Summer-Fall 2012 Telluride Magazine by Telluride Magazine

ROAD CYCLING RHAPSODY | SUMMIT REGISTERS | BUTTERFLIES & LOLITA

S U M M E R / FA L L 2 0 12 VOLUME 30, NO. 1

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1 • Diamondtooth Unit C1, Telluride Ground floor commercial space with corner location across from Alpine Bank & the Wilkinson Library. $595,000

3 • 116 Lawson Point, Mountain Village Located in sunny Adams Ranch Subdivision, this attractive 4-bedroom home affords unobstructed views. $1,875,000

5 • Elk Creek Meadows, Wilson Mesa Stunning 565+/- acres, 360° views, large pond, diverse terrain, year-round access, power, water rights. $12,900,000

2 • Lot 912R, Mountain Village A secluded 1.73-acre lot on exclusive Victoria Drive with dramatic northern views & a private ski trail. $1,695,000

4 • Tract I Muddy Creek Meadows, Wilson Mesa Situated across from iconic Wilson Peak, 111 acres offer a flat building site, aspens & domestic well. $2,500,000

6 • Laughing Dog Ranch, Specie Mesa Impeccable 7,593 SF compound on 104 verdant acres with elegant main residence, barn & 4 outbuildings. $2,750,000

…

ou’ve earned it.

4 6

1 • Granita Unit 203, Mountain Village Slopeside & beautifully remodeled, 1,232 SF includes 2 bedrooms & spectacular views in 3 directions. $980,000

3 • Lots 7 & 11A Gregory Avenue, Telluride Unique combination of lots with over 17,000 SF, commanding views from an exceptional vantage point. $1,950,000

5 • Knightsbridge, Mountain Village Refined 7-bedroom home, luxurious interior, exquisite views, mature landscaping, private drive & ski trail. $9,200,000

2 • 766 Golden Eagle Dr., Horsefly Mesa Quaint 2-bedroom solar home with dramatic views, pond, green house, expansive decks on 40 idyllic acres. $515,000

4 • 122 North Spruce Street, Telluride A fantastic value, 7-bedroom home with lock off option features superb patio views & abundant light. $1,725,000

6 • 118 Polecat Lane, Mountain Village Premier ski-in/ski-out location, rustic 5-bedroom log & stone home, exceptional views & sleeps 12. $4,695,000

hampagne tastes on a beer budget? There is an affordable way to own in Telluride... Homes and Condos

Mountain Lodge #3010 Mountain Village: Ski-in/out

Etta Place Too #105 Telluride: Ski-in/out

1 Bedroom/1 Bath/562 sq ft

2 Bedrooms/2 Baths/942 sq ft

$239,000 MountainLodge3010.com

$429,000 EttaPlaceToo105.com

Mountain Lodge #4210 Mountain Village: Ski-in/out

Fairway Four #17 Mountain Village

2 Bedrooms/2 Baths/790 sq ft

3 Bedrooms/3 Baths/1,319 sq ft

$256,355 Short Sale MountainLodge4210.com

$350,000 Deed-Restricted FairwayFour17.com

Mountain Lodge #4207/09 Mountain Village: Ski-in/out

Looking to splurge a bit?

3 Bedrooms/3 Baths/1,017 sq ft

B: StargazerPenthouseTelluride.com

$475,000 MountainLodge4207.com

A: 241QuakeyLane.com C: E52TellurideA10.com

Vacant Land 312 Basque, Lot 125 Aldasoro Ranch

124 Singletree, Lot AR27 Mountain Village

2.77 acres/Borders Open Space

1 acre/Panoramic Views

$625,000 AldasoroRanchLot125.com

$625,000 124SingletreeTelluride.com

Russell Drive, Lot 515 Mountain Village

109 Double Eagle, Lot 628D Mountain Village

.54 acres/On Golf Course

.34 acres/On Cul-De-Sac

$495,000 MVLot515.com

$399,000 109DoubleEagleWay.com

118 Adams Way, Lot AR54 Mountain Village

Anderson Road, Lot 89 Wilson Mesa

.14 acres/Near Hiking Trails

7.1 acres/Equestrian Friendly

$325,000 MVLotAR54.com

$350,000 WilsonMesaLot89.com

Mike Shimkonis, Broker | shimmy@tellurideproperties.com | 970.708.2157, Cell 237 South Oak Street @ the Telluride Gondola | Telluride, Colorado 81435 4

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summer/fall 2012

TellurideAreaHomes.com

Don’t Wait

Every year you wait to buy a home in Telluride, is one less year you get to enjoy it.

1 • 302 North Aspen Street, Telluride Stately, sunny 4-bedroom residence plus guesthouse of master craftsmanship with exceptional views. $3,995,000

3 • 101 Autumn Lane, Mountain Village Slope side location, dramatic views & a warm setting make this 5-bedroom home the ultimate getaway. $4,995,000

2 • 143 Adams Ranch Road, Mountain Village Spacious, new 5-bedroom home located on the golf course with tremendous views, sunshine & finishes. $2,790,000

4 • Elkstone 7, Mountain Village Steps to the Gondola & Elk Lake, this private 3+ bedroom residence is a tastefully decorated retreat. $1,895,000

See photos & info on these properties, real estate market analysis & Telluride lifestyle news at tellurideproperties. com/BrianOneill

PHOTO BY BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

MOUNTAIN SPORTS AND ADVENTURES are, for the most part, solo endeavors. Skiers and snowboarders race and compete one at a time. Mountain bikers, trail runners and hikers power themselves to the top, and you don’t see many tandem cyclists struggling up Lizard Head Pass. Even in climbing, one person ascends while the other belays. “It’s an elemental struggle,” writes Matthew Beaudin in his story about road cycling on page 34. “Man versus mountain.” Yet, it’s not human nature to go it alone. We like to stay connected somehow, whether it is a climber on Everest using her iPhone and iPad to talk to her children (“Mountain Momma,” p. 24), or someone on a peak in the San Juans scrawling their thoughts on a summit register (“Sign Your Name at the Top,” p. 36). It is important for us to share our experiences, to give them meaning. Perhaps the artists in our community understand this best: The women who gather together at knitting circle for some social stitching (“Woven Together,” p. 30) or the local poets Art Goodtimes, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Ellen Metrick who perform their poetry for an audience of peers at Talking Gourd ceremonies (“The Passing of the Gourd,” p. 52). Knitting or writing might be solitary, meditative practices, but until someone has worn something you’ve made or read something you’ve composed, your art has not really found expression. “Poetry,” says Metrick, “comes from the part of our soul that connects with everything else.” Maybe it’s not just poetry, but everything we do passionately, that comes from that part of us which longs for connection. Maybe mountaineering, cycling, climbing, knitting and all the things we do obsessively are just different ways of participating—measuring ourselves in relation to the world. Whatever the reasons are that we choose to do the things we love, the only way we can transcend the feeling of doing them alone is by sharing the experience with others.

Share the Love

D. Dion, Editor-in-Chief 6

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summer/fall 2012

CONTENTS

Magazine

S U M M E R / FA L L 2 012

D E PA R T M E N T S

6 FROM THE EDITOR

EVENTS CALENDAR

16 TELLURIDE TURNS

Headlines and Highlights from the Local News

22 M O U N TA I N H E A LT H

22 N AT U R E N O T E S

26 WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW

“Bald,” an Essay by Rob Story

27 ASK JOCK

Athletic Advice from Our Mountain Guru

48 T E L L U R I D E FA C E S

Meet Erik Fallenius, Jereb Carter and Flair Robinson

52 INSIDE ART

52 F E AT U R E S

L O C A L F L AV O R

R E S TA U R A N T G U I D E

58 By Ryan Bonneau

Woven Together

Two women create a knitting community

Elegant Suffering

Rhapsody of road cycling and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge BY MATTHEW BEAUDIN

Sign Your Name at the Top Excerpts from local summit registers BY D. DION

telluridedining.com

A LAST LOOK

Local mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill on Everest

BY ROSEMERRY WAHTOLA TROMMER

Festival Food is a Tradition

Mountain Momma BY JESSE JAMES M c TIGUE

Passing of the Gourd: Poetry in Telluride

History: Nabokov’s Telluride Blues In search of an elusive butterfly BY CAROL TURNER

Historic Places: Deep Creek Mesa

The Basque sheepherding Aldasoro family settles on the mesa BY PAUL O’ROURKE summer/fall 2012

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S U M M E R / FA L L 2 012

CONTRIBUTORS

Magazine

Publisher JOHN ARNOLD Associate Publisher Creative Director KIM HILLEY Editor-in-Chief D. DION

[ JESSE JAMES M c TIGUE ] After growing up in Telluride, Jesse James McTigue (“Mountain Momma,” page 28) returned in 2010 married with kids. There is no other place she’d rather raise her two daughters, a sentiment she credits as much to the incredible lifestyle as to the cohort of mothers she gets to find sanity with while biking, skiing, hiking, camping and enjoying a nice glass of red wine. Now if only she can figure out how to get her hubby to take care of the kids and puppy for 70 days so she can escape on an expedition of her own ... .

[ MATTHEW BEAUDIN ] Twenty-nine-year-old Matthew Beaudin (“Elegant Suffering,” page 34) was the editor of the Telluride Daily Planet for five years. He has a profound love for coffee, bicycles and his Labrador retriever, Anabelle. He used to fear Lycra but now fully embraces it, even if it makes him look fat. Currently, Matthew covers professional cycling for Velo magazine and velonews. com, from the tours of California to France and everywhere in between. If you see him, feel free to buy him a cup of coffee.

[ BRENDA COLWELL ] Brenda Colwell is a professional portrait photographer who has been pointing her camera at Telluride faces since 1996, photographing all kinds of faces, including families, kids, pets and horses. Brenda has a reputation for putting her subjects at ease and making them comfortable so she can capture pure and natural expressions. She may have started with animals, shooting wildlife photography for the Colorado DOW and The Smithsonian, but she finds portrait photography and making a connection with people even more satisfying.

Copy Editor / Proofreader MIRA PERRIZO Web Director SUSAN HAYSE Contributing Writers Stephen Barrett Matthew Beaudin Thom Carnevale Erika Moss Gordon Elizabeth Guest Katie Klingsporn Michelle Kodis Jesse James McTigue Paul O’Rourke Martinique Davis Emily Shoff Rosemerry Trommer Carol Turner Lance Waring

Contributing Photographers Ryan Bonneau Brandon Carter Brenda Colwell Kit Hedman Amy Levek Brett Schreckengost •••••••••

www.TellurideMagazine.com Telluride Publishing also produces Telluride and Mountain Village Visitor’s Guide and the TELLURIDE CALENDAR. Our products are for sale at our office, retail shops in Telluride and on our website. For correspondence, subscriptions and advertising: 307 Society Dr, Suite D, Telluride, CO 81435 or editor@TellurideMagazine.com. phone: 970.728.4245 · fax: 970.728.4302 The annual subscription rate is $11.95. ©2012 Telluride Publishing Co., Inc., a division of Big Earth Publishing Cover and contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. ••••••••• COVER PHOTO

RYAN BONNEAU 8

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summer/fall 2012

Expressions of Beauty

Art for Home and Self Natural Diamonds by Todd Reed Oil on Canvas by Marshall Noice 171 South Pine St. Telluride ● 970.728.3355 ● lustregallery.com

LOCALLY OWNED FULL SERVICE SPORTS & TUNE SHOP • 24HR FITNESS FACILITY • INDOOR CLIMBING WALL

SNOW BIKE CLIMB SKATE

OPEN DAILY • 205 EAST COLORADO AVENUE • 970.728.4143 • WWW.TELLURIDEGRAVITYWORKS.COM

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

EVENTS CALENDAR

Ongoing Events Books and Cooks On the first Tuesday of the month at noon, host Chef Bud Thomas invites a local chef to prepare a dish from their favorite cookbook. Patrons cook, learn and eat at this free Wilkinson Public Library event. 970.728.4519 EcoAction Roundtable Participate in ecological discussions hosted by EcoAction Partners (formerly The New Community Coalition) on the second Friday morning of every month at the Wilkinson Public Library through September. Historic Tours Explore Telluride’s dramatic past with special guided tours through Lone Tree Cemetery with Andrea Benda (Cemetery Tours), historic sites in town with Ashley Boling (Historic Walking Tours) and in various buildings with George Greenbank (Architecture Tours). The tours are $15 and are hosted by the Telluride Historical Museum on select dates. 970.728.3344 Films at the Library Wilkinson Public Library hosts five film series programs: Telluride Film Festival Cinematheque, Mountainfilm at the Library, Community Cinema, Choices Cinema and Telluride Music Lover’s Film Club. All of the programs feature discussions and refreshments and are open to the public. 970.728.4519 Fireside Chats Attend these free historic talks featuring authors and fictional character presentations every Thursday evening throughout the month of August, at the Telluride Historical Museum (August 2) and The Peaks Resort. 970.728.3344 Lawnchair Classics On Tuesdays in Mountain Village in the Conference Center courtyard at dusk, Wilkinson Public Library presents cult classic films. 970.728.4519 Meet the Author Series Between the Covers Bookstore and Wilkinson Public Library collaborate to host well-known authors and a reading/discussion of their work. 970.728.4519

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

MAY 24 Gondola Opens for Summer/Fall Season MAY 25-28 Mountainfilm in Telluride Mountainfilm celebrates the spirit of the mountains, culture and the environment with films, presentations, seminars and the gathering of proactive people. The 2012 theme is “Population.” JUNE 1-3 Telluride Balloon Rally Hot air balloons launch at sunrise to fly above Telluride, and at sunset, the balloons are lit up and decorate the town’s main thoroughfare. This event is held annually, weather permitting. JUNE 4-9 Wild West Fest Celebrate the culture of the West at this four-day, familyoriented festival. Sheridan Arts Foundation also mentors and hosts inner-city youth to help them experience Western culture. JUNE 9-10 Heritage Fest Listen to old cowboy stories, see performances by Ute Indian drummers and dancers, watch a reenactment of Butch Cassidy robbing San Miguel Bank, pan for gold, ride a stagecoach and learn about mining at this celebration of Telluride’s history. 970.728.3344

Metropolitan Opera at the Palm The Palm Theatre presents live and encore performances on large, high-definition screens throughout the summer on select evenings. 970.369.5670

JUNE 20 Firstgrass Kick off the Bluegrass Festival weekend with a free evening concert in Mountain Village on the outdoor Sunset Stage.

Nature Rangers Children ages 8–12 meet on Friday mornings to explore and learn about the ecology of the Telluride valley. The program is free and hosted by the Telluride Institute and Telluride Open Space Commission. 970.729.1737

JUNE 21-24 Telluride Bluegrass Festival One of the country’s most renowned bluegrass music events, Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held each year during the weekend of the summer solstice.

JUNE 27 Science of Cocktails Fundraiser Join the Pinhead Institute for an evening of libations with Telluride’s best mixologists and an interactive look at the physics, chemistry and biology of cocktails and spirits. 970.708.7441 JUNE 27-JULY 1 Telluride Wine Festival Soak up all the information you can about fine wine at this four-day event, with seminars, tastings, winemakers luncheons and cooking demos. JUNE 27-JULY 8 Telluride Musicfest Elite musicians come to Telluride to perform in four classical music concerts hosted at the Mai Ranch, an intimate venue for chamber music. In the event’s tenth anniversary season, Musicfest presents “Vienna to Budapest.” JUNE 29-JULY 5 Telluride Plein-Air Landscape artists from across the nation come to paint the region’s vistas. Plein-air painting is done outdoors, and artists brave the fickle weather to create their work, which is exhibited and auctioned to benefit the Sheridan Arts Foundation. 970.728.6363 JULY 3 Red, White & Blues Mountain Village hosts a free concert on the Sunset Stage to celebrate the nation’s independence. JULY 4 Firemen’s Fourth of July Telluride’s Independence Day features a grand parade down main street, an old-fashioned community barbecue and games and activities for kids in Town Park, root beer floats at the historical museum and an amazing fireworks display at night.

summer/fall 2012

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EVENTS CALENDAR

AMY LEVEK

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

JULY 7 Cabaret Telluride Theatre hosts a fun, vintage fundraiser at the Palm Theatre. 970.369.5675

JULY 19-21 Telluride Americana Music Fest Enjoy three evenings of folk, Americana songwriters on the Sheridan Opera House stage. 970.728.6363

JULY 8 KOTO Presents Fun, family-friendly concert in Telluride Town Park to benefit local community radio station KOTO. This year’s guest is Ziggy Marley. 970.728.4333

JULY 22 Hot Tuna in Concert Hot Tuna performs at the Sheridan Opera House. 970.728.6363

JULY 9-15 Telluride Playwrights Festival The Telluride Playwrights Festival provides a laboratory setting for actors, playwrights and directors to network and nurture new, work that inspires and engages its audience. JULY 12-15 Telluride Yoga Festival Yoga instructors from around the globe convene in Telluride to offer workshops in all types of yoga, meditation, kirtan and other practices. JULY 13-15 Hardrock 100 This endurance trail running race spans 100 miles of high country terrain in the San Juan Mountains. JULY 18-22 Telluride Compassion Festival and Conference Telluride Institute and Stanford University CCARE sponsor a conference to investigate the science and culture of compassion. 12

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JULY 20 Ah Haa Art Auction Joie de Vivre-Cirque d’Ah Haa is the theme of this year’s event. The annual art auction features live entertainment and bidding as well as a silent auction to support the local arts school. JULY 20-28 San Miguel Basin Fair & Rodeo A weeklong county arts and crafts fair, complete with a dessert contest and blue-ribbon pies. This year there will be a demolition derby and the final weekend features a professional rodeo.

AH HAA SCHOOL

AUGUST 3 KOTO Duck Race Sponsor a yellow rubber duck, and if it floats down San Miguel River fast enough, you can win a variety of prizes, including a ski pass. The race is a benefit for the local nonprofit, commercial-free radio station KOTO FM. AUGUST 3-5 Telluride Jazz Celebration The 35th annual jazz festival hosts the genre’s top musical acts on the Town Park stage during the day and at various local venues at night. AUGUST 9 Blind Pilot in Concert Blind Pilot performs at the Sheridan Opera House. 970.728.6363 AUGUST 9-19 Telluride Chamber Music Festival Roy Malan, the festival’s artistic director and concertmaster with the San Francisco Ballet, brings classical musicians to town to perform.

JULY 25-29 Squidshow Original Production Telluride Theatre’s professional company of actors and writers stages an annual, original performance. 970.369.5675

AUGUST 11-12 Full Tilt in Telluride The best mountain bikers from all over the West flock to this local event in the Mountain States Cup Series.

JULY 27-28 Cajun Festival Located at the base of Chair 8, Cajun Fest celebrates the food and music of New Orleans.

AUGUST 16-18 Telluride Mushroom Festival The festival features everything from foraging to lectures and cuisine.

EVENTS CALENDAR

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

OCTOBER 6 Fall Tilt Bike Race Fall Tilt is a 12-hour endurance downhill mountain bike race challenge geared toward experienced riders. OCTOBER 12-14 Telluride Horror Show The newest film festival in Telluride, this three-day event screens independent horror flicks and hosts special programs and guests.

Ongoing Events Mountain Village Farmers and Artists Market Shop for fresh produce and food and handmade crafts and goods from 2–7 p.m. in Heritage Plaza on select Wednesdays and festival weekends throughout the summer. Open Classes at the Ah Haa School Saturday mornings there is an open studio for adults, Tuesday nights is an open ceramic studio, and there are dropin painting classes Wednesday mornings (Painting From Within) and Wednesday evenings (Canvas and Cocktails). Fabulous Fridays are for young artists to explore various mediums, such as sculpture, painting and jewelry making. 970.728.3886 Palm Movie Series Enjoy independent, arthouse films at the Palm Theatre on select evenings throughout the summer. 970.369.5670 Pinhead Institute Punk Science and Stargazing Punk Science presents fun science experiments that entertain and educate young people on Tuesday evenings July 3–August 7. Stargazing Series is held in July in Mountain Village, dates TBA. 970.708.7441 Sunset Concert Series Free concerts are held in Mountain Village on the outdoor Sunset stage on select Wednesday evenings throughout the summer: June 27, July 11, 18 and 25, August 1, 8, 15 and 22. Telluride Art Walk Local galleries and businesses showcase regional artists on this monthly, self-guided tour and reception, and Stronghouse Studios hosts an art opening. Maps are available at participating galleries and the event runs until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. 970.728.3930 Telluride Farmers Market Fresh, organic produce and meats, baked goods, flowers and crafts from regional farmers and artisans are on sale Fridays from 11:30-4 p.m. from mid-June to mid-October on south Oak Street. Telluride Film Festival Presents On the third Thursday of each month, catch one of the recently released films selected by the directors of the Telluride Film Festival at the Nugget Theatre. 970.728.3030 University Centers of the San Miguel UCSM provides post-secondary education and professional training. For a complete list of classes and events visit ucsanmiguel.org. Yoga, Zumba Classes at Library Have fun and get in shape with free yoga and zumba classes at Wilkinson Public Library. Schedule varies. 970.728.4519

OCTOBER 27 KOTO Halloween Bash Have fun at this annual Halloween party, which supports community radio. PHOTOS BY BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

AUGUST 17-19 Telluride Festival of the Arts Mountain Village celebrates the culinary and visual arts with an outdoor promenade of art booths, lectures, exhibitions and live music. AUGUST 20 USA Pro Cycling Challenge The first stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge starts in Durango and finishes in Telluride. This second annual event features elite cyclists and champions from all over the world.

NOVEMBER 5 Gondola Closes for Off-Season The gondola is staying open through the fall this year. The Village Parking Gondola Station closes on October 21 and the gondola’s mainline runs from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. from October 21 through November 5. NOVEMBER 16 Gondola Opens for Winter Season NOVEMBER 22 Telluride Ski Resort Opens

AUGUST 23-29 Shakespeare In the Park Telluride Theatre presents a Shakespeare play in Telluride Town Park. 970.369.5675 AUGUST 24-25 The Ride: Telluride Rock Festival A two-day music concert featuring Ben Harper & the Relentless 7, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Los Lobos and others. AUGUST 31-SEPT. 3 Telluride Film Festival This world-renowned festival keeps its program secret until opening day, but always features movie premieres, classic films, and discussions with the industry’s top filmmakers and stars. SEPTEMBER 8 Imogene Pass Run Runners test their mettle on this 17-mile course that gains more than 5,000 vertical feet, beginning in Ouray, topping out at 13,000-plus feet in elevation and ending in Telluride. SEPTEMBER 13 Sunset Blues Kick off the Blues & Brews weekend with a free evening concert in Mountain Village on the Sunset stage. SEPTEMBER 14-16 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival Blues and Brews hosts elite blues and rock musicians in Telluride Town Park during the day and at the local clubs at night. Sample handcrafted beer from microbreweries all over the world at Saturday’s grand tasting. SEPTEMBER 22 Mountains To Desert Ride Cyclists race from Telluride to Gateway Canyons Resort in this annual fundraiser for the Just For Kids foundation. summer/fall 2012

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Stand Alone, Single Family Residence With Street Level Commercial Space. Unprecedented for its comtemporary design and detail with close proximity to the gondola and center of town. Penthouse on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors with stunning views and light. Exceptional floor plan designed to accommodate intimate gatherings or extended family and friends. $5,600,000 SoLd FULLy FURniShEd

Steve Catsman

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The Local Source since 1972 970.728.6629 steve@catsman.com www.catsman.com summer/fall 2012

Tellurideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest Contemporary art form is also available for rental. Space provides the perfect place for your time here in Telluride. Location, Amenities and Luxury canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be beat in the Town of Telluride. Exceptional floor plan designed to accommodate intimate gatherings or extended family and friends. Beautifully furnished.

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summer/fall 2012

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Pa Gomo at Gray Head Listed by Steve Catsman

R E A L E S TAT E C O R P O R A T I O N

This property is listed for sale by Steve Catsman (Lic #830405) of Telluride Real Estate Corp. (Lic #159431) - PO Box 1739, Telluride, CO 81435 (970) 728-3111. Concierge Auctions, LLC is a marketing service provider for auctions and is a licensed Colorado Real Estate broker (EL100032451) - 777 Flagler Drive, W Palm Beach, FL 33401 (888) 966-4759. Broker Mike Russo (FA100027979). The services referred to herein are not available to residents of any state where prohibited by applicable state law. Concierge Auctions, LLC, its agents and affiliates, broker partners, auctioneer, and sellers do not warrant or guaranty the accuracy or completeness of any information and shall have no liability for errors or omissions or inaccuracies under any circumstances in this or any other property listings or advertising, promotional or publicity statements and materials. This is not meant as a solicitation for listings. Brokers are protected and encouraged to participate. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details.

FINE {ART}chitecture + APRES

AUCTION JULY 12 Two Premier Telluride Properties Selling to the Highest Bidders Without Reserve.

Ski-in/Ski-out in See Forever

An exquisite enclave retreat, privately poised atop Deep Creek Mesa at Gray Head Wilderness Preserve. A residence in the heart of Mountain Village with endless resort amenities.

Come home to escape OR stay, ski and play. PA GOMO AT GRAY HEAD | SKI-IN/SKI-OUT IN SEE FOREVER

TellurideAuction.com | 877-472-5288

TELLURIDE TURNS

Main St. Success

Uranium Mine Federal and state officials quibble

Rural Post Offices Shortened hours keep them open THERE WAS once a time when postal carriers were regarded as heroic figures in Colorado, braving treacherous mountain passes, avalanches, and frostbite to deliver news from the outside world. The US Postal Service’s role has been understandably diminished in the 21st century, to the point where it’s slashing operating hours at its rural post offices just to save them from extinction. The post offices at Ophir, Placerville, Rico, and Bedrock will all be open for business about half-time under a new plan designed to save the postal service a halfbillion dollars a year. The postal service arrived at that decision after an outcry over its suggestion that some post offices could be replaced with rural delivery or relocated into nearby businesses. The modified hours are scheduled to begin in 2014. It’s no coincidence that some of the post offices threatened with closure represented some of the most remote and quaint locales in western Colorado, where the geography no longer poses as mortal a threat as email, online bill payments, and overnight delivery from Federal Express. —Stephen Barrett

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WHILE THE LAWSUIT over Energy Fuels Piñon Ridge uranium mill grinds on slowly in Denver district court, an exchange of letters between state and federal regulators has provided a spark of conflict. The legal challenge rests on whether the mill’s approval by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment met the requirements of the federal Atomic Energy Act. The environmental group Sheep Mountain Alliance says no. So, too, do the towns of Telluride and Ophir, which are asking for an evidentiary hearing rather than an administrative review. The CDPHE is just as certain that it conducted its review by the book. But rather than wait for a judge’s ruling, Sheep Mountain’s lead attorney went and found an arbiter with nearly as much authority: the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC delegates its review of uranium facilities to state officials in 37 of the states, but in a widely disseminated letter the federal agency seemed to support Sheep Mountain’s position that the state’s review was sufficient. The bureaucratic rebuke generated statewide headlines, and attorneys for the two towns seized on the letter and its publicity to help plead their case. State officials responded with an epistolary counter-offensive. The head of the CDPHE released a scathing response to the NRC for all to read, rejecting federal authority to second-guess his agency and dismissing any legal implications. In their own letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper, San Miguel County commissioners chastised the CDPHE for its defensive posture, and the NRC has since replied with a more conciliatory note, assuring the CDPHE that it would withhold opinion, at least until after the lawsuit has run its course. In a final missive, the state asked the court to disallow the written exchange as evidence in the case. —Stephen Barrett

TELLURIDE Trappings & Toggery took part in the 2011 Main Street Efficiency Initiative, and now the owners are seeing things in a whole new light—literally. They completed a lighting audit and retrofitted the entire store, converting the old incandescent and halogen bulbs to more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps and LED tubes. The retail store is saving about $1,235 per year on the electric bill and has cut down its carbon footprint significantly. The savings are so high, they will be seeing a return on their investment in just a year. Local environmental group EcoAction Partners implemented the MSEI program through a state grant. EcoAction was able to help 12 local businesses audit their energy use and leverage energy efficiency rebates against the cost of making improvements. The initiative saved local businesses a collective $27,000 in utility bills per year, and resulted in a carbon reduction of about 65 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually—the equivalent of driving a Subaru from Telluride to Denver every day of the year. —D. Dion

Dropped Calls EVEN AT its busiest, Telluride is still a place to get away from it all, which sometimes comes as a surprise for people who expect to stay virtually connected. The revelation arrives in the form of dropped cell phone calls, missed texts, and stalled data downloads. It’s typically a problem when crowds arrive for major festivals and the winter holidays. Wireless companies such as AT&T blame the capacity problem mainly on the popularity of smart phones and the strain they put on the network. AT&T has become the first to respond with new equipment. Telluride town officials say Verizon Wireless has also asked about installing more antennas. The wireless carriers’ resolve to meet their customers’ expectations shows just how ingrained cell phone communication has become in such a short time, even in a place that never before worried whether it was out of touch. —Stephen Barrett

RYAN BONNEAU

TELLURIDE TURNS

Flights to Telluride

“Telluride Tales” A celebration of Telluride’s history THERE ARE FEW TOWNS of Telluride’s size that have amassed as much history in such a brief amount of time. In the span of 134 years, the town has reinvented itself over and over again through a mixture of perseverance, iconoclasm, toil and cheer. It’s a story that doesn’t always lend itself to staid exhibits or lectures, which is why the Telluride Historical Museum has launched a new publication to give it voice. Telluride Tales is designed to elaborate on themes showcased each year through the museum’s collection of artifacts. As an annual journal, it will be sent to the museum’s members and appear on local newsstands. The first edition focused on the 1970s, one of the most dramatic and celebrated periods in the town’s history. Editor Mary Duffy said her challenge was to sort through an overwhelming amount of photographs and homespun recollections. They resulted in a compilation that provides a more nuanced alternative to the gauzy narrative that has spun itself around the resort’s formative years. Duffy expects future editions to look deeper into the standard lore of miners, ranchers and risk-takers that have given Telluride its mythic quality. As a town that was declared a National Historic Landmark District before it even reached its 100th anniversary, Telluride has never been shy about exalting its past. Despite the town’s self-reverential tendencies, Duffy is certain the journal will never run out of fresh material or contemporary ways of telling familiar stories. “Everything’s constantly changing, and there’s always something new. Telluride is really a dynamic place.” —Stephen Barrett

THINGS ARE GETTING a little bumpy for the Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization. The organization blames the turbulence on rising gas prices and their effect on the airline industry. Because of the rising costs, airlines want stronger financial guarantees to fly into vacation destinations like Telluride and Montrose, where travelers are more sensitive to ticket prices. Through its guarantee program, the air organization makes sure those flights generate a profit, and that now requires more money than the organization has available. The organization collects about $2.5 million dollars a year through its excise tax on hotels, bars and restaurant sales in Telluride and Mountain Village. Last year, local governments and businesses donated another $400,000 to make up the shortfall. Even with the extra money, the air organization struggled to find carriers willing to commit to Montrose and Telluride, and winter service dropped by nearly 20 percent. The unspent donations were used to salvage summer flights between Montrose and Texas, but the situation still leaves the air organization facing a downward spiral. Fewer flights to the region will likely translate to fewer visitors and less money for the air organization at a time when airlines are demanding more contributions. The summer program has been drastically reduced from more robust years. Meanwhile, struggling airlines are even cutting back their regional service on profitable routes that require no financial guarantee. That prospect has the air organization thinking about whether to ask for a tax increase or perhaps try something more drastic. Its directors have discussed courting a low-cost airline like Allegiant or Frontier, where profit margins are much more attainable. They are also researching whether it’s possible for the organization to lease a plane of its own and entice a carrier to operate regular flights between Telluride and Denver. —Stephen Barrett

summer/fall 2012

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

Service up in the air

Bluegrass Loves Locals Four-day passes sell out in record time AFTER selling out its four-day passes in record time, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival demonstrated that it’s just as committed to Telluride as it is to bluegrass music. To make sure the event maintains a local vibe, festival producer Planet Bluegrass had originally set aside 450 passes for county residents. When those failed to satisfy demand, the festival received permission to increase its audience by another 400 people, provided they also live in the area. The result is that the Telluride Bluegrass Festival will be both the largest and one of the most intimate in recent history, as nearly one in ten attendees will be a local resident. For an event that’s getting more and more attention in national media like Rolling Stone and NPR, the move is recognition that street credibility can still matter the most, especially when there’s only one road in and out of town. —Stephen Barrett

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BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

TELLURIDE TURNS

Perilous Snowpack Mountain Design

Season Plagued by Unstable Snow

Local Wins “Best Furniture Maker” Award OPHIR-BASED FURNITURE DESIGNER and craftsman Andy Ward was honored with the prestigious Best Furniture Maker award at the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Ward, whose custom creations seamlessly and cleverly blend a modern sensibility with a rustic perspective, caught the attention of the conference judges (a panel of consumers and peers) with his “Drift Desk,” a sensual, rough-cut sweep of cherry anchored by a finely honed and almost delicate base, which highlights Ward’s ability to merge texture and finish into a cohesive unit. Of the Drift Desk, whose three slim-line, curving drawers bring it fully into the realm of the functional, Ward explains: “The Drift name comes from how the legs pierce through the top, where the top has been shaped around the leg to make it appear that it’s swelled around the leg. I grabbed this idea after a winter storm had blown snow around some aspens.” Ward has long taken his inspiration from nature, and the popularity of his desks, chairs, tables, beds and cabinets reveals his clients’ appreciation for the innate beauty of various species of wood gently coaxed into usable, heirloom pieces that reflect a timeless quality. A Minnesota native, Ward originally thought he wanted to be an architect, but during his studies he began to discover his true bliss in a woodshop. Increasingly pulled toward an artist’s life of start-to-finish, hands-on furniture design, he left architecture school and the rest is history. There’s no mistaking a Ward design; his pieces sing the praises of nature and delight the eye with their unusual combinations of materials and purposeful yet understated angles. Ward’s work has evolved over time into the sophisticated style for which he is now lauded. In 2005, he completed a nine-month program at the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Department. Ward’s specialty involves sourcing and then milling a single slab of wood, in the process transforming it into a compelling piece of furniture—a desk or a dining table, for example. His pieces can be configured to exact specifications for, say, a corner office or a non-traditional floor plan. The primary goal is to retain the beauty of the wood—the raw material from which Ward works his magic. —Michelle Kodis

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summer/fall 2012

ANYONE WHO SPENDS enough time in the mountains eventually learns their capricious nature, but few seasons have delivered that lesson with such persistent cruelty. Early forecasts for the 2011–12 winter predicted that a second consecutive La Niña weather pattern would deliver heavier storms to the northern mountains and leave the Telluride region wanting for snow. That expectation collapsed in late January, when suddenly and implausibly the San Juan Mountains seemed to become the only place in the country visited by winter. By then, the trap had been laid in the form of a weak layer of early season snow incapable of supporting the new powder. A young father, Nate Soules, became the region’s first casualty when an avalanche overtook him in lower Bear Creek. A few weeks later, Garrett Carothers, a junior at Norwood High School, was buried during a snowmobile outing in the nearby La Sal Mountains. A mid-February slide in Ophir’s Swamp Canyon injured a local skier and buried a dog. Natural avalanches left visible warnings on the slopes of Ajax and Telluride Peak. Snow safety experts called Colorado’s avalanche danger its worst in 30 years. Then, nearly as abruptly, the winter storms subsided and springtime skiing offered a false respite, as a group of visitors touring near Ophir Pass discovered just as the season was winding down, when one of their friends got swept to his death under a relentless river of snow that had been warmed by the late afternoon sun on an otherwise placid day. The final irony is that weather statisticians will look back at the winter of 2011–12 as unremarkable, a year when snow depths fell short of their historical averages and quickly melted away. If only the same could be said about the sorrow and sudden loss that the season left behind. —Stephen Barrett

TELLURIDE TURNS

Best Brown Ale Telluride Brewing Takes Gold

BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

Passings

New Trails

THE WORLD Beer Cup is considered the ultimate contest for brewers, requiring consummate knowledge and experience. It is the most competitive and highly judged beer event in the world, akin to the Olympics of brewing. And at this year’s cup in May, a fledgling local brewery, Telluride Brewing Company, won a gold medal. Telluride Brewing, which just opened last October, was lauded for its Face Down Brown Ale in the American style brown ale category, beating out 46 other entries. There were 900 breweries competing in the event and some 5,000 people at the craft beer conference. “It’s the best thing that possibly could have happened to us,” says Tommy Thacher, who owns Telluride Brewing with partners Chris Fish, Brian Gavin and John Lehman. “For a new company going into the summer season, it really puts us on the map.” It also puts them in the sights of distributors, who started wooing Telluride Brewing in earnest after the win, paying for dinners and drinks. Thacher compared the courting to a free agent pickup in professional sports. “We’ve been getting some extra love.” He says Telluride Brewing is going to invest in an automatic canning line to meet the new demand. They are already slated to serve beer at several large events in Telluride this summer and as of this spring, they are still canning their beer by hand and distributing it themselves. “Once we get the new machine, we can go statewide— probably this fall.” —D. Dion

Norwood Develops Singletrack NORWOOD might be a mountain biking mecca in the near future. Two new plans, the Thunder Trails Project and the Norwood-Burn Canyon Recreation Trails project could put nearly 50 miles of new singletrack in the neighborhood. The Thunder Trails Project proposal includes 17.5 miles of singletrack on Forest Service land just south of the town of Norwood. The project was approved and is now in its planning and implementation phase. The Burn Canyon Recreation Trails proposal is for approximately 30 more miles of singletrack on Bureau of Land Management land just northwest of the proposed Thunder Trails. The Burn Canyon proposal was awarded a $45,000 planning grant this spring. All of the singletrack passes through undulating piñon and juniper forest terrain that crosses several steep canyons. The proposed trails would be a few thousand feet lower in elevation than Telluride, with less snowfall and a longer biking and hiking season. —D. Dion

THIS WINTER and spring was marked by a host of tragedies and the loss of many members of the Telluride community. We note with sadness the Dec. 9 passing of Ginger Perkins, a longtime local, exuberant redhead and the co-owner of The Mortgage Store. Perkins was demure but had a zest for life and enjoyed helping people; she died from complications following a car accident that kept her in the hospital for more than a month. In January, the community lost Patrick “Dancing Pat” Morris to a tragic accident. Morris was the quintessential ski bum/telemarker, the co-owner of a natural food store in Ridgway, worked in the food service industry and was a beloved fixture on the live music scene. An avalanche in Bear Creek in mid-February claimed the life of 38-year-old Nate Soules, a young father and husband. Soules was an accomplished snowboarder, skateboarder, hockey player and a devoted father. Later that month, Leigh Cannon passed away. Cannon was a longtime Tellurider and mother of two; she was also a graceful skier and talented artist who loved nature. On February 29, Donn Pinkney’s sailboat washed ashore in Manzanillo, Mexico, without him. A longtime Ophir resident, avid paraglider, surfer and sailor known for his charm and his smile, Pinkney was bound for Zihautanejo and was traveling alone. He was 43. Heartbreak again hung over this valley when Rebecca Janeen Wright died at home in early March. Wright leaves behind two children. In mid-March word was received that Rob Liberman, a Telluride local who guides heliskiing trips in Alaska, was killed in an avalanche there. Liberman was a respected, passionate skier and mountain biker and a guide for both sports, who just years before had rescued another skier who was buried in an avalanche here in Telluride. This April 4, Sarah Anne Engel passed away after an illness; Engel was a local bookkeeper and was 48. She enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, camping, playing softball, and loved helping others. On May 5, Telluride suffered yet another loss: Sharon Shuteran, a much-loved and respected local judge since 1984, died unexpectedly while vacationing in Mexico. Shuteran leaves behind a son and many friends; in addition to her work on the bench, she was a patron of the arts and donated her time to MountainFilm and Telluride Film Festival and volunteered in Bhutan at the Cleft Care Project. She was known for her fairness and compassion and was a world traveler with a keen interest in Buddhist culture.

summer/fall 2012

www.TellurideMagazine.com

MOUNTAIN HEALTH

New Laser Center

Town Doc

Skincare Goes High-Tech

Homer Takes the Helm at Norwood’s UMC

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, someone is trying to sell you the secret to looking younger or more beautiful. But increasing awareness about general skincare and effective anti-aging modalities (e.g. those that work versus those that promise to work but don’t) is driving more and more people, women and men alike, to take advantage of proven science and its accompanying treatment options. Laser treatments are something that does actually work. The new Laser Center at The Peaks officially opened for business in February and already locals and tourists are ordering from the menu of outpatient cosmetic treatments made possible by the high-end, techno-robotic looking Sciton laser as well as a variety of injectables (muscle-freezing Botox, skin-plumping fillers) and, even, laser-assisted liposuction. The Peaks is the perfect setting. It is a peaceful oasis for skin enhancement, and it hums along effortlessly thanks to the guidance and expertise of a trio of well-seasoned skincare professionals: medical doctors Ross VanAntwerp and Jared Mallalieu and physician assistant Jessie Mallalieu. Dr. Mallalieu (Jessie’s brother) is a board-certified general surgeon with a specialty in cosmetic surgery. After graduating from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, he completed a surgical residency at Baltimore’s St. Agnes Hospital and then a fellowship with the Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgical Group. Dr. VanAntwerp has been working with laser technology for two-plus decades and is widely considered a pioneer in the field of laser surgery. He is board certified in both internal and preventive medicine and is director of the long-established Laser Center of Maryland. Jessie Mallalieu graduated with a Master of Science degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and has an undergraduate degree in molecular biology. She staffs the center full-time and performs many of the procedures, some of them with the assistance of a spa aesthetician. Jared Mallalieu performs laser-assisted liposuction on a monthly basis. Because the laser center is in a resort setting, they are able to cater not just to locals but also to the visitor looking for a short-term “time out” for facial and body rejuvenation. “Ideally, we want to appeal to locals and tourists who want to achieve the best skin possible and do so in an incredibly beautiful and peaceful setting,” says Jessie. It’s a great combination—who doesn’t want better skin and a relaxing mountain experience? Many of the procedures require either zero or minimal downtime, so visitors can enjoy everything else the mountains have to offer. And they can do it looking—and feeling—better. The studies behind laser technology are solid and bolstered by before-and-after photos that depict dramatic, real results. Sun damaged skin (those stubborn brown spots that tell the world you’ve skimped on the sunscreen) is quickly and painlessly zapped away by the Sciton’s broadband light source. Additional settings on the Sciton can restore radiance to lackluster skin with a fast procedure called a MicroLaserPeel; unwanted body hair can be permanently removed; drooping skin can receive a little extra life and spring; scars can be minimized or removed altogether; and spider veins can be exterminated. There are a wide variety of treatments and no two patients are the same. The center is designed to help with all kinds of skincare issues and needs, and the specialists start with a consultation so that they can tailor a plan for each client and help them get comfortable with the process. Says Jessie, who has more than seven years of laser skincare experience and is intimately familiar with the technology: “Because we use the latest technology, we are able to maximize results in the most efficient way possible. We want to make sure that everyone who comes to see us has a pleasurable experience and a rewarding outcome.” —Michelle Kodis

www.TellurideMagazine.com

summer/fall 2012

FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, Dr. David Homer provided Telluride with one of its most endearing amenities, a private medical practice of the sort that would put Norman Rockwell at ease. Homer’s decision to pack it in has nothing to do with the medical marketplace, where independent practitioners have been squeezed by rising overhead and stingy reimbursement rates. It is more about his desire to remake the country’s health care system in the image of practitioners like himself. As the new medical director for the Uncompahgre Medical Center in Norwood, Homer says he will have the opportunity to demonstrate that the preventive medicine traditionally practiced by smalltown docs is both less expensive and more effective than the fee-for-service model that compensates physicians based on the procedures they perform, rather than the well-being of their patients. The Uncompahgre Medical Center is a federally qualified facility, one of a handful in Colorado that receives government support to care for the people who can least afford health insurance. As such, it has been asked to reinvent a style of medicine that emphasizes the doctorpatient relationship, where simple questions about a person’s lifestyle might be as revelatory as a litany of expensive tests. Because the medical center is part of a broader network of clinics and hospitals across the Western Slope, Homer says the move to Norwood represents a major step up from his one-man practice, allowing him to provide statistical evidence on how preventive medicine works within the larger health care system. It also places him on the forefront of administrative advances like adoption of electronic health records. As for Homer’s patients, which number about a thousand, he’s sent them a letter explaining his decision and has offered to remain their family physician. The way he explains it is he’s just moved his office a little farther down the road, to the other end of San Miguel County. —Stephen Barrett

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T elluride

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This 1.82 acre lot is one of the best priced lots in the Aldasoro Ranch. It has an easy to build site nestled in the Aspen trees with huge views of the Wilsons, Sunshine and Palmyra. The Awe inspiring views are complemented by the Deer and Elk that inhabit the area. This is a must see for value driven Buyers. $519,000 MLS#28273

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This home is a must see for any Buyer considering property in the Telluride region. It features huge decks, a vaulted great room with massive stone fireplace, huge game room, bar and walk in gun safe/ wine cellar. This home has the finest finishes including granite counters, travertine and walnut floors, plaster walls, elevator, sound system and light touch lighting with a rustic hand hewn log and stone appeal. $3,850,000 MLS #28122

For more information on all the Homes and Lots for sale in the Aldasoro Ranch go to www.Aldasoro.com or call Scott for information or a tour…

s coTT B enneTT Broker Associate | 970.728.6667 | cell: 970.729.1666 sbennett@telluridecolorado.net | www.telluriderealestatebrokers.com

NATURE NOTES

Sunflower Crops Tempt Deer and Elk A BIODIESEL PLANT outside of Dove Creek was supposed to serve as a model of sustainability: It would give local farmers incentive to grow dryland crops like sunflowers and flax for their seed oil and biomass; then the plant would convert those crops into cleaner burning fuel and complete the virtuous circle by selling that fuel back to customers on the Western Slope. What actually happened is that a weak economy prevented the biodiesel plant from developing anything more than an oil press. Despite the fact that the plant never produced biofuel, the precious oil was profitable enough to keep farmers in the sunflower business. But soon elk and deer started devouring the sunflower fields by the acre. Because elk, deer, and all other critters legally “belong” to the state, the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife was responsible for the crop damage. It’s a testament to the plant’s semi-success that over the course of three seasons, the agency compensated farmers more than

for the

RECORD WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS BY THOM CARNEVALE

$500,000 for their losses and is now experimenting with them on ways to build a better fence. It is prohibitively expensive for sunflower farmers to build a high fence like common backyard gardeners, and not particularly desirable to partition the fields of western Dolores and San Miguel Counties in that manner. So wildlife managers have asked farmers to voluntarily cordon off ten-acre parcels in a variety of ways. The first is with a solar-powered, electric fence. The second is with what’s called a “wing” fence—one side of the plot gets tall fencing, but the fencing along the two perpendicular sides gradually tapers down, potentially a cost-effective way to deceive an ungulate. The third type of fence is biochemical. Farmers are asked to spray a blood-meal solution around their sunflowers, spooking the deer and elk with the scent of death. Of course, spilling real blood remains a viable option. Before it embraced a defensive strategy, the Division of Parks and Wildlife issued kill permits to affected farmers. More than 350 doe were killed out-of-season, to the dismay of sportsmen and local outfitters. In response, the agency is also tracking a handful of animals and may use that information to adjust their hunting regulations for optimal pest control. —Stephen Barrett

MAY 2011 High: 77° (Record 90° in 2002, 2003) Low: 13° (Record 3° in 1939) Precipitation: 2.41” (Avg. 1.8”) Snow: 25.25” (Avg. 7.2”; Max. 35” in 1930)

JULY 2011 High: 94° (Record 96° in 1922, 2003) Low: 37 ° (Record 26° in 1941) Precipitation: 3.89” (Avg. 2.5”) Snow: 0”

SEPTEMBER 2011 High: 84° (Record 88° in 1990) Low: 27° (Record 9° in 1931) Precipitation: 2.28” (Avg. 2.07”) Snow: 0” (Avg. 0.9”; Max. 23” in 1959)

JUNE 2011 High: 88° (Record 92° in 2001) Low: 32° (Record 15° in 1937) Precipitation: 0.56” (Avg. 1.22”) Snow: 1.5” (Avg. 0; Max. 8.5” in 1970)

AUGUST 2011 High: 91° (Record 91° in 1939, 2011) Low: 40° (Record 20° in 1939) Precipitation: .85” (Avg. 2.92”) Snow: 0”

OCTOBER 2011 High: 75° (Record 85° in 1948) Low: 16° (Record 0° in 1956) Precipitation: 2.35” (Avg. 1.96”) Snow: 10.25” (Avg. 9.7”; Max. 42” in 1984)

PHOTOS BY AMY LEVEK

www.TellurideMagazine.com

summer/fall 2012

NATURE NOTES

Airwaves and Aspen Trees

Eco News Solar Collective Brings Power to the People SAN MIGUEL POWER Association is bringing more renewable electricity to its customers, courtesy of a community solar farm under development in the Paradox Valley. The solar farm lets members purchase energy by the panel, generate electricity off-site from their property, and still receive credit for the kilowatt-hours on their monthly bill. It’s a novel approach toward renewable energy that’s quickly catching on throughout the state. Community arrays allow people in less-than-ideal locations to generate solar electricity. The cost to them is reduced through economies of scale. There are no operation or maintenance expenses, and the renewable electricity is transferable if subscribers move to another address or decide to sell their panels to another customer. SMPA hired the company Clean Energy Collective to develop the one-megawatt solar farm. CEC has already had success with a similar project in Rifle, where businesses like Clark’s Market helped by buying eight panels to offset consumption at its Basalt grocery store, but the Paradox Valley installation represents its largest community array planned to date. SMPA and Clean Energy Collective will offer 4,900 panels for sale. Each panel will be priced at about $700. CEC estimates a single panel will generate about $45 dollars worth of electricity a year, meaning it will take a little more than 15 years to pay off the investment but save the owners more than $2,000 on their electric bill over the panel’s 50-year lifespan. The only question remaining now is who’s going to buy all those panels. Telluride-area residents have clamored the loudest for SMPA to provide local, renewable energy. At least three local governments—the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, and San Miguel County—have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint or attempt to eliminate it altogether. Clean Energy Collective says there will be a concerted sales pitch explaining how its project can help them realize their lofty goals. —Stephen Barrett

PHOTO BY RYAN BONNEAU

WHEN PEOPLE THINK OF COLORADO, they usually picture a landscape of snowcapped peaks and golden aspen trees blazing in the autumn sun; so there is something about Sudden Aspen Decline (SAD) that seems a bit more disconcerting than the bark beetle infestations that continue to devastate coniferous forests across the state. Like an arboreal version of chronic fatigue syndrome, SAD’s exact origins have remained mysterious and subject to speculation. Because the decline came after the spate of drought and wildfires in the early 2000s, the ill health of the trees suggested a new type of plague, and the visual effects posed such an existential threat to the state’s outdoorsy image that no one could fault scientists for the suggestive acronym. The good news is that Sudden Aspen Decline appears to have peaked in 2008 after damaging a half-million acres of trees, or 17 percent of the state’s aspen cover. That fact lends credence to new Stanford University research that points to drought as the main culprit. According to the study, the drought in the earlier part of the decade damaged the trees’ ability to absorb and transport water. The problem only manifested itself after the drought subsided. Still, foresters continue to test whether there were contributing factors, like a fungal infection or insects that attacked stands of aspen made vulnerable by successive dry years. One of the more intriguing studies posits that radio frequencies dealt the withering blow. An independent researcher in Lyons, Colorado, tested her theory by shielding aspen seedlings from the airwaves in a Faraday cage made from aluminum window screening. According to her study, published in the International Journal of Forestry Research, the seedlings protected from cell phone chatter, WiFi, and top 40 hits produced far more vigorous growth. The study struggled to correlate SAD with the distribution of radio frequencies on a worldwide scale, but it promised to test the hypothesis with more thorough experiments. In the meantime, the Forest Service is relying upon climate models to predict that Colorado could lose two-thirds of its aspen habitat by the year 2060, a melancholy prospect for the not-so-distant future.

Colorado could lose two-thirds of its aspen habitat by the year 2060.

—Stephen Barrett

summer/fall 2012

www.TellurideMagazine.com

WRITE HERE, RIGHT NOW

BA LD Why do some mountain jocks lack hair? BY ROB STORY

TEEP, ROCKY MOUNTAINSIDES apparently don’t like it when mountain bikers skid down them for hundreds of vertical feet. They bristle at getting their faces peeled off. These mountainsides retaliate by inflicting flesh wounds and flat tires. Such a mountainside caused just such a flat here the other day, to a waiter named Dylan. He spent some time removing his bike’s wheel and replacing the tire tube. When Dylan bent over to pump the new tube, a reddened bald spot glowed in the afternoon sun. “Jeez, man, you gonna put sunscreen on that thing?” yelped Jake, a thick-haired realtor who resembles Jethro, the simpleton nephew from The Beverly Hillbillies. “Aaaagghh! Don’t shine it into my eyes!” shrieked Brian, another realtor with absurdly full hair. His lustrous locks once got him named Cosmopolitan’s Bachelor of the Month. Brian needled Dylan without mercy. “So this means your mom needs Minoxidil, right?” “Actually, Fabio,” I snapped, “you can get male-pattern baldness from either parent.” I should know. As with Dylan, time and genetics have scalped me of hair just as sure as our knobby mountain-bike tires skinned the rocky downhill.

www.TellurideMagazine.com

summer/fall 2012

I usually wear a bandanna, like Blackbeard or Deion Sanders, under my helmet. If anyone asks why I swathe my skull like Aunt Jemima, I tell them it’s to keep sweat out of my eyes. In truth, I like the way a bandanna masks my head’s unsightly erosion. Not that I should be embarrassed. Look around the trailhead and you’ll see lots of riders who’ve wondered if Propecia is worth all the ghoulish side effects. If I could grow a full head of hair, would I really mind if my children’s children lacked elbows and breathed with gills? Hmmm…. Seems to me that balding bikers proliferate throughout the highest echelons of the sport. We climb podiums and alpine passes alike. My theory is that comb-over candidates get proportionally more saddle time. While our thickmaned pals sleep late with supermodels, we’re railing Saturday morning singletrack. The more hair one loses, the more likely it is that one’s social life revolves around biking. We relish interactions and excursions where it’s perfectly normal to cover one’s head at all times.

Mountains are also denuded on top—and they wear it very well, thanks. With the exception of Michael Jordan, hair-challenged men are rarely bothered by squealing packs of nubile groupies. This gives us lots of time for epic rides, where we ponder for hours why fate, biology, and follicle matrices seek to change our appearance. Maybe we’d be too damn good-looking with hair. Just think of the consequences. If 30-something guys could lure virile 20-yearold females to our unreliable sperm counts, humankind might not enjoy its absurdly high rate of fecundity. Man would not have propagated the way he has, allowing the monkeys, the aliens—or an unholy congress of both monkeys and aliens!—to take over Earth. I mean, why else does the scourge of baldness possibly exist? After getting insulted by our obnoxiously hirsute friends, Dylan took comfort in the idea that a balding head is like a balding tire. It may not shimmer with the promise of unbound youth, but it prides itself on having navigated all manner of experiences and terrain. Threadbare surfaces have character. Respect them, you blow-dried Barbies and Kens. Know that male-pattern baldness victims are shedding rubber and DNA on hellacious climbs to rugged alpine highlands. If you can keep up, follow us as we summit airy high-altitude kingdoms. Then you’ll recognize that mountains are also denuded on top—and they wear it very well, thanks. You don’t call a mountain “cueball,” so quit heckling us. If you must refer to hairless patches, use the phrase that accomplished mountain bikers such as Dylan and me prefer. Our scalps are not bald; they are just “above timberline.”

ADVICE

Ask Jock

Athletic Advice From Our Local Mountain Guru

TUBING OR NOT TUBING

A: The San Miguel tubing run traditionally starts at the bridge by the post office at the east end of Pacific Street. The short version takes out at the west end of town at the RV parking lot off Mahoney Drive. For full value, you can float all the way to the end of the valley floor. Take out of the water before the culvert that runs underneath Highway 145 at Society Turn because shortly thereafter the gentle river turns into a raging torrent called Keystone Falls. Nobody—not even the late, great kayaker Russell Kelly—has even considered a run down Keystone Falls. Trust me, you don’t want the first descent. Do not be foolish enough to run Keystone Falls, as you will not survive. Fair warning: if you or your loved ones miss the takeout before the falls you will wind up in Davy Jones’ locker. You can purchase inner tubes—or some other floating device—at the hardware store. There are no guide services but you can walk on a trail beside the bank much of the way and there are no forks in the stream. Just don’t let your kids miss the take out at the junction with Highway 145 and you’ll all be fine. Enjoy a great Telluride summer tradition, — Jock

PHOTO BY JEREMY BARON

TICK CHECK

Yesterday my kids saw some other kids floating down the San Miguel River. Now my youngsters are hounding me to do the same. Where can I get some inner tubes? Where do we put in and take out? Are there any waterfalls? Do I need to hire a guide service? — River Curious

I was bushwhacking last week in the tall grass. When I got home, my boyfriend said he had to check me for ticks. (This turned out to be a euphemism for something else.) Afterward, I asked him what he would’ve done if he actually had found a tick where he was looking. He confessed he didn’t know, but he’d like to look again. What do you suggest for tick removal in tender flesh? — Sensitive Skin

A: Not all ticks carry disease and most tick bites are nothing more than an inconvenience. But some ticks carry unpleasant infections such as Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. With that in mind, you or a friend should examine your skin and scalp carefully after passing through tick country. If the need arises, tweezers are the tool of choice for tick removal. Grasp the tick as close to the head as possible and exert smooth, steady, outward pressure until the creature releases its grip. Holding a lit match to the tick or smothering it in Vaseline® are not recommended because these methods increase the chance that the tick will disgorge more fluid into your bloodstream, which increases the risk of infection. Once you have removed the tick, save it in a plastic baggie in the freezer for testing if you develop painful swelling or red streaks around the bite area. Swollen lymph nodes or a high fever after a tick bite are signs that you need to contact a physician. Keep tick-free, — Jock

PELETON ON PARADE

I was pedaling my bike down the road last week when a group of riders suddenly flew by. They vanished in the distance, leaving me wondering what they were doing and how they could possibly ride safely in such a tight formation. Why do cyclists flock together like that? — Dropped in the Dust

A: You witnessed the power of the peloton. Anytime you ride your bike, you must work to overcome the wind resistance you are creating. Pedaling in close proximity (within 6 inches) behind another cyclist allows you to draft in their slipstream and shaves about 30 percent of the effort required to hold the same pace if you were riding solo. By taking turns pulling in front, a group of riders is faster than any one of them is alone. There is an unwritten code of etiquette to riding in a peloton. Above all, you must avoid overlapping wheels. Thus, it is essential to maintain a steady speed and hold a stable line. You should point at and call out any obstacles in the road, especially if you are in the front of the pack. Basically, you must communicate any changes of direction or speed because surprise moves may create disastrous consequences. Keep the rubber side down and the smiling side up, — Jock

summer/fall 2012

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Mountain Momma BY JESSE JAMES McTIGUE

Local Mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill Summits Everest It’s no secret that the moms of Telluride are a pretty athletic bunch. We discuss running, biking, skiing and yoga at least as much as we talk about carpool schedules, homework loads and children’s accomplishments. Yet even within this group of active mountain moms, there has to be an outlier—one person who, beyond our wildest imagination, continues to define the limits. This mom is professional mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill.

This past spring, O’Neill was selected as one of six North Face athletes to be a part of National Geographic’s Everest Expedition 2012, an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first American summit of the world’s highest mountain. O’Neill is a veteran member of the North Face Global Team. Her mountaineering accomplishments, in just the last five years, include attempting Gasherbrum II, an 8,600-meter peak in Pakistan; summiting three peaks in the Brooks Range (in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR) that involved 70 miles of ski trekking; and summiting and skiing Mount McKinley, a 6,000-meter peak in Alaska’s Denali National Park. She has been featured in numerous ski films and is one of the most renowned female mountaineers in the ski industry. This May, she was able to add the summit of Mount Everest to her impressive list of mountaineering feats—the climax of an expedition that lured O’Neill away from home, and her family, for around 70 days. When I asked her about the risks she takes as a ski mountaineer while being a mother of two young boys, O’Neill draws in a breath and her gaze becomes distant. It’s a question she answers all of the time, yet her response is authentic, not coined. It’s a subject she constantly contemplates. “I definitely weigh the risk a lot,” she said. “I think about it as a mom and being away from home that long, but it’s also what I do. There is definitely a population out there that might not understand, but I’m fortunate to live in a place where people understand and accept what I’m doing.” Before leaving for Everest, O’Neill felt that in some ways she might actually have more support and safety networks than she’s had on some of her other expeditions. “In ANWR, we were in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “We used exploration maps from the ’50s, trying to figure out where to go. At times, we thought, ‘Do we go left or right?’ or ‘I wonder if the plane is going to pick us up?’”

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summer/fall 2012

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In contrast, Everest Base Camp is a popular destination for trekkers throughout the year. A 3G wireless network was installed around the base of the mountain two years ago, and around 25 helicopters currently operate in Nepal. O’Neill’s team blogged during the expedition in real-time on The North Face, National Geographic and Mayo Clinic websites and National Geographic even developed an app specifically for iPad users to receive exclusive coverage of the climb. But even with virtual accessibility to the climbers, and the option of helicopter rescue, the dangers of a mountain like Everest are never to be underestimated. During O’Neill’s first few weeks on the mountain, one Sherpa died after falling into a crevasse, there were two avalanches—one of which crossed the high-traffic path between Camp 1 and Camp 2, but, miraculously, no one was killed—and another expedition member, esteemed mountaineer and National Geographic photographer, Cory Richards, developed altitude sickness and had to be evacuated by helicopter. Blog posts written by O’Neill and fellow expedition member Conrad Anker tell the story of how challenging the conditions on Everest were this spring. Two major climbing outfitters decided by the first week of May that the mountain was too dangerous and left Base Camp with their clients before even attempting the summit; three other climbers died en route to the peak. According to reports from the team, it appeared the danger was due to high winds and low snow levels, which caused rockfall and more ice on the mountain than usual. These factors made sections of the mountain like the famed Lhotse Face much more technical, and challenging, to climb. “Once on the face, it was front pointing on blue ice with crampons for nearly the entire 500 meters to Camp 3,” O’Neill wrote after her first acclimatization ascent. During the first weeks of the expedition, the mountaineers stay at Base Camp and acclimatize by making trips up to Camp 1, spending the night, then moving up to Camp 2 and 3 and returning back to Base

Camp. After doing this a few times, they wait for a window of good weather to attempt the summit. For O’Neill, it’s this waiting that is the hardest part of an expedition. For this trip she would have to miss her youngest son’s birthday, her oldest son’s preschool graduation and even Mother’s Day, connected by just an iPhone (satellite phone) or an iPad and her acute longing to be with her family. O’Neill anticipated these lows and said, “I’ve never done a trip without crying at least once—and now that I have kids it’s up to three times. But it never happens when I’m hiking or climbing or moving—just during the down time.” Yet through all of the waiting and homesickness, O’Neill and her teammates stayed strong. She is one of an elite few mothers who has actually stood atop the world’s highest peak. And while she carried with her the support and best wishes from home, I’m sure a piece of her heart remained right here in Telluride, with her two boys, Quinn and Grayden, and her husband, Brian. To read more about O’Neill’s expedition and the team’s summit experience, visit telluridemagazine.com. summer/fall 2012

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WOVEN TOGETHER Two Women Create a Knitting Community BY ROSEMERRY WAHTOLA TROMMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

GINGER SNIP pulls out a life-size glass head and slips a blue and red wool cap over its clear

ears. The cap is intricately knitted with white reindeer prancing around the rise. She mists the cap with water, pulls out an iron, and begins to “block” the hat, smoothing out the imperfections. “We block everything,” says Ann Kennedy, who is sitting at a table beside Snip. She’s working a rich, brown and rust wool into a swirl sweater coat. She explains how blocking hides all the mistakes and transforms the yarn, making the project more finished, more professional, more beautiful. “I wish I could block my life,” I say. “Oh, you can,” says Snip. And in a way, that’s just what the two have done. On Labor Day, 2007, they decided to make a career out of their passion and opened Needle Rock Fiberarts. They had no idea how their knitting store would transform and enhance their lives and their community. 30

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summer/fall 2012

Ann Kennedy and Ginger Snip

THE KINSHIP OF KNITTING

Located on the south side of Telluride’s main street in a historic home, Needle Rock is much more than a shop selling unusual, high-quality yarns and myriad needles, buttons, pompom makers and crochet hooks. “It’s supposed be a business,” Snip says, “but a lot of days it feels like a ministry.” Like tonight, for instance, when I join Snip and Kennedy for knitting circle, which usually draws from six to 10 people. We share pinot noir, teas, chocolates and wasabi almonds from Trader Joe’s. The small, round table is piled high with yarns and needles and patterns. And sitting around the table are seven women, chatting and knitting, and nodding and laughing till they lose their stitch count and have to start counting again. Amy, who is knitting a dark blue sweater for her son, tells a story about when she dropped him off at college, and Valerie, who is working on a green pocket for a vest, responds with a story about her nearly college-age daughter. And the night goes on this way. As the stories unravel, the rows on our hats and sweaters and cowls add up. There’s an occasional cry of, “Darn! What did I do?” And Snip or Kennedy will lean over to answer a question or help interpret a pattern. I had never been to knitting circle before—I only began knitting several months earlier—but the women were welcoming and for those two hours I completely forgot anything that wasn’t related to the threads of conversation or learning how to make craftwork. “It’s a real community,” says Helen, who is visiting from Australia. “A real family.” Then she adds, “It’s therapy.”

And just as it is with therapy, everyone is candid in these sessions. Says Snip, “It’s a place where people can come and share what is on their minds and feel as if they are in a safe place to have people listen.” The women smile and repeat their motto. “What’s said at knitting circle stays at knitting circle.”

INDOOR/OUTDOOR KNITTING

The sense of camaraderie and warmth comes from the top down. Kennedy and Snip were best friends before opening Needle Rock, and still are, Snip says. “We try hard to put our friendship first. It’s important to both of us.” The two met in 1991 on a Women in the Wilderness hike. As the friendship developed, they realized they both had an interest in knitting, “though I was never very good,” Snip confesses, and eventually they took a class together through the Ah Haa School. “We were the two stooges,” Kennedy tells me. >> summer/fall 2012

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“We weren’t at the top of the class,” giggles Snip, and Kennedy echoes her laughter. It’s easy to see that the twosome enjoy their time together, both in and out of the store. As often as they can, they leave the store and its cozy kitchen table and take the knitting circle out into the world, purling on the gondola or making mittens on the porch at Gorrono Ranch on sunny ski days. “You should see how people look at us,” says Peggy Sue, who is knitting a mosaic wristlet. “Like we are crazy. And when they ask us why we’re doing it, we say, ‘Because we can. It’s knit-on-the-mountain day. Didn’t you bring yours?’” Snip and Kennedy host knitting overnights in Snip’s barn, featuring moonlit walks, great food, and, of course, lots of knitting. They also put on a knitting fashion show out in front of the store every other year during the closing day party for the ski area. Snip and Kennedy worked hard to improve their own knitting to be able to teach, and they offer many opportunities for other knitters to progress and learn new things, too. Each season, they host a workshop led by an out-of-town specialist. “We have gotten more adventuresome,” Snip says, “trying new things. It’s just yarn … nothing life threatening.” Kennedy adds, “Yeah, it’s not surgery. This is fun. Yoga for the brain.”

CULTIVATING CLIENTELE

Perhaps because it’s in a home, or maybe it’s Snip and Kennedy’s warm demeanor, but Needle Rock has a very welcoming feel. The store, which is full of bright colors and specializes in natural fibers, bustles with activity and people looking for their next knitting adventure. “It’s a lot busier in here than I might have expected,” I admit to Snip and Kennedy, when I come in a few days after the knitting circle. “I remember thinking when you first opened, ‘A knitting store? I wonder who would do that? I wonder how they’ll make it.’” Snip says with a laugh, “We feel the same way about the fly fishing store. We don’t know many fly fishers, but we sure know a lot of knitters.” Many of the knitting enthusiasts who frequent the store are coming back to knitting after having children or grandchildren. “The knitting community is growing day by day, week by week, season by season,” Kennedy says. And then there’s a host of new knitters. Beginners can always come into the shop and ask for a hand. Christina, seated beside me, is just learning to cast on— to tie the starting knots onto her needle. Kennedy coaches her as the brown yarn moves through her fingers. “One issue I am seeing … you’re not capturing the stitch. Through the loop. Now you have it. Release. Enter. Wrap. Capture that stitch. Now you have it. Good!” Christina warms with the encouragement, and her needles clatter back and forth as her hands fumble with her first few rows. 32

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As she works on repairing a small blue mitten, Kennedy says, “We have a lot of young people who want to knit and crochet,” Kennedy says. “One boy had a blankie destroyed by the cat. He cried for a week and then said, ‘I will make my own,’ so he came in with his dad and they both had to learn. The boy was a quicker study than his dad. They bought two balls of yarn, and the boy went to town.” I ask Kennedy and Snip what advice they might have for beginners, and Christina’s eyebrows raise as she keeps her focus on her fingers. “Stick with it,” Ann says. “And relax,” Snip says. “Have fun. Pick the most colorful yarn you can handle. That will make you happy.” But it’s not just about the yarn, not just about the project at hand. “It’s a culture,” Kennedy says. “And like a yogurt, it just gets better.” Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer learned to knit this year when her seven-year-old son Finn insisted they get a lesson together and has had knitting fever ever since.

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elegant

SUFFERING BY MATTHEW BEAUDIN

RHAPSODY OF ROAD CYCLING & THE USA PRO Cycling Challenge

“It never gets easier, you just go faster.” GREG LEMOND, the three-time Tour de France winner and first-ever American champion of le Grand Boucle, said that. How many times have I had that same thought while cranking on my pedals on Highway 145 from Rico back to Telluride? I am making this slow climb in March, and when the road turns back on itself and kicks up toward the top of Lizard Head, it is miserable. I look down, imagining I’ve carelessly left the bike in the big ring. I’ve never accidentally left the bike in the big ring. Even in late fall, with a full season of riding under my belt, a climb up Lizard Head still brings my heartbeat to my eyes. It never gets easier, you just go faster. This is the meaning of road cycling, distilled down to its most concentrated definition. One cycles on the road not just because it is beautiful, but also because, as Hemingway noted, there is no better way to come to know the rise and fall of the country “since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.” But the main reason one cycles is because it is hard. Across the spectrum of riders and routes, it is always hard. And that difficulty is what makes the sport inspiring. When we pedal alone we imagine great things for ourselves, both on and off the bike. I’ve conceived great professional plans while smashing myself into Ilium Road’s steepest dirt pitches, and I’ve envisioned winning every race ever ridden while lurching uphill on the paved mountain roads surrounding Telluride.

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The height of Lizard Head Pass alone far exceeds any of the elevations found in the European grand tours; what this new Colorado race lacks in history, it makes up for in lack of oxygen.

There is something about climbing on a bike that gives my brain wings. In my mind, I soar upward, even if I’m having a miserable day in the saddle, ripping into my lungs and heart with each pedal stroke. It’s easy to note progress against your opponent when it is just you, a machine, and a steady gradient. It’s an elemental struggle, man versus mountain; even if the mountain always crushes you, you imagine you can come back and beat it the next day, riding away from the group to a solitary finish, sweat dripping from your cycling cap. It is ceaseless, the climb. In our dynamic and fleeting world, this battle—you versus the mountain—remains constant. Even the latest bit of scientific wonder (plastic bikes and electronic shifting, say) is no match for a bad day and a headwind. Or, as the legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx put it: “Don’t buy upgrades; ride up grades.”

PHOTO BY BRETT SHRECKENGOST

Once the riders hit the Valley Floor, they’ll barrel into town at the same speeds at which cars travel, looking for a win. When they get into town, the field will negotiate the roundabout (“road furniture” in cycling vernacular) and try to survive four turns in a short crit through Telluride for a possible sprint finish. The height of Lizard Head Pass alone far exceeds any of the elevations found in the European grand tours; what this new Colorado race lacks in history, it makes up for in lack of oxygen. It will be nothing short of marvelous. From here, the race will roll onward through Crested Butte, Aspen, Colorado Springs and Boulder. Riders will cover more than 600 miles and climb 42,000 feet into the paper-thin Colorado air. Climbers—racers who favor the uphill—will be in their element as the second-annual race clambers above 12,000 feet three times.

It is always hard. And that difficulty is what makes the sport inspiring. There is a certain sophistication to the classic sport, and something modern riders try tirelessly to mimic. Cycling, in this sense, is about far more than the bike. It’s about Pantani and Merckx, Hinault and Roche, espressos and Armstrong, the Alps and the podium girls, the cobbles and the suffering, oh, the elegant suffering. Witness the elegant suffering firsthand in Telluride this August 20, when stage one of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, an elite-level stage race across Colorado featuring the world’s best teams, finishes here. This first stage, from Durango to Telluride, will cover roughly 130 miles, with two neutral laps through Durango to start off the event before the hammer drops on the climb to Hesperus. After weathering a rolling, windswept section, the pack will hit the start of a 30-mile climb in Dolores that will crest the riders at 10,222 feet atop Lizard Head Pass. If there is a winning move to be made, it will likely come just a few miles before the top of the pass—if the climbers leave any sooner than that the peloton will probably eat them up, due to the gradual nature of the climb. From the top of the pass, it’s a 15-mile descent into Telluride—though there is one last nasty climb coming out of the Ophir turn that could also hatch the winning move.

To imply that this would be a fun way to the see the state, however, would be sharply incorrect. Bike racing, at even the most basic level, is painful. Physically, it’s a bonfire in the legs and vice-gripping of the heart. Mentally, it is best to whitewash any thoughts of anything else at all other than going uphill faster than you believed possible. Emotionally, though, it can be exalting. Cycling, and climbing in particular, has a way of melting away the shapeless feelings of the mundane with the tick-tock rhythm of a pedal stroke and replacing them with grandeur. Upon the hills, our feelings are magnified. Great is greater, and sad is sadder in the moments real life peeks through the pain and the glory. I always recall a quote from Victor Hugo: “If suffer we must, let’s suffer on the heights.”

summer/fall 2012

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Sign Your

Name at the

TOP BY D. DION

PHOTOS BY ECKENGOST BRETT SCHR

OUNTAINEERS, LIKE ALL ATHLETES, like to keep score. But hauling yourself up a mountain isn’t like playing in the Super Bowl or competing in the Olympics. There are no crowds of cheering fans, no podiums or medals. Mountaineering has no celebrities, no record books, no fanfare. Even the most heralded mountaineers, the ones who pioneer new climbing routes or make the first ski descents of 8,000-meter peaks in exotic places, don’t get recognized by strangers in a coffee shop.

Your efforts, however, do not go completely unnoticed. There is some small reward: At the summit of a peak, you find a weatherproof cylinder containing a worn notebook full of names, dates and comments, and—hopefully—a pen. Summit registers exist on most of the 13–14,000-foot peaks in Colorado, and you can add your name to the “who’s who” list of people who made it to the top of the same peak. Not that anybody will read it, except maybe the people who reach the summit after you and who take the time to thumb through the notebook. People sign it anyway. They write their names, they comment about the weather and the scenery. They include their hometown, or dedicate their climb to someone who has recently died. They number how many of Colorado’s 54 14,000-foot peaks, or “Fourteeners,” they’ve summited. They include the route they took, if it was different or more challenging than the standard route up to the top. Sometimes they wax poetic about nature or climbing or even God. Being up that high, a little dizzy from the thin air and surrounded by such majesty, can elicit an emotional response from even the most staid person. “One of those magic days,” wrote Matt Touchette of Crested Butte after he bagged El Diente on July 24, 1996. El Diente is one of the more technical Fourteeners. Even though it is only three-quarters of a mile away from Mt. Wilson, an easier peak to summit, the traverse between the two is a jagged knife of a ridgeline and climbers have died en route. “Intense,” noted Miguel Hamarat of Taos. “Awful!” wrote J. Cram of Boulder. “Outstanding!” declared Chris Copeland.

The notebooks are kind of like a guestbook from a wedding or anniversary, names and comments that run together and create something of a narrative.

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Mt. Wilson is the quintessential mountain, so perfectly sculpted it adorns cans of Colorado’s Coors beer. It is not too challenging of a climb—just enough of a final scramble up the talus to the peak to get your heart racing—so Mt. Wilson is one for even the casual mountaineer to scratch off the list. “Quelle beauté,” wrote Pierre Brunschwig after his ascent in July, 1986. “Heaven,” described Elizabeth Kell. “Asthma,” scribbled her haggard hiking companion. Some climbers have more to say. K.H. Tarp took almost half of the small notebook page: “I want to thank 54 Fourteeners for letting me visit them and for all they have taught me about beauty, health, courage, perseverance, spirituality, humility, flexibility, uncertainty, harsh poetry—and soft, too—and good fortune. For those who follow, please treasure it, take good care of it. Much love.” Others have nothing to say at all. Local ultrarunner Ricky Denesik has three times held the speed record for climbing all 54 recognized Fourteeners. In 1995, he and Rick Trujillo climbed all of them in 15 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes. In 1997, he shaved that time down to 14 days, 0 hours, 16 minutes. In 2000, Denesik’s attempt was accompanied by good weather and he completed the 54 peaks in 12 days, 15 hours, 35 minutes. That kind of pace doesn’t leave much time to sign summit registers or write comments about the weather. Dallas Peak, just north of Telluride, is not as tall as some of its soulmates in the San Juans, but Dallas is still considered one of the hardest summits in Colorado, a more challenging climb than any of the Fourteeners. Laszlo Szuecs is an avid climber and helps to maintain some of the registers in the region. He remembers with pride his first time up Dallas with two friends in 1991. The peak had rebuffed most of its would-be visitors; the first ascent was made in 1934, the second in the 1950s, and the legendary Spencer Swanger had made the third ascent of Dallas in 1976. “The summit register we signed had been placed there by Swanger in 1976,” said Szuecs. “The climbers were numbered, and the three of us were climbers 102, 103 and 104.” As I mentioned, mountaineers, like all athletes, like to keep score.

But even with a technical peak like Dallas, there is something not just athletic but spiritual about the experience of climbing it. I read with sadness the name of Andrew Sawyer, a friend and respected mountaineer who took his own life a few years ago. His name appears periodically on all of the local registers, and in his 1986 entry on the Dallas summit register he scrawled wildly, “Solo SE Face. Now to get down—YAHOOO!” Seeing his words makes me smile. Yes, he was happy, I think. At least for those moments he spent at the top. The notebooks are kind of like a guestbook from a wedding or anniversary, names and comments that run together and create something of a narrative. Alone, the entries are nothing special— just a little information, some braggadocio, maybe a funny comment—but collectively, the registers take on more meaning. They are like hundreds of soundbytes that together make a speech, or pixels that become a coherent image when viewed from far away. No one can climb a mountain for you; it’s a challenge you endure solo, something you undertake to test yourself. But when you do summit, it’s no fun to revel in your victory alone, so you celebrate with the other people who reach the peak, either that day, that season, or years later, by signing your name at the top. Because like any experience, it is more meaningful when you share it. — Special thanks to Colorado Mountain Club, archivist Woody Smith and John Arnold.

summer/fall 2012

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HISTORY

Nabokov’s Telluride

Blues BY CAROL TURNER

ON A JULY DAY IN 1951, AUTHOR VLADIMIR NABOKOV PAUSED ON THE TOMBOY ROAD AND GAZED DOWN AT THE TOWN OF TELLURIDE.

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Half a century before, during its first golden era, Telluride jumped with the wild racket of saloons and the ring of crank-operated cash registers. On this day, only the shouts of children rose up through the gulches and switchbacks of Savage Basin. The happy sounds found at least one appreciative listener in this Russian émigré, who at that time had two obsessions: a novel he was writing called Lolita, and a female butterfly. An amateur lepidopterist, Nabokov had developed an expertise in a small group of butterflies, sometimes called “blues,” in the lycaenid family. In 1902, a collector in Telluride found nine male butterflies that Nabokov described as Lycaeides argyrognomon sublivens, now called Plebejus idas sublivens. Found only in the San Juan, San Miguel, and Elk Mountains, the captured males were housed at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, where Nabokov worked part-time as a taxonomist. It was these rare butterflies that brought him to Telluride—he wanted to find a female. In the summer of 1951, Nabokov and his wife, Vera, traveled west, reaching Telluride in early July. They stayed first at the Skyline Ranch, then moved to Valley View Court in the town he described as “a damp, unfrequented, but very spectacular cul-de-sac (which a prodigious rainbow straddled every evening).” In his verse novel, Pale Fire, Nabokov coined a word “iridule,” which Vera later said referred to this Telluride rainbow. (Nabokov was adept at creating new words and invented the term “nymphet” for Lolita.) Despite frequent spells of rainy weather, the Nabokovs took every opportunity to hike up in the mountains in search of the elusive female. Once or twice, they hired a local man, Homer Reid, to take them up in his Jeep. Nabokov later wrote about the “impeccable blue” sky they had every morning, how the “cloudlets” moved in, followed by the “[b]igger fellows with darker bellies,” and the “most irritatingly close lightning I have ever encountered anywhere in the Rockies.” In the evenings and on bad weather days, he worked on Lolita in their motel room. summer/fall 2012

HISTORY Finally, on a steep, violet lupine-covered slope above Tomboy Road, somewhere between the Social Tunnel and the Bullion Mine, they spotted several males. Three days later, they were overjoyed to capture a female. Nabokov described this experience as “a momentary vacuum into which rushes all that I love. A sense of oneness with sun and stone.” While the butterflies they captured were deposited at Cornell and Harvard Universities, traces of the San Juans made their way into Lolita. At the conclusion of the novel, the sounds of Telluride’s children appear in a key passage: “As I approached the friendly abyss, I grew aware of a melodious unity of sounds rising like vapor from a small mining town that lay at my feet, in a fold of the valley ... what I heard was but the melody of children at play ... I stood listening to that musical vibration from my lofty slope ... and then I knew that the hopelessly S I APPROACHED THE FRIENDLY ABYSS, poignant thing was not Lolita’s absence from my side, but the absence of her voice from that concord.” Scholars point at I GREW AWARE OF A MELODIOUS UNITY OF this passage as Humbert’s expression of remorse over stealSOUNDS RISING LIKE VAPOR FROM A SMALL ing Lolita’s childhood. It is also possible that Lolita, whose given name was Dolores, was named after Dolores, ColoMINING TOWN THAT LAY AT MY FEET, IN A rado, a nearby town and river in the San Juan Mountains. Nabokov’s month in Telluride had an enormous impact FOLD OF THE VALLEY ... WHAT I HEARD WAS on his life. The capture of the first known specimen of the BUT THE MELODY OF CHILDREN AT PLAY ... female Lycaeides sublivens has been called the most significant find in his career as a lepidopterist. More significantly, I STOOD LISTENING TO THAT MUSICAL the publication of Lolita brought Nabokov fame and fortune, VIBRATION FROM MY LOFTY SLOPE ...” and today he is widely considered one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. The subject matter of Lolita, a middle-aged man’s passion for a twelve-year-old girl, left Nabokov’s proclivities open to much speculation, particularly regarding his obsession with butterflies. His work is full of butterfly metaphors and allusions and it’s hard to ignore the parallel between “nymphet” and one definition of the word “nymph,” an immature insect. For the most part, Nabokov didn’t mind these comparisons, but occasionally he objected. In particular, he dismissed a 1960 essay with the somewhat gassy title, “Lolita Lepidoptera.” Writing about Lolita’s “butterfly nature,” the essayist drew numerous parallels between Humbert’s pursuit and capture of Lolita and Nabokov’s hunt for the female Lycaeides sublivens in Telluride. Nabokov called the essay “jarring and absurd” and ridiculed the writer’s ignorance of lepidoptery. Sometimes, it seems, a butterfly is just a butterfly.

“A

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HISTORIC PLACES

DEEP CREEK MESA & the Aldasoro Family

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~ BY PAUL O’ROURKE ~

HE GAZED OUT THE PASSENGER CAR WINDOW at the sprawling American landscape as it scrolled before his eyes. He remembered the letter his brothers had written of their own rail trip west, from New York City to Utah, a few years earlier. Don’t despair of the flatlands, they advised; there are mountains in the West, once you get there. He was on his way. A new country and new, but familiar work with Basque sheepherders in eastern Utah awaited him. He smiled, calmed by his determination to make a go of it in this new country and convinced he wouldn’t be away from home for too long. Joaquin Aldasoro glanced to his left, at his cousin, Serapio Telleria, fast asleep, his head bobbing in sync with the rolling motion of the railroad car. He reached up to the bin above his head just to make sure his two pasteboard suitcases were still there. Joaquin had a plan for those suitcases. In no time, he figured—five years was what he’d told the immigration officials at Ellis Island—he’d be returning to his Basque family home in Spain, one suitcase packed with new clothes, the other, with his newly made fortune.

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THE ALDASORO FAMILY - (left to right) Joaquin Aldasoro, Miguel Aldasoro, Bernardo Aldasoro and cousin Serapio Telleria; seated in front are Cristina Basterrechea (Joaquin’s wife) and Josefa Aldasoro.

HISTORIC PLACES

OAQUIN WAS ALL OF 22 years of age when he met up with his brothers, Jean and Bernardo, in Price, Utah in 1913. In the years leading up to America’s entry into WWI, the three brothers and their cousin Serapio formed the Aldasoro Brothers and got themselves into the sheep business. It was a business they all knew well, having spent just about every day of their young lives tending sheep in Spain, and now, in Utah. It was the family business and had been for a good long while. Price was home to a good-sized population of Basques—both French and Spanish—and the French Hotel in town functioned as a gathering place, for a meal, a business meeting, or for a glass of wine. The Aldasoro boys—who’d been joined in 1917 by brother Miguel (Mike) and in 1920 by sister Josefa—purchased the French Hotel with the proceeds from several profitable years selling wool and lambs, and maintained it as a working inn as well as a home for a growing family. Marriage in the Basque tradition is sometimes more than just the wedding of bride and groom; it can be a joining of entire families. In early July 1925 plans were set for brother and sister Jean and Josefa Aldasoro to wed Cristina and Prudencio Basterrechea, also siblings. Tragically, Jean Aldasoro was murdered in the back room of the French Hotel on July 6, bringing a mournful halt to the wedding plans. Another Basque tradition allowed that in the untimely absence of the groom, the next oldest male in the family would “fill his brother’s shoes.” Once Jean’s affairs were settled, the wedding day arrived on September 22, 1927, with the insertion of Joaquin into his brother’s former role. Between the time of his brother’s passing and his own wedding day, Joaquin had been busy staking out new territory in the summer range near Telluride. According to his niece, Carmen (Basterrechea) Aguirre, Joaquin was particularly fond of the country around Telluride, reminded as he was of his ancestral home in the Spanish Pyrenees. It may have been during one of those summer sheep camp bivouacs in the mid-1920s when he saw potential and perhaps also beauty in the lush pastures and working homesteads that spotted the thousands of acres along Deep Creek

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Joaquin was particularly fond of the country around Telluride, reminded as he was of his ancestral home in the Spanish Pyrenees. Mesa. And it’s probable that during one of those summers—a decade or so following his arrival to America—Joaquin came to the realization he wasn’t close to filling that one suitcase with new clothes, let alone stuffing the other with money. What reminded him of home would just have to do, at least for the time being.

ivestock prices, for both cattle and sheep, dropped dramatically during the 1920s; agricultural land values fell from $15 to $1 per acre, or lower. Whether he envisioned a future decidedly brighter than was the current situation one can only guess, but when landowners on Deep Creek Mesa relinquished their properties due to the poor economy or the burden of taxes, Joaquin Aldasoro saw opportunity. The first Aldasoro Brothers acquisition on the mesa occurred in December 1926. It was a hodge-podge of ten parcels, assembled by dairyman and sheep rancher, John A. McKnight, and spread over some 1,400 acres. Joaquin may not have had the slight-

est notion of what had gone on up on Deep Creek Mesa in the fifty odd years prior to his coming on the scene. Yet, when scanning the list of names associated with the property—names like Adams, Painter, Lavender, Remine, and Schmeck—the Aldasoros were apparently coming into more than ranch land; they were also buying a bit of history. Valentine Schmeck may have been the first person to locate a ranch on the mesa during the 1870s. Schmeck is remembered for the toll road he built and named, not surprisingly, the Schmeck Toll Road, from Deep Creek over Hasting’s Mesa and on to Leopard Creek, a thoroughfare known more commonly today as Last Dollar Road. John and Frank Adams, who’d purchased, patented, and worked their Deep Creek ranch continuously since 1883, discovered in June 1900 that 80 acres of their property had been “jumped,” then forcibly taken by an avaricious land grabber who’d discovered an error in the original survey. The courts, along with a team of local surveyors, saw to it that discrepancies in possession and legal descriptions were corrected. Frank Adams got his land back long before the Aldasoro Brothers made their acquisitions. >> summer/fall 2012

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HISTORIC PLACES

HE ALDASOROS picked up an additional 1,500 acres in October 1929, again from John McKnight, and as was the case in the initial 1926 transaction, the property was purchased for “$1 and valuable considerations.” The centerpiece of this irregularly configured parcel was a 300-acre spread along Remine Creek, comprised of three placer claims that had been the homestead and dairy operations of Herschel M. Hogg, attorney and former U.S. Congressman. The barn, still standing and a distinctive reminder of the mesa’s history, was built in 1905, following the property’s transfer to McKnight. The expansion of the family’s land holdings coincided with the growth of the family itself. Mary Louise Aldasoro, daughter of Joaquin and Cristina, was born on May 30, 1928; Carmen, daughter of Prudencio and Josefa, was born on August 10, 1930; and Albert, Mary Louise’s brother, was born on July 3, 1933. The Aldasoro Brothers had accumulated just over 3,000 acres on Deep Creek Mesa by the early 1930s. Perhaps it hadn’t crossed their minds when they’d acquired it, but the land proved valuable for more than just prime summer range and pasture. The 1930s were tough economic times and being “land rich” did not put bread on the dinner table. Joaquin had apparently established good relations with the Carbon Emery Bank in Price, where he arranged for a series of loans, ranging in size from around $30,000 in 1932 to almost $50,000 in 1938. The

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indebtedness was secured by the property on Deep Creek Mesa. Prices for lambs and wool rebounded in the early 1940s, and for the next decade or so, a cautious prosperity visited the Aldasoro Brothers. By mid-decade the family’s holdings on the mesa had grown by 40 percent, with the addition of some 1,200 acres and as with the previous purchases, a chapter or two of the mesa’s history. Thomas Breckenridge, a survivor and chronicler of the infamous Fremont expedition to Colorado in 1848, along with his wife, Margaret, three sons, Walter, Reese, and Dee, and a string of pack mules, ventured into a fledgling mining camp—which would years later be known as the town of Telluride—in 1878. In the years following, they located mining claims in Bridal Veil basin and acquired ranch property on Deep Creek Mesa, where for over four decades they harvested crops of timothy grass and barley, which they sold to neighboring dairy farmers. Following their arrivals to Telluride during the early 1890s, Dave Dimond and Ed Lavender joined the Breckenridges in the business of packing supplies up to and ore back down from the mines in Savage and Marshall basins, as well as purchasing ranch land on Deep Creek Mesa. Ed Lavender was one of the region’s preeminent ranchers. His cattle and sheep operations in the Lone Cone range and in the Paradox Valley, as well as on Deep Creek Mesa, have become the stuff of legend, as told by his stepson, David.

October 20, 1947 may have passed without celebration or even notice, considering Joaquin’s stoic disposition. But court records indicate that the many loans secured by the Deep Creek Mesa property had been paid in full and the obligations imposed by the deeds of trust had been met and officially released, all of them on this day. The Aldasoros had made it. They’d succeeded at a time when many had failed, a testament to their belief that hard work—and a little good fortune—can make an American Dream come true for a family of Basque sheepherders.

EASONS PASS a little differently for sheepherders; the routines, attendant to the time of year, are a reflection solely of what the sheep, not the humans, require. For the Aldasoros, winters meant the warmer, desert climate in eastern Utah, while spring was time for shearing and lambing. Summers—and the sheep—demanded the cooler altitudes of Deep Creek Mesa, and with fall, before the first snow and mating season, the sheep and the family were again on the move to lower elevations. As the sheep went, so, too, went the family, and as any Aldasoro will tell you, the sheep business is nothing if not a family affair.

HISTORIC PLACES Dreams have a way of changing tone, if not content, as they pass from one generation to the next. Albert Aldasoro assumed responsibility for the family business following the passing of his father, on October 30, 1964. And while there is little doubt Albert inherited his father’s tough-mindedness and work ethic, he was faced with a different set of challenges and imperatives as he took the Aldasoro Brothers into the 1970s and 80s. Telluride and the east end of San Miguel County were in the midst of significant transition. A resort economy had replaced mining at a time when agriculture and ranching were undergoing sweeping and unsettling changes, as prices for livestock declined and debts mounted. By the early 1970s, Albert found himself in a quandary. Difficult decisions, with far-reaching effects, needed to be made, and once made, there’d be no looking back.

LBERT UNDERSTOOD selling off a significant portion of the ranch on Deep Creek Mesa would be necessary if the Aldasoro family ship was to stay afloat. How to accomplish that task, while retaining a portion of the land and lifestyle to which he and his family held an abiding affection, was the question facing him. A small parcel in what was to become the Sunnyside subdivision was sold in 1972, and another, named Meadows at Deep Creek, was sold in 1983. That the purchaser of the latter property was the “Caribbean Yachting Corporation” and the fact that the $25,000 earnest money deposit and an even larger amount due at closing were delivered in cash and in brown paper bags may have raised a few eyebrows at the Aldasoro dinner table. But the price tag and the terms appeared not only acceptable, but generous. Two years later and after the monthly mortgage payments stopped coming, the property

was quickly and thankfully resold to an eminently more reliable set of buyers. Soon after, and perhaps not by accident, Albert determined the future needed a plan. There appeared to be no end of potential buyers, but he, not them, would be in charge of how the ranch would be developed. The land lease agreement reached between San Miguel County, Telluride Ski and Golf Company, the Airport Board and Albert in 1985 paved the way for the Telluride Regional Airport to be built on 140 acres (210 acres were added later by way of eminent domain) of Deep Creek Mesa land and set the tone for future development. In 1990, a sketch plan for the 1,550-acre Aldasoro Ranch Subdivision was submitted to the San Miguel County planning commission for review. The sketch plan was the first in a five-step process paving the way for three phases of development in 1991, 1992, and 1993. Albert spared no expense in implementing plans for the subdivision’s infrastructural needs nor did he overlook even the smallest detail in instituting a design review process to ensure new residential construction preserved the feel and character of the mesa’s ranching heritage. That steadfast (some might call it stubborn) adherence to his vision paid off. By the turn of the century, five separate subdivisions—Gray Head, Golden Ledge, Diamond Ranch and Sunnyside West—totaling nearly 2,400 acres had been sold. The future for the Aldasoros, with over 700 acres set aside for the family, looked to be very bright, indeed. Suffice it to say that the days of land sales for “$1 and valuable considerations” had long since passed. Joaquin Aldasoro never made it back to Spain. Neither did his two pasteboard suitcases. They sit now, along with other mementos of the family’s life and times, in his granddaughter’s living room, filled not with new clothes or money but with memories of the family’s trials and good times, hopes and hard work, and a reminder to never forget a simple truth: without a dream, you can’t make a dream come true. THE HOGG RANCH, circa 1905–1909 when John McKnight owned the farm. (courtesy photo)

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TELLURIDE FACES

Soft-Hearted Ironman

BY EMILY SHOFF

NTERVIEWING Erik Fallenius is a daunting task. This is a man, after all, who has done multiple Hawaiian Ironman Triathlons, owns Nevasca Realty—one of Telluride’s earliest real estate firms—and still (at age 58) bikes to Moab for fun. That’s not all—in his free time, Erik and his wife, Josephine, conceived one of the town’s signature annual fundraisers: The Mountains to the Desert Ride, now in its ninth year. One of his cycling friends, Rick Fusting, laughed ERIK FALLENIUS while describing his REALTOR, PHILANTHROPIST, attempts to draft beCYCLIST hind Erik: “He is like a 400-pound monster PHOTO BY BRENDA COLWELL on a 17-pound bike going down hills. The man has no brakes, and his momentum will carry him to Ridgway without a pedal stroke. If you miss his back wheel at the top of Dallas Divide, then be prepared to see his smile waiting for you in Ridgway.” Yet, when I sit down to have good swimmer, but I’m not long and lean,” he continues in flawless English that masks his breakfast with Erik at the Chop Finnish heritage. “I’ve always had an ability to go on for a long period of time. It’s the only House, what strikes me first is his gift I act on.” gentleness. This is a man who wants It’s this kind of endurance, combined with a passion for local non-profits, that led Erik and to talk about his two sons, and who Josephine to create the Mountains to the Desert Ride. He was looking for a way to expand tells me about growing up in Finland the money they could raise for the Just for Kids Foundation, an organization he helped build and falling in love with America and with Bill Carstens to fund kid’s programs in Telluride and the San Miguel River watershed. Josephine at Colorado State UniHe had raised about $90,000 doing fundraising drives in conjunction with an Ironman and a versity, and moving to Telluride in New York Marathon, and Bill Carstens had matched his donations. “But I quickly realized,” 1978. I have to work hard to shift Erik confesses, “that me doing events and raising money was going to be short lived.” He and him away from the topic of family Josephine started dreaming about a way to bring a cycling event to town. and onto his athletic and non-profit The Falleniuses wanted an event that would showcase the San Juans’ unique location, in pursuits. “By design, I’m not a runthe heart of the mountains but at the edge of the desert. September of 2003 marked the first ner or a cyclist ... I’m too big,” he tells Mountains to the Desert Ride. Erik was on his bike, but it was Josephine who was steering. me when I ask about the Ironmans, “Ultimately Mountains to Desert is really Josephine’s event,” says Erik. “I’m just a fundraiser. which I find hard to believe, given She’s really the conductor. ” Originally, the course ran from Telluride to Moab, but after traffic his reputation in local sports. Even concerns on the last twenty-five miles of that race, the race board shifted the course finish to in his cozy outfit of jeans and a grey Gateway in 2008. The new route, he says, is much better, and the cycling festival at the finish Arc’teryx wool sweater, it’s easy to is superb. “It’s so amazing to start in the alpine [terrain] and finish in the desert, the canyon see that Erik’s an über-athlete. His country. We have cyclists from all over the country coming to do it.” Erik has done scores of broad shoulders, tan face and sharp races—Triple Bypass, the Iron Horse—but he says that Mountains to the Desert is his favorite. eyes reveal a man who’s devoted to “What we have is a jewel. ” big athletic endeavors. “I’m a pretty

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“I’ve traveled all over the world, but I am truly happiest to come home. It’s magical here.”

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“Giving to non-profits is an innate part of our culture, and being a volunteer is a great way to experience Telluride.” winning ticket. Local sponsors also offer restaurant gift certificates, nights at hotels, and bike gear. In 2011, Mountains to the Desert raised a record $85,000, which was again matched by the Bill Carstens Family Foundation. This year’s goal is $90,000. Erik speaks fondly of his time with Mountains to the Desert and Just For

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Kids and says he’s thankful for Telluride’s incredible level of support and volunteerism. He has served on multiple boards for other local non-profits, including Telluride Academy, Mountainfilm, One To One Mentoring, USA Pro Cycling Challenge and Angel Baskets, which he helps deliver each holiday season. In Finland, where he spent his early youth playing club sports, government plays a greater role in the daily lives of Finns, says Erik. There is more reliance on government giving, whereas in the United States private philanthropy is a much bigger part of society. “I believe that the people of this country are, individually, the most generous in the world. Giving to non-profits is an innate part of our culture, and being a volunteer is a great way to experience Telluride.” Hearing this, I get a glimpse of the Erik who moved to town with his college sweetheart. It’s clear how much he loves every part of Telluride—its mountains, its people, its community. “I’ve traveled all over the world,” Erik says, “but I am truly happiest to come home. It’s magical here.”

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Behind the Music Scene BY KATIE KLINGSPORN

EREB CARTER sifts through a morass of laminated concert passes piled atop his kitchen table, extricating memories with each one he pulls out of the tangle. There are laminates from the Bob Marley Roots Rock Reggae Festival, Wakarusa, Slightly Stoopid, Snoop Dogg, Widespread Panic, Telluride Jazz Festival, the now-defunct Plunge Music Festival and too many more to list. And this isn’t even his entire colJEREB CARTER lection. Though these PRODUCER, EVENT MANAGER, could be the prizes MUSIC FAN of a devoted groupie, Carter’s concert lamPHOTO BY BRENDA COLWELL inates—many of which are stamped “staff ”—are instead the mementos of his career working in the music industry. There’s a good chance that if you have attended a big music event in recent years, be it a Sunset Concert in Mountain Village or a Blues & Brews Festival in Telluride Town ment of his family’s Gold Run home. Though there are baby toys scattered about, he keeps the Park, or even a far-flung event like rock and roll vibe intact. A framed photo of Johnny Cash hangs above his desk, flanked by two the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage guitars. Fest, Carter has been involved in the It might seem odd for a person so entrenched in the live music scene to live in remote Telproduction or management of it. luride, but Carter has deep family ties to the region. Carter’s great, great-grandfather, Henry Carter has been working behindStanley, worked in the Tomboy mine. His great grandfather, John Henry Stanley, graduated the-scenes in the music industry for from high school in Telluride, and worked for the Rio Grande Southern railroad for several most of his adult life. He was the proyears. Carter remembers him telling stories of having to find the sauced train conductor in duction manager and sound engiPopcorn Alley (Telluride’s historic red-light district) when it was time to get back on the train. neer for Galactic for seven years. He’s The younger Stanley moved to L.A. in the ’30s and started a successful painting company, and been around the world with bands years later bought a large swath of property in Rico, where the family summered for years. like Ween and Garage a Trois. He Much of that land is still in the family, and Carter’s mother June and two sisters and their worked as the production manager families live in Rico; he also has cousins, aunts, uncles and various relatives scattered across for shows that range from Michael the region. Franti and Spearhead world tours to Carter’s mom and dad met at Fort Lewis College in 1969, and his parents moved to TelBob Dylan’s appearance in Telluride luride in the late ’70s when he was in grammar school. Though his father, the late Peter Carter, at the KOTO concert. These days, was a well-known builder, his was still very much a music-oriented family—his parents would Carter, who has two children with his travel around working for festivals, bringing the kids with them. “I started doing operations wife, Katie, is trying to spend more for festivals when I was 12 years old,” Carter said. “It was the natural direction for me to go, to time at home. To that end, he helps be involved in music.” to run All Phases Event Group— Carter had always loved music, and played saxophone in a band, but knew that it was a which produces and manages music long shot to make it as a musician. He briefly attended college, but dropped out after deciding events—from his office in the base-

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“I love the events here and working in Town Park more than anywhere in the world… it’s the best venue anywhere.”

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he didn’t know what he wanted to do, and became well versed in event management, moved back to Telluride. He got hired to which encompasses everything from run the sound at the Fly Me To the Moon working with booking agents to hiring Saloon, a thriving local venue. That led him sound and lighting personnel, overseeing to production, and he discovered that he the setup and ensuring compliance with did have a viable career safety regulations. path in the music industry. These days, he runs All By the time he was Carter eventually Phases with his partner, 30, Carter had been Scotty Nichols. The comearned an arts and technology certificate from to all 50 states and pany specializes in concerts, the California Recording festivals and sporting events halfway around Institute, and from there such as Jeep King of the began working in clubs. Mountain. They still handle the world. Music That’s where he met the touring clients, but they try had taken him to band Galactic. He went to keep business close to on the road with them in home. “A lot of our business Tokyo high-rises, 1997, and it was the beis focused on Colorado,” he 50-seat clubs and ginning of his profession said. “The majority for me is in music and stage proTelluride.” 200,000-capacity duction. Because although he’s outdoor venues. By the time he was 30, been all over the globe, Carter had been to all 50 nothing beats the venue states and halfway around the world. Music that’s right out his back door. “I love the has taken him to Tokyo high rises, 50-seat events here and working in Town Park clubs and 200,000-capacity outdoor ven- more than anywhere in the world … it’s ues. He met Joe Strummer (The Clash) at a the best venue anywhere,” said Carter. “To bonfire, befriended Michael Franti (Spear- be part of this in my backyard is something head) and rubbed elbows with the likes of that’s really special to me. I look forward to Errol Brown (Bob Marley’s producer). He what’s around the corner.” summer/fall 2012

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TELLURIDE FACES

Piece By Piece BY MARTINIQUE DAVIS

LAIR ROBINSON’S space in the artists’ cooperative— Stronghouse Studios in downtown Telluride—is a vivid hodgepodge of color and dimension. Glass jelly jars crowd the shelves, each mismatched container casting a distinctive glow on the artist’s cove: buttons, FLAIR ROBINSON glass marbles, metal ARTIST, EDUCATOR, RECYCLER trinkets, and all manner of bejeweled baubles join Robinson’s rainbow collection of ceramic tile shards on these teeming shelves. In the midst of all of this, the artist sits at her table. With glasses pinched PHOTO BY BRENDA COLWELL low on her nose and thick tresses cascading like curtains around her focused gaze, she uses a hand nipper to break a square of richly hued ceramic tile into small orange diamonds: the seemingly incongruous pieces that will, eventually, make up an inspired whole. sure, a timepiece, a selection of bottle caps, some screws, and a set of dice encircle the fantastiRobinson is a mosaic artist, and cal bird. “I never know what’s going to go into it,” Robinson says of her mosaic projects. so the montage of miscellaneous maRobinson’s unique style of mixed media mosaic art has been strongly influenced by the terials that fill her studio are actually Outsider and Visionary art movements, she says. Outsider art represents a style of art that is the ingredients of her craft. But unself-taught, and Visionary art is typically created outside the boundaries of mainstream cullike a traditional mosaic artist, who ture, something spiritual or mystical, even. “Creating something out of nothing, from these would craft scenes almost exclusively recycled little bits and pieces, has always held a fascination for me,” Robinson explains. out of pieces of tile or glass, RobinArt, too, has always captured Robinson’s fascination. Though she received her degree in son doesn’t limit herself to what is education, Robinson says she’s always expressed her creativity through artistic means. “I’ve considered traditional. Robinson’s always done art—even if it was just painting furniture or a pair of sneakers,” she says. She has mosaic projects utilize a lively array a natural affinity for art—she is one of those people who “sees color differently,” as she puts of recycled and found items. “I have it. She could drop a container of buttons on the floor, and while some people would just see a a lot of people who bring me junk!” mess, Robinson’s focus would fall on some wonderful, haphazard color combination and find she says. By “junk,” she means treainspiration. sures that have come from Telluride’s Robinson arrived in Telluride one summer night in the late 1970s, to attend the just-born infamous Free Box, a thrift store and Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Enamored with Telluride, Robinson moved here shortly after even the garbage. graduating from the University of Missouri in 1980. She worked as an educator, leaving for Her piece “Nevermore” reveals a few years to attend film school at New York University, then returning to Telluride to teach Robinson’s eclectic vision and style. and to help start the Rockies After School program and the Youth Link youth center. The raven at the center of the frame In 2001 Robinson’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The seven weeks leading is bright and sinuous, arranged from up to her mother’s death were life changing; as she describes, “I woke up one day and I knew I painstakingly hand-nipped slivers of didn’t want to do what I was doing anymore. I knew I was going to be an artist.” ceramic tile. A length of a tape meaIt was at her mother’s side during those final days where Robinson had an epiphany; she

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“I woke up one day and I knew I didn’t want to do what I was doing anymore. I knew I was going to be an artist.”

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nurture your inner artist weekly drop in classes june through august all levels open clay studio tuesdays 4:30 - 7pm

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realized that she wanted to devote herself to art. She taught herself how to make mosaic flowerpots, which she sold at the Telluride Farmers Market. She quickly established a reputation as a prominent local artist and is calling on her experience as an educator to teach students her unique craft at the local Ah Haa School for the Arts this summer. And her art continues to evolve, as this self-styled workaholic pushes herself to create bigger and better things. Robinson’s hanging installation “Time Piece,” a striking, chandelier-esque sculpture made from 90 percent recycled materials currently on

display at the Wilkinson Public Library, represents the artist’s largest project to date; but thanks to a grant from Telluride Arts, Robinson has another major project she’s working on this summer. “Mountain Girl” is a concrete substrate mosaic sculpture that, in her words, “reflects us, all the hippie people who took over this valley” decades ago. In a sense, the sculpture also symbolizes yet another evolution in Robinson’s art career, since it has once again pushed her to reach for new horizons. “I believe it’s never too late to become who you want to become,” she says.

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INSIDE ART

EAR—Ellen Metrick (right), Art Goodtimes (middle) and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer (left) perform poetry as a trio. All three Poet Laureates are a part of a thriving, local poetry scene. (Photo by Kit Hedman)

THE IDEA of a Talking Gourd circle conjures up the image of a dim campfire, but instead I am welcomed into a warmly lit conference room at the library. Chairs fill slowly with people clutching pieces of folded paper in their hands, and the woman sitting next to me, Linda, tells me that this is her second Talking Gourd. We encourage each other to sign our names on the clipboard being passed around—a commitment to stand up and read, to bare our souls. Western Slope Poet Laureate and emcee Art Goodtimes bounds onto the small stage. Goodtimes founded Talking Gourd back in 1989, through the Telluride Writers Guild. He grew up in the Bay area, reading the Beat poets and writing and performing poetry. Soon after he moved to Telluride he was holding public readings, and it was then that Art met his mentor, Dolores LaChapelle. Her book, Sacred Land, Sacred Sex: Rapture of the Deep, had many references to gourds. Also popular at the time was the band Talking Heads, and through a synthesis of Art, poetry and music, Talking Gourd was born. Poets, writers and performers in the circle pass an actual gourd and take turns expressing themselves. “When we pass the gourd around,” says Art, “it is the gourd that talks—we are just open to it.” The first poet to perform in tonight’s Talking Gourd circle is the luminous Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. Her words pierce the heart in a poem about personal inquiry called “Four Questions And.” Art, a longtime friend of

Passing of the

Gourd Poetry in Telluride BY ERIKA MOSS GORDON

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Rosemerry’s, says that her moving to Telluride was instrumental in the evolution of the Western Slope poetry scene. “She is a very intriguing poet because she studied linguistics. She has a lot of energy and a master’s degree, so she can teach others.” Goodtimes’ respect is reciprocated. Rosemerry says that she “can’t give Art enough credit for the tone he’s set in this community. He is an unbelievable mentor because he leads from a place of equality, a we’re-all-in-this-together sort of way.” Through Art and Rosemerry, Talking Gourd blossomed, and the pair also fostered the regional poetry movement. Rosemerry served two terms as San Miguel County Poet Laureate, created the Walking Words Festival and launched a program to bring writers into the schools for monthly workshops. “I wanted poetry to be accessible, even necessary. I wanted poetry to be cool.” Trommer’s most recent book, The Miracle Already Happening, is a collection of poetry in which she has a conversation with the great Sufi mystic, Rumi. Her writing used to be based on her surroundings, the San Juan Mountains, but has moved toward a “connection between the exterior landscape and the interior landscape,” she says. “I used to think that you could tie things up with a poem—that the poem gives answers. These days, I prefer poems that feel like they open us up as opposed to clicking something closed.” Following Rosemerry’s performance is local songsmith Rose Griffin. Rose is a cancer survivor who sings a playful remix of Summertime lyrics, “Summertime, and chemo makes me feel queasy.” On a screen behind the stage are the stunning watercolor portraits of featured artist Loretta Boley, and James, a Mormon missionary visiting from Idaho, reads his heartfelt sonnets about unattainable love. Linda, my new compatriot, bravely reads from the journal she kept on her trip through India last year. “Namaste,” she gives

FAMILY-FRIENDLY PRIVATE COMPOUND the traditional Indian salutation. “Hello is the same as goodbye—doesn’t that make perfect sense?” Poet Danny Rosen is the featured guest. When he takes the stage, he wins over the room with his physical and emotional performance, including the “Ghost of Giant Kuda,” about his adventures through Africa, and his exploration of the universal and the personal in “Deep Field.” Danny is the quintessential poet, and as I watch him with Art and Rosemerry, it is clear that there is some kind of synergy and magic here. Danny tells Rosemerry, “You guys [the poets of San Miguel County] have been oxygen to me for a lot of years.”

It is clear that there is some kind of synergy and magic here. Talking Gourd nurtured the rise of another local poet, current San Miguel Poet Laureate Ellen Marie Metrick. Ellen published her latest collection, Teasing Out the Divine, this spring. Ellen attended her first Talking Gourd in 1998. It was “a huge thing for me—an indoctrination into this tribe of poets.” Now Ellen runs Talking Gourd in Norwood. “In the last two years, things have been picking up. There is a renaissance of poetry right now.” Verse is ubiquitous throughout the community. Local newspapers and online magazines print poems, Telluride’s bookstore has a poetry collection, there is an annual Mark Fischer poetry contest and Rosemerry’s monthly poetry series at the library is wildly popular. And of course there is the Talking Gourd, where fiction, songs and poems are shared. Art closes this Talking Gourd by delivering his poignant “Roadside Coyote” with Rosemerry singing backup. The two of them seem like they’re communicating through some deeper channel, and the experience is so visceral that all the hairs on my arms stand on end. “Poetry,” explains Ellen, “comes from the part of our soul that connects with everything else.”

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LOCAL FLAVOR

PHOTO BY BRANDON CARTER

FOODIES TODAY are mostly interested in the fresh, handcrafted product of local artisans. For this reason, the fish tacos at the corner food cart are sought after with the same fervor as the foie gras at a five-star restaurant. And perhaps nothing is as anticipated and savored by locals and visitors as much as the festival food in Telluride, the rows of booths that prepare homemade, signature favorites that are as memorable as the music. Nobody knows and loves festival food like Noah Price. As an adolescent, Price put in years of apprenticeship in the food booths of his parents Lucas Price (owner of La Cocina de Luz) and Katherine Peterson. Together, the local family ran the sweet corn booth at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival each June. By the time he was eight, Price was working the line, restocking corn and slicing slabs of butter. “I started helping as soon as I could and as soon as my dad started asking me,” says Price, who is now 30 years old. “It was work, but it was also a lot of fun.” Eventually, the Price team took over the popular Asian stir-fry booth. With no catchy name or tricked-out tent, the booth is known simply for its healthy, fresh food. Each festival day, they plate up veggies and organic brown rice, alone or with crispy tofu or chicken. Then, they smother it all with either a coconut green curry or a mango-pineapple sweet and

Festival

Food A Price Family Tradition BY ELIZABETH GUEST

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sour sauce—both are homemade, or rather tent-made, in the booth. The menu also includes veggie egg rolls, chicken teriyaki and Thai iced tea. From corn dogs to gyros, flank steaks to sweet corn, all the festival fare epitomizes summertime in Telluride. “You have to have a checklist of all of your meals and plan ahead so you don’t miss anything,” says Price. “It’s a chance to get out and try different things.” Price enjoys jambalaya or dumplings, which he trades for one of his coconut curries, but it’s not long before he’s back manning the kitchen. Running a food booth is a ton of work with few frills, but he says the appreciation of the patrons is worth the effort. The food court has its own scene, a more sedate mini-world within the larger mayhem of the festivals, where thousands of people are milling around. “The best part is the people and the sense of camaraderie among the booths.” Price’s principal objective is honoring the integrity of the food, no matter how long the lines get in front of his booth. “Preparing something for someone else to consume is a huge responsibility,” he explains. “We want to take care of people and make the best products we can. It is socially irresponsible to serve mediocre food.” Still, there are some serious challenges involved with cooking in a food booth. First, your kitchen setup must be in compliance with the health code—not so straightforward when you are outdoors in a tent. Next, there are the logistics of how much product to stock. “At the bluegrass festival, we use all fresh ingredients so we have to make sure there’s not too much or too little,” says Price. “You have to get your ordering dialed so you don’t end up with a bunch of food in the trash.” Finally, there are the uncontrollable elements, such as the epic thunderstorm in 2003 that cancelled the first Widespread Panic show. “We lost our shirts on that one,” reminisces Price. Price is well versed in the trials and tribulations of festival food. In the 90s, even as a young person, he manned a food booth for the fast-paced, high-volume Lollapalooza and H.O.R.D.E music festivals with more than 30 venues during the month-and-a-half-long nationwide tours. “We’d set up in Los Angeles one day, sell food all day, take everything down and be in Salt Lake City by the morning to do it all over again,” he recalls. All the food booth experience equipped Price with a bounty of culinary skills, complemented by extensive travels and cooking classes in South and Central America, a degree in arts and business from Fort Lewis College in Durango and a design and marketing job that ultimately landed him in Denver. In 2009, Price opened Crema Coffee House, which received the Mayor’s Design Award in 2010, an honor that recognizes projects for their innovation, creativity and design components. Price will operate a second Denver restaurant, The Populist, opening soon. The Populist will feature creative, family-style meals. Price continues to conquer new territory in the culinary world, but he still values his cooking roots. Each June, he extends his 20-plus years of experience by returning to Telluride’s Bluegrass Festival food booth scene. For Price, it is a homecoming of sorts, visiting family and friends. “It’s a tradition for me,” he says.

RESTAURANT GUIDE Telluride Magazine is proud to introduce TellurideDining.com, a new restaurant guide featured in the magazine and online, focusing on local eating and drinking establishments.

TellurideDining.com Menu Sampling Brunch All served with home-fried potatoes

Smoked Salmon Benedict Traditional Eggs Benedict Eggs Any Style with breakfast meat French Toast Omelets Griddler French Toast style breakfast sandwich Plus a variety of burgers, sandwiches and salads. Always good with a Floradora Mimosa or Horseradish Bloody Mary.

Soups & Salads Roasted Red Pepper Bisque with cardamom cream Tomato Soup with balsamic reduction Beet Salad Chicken Waldorf Salad Flank Steak Salad

Appetizers Lettuce Wrap Gluten free and vegan Walnut-Crusted Baked Brie Jalapeño Poppers

Burgers Hand-packed 100% natural Colorado beef, served with lettuce, tomato, house made pickles and coleslaw. Served on focaccini or gluten free bun (extra charge).

Floradora Burger

Roasted red pepper, white cheddar, chipotle aioli

Matty Burger

Homemade jalapeño poppers and chipotle aioli

A BBB Burger

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A family owned and operated establishment since 1974. Clean, crisp flavors and comfortable surroundings are the main ingredients at the Floradora Saloon. Both lunch and dinner will delight the customer — from 100% natural Colorado ground beef, hand-punched french fries to organic chicken with mashed potatoes and seasonal local vegetables. We support local vendors and use organic and natural products when available. Easy to find, we’re located in the center of Telluride on Colorado Avenue.

Sandwiches

Half sandwiches available with hand cut fries, soup or side salad.

The Boy

House roasted turkey, bacon, basil, avocado, pepper jack, greens and chipotle aioli on ciabatta

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Snake River Farms pork, slaw, BBQ sauce, onion ring on focaccini

Entrées BBQ Duck Tacos in soft shell tacos with sour cream, guac, salsa and beans with rice Flat Iron Steak sweet potato stuffed poblano relleño with

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970-728-8884 • Daily food and drink specials with very reasonable prices • Prepared with natural and organic ingredients when available • Gluten free and vegetarian options available • Larger groups welcome Blue Plate Specials • Take-out or dine-in “cheaper than eating at home!” Available Sun. thru Wed. • Children’s menu available

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FAVORITES FROM BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER FRENCH ONION SOUP 9 With Gruyère Crouton

CLASSIC EGGS BENEDICT 13 English Muffin, Canadian Bacon, Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce Served with Roasted New Potatoes

STEAMED PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND MUSSELS 16 Grilled Baguette, Coconut Milk, Lemon Grass, Ginger & Thai Chili

HUEVOS RANCHEROS 14 White Cheddar, Black Beans, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Eggs Your Way

CAESAR SALAD 9 Parmigiano, Reggiano, White Anchovy, Orange Zest & Crostini

PAN SEARED PISTACHIO ENCRUSTED TROUT SPINACH SALAD 15 Warm Bacon, Sherry & Mustard Vinaigrette, Grilled Bread & Poached Egg

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK SHORTLOIN 38 Sweet Potato Risotto, Pear Chutney, Sage, Apple Chip, Hard Cider Reduction

TURKEY CLUB SANDWICH 11 With Applewood Smoked Bacon, Lemon Aioli, Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Fresh Baked Baguette

ALASKAN HALIBUT 28 Crab Risotto, Sweet Corn, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, English Pea Nage

PULLED PORK SANDWICH 12 Hickory BBQ Sauce, Coleslaw, Red Onion, Toasted Fresh Baked Bun

PAPPARDELLE PASTA 19 Wild Mushrooms, Asparagus, Dijon–Parmesan Jus

CHOPHOUSE BURGER 21 Toasted Fresh Baked Bun, Quick Pickles, Ancho Chili Ketchup, French Mustard & Cheese (Blue, Aged White Cheddar, Gruyère)

30 DAY DRY AGED BISON RIBEYE 46 14oz – Grass Fed “Prairie Harvest,” SD

TEMPURA ROCK SHRIMP 14 Roasted Shishito Peppers, Masago, Sriracha Chili Sauce, Crispy Red Onion

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A LAST LOOK

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