippedtohosts
alongtheroute.
Mikehopestocoverapproximately30
milesaday.HestartedhisquestinMayfrom
Astoria,Oregon,atwater’sedge.Aftertouch-
ingthewaterwithhisowndogtags,heset
outrunning,focusingononemileatatime.
He’llfinishsometimeinOctoberatRockland,
Maine,touchinghistagstothewateronce
again.Thejourneywilltakeaboutfiveanda
halfmonths.
“PeopleIdon’tevenknowaretakingme
in,”Mikesaidoftheoverwhelmingsupport
he’sfoundforProjectAmericaRun.“When
welaidouttheroutewestartedcalling
organizations,chambersofcommerceand
lawenforcementagenciesandusingwordof
mouth.”Manyofthosewhorespondedhad
lostlovedonesinIraq.“Theyplannedbigdin-
ners,breakfastsandpotluckswheretheywant
metotalk.”Therun,hesaid,islinkingthose
whoareunitedbytheirlosses.
He’salsospeakingtomorethan30high
schoolcross-countryandtrackteams,deliver-
inganinspiringmessagetoyounghopefuls.
“I’lltellthem:don’tdoubtthatyoucan
accomplishyourgoals–youputitoutandgo
forit.”
Mikelaughedabouthowtheyoungpeople
mightperceivehim.“Whentheyseeanold
guywho’spushingfiftyandababystroller
filledwithflags,theymightjustthinkIhave
somethingIcansharewiththem!”
Asherunsacrossthemilesconnecting
townsandpeople,Mikeholdshisownimage.
“WhatIhadenvisionedinmyhead,fromwest
coasttoeastcoast,wasaholdingofhands
ofservicemembersfromonetotheother
stretchingacrossthecountryinanunbroken
band–anditrepresentedthediversityof
thecountryandofthepeople.Ifitmotivates
peopletomakeachangeintheirlife,todo
somethingmeaningfulforsomeoneelse,then
I’veaccomplishedmymessage.”
Follow Mike on Facebook or via
projectamericarun.com.
CrestedButteMagazine.com20
TowitnessBillMeierridinghorsebackis
puremagic.Hiseyesearnestandbright,
agentlesmilespreadacrosshislips,
hecirclesaroundtheCochetopaRanch
horsearenaatopWayne,a13-year-old
quarterhorse,withanairofcontent-
mentthatcalmseventhosewhowatch.
Attheageof17,Billexperienceda
traumaticbraininjurythatprofoundly
impactedhisshort-termmemory.Inorder
tolaterrecallthathehasgonehorseback
ridingwiththeAdaptiveSportsCenter
(ASC),hemustrefertohis“picturebookof
memories,”aphotoalbumchroniclinghis
manyASCoutdooradventures.Whether
heretainsthememories,hissisterElise
saystheridingprogramoffersherbrother
benefitsdifferentfromhisothersummertime
activities,suchasbiking,fishingorrafting.
“Beingabletocareforsomethingelse
issogoodforhim.Heisaverynurturing
personbynature,”saysElise.“Alotof
peoplewithdisabilitiesdon’tgetthejoy
ofthiskindofexperience.Theyareusu-
allycaredfor,notcaringforsomething.”
Nowinitssecondsummer,theASC’s
ridingprogramhasprovenahitforpar-
ticipantswithandwithoutdisabilities.Run
bylong-timelocalMikeFahrlanderand
ASCinstructorCaraBosco,withassistance
fromvolunteers,theexperienceincludes
anintroductiontobasicriding(arenaor
trailriding,dependingonabilitylevel),
grooming,andeffectivecommunication
withahorse.Half-dayandfull-dayactivi-
tiesareofferedJunethroughAugust.
“Physiologically,horsescanteachstu-
dentsbalance,postureandtrunkstabil-
ity,whileinherentlyrelaxingthemuscles
andincreasingmuscletoneandstrength.
Emotionally,thehorsesteachconfidence,
helpbuildself-esteemandestablishtrust,
withauniquebondbetweenhorseand
humanbuiltonthistrust,”Carasaid.
Inadditiontoridingskills,participants
getanintroductiontoranchlife.Mike’s
CochetopaRanchinGunnisonisserene,
withcottonwoodsrustlingbyasmall
creekthatwindsbehindthehouse,and
dogsnappinginthesun.Othertimes,it
isalively,playfulplacewithchickensand
ducksrunningamokandlaughterringing
fromafavoritelunchspot,thehaybarn.
“Itistimeless.Theequipmentisdifferent,
butthelifestyleismuchthesameasitwas
100yearsago,”Carasaid.“It’saworking
life.Manyofuswhovisitdon’tcomefrom
aworldwherewhatwedothatdaydirectly
impactswhatweeatfordinneratnight.”
LastsummerCaraandMikesawamixof
clients,includingvacationerswhowanted
tomaintaincontinuitywithatherapeutic
ridingprogrambackhome,families,lo-
calchildrenandindividualswithboth
physicalandcognitivedisabilities.The
integratedprogramisverysocial,with
participantsofallagesandbackgrounds
offeringeachotherencouragementand
sharingpleasuressuchashandfeeding
carrotstothehorsesattheendoftheday.
Thissummer,thetwoplantoincludearts
andcrafts,awiderrangeofskill-building
gamesandapresenceatCattleman’sDays.
Despitetheircombinedwealthofknowl-
edgeandexperience,MikeandCaraturn
thecredittotheranch’ssixridinghorsesfor
makingthefledglingprogramasuccess.
“Aslongaswekeepitsafe,thehorses
dotherestoftheworkforus,”Carasaid.For more information visit adaptivesports.org.
Just Renovated! Lovely Historic HomeTown of Crested Butte
$975,000
Luxury Home at Prestigious Treasury Hill Town of Crested Butte
$2,625,000
Exquisite Home in TownTown of Crested Butte
$949,000
Spectacular Mountaintop ResidenceMt. Crested Butte
$1,995,000
Exceptional Historic Home (Residential & Commercial Use)
Town of Crested Butte • $1,095,000
Stunning 360º ViewsStar Mountain Ranch
$399,000
Elegant Main Home & Renovated Smaller HomeTown of Crested Butte
$990,000 (2 homes; no deed restrictions)
Stunning Black Bear Lodge CondoMt. Crested Butte
$625,000
Pitchfork — A Distinctive Mtn. CommunityMt. Crested Butte
$795,000
Jim Barefield (970) [email protected]
View Red Mt. Ranch, Hidden Mine, Danni Ranch & Roaring Judy Ranch acreage at www.jimbarefield.com
Real Estate that Fits Your Lifestyle
301 Third StreetCrested Butte CO 81224
Therapy in the saddle HORSESBECOMEMUCH-LOVEDTEACHERSINTHISADAPTIVESPORTSCENTERPROGRAM.byErinEnglish
Worthy deeds
Just Renovated! Lovely Historic HomeTown of Crested Butte
$975,000
Luxury Home at Prestigious Treasury Hill Town of Crested Butte
$2,625,000
Exquisite Home in TownTown of Crested Butte
$949,000
Spectacular Mountaintop ResidenceMt. Crested Butte
$1,995,000
Exceptional Historic Home (Residential & Commercial Use)
Town of Crested Butte • $1,095,000
Stunning 360º ViewsStar Mountain Ranch
$399,000
Elegant Main Home & Renovated Smaller HomeTown of Crested Butte
$990,000 (2 homes; no deed restrictions)
Stunning Black Bear Lodge CondoMt. Crested Butte
$625,000
Pitchfork — A Distinctive Mtn. CommunityMt. Crested Butte
$795,000
Jim Barefield (970) [email protected]
View Red Mt. Ranch, Hidden Mine, Danni Ranch & Roaring Judy Ranch acreage at www.jimbarefield.com
Real Estate that Fits Your Lifestyle
301 Third StreetCrested Butte CO 81224
Here is a place where you can,
Live... On the green, near blue waters, with breathtaking views in every direction
Learn... From the pros, our friendly staff, your grandchild or next door neighbor
and Celebrate... New friendships, your best golf round, 4th of July fireworks under a starry sky...
Memories that will never be forgotten.
The only Club in Crested Butte to offer a Championship Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course, state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor pool, year round tennis program, Member events, casual indoor and outdoor dining and Nordic skiing, all within an established, peaceful community you will love to call home.
Membership Opportunities AvailableFor information on Membership, please contact Kate Simonson, Membership
Director at 970.349.6127 or via our website at www.theclubatcrestedbutte.com.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 23
Remembertheintrigueofchildhood
treasurehunts–buryingyoursibling’s
favoritetoy,makingamapandchalleng-
ingyourfriendstofindthehiddenbooty?
Nowyoucanrelivethatintriguealmost
anywherearoundtheworld,startingwith
cluespostedonlinethroughletterboxing
networks.Aglobalamusement,letterboxing
isacombinationoftreasurehunting,hide
andseek,crafting,puzzlesolvingandhiking.
Letterboxesareplentifulinourregion,
withaboutadozenboxesplacedthrough-
outGunnisonCountyandmoreinCure-
canti,BlackCanyon,theWestElkLoop
andeasttoMonarchPassandbeyond.
LetterboxinghasitsrootsinDartmoor,
Devon,England,in1854,whenwell-known
guideJamesPerrottputabottleatthere-
moteCranmerePoolforvisitorcards.Hikers
caughtontotheideaandstartedleavinglet-
tersandpostcardsaddressedtothemselves
insideaboxalongthetrail.Whoeverdiscov-
eredtheboxwouldthencollecttheposts
andmailthem.HencetheBritishnameoflet-
terbox,whichweAmericanscallamailbox.
Thesporthasbecomeapopularcurios-
itywithboxesplantedworldwide,
butitreallytookoffinAmericaafter
Smithsonian Magazinepublishedan
articleaboutitin1998.Traditionally
hiddeninthewilds,theletterboxis
locatedbythe“finder”afterdeci-
pheringcluesleftbythe“placer”of
thebox.Insidethewaterproofbox
isalogbook,ahand-carvedrub-
berstampandsometimestrinkets
pertinenttothestoryorplacer.The
finder,whocarrieshisownoriginal
stamp,inkpadandjournal,exchang-
esstampmarkingsinhisjournal
andtheplacer’slogbook,perhaps
leavingalittlenoteaboutthedis-
covery,thenplacestheboxandits
contentsbackintothehidingplace.
HereinColorado,asacross
America,anyonewithasenseof
adventurecaneasilygetstartedwith
afewtools.Asinanygoodmystery,
you’llneedtogetclues,whichrangefrom
complexandcryptictosimpledirections.
Somerequireacompass,mapandnaviga-
tionalskills,andthehikingdistancecanvary.
Someplacersincludecluestootherboxes
withintheirbox,butmostcluesandlocations
ofboxescanbefoundonthewebsitesat
atlasquest.comandletterboxing.org.Both
sitesgiveextensivehistoricalandpractical
information,suchashowtomakeapersonal-
izedrubberstamp,whichjournalstouseand
wheretogetairtightcontainerstoplace.
Amorehigh-techmodeoftreasurehunt-
ingwhichreliesonGPSuseiscalledgeo-
caching.Insteadofusingstamps,findersex-
changeobjectsoncethehiddentreasureis
unearthed,thentheexperienceissharedon-
line.TheGPSseekersaretoutedtobetheir
ownsearchenginesandproclaimthemselves
environmentallyfriendly,asdoletterboxers.
Youcanfindthemonlineatgeocaching.com,
andyes,thereareiPhoneinteractiveapps
todownloadforyourodyssey.NoiPhone?
ThesitewilldirectyoutootherusableGPS
devices.Ifyou’reoutcruisingaroundPeanut
LakejustoutsideCrestedButte,you’llfind
thatthebelovedGronksportsageocache.
Afteryougetthehangofreadingclues
andhaveyourlogbookplasteredwith
stampsfromboxesyou’vediscovered,you
mightfindyourselfwritingyourownclues
asaplacer.Anyonecanhideabox–from
Tupperware-typeplastictoammunitioncon-
tainers.Justmakeastampspecificallyforthe
hiddenbox,drawuptheclues,postthem
onlineandthenwaitforthefinderstostart
recordingtheirdiscoveryofyourtreasure.
MandyBennettofCarbondalehasplaced
123boxesthroughoutColorado.TheWest
ElkLoop,shesaid,wasbyfarthepretti-
estletterboxingtrailshedottedwiththe
hiddentroves.Herplacername(asort
ofalterego)isCameo.“Havingaplacer
nameisalotmorefunandinterestingand
itidentifiesyoumoreasaletterboxer.”
Tomakeyourboxinteresting,Mandysaid,
usehand-carvedstamps,acoollogbook
andcreativeclues,suchasstories.“Thefirst
interestingoneIfoundwasatDocHolliday’s
gravein
Glen-
wood
Springs.
The
stamp
wasan
image
ofDoc
holdinga
gun.The
logbook
had
alittlecastlehangingoffitandlittletrin-
ketsrelatedtohimlikeanaceofheartsfor
hisgambling.”Thecluesintheboxwere
intheformofastoryaboutanoldman
hikingandsearchingforsomething.“You
werecopyingthefootstepsasthoughit
wasarealperson.Thedetailsmadeitre-
allyfun.”Unfortunately,Doc’sboxisgone,
duetoweather,constructionortheft,to
whichmanyoftheletterboxessuccumb.
Here is a place where you can,
Live... On the green, near blue waters, with breathtaking views in every direction
Learn... From the pros, our friendly staff, your grandchild or next door neighbor
and Celebrate... New friendships, your best golf round, 4th of July fireworks under a starry sky...
Memories that will never be forgotten.
The only Club in Crested Butte to offer a Championship Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course, state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor pool, year round tennis program, Member events, casual indoor and outdoor dining and Nordic skiing, all within an established, peaceful community you will love to call home.
Membership Opportunities AvailableFor information on Membership, please contact Kate Simonson, Membership
Director at 970.349.6127 or via our website at www.theclubatcrestedbutte.com.
Letterboxing : HIDE&SEEKINPARADISEbyDawnBelloise
Letters & words
CrestedButteMagazine.com24
Thelatestlocallygrownzineisreadytoread
onpaperorcomputerscreen.The Climbing ZinefeatureslocalwritersGeorge
Sibley,GregPettys,Morgan
Fields,LisaGalterio,AlSmith,
TravisKuesterandLukeMehall.
Thezinecoversterrainranging
fromSibley’smountaineeringex-
ploitsintheArmyinthesixtiesto
GregPettys’affinityfortheartand
cultureofrockclimbing.Galterio
writesaboutaclimbingfriendthat
hasrecentlydiedandAlSmiththe
Thirdmakescomparisonsbetween
climbingandsex.Photosfrom
Mehallaccompanythestories.
It’sthesecondlocallyproduced
zine,followingGunnison Valley as Basecamp,whichwasreleasedin
2009.Azine,pronounced“zeen,”
isasmall-circulationpublication,
“withlittleemphasisonprofitand
astrongemphasisonhigh-quality,
thought-provokingcreativewrit-
ing,”saidorganizerMehall.
Copiesareavailabletopurchase
attheFirebrandinGunnisonor
forfreeviae-mail.ContactLuke
SmiththeThirdataldsmith3@
gmail.comtogetacopyor
contributetofuturezines.
&SHIPP SPEARB U I L D E R S
Joe ShippRalph spear
photo by james ray spahn
970.641.2279
quality experience service
daniel j. murphy architect, pc
Someplacerscreatelimited-edition
boxeswhichareoutforonlyaspecifictime,
whichmakesthosestampssomewhatrare.
Finderswilloftenupdatetheownerasto
theconditionofabox,whetherit’sbeen
ruinedortaken.Somefinderswilleven
replaceadamagedboxorafilledlogbook,
sendingtheoriginalbacktotheplacer.
Withhundredsofboxesscatteredin
Colorado,youcouldmakeasummerquest
ofsearchingoutthestate’streasures.Mandy
describestheexcitementofboththehunt
andthetrekitself:throughwildflowermead-
ows,coniferforests,rockformationsand
alpinevistas.“Someoftheboxeswefind
takeustoplacesweneverknewexisted.
Thefindingisliketheendoftherainbow.”
CrestedButteMagazine.com 25
TheEastRiverValleyteemswithwritersofeverythingfromsciencefictiontohistoryto
children’sstories...younameit,theywriteit.Halfadozengroupscritiqueeachother’swork.
ForthelastfewyearsmanyofthesewritershavetappedintotheCrestedButteWriters
Conference(June18-20thisyear)andReadersintheRockies(June19),whichbringauthors
andpublishingprofessionalstothevalley.Nowthere’sanewresource:theCrestedButte
Writers,anorganizationofwriters,readersandsupportersoftheliteraryarts.
Its30membersshareacommitmentto“aneducational,open,supportiveandcreative
writingcommunity…bondednotbylocation,butbytheloveofmountainsandthewrit-
tenword,”accordingtothewebsite,crestedbuttewriters.org.Bothwritersandreadersare
welcometojoin.
“Manyofourmembersarepublishedauthorslivingoutsidethevalley.Buttheylovethe
CrestedButteWritersConferenceandwanttobeapartofourwritingcommunity,”says
TheresaRizzo,whohelpsorganizetheconferenceandtheCrestedButteWritersalongwith
founderBarbaraCrawford.Inadditiontolocalauthors,theCrestedButteWritersmember-
shipincludessomepastconferencepresentersandwinnersoftheSandyWritingContest,
whichisheldinconjunctionwiththeconference.
A$10membershipfee(untilnextJanuary)getsyoudiscountsontheSandyWriting
ContestandCrestedButteWritersConferencefees,alistingonthemembers’pageofthe
websitewithlinkstoyour(oryourbook’s)website,andadmissiontotheCrestedButteWrit-
ersLoop.Annualrenewalsare$25.
ThroughtheCrestedButteWritersLoop,writersexchangetipsonbooks,blogsandweb-
sites;sendoutlinkstonewsitemsaboutthepublishingworld;
andshareinspirationalquotesorinformationaboutwriting
contests,gatheringsorclasses.Thissharingis,foronemem-
ber,thebestbenefitofCrestedButteWriters.“Sincewritingis
generallyasolitaryaffair,it’snicetohavea‘virtual’waytotrade
ideasandinspireeachother—whilewe’reallsittingaloneat
ourseparatecomputers.”
The word on flying wheels ManypeopleknowtheGunnisonValleyholdssomeoftheworld’sbestmountainbiking
butdon’trealizeoneofthesport’snotablepublicationsisbasedhereaswell.Mountain
Flyer,aquarterlymagazine,coversmountainbikeandotherbicycleracing,ridingand
equipment,particularlyintheRockyMountains.
“Mygutfeelingisthatourreadersarethepeopleyouseeoutthereridingallthetime,
peoplewhoareprettyinvolved,notweekendwarriors,”saideditorBrianRiepe.
Riepe,aprofessionalmountainbikeracerforfiveyears,in2004ponderedcreatinganews-
lettertocovercompetitionsinthisregion.SteveMabryandChrisHannaofCrestedButte
Publishingencouragedhimtouptheanteandpublishamagazine.Witha“snapshooter”
cameraandhismomasthegraphicdesigner,Riepepublishedhisfirstissuein2004.The
publicationfoundsuccessandpolish,becomingquarterlyin2008,whenHannaandMabry
joinedhimaspartners.Theynowdistribute15,000copiesnationally,withaconcentrationin
NewMexico,ArizonaandtheRockies.
“WecoverracingintheRockiesbutalsodolifestyleandgeneralcyclingstories,”Riepe
said.“We’refindingourvoiceinproductreviews,keepingthemin-depthandhonest.”
Thenextstepis“growingthewebsite,mountainflyer.com,”hesaid,sobikerscancatch
thelatestresultsandnewsfrommountainbikeracingandriding.
Realize Your Dreams
Charlie Farnan and Joel Vosburg, the Mountain Office team, have
helped hundreds of families realize their dreams of owning real estate in Crested Butte. Let them put their 50
years of combined experience to work for you.
Charlie & Joel
(970) 349-6692
Photo by Rob Pennie / Picture taken from: The Smith Hill Ranches
P.O. Box 5024The Mall at Crested Mountain Village
Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225
The Mountain Office
Becky Hamlin Realty, Inc.
A virtual meeting of mindsCRESTEDBUTTEWRITERSLINKSLOVERSOFWORDS.BySandraCortner
CrestedButteMagazine.com2 backattheranchfurniture.com
100 Spencer Avenue, Gunnison, Colorado 970-641-0727
CrestedButteMagazine.com 27backattheranchfurniture.com
100 Spencer Avenue, Gunnison, Colorado 970-641-0727
LastsummerfolksstrollingdownElk
Avenueafterbreakfastwereoccasionally
startledtohaveabearlumberby,nonchalant
asafellowdinerwalkingoffhispancakes.
Late-nightpartierspassedbearsintenton
theiralleygarbagehunts.Onegroggyman,
awakenedbyhisvehiclehornblaringat5
a.m.,stumbledoutsideandyankedopen
thecardoortofaceabearthathadtrapped
itselfinsideanddemolishedthedashboard
tryingtoclawitswayout.Crested Butte MagazinewriterDawneBelloisewascon-
ductingaphoneinterviewatherkitchen
tableoneafternoonwhenabearambledin
andheadedtowardtherefrigeratorlikea
hung-overhousemate.
InCrestedButte,2009wastheYearofthe
Bear.“Onatypicalsummernighttherewere
oneortwobearsaround,butonsomenights
wehadfourtosixbearsrunningaround
town,”saidCrestedButteChiefMarshal
TommyMartin.
Themarshalsgottoknowindividualbears.
Somebearsmoseyedthroughtownbrows-
ingforeasypickings;thetown’snewbear-
resistanttrashcontainersandDumpstersdid
theirjob,andthebruinsheadedbackout
tothewilds.Butforthehabituatedbears,
thetown’sbesteffortsatdeterringthemjust
presentednewandapparentlyinteresting
challenges.Beforelong,thecivilization-sav-
viestbearshadlearnedtoturnthenewtrash
receptaclessidewaysandjumponthelidsto
releasethecontents.
Veterantownbearsalsogrewbolder.
“Threeorfouryearsagoweshotthemwith
rubberballs,”Martinsaid.“Theloudnoise
scaredthem;they’drunallthewayoutof
town.Twoyearslaterthey’drun30feet.Now
theyjustlookatyou.”
ConnieandMichaelHellandusedtoyell
fromtheirsecond-floordecktochaseaway
thebearthatfrequentedtheirTeocalliAv-
enueyard.Butafterthebeardiscoveredthe
tastyapplepiefillinginthegaragefreezer
duringalate-nightraid,itgrewevermore
complacentabouttheirpresence.Itrepeat-
edlybrokethroughthesidegaragedoor,
rifledaround,andsometimespausedtonap
inoneoftheirtrees.
ThebetterCrestedButtestasheditstrash,
themoreingeniousthebearsgot.They
discoveredhowtoworkdoorknobsand
handles,enteringhomes,shedsandgarag-
es,andlearnedthatthebigwhiteboxinthe
kitchengenerallyheldthebestgoodies.At
onehome,abeartorethegaragedooroff
itstracktoreachthefragrantediblesinside.
Bearsalsofiguredouthowtoopencar
doorsorbreakintowindows,gettinginto
morethan200vehiclesoverthesummer.
Doingtheirearly-morningrounds,themar-
shalswouldcomeuponastreetwhereupto
halfadozencarshadtheirdoorsstanding
wideopen...evidenceofabruin’snocturnal
scavenging.Atleastthreetimesbearsgot
trappedinsidecarsorvans,badnewsfor
bothbearandupholstery.
Sincenoonewashurtbyabearin
CrestedButte,thestoriescharmedand
entertainedthetown.Itwaseasytoforget
thateachbear-personinterfacecarriedthe
riskofhumaninjuryandsometimesatragic
endforthebear.Lastsummersixbears
weretrappedandeuthanizedintheCrested
Butte-Mt.CrestedButteareawhentheygot
toohabituatedandassertive.Oneofthose
wasa“560-pound,beautifulmalebear,
seventoeightyearsold,thathadessentially
grownupinCrestedButte,”Martinsaid.“He
wouldn’tleavetown.Hewasintownevery
nightandsometimesduringtheday.”
Lastyear’sbearsituationwas“sosevere
partlybecausealatefreezeburnedthe
acorns”intheneighboringAspenvalley,said
ChrisParmeter,districtwildlifemanagerfor
theColoradoDivisionofWildlife.Several
ofthebearshangingoutaroundCrested
Butteboretagsorradiocollarsidentifying
themasAspenarearesidents.“Bearconflicts
areweatherdependent,”Parmetersaid;a
droughtoruntimelyfreezethatcompromises
thenaturalfoodcropdrivesmorebears
intocivilization.“I’mlookingforwardtoa
decreaseinconflictsthissummer,”hesaid.
Martinislesscertainwhatthesummerwill
bring.Oncethey’vetastedleftoversfrom
theTimberlineRestaurant,thebruinsarenot
alwayshappytoreturntoberriesandacorns.
Healsonotedthatlastyearsomebigboars
(malebears)lingeringintownprobablykept
sowsandcubsaway.Nowthatacoupleof
thosebigguyshavebeeneliminated,the
townmightseemoreprotectivemomsand
playfulcubsintown,apotentiallyvolatile
combinationwhenmixedwithcurioushu-
manseagerforphotoops.
“Thisisn’tazoowithabarrierbetweenyou
Wild things
Scare that bearTHOSECLEVERBRUINSSTAYHEALTHIERINTHEIROWNTERRITORY,NOTOURS.BySandyFails
CrestedButteMagazine.com28
Buying…. SellingWith23yearsofliving,playing&workinginCrestedButte,Ihavetheknow-howanddedicationtoprovideyouwithahassle-freerealestateexperience!
Maggie DethloffBroker Associate, Red Lady Realty
CrestedButteNow.com
anda500-poundwildanimal,”Martinsaid.
CrestedButte’sbruinsareofficiallyblack
bears,thoughtheycomeinmanycolors,from
cinnamontobrownorblack.Unlikegrizzlies,
thesebearsaren’ttypicallyaggressivetoward
humans.“There’sbearhabitatallaroundCrest-
edButte,”Parmetersaid.“They’realloverthe
woods,butwhenyouhikeyougenerallydon’t
seethem;theysmellusandgoawaybeforewe
getnear.Theyonlybecomepotentiallydanger-
ouswhentheygetaddictedtohumanfood,
whentheymoveintoourterritory.”
Bearsareluredintocivilizationbyfoodcrop
failuresorhumanenticements,hesaid.“The
numberonethresholddrugforbearsisbird
feeders;that’swhatbringsthemtoneighbor-
hoods.”Notoriousfortheirloveofsweets,
bearscansmellthesyrupyhummingbirdfood
fromfaraway.
HequotedthecommonDivisionofWildlife
saying:“Afedbearisadeadbear.”
Asecondsayingislessknownbutequally
importantwhenbearsventureintohuman
territory:“Ifyoucare,scareabear.”Humans
needtomakethebears“veryuncomfortable”
whentheycomeintotowns,neighborhoods
andyards,Parmetersaid.Whenpeoplewatch
adoringlywhileabearchowsdownonFluffy’s
catfoodonthedeck,thebearbeginstoloseits
fearanditsrespectforourterritory.
CommunitiesthroughoutthemountainWest
havetriedvariousdiscouragements,suchas
devicesthatemitpepperspraywhenbears
breakintotrashcans,butwithlittlesuccess.
“Nodeterrentshavebeen100%effective,”
Parmetersaid.“Themainthingistoprevent
accesstofood.”Hesaidthebearsareknown
fortheircleveradaptations.“InYosemite,the
bearsspecializeinmini-vans.Theyknowhow
toopenmini-vanlocksandlatchesorbreakthe
windows.”
InCrestedButtelastsummer,neighbors
sharedhomeremedies;theHellandsdraped
theirdoorknobswithkerosene-soakedrags.
Peoplelearnednottoleaveedibles(including
petfood)intheircars,tentsordecks.Residents
beganlockingtheirdoorsforthefirsttimein
years.
“Thesebearsaresmart,andthey’recreative,”
Martinsaid.
Perhapsmoreconsistenthumanscaretactics
willremindthebearstousethoseskillsinthe
wild,notdowntown.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 29
TheUpperGunnisonvalleyhas(knock
onwood)sofarbeensparedthemassive
infestationofbarkbeetlesthataredevastat-
ingthelodgepolepineandspruceforests
oftheRockiesnorthfromhereupthrough
Canada.Butouraspenshavenotbeenso
lucky;sincearound2004,largeswatchesof
theGunnisonBasin’sfavoritedeciduoustree
havebeensufferingamysterious“Sudden
AspenDecline”(SAD).
Aspensarethesignaturetreeofthe
SouthernRockies,thetreethatmarksour
seasons,fromthesoftlightgreenthatfloats
likeahazethroughthebuddingtreesinthe
spring,tothepsychedelicshowinthefall
asthegreentreesgotoyellows.It’seasy,
amongaspens,tofeelthatlife,afterall,
isprettygood.Andnowalotofthemare
declining,dying;forestpathologistssaythe
tollisapproaching20percentofouraspen
woods.
Aspensareanunusualtree;theygrow
bestasshootsfromacommonspreading
rootsystem.Thusallthetreesinaspecific
placeessentiallyconstituteasingleliving
organismcalledanaspenclone–probably
thelargestlivingentitiesonearth,some
ofthemaslargeasseveralhundredacres.
Aclonecanoftenbedistinguishedbythe
barkcolor,branchiness,heightorstraight-
nessofitstrees.
Sun-lovingtrees,aspensaremostlya
“transitionforest”inthehighcountry,com-
inginquicklyafteraspruce-firorpineforest
disturbancelikefireorlogging–thousands
ofsuckersspringingupintothesunfrom
anexistingclone’srootsystemthatwas
perhapsbeingkeptaliveundertheprevi-
ousconiferforestbyjustahandfuloftrees.
Gradually,overacenturyorso,shade-
lovingconiferswillgrowupunderthemand
graduallyreplacetheaspen.Therearegood
examplesofthisreplacementinvarious
stageshappeningonSnodgrassHillabove
theroadtoGothic.Thereareplacesinthe
GunnisonBasin,however,wheretheaspen
seemtohaveestablishedthemselvesas
thelong-term“climax”forest–newaspens
ratherthanconifersreplacingoldaspens.
ThewestsideofKeblerPasshassomeof
theworld’smostextensiveandbeautiful
“climax”aspen.
Wild things
SAD aspensWARMER,DRIERWEATHERMAYBEHARMINGOURTRADEMARKTREES.ByGeorgeSibley
Whatishappeningtotheaspens?
RoyMaskandJimWorrall,pathologistsfor
theForestService’sRockyMountainRegion,
basedinGunnison,havebeenworkingon
thatquestionsinceitwasfirstobserved
circa2004–alongwiththechallengeofthe
barkbeetlepandemic,alsopartoftheir
assignment.
Themostlikelyunderlyingansweris
climatechange.Theseveredroughtof2002,
cominginthemiddleofnearlytwodecades
ofwarmer,drierweatherthanthe20th-cen-
turynorm,weakenedtheaspens(likethe
pinesandspruce).Thatmadethemmore
vulnerabletothehostofgnawing,boring,
burrowingparasitesanddiseasesthatare
alwayspresentintheforestbutcanusually
beeitherflushedoutortoleratedbyhealthy
treestappingintodecentsoilmoisture.
Warmertemperaturesinthewinteralsofa-
vorthetreeparasites,allowingmoreoftheir
under-barklarvaetosurviveandmature.
MaskandWorrallsaytheproblemisnot
limitedtomaturetrees,asarethepine
andsprucebeetleattacks.“Rootsinsome
standsmaybemoribund,suggestingthat
clonesaswellasstemsmaybedying,”they
writeinapaperontheproblem.SADseems
tobehappening“atlowerelevationsand
onflatterslopes”andtends“tooccuron
southernandwesternaspectsatlowerand
middleelevations.”
Treestendtobeverysensitivetoclimate,
whichinthemountainsmeanstheirrange
movesupanddownasambienttempera-
turesovertimeincreaseordecrease.Aspen
clonesthatreallytookoffintheverywetfirst
quarterofthe20thcentury,andprobably
spreaddownintoloweraltitudes,arenow,
intheirmaturity,experiencingthechangeto
ahotteranddrierextreme.Thatisprobably
inpartcausedbyus,andtheloveof“Color
Week”thatgetseveryoneintheircarstogo
seethetrees,therebycontributingtotheir
demise....SADindeed.
CrestedButteMagazine.com30CARETAKING SERVICES • VACATION RENTALS
PO BOX 168, CRESTED BUTTE • 888.417.4766 • IRONHORSECB.COM
The timehas come
to expect
More...
Performing arts center DANCESTOTHEDRAWINGBOARD
TheCrestedButteMusicFestivalandseveralentitiesinMt.Crested
Buttearecollaboratingona500-seatperformingartscenterthey
hopetoopenasearlyas2012.
MusicFestivalorganizersbegantalkingwithtownofficialsfrom
Mt.CrestedButtelastyearafteranunsuccessfulsearchforsitesin
thetownofCrestedButte.“Awaywewent,”saidJoeFitzpatrick,Mt.
CrestedButtetownmanager.TheDowntownDevelopmentAuthority,
towngovernmentandCrestedButteMountainResortjumpedatthe
performingartscenteridea.
TheresortandtowncontributedlandatthecornerofGothicand
Treasuryroads(thenorthendoftheskiareaparkinglot),alowsection
oflandthatwillaccommodatetheestimated85-footheightofthe
building.
“ThisisaneconomicdevelopmentprojectforMt.CrestedButte
andreallyforthewholecounty,”Fitzpatricksaid.“Ourgoalisto
broadenandelevatetheartsinourcommunityandprovideagreat
amenity.ThiswillopenthedoorfortheCrestedButteMusicFestival
togrow.AnditwillanchorthedevelopmentofMt.CrestedButte.”
Thedesign,stillinprogress,callsfora500-seatauditoriumwitha
partitionablebalcony,sothespacecanfitsmallereventsaswell.The
buildingwillalsohouseapostalannex,smallcoffeeshopandother
tenants“tokeepthebuildingalive,”Fitzpatricksaid.Athird-floor
multipurposeroomandscenicoutdoorbalconywillhostmeetings,
receptionsordinners.Theauditoriumwillbeequippedwithaflyto
raisesets,allowingprofessionalcaliberoperaandtheater.Itwillalso
beacousticallytuneableforvoiceoramplifiedmusic.
DesignershopeforPUDapprovalbytheendofthissummer,fol-
lowedbyamajorfund-raisingcampaignbytheMusicFestival.
OfficiallycalledtheMt.CrestedButtePerformingArtsCenter
(MCBPAC),theprojecthasaboardofdirectorsmadeupofMusicFest
andtownappointees.Constructioncouldstartin2011,but2012is
morelikely,Fitzpatricksaid.
JennyBirnie,directoroftheCenterfortheArtsinCrestedButte,
applaudedtheMCBPACboardforitsopencommunicationwith
CrestedButte’sArtsAlliance.“TheMusicFestivalhasworkedinpart-
nershipwiththeCentertoensurethatthenewfacilitywon’tduplicate
serviceandfunctions,”shesaid.“TheCenterwillcontinuetobring
diverseartsexperiencestothevalley,offersubsidizedrentalforcom-
munitypresentersanduseitsgallerytoshowcaselocalartists.”
IN A TOWN KNOWN FOR EXCELLENT RESTAURANTS, THE WEEKEND WILL BRING EVEN MORE ATTRACTIONS FOR FOODIES:
FREEongoingdemonstrationsinanoutdoorVikingkitchen
$150FIVE-COURSEKICK-OFFDINNERwithpairedwinesat9380featuringthecelebratedDenverFIVE™(DenverFive.com)
TWOAFTER-HOURSEVENTSINMT.CRESTEDBUTTE:“Barbeque,BourbonandBeer”and“TheArtoftheMartini,”both$25.Thefirstwillhighlightvarioustastesofbarbequepairedwithliquorandhigh-endbeers.Atthesecond,attendeeswilllearnaboutandsamplefivedifferentmartinisandreceiveshakersandmartiniglasses.
Art scene
among the easels CrestedButteArtsFestivalfansare
usedtoElkAvenueturningintoavi-
sualfeast,with185top-notchartists
(juriedthisyearfrom690applicants)
displayingtheirwares,kids’activities,foodbooths
andliveentertainment.The38thArtsFestival,July
31-August1,willaddtheculinaryartstothatmix.
“Wewanttodrawinpeoplewithdifferentinterests,”
saidArtsFestivaldirectorDianaRalston.“Nowthere’s
trulysomethingforeveryone:childrencreatinginArtAl-
ley;artaficionadosshoppingandinteractingwithartists;
musicloversenjoyingliveperformances;aspiringartists
learningtechniquesthroughartdemonstrations;and
foodieswatchingcookingdemosandtastingsamples.”
Ralstonhopestoinvolvelocalrestaurantsandthe
FarmersMarketinthedemonstrations.Shehasse-
curedOskarBluesBreweryasthebeersponsor,and
DaleKatechis,founderandcreatorofDale’sPale
Ale,willbeonhandforseminarsandtastingsandto
showcasehiscraftedbeers.UnderdogWineGroup
willpairitsaward-winningwineswithchefsamples.
Thisyearwillalsobringanauctionofartdonated
byfestivalartists.Theinauguralauctionlastyear
raised$10,000,whichfundedartsprogrammingatthe
CrestedButteCommunitySchool.Ralstonhopesthis
year’sproceedswillhelppaylocalartiststoworkwith
CrestedButtestudents.TheArtsFestivalalsogrants
moneytolocalartsorganizationsthroughouttheyear.
TheArtsFestivalisapparentlyaspopularamongits
artistsasitisamongitsshoppers.Artistsrankedit35th
outofmorethan1,200festivalsinthemostrecentArt Fair Source Book.Foreachfestival,artistsanswerquestions
aboutsuchaspectsaslogisticalease,customertraffic,the
treatmentofartistsandfinancialsuccess.“It’ssortofthe
bibleforexhibitingartists,”Ralstonsaid.“Iwasthrilled.”
Forinformation,visitCrestedButteArtsFestival.com.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 7CARETAKING SERVICES • VACATION RENTALS
PO BOX 168, CRESTED BUTTE • 888.417.4766 • IRONHORSECB.COM
The timehas come
to expect
More...
THEMOUNTAINBIKEHALL
OFFAMEHONORSA
FUN-SPIRITEDSPORT.BySandyFails
Forviewerschucklingatthephotosinthe
MountainBikeHallofFameexhibit,it’seasy
toseewhathaschangedaboutthesport...
andwhathasn’t.Photosfromthe1970sshow
shaggy-hairedguysingrubbycut-offsand
sneakerspedalingtheir40-poundklunkers
aroundthetown’sdirtstreets.Meanwhile,
outsidethewindowsneartheexhibit,
modern-dayridersflydownFourthStreeton
feather-light,high-techmachineswearing
spendysport-specificclothingfromhelmets
tocleats.
Whatremainsthesame?“Youlookat
thoseoldphotosandseeabunchofgrown-
upsactingliketen-year-olds,”saidmountain
bikepioneerDonCook.“Mountainbiking
stillhasthateffectonpeople.”
Donandhiswife,KayPetersonCook,have
beenpartoftheevolutionofthesportsince
thoseearlydaysandcanstillholdtheirown
onCrestedButte’sgnarliesttrails.Thetwo
alsovolunteerhundredsofhoursayearas
co-directorsoftheMountainBikeHallof
Fame,whichhasthreecomponents.
,housedintheCrested
ButteMountainHeritageMuseum.“The
photostellathousandstories,”Donsaid,
followingthepath“fromCrestedButteto
MarinCounty,California,fromklunkering
tomountainbikingtoaworld-widesport.”
ThedisplayholdsprofilesofHallofFame
inductees,posters,pressclippings,aclassic
klunkerandsomelandmarkbikesinthede-
velopmentofthesport.There’saJoeBreeze
bikefromtheerawhenJoeproducedarun
ofsevenbikes...enoughtomeetmarket
demandfortheyear,Donsaid.
DonandKaygatherHallofFamenomina-
tionsfromwithintheindustry,thensendout
morethan200ballotstopreviousinductees
andcurrentHallofFamemembers.Three
tofourpeopleareinductedeachyearina
packedceremonyaspartofInterbikeinLas
Vegas.“It’squiteanhonor,buttheceremony
isaroast...alwaysfunny,”Donsaid.
mtnbikehalloffame.com.
Likethesport,thewebsiteisallaboutfun
andexploration.“Youcouldspenddays
wanderingaroundinthere,”Donsaid.The
sitegoesfarbeyondCrestedButte’scolorful
bikinghistory,backtoAugust1896,when
theBuffaloSoldiers,blackenlistedmen,
customizedandrodebicyclesfromMissoula,
Montana,toYellowstonetotestthebike
forpossiblemilitaryuse.Thesitecoversthe
VeloCrossClubParisienofthe1950sandthe
MarinCountygaragetinkerersinthe1970s.
And,ofcourse,thereweretheCrestedButte
hippiespilingtheirone-speedjunkersinthe
backoftheirpickups,haulingthemtothe
topofParadiseDivideandbombingback
down.“Youhadtothrowyourrearwheels
intherivertocoolthemdown,”Donsaid.
“Thoseguysweren’touttocreateanew
sport.Theywerejustgettingaroundtown
streetsthatwerenothingbutmud.”
TheMountainBikeHallofFameidea
grewfromdiscussionsin1987amongCarol
Bauer,TedRomanik,DaveLindseyandDon.
Astheywerere-tellingfavoritestories,Carol
commented,“Allthesepeoplearegoing
tobeforgottenifwedon’tdosomethingto
preservethishistory.”
Evenforriderswhowouldratherpound
thetrailsthanlearnabouttheirpredeces-
sors,theanecdotesandmemorabiliaofthe
MountainBikeHallofFamearegoodfor
somekicks.Newerriders,Donnoted,sel-
domrealizethatthefirstmulti-speedmoun-
tainbikeswerehandbuiltfromjunkyard
framesand“whateverpartswecouldscab
frommotorcyclesorbeg,borrowandsteal.”
Headded,“Oneofthefunniestthings
Iseenowispeoplespendingathousand
dollarsormoretobuildupone-speeds.Back
inthedaywewerespendinghundredsof
dollarstogetridofhavingone-speeds.”
Bike tracks
CrestedButteMagazine.com32
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CrestedButteMagazine.com34
Of Heaven & EarthCOLORADO’SLARGESTPUBLICTELESCOPE
OFFERSGLIMPSESOFOTHERWORLDS.ByErinEnglish
ArrivingattheGunnisonValleyObservatory,remoteandshrouded
indarkness,canfeelotherworldlyinitself.AfterturningoffHighway
50anddrivingafewmilespastHartmanRocks,visitorsparkandwalk
downadimlylitpathtoasmalldomedbuildingshelteredbyalight-
reducingberm.
TheobservatoryhousesColorado’slargestpublictelescope,a
30-inchreflectortelescopethatservesasalookingglassintoother
worlds:celestialobjects,galaxies,planetsandstarsystems.
Sinceopeningin2008,theobservatoryhasdevelopedathriving
lectureandviewingseries.EveryFridayandSaturdaynightinthe
summer,scientists,families,couples,studentsandvisitorsminglefor
stargazing,startingaroundsunset.Theall-volunteerstaffwelcomes
visitorstopeekintothetelescopeandgethands-onexperiencewith
theon-siteinstruments.
“We’llstayaslateasanyonewantstostay,”saysboardmember
KevinMcGruther.“Astronomyinvolvesaconsiderableamountof
patiencefortheskytodimenoughtoseethedeep-skyobjects.If
youcomelater,around10or10:30,itreallygetsgood.”
Eacheventfeaturesaguestlecturerleadingapresentationin
theobservatory’ssmallclassroom.Topicsrangefromhistoricalto
contemporary,suchasanoverviewofsunandenergy,aslideshow
aboutSaturn’sdisappearingrings,oralookattheworld’sfirsttele-
scope.Often,livelydiscussionsensue.
“Ireallygodowntheretogetanideaofwhatotherpeopleare
thinking.It’ssuchafar-outtopicandthereissomuchwedon’t
know,”McGruthersays.“Ifinditempoweringandenlightening.You
canlookataglobularclusterthroughatelescope,butthetheory
behinditiswhat’sfascinating,becausenoonereallyknows.”
Thesummerscheduleincludesothereventsaswell,suchasthe
world’sfirstastropoetryconferenceheldlastsummer,attended
byaroundadozenpeople.“Members-only”eventsaresprinkled
throughouttheseason,andprivateviewingsmaybescheduledin
advance.
Aswordspreads,theObservatoryisbecomingacommunity
pointofprideandapopularwaytospendtheevening,withupto
60peoplestoppingbyinanight.Thedomehasacapacityof15
people,necessitatingmultiplerotationsforthetelescopeviewing
andlectures.
BeyondGunnisonCounty,theobservatoryisgainingatten-
tionfromcuriousindividualsandhigh-profileagenciesthroughits
Internetpresence.“Wepullintrafficfromallovertheworld.Boeing,
LockheedMartinandintelligenceagenciesarepullingintotheGun-
nisonObservatorywebsite,”McGruthersays.“ItisputtingGunnison
onthemap.”For information, visit gunnisonobservatory.org.
Down south
WESTERN’SCAMPS,CONFERENCESAND
COURSESCOVERWRITINGTOWRESTLING.ByLukeMehall
Schoolmaybeoutformost,butthousandsofguestswillflockto
theWesternStateCollege(WSC)campusthissummer.
ThereturnofgraduatestudiestoWesternisonehighlight.
StartinginJuly,studieswillbeginforthemasteroffinearts(MFA)
increativewriting,withtracksinformalverse,screenwritingand
mainstream/genrefiction.Augustwilllaunchthemasterofartsin
education,withtracksinteacherleadership,readingleadershipand
educationaladministratorleadership.
Bothprogramsarelow-residency,meaningstudentswillcon-
veneforsummersessionsthendothemajorityofcourseworkfrom
abroad.Thissummer’swritingMFAsessionwillcoincidewiththe
popular“WritingtheRockies”conferenceheldannuallyontheWSC
campus.
SeveralothercampsandconferenceswillbringgueststoWest-
ern.Oneofthebiggest,the47thannualRockyMountainWrestling
Camp,ledbyconferencechampionshipcoachMilesVanHee,will
attractmorethanathousandwrestlersthisJune.Otherpopularcon-
ferencesincludetheSearchandRescueAcademy,theLawEnforce-
mentExplorerConference,andtheColoradoColumbineGirlsState
citizenleadershipprogram.
NewofferingsthisJulyincludethePeacefulWarriorsRockClimb-
ingCampwithlocalcoachAlecSolimeoandprofessionalclimber
ChrisLinder,aswellastheGunnisonUltraRunningExperience(GUE)
campwithWSCexerciseandsportsscienceprofessorScottDrum.
TheExtendedStudiesprogramwilloffer“WednesdaysatWest-
ern,”inexpensiveday-tripsforlocalsandvisitors,includingflyfish-
ing,ahistoricalTaylorParktour,aBlackCanyongeologytourandan
astronomyclass,allwithcollegeprofessors.Classesrangefrom$25
tofree.Information: www.western.edu.
CrestedButtemaybethemeccaforrec-
reationintheGunnisonValley,butHartman
Rockshasitsownmagic,asshowcasedby
threerunning,bikingandclimbingevents
overMemorialWeekend.
The8,000acresofrollingsage,fivemin-
utessouthofGunnisononBureauofLand
Managementpublicland,featuresgreat
singletrackforbikingandtrail-runningand
granitebouldersandcliffsforrockclimbing.
LowerinelevationthanCrestedButte,Hart-
mans(aslocalscallit)canbedryinspring
andfallwhenCrestedButte’strailsareburied
insnow.
ForyearsHartmans’bikinghasbeenhigh-
lightedincompetitionsliketheRageinthe
Sageandthe24HoursintheSagemountain
bikeraces.Recentlytherunningandclimb-
ingcommunitieshavecreatedeventsoftheir
own,andMemorialWeekendbringsperhaps
thelargesttrioofeventsthatHartmanshas
seen:theSageBurnerrunningrace,Gun-
nisonGrowlermountainbikerace,and24
HoursofGunnisonGloryenduranceclimbing
competition.
TheSageBurner’s25Kand50Keventsare
organizedthroughtheexerciseandsports
sciencedepartmentatWesternStateCol-
lege.ProfessorScottDrum,theracedirector,
said,“Ourraceshowcasestheamazingtrail
runningatHartmans.It’salsoanopportunity
toshowcasethesportsperformancesideof
ourcurriculum.”
Lastyearover200competitorsflockedto
Hartmansfortherace.Out-of-townersfound
thecourseextremelychallenging,hesaid.
“ThesingletrackatHartmansisveryrun-
able,butittendstosucker-punchyouwith
theunrelentingupsanddowns.”
ThethirdannualSageBurnerwillbeSatur-
day,May29.
AlsoinitsthirdyearistheGrowler.The64-
milerace(or32-mileHalf-Growler)onSun-
day,May30,takesadvantageofHartman’s
mountainbiking“thatjustblowspeople
away,”saidmountainbikelegendandrace
directorDaveWiens.
Thepopularrace,cappedat300riders,
soldoutinonedayinearlyJanuary.The
GrowlerraisesfundsforGunnisonTrails,an
advocacyorganizationWiensfoundedto
protectGunnisonareatrails.
ThethirdMemorialWeekendevent,the
24HoursofGunnisonGlory,startsSaturday
morningandistheonly24-hourclimbing
eventintheWest.
“Theformatissimple:completeasmany
climbsasyoucanin12or24hours,”said
AlecSolimeo.“Lastyearwasourfirstandwe
hadasolid40climbers;thisyearwe’rehop-
ingformore.”
ClimbingpresentationsinGunnisonwill
precedetheevent.Entertainmentduring
thecompetitionwillincludeacousticmusic,
yoga,andanatureawarenessworkshopfor
youth.
“THISISTURNINGINTOAGREATWEEKENDOFRECRE-ATIONFORTHEGUNNISONVALLEY,”SOLIMEOSAID.MoreinformationaboutHartmanRockscanbefoundat:www.gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/hartman-rocks.
Down south
ATRIOOFRUNNING,
BIKINGANDCLIMBING
EVENTSSPOTLIGHTSTHE
TRAILSANDBOULDERSOF
HARTMANROCKS.ByLukeMehall
CrestedButteMagazine.com 35
CrestedButteMagazine.com36
CrestedButteMagazine.com38
Notable locals
Renaissance teenTHEIVYLEAGUEBECKONSTO
LOCALARTIST,MUSICIAN,ATHLETE
ANDSCHOLARRICKYSANDOVAL.ByLauraPuckett
KidsinCrestedButtefacemanychoices:academics,
athletics,skiing,volunteering,thearts—therearedozens
ofwaystospendtheirtime,andit’shardtobegoodatall
ofthem.Unlessyou’reRickySandoval.
Agiftedartist,musician,athleteandscholar,Rickyhas
foundsuccessineveryarena.Astheheadhighschool
trackcoachattheCrestedButteCommunitySchool,I’ve
hadtheprivilegeofseeingRickyinaction.Morethanany
particulartalent,whatimpressesmemostisRicky’sbear-
ing.Heseemstonavigatethefrenzyofhighschoolwith
graceandcomposure,excellingmodestly,leadingquietly
andmovingsteadilyinthedirectionofhisdreams.
Perhapsitcomesfromhisvariedupbringing,with
Spanish,Apache,NavajoandCajunroots.Bythetime
Rickygraduatedthisspringhehadattendedeight
schoolsandlivedinfifteenhouses.Spendingtimealter-
natelywithhismomanddadhasmeantfrequentmoves,
butheappreciatestheperspectiveit’sgivenhim.
“I’veseenalotofdifferentsituations,”hesays,“the
fullspectrum,fromprivateCatholicschoolinLouisiana
tohugepublicschoolsinHoustontolittlefarm-town
schoolsinCenter[Colorado].”
WhenhemovedtoCrestedButtewithhisdad,Rich-
ardSandoval,Sr.,atthestartoffreshmanyear,hewas
resistanttothechange,butnowhe’shappytobehere.
InCrestedButte,“there’snotnearlyasmuchdramaasat
abigschool,”hesays.“I’mfriendswithprettymuchthe
wholehighschool.”
ThesmallschoolhasalsoenabledRickytomake
significantcontributionstosports.Withcharacteristic
modesty,Rickyseeshimselfas“goodhere,inCrested
Butte”wherethecompetitionisn’tassteep.Rickymay
notbedestinedtobeanationaltrackchampion,buthe’s
talented.Quickandagile,Rickyhassurprisedmeover
andoveragainwithhissprintingandjumping.Asforsoc-
cer,Rickyplayedforthefirsttimehissophomoreyearand
byhissenioryearwastheleaddefenseman.
“Rickydoesn’tbackdownfromanything,”sayscoach
ThanAcuff.“He’sgotasubtleself-confidencethatyou
don’tnoticeuntilyouseehimoutthereonthefield.It
doesn’tmatterwhohe’supagainstorwhatwe’reupSelf
po
rtra
itb
yR
icky
San
do
val
CrestedButteMagazine.com 39
againstasateam;hegivesit100%,noholds
barred.He’suninhibitedinagreatway.”
Thanrecallsthehighlightofadismalstate
play-offgametwoyearsago:“Basaltwas
wallopingus,somethinglike5-0.Itwason
somerandomplay,inthemiddleofthesebig,
physicalBasaltdefenders–thelandofthe
giants.Ricky(notabigguy)cameoutofno-
where,leapedatleastaheadaboveeveryone
elseandslammedthisshotthatcrashedoff
thecrossbar.Everyoneelsehadgivenup.But
Rickydidn’tcarewhatthescorewas;hewas
outthereplayingsoccer.”
Thecat-likeRickyalsoentertainedhisteam-
mates,attheirrequest,withhistrademark
“off-axisspin-jump,”Thansaid.Soccerprac-
ticesometimesstartedacoupleofminutes
late;“itwastoocooltowatchRicky.”
Thoughhe’snotatalkative,showyor“rah-
rahkindofguy,”asThannotes,Ricky’sunder-
statedconfidence,leadershipanddedication
wouldhavemadehimanassettoanyteam,
nomatterthesizeoftheschool.
Rickycarriedthesecharacteristicsintothe
classroomaswell.Hethrivedinthemost
difficultclassesinarigorousschool.“Hehas
astrongnaturalintelligence,”saysscience
teacherToddWasinger.“Hequicklyunder-
standscomplicatedideasandconcepts;his
scoreontheACTsubjecttestinphysicswas
throughtheroof.Butwithalltheseamazing
gifts,he’sunassuming,friendlyandrespectful
ofhisteachersandhisclassmates.He’sreally
remarkable,adelightfulperson.”
Giftedinalmosteverysubject,Rickyearned
particulardistinctionasanartist.HisAPart
teacher,BenMcLoughlin,describesRickyas
“focused,mature,andprofessional.”With
technicalmasteryandaneyefordetail,Ricky
hasspentthelasttwoyearscreatingan
impressiveportfolioofdrawingsinpenciland
charcoal.ThispastJanuaryhewonanunprec-
edentedtwogoldkeysintheColoradoScho-
lasticArtAwardcontest,inwhichstudents
fromColoradosendinworktobejudged.
Therearethousandsofentries,andonlythe
topworksaregivengold,silver,honorable
mentionorportfolioawards.Rickyentered
twopiecesandreceivedtwogoldkeys.
“He’soneofthemostskilledstudentsI’ve
evertaught,”saysBen,“buthe’shumble
aboutit.Hispeersadmirehim,butitdoesn’t
gotohishead.Hekeepshiscool.”
pms 187
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ManyofRicky’sdrawings,suchashiscarefulportraitsofmusiciansatworkordreaming,
areinfluencedbyanotherofhispassions:music.Hestartedplayingmusicatnineyearsold
whenhisdadgavehimaguitar.Afterlearningafewchordsfromhisfather,Rickywasoff
andrunning,teachinghimselfbyearandexperimentation.
“Ican’ttellyouthenameofachordorstringornote,”hesays,buthewriteshisown
songsandhasarepertoireofmusicinjustaboutallstyles.Heisinspiredandencouraged
byhisdad,whoplayedatonetimebutwasheldbackbylosingthetipsoftwofingersina
carpentryaccident.Rickyenjoysthepracticeandgetsantsyifhecan’tplayeveryday.
SovariedareRicky’sskillsthat“hispeersrefertohimasaninja,”Toddsays,“becausehe
standsoutateverythinghedoes.”Ashelookstowardcollege,thechallengeisputtinghis
intereststogetherinaprogramofstudy.
“I’vealwayswantedtodosomethingwithart,”Rickysays,“butit’ssohardtofindsome-
thingconcrete.”
Architectureseemedlikeamatchforhistalents,soafterbeingencouragedbyhisteach-
erstoreachhigherwithhiscollegesearch,Rickyappliedtothetoparchitectureprograms
inthecountry.Acrosstheboard,hewasaccepted,withsomeimpressivescholarshipoffers.
Aftervisitingseveralcolleges,hedecidedtoattendCornellUniversityinIthaca,NewYork.
RickyissoquietabouthisaccomplishmentsthatIwassurprisedtohearhegotaccepted
toanIvyLeagueschool.Butthesurprisegavewayquicklytoasenseofrightness.The
seamlesswayRickysettledintoCrestedButteandthesuccesshe’sfound,inwhateverhe
puthishandto,speaktoanadaptabilityandself-assurednessthathe’lltakewhereverhe
goes.
“Ithoughtabouthisbackground,”saysThan,“thencomingtoCrestedButte,andwhat
itwouldbelikeforhimtogotosomehoity-toitynortheastschool.ThenIthoughtabout
RickyandIfigured,itain’tgonnabeaproblem.”
Art
wo
rkb
yR
icky
San
do
val
CrestedButteMagazine.com 17
DAHL MONTROSE
1133 N. TOWNSEND AVE.MONTROSE, CO 81401
800.542.3245www.dahldesign.com
Visit Your Premier KOHLER® Showroom
CrestedButteMagazine.com42
RAYNOR CZERWINSKI HAS BEEN A STUDENT OF COMPOSITION MOST OF HIS LIFE,thoughthe
mediumhaschanged–frompounding
arockguitarandwritingsongsaspart
ofSeattle’sgrungescenetoseekinga
fleetingbeamoflightonamountain-
topthroughhisviewfinder.
“It’sthesamethingyou’retryingto
tapinto,whetherit’spainting,pho-
tography,cookingormusic.It’sgood
composition,”hesaid.
CzerwinskigrewupinTacoma,
Washington,thenSeattle,andspent
the‘90splayingwithhisrockbandFirst
TimeTomorrow.
Theyreleaseda
fewalbumsand
playedmore
than200shows.
Thebandfound
success,but
aftertenyears
Czerwinski
realized“that
wasn’tmygig
anymore.ButI
waswantingto
getbacktothe
mountains.”
Czerwinski’s
soul-searchingtookhimtoEurope,
whereherodehisbikeacross16coun-
triesoveralmosteightmonths.Europe
appealedtohimpartlybecause“it’sa
collectionofsmalltowns,”hesaid.So
hecamebacktotheU.S.setonfinding
afittingtownforhisnewhome.In2003
hesetoutfromSeattlebybike,pedal-
ingthroughJacksonHole(toobusyfor
histastes)toCrestedButte,intending
tohitTelluridenext.
“IgottoCrestedButteandwentno
farther;itwasexactlywhatIwaslook-
ingfor,”hesaid.
Hemethisfuturewife,SusanMarion,
whenhebegancookingatLeBosquet,
whereshealsoworked.Thetwonow
helprunJohnIngham’sartgallery,
whichgivesCzerwinskiahomeforhis
long-timefascination,photography.
Afterahobbyofshootingrockand
rollconcertsinSeattle,Czerwinski
switchedhisphotographicfocusin
CrestedButtetostudyingtheplayof
lightonalpinelandscapes.
“Ifounditaneasytransitionfrom
theaudioartstothevisualarts,”he
said.Ithelpstoliveinaplacewhere
hecanphotographstartrailsfromhis
mudroomwindowandcolumbinesjust
outsidehisfrontdoor.
Photography,henoted,“isalife-
longendeavor.“Likeapoemaphoto
becomesmorepowerfulasitbecomes
simpler.Hewatchesforstrongcom-
positionswithequallystronglighting:
“that30-secondbeamoflightinthe
middleofastorm.”
Stillamusicaficionado,Czerwinski
alsoexploresCrestedButte’soutdoor
wonderlandbymountainbikeorfoot.
Tocapturethatwonderlandthrough
photography,heisabandoninghis
moderndigitalequipmentinfavorof
filmcameras.Herecentlyboughtan
oldNikoncameraandlenssohecan
gobacktousingthesupersaturated
Velviafilm,atraditionalfavoriteof
landscapephotographers.Czerwinski’s
imagesaredisplayedintheIngham
Gallery,Camp4,theBrickOven,Le
Bosquetandhiswebsite,
www.lucidlandscape.com.
SUMMER 2010 COVER PHOTO CONTEST WINNER IS
Raynor Czerwinski. BySandyFails
CrestedButteMagazine.com 43
We just had to use
these cover photo
contest finalists
somewhere
the other covers
43
Alex Fenlon
CrestedButteMagazine.com44
Nathan Bilow
CrestedButteMagazine.com 45
Dusty Demerson
CrestedButteMagazine.com46
Nathan Bilow
CrestedButteMagazine.com 47
Alex FenlonAlex Fenlon
CrestedButteMagazine.com48
Creating quality architecture in the Gunnison Valley for 17 years.
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on 1.87 acres with a barn$989,000
Gary HureskyResort Realty Group
www.mycrestedbutterealestate.com
New York immigrants TIM AND TERRY BONNEY DIDN’T
PLAN TO SHARE THEIR HOME WITH HORSES, MULES, LLAMAS, SHEEP, DOGS,
CATS AND BIRDS, BUT NOW THEY WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.
How could you turn them away?
CrestedButteMagazine.com 49
Story by Rachael Gardner
Photos by Dusty Demerson
Dr. Tim & Terry Bonney at their home turned rescue ranch.
CrestedButteMagazine.com50
317 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte, CO • 349-5913 • 10am to 9pm Dailyzacchariahzypp.com
AT FIRST INTRODUCTION,
Dr. Tim Bonney, an obstetrician originally from
New York, appears an unlikely resident for
rural Gunnison County. In his role as doctor,
he is efficient and direct, handy behavior
for attending to pregnant women with wild
hormones coursing through their veins.
But take this doctor out of the hospital and
you’ll find a chatty, soft-hearted soul quietly
running a rescue ranch for some of the coun-
ty’s hardest workers. Pack mules, dude horses
and retired ranching stock can find safe haven
for their golden years at the Bonney rescue
ranch. This New York cowboy readily admits
he initially had no skill set for this endeavor
but is learning as he goes. One look around
the ranch shows that he is a quick study.
Tim Bonney is quick to confirm the saying,
“Behind every good man is a good woman.”
Every step of the way, and often a step in
front, is Terry Bonney, learning new skills,
conquering fears and making room for a new
animal in need.
A former Fulbright Scholar and accom-
plished concert pianist, Terry remains active
in the Crested Butte Music Festival, but her
passion has shifted partly from the piano to
the stable. She comments that caring for the
animals in recent years has taught her to slow
down. Still, an artist’s intensity lies just below
the surface, transforming into the energy that
drives this rescue ranch forward.
The air at the ranch is peaceful, but Tim
Bonney’s calm out-of-office demeanor wasn’t
automatic. He admits that he was wound tight
on his arrival in Gunnison, and learning to
relax has been a process. He recalls an early
encounter that started his change in thinking:
“I didn’t have cell service and couldn’t find a
payphone. The woman running the register
at Ace Hardware offered me the store phone.
Then she just walked away with the register
CrestedButteMagazine.com 51
open. I thought she was crazy.” It was the second event that day that
helped him understand his new home. “The stoplight had turned
green and I was getting so angry because the driver wasn’t moving.“
Then he followed the driver’s gaze to the sky and noticed a bald
eagle flying overhead. “That’s when it really clicked for me,” he said.
Tim and Terry now credit the horses with their transformation from
tense city-dwellers into more relaxed
individuals taking time to appreciate
their surroundings. With eight horses
and two mules in the barn, they either needed plenty of help with
that transformation or their care for the animals has become a bit
of an addiction. And it doesn’t stop with the equines. Tim and Terry
have also rescued seven sheep, two llamas, five dogs, four cats, two
finches (that have reproduced to 48), two lovebirds, two cockatiels
and a cockatoo. That doesn’t factor in the animals that have come
and gone.
Having no solid connection to the horse world, the Bonney’s first
horse was a rescue of circumstance, a gelding that was healthy but
homeless. Word traveled that this Gunnison couple was willing to
take in horses on a temporary basis. The result was an equine home-
less shelter of sorts, with animals coming and going at no charge.
Terry said that, while the animals were beautiful, she and Tim were
initially afraid to interact with the horses and just looked at them
from the other side of the fence. “We called them dinosaurs.”
The horse they consider their first true rescue and the animal that
helped them overcome their fear is a palomino named Yellow. They
passed him in a field and realized he was so lame he could not move.
Against the warnings of friends, Tim and Terry borrowed a horse
trailer and brought him home. The vet advised that there was only a
10% chance that Yellow would survive, but with almost constant care
he made a full recovery and has been on the ranch for five years. Yel-
low will not be ridden again due to the extent of his injuries.
Few of the Bonney’s horses can be ridden. Most were adopted
because, for one reason or another, their working days have come
to a close; in most cases the next stop was the sale barn. Terry even
adopted the first horse she ever rode, Maggie the Mustang. When
she heard Maggie had come up lame due to a bad rear hip, Terry
knew her days on a dude string were over. Maggie can no longer be
ridden, but Terry remembers well how Maggie treated her on that
first terrifying trail ride through hail and lightning on one of Crested
Butte’s summer afternoons. “I thought we were going to die,” says
Terry, but the storm passed, no one died and Maggie the Mustang
didn’t spook once.
The one animal on the ranch
that was not rescued is Tim’s prize
mule, Annabelle. At an auction with
friends but with no trailer or any other means to transport livestock,
Tim got caught up in the action and won a yearling mule. To say this
animal was “green broke” was a monumental exaggeration, but the
doctor didn’t know any better and the deal was done. The story has
a happy ending, with Annabelle, now six years old, saddle broke and
no longer tearing down fences every time her equine friends take a
ride off the property.
Although it has worked out well and Annabelle is clearly the apple
of the doctor’s eye, Terry feels it was unfair to the mule to purchase
her because they don’t have the skills to train her to full capability.
Not all is romance at the ranch, I begin to see from her comment.
Tim and Terry explain how each animal found them and brought
amazing changes to their lives. These changes have allowed them
to embrace other sides of their personalities and instilled a sense of
responsibility to help animals that cannot help themselves. “If you
have the space, the means and the time, how do you turn any animal
away?” Tim offers as justification for their growing herd.
As I tour this rescue ranch and listen to the animal anecdotes, it is
obvious each one has a special place in the hearts of the Bonneys.
I meet Otis and Elvis, the sibling llamas that could not bear to be
separated when one could no longer work. The sheep Sophia and
Francesca arrived for some rest and rehab but are now here to stay.
Jesse and Ali, two Australian Shepherd littermates, were abandoned
in an outdoor pen. The list goes on, and I wonder when the Bonneys
will run out of space and how they will be able to turn any animal
away. When I ask the question, it is clear that Tim and Terry, far from
their big-city roots, will continually work to make room for their
friends in need.
“We called them dinosaurs.”
The animals continually teach the Bonneys.
CrestedButteMagazine.com52
A light snow is falling, and the famed Taylor River catch-and-release area is desolate on this weekday in mid-winter, but
for two hardy souls from Crested Butte, Greg Smith and Justin Howard. It’s high noon and a relatively warm and windless
28 degrees. The pair is decked out in camouflage, and Smith’s head and face are swathed in numerous layers of fabric,
including a buff, ball cap and warm knit hat.
Smith is five casts in when his rod bends sharply. He peers out over the water and spots his fish flopping around in the
charcoal-colored waters below. A few small chunks of ice float by.
“Oh yeah! Right in the mouth!” he exclaims.
Smith lumbers down the four-foot-high snowbank where he’s been perched, hastily tosses his fingerless gloves aside into
the snow, and reels in his fish: a gorgeous, 17-inch rainbow trout. Less than 30 seconds later, the fish is gently released from
his net back into the water. Smith yells out the name of the winning fly triumphantly to Howard—who nods appreciatively—
and then clambers back up out of the river, preparing to do it all over again.
Smith and Howard are among the many individuals living in our valley who admit to a full-on obsession with fly-fishing.
The weather conditions are clearly no deterrent for these two. Smith cheerfully admits to de-icing his line a handful of times
already, and notes that while his reel isn’t frozen solid at this point, it probably should be. It’s all a part of the experience.
TO THE VALLEY’S FANATICS, FLY-FISHING IS SCIENCE, ART, EVEN RELIGION.
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CrestedButteMagazine.com 53
With countless waters to fish in Gunnison County, our neck of the woods is a veritable fly-fishing paradise, especially in the summer, but
virtually year-round. Those who fly fish 100 to 150 days or more a year, and there are many who do, wax poetic about their favorite sport in a
way that is hard to understand by those who don’t.
“The outdoors and the river, that’s where I go to church, and it’s where I find myself,” says John Bocchino, manager of Willowfly Anglers
and certified fanatic. “I feel like I can recharge my batteries when I am doing it. It feeds my soul, I absolutely love it.”
For Bocchino, it’s not actually catching a fish that draws him; it’s the process by which the fish is caught. It’s both a science and an art from
start to finish, he says: reading the river, tying and selecting flies, casting, reeling in the fish and closing the deal. Fishing off a boat, with a
worm dangling from a regular fishing pole, just wouldn’t evoke the same feelings. He’s a die-hard who “fishes his butt off” from November
to March, and will carry gear out on snowshoes in the freezing cold to a prime spot without hesitation.
“For me, fly-fishing feels like a direct connection to what is happening in nature. You are imitating nature [with your fly] and when you hook
up on a fish, it’s like you are now part of everything that just happened in nature. I’ve never felt that way with anything else,” Bocchino says.
Melissa Hobkirk doesn’t bat an eye when asked about her first foray into fly-fishing. She remembers not just the year, but the month and
day: May 22, 2006. Previously from Denver, Hobkirk moved to Crested Butte in mid-November of last year, not for the ski season but for the
fishing. Her obsession rivals that of any other fanatic in the area.
THEIR
By Erin English
CrestedButteMagazine.com54
PO Box 2751Crested Butte, Colorado
highmountainconcepts.com
970-349-5261
Highest Standards of Excellence
CrestedButteMagazine.com 55
“There were a few times I’d leave my night job at 3:30 a.m. and we
would drive to a river and go fishing, and then sleep all day,” Hobkirk
said. “Living in Denver, it was a treat to fish and something you had to
plan for. Now that I am living here, it’s not that fishing is a treat; it’s a way
of life. Fishing is what I should be doing, and I’m doing it.”
She adds, “I spend a lot of time looking at bugs, with my head con-
stantly down, digging in the dirt. And I keep track of insects’ mating
seasons—that’s a little weird.”
For Hobkirk, it’s not the number or the size of the fish that captures her
imagination; it’s the therapeutic benefits of being on the water. She is
perfectly content fishing the smallest streams in the area, catching five-
inch “brookies” and being in the moment. Her outings are recorded with
painstaking detail in a well-worn fishing journal.
“Fly-fishing instills patience. You are being eaten alive by mosquitoes;
you are up too early and out too late. It’s work, but it’s fun work. It’s an
escape from the pressures of the things you have to do in daily life,” she
says.
Roark Kiklevich, who has spent 30+ years guiding in the area, offers his
take on the sport’s allure. “It totally absorbs you, and there’s never really
an end to how good you can become,” he says. “Every stretch
of water, every pocket, every run…fish are there. You have to
think about where the fish live, you have to make casts that
deliver a bug that looks like the bugs that are there. It’s a total
puzzle.”
For anyone with the slightest interest in fly-fishing, Gun-
nison County makes it easy, with many fly shops and guide
services, spectacular waters (some of which are designated as
Gold Medal) and beautiful scenery, dozens of remote, pristine
streams and mountain lakes. There is variety and solitude for
new and seasoned fishers.
Brook trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and
Kokanee salmon are in abundant supply here, with endless op-
portunities to catch them.
“Some people think we look down our noses at other people
who fish differently,” Bocchino says. “We go out there and
Amy Beth Salley casts away on the Taylor River.photos > nathan bilow
CrestedButteMagazine.com56
A Professional Custom Home, Remodel and Historic Renovation Company
Johnny Biggers ~ General Contractor970-349-5990 | [email protected]
405 3rd Street, Suite E / Crested Butte, CO 81224
1880’s Cabin Restoration | Maroon Avenue, Crested Butte
Phot
o : B
ob B
raze
llCRESTED BUTTE SAVINGS & LOAN501 Elk Avenue / P.O. Box 1535 / Crested Butte, Colorado / 81224
www.gunnisonsl.com / [email protected]
A Branch of Gunnison Savings & Loan Association
970-349-7207
Purchase • Construction • RefinanceExperienced, Personal Service
Competitive Rates
People arrive here calling it a visit...
...we help them call it home.
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Each depositor insured to at least $250,000Temporarily increased from $100,000 to $250,000 through 12/31/2013
Backed bythe full faithand creditof theUnited Statesgovernment
freeze our butts off and put all the fish back.
And then we go catch them again. A lot of
people don’t understand why we do it.”
The understanding seems to come only with
participation, or from observing an individual
who is completely enamored with the sport.
There is pleasure written all over the faces
of Smith and Howard, who say there is really
nowhere else they’d rather be on this brisk
winter day.
“You have to catch one to know, and then
it’s all over,” Smith says reverently. By the end
of the day he will have caught – and released
– four fish total, an afternoon well spent.
“THIS IS WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE,” he adds, gesturing to the Gold Medal waters
below. And then he’s off, heading with intent
down the bank of the Taylor River 20 yards or
so from where he caught his last fish, his mind
already wrapped around the puzzle of catch-
ing another one.
A Professional Custom Home, Remodel and Historic Renovation Company
Johnny Biggers ~ General Contractor970-349-5990 | [email protected]
405 3rd Street, Suite E / Crested Butte, CO 81224
1880’s Cabin Restoration | Maroon Avenue, Crested Butte
Phot
o : B
ob B
raze
ll
CrestedButteMagazine.com12
Skyland Lodge, #402 • $109,000Newly remodeled kitchen!
Enjoy spectacular views of WhetstoneMountain from your south facing
balcony. Just across the street from thegolf course club house. Great value!
San Moritz Condo • $369,900Great value for Mt. Crested Butte ski-incondo. Remodeled inside and out. Only
$278/ square foot! Lowest price per sq. ft.for ski-in condo! All inclusive complex with
hot tubs, saunas and private shuttle.
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
SUPER EFFICIENT
OVERLOOKING GOLF COURSE
West Elk CenterUnit 102 - 428 sq. ft. - $199,000Unit 103 - 357 sq. ft. - $166,000
Commercial space with great access,good traffic count, visibility and parking.
Spacious common area and restrooms.
COMMERCIAL CRESTED BUTTE
110 S. 12th Street • $209,500This Gunnison property is 11,500 sq. ft.with 3 buildings and 2 sheds. Building
1 is a residential home/commercial1,375 sq. ft. building. Building 2 is a
300 sq. ft. retail space. Building 3 is adetached 322 sq. ft. garage.
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
189 Shavano • $345,000This 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath spacious town
home with garage is offered for less than$174 per sq. ft. Recent remodel hasopened the kitchen to capture the
amazing views! Solar exposure makethis home super efficient.
IN TOWN LIVING300 Belleview #6 • $199,000
Great 1 bedroom, 1 bath 594 sq. ft.condo in town. Short bike ride to
shopping, restaurants and the skishuttle stop! Great views of
Red Lady from your living room!
WWW.PREMIER-MOUNTAIN-PROPERTIES.COM
EXQUISITE MOUNTAIN LIVINGMAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RETREAT
20 Glacier Lily • $1,125,000This 3,616 sq. ft. Post & Beam featuresan open floor plan and magnificentprotected views. Oversized two bayattached garage includes an apartment.Situated on oversized 1.58 acre lot andborders 3 acres of open space.
$50,000+ RENTAL INCOME
550 L. Highlands Rd. • $1,248,000Perfect retreat nestled in the aspens on15+ acres with well and water rights.Spectacular views of mountain sunsets.Features granite slabs, stone tile, vaultedceilings, large loft, expansive decksand outdoor hot tub.
93 Meridian Lake Dr. • $535,0003 bedroom, 2 bathroom with garageis on a .49 acre lot bordering openspace. Protected unobstructed views,tennis courts and fishing rights too!
83 Alpine Court • $545,000Beautiful 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathhand-crafted home features woodfloors, granite, custom wrought-ironrailings and tile. Affordableopportunity! A must see!
FISHING RIGHTS
ENJOY THE SERENITY
210 N. 12th Street • $399,000This home was originally built in1883 and is in the final stages ofa complete restoration. Featuring3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a spaciouskitchen. Brand new two car garage.
HISTORIC GUNNISON HOME
“I was buying a $30,000 property and Mindy treated me like I was a milliondollar client!”
Holly Hicks • Almont, CO
“Mindy did an outstanding job through our entire purchase. On a scale of 1to 10, I would rate our experience with Mindy a 10. Mindy and the team atPremier Mountain Properties provided outstanding service and experiencebefore, during and after our purchase."
Greg and Becky Carver • Dallas, TX
“I have been investing in real estate for over 30 years and Mindy Sturm isthe best agent I have ever worked with.”
Bob Lordon • Seabrook, TX
“A friend of ours referred us to Buck at Premier Mountain Properties, andnow we see why! In particular, we appreciated Buck’s real estate expertise,knowledge of the market, and diligence in helping us find the perfectinvestment properties to suit our needs. We will definitely continue thispartnership for years to come and refer him without hesitation.”
Derek and Rebecca Steele • Houston, TX
CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RETREAT
$50,000+ RENTAL INCOME
FISHING RIGHTS
ENJOY THE SERENITY
HISTORIC GUNNISON HOME
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
SUPER EFFICIENT
IN TOWN LIVING
OVERLOOKING GOLF COURSE
COMMERCIAL CRESTED BUTTE
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
96 Chestnut Ln. • $100,000Owner financing possible. Next toopen space with grand valley viewsof Mt. Crested Butte, Whetstone andParadise Divide! Build your dreamhome here!
BORDERING OPEN SPACE
LARGE LOT
MOST AFFORDABLE LOT IN CB
341 Blackstock Dr. • $99,000This oversized HOME OR DUPLEXsite features much desired greenspace and a seasonal stream.Immense southern exposure offersgreat solar opportunities.
323 Larkspur Loop• $32,982Panoramic views in all directions fromthis spectacular home site. Enjoynearby stocked ponds, tennis courtsand public parks. Financing availablefor qualified buyers.
FINANCING AVAILABLE
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
LARGE LOT ON RUNWAY
31 Ruby Road • $185,000This premier Mt. Crested Butte ski-inlot is the perfect alpine setting foryour mountain retreat. Numerousmature pine and aspen trees.Financing available with competitiveinterest rate- no closing costs!
ON FENCE LINE 734 S. Avion Dr. • $150,000The best lot in Brookside, offeringbiggest views and immense Southernexposure! Located just minutes fromCrested Butte and skiing!
4 Lapis Lane • $585,000Located in the coveted Gold Linkneighborhood on a private cul-de-sacthis .34 acre lot has easy ski-in/ski-out access! Enjoy mountain views!There is no HOA, therefore no HOAfees. Owner financing possible.
424 N. Avion Dr. • $397,000Fly to Crested Butte and enjoy yourmountain home! Rare opportunity topurchase a spectacular 1.43 acrerunway home and hangar site.Panoramic mountain views.
BORDERING BLM LAND40 Acres • Gunnison • $125,000Easy year round access borderingBLM land. Includes a seasonalwatering hole and a flat grassy areaperfect for a barn or trailers. Bringthe horses and ATV’s. Great price!
FISHERMAN’S’ DREAMRainbow Acres • $119,500River front subdivision with privatefishing rights on the Gunnison River.Lot 12 has a well and offers unobstructedriver and valley views. You will enjoythe convenience to Gunnison.
HIDEAWAY ON THE RIVER129 County Road 11 • $239,500Charming cabin tucked away on itsown little hideaway on the GunnisonRiver. Unique opportunity with somany possibilities. Just under threemiles to downtown Gunnison.
COZY LOG CABIN 1 Irwin Avenue • $299,0002 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1,163 square foothome has a well, new water heater,south facing deck, detached workshopand solar power. This home is locatedat the base of the West Elk range andoffers fishing at Irwin Lake.
Premier Mountain Properties’ office located at 318 Elk Avenue, Suite 15 inhistoric downtown Crested Butte provides the following services to clients:
• Wireless Hotspot • Phone Services• Conference Facilities • Printing, Copying and Faxing• Federal Express and UPS Delivery
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Let our teamhelp you Unlock Paradise.
BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME
RECREATIONAL RETREATS
EXCLUSIVE CLIENT SERVICES
“Mindy’s enthusiasm and detaileddescription of how she would bemarketing my property helped me tochoose Premier Mountain Propertiesas my listing broker. Mindy was greatto communicate with and I could tellshe always had my best interest atheart. I am honored to recommendany perspective client to the Team atPremier Mountain Properties forfuture real estate needs.“
Ryan Thrush • Delta, CO
WWW.PREMIER-MOUNTAIN-PROPERTIES.COM970.349.6114 • 318 Elk Avenue • Box 1081 • Crested Butte, Colorado 81224Buck Sturm 303.249.2606 • Mindy Sturm 970.209.0911 • Melanie Swaine 970.275.0589 • Brian Cooper 970.275.8022
BORDERING BLM LAND
FISHERMAN’S’ DREAM
HIDEAWAY ON THE RIVER
COZY LOG CABIN
FINANCING AVAILABLE
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
LARGE LOT ON RUNWAY
ON FENCE LINE
BORDERING OPEN SPACE
LARGE LOT
MOST AFFORDABLE LOT IN CB
SOLD!
CrestedButteMagazine.com 13
Skyland Lodge, #402 • $109,000Newly remodeled kitchen!
Enjoy spectacular views of WhetstoneMountain from your south facing
balcony. Just across the street from thegolf course club house. Great value!
San Moritz Condo • $369,900Great value for Mt. Crested Butte ski-incondo. Remodeled inside and out. Only
$278/ square foot! Lowest price per sq. ft.for ski-in condo! All inclusive complex with
hot tubs, saunas and private shuttle.
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
SUPER EFFICIENT
OVERLOOKING GOLF COURSE
West Elk CenterUnit 102 - 428 sq. ft. - $199,000Unit 103 - 357 sq. ft. - $166,000
Commercial space with great access,good traffic count, visibility and parking.
Spacious common area and restrooms.
COMMERCIAL CRESTED BUTTE
110 S. 12th Street • $209,500This Gunnison property is 11,500 sq. ft.with 3 buildings and 2 sheds. Building
1 is a residential home/commercial1,375 sq. ft. building. Building 2 is a
300 sq. ft. retail space. Building 3 is adetached 322 sq. ft. garage.
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
189 Shavano • $345,000This 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath spacious town
home with garage is offered for less than$174 per sq. ft. Recent remodel hasopened the kitchen to capture the
amazing views! Solar exposure makethis home super efficient.
IN TOWN LIVING300 Belleview #6 • $199,000
Great 1 bedroom, 1 bath 594 sq. ft.condo in town. Short bike ride to
shopping, restaurants and the skishuttle stop! Great views of
Red Lady from your living room!
WWW.PREMIER-MOUNTAIN-PROPERTIES.COM
EXQUISITE MOUNTAIN LIVINGMAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RETREAT
20 Glacier Lily • $1,125,000This 3,616 sq. ft. Post & Beam featuresan open floor plan and magnificentprotected views. Oversized two bayattached garage includes an apartment.Situated on oversized 1.58 acre lot andborders 3 acres of open space.
$50,000+ RENTAL INCOME
550 L. Highlands Rd. • $1,248,000Perfect retreat nestled in the aspens on15+ acres with well and water rights.Spectacular views of mountain sunsets.Features granite slabs, stone tile, vaultedceilings, large loft, expansive decksand outdoor hot tub.
93 Meridian Lake Dr. • $535,0003 bedroom, 2 bathroom with garageis on a .49 acre lot bordering openspace. Protected unobstructed views,tennis courts and fishing rights too!
83 Alpine Court • $545,000Beautiful 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathhand-crafted home features woodfloors, granite, custom wrought-ironrailings and tile. Affordableopportunity! A must see!
FISHING RIGHTS
ENJOY THE SERENITY
210 N. 12th Street • $399,000This home was originally built in1883 and is in the final stages ofa complete restoration. Featuring3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a spaciouskitchen. Brand new two car garage.
HISTORIC GUNNISON HOME
“I was buying a $30,000 property and Mindy treated me like I was a milliondollar client!”
Holly Hicks • Almont, CO
“Mindy did an outstanding job through our entire purchase. On a scale of 1to 10, I would rate our experience with Mindy a 10. Mindy and the team atPremier Mountain Properties provided outstanding service and experiencebefore, during and after our purchase."
Greg and Becky Carver • Dallas, TX
“I have been investing in real estate for over 30 years and Mindy Sturm isthe best agent I have ever worked with.”
Bob Lordon • Seabrook, TX
“A friend of ours referred us to Buck at Premier Mountain Properties, andnow we see why! In particular, we appreciated Buck’s real estate expertise,knowledge of the market, and diligence in helping us find the perfectinvestment properties to suit our needs. We will definitely continue thispartnership for years to come and refer him without hesitation.”
Derek and Rebecca Steele • Houston, TX
CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RETREAT
$50,000+ RENTAL INCOME
FISHING RIGHTS
ENJOY THE SERENITY
HISTORIC GUNNISON HOME
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
SUPER EFFICIENT
IN TOWN LIVING
OVERLOOKING GOLF COURSE
COMMERCIAL CRESTED BUTTE
COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL
96 Chestnut Ln. • $100,000Owner financing possible. Next toopen space with grand valley viewsof Mt. Crested Butte, Whetstone andParadise Divide! Build your dreamhome here!
BORDERING OPEN SPACE
LARGE LOT
MOST AFFORDABLE LOT IN CB
341 Blackstock Dr. • $99,000This oversized HOME OR DUPLEXsite features much desired greenspace and a seasonal stream.Immense southern exposure offersgreat solar opportunities.
323 Larkspur Loop• $32,982Panoramic views in all directions fromthis spectacular home site. Enjoynearby stocked ponds, tennis courtsand public parks. Financing availablefor qualified buyers.
FINANCING AVAILABLE
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
LARGE LOT ON RUNWAY
31 Ruby Road • $185,000This premier Mt. Crested Butte ski-inlot is the perfect alpine setting foryour mountain retreat. Numerousmature pine and aspen trees.Financing available with competitiveinterest rate- no closing costs!
ON FENCE LINE 734 S. Avion Dr. • $150,000The best lot in Brookside, offeringbiggest views and immense Southernexposure! Located just minutes fromCrested Butte and skiing!
4 Lapis Lane • $585,000Located in the coveted Gold Linkneighborhood on a private cul-de-sacthis .34 acre lot has easy ski-in/ski-out access! Enjoy mountain views!There is no HOA, therefore no HOAfees. Owner financing possible.
424 N. Avion Dr. • $397,000Fly to Crested Butte and enjoy yourmountain home! Rare opportunity topurchase a spectacular 1.43 acrerunway home and hangar site.Panoramic mountain views.
BORDERING BLM LAND40 Acres • Gunnison • $125,000Easy year round access borderingBLM land. Includes a seasonalwatering hole and a flat grassy areaperfect for a barn or trailers. Bringthe horses and ATV’s. Great price!
FISHERMAN’S’ DREAMRainbow Acres • $119,500River front subdivision with privatefishing rights on the Gunnison River.Lot 12 has a well and offers unobstructedriver and valley views. You will enjoythe convenience to Gunnison.
HIDEAWAY ON THE RIVER129 County Road 11 • $239,500Charming cabin tucked away on itsown little hideaway on the GunnisonRiver. Unique opportunity with somany possibilities. Just under threemiles to downtown Gunnison.
COZY LOG CABIN 1 Irwin Avenue • $299,0002 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1,163 square foothome has a well, new water heater,south facing deck, detached workshopand solar power. This home is locatedat the base of the West Elk range andoffers fishing at Irwin Lake.
Premier Mountain Properties’ office located at 318 Elk Avenue, Suite 15 inhistoric downtown Crested Butte provides the following services to clients:
• Wireless Hotspot • Phone Services• Conference Facilities • Printing, Copying and Faxing• Federal Express and UPS Delivery
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Let our teamhelp you Unlock Paradise.
BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME
RECREATIONAL RETREATS
EXCLUSIVE CLIENT SERVICES
“Mindy’s enthusiasm and detaileddescription of how she would bemarketing my property helped me tochoose Premier Mountain Propertiesas my listing broker. Mindy was greatto communicate with and I could tellshe always had my best interest atheart. I am honored to recommendany perspective client to the Team atPremier Mountain Properties forfuture real estate needs.“
Ryan Thrush • Delta, CO
WWW.PREMIER-MOUNTAIN-PROPERTIES.COM970.349.6114 • 318 Elk Avenue • Box 1081 • Crested Butte, Colorado 81224Buck Sturm 303.249.2606 • Mindy Sturm 970.209.0911 • Melanie Swaine 970.275.0589 • Brian Cooper 970.275.8022
BORDERING BLM LAND
FISHERMAN’S’ DREAM
HIDEAWAY ON THE RIVER
COZY LOG CABIN
FINANCING AVAILABLE
SKI-IN/SKI-OUT
LARGE LOT ON RUNWAY
ON FENCE LINE
BORDERING OPEN SPACE
LARGE LOT
MOST AFFORDABLE LOT IN CB
SOLD!
CrestedButteMagazine.com60
HANG-GLIDERS AND PARAGLIDERS SOAR WITH THEIR WINGED BRETHREN IN THE EVER-CHANGING SKIES AROUND CRESTED BUTTE. by Dawne Belloise
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CrestedButteMagazine.com 3
Childhood fantasies of flight begin from the time we run against the wind and feel the tug of the string as our first kite launches aloft into the day. Even as we grow older, we dream
CrestedButteMagazine.com62
RENTALS | SALES | SERVICE | APPAREL | ACCESSORIES | MAPS & Friendly Local Advice
The Full Service Shop in Crested Butte
new location207 Elk Avenue
970.349.0515
bigalsbicycleheaven.com
of soaring above the earth, communing with
birds and tickling the clouds... liberated from
gravity and the mundane.
Here in Crested Butte many of us are still
pursuing our childhood pleasures with grown-
up toys. Starting in the late 1970s, self-pro-
claimed pilots began launching themselves
from Crested Butte Mountain with the help of
wings, called hang-gliders. The sport was rela-
tively new throughout the U.S. and much more
challenging in the ever-changing weather
conditions of the mountains.
Not to be confused with those hucksters of
base-jumping who throw themselves off cliffs,
opening tiny parachutes behind them, hang-
gliders, and more recently paragliders, now
have to engage in strict certification through
education. They must practically become
micro-meteorologists. And since the ‘70s, their
equipment has evolved for optimum flight
through better technology and design.
Hang-gliding utilizes a structured wing while
paragliding uses a cellular canopy whose
tubular pockets fill with air to transform it into
a wing. Hang-gliders are suspended from the
airframe in a harness, flying like Superman,
head forward and bodies stretched prone
behind. They shift their body weight to control
the wing’s direction and head off searching
for thermals – updrafts of heated air which will
carry them to higher altitudes, allowing them
to fly for hours.
Paragliders fly suspended in a harness be-
CrestedButteMagazine.com 63
low their fabric wing, also known
as a ram-air airfoil or parafoil,
which is shaped by air pressure
entering the tubular vents that
form a row of cells in the front.
Since the cells are only open in
the leading edge, the incom-
ing air keeps the wing inflated,
maintaining its shape. While para-
chutes are designed for descend-
ing only, paragliders can also ascend.
The birds you often see circling overhead are flying in thermals.
Paraglider and hang-glider pilots often observe birds to know where
the thermals are. Thermals are created when the sun warms up the
ground and then warms up rock outcroppings even more, which
sends warm air rising into the sky. Pilots, like birds, center themselves
in the core of the thermals, circling to maximize lift and gliding from
one thermal to the next. Thermals are also identified by cumulus
clouds, which mark the top of a rising column of warm, humid air as it
reaches dew point and condenses to form a cloud.
Scott Yost is one of Crested Butte’s newest hang-gliding pilots and
a recent member of the Crested Butte Soaring Society (CBSS), a club
formed almost 35 years ago. He knows first hand that the weather
here is unique. “Flying in the Rockies is the most exciting and the
most difficult for soaring flight. At midday in a CB summer, it’s pos-
sible to catch thermals and ride up two thousand feet a minute. You
just hang on! That’s really what you’re going for,” Scott says of the
thrill. “It will mellow out as you get higher.”
Always searching for thermals since they have no motorized power,
hang-gliders need to rise 200 feet per minute just to maintain flight
against the pull of gravity. Gliders can soar up to 18,000 feet by Fed-
eral Aviation law. Scott’s personal high was 16,500 feet.
Up where birds rule, the feathered flyers have a curiosity about
the strange brethren hovering around their thermals. “They look
at you, they come to you, they’re really curious about you.” Most
pilots share stories similar to Scott’s. “I’ve flown with bald eagles,
ravens, kestrels, and they are the ultimate in thermaling. I’ve gotten
in thermals with birds five or ten feet below me and can see every
feather and their talons.” He still sounds awed. “I’ll be doing my best
to climb in the thermal and the birds will core through me!” (“Core”
means to get into the center of the thermal.)
The early days of hang-gliding defined it as a dangerous, daredevil
sport; equipment design was in its experimental phase and training
wasn’t as extensive. The accident rate has been dramatically de-
creased by training, well-designed modern wings and an emphasis
on safety; pilots know more about the weather and when to
come down or not go up at all.
Ben Eaton, another CBSS member, pilots a paraglider
and says he spent his first four years hiking the mountain
and launching off. He’s also flown from Anthracite Mesa
above Pittsburgh, the caves up Cement Creek, and Willow
Creek, a soaring site overlooking Blue Mesa Reservoir.
“Recently we’ve been allowed to fly off Mt. Crested
Butte.” Ben expressed his appreciation of Crested Butte
Mountain Resort for granting the club permission to use
ski resort property. “We’ve gone from being in the dark to
being very visible on an open ski area.”
Ben has had his own rapturous experiences in the air.
“There are a couple of falcons who live on Crested Butte
peak and they come out and play with us. The two will play
with one another and if we’re soaring above the peak they’ll
start toying with us, definitely curious.” He laughs. “They’ll
come close enough to touch their wingtips to ours,” he
says of the sort of handshake, “more of an acknowledge-
ment of your presence. They want to check you out. It’s
pretty obvious who’s dominant in the sky... they are.” Ben recalls another moving moment from the air. “The coolest
thing I’ve had happen was when I was flying with my wingman Bo
Thomsen [pilots generally fly with a buddy for safety]. We were flying
from Anthracite Mesa and we were having a really good thermic
flight when the forest underneath us started moving.” He paints an
image of a dark mass separating from the trees. “There were about
300 head of elk that you could only see from directly above. We fol-
lowed them for about five miles towards Cloud City. They saw our
shadows and that had spooked them.” He’s still enchanted with the
memory.
Tony Brown is one of the originals, flying hang-gliders since 1979.
He first flew Crested Butte in ‘81. “We get really close to birds dur-
ing migration. That’s a great force of nature that we’re tapping into
that the world can’t see... feeling the pulsing of the atmosphere and
pushing us upward,” Tony says. He also describes golden autumn
days, warmly crisp and sunny. “In the fall, sometimes the aspen
leaves get pulled up into thermals,” like a great sunlit spiral, thou-
sands of dancing gold specks being sucked upwards into the bright
blue heaven.
On the warmest days of summer, pilots will be dressed as though
they’re going skiing because it’s much colder at altitude. “Our Cam-
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elbaks usually freeze,” Tony adds, “but when you get up there at cloud base, you can
skim the clouds.”
His personal high was 24,000 feet at a Telluride Airmen’s Rendezvous, which had
received special FAA permission to exceed the altitude limit. “Not only getting high but
getting far is every pilot’s desire... to fly cross-country,” Tony said. “I’m always looking to
take long flights. I think our potential has barely been tapped here.” His longest flight
was 111 miles during a meet in California. He adds, “I’ve had three flights of almost one
hundred miles from Crested Butte and once ended up at Green Mountain Reservoir,
north of Dillon, crossing I-70,” where he was first witness to a forest fire. He’s flown east
to Florissant and also to the Sand Dunes.
Flying cross-country was first done from Crested Butte by Tommy Boylon, a.k.a. Cap-
tain Rainbow. In the late ‘80s he was the first to fly across the Continental Divide, landing
a little below the Monarch ski area... almost not making it. Tony, who is known among his
pilot peers as the local who can pull off cross-country excursions, explains, “Sometimes
I fly out and zone out, and watch the birds (for thermal indicators). It feels like an instant
entry into another reality, a type of wildness... everything changes. Even if it’s easy flying,
it’s the kind of thing that always takes a lot of focus and keeps your mind off mundane
things. Sometimes you can float around like you’re in a boat on a pond... but you always
keep a little scan going. Other times it’s completely taxing to use all your faculties to
keep in a thermal and stay out of your friends’ way. Sometimes you kind of get smacked
around in the sky. Sometimes you can just drive your glider around the sky. The chal-
lenges are always unique and ever changing.”
Scott Yost summarizes what most of us can only imagine: “It’s the boyhood dream of
flying, and most people will agree that hang-gliding or paragliding is the purest form of
human flight. There’s nothing closer to being a bird.”
Dawne Belloise is a freelance writer, photographer, traveler and musician living with a large cat in a tiny cottage on an alley at the end of the road in Crested Butte’s paradise. Her writing, musings and photography are published in various mags and rags. Contact [email protected], rubysroad.com.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 65
Crested Butte Printing, in business in CrestedButte since 1985, hasmergedwithGrand Junctionbased Colorado Printing Company (CPC). Thenewentitywilloperate inCrestedButteunder thename“CrestedButte/CPCSolutions.“SteveMabryandChrisHanna, former owners ofCrested ButtePrinting, andKeithaKostykwill continue to servetheircustomers. Mabryexplained,“ByteamingupwithColoradoPrintingCo.,we can give our customers the samepersonal service that they are used to, but with agreatlyexpandedmenuofproductsandcapabilities.Those capabilities include access to high-volume,four-color printing, and digitally driven, variabledataproducts.Inaddition,wewillintroducetoourcustomersawholenewconceptofintegratingprintwiththeinternet.” According to Mike Antonucci, president ofColorado Printing, “Our goal is always to bringthemostsophisticatedmarketingtechniquestoourcustomers. In today’s world that is not just print,but much more. Our services range from creativeconsultation,design,copywritingandemailblasts.Wetrytocombineallthetechnologiestogetthemostmarketingbangforeachcustomer.WeareexcitedtobeworkingwithSteve,Chrisandtheircustomers.” CrestedButtePrinting’sdecisiontopartnerwithCPC comes after a long debate over purchasing anewpressandfinishingequipment.“Ourequipmentcouldn’thandleoursalesvolume.Thereweretimesof the year where our sales volume far exceededour capabilities, which forced us to out source asignificant amount of work. Moving forward wehadtomakeadecision,spendatremendousamount
ofmoneyonanewpressandfinishingequipmentor partnerwithCPC to utilize and offer the latesttechnologiesinprintingandmarketing,”saidMabry.“Itwasatoughdecisionbutclearlythebestmoveforourcompany.” With theCrested Butte Printing side dissolvedDecember 1, 2009, Crested Butte Publishing, stillowned by Mabry and Hanna, will operate as italwayshasandremainsunchangedwiththemerger.Hannaelaborated:“Withourmanufacturingoffsite,ithasgivenusabreathofnewenergytofocusonthetitleswehave and to improve them.”PublicationssuchasTheCrestedButteMagazine,The In-RoomGuide and The Map of Crested Butte and Mt.Crestedarealreadygettingmoreattention.“WehaveafantasticnewwebsiteforCrestedButteMagazine(crestedbuttemagazine.com) and we have justofficiallypartneredwith thechamberof commercetomakeourmapitsofficialvisitor’smap.Therearegoodthingsgoingonhere.” With today’s economy impacting companiesnationwide, Mabry stressed, “We did not go outof business nor was this a decision based on theeconomy.Infact,we(CrestedButte/CPCSolutions)haveneverbeenstronger.Ourpricing,theproductswecanofferandourturntimehaveallimproved.WearereallyexitedtoprogressasCrestedButte/CPCSolutions. Of course none of this would be viablewithout our amazing client base.We are fortunatetohavesuchgreatcustomerswhohavebeenpatientandwillingtogrowwithusthroughthistransitionandwelookforwardtoseeingeveryoneatournewcreek side location, on Elk Avenue behind RyceRestaurant.”
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“FIRE IN THE HOLE”There is something to be said for waking up to black powder can-
nons… especially when the BOOM is followed by the sound of
bagpipes. I open my eyes to see the shadows of a ponderosa pine
dancing on the walls of a canvas tent. Smoky, a long-time participant
of Mountain Man Rendezvous, says he is happier here than when
he wakes up in a room with painted walls that don’t shift under the
weight of wind. The shadows remind me of walks in the woods with
my mother; holding my hand, she would let me close my eyes and
walk beneath the cracks of sunlight as they danced on my eyelids.
I have to pinch myself to remember that it was just one year
earlier that I visited my first Mountain Man Rendezvous. It was a
Saturday in August, and the sky was overcast and threatening to
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CrestedButteMagazine.com68
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rain when I left my house. Instead of brows-
ing the booths at the Crested Butte Arts
Festival, I found myself turning west off
Highway 135 onto Washington Gulch Road.
An inconspicuous wooden sign with yellow
lettering leaned on the street sign, offer-
ing a tentative welcome to passersby.
EAST RIVER FREE TRADERSMOUNTAIN MAN RENDEZVOUS
PUBLIC WELCOME
I drove slowly, avoiding the cattle grazing
placidly on both sides of the road. I could
almost touch their noses. Clouds of dust fol-
lowed my car, and I watched for the Rendez-
vous site around every corner of the dirt road
until I saw the designated parking area. Adja-
cent to the road, a plastic port-a-john stood in
contrast to the painted teepees and triangular
canvas tents of the camp, where costumed
men, women and children milled about.
Drawn to the explosive sounds of black
powder rifles, I ventured into the high grasses
where the shooting competition was under-
way. An angular, long-mustached man knelt on
one knee scrutinizing his competitors as they
took turns on the targets. I sat cross-legged
in the sharp grass, jotting notes and trying to
ignore the questioning gazes of the riflemen.
When I left that day, as the afternoon
rain began to fall, I knew I would return to
the Rendezvous. Smoky and Tuck enticed
me with their fantastic stories of road-kill
stew, homemade whiskey called apple pie,
and “counting coups” on their Rendezvous
neighbors. By the next summer, I had rounded
up a few makeshift outfits and planned to
attend five Rendezvous throughout Colo-
rado. “Welcome home,” Tuck said every time
he greeted me at the Rendezvous sites.
Once, on the way to Rendezvous, we
stopped at a grocery store to pick up last-
CrestedButteMagazine.com 69
minute items, and I marveled at my
reflection in the store window… dressed
in colonial whites, cinched at the waist by
a thick, braided leather belt, with shin-
high moccasins a size too wide and my
hair in two long braids. I grabbed some
matches and vegetables for Smoky’s
Dutch oven buffalo meatloaf and blushed
when the clerk smiled at my attire.
Historically, Mountain Man Rendez-
vous were pre-planned gatherings of
fur trappers who had survived another
winter in the wilderness collecting beaver
pelts. Men from fur-trading companies
also arrived on horseback and were
eager to obtain furs in exchange for
supplies, booze and gifts for the fur
trappers’ Indian brides. At camps with
hundreds of tents, people spent their
days socializing and remembering
friends who never materialized again.
Rendezvous was a time of great
celebration and an opportunity for mountain men to take a
short hiatus from the dangers they faced every day. The days
and nights were lively for these men reveling in their reprieve
from the threats of wild animals, hypothermia, starvation and
the Indians, who were rightfully wary of the white man.
Between 1800 and 1840, there were fewer than 40 Rendez-
vous in the territory that is now Colorado. These popular events
disappeared with the mountain men when the beaver popula-
tions shrunk and silk hats from Europe became fashionable.
During the 1970s when characters like Jeremiah Johnson and
Grizzly Adams became popular figures in American culture,
and when back-to-the-landers sought refuge in the wilderness,
Rendezvous reappeared. Men and women began gathering at
living history encampments wearing “period-appropriate” at-
tire and creating campsites of teepees and military tents used
during early exploration of the West. Here, people traded for
goods that would have been available at Bent’s Old Fort or Fort
Robidoux and competed in muzzleloading and bow and ar-
row contests and, occasionally, a good wrestling match.
Typically, when we arrived at Rendezvous, dozens of cars, trucks,
vans, and Airstream trailers were parked haphazardly in the grass.
Out of the truck, I pulled teepee poles accompanied by large,
heavy canvases and well-made wooden boxes that held clothes,
food, domestic and recreational tools, as well as trading goods.
Smoky and I unfolded and situated the canvas tent on the ground.
We kicked old, dried cowpies from the perimeter of the tent, lined
up the poles and unfolded woven ropes at each corner. As soon
as the truck was empty, I reparked it in the parking lot; all vehicles
were removed from the camp until the weekend was over.
Today’s Rendezvous begins calmly after the morning cannons re-
mind everyone where they are. Burly and bearded men arise and don
their “capotes”— long, hooded coats fashioned out of genuine Hud-
son Bay Company or Whitney Point wool.
Coffee, consisting of unfiltered grounds
and water, is made on an open fire,
and no one comments if I pluck coffee
grounds from my teeth during breakfast.
There is a considerable level of au-
thenticity at these events. One’s years at
Rendezvous are apparent in the quality
of costume and camp. A common joke
is that everyone must leave Rendez-
vous and go back to work so they can
afford to come back to Rendezvous!
Smoky adorns himself with his best
beaded belts, bags and necklaces and
remarks, “Where else does a guy get to
decide what jewelry to wear today?”
I learn the meaning of “camp dog-
ging” for breakfast: showing up with
a spoon, an empty wooden bowl and
coffee mug, so the generous host fills my
belly with a meal of eggs, vegetables,
fruit, toast and strong black coffee. I watch
a young boy throw a hatchet at a target while his parents social-
ize. Later that summer, I’ll witness the “naming ceremony” where
he takes the moniker “Buffalo Chips,” having been successfully
dared to put some of the dung in his mouth. Fortunately, I’ll make it
through a summer of Rendezvous without acquiring a camp name,
which is assigned according to “something stupid” the person has
done (although I was threatened with the name “Long Winded”). Later in the morning, I walk with Tuck down Trader’s Row, stop-
ping to visit with friends and peruse the displayed goods. I ad-
mire the strands and boxes of beads, handmade leather bath kits,
New Mexican woven belts and cast iron pots and pans. I purchase
calico-patterned bloomers, and Tuck treats me to a baby blue
felt hat that is later adorned with a feather by another friend.
In the evening, we gather around a grand campfire and lis-
ten to tall tales about adventurous, wise and wily mountain men.
These are heroic stories of historical fur trappers and traders
like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, who explored the frontier be-
fore Native Americans were removed and before miners rushed
to the West in search of gold, silver, coal and hard rock.
Bottles of whiskey are passed as well-dressed mountain men
and women pull harmonicas and spoons from their “possibles”
bags and make music together. There are several balladeers
on the Rendezvous circuit, and they inevitably perform a score
of the most familiar songs and stories. I tap my palms on my
knees and watch the people around me bow their heads, close
their eyes and bounce with the rhythm of the instruments.
When I leave the fire and walk back to the tent, the cool, dark air
is highlighted by a stunning moon shining through high, splotchy
clouds. Oil-lit lanterns light campsites; soft voices and laughs drift
from every direction. So this is what Rendezvous feels like, I think.
Living history events are often misunderstood. One imagines
Civil War re-enactors dressed as Yankees or Rebels charging across
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fields with bayonets poised. It’s a common
assumption that re-enactors are escap-
ing reality. But I like to think that bare-
foot children chasing butterflies through
camp are a legitimate part of my reality.
In film, literature and truth, the mountain
men of the fur trade era experienced North
American soil as unspoiled and untouched.
It was the land of Native Americans, who
took only what they needed, gave praise
for what was afforded them and roamed
a great and varied landscape. The Indians
taught the mountain men their traditions
as well as the routes of their best guides.
In the years to come, mountain men would
show these routes to explorers and set-
tlers as civilization expanded west.
Every now and then, I try to channel those
mountain men. I walk quietly through the
wilderness wearing moccasins. I dance around
the fire to ward away coyotes howling from
the darkness. Rendezvous challenges me to
understand a time when the land was freer
and wilder. That time was less comfortable,
but also less distracted. I feel this connec-
tion during manual labor, like gardening,
shoveling snow and stacking firewood.
I catch a glimpse of that era when hiking
up Snodgrass or Gothic Mountain, dipping
into spaces where pine trees cover the sky. I
imagine what a mountain man felt when he
rode horseback up Paradise Divide, sur-
rounded by wilderness and healthy rivers
full of profitable beavers. When I moved
to Crested Butte five years ago, I didn’t
fully understand this land. But thanks to
Rendezvous, now I can see Paradise.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 13
RESHAPING OUR CULTURE MAY BE A LONG HAUL; BUT DYNAMO NORDIC SKI COACH AND ULTRA-MARATHON RUNNER DUNCAN CALLAHAN SPECIALIZES IN LONG HAULS.Story by Laura Puckett
Photos by Rob O’Dea Photography
A lanky runner from the Gunnison Val-
ley doesn’t sound like a poster child for
revolution, but that is, indeed, what Duncan
Callahan is all about. As an accomplished
ultra-marathon runner and head coach of
the Crested Butte Junior Nordic Ski Team,
Callahan is undertaking his revolution primar-
ily through running and skiing, but his vision
supersedes any one sport. It’s all about goals.
“My personal mission statement is to set a
goal, work toward it, tweak it, keep an eye on
it, achieve it, and teach or inspire others to do
the same thing. That’s why I’m here,” he says.
So whether he’s winning the Leadville 100
trail run, as he did in 2008, or teaching a sixth
grader how to skate ski, Callahan strives to
fulfill this mission one mile, one kid, one goal
at a time.
It’s surprising to find this confidence and
sense of purpose in someone 27 years old,
but they are evident in Callahan’s every move
and word. He walks into a room with his head
high, his stride strong. He speaks clearly, his
gaze unflinching.
“I’ve seen so many people with all the re-
sources in the world, or without any resources,
across the board, sitting. Sitting. Being bored,
not knowing what to do, not knowing how
to move forward,” he says. “We’re humans;
we’re supposed to do something bigger than
sit around playing XBox.” Striving for goals,
he believes, is the key to changing our culture
that “as a whole has become too complacent,
too tired, too lazy, too negative.”
CrestedButteMagazine.com72
Only in the last few months has he been
able to state his mission so distinctly. Previous-
ly, he was driven more by his passion for pure
sport. Growing up in Glens Falls, New York, he
found success as a Nordic skier and wanted to
continue on at the NCAA level, which brought
him to Western State College. After graduat-
ing from Western in 2005, he continued to
pursue skiing as the head coach in Crested
Butte. He began to focus on running at a new
level, too.
“Running resonated with me right away,” he
says. “I liked it. The rhythm of it, the exces-
siveness of it, the competition of it.” In high
school he posted better results as a skier, but
“I’ve always had a passion for volume,” he
says. One dry December day while the Nordic
coach taught the beginner skiers on a thin
patch of snow, Callahan was told to go for a
training run; 31.6 miles later he wrote in his
training log, “I want to run an ultra.”
With the encouragement of local runners
Scott Drum and Jake Jones, Callahan attained
this “ultra” (26 miles or more) goal in 2007
when he completed a 50-kilometer race in
Moab. That same summer he ran a 50-mile
race in Fruita and his first Leadville 100. A new
phase of his life had begun. In 2008, Callahan
earned his greatest title to date as the Lead-
ville 100 champion, completing the arduous
CrestedButteMagazine.com 73
course in just over 18 hours. The summer of 2009
Callahan garnered sponsorships from companies like
Vasque, Sport Hill and Vespa Amino Acid Supple-
ment and stepped up his racing schedule, compet-
ing in nine races and finishing in the top ten every
time (and in the top three all but twice).
Running is clearly one way Callahan embodies his
life mission. To complete one 100-mile running race,
let alone a dozen, requires enormous dedication and
determination. He wants people to understand it’s
not instantaneous: he’s had to go through the process. “You can’t see what happened in
my mind when I was on my four-hour run. But you can see ‘Duncan was seventh that year,
he won this year. Duncan’s time was 21 hours that year, 18 hours this year.’” He hopes
others will say, “I’m pretty inspired by that. I’m going to go do the same thing.”
The second half of his mission, to inspire and teach others how to set goals, fits
perfectly with ski coaching. His evolution from athlete into coach hasn’t been seamless,
though. At age 23 he took charge of the Crested Butte Junior Nordic Program and two
winters later decided to step away. He’s frank that during his first two years of coaching
he was excited about skiing around with kids, but that the other aspects of the job—
fundraising, relationships, administration—were more challenging. A year off changed his
perspective, and when he was given a chance to come back for the 2008-2009 winter, he
launched a new era.
Callahan took his second shot at coaching to enact a lesson he learned from his father.
“My dad has always said, ‘I don’t care who you are or what you do. I don’t care if you’re
the trash guy, I don’t care if you’re a CEO. You have one little thing, and you become an
expert, or you move towards becoming an expert, in it. In that process, you gain confi-
dence. When you have confidence, you’ve got the ability to try other things or to accept
criticism.’”
Callahan’s Leadville victory helped bring him to a place of greater confidence. Return-
ing to coaching, he could reflect on his strengths and weaknesses without feeling threat-
Duncan Callahan crosses the finish line as the 2008 Leadville 100 champion.
CrestedButteMagazine.com74
it’s about the land
Photograph by: Rebecca Weil
Crested Butte Land Trustwww.cblandtrust.org
970.349.1206
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energy, logistical support, financial support, you name it. When you get that kind of sup-
port coming in from people, you’ve got no choice but to give back.”
Giving back he’s done in force. “I think of my parents as the rocket that boosts the
orbiter into space. They instilled vision, dreams, ideas and knowledge into me. Well, now
that I’m in orbit, I’d better do something so that rocket-ship’s mission wasn’t in vain.”
To launch his young athletes, Callahan meets with the Nordic team two mornings and
six afternoons a week during the winter, and two to five days a week all summer.
“It’s scary in some ways,” he says. “Their goals become your goals, their successes
become your highs, their failures become your lows. A year ago I had a really good
relationship with one kid and one family; now I have committed relationships with six,
seven, eight kids and families.” While he’s thrilled with the increased dedication among
the team members this year, he hopes to grow the program still more. Having twelve to
fifteen junior athletes and six to eight college athletes would make the team self-sustain-
ing, both financially and energetically, but would keep it small enough for quality control.
It’s a long-term vision, but, true to character, he has set the goal and is working toward it.
Callahan acknowledges that he may get a bit extreme with the “mission” theme at
times. “I like things in excess,” he says.
With more drive than most people can fathom, Callahan realizes it’s unique to “wake
up at 4:15 in the morning, buzzing to go run. I come back from my run and write down all
these notes and thoughts and ideas that I had.”
These days most of his ideas are for his athletes or his training. With five ultra mara-
thons, including three 100-milers, on Callahan’s docket for 2010, staying consistent,
healthy and balanced will be as important as podium finishes.
Wherever Callahan focuses his energy in the future, one thing’s a safe bet: he’ll ap-
proach it wholeheartedly and tirelessly, full of ideas and plans, buzzing.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 17
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CrestedButteMagazine.com76
EMILY POST MIGHT NEED A NEW CATEGORY TO ENCOMPASS CRESTED BUTTE’S NOT-QUITE-BY-THE-BOOK WEDDINGS.By Rachael Gardner
Many of us who plan weddings for a living
have read Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette
more times than we care to admit. According
to Emily, all the weddings in the world fall into
exactly three categories: formal, semi-formal
and informal. The informal and semi-formal
weddings should be given their due respect,
but it is the formal wedding that holds special
attraction for most ladies – even in Crested
Butte, a decidedly informal town.
We dance to the beat of a different drum
here in the mountains, so I decided to
revisit the rules of etiquette and determine
if a formal Crested Butte wedding was even
possible. Had I been misleading formally clad
couples down an informal aisle all these years?
Emily’s formal wedding designation is
determined by four criteria: time of day, attire,
size of the wedding party and location. Armed
with this information, I reviewed past wed-
dings to see if they met Ms. Post’s standards.
Emily makes it clear that while an elegant
wedding can take place at any time of day, a
formal wedding takes place in the evening.
As anyone in Crested Butte knows, evening
is the most sensible time for a wedding. This
is to avoid the afternoon rain showers that
can wreak havoc on an outdoor ceremony. An
evening wedding also enables the groom (or
bride) to bike 401 and finish in plenty of time
to shower and dress. Was the practicality of
an evening wedding the true driving force or
just a happy coincidence? At any rate, Emily’s
time-of-day criterion was an easy one to meet.
Second on the list of requirements is attire.
Tuxedos, gowns, dark suits, cocktail dresses
and other forms of finery are mentioned as
acceptable dress code for a formal wedding.
Many couples in Crested Butte don a tuxedo and traditional white dress to exchange
vows. Just because they hike off into the woods to exchange those vows doesn’t
make the dress any less formal. As for the guests, peel away layers of work clothes and
athletic gear, and you’ll find that residents of Crested Butte not only know how to dress
for a formal occasion; they relish the rare opportunity to wear something other than
denim.
Mountain Matrimonials
CrestedButteMagazine.com 77
Then my mind settled on the dogs. A Buttian is seldom without his or her dog; to get married without one’s canine companion would
be unthinkable. I could scarcely recall a Crested Butte wedding that didn’t have the family dog acting as ring bearer. If the humans dress
in formal attire but the ring bearer goes unclothed and bare-pawed, does that still qualify as a formal wedding? I wasn’t sure what Emily
would say, but I imagined you could put a tuxedo tie on the dog (floral wreath for the females) and present a fairly solid argument for a
formal wedding designation.
The third criterion states that the size of the formal wedding party should be between four and ten attendants each for the bride
pho
to >
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CrestedButteMagazine.com78
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and the groom; a couple needs at least eight
people to participate in their wedding cer-
emony. Between traditional bridesmaids and
groomsmen, readers, musicians, friends serv-
ing as amateur officiants, dogs (Emily did not
specify that the attendants must be human),
flower girls and ring bearers of the two-legged
variety, eight was an easy number to reach.
Sometimes, in fact, it takes a village to marry
a couple, not just raise their children. Could a
couple get extra credit in one category to be
applied to another? I considered an evening
wedding in which the white-gowned bride
paused throughout the processional to greet
specific friends and each time was handed a
flower as that individual fell in step behind her.
When the bride reached the minister, her wed-
ding bouquet had been created from the flowers passed to her by
friends. During the recessional, the newlyweds again paused every
few feet, this time to collect a friend with a musical talent. When this
wedding party reached the end of the aisle, the attendants turned
and performed a song for the guests, written by the couple.
Could the abundance of the wedding party make up for the random
pair of not-quite-formal khakis that showed up in its midst? The
criteria count was three formal, one semi-formal, but I wasn’t sure the
rules of etiquette were subject to the democratic process. And mov-
ing on to the fourth criterion only muddied the waters.
According to Emily, a formal
wedding ceremony usually takes
place in a house of worship, a
large home or a garden. She says
little about the reception, prob-
ably assuming that venue choice
would complement the formal as-
pects of the ceremony. This is not
a safe assumption in Crested Butte. I remembered a very formal and
traditional Jewish wedding with a reception on the Brick Oven deck
CrestedButteMagazine.com 79
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and a bride who could not wait to shed her
designer wedding dress in favor of blue jeans
and cowboy boots. I’d have to adopt a “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy when it came to Emily
and Crested Butte’s wedding receptions.
As for the ceremonies themselves, many
Crested Butte weddings take place in gardens
and churches, meeting the fourth criterion for
a formal event. However, just as many take
place in other outdoor locations sacred to the
couples. My mind swam with ceremony spots
– couples who exchanged vows in Coal Creek,
on the Woods Walk, at a favorite fly-fishing
spot on Cement Creek, at the top of Paradise
Divide, amid wildflowers below Mt. Crested
Butte; the list stretched on and on. Perhaps
I could expand the definition of “house of
worship” to include these areas that inspired
personal and spiritual reflection.
With a little leniency, I decided that all the
weddings I had labeled as formal would hold
up to the Emily Post standard, even with their
dearth of mansions and ballrooms. But on
a last stroll down memory lane, I started to
remember the tiny details I’d glossed over.
I thought of the formally dressed couple who
stood alone at the evening altar but recog-
nized their would-be wedding party by provid-
ing each with a townie bike and riding as a
group from the ceremony to the reception. Is
it still a wedding party if they pedal beside the
couple instead of standing beside them?
What about the beautiful wedding at which
all were asked to go barefoot? Is a suit still
considered formalwear in the absence of
shoes?
And what to do about the minister who
wore white buckskins while the wedding party
stood in tuxedos and long gowns?
The incidents of Crested Butte style adorn-
ing otherwise traditional weddings could fill a
book. Each quirky detail served as a significant
factor in the couple’s wedding and couldn’t be
overlooked, but they challenged Emily’s tidy
nuptial demarcations.
Then I realized that Emily Post, being the
champion of etiquette, would want things to
be pleasant and properly ordered. Most likely,
were she to spend some time in our little
town, she would simply add a new category:
Crested Butte Formal.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 81
Visitors wandering through mid-town Crested Butte might be puzzled to encounter a two-story wooden totem pole, more fitting for the tribal lands of the Northwest than a former coal-mining town in the Colorado Rockies. But to those who know Crested Butte, with its madcap characters and penchant for whimsy, the totem pole seems right at home. Especially for me, since I photographed and wrote about its creation 37 years ago. George Sibley, the 1973 director of the Festival of the Arts, wasn’t content with just artists’ booths on Elk Avenue; he planned to steer the festival toward interactive art, with demonstrations and workshops. Over beer, local woodcrafter Denny McNeill expanded the vision: “There oughta be a 50-foot spruce log with people carving on it all at once.” After more meetings over more beers, Sibley challenged McNeill to spearhead the project. He took $50 from the Art Festival’s meager budget to local sawmill owner Joe Rozman, who delivered a 30-foot-long, three-foot-diameter spruce tree he felled near Lake Irwin. On August 6, the Monday of Art Festival week, I photographed McNeill and Barbara Kotz Sibley (then George’s wife) biting into the bark with whining chainsaws, roughing out their designs. Woodcrafters Bill Folger, Phil McKay and Jim Cazer joined them. Chips flew as their tools spit resin-scented
sawdust into the rocky lot near Third
Street and Maroon Avenue.
HOW A MOTLEY, FUN-LOVING CREW CREATED CRESTED BUTTE’S FIRST INTERACTIVE PUBLIC ARTS INSTALLMENT 37 YEARS AGO. Story and photos by Sandra Cortner
A Tribe & Its Totem
CrestedButteMagazine.com82
TOP LEFT: Denny McNeill & Barb Sibley make their first cuts in the log soon to be a totem pole. BOTTOM LEFT: Jim Cazer & Denny McNeill chainsaw the bark off. TOP RIGHT: Bill Fol-ger attaches branches (horns) to his buffalo head. BOTTOM RIGHT: George Sibley checking it all out. Do you see the resemblance?
CrestedButteMagazine.com 83
I ran the picture on page one of my Crested Butte Pilot newspaper and, because my office was just up the alley,
often dropped by to photograph the noisy progress.
Each carver worked a five-foot section of the trunk, with neither written plan nor detailed sketches — just an
agreement to finish by Sunday. Six days hence, it would be, in McNeill’s words, “Something fun for everyone to look
at.” Crested Butte’s first collaborative public art project was on its way.
Today, the totem pole remains one of the most momentous events of Art Festival annals. Yet recollections of its
creation vary, and my newspaper articles and photos only nicked the surface. Even the artists can’t agree. However, it is
a touchstone of collective memories of the 1970s, from when we were certainly a tribe of our own.
So, what really happened that summer, from top to bottom?
Recently, via e-mail, McNeill described the head he created on the top of the totem that I’d always thought was a
caricature of George Sibley. “It was originally supposed to be a face that was mostly nose and ears, resembling an elephant
somewhat. But the vertical nature of the log segment made that idea unworkable.”
The way McNeill tells it, a girl approached him during his handwork and asked
if he was carving Sibley. Struggling with his figure, McNeill replied in frustration,
“Yes, that’s George,” starting the persistent rumor. Recently, wanting to set the
record straight, he wrote, “It was a caricature of someone from the movie ‘King of
Hearts.’ Steve Glazer ran it every year at the Princess Theater. There was always a
masquerade party at Frank and Gal’s afterwards. The thing under the chin is a
bow tie.”
Barb Sibley still believes McNeill meant to caricaturize George, but admits that
chainsaw carving was new to them all, so their designs evolved along the way. “We were all winging it. In fact it was, for me, a
week’s seminar in how to keep a chainsaw running.”
Barb, who carved the second and third figures, started her woodworking business, the Alphabet, in 1969. After mostly
crafting plates, bowls and signs, she became enamored of trolls, creating them in all sizes — the largest one for the totem
pole. Realizing the space was too long for just the troll, she added the eagle beak and wings design, wanting “to stretch in
more ways than just filling allotted space.”
She recalled, “Billy Folger carved the mushroom at the foot of my troll and about gave Denny apoplexy as he was cutting
in narrower and narrower, in the very middle of the pole!”
Folger, who ski patrolled in the winter and carved in the summer, depicted a buffalo head below the troll. The week
after the Art Festival, he scaled a tall ladder, which was in place for staining, to secure the horns — three-foot tree branches.
Through the years the horns were lost. Folger, now of Hotchkiss, has remained a perennial exhibitor at the Art Festival.
Phil McKay, the only non-local totem artist, was visiting his friend Jim Cazer and carved a turtle going up one side and
down the other. At least that’s what I’m told. I have since discovered I’m not the only one who has to squint to figure it out.
Recently, I studied the pole anew, puzzled by the doubled-sided figure with paddle-like feet. Barb sounded less impressed by
McKay’s turtle than by his skill in operating his chainsaw in a trouble-free manner. “When his saw ran out of gas, he sat on the
tailgate of his truck and completely dismantled, thoroughly cleaned and gassed up his saw.”
You would expect the top of the tree to be the top of the totem pole log. However, it’s reversed, explained McNeill.
Semi-rotted wood comprised the slender treetop, which became the bottom of the totem. The misfortune wasn’t
discovered until Jim Cazer began work near the ground level and ended up with the short, or in this case skinny, end of the
stick.
Judging from my photos, he appears to have successfully carved a face with a ski jump nose, big jowls and buggy eyes
anchored by a row of five toes. At the time, he said it represented President Nixon. The local lore (reflecting the anti-war
sentiment of the time) was that Cazer knew dogs would be lifting their legs on his effigy. Later, a tongue sticking out was
added. A female friend claims it was a genital appendage and McNeill thinks it was the nose. Folger believes the figure was
a dog. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is meaning.
Recently Cazer said, “I would have to say that my carving really didn’t represent any individual or animal except
what I would call ‘Low Man (on the …)’ While that position has traditionally been looked at as the least desirable… I
was actually quite proud to be selected for it. The Low Man is the one who supports the whole shebang, and when he
finally gives out, all of the other higher beings hit the dirt.”
As McNeill predicted, it was “fun art,” not fine art. Its creators figured the totem pole might remain upright for
five years or so.
what REALLY happened that summer, from
top to BOTTOM?
CrestedButteMagazine.com84
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Raising the totem pole became another “interactive workshop,” as townspeople joined the woodcarvers on the final day of the festi-val, August 12, 1973. A local contractor dug an eight-foot hole with his backhoe. While a crowd watched and I photo-graphed, the patrol leader for the ski resort, who loaned a crane in return for a six-pack of beer, maneuvered the boom to hoist the pole into place, its belly protected by old tires. A team of bare-chested, long-haired hippies, commanded by McNeill, steadied guide ropes as the pole entered its place of honor, facing Elk Avenue. McNeill swung from the crane in rope rigging and crowned the top with an eagle weather vane forged by metalsmith Jim Wallace. A painter donated the stain/oil and sprayed the whole log. The oiling was not enough to protect the pole during the ensuing years. It cracked and then, top heavy, became our “Leaning Tower of Totem.” On June 22, 2006, the Town’s Totem Pole Committee (as Cazer calls it) lifted it down with a crane, oiled it and then en-circled it with four metal bands to stabilize the fissure wounding its right side. They cut off the decomposed bottom of the pole, along with the head of McKay’s turtle and Cazer’s rotting Low Man/Nixon. A metal housing was inserted into the log, screwed onto a rod in the ground, and encased in concrete. Now the totem faces slightly off the original center among picnic tables and benches in the manicured “vest-pocket park” that people call Totem Pole Park. The original carvers have discussed re-convening in Crested Butte to create another totem pole together. Or to feed the original one to a ceremonial bonfire before passing the torch, literally, to the next crew of artists.
“It might be time for a new generation of
Buttians to carve their own totems,”
Cazer said.
185 Juried ArtistsCulinary Demo Tent
Art Demo Tent
Festival Art Auction
Childrens Art Alley
Musical Entertainment
After Hours Events A non profit organization, the CBAF
enhances community life with art education and outreach programs throughout the year and
by providing artists and art organizations financial assistance through our annual grant cycle.
community outreach
38th annual crested butte arts festival
saturday
july 31 sunday
august 1
visual · performing · culinary arts
Peter Karner · Ceramics
new this year
The CBAF incorporatest h e c u l i n a r y a r t s i n 2010 with a variety of gastronomic indulgences.Join us for a very special
kick-off dinner featuring five of Colorado’s hottest chefs, FIVE™ (www.denverfive.com) and enjoy five courses and five phenomenal wines on Friday, July 30th. The culinary arts permeate the festival with unique seminars like “The Art of the Martini” and “BBQ, Bourbon & Beer” plus FREE chef demonstrations and tastings in our state of the art outdoor kitchen, complete with Viking appliances and equipment.
www.crestedbutteartsfestival.org
originalityhigh
altitude 20
10
Tate Hamilton · Painting
Larry Fielder · Mixed Media
art alley festival - historic elk avenue
Dusty Demerson photo
Sandra Cortner authored “Crested Butte Stories…Through My Lens” and ran the Art Festival during its tamer, less imaginative phase. To add your recollection, e-mail [email protected].
185 Juried ArtistsCulinary Demo Tent
Art Demo Tent
Festival Art Auction
Childrens Art Alley
Musical Entertainment
After Hours Events A non profit organization, the CBAF
enhances community life with art education and outreach programs throughout the year and
by providing artists and art organizations financial assistance through our annual grant cycle.
community outreach
38th annual crested butte arts festival
saturday
july 31 sunday
august 1
visual · performing · culinary arts
Peter Karner · Ceramics
new this year
The CBAF incorporatest h e c u l i n a r y a r t s i n 2010 with a variety of gastronomic indulgences.Join us for a very special
kick-off dinner featuring five of Colorado’s hottest chefs, FIVE™ (www.denverfive.com) and enjoy five courses and five phenomenal wines on Friday, July 30th. The culinary arts permeate the festival with unique seminars like “The Art of the Martini” and “BBQ, Bourbon & Beer” plus FREE chef demonstrations and tastings in our state of the art outdoor kitchen, complete with Viking appliances and equipment.
www.crestedbutteartsfestival.org
originalityhigh
altitude 20
10
Tate Hamilton · Painting
Larry Fielder · Mixed Media
art alley festival - historic elk avenue
Dusty Demerson photo
CrestedButteMagazine.com86
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CrestedButteMagazine.com 3
THE CRESTED BUTTE MUSIC FESTIVAL GETS GRASSY.By Shelley Read
Listen to the breeze on any Crested Butte
summer’s eve, and you are apt to hear the dis-
tant lilt of bluegrass music mingling with bub-
bling rivers and birdsong. Picking-circle gather-
ings so beloved to Butte bluegrass devotees
spill onto front porches, back yards, riversides
and campfire rings. Anyone with a stringed
instrument or melodic voice is welcomed to the
circle; children and friends dance nearby in the
dust; elders clap and tap along from their lawn
chairs. Bluegrass plucks at the center of your
joys and sorrows, or as bluegrass “founding fa-
ther” Bill Monroe said, it’s music that is “played
from my heart to your heart”-- and like all things
bursting with such soul and sass, Buttians simply
love it.
So when organizers of the celebrated Crested
Butte Music Festival pondered how to diversify
their offerings for the 2010 summer season and
incorporate a “festival within a festival” feel,
CBMF artistic and managing director Alexander
Scheirle sensed adding more bluegrass was the
answer. To some, the addition of a major blue-
grass festival to the CBMF may seem an unusual
choice. Since its 1997 inception, the CBMF
has been known more for its Italian operas,
chamber orchestras, jazz quintets and sympho-
nies than its spattering of bluegrass. However,
Scheirle saw an opportunity for the CBMF to
please locals and visitors alike by celebrating
the musical genre with such a strong local fan
base.
“This town really thrives on bluegrass,” says
Scheirle. “It’s more than an artistic style of music
to people here; it’s a whole culture. I started
wondering, why on earth has no one started a
bluegrass festival here?”
Thus was born the first annual Bluegrass in
Paradise, set to debut in Mt. Crested Butte this
July 9 and 10. pho
to >
kev
in k
rill
CrestedButteMagazine.com88
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A German native and former principal cellist of the Bavarian
Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Scheirle had never heard of this
American roots music when he moved to the United States in 2001.
“I grew up with no bluegrass, so when I came here and heard it for
the first time, I thought, ‘well, that’s fun,’ but it wasn’t until I really
started listening to it carefully that I came to appreciate it.” He now
happily embraces the irony of a classically trained European musician
going grassy and chuckles, “I may be the first and only German to be
running a bluegrass festival.”
photos > paul gallaher
Local musical legend Drew Emmitt will host
the inaugural Bluegrass in Paradise in July.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 89
With Scheirle’s limited knowledge of the genre, he looked to local
bluegrass marvel Drew Emmitt for assistance designing Bluegrass in
Paradise.
“Of course I always knew about Drew Emmitt, that he lives here in
Crested Butte and is one of the better known bluegrass musicians,”
says Scheirle. “I hadn’t met him before, but I knew there was no way
I would consider doing a big bluegrass festival without including him
in some way.” Scheirle offered Emmitt “whatever role he desired to
play,” which evolved into Emmitt becoming the main consultant and
official “host” of the 2010 Bluegrass in Paradise,
as well as one of the headline performers.
“I am so excited and honored to be a part of
this festival,” says Emmitt, who is best known as
founding member and mandolin player of the
widely acclaimed Left Over Salmon as well as
for his popular solo ventures, the Drew Emmitt
Band and the Emmitt-Nershi Band. “Bluegrass is
the perfect addition to the Crested Butte Music
Festival, and this beautiful and inspiring place is
the perfect setting.”
Emmitt and Scheirle put their heads to-
gether to create a festival that would reflect
Crested Butte’s character. Scheirle desired the
new festival to be “very personal and a good
match for the town,” as is his goal with all CBMF
events. Rather than competing with Aspen and
Telluride, they agreed on “a more low-key and
down-to-earth feel” for Bluegrass in Paradise. “We want locals to proudly say, this is our bluegrass festival, our
lifestyle,” says Scheirle.
Once the vision was in place, the pair went to work creating the
best mix of bands for the festival. Topping that line-up is the legend-
ary Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. Affectionately
known as “Dr. Ralph,” Stanley has been pickin’ his banjo and singing
bluegrass tenor for 55 years, has played on over 170 albums and
influenced countless young musicians, Drew Emmitt among them.
Also welcomed to the stage will be Bill Nershi of The String Cheese
Incident, playing alongside Emmitt and other musicians from the
Emmitt-Nershi Band’s celebrated 2009 release New Country Blues.
The weekend rounds out with Grammy nominee Blue Highway, Tel-
luride Band Contest winners Bearfoot, singer/songwriter Shannon
Whitworth and local favorite Spring Creek Bluegrass Band.
The eclectic line-up reflects Emmitt’s love for the elasticity of the
bluegrass genre. Known for his innovative styles of “newgrass,” Em-
mitt values the wide variety of ways traditional bluegrass music can
be interpreted.
“One reason I love bluegrass is because it’s wide open,” says
Emmitt. He points out the importance of learning from the original
greats like Monroe and Stanley, but believes “once an artist has that
solid foundation, there are so many ways to approach bluegrass,
from traditional to progressive.” Bluegrass in Paradise will offer a
“nice cross section” of styles.
Scheirle and Emmitt also knew that no true-Butte festival would be
complete without two other local passions: kids and group camping.
CrestedButteMagazine.com90
The Bearfoot Bluegrass Kid’s Camp, led by members of the Alaskan band Bearfoot,
will run July 6-8 for all levels of stringed instrument musicians, ages 6-17. The camp
culminates with a “Fiddlin’ Kids” performance on July 8 at the base area outdoor stage.
Bearfoot has taught bluegrass and folk lessons integrated with games, square dance, vo-
cals, art and youth jam sessions to thousands of kids worldwide, including a 2007 camp
in Crested Butte. Scheirle is particularly pleased with Bearfoot’s return for the inaugural
Bluegrass in Paradise. “Education is such an important part of the CBMF’s mission,”
he says. “In fact, I wouldn’t be doing the festival at all if there wasn’t going to be a kid’s
camp included.” Kids aged 12 and under will also be welcomed to all Bluegrass in Para-
dise concerts free of charge.
Plenty of camping will be provided for festival attendees on 17 acres adjacent to the
Mt. Crested Butte town park. Emmitt suggested the two-day festival be accompanied
by three days of camping to immerse festival-goers in the upper valley’s rousing setting
as much as possible. The camping experience, he noted, with its easy camaraderie and
spontaneous picking circles, is an integral part of any successful bluegrass gathering.
“No other musical genre really has the same phenomenon as bluegrass because of all
the picking that goes on,” says Emmitt. “With bluegrass, musicians speak such a com-
mon language musically and culturally. They’ll sit around the campfire all night and play.
Different musicians will come and go. The first time I experienced this, it blew me away.
There’s nothing quite like it.”
This summer, if you detect a jovial tempo in the wind or hear a long, lonesome twang,
you’ll know a circle of friends has gathered somewhere to speak from their hearts
through bluegrass music. No need to just sit back and wonder what it’s like to get grassy.
If the Crested Butte Music Festival can do it, so can you. Grab your instrument and your
lawn chair, sing along or kick off your shoes and dance. Bluegrass in Paradise invites
everyone to the circle.
Large Selection
of Beer, Wine
& Spirits
Domestic and
Imported
Open Monday throughSaturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
349-5709
Across from theClark's Grocery
bus stop.
CrestedButteMagazine.com 91
WITH ITS ENERGY INNOVATIONS, RECLAIMED MATERIALS AND DESIGN INSPIRED BY A MINER’S TALE, THE TIPPLE HOUSE IS A SHOWCASE NOT OF OSTENTATION BUT OF CHARACTER AND INGENUITY.
By Sandra Cortner
This storybook house begins
with a story. Imagine a mining
claim high in the Rockies back
in the gold rush days.
The prospector builds a
cabin to live in, a shed for stor-
age, and a tipple to dump the
ore. A hundred-plus years later,
three people with a shared pas-
sion for history create a home
at Prospect, high on the north
side of Crested Butte Moun-
tain, based on the imaginary
tale.
They call it the Tipple House
for its distinctive mining-tip-
ple architectural feature,
and they finish it partly
with boards, metal
roofing and even
nails reclaimed from
an old mine bunk-
house. But in its energy
efficiency, the home is state of
the art.
It all started after contrac-
tor Corbin Marr and architect
Jennifer Hartman collaborated
with Diane and Tim Mueller
on their barn remodel south
of Crested Butte, turning it
into an energy-efficient home.
“We had so much fun working
together, we decided to do
another project,” said Diane.
Corbin shared his dream
of incorporating history into
a green spec house using pho
to >
jam
es r
ay s
pah
n
CrestedButteMagazine.com92
antique materials. In March 2007, Corbin, Diane and Jennifer found a perfect location for
the home, a treed meadow in the Muellers’ Prospect subdivision that boasted 300-degree
views out to the Elk Mountains.
Their goals for the home, Diane said, were honoring the valley’s past of mining, ranch-
ing and skiing, making it energy efficient, and embodying the distinctive character of
Crested Butte.
“We wanted to do something different with the architecture,” explained Corbin. “It’s all
about the details—doing more with less. Diane was important in this vision: how to make
a property speak to something beyond being a beautiful home. Jennifer was more than a
designer; she had a perspective on what people would want in a home.”
In creating the house, the team “started out with a story,” Jennifer said. “The property
is a mining claim, the garage is a shed or root cellar and the tipple is part of the mine. We
wanted a sense of authenticity.”
While Jennifer designed, Corbin began seeking antique lumber and old recyclable
buildings, a quest that generated its own stories. After looking at buildings locally, Corbin
struck pay dirt in a casual conversation with his electrician, who said, “Hey, I think my
neighbor up Gold Creek above Ohio City is looking to get rid of a building.”
The structure turned out to be the bunkhouse of the Gold Links mine, which had been
family owned since 1880. Gold mining ceased in 1942 as the miners left to become part
of the war effort. The Federal Government wanted the stamps from the mill—the heavy
iron used to crush the ore—to melt down and use for making war armaments. During the
extraction, the surrounding buildings were dynamited, devastating the property owners.
In the last few years, though, they’d realized that the remaining structures were deteriorat-
ing, so they were open to Corbin’s offer.
However, just a check and a simple contract weren’t enough to convince them that
Corbin wasn’t going to wreak more havoc. First he had to pass muster with the matriarch,
95-year-old Eudora, who still summered off the grid in the old mine office. “She looked
me up and down, and they checked on my reputation and required references.” She knew
the weathered bunkhouse was a dilapidated liability, yet hadn’t forgotten the horror of
finding the dynamited mine ruins in 1943.
The 30- by 70-foot bunkhouse had a hallway down the middle and rooms on either side.
A nearby outhouse could “seat” about 50 miners, estimated Corbin. The bunkhouse was
in excellent condition except for rot where the drip line met the log foundation -- and the
stink of the resident rodents. “My big concern was how to get rid of
the smell,” he said.
First, he had to get the building from Ohio City to Prospect, more
than an hour away. Throughout September 2007, during a brilliant
Indian summer, “We had a tent city up there with five or six guys
who had hauled up equipment and a generator, so they could spend
nights while they disassembled the building board by board, saving
the nails,” said Corbin. A large truck ferried wood out and supplies
in. Another crew gathered granite chunks from around the mine.
Crews labeled and stored about 35,000 board-feet under a giant
tarp at Riverbend. “We had a treasure map made by my ironworker
Brent Strauss. We’d use the map when we had to hunt under the tarp
to find what we needed,” Corbin said.
The bunkhouse was an uninsulated balloon frame construction.
On both sides of the frame, there were two layers of one-by boards
covered with tarpaper. Builders “turned the bunkhouse inside out,”
Corbin said, using wood from inside the old building as the exterior
board and bat siding on the new Tipple House. The rough-sawn
wood still has traces of black from the tarpaper.
All of the wood detailing, interior doors and framework of the
Tipple House came from the bunkhouse. Rusty roof tin became
wainscoting, cabinet doors and ceilings. The fireplace, entry and
some walls are made of granite from the mine. Corbin found other
reclaimed wood and beams to match the look of the bunkhouse
after searching through 8,000 board-feet in Idaho; some came from
the old Weyerhaeuser logging mill in Coos Bay, Oregon.
In the master suite, with its “miner’s cabin” feel, bunkhouse siding
comprises the high ceiling with its fragile dark patina. The upper
walls are covered with wood from the interior of the old balloon
frame. Below is conventionally framed laminated veneer lumber
sandwiched between layers of antique chinked-log slabs from a mine
site in Idaho. The suite sits at the end of a low, narrow, rock-walled
hallway, reminiscent of a mineshaft. The walls display gold-laced
rock that had been secreted inside the
bunkhouse walls and a historical photo of
the Ohio City mill under construction.
A “living roof” covers the rock-walled
garage, giving it the “root cellar” look
the designer wanted. Corbin scattered
wildflower seed on the dirt roof last fall
and expects to plant more flowers this
summer.
The tipple, built on site, houses a stair-
way to a cozy, glassed sitting room on
top, allowing views to the north side of
Crested Butte Mountain, its granite peak
a twin of the garage’s rock exterior.
“We wanted to make the tipple read
all the way to the ground, even the lower
bathroom with its interior rock wall in the
shower,” Jennifer explained.
The intimate scale of the four bed-
rooms (plus an office) and accompanying
bathrooms is both true to history and true to current trends. “Smaller
spaces are becoming the newer standard,” Diane said.
All the old wood is unsealed and unpainted. As Jennifer pointed
out, “It’s lasted 100 years already without paint. The dryness helps to
maintain the wood. Corbin was careful to use it where it won’t be too
exposed and it’s protected by overhangs.”
And the smell? A chance discovery in Wyoming of a handcrafted
beeswax and turpentine wood-finishing product, using centuries-old
techniques, did the trick. The hand-buffed wood is fragrance-free
and “soft as a baby’s head,” said Diane.
“In another hundred years, our hope for the Tipple House is that it
looks like the bunkhouse did when it was a hundred years old,” said
Corbin, “handsomely weathered with a place in the landscape.”
CrestedButteMagazine.com 93
architectural photos > james ray spahn
CrestedButteMagazine.com94
THE ADAPTIVE SPORTS CENTER’S
DINNER · DANCING · AUCTION · GOLF TOURNAMENTii
AUGUST . 1 & 2 . 2010FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 970.349.5075 EXT. 104 OR VISIT WWW.ADAPTIVESPORTS.ORG
CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO
IN ADDITION TO USING MATERIALS RECLAIMED FROM RELATIVELY NEARBY SITES, THE TIPPLE HOUSE INCORPORATES OTHER ENERGY-SAVING FEATURES, WHICH ARE BECOMING THE NORM FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AS FINANCES ALLOW. Some of the home’s green highlights.... Two heat-recovery ventilator systems. Insulation of two-pound closed-cell spray in the exterior envelope. The interior is recycled blue jeans denim. The insulation exceeds County requirements.
Laminated veneer engineered lumber. LED lighting.
Efficient heat. Each room’s temperature is regulated with natural gas, hydronic in- floor heat. The home is wired and plumbed for future evacuated-tube, thermal solar panels.
Walls are finished with natural straw embedded American Clay and are naturally pigmented.
No paint, stain or VOC polyurethane is used.
Most work was done on-site and/or by local craftsmen.
Prospect regulations allow a home up to 8,000 square feet; this one is just under 5,000.
Reduction of on-site waste: everything is recycled. Employees burn the wood scrap for heat in their homes.
All wood windows are double paned, of managed European spruce forest.
As builder Corbin Marr says, “It’s not the fancy home on a promontory that screams out, ‘I am king of the mountain.’ It’s built to last with low maintenance.”
HONORING THE PAST, BUT GREEN
FOR THE FUTURE
CrestedButteMagazine.com 95
Diamond Blue Pool & SpaDiamond Blue Pool & Spa
Diamond Blue Pool & Spa
Also offering Connelly Billiards & Accessorieswww.connelly.com
329 Belleview Avenue, Crested Buttewww.d1.com • www.aquaticfitnesssystem.com
Energy Efficient Hot Tubs • Maintenance Contracts • Supplies & Repairs
970.349.6202
CrestedButteMagazine.com96
Professional Interior Design ServicesNew Construction & Remodels
Kitchen & Bath DesignCabinetryLighting
P.O. Box 1815, 313 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte, CO. 81224
970-349-5352 store • 970-349-5395 faxinteriorvisionscrestedbutte.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE THINK LOCAL FIRST CAMPAIGN (CREATED BY THE CRESTED BUTTE/MT. CRESTED
BUTTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE), SEE CBTHINKLOCALFIRST.COM.
ENJOY the extra service and expertise that comes from a locally owned business.
SUPPORT your neighbors (who might also support you).
KEEP your dollars circulating around your own backyard, strengthening your local economy.
HELP keep Crested Butte full of character by preserving shops and services that are unique to our town. photo > dusty demerson
CrestedButteMagazine.com 97
YOGA FOR EVERYONE! Come to us or we’ll come to your specal event!yogaforthepeaceful.org • 114 Elk Avenue • 349.0302
YOGA • DANCE • MEDITATION • BOUTIQUE • COMMUNITY
* Everyday Gifts
* Souvenirs
* Unique Seasonal, Home & Garden Décor
* Rustic Home Accessories
* Candles
* Antiques & Collectables
* Lionel Trains
and of course...
* Everything Christmas!
135 N. Main, Gunnison, CO 970-641-7456
REALTOR®
Find Your Dream Home At:www.jesseebner.com
©2009. An independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.
GO WESTMercantile Shop of Mountain Mel’sWestern Homemade Artwork Goods
327 Elk Avenue • PO Box 2380 • Crested Butte, CO [email protected] • awearts.org/melharper
Mel Harper970.275.5181
CrestedButteMagazine.com98
Sum
mer
Hig
hlights JUNE
1-30June in the Rockies, valley-wide events
5National Trails Day: local trail work day with CB Mountain Bike Association
12Summer Variety Show, Crested Butte Mountain Theatre
18-20Crested Butte Writers Conference, Elevation Hotel & Spa
19Readers in the Rockies, Elevation Hotel & Spa
24Art Walk Evening, galleries in Crested Butte
23-27Crested Butte Fat Tire Bike Week
24-27,30“Guys & Dolls,” Crested Butte Mountain Theatre
25-27Wildflower Rush cross country and downhill bike races, Mt. CB
13,20,27CB Farmers’ Market, Elk Avenue and First Street
26Bicycle Tour of Colorado ends in Gunnison
26,27Bridges of the Butte (24-hour townie tour) for Adaptive Sports Ctr.
27Alpenglow free concert in Town Park, Center for the Arts
CrestedButteMagazine.com 99
JULY
1,2,3“Guys & Dolls,” Crested Butte Mountain Theatre
2CB Mountain Heritage Museum’s Black and White Ball
3-aug.5Crested Butte Music Festival concerts and events
4Independence Day events in CB & Mt. CB
4,11,18,25Farmers’ Market, Elk Avenue and First Street
5,12,19,26Alpenglow free concerts in Town Park, Center for the Arts
12-18Wildflower Festival, based at Crested Butte Nordic Center
8,15,22,29Live! From Mt. CB free concerts on Red Lady Stage
7,14,21,28Public Policy Forum of Crested Butte
10-18Gunnison Cattlemen’s Days
15,16CB Land Trust Caddis Cup Fly-Fishing Tournament
15,22,29PowerAde Pinnacle Race Series (mountain biking, Mt. CB
17,18Rocky Mtn. Plein Air Painters National Show, Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery
22-25Crested Butte Land Trust Wine and Food Festival
22,24,2529,30,31“Charlie Cox Runs With Scissors,” Mtn. Theatre
29Art Walk Evening, galleries in Crested Butte
31-aug.1Crested Butte Arts Festival on Elk Avenue
clockwise starting from top left > alex fenlon > nathan bilow > alex fenlon > nathan bilow > xavier fane > rebecca weil > nathan bilow > tom stillo
CrestedButteMagazine.com100
Sum
mer
Hig
hlights AUGUST
1Crested Butte Arts Festival on Elk Avenue
1,2Crested Butte Open golf tournament/dinner, for Adaptive Sports
1-5Crested Butte Music Festival
1,8,15,22,29Farmers’ Market, Elk Avenue and First Street
2,9Alpenglow free concerts in Town Park, by Center for the Arts
5,12,19,26Live! From Mt. CB free concerts, Red Lady Stage
4,11,18,25Public Policy Forum of Crested Butte
26Art Walk Evening, galleries in Crested Butte
710th Summit Hike to benefit Living Journeys.Mt. CB
26-29“The Robber Bridegroom,” CB Mountain Theatre
5,12PowerAde Pinnacle Race Series (mountain biking), Mt CB
27-29Aerial Weekend (hang-gliding, paragliding), CB Soaring Society
27-29Offroad Handcycling Championships, Mt. Crested Butte
285th Annual Butte Bouldering Bonanza, Skyland Boulders
CrestedButteMagazine.com 101
SEPTEMBER
1-30September Splendor in the Rockies, valley-wide
2-5“The Robber Bridegroom,” CB Mountain Theatre
4,5The People’s Fair (arts, crafts & more) on Elk Avenue
5,12,19,26Farmers’ Market, Elk Avenue and First Street
11Fall Festival of Beers & Chili Cook-Off, Mt. Crested Butte
11,1233rd Annual Pearl Pass Mountain Bike Tour
12,13Wooden Nickel Fall Golf Classic, Club at Crested Butte
23-26,30“Moon Over Buffalo,” CB Mountain Theatre
19CB to Gunnison MountainAir Marathon & Half Marathon
25Taste of Caring Dinner for GV Health Foundation, Marchitelli’s
26CB Fall Colors Classic (1/2 marathon) by GV Health Foundation
20-25Vinotok Fall Harvest Festival
30ArtWalk Evening, galleries in Crested Butte
clockwise starting from left > dusty demerson > alex fenlon > rebecca weil > nathan bilow
CrestedButteMagazine.com8
Reverse the signs of aging at Colorado Laser SpaThe premier laser skin therapy in the Gunnison Valley
• Microdermabrasion
• Dermal Fillers
• Botox Cosmetic®
• Chemical Peels
• Laser Skin Rejuvenation
• Eliminink™ Tattoo Removal
• Obagi® Skin Care Line
Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Gunnison, you’ll never have to leave the
valley to get the skin care you desire.
From creating younger looking skin by minimizing wrinkles and age spots to removing
unwanted tattoos, CLS is the most sophisticated cosmetic medical practice in the state,
providing a complete line of skin treatments using state-of-the-art technology to provide
you with beautiful, younger looking and healthier skin at little to no downtime.
Let us help you look 5 to 15 years younger.
For more information or to schedule a consultation, call us at 970-641-0149
www.coloradolaserspa.com
Before After
CrestedButteMagazine.com 103
106ALPINE GETAWAYS Vacation Rentals510 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Crested Butte’s premium vacation rentals. We work with each cli-ent to provide the perfect vacation -- arranging accommodations, activities, tours and more.
1.800.260.1935alpinegetaways.com
104CRISTIANA GUESTHAUSBed & Breakfast Hotel621 Maroon Ave, PO Box 427, Crested Butte
Cozy B&B inn with European ski lodge charm. Hearty homemade Continental breakfast served fireside. Hot tub with mountain views. Private baths. Near free shuttle; walk to shops & restaurants.
1.800.824.7899 cristianaguesthaus.com email: [email protected]
104213 GOTHICRustic Log Home Crested Butte
Beautiful 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom home. An ideal vacation home and great location for the whole family. Sleeps 19.
1.970.209.6376 [email protected] 213third.com
106PEAK PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & SALES Rental HomesPO Box 2023, Crested Butte
Specializing in one to four bedroom private vacation home rentals in historic downtown Crested Butte, Mt. CB & the Club at Crested Butte (country club).
1.888.909.7325peakcb.com email: [email protected]
31IRON HORSE PROPERTY MANAGEMENTRental HomesBox 168, Crested Butte
Specializing in highly personalized property management and vacation rentals. Expect more.
1.888.417.4766ironhorsecb.com
106PR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Rental Homes350 Country Club Dr., 110A, Crested Butte
Large variety of private, luxury rental homes in Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, the Club at Crested Butte and Meridian Lake.
1.800.285.0459prproperty.com
105THE NORDIC INN14 Treasury Road, PO Box 939 Mt. Crested Butte
Allen (your host since 1969) and Judy Cox welcome you to this Scandinavian-style lodge. Rooms with two double beds & private baths. Within walking distance of the ski mountain.
1.800.542.7669nordicinncb.com email: [email protected]
42THE RUBY OF CRESTED BUTTELuxury Bed & Breakfast624 Gothic Ave, PO Box 3801, Crested Butte
Luxury B&B with full breakfast, private baths and concierge in his-toric Crested Butte. Also pampers pets with in-room dog beds, crates, home-made treats and dog-sitting service.
1.800.390.1338therubyofcrestedbutte.com
106OLD TOWN INNHotel & Family Inn708 6th Street, Crested Butte
The warmth of a family inn; value, convenience & amenities of a hotel. Home-made afternoon snacks, yummy breakfast. Rooms with two queen beds. On shuttle route, stroll to shops, restaurants & trailheads.
1.888.349.6184oldtowninn.net email: [email protected]
ESTABLISHMENT DESCRIPTION RESERVATIONS AD PAGE
104ELK MOUNTAIN LODGE Bed & Breakfast Lodge129 Gothic Avenue, Crested Butte
Historic inn located in a residential neighborhood of downtown Crested Butte. Just two blocks off the “main street.” 19 rooms individually decorated. Some with balconies.
1.800.374.6521 elkmountainlodge.net email: [email protected]
105CB VACATIONSLodging and Vacation PackagesMt. Crested Butte
One-stop shopping for all of your adventures. Crested Butte Vaca-tions can book your lodging, airfare and services for the perfect mountain vacation. The Mountain concierge at the Adventure Center can book all of your valley-wide activities.
1.800.847.6877970.349.2222skicb.com
104PIONEER GUEST CABINSRustic CabinsCement Creek, South of CB
Established in 1939, situated inside National Forest, but only 12 min-utes from town. 8 clean and cozy cabins, with Cement Creek running through the property. Cabins feature fully equipped kitchens, comfy beds, fireplaces and more. Dog friendly, open year round.
pho
to >
xav
ier
fane
CrestedButteMagazine.com104
Inside the National Forest but only 12 minutes from Crested Butte with
Cement Creek winding through the property.
8 adorable cabins with fully equipped kitchens, comfy beds, fireplaces
and more!
Snowshoeing, xc skiing, fishing, mtn. biking and hiking trails right
from your cabin door.
View cabins inside and out at pioneerguestcabins.com
970-349-5517
OPEN YEAR ROUND
Pooches Welcome
Perfect Vacation Rental
* 7 Bedrooms, 8 Baths, Sleeps 22* Complete Gourmet Kitchen* Steps to Free Shuttle to Crested Butte Mountain Lifts* Stunning Views, 1 Block to Center of Town of CB* Sunroom, Steam Room, Library, Internet & Wireless* Location is perfect for walking to Shops, Restaurants, and the Historic Center of Town
970-349-0445www.213third.com
E-mail: [email protected]
CrestedButteMagazine.com 105
CRESTED BUTTE
CRESTED VACATIONS Inspire your passion.TM
The Mountain Concierge in the Adventure Center can book valley-wide activities.
Let us help you fi nd your next adventure.
Inspire your passion.TMInspire your passion.TMInspire your passion.
We do it all, from rafting trips, horse trailrides, fishing trips, golf, tennis, and spa services, to taking care of any travel needs like lodging, airfare, car rental, and ground transfers.Our local experts are ready to help you get the most out of your Crested Butte vacation.
(970)349-2222 ridecb.com
Phot
os: T
om S
tillo
CrestedButteMagazine.com106
CrestedButteMagazine.com 107
$7-399380 PRIME • 251-3030 Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte
This slopeside restaurant features 2 dining venues: 9380, the casual choice, and Prime for fine dining. 9380 is your breakfast, lunch and apres-ski spot, with convenient firepit and outdoor bar. Prime opens at night for contemporary dining.
BreakfastLunchDinner
ttt t tt t109
BACCHANALE • 349-5257209 Elk Ave. Downtown
Italian. Delicious, casual Italian cuisine with marvelous entrees such as veal parmigiana, fra diavolo, or cannelloni for your main dish. Many meatless selections. Extensive appetizer menus and kid’s menu. Happy hours with tapas.
$12-32 DinnerBakery
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LIL’S • 349-5457321 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Sushi bar & grill. Crested Butte’s original sushi bar serving great seafood, steaks and surf & turf entrees, as well as options for the little ones. In Historic Downtown.
$4-28 Dinner ttt tt t 111
LOBAR • 349-0480Downstairs at 3rd & ElkCrested Butte
Eclectic dining. people rave about our sushi, but we’ve intro-duced a new casual bistro menu, fish tacos to crack fries! Free kids’ meals 5-6 p.m. On weekends, the Lobar transforms into CB’s only nightclub with live music, karaoke, DJs & more.
$8-32 Dinner ttttt tt t111
DJANGO’S • 349-7574Courtyard of Mountaineer Square, Mt. Crested Butte
Now gaining national attention, this culinary adventure introduces guests to a seasonal menu of globally inspired small plates. With an extensive wine list, courtyard dining and weekly live music, you won’t want to miss it.
$6-19 BrunchDinner
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MARCHITELLI’S GOURMET NOODLE • 349-7401411 Third Street, Crested Butte
Italian. Offering generations of family recipes in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. The menu features unique pasta-sauce combos, traditional and regional Italian, seafood, veal and elk. Reservations recommended.
$6-30 Dinner ttt t tt108
DONITA’S CANTINA •349-66744th & Elk in Crested Butte
Mexican. Down-to-earth eatery specializing in good food, ample portions, fun service. Fabulous fajitas, enchanting enchiladas, bueno burritos. Local favorite for over 30 years; casual atmosphere.
$4-24 Dinner tt tt t 109
MAXWELLS • 349-1221226 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Fine Dining. CB’s newest steakhouse. HDTVs for watching the games. Hand-cut steaks, seafood, pastas, lamb, pork, burgers, salads, appetizers, kids’ menu. Extensive wines & beers.
$7-31 Dinner ttt t t ttt109
EASTSIDE BISTRO • 349-9699435 6th Street, Crested Butte
Fine Dining. Upscale casual neighborhood bistro. Our menu evolves seasonally & represents the eclectic, creative, sophisticated visions of our passion for food, using locally fresh ingredients & prepared with innovative, contemporary style.
$10-35 BrunchDinner
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MCGILL’S • 349-5240228 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Old-Fashioned soda fountain. With malts, shakes, sundaes, banana splits, libations; home-cooked breakfasts and lunches prepared to order. Historic locale, casual atmosphere.
$4-15 BreakfastLunch
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SLOGAR • 349-57652nd & Whiterock, Crested Butte
Skillet-fried chicken and steak dinners served family-style. The toughest part is deciding what tastes the best: mashed potatoes, fresh biscuits, creamed corn, chutney, steak, chicken.
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LAST STEEP • 349-7007208 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Sandwiches/soup/salads. Casual family dining, relaxing atmosphere. Affordable menu with Caribbean island flair; Cajun chicken pasta, curry shrimp & coconut salad, artichoke-cheddar soup in bread bowl.
$5-16 LunchDinner
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WOODEN NICKEL • 349-6350222 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Steaks, prime rib, king crab. Known for the best steaks in town. USDA Prime cuts of beef, Alaska King crab, ribs, pork and lamb chops, grilled seafood, burgers, chicken fried steak and buffalo burgers.
$7-40 Dinner ttttt t 95
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ESTABLISHMENT CUISINE PRICE COURSE
GINGER CAFE • 349-7291425 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Using only the freshest local organic produce & natural meats to bring you the finest, tastiest Pan-Asian cuisine. Specialty cocktails include our mango-ginger mojito & fresh ginger martini with house infused vodka.
$7-20 LunchDinner
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RYCE ASIAN BISTRO • 349-9888120 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte
Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese dishes along with pre-mium vodka and sake concoctions in our full bar. Born from more than 40 combined years of restaurant experience, Ryce brings the best of the far East to the high country.
$5-20 LunchDinner
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Dinner Nightly349-7401 Downtown Crested Butte
Irresistibly Italian
CrestedButteMagazine.com 109
9380 is the slopeside breakfast,
lunch, and dinner dining destination.
The sundeck is the perfect place
for lunch or après hiking and biking.
SLOPESIDE – ELEVATION HOTEL & SPA
(970)251-3030
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Italian DiningWild Pacific SalmonLocal Organic Steaks
Homemade Italian Specialties,Soups, Salads & Desserts
Nightly SpecialsProgressive Wine List
Large Groups WelcomeTo Go Menu &
Take Away Dinner Parties
Dinner NightlyHappy Hours 5-6 & 8-9pm with Tapas & Drink Specials
Come check out our NEW bakery!
209 Elk AvenueDowntown Crested Butte
349-5257www.bacchanale.net
BEST outdoor patio, serving the FRESHEST food + most INNOVATIVE cocktailsyou can find in town.
OPEN 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.EVERY DAY
425 ELK AVENUE970 349 7291reservations recommended
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DINNER NIGHTLY 5 PM TO 9 PM
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED (970) 349-5765LOCATED AT
2ND & WHITEROCK
Family Style Chicken & Steak Dinners
Your Dinner Menu:Assorted Relish Tray
Fresh Baking Powder BiscuitsSavory Sweet & Sour Cole SlawHomemade Mashed Potatoes
Whole Kernel Corn in Cream Sauce Hearty Chicken Gravy
Honey Butter
One-half Skillet Fried Chicken, Steak or Vegetarian Entree
Home Style Ice CreamCoffee, Tea or Milk
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WHETSTONE WOODWORKS
Custom Residential & Commercialcabinetry | furniture | doors
970.349.9663
They protect. They pour. They partake. They are the many and the only New Belgium Beer Rangers. We salute their efforts in the field with the extra-hopinary Ranger IPA. Three pounds per barrel of Simcoe, Chinook and Cascade hops make this 70 IBU brew a thing of natural beauty. Seek out the Beer Ranger in your territory at newbelgium.com.
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