Elevation Outdoors April 2017 by Summit Publishing

CYCLE TEXAS | FIVE HOT NEW TRAIL RUNNERS | 2017’S BEST RIDES APRIL 2017

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IT’S TIME

SPIN

THE SINGLETRACK ISSUE!

JASON KOOP REVERSES THE LANCE EFFECT HOW DENVER CAN SAVE US

YOUR GUIDE TO

FIGHTING FOR CONSERVATION

GET DIRTY ON ASPEN’S NEW TRAILS

The BEST BIKE DEMO in the UNIVERSE !

COMES TO CRESTED BUTTE ! AUG 18 -20, 2017 Our VERY FAVORITE SUMMER RIDING LOCATION in the world! The MOST BEAUTIFUL town with the FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE. TEST RIDE THE LATEST. Over 1,000 BIKES to choose from. What’s the best bike? YOU DECIDE AFTER YOU RIDE. PASSES INCLUDE lunches, beer, shuttles, lift rides, prizes & parties.

BRING YOUR PASSION. BRING YOUR FRIENDS. WE’LL BRING THE REST.

OUTERBIKE.COM/SUMMER-CRESTEDBUTTE (800) 845 2453 2

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

IT’S GOOD TO KNOW YOUR

PLACE IN THE WORLD.

IT’S EVEN BETTER WHEN SEARCH AND RESCUE KNOWS.

INREACH® With an inReach® satellite communicator, you can navigate, trigger an SOS, send and receive text messages, and share your GPS location with friends and family from anywhere on earth, even when there’s no cell phone service.

CONTENTS APRIL 2017

BIKE ISSUE BACON JAMES MEYER REACHES FOR SWEET SALVATION AT THE TOP OF WHEELER PASS ABOVE BRECKENRIDGE. WE HOPE THIS ISSUE CALLS TO YOU IN THE SAME WAY. photo by Devon Balet

DEPARTMENTS

7 EDITOR’S LETTER

We believe in equal opportunity.

8 QUICK HITS

The Fat Bike Worlds, spinning in Texas, explaining 27.5+ and more...

13 FLASHPOINT

Jason Koop and CTS are shrugging off the Lance ghost to coach runners.

17 HOT SPOT

Play hard and soak it off at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort.

18 THE TRAIL

SB5+

7 1 0 2 R O F NEW

Download the ViewRanger app and head to Lakewood for a quick escape.

21 NUMEROLOGY

FEATURES

25 DIRTY ASPEN

Forget all the glitz talk, the celebrity city is pumping cash into some fantastic singletrack. Your guide is here.

29 THE RESISTANCE DECODER

Your guide to the GOP’s unfolding attack on the environment and public lands, with tips on how to fight back.

41 BIKES AND ACCESSORIES

In the market for a new ride? Meet our favorite bikes for the upcoming season. Plus, those little extras that make a big difference in the saddle.

51 TRAIL RUNNERS

We break down five of our favorite shoes for hitting the dirt.

Geek out over these cycle stats.

23 STRAIGHT TALK

DESTINATION CUB

Clare Gallagher raps on ultrarunning.

53 HEAR THIS

Taarka keeps Lyons' music scene vital.

A | THE STEAMBO AT WEEKEND | #RENTAVANLIFE

MARCH 2017

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COLORADO SPR INGS

RISING!

55 THE ROAD

A blind, combat-injured vet finds joy on the ride from Telluride to Moab. THE BEST GEA R FOR

58 ELWAYVILLE

TRAVEL

LIMESTONE AND BAD BEE R IN CHINA

ARIZONA’S HIG HPOINT

FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE

Denver is Peter Kray's Paris.

KARATE MONKEY

Want more? Catch up on past issues, your favorite bloggers and daily online content at ElevationOutdoors.com ON TH E COV ER: COLIN PIC KETT AN D E D DY C OH N D IG IN TO TH E LU PIN E TR A IL IN C R ESTED BUTTE. PH OTO BY: D EVON B A LET / D EVONB A LETM ED IA .C OM

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CONTRIBUTORS

ElevationOutdoors.com EDITORIAL

04. 17

WHAT COLORADO TRAIL KEEPS YOU COMING BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN?

ED ITOR -IN -CH IEF

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

doug@elevationoutdoors.com MAN AG IN G ED ITOR

CAMERON MARTINDELL

cameron@elevationoutdoors.com SEN IOR ED ITOR

CHRIS KASSAR

chris@elevationoutdoors.com IN TERN

LILY KRASS

play@elevationoutdoors.com CON TRIBUTIN G ED ITORS

AARON BIBLE, ADAM CHASE, ROB COPPOLILLO, LIAM DORAN, JAMES DZIEZYNSKI, HUDSON LINDENBERGER, SONYA LOONEY, JAYME MOYE, TRACY ROSS, CHRIS VAN LEUVEN ED ITOR-AT-LARG E

PETER KRAY

C ON TRIBUTIN G WRITERS

HEATHER BALOGH, KELLY BASTONE, JEDD FERRIS, MICHAEL FRANK, KIM FULLER, GARETT GRAUBINS, MATT HART, RUSS RIZZO, PAUL TOLME, JONATHAN WATERMAN, BETSY WELCH ART + PRODUCTION A RT D IREC TOR

MEGAN JORDAN

megan@elevationoutdoors.com

SEN IOR D ESIG N ER

LAUREN WORTH

lauren@elevationoutdoors.com G RA PH IC D ESIG N ER

PAIGELEE CHANCELLOR

paigelee@elevationoutdoors.com

ADVERTISING + BUSINESS PRESID EN T

BLAKE DEMASO

blake@elevationoutdoors.com PU BLISH ER

ELIZABETH O’CONNELL

elizabeth@elevationoutdoors.com

SEN IOR AC C OU N T EXECUTIVE

MARTHA EVANS

martha@elevationoutdoors.com AC C OU N T EXECUTIVE

BEN YOUNG

ben@elevationoutdoors.com

B U SIN ESS MAN AG ER

MELISSA GESSLER

melissa@elevationoutdoors.com C IRC U LATION MA N AG ER

HANNAH COOPER

hcooper@elevationoutdoors.com

DIGITAL MEDIA ON LIN E D IR EC TOR

CRAIG SNODGRASS

craig@elevationoutdoors.com

D IG ITAL MA N AG ER

TYRA SUTAK

tyra@elevationoutdoors.com

E L EVATION OU T D O OR S M AGAZ I N E

2510 47th Street Unit 202 Boulder, Colorado 80301 (303) 449-1560 PU B L I SH ED BY

PUBLISHING

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

Bombing down the singletrack on Walker Ranch (ride counterclockwise) never gets old.

ELIZABETH O'CONNELL

Sourdough Trail up on Peak to Peak has been a recent favorite, but it's impossible to pick just one!

CAMERON MARTINDELL

The Rainbow Trail—100 miles along the Sangre de Cristo range. I have only biked a small segment but I hope to do it all.

JONATHAN WATERMAN

The Fisher Creek Trail, if only because people, even here in Carbondale, don't know where it is.

KELLY BASTONE

Mountain View Trail #1032 in the Routt National Forest: wildflower meadows, alpine tarns, high-elevation vistas, solitude—it delivers them all.

RUSS RIZZO

I’m training for my first ultra-marathon on The Mt. Gallbraith Loop near Golden. It's close to home, boasts a bunch of vertical, offers great views—and this runner likes that it’s devoid of MTBers.

MATT HART

Every year, I return to the Hardrock 100-mile Endurance Run course, whether I get into the race as a competitor or not.

AARON BIBLE

My daily run is to the end of Barker Reservoir and back up Middle Boulder Creek ... sometimes all the way to the edge of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

PAUL TOLME

Any trail that starts and ends in Ned. PRINTED ON RECYCLED NEWSPRINT WITH 100% POST-CONSUMER CONTENT

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

uring International Women’s Day last month, we had the opportunity to talk about something that makes us very proud here at Elevation Outdoors and our parent company Summit Publishing. We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate by gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or any other category. All that matters to us is how our employees can work in the chaotic, often thankless world of independent publishing. We live this tenet. That was obvious on Women’s Day when our publisher Elizabeth O’Connell wrote a powerful note about just how many women work in and for this company. That list starts with Elizabeth herself, one of the rising stars in the outdoor world, whose work as a young, successful female publisher in this space should be getting much more attention. It also includes Digital Editor Tyra Sutak, who lives in her van and travels the world, and Senior Editor Chris Kassar, who founded a non-profit to fight to keep rivers free in Chile, and helped battle-scarred vets climb to the top of Denali. It includes our designer Lauren Worth who puts her heart into the look of each issue of this magazine, as well as art director Megan Jordan, and designer Paigelee Chancellor. It includes Leah Woody, publisher of our sister publication Blue Ridge Outdoors, our Business Manager Melissa Gessler, Distribution Manager Hannah Cooper, and our LIKE A BOSS indefatigable sales executive Martha Evans, who has PUBLISHER ELIZABETH O’CONNELL IS LEADING A found time to solo hike the Santiago de Compostela POWERFUL MOVEMENT pilgrimage trail in between keeping us all employed OF WOMEN IN CHARGE by putting ads in these magazines. AT ELEVATION OUTDOORS AND IN THE OUTDOOR It also includes our stable of contributing INDUSTRY IN GENERAL. editors and writers who put the life in these pages. photo courtesy Elizabeth O'Connell Writers like Sonya Looney, who not only knows how to pen an engaging bike adventure but also is winning endurance races and addressing issues of body perception for female athletes. And Jordan Martindell, who is currently pregnant while mothering her first child and finding ways to keep adventure a part of family life. It includes writers like Tracy Ross, whose powerful memoir The Source of All Things dealt with the pain of facing her childhood abuser and finding healing in the wild; Kim Fuller, now the co-owner of Colorado Yoga + Life magazine; and award-winning travel journalist Jayme Moye, who first wrote about women biking in Afghanistan with Shannon Galpin and began her career at EO. It also includes the stories we run in the magazine and the way we cover the outdoors—for example, our Resident Badass poll puts men and women together in the same categories, because women can be just as badass as men. Sadly, though we have worked hard to bring more racial diversity into the pages of the magazine (and we are happy to see advertisers such as Merrell footwear doing the same), our staff is still not racially diverse. That may be a function of the outdoor industry and demographics of mountain towns, but it is also something we need to work harder to improve. We hope you, our readers, can help us work to become more diverse. We want to be leading the way here. We feel it is extremely important to assert our philosophy on equal opportunity right now because we are currently in a political climate where discrimination is accepted. We should be decades beyond this conversation. And we want to stress that no matter the warped discourse of temporarily elected officials and their supporters, it will never be accepted here. In fact, we are actively working to prove the opposite is true: We enjoy working together and holding each other up. A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

QUICK HITS

04 .17

LARGE AND IN CHARGE While most winter enthusiasts were still skiing and riding, the pedal faithful got fat and happy at Crested Butte’s Fat Bike World Championships. WIDE-TIRE RIDERS WERE NOT INTIMIDATED

by an epic snow year in Crested Butte this past January. The second annual Fat Bike World Championships came to town and hundreds of eager riders showed up from across the globe. They came for two races and a demo day on trails near town, as well as a lift-served downhill event held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. And the championship race, with 300 participants, was “just right,” says organizer Dave Ochs. “Too many more, and it would

have ruined the experience for riders,” says Ochs, who is the director of the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association. “Too many people deteriorate the trail.” Temperatures hung below zero all weekend, but sunshine kept people lingering between vendor tents. Fire pits burned into snow holes and electric heaters served as thawing stations for frozen toes and fingers in the small pop-up bike village. And after parties at a different venue each night kept chilly butts shaking. Due to record snowfall, the top of the downhill course was pure carnage. Almost every rider caught a slow fall on at least one of the the soft, powderfilled corners. “We’re learning more and more about the downhill element,” Ochs says. “Getting the ideal terrain will be the ideal approach for next year.” —Kim Fuller

TECHNOLOGY Paracable The plastic charging cables you find on standard phones and other electronics are prone to getting frayed, bent and broken when you stuff them in your backpack. But these heavy-duty cables—both lightning and micro USB—are wrapped in tough paracord fabric and feature metal end housings to survive the roughest adventures. $16-$24 | PARACABLE.COM

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FERAL MOUNTAIN CO. Meet the little Denver outdoor gear shop that roared onto the scene. IT WAS NEW YEAR'S EVE, 2015, AND JIMMY

Funkhouser was done with his soulcrushing corporate gig. When his buddy asked him about his goals for 2016, Funkhouser thought hard for a minute before responding, “I want to do what I would do if I wasn’t afraid.” Funkhouser opened Feral Mountain Co. just eight weeks later on March 4, 2015. Now nearing its one-year anniversary and nestled in an old house smack in the middle

GEAR WE LOVE Sugoi Zap Covered with hundreds of little reflective dots, the Zap bike jacket reflects an incredible amount of light from all over its surface, making it stand out on dark roads. Add a slim fit and drop rear, and this fully waterproof jacket is a must-have for any cycling commuter. $160 | SUGOI.COM

of Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, Feral Mountain is a brick-andmortar outdoor goods store born out of ingenuity, necessity, and just the right amount of perseverance. And Funkhouser’s no longer doing it alone. Big-name, innovative brands like Outdoor Research, Eagle's Nest Outfitters, Smartwool and Mountain Hardwear have partnered with Feral. “I felt like a door-to-door salesman for a while, but it ended up working,” says Funkhouser. It's not just about gear. To help grow the outdoor community, Feral hosts multiple hiking and snowshoe meetups, as well as a monthly outdoor movie night in the summer. Funkhouser wouldn’t operate his business any other way. “I just want to be the guy that helps people fall in love with the outdoors,” he says. feralmountainco.com —Heather Balogh

BOOKS Open Midnight In this beautiful read, Utah environmentalist Brooke Williams digs into the value of nature and wilderness beyond the typical routes. The book follows his year-long solo travels through the red rock desert with his dog. At the same time, he followed a Mormon ancestor whose life he has traced to an imaginary meeting with Charles Darwin. $18 | TUPRESS.ORG

LOCAL HERO: MIKE FRIEDMAN This retired pro cyclist is dedicated to getting kids out and spinning.

FROSTED BUTTE THE SECOND ANNUAL FAT BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PUT RACERS AND CASUAL FANS ON BIG TIRES IN THE MIDDLE OF COLORADO'S BIKE CULTURE EPICENTER. photo by Robert O'Connell

WILD MAN FERAL MOUNTAIN CO. FOUNDER JIMMY FUNKHOUSER TALKS ABOUT HIS JOURNEY FROM THE BLAHS OF THE CORPORATE WORLD TO OWNER OF AN OUTDOOR GEAR SHOP THAT'S BUILDING COMMUNITY. photo by Heather Balogh

PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST MIKE FRIEDMAN

had been riding and racing bikes for 20 years before he realized there was one aspect of the sport he knew nothing about: teaching others how to do it. Upon his retirement in 2014, Friedman decided that he could find a better way to share his passion for cycling. He found a niche in afterschool enrichment programming, and since 2015, his Pedaling Minds has served nearly 250 kids in the Boulder Valley School District, teaching them how to ride, to become better and safer riders, and to learn a thing or two about bike mechanics. “Bikes are the perfect tool for teaching an array of educational concepts because they allow kids to pair learning with something fun and stress-free,” says Friedman. Pedaling Minds’ programming consists of two parts: Bicycle Skills & Drills, and The Science of the Bicycle, both of which focus on problem solving, confidencebuilding, and perseverance. The way Friedman sees it,

UP-LEVELING LIFE MIKE FRIEDMAN WORKS WITH A GROUP OF KIDS IN THE BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT. HE NOT ONLY TEACHES THEM HOW TO BETTER RIDE THEIR BIKES BUT ALSO HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. photo courtesy Pedaling Minds

Pedaling Minds uses bikes to engage kids' curious minds and restless bodies. Pedaling Minds uses bikes to engage kids’ curious minds and restless bodies, and the lessons they learn are plentiful and diverse. “Every time we set off on a ride, adventure awaits,” he says. He should know— the bike was his favorite teacher, too. pedalingminds.org —Betsy Welch A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

27.5+ IS HUGE Learn why these big tires will change your mountain biking game. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO LEARN ANYTHING

reading an article about tire widths. That’s the tongue-in-cheek message from Steve Heal, Director of Operations at Golden’s Wheat Ridge Cyclery. The shop is massive, with 100 bikes in its demo fleet, and it's the largest Yeti dealer in the nation. What Heal means is that the only way to really understand the difference between a bike with 27.5-inch rubber versus a bike running 27.5+ rubber, is to ride both. “People get an idea in their heads and the more they read online forums, the more confused they get. Just go ride and decide for yourself,” says Heal. Fair enough, but the lowdown on 27.5+ is important to understand before you make any decisions. This new-ish tire size is typically 2.8-inches wide, and splits the difference between four-inches-or greater fatbike tire widths and “normal” mountain bike tire widths of 2.2-2.4 inches.

The reason to consider a 27.5+ width is that it offers some of the leverage advantages of a 29er in smaller wheel size. Huh? We’ll explain. Wheels act a lot like rolling pry bars. The longer the contact patch, the more leverage you have to clear an obstacle, like a log or a rock. Twenty-niners offer that longer patch, so they roll over trickier terrain that can stall bikes with 26inch tires. But 29ers typically ride higher, so shorter riders can feel a lack of control at slow speeds, and those tall wheels are hard to make stiff, so they can feel noodle-y when you’re ripping. Also, 29ers can be very l-o-n-g, which gets tough for weaving through tight switchbacks. Splitting the difference with 27.5 wheels has helped, but 27.5+ tires further fatten the contact patch,

giving less experienced cyclists, “a ton of confidence,” says Travis Mosbar, Service Manager for Pro Velo in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Mosbar says the local trails are super rocky, the kind that scare a lot of mountain bikers. The 27.5+ has been catching on with Fort Collins shredders because, “There’s traction galore, so they just make people really confident.” The downside of 27.5+ tires is more mass and rolling resistance. You’re going to be a slower climber, so Mosbar and Heal both recommend shedding weight by running your plus bike with tubeless tires. “Tubes on these bikes add more than a pound of rolling mass,” says Heal, and going tubeless also lets you run ultra-low pressure (a la fat bikes) for even more traction, he says. Both Mosbar and Heal say some

SIZE MATTERS SEE HOW YOUR TIRE WIDTH STACKS UP. photo courtesy Quality Bicycle Parts

riders are also eyeing 27.5+ tires for their one-bike-quiver potential, because some rigs, like Giant’s XTC Advanced 27.5+ 1 and Santa Cruz’s Hightower, allow hot-swapping to 29er wheels. You’ll get a machine that can run skinnier, 29er tires when you’re climbing all day, or revert to 27.5+ for ultra-techy terrain. Or you can confuse matters even more with bikes like Yeti’s SB5+, designed specifically around 27.5+ tires. All the better, argues Yeti, to rail the most rugged singletrack at the lightest possible weight. —Michael Frank

Gear Journal - APRIL 20 LifeStraw Steel RA2.W0

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ac Mountain HousFAe VOChRITiliE ROMAD TRIP Meet Roxy and Ben, our new Live Outside and Play roadie team from Denver. They will be touring around the state of Colorado and in the Southeast April-October, spreading the stoke of the Go Outside and Play lifestyle. Keep a lookout for them at 20 major festivals throughout the season where they will be putting free gear from our sponsors into your hands.

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

FOLLOW THE ADVENTURE @LIVEOUTSIDEANDPLAY BLUERIDGEOUTDOORS.COM ELEVATIONOUTDOORS.COM

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FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS Move out of your comfort zone, Coloradans, and head to the Lone Star State. Fredericksburg, Texas, is a charming winery-filled, wildflower-lined town in the heart of Texas Hill Country with plenty of rolling road bike rides and tasty local eats. EAT

Founded by German immigrants in the mid-1800s, Fredericksburg and its cuisine still center around delicious traditional German dishes, like the ones on the menu at the historic Der Lindenbaum (derlindenbaum.com). Located in the heart of downtown, Der Lindenbaum’s mouthwatering menu features schnitzels, bratwurst and one of the largest selections of German beers in Texas. For a sample of authentic Texas Hill Country cuisine, visit Fischer & Wieser’s Das Peach Haus (daspeachhaus. com)—a boutique culinary shop that offers free samples of every delicious product in the store. Fredericksburg is also home to more than two dozen wineries and tasting rooms as well as an open container law in the town’s

LAT

44.943387° N

main drag, so be sure to save some time to explore the local winery scene on your visit. SLEEP

Fredericksburg bustles with more than 400 bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, inns and guest ranches. Consult visitfredericksburgtx.com to find your perfect accommodations. For a truly unique experience, head to the Fredericksburg Brewing Company’s Bed & Brew (yourbrewery.com)—an 11-room hotel located above the oldest brewpub in Texas. Nightly rates run between $99 and $129 mid-week. PLAY

Spring is the time to dust off your road bike, and scenic Texas Hill

LONG

Country is the perfect place to get back in the saddle. The area’s miles and miles of quiet, rolling hills are lined with wineries and wildflowers. Stop by Hill Country Bicycle Works (hillcountrybicycle.com) for rentals and the scoop on local rides. If you’re after hiking or rock climbing, head to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area (bit.ly/1vgI7di) to explore 11 miles of hiking trails and some epic

SPRINGTIME ESCAPE YOU WILL FIND BRATWURST, LONG ROAD RIDES, WINERIES AND WILDFLOWERS IN FULL BLOOM IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTY. photo by Tyra Sutak

climbing. The park has Dark Sky Park designation, and hosts Rock Star stargazing parties throughout the warm weather months. —Tyra Sutak

109.539099° W

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A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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PHOTO CREDIT: ADVENTURE DRIVEN, SETH JACOBSEN

FLASHPOINT

0 4 .17

THE ROAD BACK Ultrarunning coach Jason Koop is leading Carmichael Training Systems into the drug-free zone. by MATT HART

idelined with a severe ankle injury at the 2013 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race in the Alps, ultrarunner Dylan Bowman drove to the aid stations along the course instead. He watched as race favorites like Anton Krupicka faltered and later quit 18 miles from the finish. Bowman realized that even if he had not been injured, he would have been woefully unprepared for the 103-mile race, with its 32,000 feet of climbing. He returned home to Mill Valley, California, despondent, and decided that he might need some help. “I had gotten to a place where I just wasn’t seeing any more big gains,” says Bowman, who grew up playing team sports and always responded well to coaching guidance. “Since I had no formal running background or education, I was eager for outside help.” Bowman knew that one of his peers, ultrarunner Dakota Jones, was having a lot of racing success while working with a coach out of Colorado Springs named Jason Koop. Ultrarunning isn’t a sport known for utilizing coaches, but Koop claimed a star-studded roster of long-distance runners who kept showing up and winning races. It had actually been Koop who’d reached out to Jones in 2012. He’d offered to coach him for free, and Jones jumped at the opportunity. Bowman contacted Koop the day he returned home from Europe. “I resolved to do what it took to be successful in the sport, and the most obvious thing that came to mind was to enlist the help of a professional coach,” says Bowman. Koop put

the injured runner on a bike and assigned him intervals. “I could feel my fitness coming back immediately,” says Bowman. When he started running again, the 27-year-old felt like he was in decent shape. Koop cut his mileage almost in half and started him on a program of three interval, or tempo, sessions a week. “I responded immediately. The improvements came so fast,” says Bowman.

TRAIL TRUSTED Texas A&M University, he ran on the school’s ONE OF THE REASONS WHY MANY ULTRARUNNERS cross-country team, DON'T TRAIN WITH A and double-majored COACH IS THAT MOST in Biochemistry and COACHES HAVE NOT RACED 100 MILES. NOT Genetics. As part of the SO FOR KOOP WHO IS AN program, he was required ULTRAMARATHON VET AND to do an internship, which UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCEED. is how he ended up at photo by Fredrik Marmsater Carmichael Training Systems (CTS), the As ultrarunning continues to grow in popularity, Colorado Springs-based the sport has, by association, become more coaching company, headed up by wundercoach competitive. Athletes contend for sponsorship Chris Carmichael, that rode Lance Armstrong’s dollars, and runners with more traditional fame to its own financial heights. When he finished racing backgrounds are increasingly making the college in 2002, Koop was hired on to work as transition from road marathons to trail ultras. CTS’s first running coach. The upshot of this change is that the training and In 2005, ultrarunner Dean Karnazes needed strategy for races is shifting as quickly as the sport a coach. He was planning to run 50 marathons in is growing—yet it’s 50 states in 50 days. still rare that athletes “THE OVERTRAINING INJURY HATERS WILL “There was simply train with a coach. no precedent for what COME OUT AS THEY ALWAYS DO,” SAYS KOOP. This is partly I was trying to do. “MOST OF THE TIME, THE CRITICISM DIRECTED because few I figured the closest utrarunners will trust AT ME HAS NO MERIT AND IS MISGUIDED. NOR thing was the Tour de a coach who has never IS IT BACKED UP BY FACTS.” France,” says Karnazes, finished a 100-mile who employed race. “Assuming all other things are equal, I’d Carmichael to overhaul his training regiment and obviously enlist the help of the experienced coach make him more resilient to the day-to-day pounding over the inexperienced one,” says Bowman. This of 26.2 pavement miles for 50 straight days. narrows the pool of prospective ultrarunning Carmichael designed the training program coaches, but it’s also part of what makes Koop with Koop as the frontman dealing with daily unique. Over the past nine years, he’s finished communication. “They had me in the gym doing more than 38 ultra-marathons, 15 of which were full-body conditioning and high-intensity interval 100-milers, and he often finished near the front of training before Crossfit or any of that was en the pack, frequently in the top 10. vogue,” says Karnazes. Carmichael had Koop, now Koop grew up in Dallas, Texas, and started CTS’s resident running coach, analyze Karnazes’s coaching in high school. While in college at running gait.

THE ULTRA COACH

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As Armstrong strung together one Tour de Koop tightened up his stride, increased his France victory after another, CTS grew into a cadence, and had him tilt his upper body forward. coaching empire—by 2005, it had swelled to 48 “The idea was to try and take as much load off my employees, thousands of clients, and a library of legs as possible,” says Karnazes. “And it worked.” bestselling books. At its peak, Carmichael charged By the time they hit the road, Karnazes had put on $3,500 a month for personal coaching and a $20,000 10 pounds of muscle, and had a new running form. minimum on the motivational speaking circuit for Since then, Koop’s roster of athletes has corporations like Microsoft and Nike. Then it all grown to include two-time Western States 100 began to unravel. winner and course record holder Timothy Olson, In 2006, Greg Strock, a once promising Hardrock 100 second place finisher Mike Foote, young road cyclist, Transvulcania winner THE COMPANY HAS NOW MOVED ON FROM sued USA Cycling Dakota Jones, and CHAMPIONING AND PROTECTING ARMSTRONG and coaches Rene Dylan Bowman. “Jason Koop ended TO SCRUBBING ALMOST ANY MENTION OF HIM Wetzel and Chris Carmichael, claiming up being the most FROM ITS WEBSITE AND OFFICE WALLS. they administered important component performance-enhancing drugs without his of my 50/50,” says Karnazes. “He’s the most knowledge or consent. Other members of the dependable guy on earth. He’s never been late, U.S. Junior National Cycling Team backed his and he’s never not lived up to my expectations.” claims in sworn testimony. Carmichael settled “He’s an introvert personality-wise, but a very quickly, paying Strock a reported $20,000, while smart guy,” says sports scientist Jay T. Kearney, USA Cycling paid both Strock and Erich Kaiter who worked as Vice President of Health and $250,000 each to settle the suit. Science at CTS from 2004 to 2006. “He’s been able Carmichael doesn’t speak with journalists to progress as a coach because he’s analytical, but about his involvement, but in sworn testimony, most importantly, he’s somebody who develops Armstrong admitted Carmichael knew of his a sense of commitment and dedication for clients illegal performance-enhancing drug use as far back achieving their goals.” as 1995. His silence has only worsened the public relations nightmare for CTS, leaving Koop and his athletes to take the brunt of the vitriol. For Koop, this has meant that when his athletes Koop’s ascension into the coaching limelight hasn’t win races, they often suffer a wrath of comments come without some controversy. He works for alleging that his clients are doping as well. “I get Carmichael Training Systems after all, a company it, I understand why people say those things,” says that in many ways, only exists because of the Lance Koop. “But, me personally, I’m beyond reproach.” Armstrong lie.

THE LANCE EFFECT

Koop swears that he never witnessed anything illegal in his time with CTS. The company has now moved on from championing and protecting Armstrong to scrubbing almost any mention of him from its website and office walls. CTS maintains that all the controversy over its owner’s involvement in doping, and his culpability in the biggest sports fraud of all time hasn’t affected business as much as one might expect. Koop’s coaching style has also proved controversial. More than one former client

Crystal Creek Reservoir on Pikes Peak

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runner Yan LongFei, Bowman KOOP'S REGIMEN REVOLVES AROUND HEAVY was certain his INTERVAL TRAINING. WHILE competitor looked SOME ATHLETES CLAIM stronger and THAT IT'S TOO HARD ON THE BODY, KOOP STANDS would probably BY HIS SCIENCE-BASED pull ahead for the APPROACH (LEFT), AND THE win. Instead of PROOF IS IN THE SUCCESS OF RUNNERS LIKE DEAN conceding however, KARNAZES (RIGHT), WHO Bowman decided RAN 50 MARATHONS IN 50 he would at least STATES OVER 50 STRAIGHT DAYS IN 2005, THANKS give everything IN BIG PART TO CTS AND he had for the last KOOP'S APPROACH. few kilometers. photos by Fredrik Marmsater (left), courtesy The North Face (right) Noticing Long-Fei was out of water, he pushed the pace about .6 miles from the last aid station, the only place left on the course to get a refill. “I hit the gas and didn’t stop because I knew he was going to have to stop for water.” The last six miles of the course were a welcome challenge along a steady graded fire-road. “It was the exact terrain Koop has me doing so much tempo and interval work on,” says Bowman. As Long-Fie faded to fourth place, Bowman surged towards the win, cramping as he entered the finish line chute, but claiming first place and a new course record. “This was my best race ever,” says Bowman, “and Koop has been the number one contributing factor to the fact that I’ve had a couple good years now.” SCIENCE OF SPORT

mentioned his overwhelming focus on intervals, causing “almost constant fatigue.” The problem, they claim, stems from a system that was designed to train athletes on performance-enhancing drugs. “The overtraining injury haters will come out as they always do,” says Koop. “Most of the time, the criticism directed at me has no merit and is misguided. Nor is it backed up by facts. ” Koop actually keeps statistics on his athletes’ injury rates. “There is always a fine line between doing the right amount of work and not being

injured,” he says. “My coaching methods and strategies are protective from injury and you can see that in the results.”

THE RESULTS

Two years after he started working with Koop, and 90 kilometers into the The North Face 100-kilometer Australia ultra marathon, Bowman was doubting he had what it took to win the race. Running shoulder-to-shoulder with Chinese

MATT HART IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND ULTRARUNNER BASED IN BOULDER, COLORADO.

EPIC IS OVERRATED. You could go shoot rapids, get wet, get cold, and spend an hour hanging on for dear life, all for the low cost of…that’s a lot of money. Or you could float. Sitting in lawn chairs, in a cattle tank. Sure it’s a different way to go, but if you’re looking for a leisurely way to get eight friends and a big cooler down a river, tanking is the way to go. Epic is overrated, adventures aren’t. Find your next adventure. Come to Western Nebraska.

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A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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H i s t o ry & A dv e n t u r e

HOT SPOT

04. 17

DEEP COVER WHY NOT CENTER YOUR ADVENTURE GETAWAY AROUND SOAKING? photo courtesy Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort

SOAK IT UP Need some Type-A downtime? Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort melds relaxation with high adventure. by CHRIS KASSAR

estled on (and literally in) the banks of the clear waters of Chalk Creek, Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort is the ideal Sawatch Range soak spot. It’s also the perfect adventure basecamp for forays into the surrounding wilds of the Collegiate Peaks and the Arkansas River Valley.

HOT SPRINGS No surprise, the action at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort centers on the historic bathhouse and its two main man-made soaking pools (one hot, at 105-degrees Fahrenheit, and a 90-degree exercise pool), and shallow, natural rock-lined warm springs in Chalk Creek itself. If you stay the night at the resort or book a spa treatment, you also get access to three Japanese-style cascading pools (varying in temperature from 70 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit) built of rock and perched in an exclusive area above the creek (no kids under 16 allowed). And the whole family will enjoy the upper, 75-degree pools with water slides ($5 extra). Day soaks cost $12-$22 depending on age and day of the week, free if you stay at the resort.

PLAY Since it’s surrounded by the San Isabel National Forest, the resort provides the ideal jumping-off point for exploring Chaffee County’s public lands. Depending on the season, you can ski at Monarch Mountain, tour in the backcountry, snowmobile, bag a fourteener, rock climb, raft, mountain bike or hike. For spring and summer adventures, we recommend the following:

GET HIGH

CRUISE THE COLORADO TRAIL

The resort sits just a few minutes from the trailhead to Mount Princeton, a graceful 14,197foot peak you can tackle on a challenging 13.25mile out-and-back hike that racks up a grueling 5,400 vertical feet (though you can shorten that trip if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle and the road is open to the upper trailhead). From there, move on to 14,269-foot Mt. Antero (a 16-mile round-trip, with 5,200 vertical feet of climbing, though it, too, can be whittled down to seven miles and 2,400 feet of vert via a four-wheel drive road). No matter what, start early, as storms move in fast here and the trails are exposed.

Just 2.3 miles west from the resort, down County Road 291, this rollicking, four-mile out-and-back starts at Chalk Creek and follows singletrack (part of section 13 of the 486-mile Colorado Trail) lined with pine and aspen. Climb south to reach a ridge that will reward you with panoramic views of the Collegiate Peaks. After descending toward the Arkansas River Valley, you'll reach a grassy meadow. It’s the perfect spot for a picnic—or keep going as long as your legs will take you along the Colorado Trail and back.

PEDAL BACK IN TIME

Spin or drive 12 miles from the resort up County Road 291 to St. Elmo, one of Colorado’s bestpreserved historic ghost towns. From here, climb the old railroad grade to work your way through the surrounding forest. You’ll move through the old mining town of Hancock, 5.8 miles from St. Elmo, where you pick up the Alpine Tunnel, an ambitious railroad project born during the Colorado Gold Rush that has evolved into a wide, high mountain trail bounded by toothy summits and vast wilderness. You can explore this area on your own (it’s ideal for a ’cross bike) or go guided with Absolute Bike Adventures (absolutebikesadventures.com).

Stay Here An overnight stay is the best way to experience Mount Princeton. The place makes sense for families and large groups as well as couples' getaways. Accommodations include modern log cabins with one or two bedrooms and a two-queen-bed loft (rates start at $275), one- or two-bed newly remodeled cliffside rooms with panoramic views (rates start at $155), or more private rooms located in the lodge (rates start at $155). Both options offer easy, complimentary access to the hot

LEARN TO ROLL

Looking to become a better boater? You don't even need to leave the resort to up your paddle game. Take a private individual or small group class in 70-degree water to learn the fundamentals of whitewater kayaking—paddle, flip and roll—from a certified instructor in the exercise pool. Open to all ability levels, classes start at $140 for a oneperson private lesson. Fear the boat? You can also take advantage of the complimentary gym and a variety of group fitness classes including yoga, water aerobics and Pilates. But if you get your pool-time skills dialed, head to South Main and the Buena Vista River Park (coloradokayak.com) to test them out on the Arkansas River.

springs, spa and Princeton Club Restaurant in the resort’s main building. The eatery serves hearty breakfasts and lunches, and classy dinners with burgers, lamb, duck and fish. During warmer months, the Poolside Cabana Bar has ice cream, hot dogs and salad, while the Beer Garden offers craft beers from local brewer Elevation and BBQ fare. You can also drive the 15 minutes to nearby Buena Vista and eat at spots like the Asian Palate (theasianpalate. com), with sushi, stirfry and curries. The greasy burgers at K’s Dairy Delite (719-395-8695), a casual

joint with outdoor seating, hit the spot for us after a big day outside. And don’t let the crowds dissuade you: It’s usually fast, fun and worth the short wait. Just want downtime? The spa facilities at Mount Princeton make it easy to spoil yourself. Book a massage with licensed therapists who’ll knead your blown-out quads. If you really want to relax, get a deep tissue massage, myofascial release, reflexology or an exfoliating salt scrub (but you'll want to book an extra day). —C.K. MTPRINCETON.COM | 719-395-2447

A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

THE TRAIL

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GET THE FREE APP

AND FOLLOW THIS ROUTE ON IPHONE, APPLE WATCH, IPAD AND ANDROID DEVICES. VIEWRANGER.COM

GREEN MOUNTAIN HAYDEN LOOP Download the free ViewRanger app and these coordinates to get a quick-fix bike, run or hike on this trail in Lakewood, Colorado. by CHRIS KASSAR

perpetual favorite of locals and visitors alike, this easy 3.4-mile loop ride, run or hike around the 6,854-foot mesa of Green Mountain serves up superb mountain views and springtime fields awash in colorful blossoms. Even though it’s just 20 minutes from downtown Denver, the trail offers the chance for some full-on nature immersion. With plenty of options to lengthen the route, it’s perfect as an early morning or late evening adventure. Add it all up, and you have the perfect trail for busy people. Start at the trailhead for William Frederick Hayden Park (elevation 6,080 feet). To get there from downtown Lakewood, head west for 2.8 miles on W. Alameda Ave. Veer south (left) onto W. Alameda Parkway and follow it for 1.7 miles. Just after passing Florida Drive on your left, turn right into the William F. Hayden Green Mountain Park Florida parking lot across from Green Mountain Recreation Center. 18

GET TRIP INFO

SEE MORE ROUTE DETAILS, GPS DATA & PRINT MAPS. VIEWRANGER.COM/ELEOUT

1. START

From the parking lot, take the right fork of the Green Mountain Trail to begin climbing steadily on an old jeep road that passes through an open slope teeming with spring and summer flowers.

2. PASS THE GATE

After ascending one large switchback, the trail passes an old gate and then levels to cross a green grassy slope.

3. HAYDEN TRAIL

When you reach the intersection with the Hayden Trail, continue straight and stay on the Green Mountain Trail. Look across the valley to your left for a glimpse of where the trail is headed. Pass a trail closure sign (stay off that trail) and continue following the path as it continues to climb.

4. SUMMIT LOOP

When you reach the junction with the Summit Loop Trail, veer left to continue following the Green Mountain Trail and pass a radio tower. Before cruising past, take a moment to look behind you for a stunning view of Denver and the unique, jutting geologic formation of the Dakota Hogback. Views of the snowy summits of Mount Evans, Pikes Peak and Longs Peak dominate the horizon.

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5. ON TO THE HAYDEN TRAIL

Turn southeast (left) at a junction to pick up the Hayden Trail, which angles back sharply as it heads downhill. Turn left, and begin curving southeast. Across the valley, you’ll get awesome vistas of red rock features reward as you begin to head down.

6. MORE DESCENDING

Curve left to pass another trail closure sign and continue around the bend heading downhill. Pikes Peak stands like a sentinel straight ahead. Turning another corner, the trail snakes back into the wild, making you feel much farther from civilization than you are.

7. GREEN MOUNTAIN JUNCTION

SHOT OF PEACE THE MEADOWS AND ROLLING SINGLETRACK OF WILLIAM F. HAYDEN GREEN MOUNTAIN PARK ARE JUST A HALF HOUR AWAY FROM RINO BREW PUBS. photo by Chris Kassar

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At a junction with the Green Mountain Trail, stay straight and continue downhill on Hayden Trail.

8. FINISH

At the bottom of the hill, reach an unsigned junction and go left, passing through a meadow before returning to the parking area. OPTIONS: For a shorter journey,

turn left at the first intersection with the Hayden Trail (#3), this makes for a 1.6-mile loop. For a longer adventure, explore the Summit Loop (#4) or continue straight on the Green Mountain Trail (#5), extending your trip to 6.5 miles.

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—C.K.

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A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

NUMEROLOGY

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PEDAL STROKES Get down and dirty with the numbers of the sport of cycling. by CAMERON MARTINDELL

here’s a quote, possibly misattributed to the great science fiction writer H.G. Wells, that states, “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” No matter who said it, the sentiment stands: Bikes have the ability to not only make us feel like kids again, but also, just maybe, to help us save ourselves from exhausting our fossil fuels. But just how much do we love bikes and riding them? Read on for the geeky stats.

HALF CENTURY FIFTY-MILE RACERS COMPETE IN ARIZONA’S ANNUAL WHISKEY OFF-ROAD. photo by Devon Balet

SIX

Consecutive years new IMBA executive director Dave Wiens won the Leadville 100, from 2003 through 2008.

40 MILLION

11 PERCENT

The average grade of the Wheeler Trail, which climbs 2,286 vertical feet from Breckenridge, before bombing 3,424 feet down to Copper over 10.8 magical miles.

400+

Number of mountain biking participants annually in the US.

TWENTY FIVE $330 MILLION Years since the first annual Bicycle Colorado Gala fundraiser. This year it takes place on April 28th in Denver.

90,000 Value in dollars of a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado to support the Palisade Plunge Project, a 6,000-foot trail that will drop 10,700 feet. The trail is targeted to open in either 2018 or 2019.

Value of biking and walking projects awaiting funding in Colorado. Any transportation funding bill headed to the state government needs to consider funding these projects. Be sure to let your representatives in government know that bicycling and walking are of value to you.

Percentage of bike shops that have closed since 2000.

Number of brands so far who have committed to exhibit at the Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava-Girona Bike Show in Girona, Spain, June 2-4, 2017. seaottereurope.com

15,000 Number of family members who participated in over 150 community events for IMBA’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. Several events were registered in other countries including: Italy, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Malaysia, and Mexico.

Number of toddler-aged racers expected to attend the 2017 Strider Cup World Championship race on July 22 at Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gain in percent in 2016 of fatalities caused in Colorado by distracted (read: texting) drivers. This includes 16 bicyclists and 84 pedestrians. Don’t be part of the problem and encourage others to be safe drivers for the sake of cyclists and pedestrians as well as other drivers.

770,500 3 DAYS, 19 HOURS, 40 MINUTES Record time set by Neil Beltchenko on the 500-mile Colorado Trail Race in 2016. He started in Denver and traveled west to Durango. The time/distance includes the Tarryall Detour, instead of riding US-285 to avoid the Lost Creek Wilderness. Think you can beat that time? Be in downtown Durango at Velorution Cycles on Sunday, July 23, 2017, at 4 a.m. to line up.

The number of miles the good people of Copenhagen bike every day. Denmark’s capital city lays claim to 282 miles of cycling lanes, too.

A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

Find new trails. Two state parks, a national forest and a geologic park make Nebraska’s Pine Ridge the perfect place to escape into nature. Come wander, fast or slow, sinewy singletrack or rolling cross-country, you’ll find what you’re searching for. New discoveries, new experiences, new trails.

DiscoverNWNebraska.com 22

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

@NWNebraska

STRAIGHT TALK

there are also bigger issues like climate change. I think I justify the way I’m living my life right now, at least in trying to be the best runner I can be, to eventually be able to talk about these things.

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CLARE GALLAGHER

I needed to get out of this really high-stress environment of college and running in Division 1. I moved to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere and showered out of a bucket for a year, removed from everything I knew that was normal. I quickly realized wow, how lucky I was being born into privilege. That sort of shut me up and put me in my place. I was stripped raw from a human standpoint. I realized running was a part of me that’s innate. I didn’t have any running community. I had no team. I had no pressure. But that’s what I wanted to do.

The Leadville 100 champ raps about what it costs to live the dream. by RUSS RIZZO

lare Gallagher propelled herself into the ultra-running spotlight by winning last year’s Leadville 100, one of the country’s iconic long-distance trail races. Like fellow Boulder resident Anton Krupicka 10 years ago, Gallagher won the race on her first attempt at 100 miles and quickly signed on with a major sports brand. Following the win, the 25-year-old Princeton University graduate and former Division 1 runner set aside plans to pursue medical school and instead focus solely on running. We caught up with her after a session with the Rocky Mountain Runners to hear what she hopes to do with her newfound notoriety.

DOES THAT SURPRISE PEOPLE, THAT YOU DON’T MAKE A SALARY RUNNING PROFESSIONALLY?

It’s a huge misconception. You would die if you heard some of my Princeton peers. They are so funny. These are people working on Wall Street. They can’t count how much money they are making. And they think I’m living the dream. They’re not wrong, in being so stoked for me. They say: “You’re constantly traveling. You’re constantly running and skiing.” Sure, I am doing that 100 percent, and I wouldn’t change anything, but, like, I shovel snow for my rent.

CLARE GALLAGHER IS NOT IN RUNNING FOR THE MONEY. photo by Clayton Boyd / The North Face

HONESTLY, HOW DO YOU MAKE A LIVING?

I tutor, I write, I work for my roommates to pay for my rent.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?

What I’m really excited about in ultra-running and now that I am with The North Face is that if I take care of that like it’s my job—in dealing with my race schedule, training and everything—I can get a big enough platform because I’m winning or doing well. Then I can talk about other things that I find much more interesting.

? FACE OF INSPIRATION

YOU SAY YOU WERE UNDERWEIGHT WHILE RUNNING IN COLLEGE AND THAT LED TO INJURIES AND OTHER CHALLENGES. WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUNG RUNNERS?

The technical term is osteopenia, or preosteoporosis, which implies pre-brittle bones. You get an increase in stress factors. It affects your menstrual cycle because you are underweight. It’s really common among Division 1 athletes and very unhealthy. My message to, say, high school runners is this: You’re not going to be fast if you are underweight in college. And you probably won’t like running.

HOW DID WINNING THE LEADVILLE 100 CHANGE YOUR LIFE?

The reason I am running for The North Face is because I won the Leadville 100. And that’s a huge life dream of mine. I’m definitely on a path because of that race. It basically means I have the opportunity to travel to races—but it’s definitely not paying the bills. Very few ultra-runners in the world can make a living off of the sport.

YOU TAUGHT IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN THAILAND AFTER COLLEGE AND REDISCOVERED YOUR LOVE FOR RUNNING. WHAT HAPPENED?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO USE THAT PLATFORM TO TALK ABOUT?

For me, environmental advocacy. Runners care about trail work. They care about having access to Chautauqua Park [in Boulder], where they run. But

BEYOND THE RACE CALENDAR, WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?

These opportunities to do more badass running-related philanthropy trips are huge for me. And I want to do more travel writing. I want to find a voice. It’s a voice different from this elite ultrarunner voice, which I’m very grateful for. But I have other voices that I think are actually more me.

HAVE YOU SHUT THE DOOR ON MEDICAL SCHOOL?

I definitely considered the idea of nursing, because it’s such an incredible lifestyle once you get through school. You know you can work three times a week. They are hard shifts. They are long shifts. But that’s helping people. So who knows? If I destroy my legs somehow in the next two years, I wouldn’t be surprised if I jump into school again.

RUSS RIZZO IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND CO-FOUNDER OF DISPATCH RADIO, A BOULDER-BASED OUTDOOR ADVENTURE PODCAST COVERING THE WORLD OF OUTDOORS. TO LISTEN TO CLARE GALLAGHER DISCUSS HER RUNNING CAREER AND UPCOMING PLANS TO SKI THE GRAND TRAVERSE WITH TEAMMATE HILLARY ALLEN, TUNE IN ON APRIL 3 AT DISPATCHRADIO.COM. A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

SINGLETRACK

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DIRTY ASPEN S

INGLETRACK PROBABLY isn’t the first thing

you expect from Aspen. This mountain town is better known for its celebrity part-timers, designer boutiques, classical music concerts and luxury lifestyles (The Little Nell’s wine cellar includes a $55,000 bottle of 1994 Échezeaux). When it comes down to it, Aspen doesn’t need to add mountain biking to its list of charms—yet it is. The 6,700-resident community at the head of Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley is in the midst of a big singletrack buildout that has added a whopping 42 miles of new trail over the past five years. That brings the total to more than 140 miles of highquality, non-motorized singletrack that plumbs the scrubby hills and high-alpine valleys around Aspen and the neighboring resort at Snowmass (a 20-minute drive downvalley). The recent effort isn’t driven by a desire to attract tourists—Aspen sees plenty of those. Instead, the trail expansion is more of a grassroots

COLORADO’S ENCLAVE FOR GLOBAL GLITTERATI HAS BEGUN TO BUILD SOMETHING OTHER THAN DESIGNER BOUTIQUES: THE ORIGINAL MOUNTAIN TOWN IS FOCUSED ON GIGGLE-GOOD MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS. by KELLY BASTONE

effort fueled by bike-loving locals who just want more riding opportunities, for a IN THE FLOW wider range of abilities. SETH BECKTON EATS UP THE VAPOR TRAIL “People have been mountain biking on the Sunnyside and Government trails for decades, but those are very much expert trails,” says Mike Pritchard, executive IN SNOWMASS. THIS DOWNHILL-ONLY BEAUTY director of the Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association. Such old-school classics OF A RIDE BEGINS AT THE TOP OF THE ELK CAMP involve rocky, rooty challenges and steep, spirit-crushing grades. But they CHAIR LIFT AND BOMBS also showcase glorious views of Aspen’s surrounding mountains (including the 1,508 FEET DOWN IN JUST famously beautiful Maroon Bells). “Our goal with the new trails is to make those 2.8 MILES. views accessible to a broader spectrum of riders, like kids and teens and folks in photo by Devon Balet their 70s,” says Pritchard. Gravity addicts can get their fix at Snowmass, which continues to expand its lift-served trail network. And abundant bike paths make it easy to ride (rather than drive) to trailheads. “We certainly would not see the trail system evolve so quickly without the support of our land managers,” says Pritchard. But deep-pocketed locals have also powered the effort (one donor contributed $10,000 to fast-track the new Seven Star Trail). And remember, this is Aspen, after all. So after logging epic miles on dirt, you can roll into town for gourmet burgers and microbrews, or maybe catch Michael Franti at the Belly Up. It’s the good life—for the mud-splattered set.

BIKE

Aspen’s three main mountain biking zones are Hunter Creek, Sky Mountain Park and Snowmass. The easiest routes are at Sky Mountain Park, a buffed-out trail system that sprawls across the scrub-covered A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

TESTED TOUGH FOR EPIC TRAILS AND FASTEST KNOWN TIMES.

There’s a reason you celebrate a Fastest Known Time (FKT). It’s the record time on your favorite trail. It tests how tough you are. It’s your best against everyone else. The new Columbia Montrail FluidFlex™ F.K.T. is up for the challenge with the perfect blend of ﬂexibility, ﬁt and traction. It’s all delivered in a lightweight trail shoe built for speed. Now get out there and crush that FKT.

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Wanna ride lifts? Whistler-based Gravity Logic built the Valhalla Trail, the flagship freeride route that screams through aspens and includes a nervetesting wall ride. hills between Aspen and Snowmass. The grades are friendly and the dirt is smooth, but, because most trails were built specifically for bikes, the flow is fast and euphoric—and ample mileage makes it possible to log everything from an hour-long day-starter to a half-day epic. The most forgiving uphill follows the Airline Trail (accessed from the Owl Creek bike path) that features gentle switchbacks on a gradual (if sun-exposed) climb to the Cozyline Trail and other segments of the Sky Mountain system. Got groms? Park at the Buttermilk ski area and pick up the Buttermilk Connector, a smooth, flat out-andback that appeals to the Strider set. The Hunter Creek network sits close to town, but getting to the singletrack (where the real fun begins) requires a stout climb up 12-percent grades on unpaved Smuggler Mine Road (mere mortals clock it in 30 minutes; racers aim for 11). Plans are afoot to replace that grunt with singletrack, but for now, consider it a warmup for technical routes that wind through fragrant pines and across the grassy floor of a hanging valley framed by jagged peaks at both ends. Don’t miss the new Hummingbird Trail, a smooth, machine-built tour de force that contours across open mountainsides and offers

180-degree views. Pick up the Sunnyside Trail for a true test of lung and leg. Drive, bus or bike to Snowmass for crosscountry and lift-served biking options showcasing the area’s most impressive mountain panoramas. Wanna ride lifts? Whistler-based Gravity Logic built the Valhalla Trail, the flagship freeride route that screams through aspens and includes a nervetesting wall ride. Families with kids find their bliss at the Beginner Skills Park, a collection of mini berms and bridges near the base of the Elk Camp gondola. Or start at Snowmass and pedal back to Aspen via the Government Trail, a classic that ranks as many Aspenites’ big rite of summer (cleaning The Root, an eroded dirt ledge peppering a tight switchback, is sure to earn you big bragging rights back in town).

FISH

Looking to switch up sports? Pedal your fly rod to the Roaring Fork River, which flows right beside Aspen’s downtown. This stretch of picturesque pocket water holds plenty of rainbows, and speedy access makes it possible to end a day on the bike with a leg-cooling session in the river. Just head north on Mill Street and hang a left on Puppy Smith, which becomes the Rio Grande Trail (a paved bike path that parallels the Roaring Fork for nearly a mile).

EAT/DRINK

Start your day with espresso and avocado toast (or grab a muesli to go) at Victoria+Co (aspenespresso.com). Post-ride, claim a seat at the communal picnic tables parked outside HOPS Culture (hopsculture.com), which taps 30 craft beers and stocks 170 more in bottles. The challahframed burgers feature all-natural Colorado beef. For fruit smoothies, salads, and mighty platters of locally-made cheese and charcuterie, head to bustling Meat & Cheese (meatandcheeseaspen. com). And forget any prejudice you may have

against the “hotel GREAT WIDE OPEN restaurant,” because SNOWMASS HAS BEEN ACTIVELY BUILDING ITS you’ll find this town’s TRAIL SYSTEM, AND NOW most impressive dishes BOASTS OVER 75 MILES OF at Chef’s Club, within TRAILS THAT WILL THRILL ALL ABILITY LEVELS. the St. Regis Aspen photo by Devon Balet Resort (stregisaspen. com/dining/chefs-club). Charred octopus, Turkishspiced lamb, and black truffle-topped gnocchi represent an eclectic array of culinary traditions ranging from the Mediterranean to the American south, and Master Sommelier Jonathan Pullis picks the perfect wines to match.

STAY

Even Aspen’s swanky spots are bike-friendly: With bike racks on its guest shuttles, The Little Nell (thelittlenell.com) can whisk you to area trailheads--and valet service delivers your twowheeler to the front door whenever you care to ride. The more affordable Mountain Chalet (mountainchaletaspen.com) includes free parking and an ample breakfast spread, and although the décor may be a bit dated, the central location puts you within walking distance of Aspen’s main shopping and dining zones.

PLAY

Check the show listings at the Belly Up (bellyupaspen.com), a small but justly famous venue for big-name rock acts. Or go classical: Midori and Joshua Bell are among the bow-wielding superstars that perform at the Aspen Music Festival (aspenmusicfestival.com) every summer, and there are cheap seats for every show.

RACE

August 5, 2017, marks the seventh year for the Audi Power of Four Mountain Bike Race (aspensnowmass.com), a 33-mile course spanning Aspen’s four ski areas and nearly 10,000 vertical feet of climbing. A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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VOICE

04. 17

FIGHT BACK

VERY SKIER, CLIMBER OR mountain biker is

familiar with the concept of the No Fall Zone—technical terrain that requires maximum focus, where mistakes are not an option. You fall, you die. We have just entered a new kind of No Fall Zone. It's gaping below those of us who care about climate change and science, who are concerned about the conservation of our public lands and hope to save our remaining unspoiled places, who value the diversity of wildlife that inhabits the West, who understand that economic prosperity and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive. We all cannot afford a mistake. We are in this No Fall Zone because the solid ground upon which the conservation community stood for the past eight years crumbled away with the 2016 election. The crony capitalists and climate deniers are back in power. And with their ascension comes the jarring realization that environmental

THERE IS NO TIME FOR ANXIETY AND ANGST. OUR PUBLIC LANDS AND CLIMATE NEED YOUR HELP NOW MORE THAN EVER. IN THIS OUTDOOR RESISTANCE DECODER, WE RUN DOWN THE BIGGEST THREATS TO PUBLIC LANDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT POSED BY THE NEW PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS—AND TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT YOU CAN DO TO TRY TO STOP THEM. by PAUL TOLME

progress is not a continuum, and that instead of moving forward, the conservation YOU MUST SAVE THIS community must now play defense and attempt to limit the damage. AMERICA'S ICONIC PUBLIC LANDS ARE UNDER SIEGE These are anxious times. The angst meter is red-lining. Existential dread LAWMAKERS LOOKING afflicts many. The only cure is to do something. The moment requires focus. “Now BY TO RADICALLY ALTER THE more than ever we need to work and to act,” says Auden Schendler, sustainability WAY WE MANAGE AND PROTECT THEM. director at Aspen Skiing Company and chairman of the climate action group Protect Our Winters (POW). “There is so much to do that I don’t have time to feel photo by John P. O'Grady anxious. Times may seem unremittingly bleak, but the flip side is that there are so many victories to be had and fights to be waged.” If you’re an outdoor recreationalist, many causes need help. Democracy requires citizen participation. The tools of Democratic resistance are well established: engagement with elected officials, protest and direct action, organizing and economic boycott. Visit, call or write your member of Congress, governor or state representative. Show up at their public events and tell them you want action on climate change. Yell if necessary. It’s your First Amendment right. Getting loud works. Just look at Utah, where U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) withdrew legislation seeking to transfer your federal public lands to the states after facing an angry online backlash from hunting and angling groups. The volume in Utah keeps going up. Chaffetz's home state is the epicenter of the movement to dispose of public lands and revoke the protections for the Bears Ears National Monument, a terrible idea that would go against national public opinion, not to mention usurp Native American participation in the process of creating and managing the monument. It would also set a bad precedent for devaluing protected public lands. In response, A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

some of the biggest brands in the outdoor recreation industry decided to throw their economic weight around and boycott Utah by announcing they will move the Outdoor Retailer trade show out of Salt Lake City. “That was a master class in how to wield economic power,” Schendler says. Will it work? Will Utah politicians change their anti-public lands stance? It's hard to tell yet, but it feels good, and hopefully it will inspire Utah voters to change their electorate to one that better reflects their values. If you’re an outdoor recreationalist and are feeling anxious, join the fight. Here are some causes and organizations to follow, and some issues of vital importance to conservation-minded citizens.

CLIMATE CHANGE The prospects for progress on climate at the federal level appear to be nil, so activists are focusing on state-level action. “There is a lot of good stuff happening at the state level,” says Chris Steinkamp, executive director of Protect Our Winters. POW is the leading climate action nonprofit in the snowsports and outdoor communities. The group founded by snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones has done more than any other organization to unite the snowsports industry and rally outdoorspeople around climate. If you are a skier or snowboarder and you don’t belong to POW, you need to step up. protectourwinters.org At the state level, POW is working to promote carbon pricing schemes, also known as carbon taxes or “carbon fee and dividend” initiatives. These, in a nutshell, are the free-market solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and kickstarting the renewable energy economy. British Columbia has a carbon tax, so does Boulder, Colorado. Life’s pretty good in those places. The revenues generated by a carbon tax would be returned to citizens as a dividend, in the form of tax relief, direct payments or subsidies for renewable energy generation or conservation. There are now state-level legislative efforts to pass carbon dividend programs in Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. The goal is to build momentum for passage of a federal carbon tax in four years. It’s not just lefty liberals pushing a carbon tax, either. In February, a group of well-known Republicans released a carbon tax manifesto of sorts, “The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends,” hoping to win support from the millions of conservation-minded Republicans whose party is ignoring their wishes. “Now that the Republican Party controls the White House and Congress, it has the opportunity and responsibility to promote a climate plan that showcases the full power of enduring conservative convictions,” say the signatories. Amen. If you want to learn more about carbon pricing, check out the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and read up on their carbon dividends program. As its name implies, this is a grassroots organization that is trying to empower citizens by providing talking points and tips and tools about how to write, call and engage with your elected representatives and build momentum for action. citizensclimatelobby.org Another state-level fight involves incentives for rooftop solar installations. A massive deployment of rooftop solar is one of the solutions for de-

The tools of Democratic resistance are well established: engagement with elected officials, protest and direct action, organizing and economic boycott. carbonizing the economy and stimulating job creation. Unlike manufacturing jobs, you can’t outsource solar installations. Sadly, some states— Utah, doh!—want to eliminate rooftop solar incentives. Concerned Utahans should attend public hearings scheduled for this summer before the Public Services Commission to voice their objections. Learn more at Utah Clean Energy, utahcleanenergy.org. A similar fight is taking place in Nevada, but with a twist. The state’s utility regulators have already voted to kill incentives for new rooftop solar installations, but in November the Nevada Statehouse flipped from Republican to Democratic

control. Democrats are GROUND ZERO proposing a legislative fix THE NEW BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMNET to restore and promote IS SHAPING UP TO BE THE solar, and they are also MAIN BATTLEGROUND considering a proposal to BETWEEN OUTDOOR RECREATION AND ITS FOES. go 80-percent renewable by 2040. Nevada residents photo by Dan Ransom who care about climate change and want to support renewable energy need to voice their support. If you’re a hunter or angler, your voice is more important than ever. Join Conservation Hawks, a group devoted to fighting the biggest threat to fish and wildlife: climate change. conservationhawks.org.

DRILLING AND MINING While shouts of “Drill, baby, drill!” echoed through the Republican campaign, it's an empty slogan with an implicit message that onerous environmental regulations have shut down energy extraction on our public lands. Quite the opposite is true. The nation has been on a drilling rampage since the Clinton administration. Hydraulic fracturing, fracking, has enabled a massive increase in natural gas extraction that has helped the nation reduce its reliance on coal power--the biggest climate killer— albeit at a cost to our lands, wildlife and waters. Drilling has slowed in recent years because there A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

is a glut of supply, which is why there are efforts to build pipelines and export terminals to ship our oil, natural gas and coal overseas. “We’ve got hydrocarbons coming out of our ears,” says Zane Kessler, executive director of the Thompson Divide Coalition, a Carbondale, Colorado-based nonprofit that spent eight years fighting to rescind drilling leases issued improperly on Colorado’s Thompson Divide during the Bush administration. By some calculations, 90 percent of Western public lands are open to drilling, while only 10 percent are reserved for recreation, wilderness, wildlife conservation and other activities valued by society. Approximately 32 million acres of public lands have been leased to oil and gas companies, according to the Center for Western Priorities, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Denver that operates like a think tank for sensible public lands policies. The companies that own many of these leases, covering millions of acres, are sitting on them and declining to drill because prices are low. Some of these leases, by the way, were sold for as little as $2 per acre. Federal mineral leasing rules are out of date and riddled with loopholes that provide a sweetheart deal to energy companies while shortchanging American taxpayers, who get royalty payments that are far lower than those charged by states. For example, oil-happy Texas charges a 25-percent royalty rate to drill on its state-owned lands; the federal government charges just 12.5 percent. Despite having a public lands leasing system that is already skewed toward prodrilling policies, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have made moves to

EXTREME LOBBYING THE SKI AND SNOWBOARD ATHLETES OF PROTECT OUR WINTERS MAKE THIER VOICES AND CONCERNS HEARD ON CAPITOL HILL. photo courtesy Protect Our Winters

cancel environmental protections related to energy extraction—including a rule prohibiting coal companies from dumping waste in streams. Another rule on the chopping block would require gas drillers to reduce the amount of methane they waste during extraction. Large amounts of natural gas drilled on public lands—your gas, your money— simply spews into the atmosphere because of sloppy

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procedures and leaky infrastructure. “Congress is rolling back safeguards and protections just for the sake of giving handouts to industry groups and campaign supporters at the expense of taxpayers and citizens,” says Greg Zimmerman, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities. You can learn more at westernpriorities.org.

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PUBLIC LANDS TAKEOVER No issue has received more widespread condemnation from citizens and politicians of all political persuasions than the proposal to transfer your public lands to the states, who could then sell them off to the highest bidder. Fortunately, this proposal appears to be going nowhere due to opposition from conservative hunters and fishermen and sensible Western politicians. Trump and Donald Trump Jr., as well as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have also spoken against efforts to dispose of public lands. But the issue of giving away public lands, which would be a gift to natural resource extractors, who would be able to operate under more lenient state environmental laws, illustrates how out-of-touch some anti-government congressmen are with the wishes of the American public. Colorado U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (R) ran as a supporter of public lands, but he joined fellow House Republicans in voting for a rule that specifies that any public lands transferred to the states have no value. “That vote was one of the first things the House did,” Zimmerman says. “It sends a clear message about the House priorities.” If you’re concerned about the fate of public lands, check out the Conservation Alliance. Thanks to donations to from brands including Patagonia, The North Face and Elevation Outdoors magazine the alliance has created a Public Lands Defense Fund. Check out conservationalliance.com. Looking forward to 2018, the Land and Water Conservation Fund comes up for renewal next year.

This is the fund that takes royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling and spends them on conservation efforts. This program has widespread support, but conservationists will need to speak up to ensure it remains alive.

NATIONAL MONUMENTS Conservationists and recreationalists need to keep their eyes on GOP efforts to undermine the Antiquities Act, which gives the president the authority to create national monuments. Republicans are pushing bills that would require congressional approval for any use of this act, essentially killing it. President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law precisely because Congress was failing to do its job to protect national treasures like the Grand Canyon from industrial robber barons. That brings us back to the 1.4-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which Obama created following years of deliberation and at the behest of multiple Native American tribes whose cultural artifacts were being looted and destroyed. Conservationists and recreationalists should stand firm against any attempts to alter the Antiquities Act, which Obama used to create not just Bears Ears. The President created 29 national monumnets in all, more than any of his predecessors, including the 300,000-acre Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada and the popular 21,586-acre Browns Canyon in Colorado. “This election was not a referendum on our

public lands system. On Election Day, voters nationwide approved 68 funding -measures to create more than $6 billion for parks and conservation— an 80 percent approval rate,” writes John Sterling, executive director of the Conservation Alliance. “Public lands are one of the few institutions left in our society that transcend political affiliation. They are our common ground.”

GET UP, STAND UP! Skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, camping, climbing, wildlife watching, hunting and fly fishing—these are all activities that can be harmed by misguided public lands policies. Now more than ever, participating in these activities is a political statement. Step up to that cornice. Rail that line. Climb that pillar. Hike that ridge. Stalk that elk. And moreover, get involved. “Anxiety,” wrote the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “is the dizziness of freedom.” Anxiety and angst are a symptom of life’s immense possibilities and innumerable choices. The cure is focused action, forward movement. That’s what we do as athletes when crossing through a No Fall Zone. Dizziness and inattention are not an option.

PAUL TOLME IS A FORMER COLORADAN NOW LIVING IN THE SOGGY BOTTOMS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. HE IS A LONGTIME OUTDOORS AND ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER WHOSE WORK FREQUENTLY APPEARS IN SKI, NATIONAL WILDLIFE AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS.

A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

TRAVEL GUIDE

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SILVER CITY CELEBRATING THE WILDNESS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE IN THE WEST, the most interesting places and people usually reside near the Continental Divide. It’s no surprise, that it was here, at the southern end of that great spine, where the concept of wilderness was born. Swaddled in mountains, with the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) trail cutting through the heart of downtown lies Silver City, New Mexico, the center of this wild landscape. Southeast of town, New Mexico’s “City of Rocks” serves up great camping and mind-bending formations that look like volcanic marbles scattered across the Chihuahuan desert. North of town, the Gila National Forest complex engulfs the landscape. Within the forest boundaries you’ll find roughly three million acres of wilderness, including the first federally designated wilderness area, the Gila, as well as the Aldo Leopold Wilderness, namesake of the great conservationist who worked here. Both have excellent

photo by Jay Hemphill, courtesy Silver City Arts & Cultural District

fishing and hot springs that have yet to be mapped. On the opposite side of the forest is the Cosmic Campground (3.5 acres), that was designated a sanctuary by the International Dark Sky Association in 2016 because it’s more than 40 miles away from a major artificial light, making it perfect for stargazing. This April 28-30, Silver City will host the CDT Trail Days kickoff event. Northbound through-hikers embarking on the 3,100-mile trek to Canada will revel in a city-wide celebration featuring

presentations by hiking experts, booths, food vendors and gear specialists holding drawings for shoes, trekking poles and other gear. Starting April 19, the annual “Tour of the Gila,” a fiveday endurance bicycle race, kicks off. On the final day, riders race out of downtown to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and turn around and race back to Silver City for a beer and good company.

For more information visit VISITSILVERCITY.ORG

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EAGLE NEST EXPLORE NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S HIGH ADVENTURE HAMLET HIGH IN THE TAIL END of the Rocky Mountains—and nestled between New Mexico’s two tallest mountains—lies the village of Eagle Nest, elevation 8,238 and population 276. The wide-open valley holding the town feels far from the crowds and lonesome trails, walked mostly by elk, crisscross the surrounding mountains. From the ridges above the village, one can gaze out on the clear blue 2,000-acre Eagle Nest Lake that drains into Cimarron Canyon, the water flowing east to the Arkansas River. You won’t find many people in this part of northern New Mexico. What you will find is forests, snowy peaks and empty highways, so take a long drive. One 83mile loop, named the Enchanted Circle, connects the village of Eagle Nest to the towns of Taos, Angel Fire, Red River and Questa, all small population centers near streams full of trout, and millions of acres of surrounding National Forest

that hold rugged trails. It’s the perfect road trip for solitude seekers. Eagle Nest Lake and nearby Cimarron Canyon are part of the New Mexico state parks system, meaning they’re public land. The parks offer lakeshore campsites and waters filled with trout, salmon and perch. At the foot of the reservoir, where the water begins to spill into the canyon, a hiking trail follows the stream as it descends beneath a 300-foot-tall granite cliff, called “the Palisades Sill,” a photographer’s dream.

EAGLE NEST

The Last Best Place in the Rockies Eagle Nest has always been known as a laid-back mountain town, but during the summer you can’t miss some of the best family-friendly festivals and fun in the state!

In the summer, Eagle Nest comes alive. Each July, the village hosts fishing derbies, a motorcycle rally, a big arts and craft festival and Eagle Fest, a weekend of music and wine and beer gardens. This year, don’t miss the 100year celebration of the creation of Eagle Nest dam, with fireworks on the Fouth of July over the lake.

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JUN 5th Annual Bear Benefit June 17, 2017 All proceeds go to the New Mexico Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

JUL 4th of July Celebration July 1-4, 2017 Nashville to New Mexico Music Fest, Volunteer Firemans BBQ, Parade, and the Best Fireworks Show in New Mexico! 35th Annual High Country Arts Festival July 29-30, 2017 Juried Art Contest, Live Music, New Mexico True Beer and Wine Garden

AUG EagleFest August 12, 2017 Live Music, Eagle Nest Local fair in the park, Soaring Eagle Fun Run 5K, Camping and hiking in Cimmarron Canyon State Park.

Eagle Nest Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center 282 Therma Drive | Eagle Nest, NM 575-377-6813 | www.eaglenestchamber.org

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NEW MEXICO IS A TRULY UNIQUE PLACE with a wide variety of odd and wondrous landscapes. Don’t forget: It’s the fifth largest state by area in the U.S., just behind Montana. New Mexicans hold tight to their heritage, and they’ve designated 35 state parks throughout the Land of Enchantment. They span the entire state, from the flat southeastern corner, and the scuba-dive-able waters of the Bottomless Lakes State Park, to the high northeast mountains, where you’ll find magical spots like Sugarite Canyon State Park with its rugged hiking and some of the best trout fishing in the state.

ENDLESS CHOICES FOR EXPLORATION

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DON’T MISS THE WIDE EASTERN PLAINS of New Mexico and the town of Clovis. The hallowed town is west of Lubbock, Texas, and east of where Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett fought in the Lincoln County Wars. It’s also one of the most important spots in the history of American Rock and Roll music. The Norman Petty Recording Studio here is where Waylon Jennings, Buddy Knox and Roy Orbison recorded some of their biggest hits. Every year, the town celebrates its musical heritage with the Clovis Music Festival, which will take place September 9-10 this year and feature Clint Black.

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RIDE ON: With the Red Cloud Buttes serving as the backdrop, a wrangler leads a trail ride at Fort Robinson State Park. Trail rides are offered daily during the summer season.

Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s just flyover country. The wild lands of Northwest Nebraska offer up some of the best hiking, biking and horseback riding in the West, without all the mountain-town crowds.

FOUR-AND-AHALF HOURS FROM DENVER, far from the crowds and soulcrushing traffic, lies an oasis steeped in Old West tradition. It’s the far northwest corner of Nebraska, at the tail end of the 100-mile-long Pine Ridge land formation, and it’s fast becoming savvy Front Rangers’ newest getout-of-Colorado destination. Here, you’ll find over 200 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding that fans out from two main towns: Chadron, a hip college hamlet, and Crawford, more traditionally cowpoke. Basecamp at either spot (or in one of the 15 public campgrounds nearby), and you can explore 169,000 acres of public lands, including two state parks, the Nebraska National Forest, the Oglala Grasslands and the southernmost ridge of the Black Hills. The land here 38

remains largely unchanged from the pioneer days—meaning you can escape a Colorado one might argue is changing too fast in exchange for Nebraska where the trails and campgrounds are relatively vacant, the hiking and mountain biking are on par with with Front Range classics, and the towns are still humble little downhome places where the customer— not the dollar—is king.

HIKING You’ll be shocked by the hiking in northwest Nebraska. Here where the prairie meets a desert landscape that feels like Fruita, you’ll find canyons, creeks, sand hills and those iconic sand-andclay formations made famous by the region’s northern neighbor, The Badlands. The trails at Fort Robinson State Park wind through buttes with names such as Lover’s Leap (4,163 feet, where legend says two young lovers from

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warring Native American tribes, who’d been forbidden to marry, leapt to their deaths); Trooper Trail (10.5-miles long and locarted in the Soldier Creek Wilderness Area and accessed from Fort Robinson); and the Norwesca Trail,

native of Colorado—loves the three-mile Bison Trail, in Toadstool Geologic Park, which passes through a variety of landscapes including badlands, grasslands and Ponderosa Pines; the 1.4-milelong Steamboat Loop Trail, in

The trails and campgrounds are relatively vacant, the hiking and mountain biking are on par with with Front Range classics, and the towns are still humble little downhome places where the customer—not the dollar—is king.

a 5.2-miler that loops from top to bottom of Nebraska’s Pine Ridge in Chadron State Park. But Chadron local and Northwest Nebraska Toursim Director, Kristina Harter—a

popular Chadron State Park; and the six-mile Spotted Tail Loop, at The Cliffs, Nebraska National Forest where abundant wildlife (wild turkey, white-tailed and mule

SP E C I A L A DV E RT I SI N G SE C T I ON

deer) abide. Get thee to any of these, says Harter, and you’ll forget that your favorite hiking was ever among the crowds in Colorado.

NITTY GRITTY

BIKING Mountain biking in Nebraska? Absolutely, says cyclist George Ledbetter, a former newspaper editor who has been riding bike trails in the region for decades. To reiterate: There are 200+ miles of riding in the 169,000 chunk of public lands that surround the towns of Crawford and Chadron. They include singletrack MTB trails through pine forests, across prairie grasslands and up steep buttes and narrow slot canyons. There are also plenty of “gravel grinds” down country roads with stunning views across wide expanses of prairie, the picturesque White River valley and the open horizon of the unique Nebraska Sandhills. Road riders, meanwhile, can rack up miles on well-maintained, broad-shouldered east-west Highway 20, a main route for many cross-country bikers, or north south on Highway 385, the Gold Rush trail to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Ledbetter, a diehard mountain biker and gravel grinder, loves to churn along through the landscape on these three multi-facted rides: The Spotted Tail Trail, off of King Canyon Road, goes through open meadows and stands of pine trees. Parts of the trail area were badly burned in 2006, so don’t try this one at midday in summer. The 16.7-mile Buttermilk Loop (a gravel grinder), traces county roads and state highways. It features great views of the Pine Ridge forest and Crow Butte and crosses some Badlands terrain. And The Cliffs, located on the Nebraska National Forest, southeast of Chadron, offers multiple opportunities for mountain biking. Trails go up (south) to Table Road, with alternative routes for the return trip, including a thrilling ride down King Canyon. And get here on the third weekend of September

ABOVE IT ALL: Hikers observe bighorn sheep on the Bighorn Sheep Hike at Fort Robinson State Park.

photos by: NEBRASKAland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission/Justin Haag

for the 15-mile-long Twisted Crawdad Cameco Mountain Bike Race, sponsored by the Chadron Community Recreation Program in collaboration with Chadron State College. It’s a fall classic.

HORSEBACK RIDING The U.S. Forest Service spent big money developing riding trails in the Pine Ridge area back in the early 1990s, according to Crawford local and lifelong horseman Don Huls. They start at various trailheads in Chadron State Park, Nebraska National Forest and Fort Robinson State Park, and they wind hundreds of miles through rugged, picturesque terrain. The Pine Ridge trails cruise through vast, open meadows, soaring buttes and stunning rock formations, that bring you back to long-gone days of the frontier. You’re on your own with your horse—one operation does “nose-to-butt rides,” says Huls, but it detracts from the experience. Each June, Huls and a group of local “outriders” (a term borrowed from the “good old trail days,” says Huls) host Ride the Ridge, with one- and two-day events. You

head out with other horsemen, ride most of the day, and return to crazy-cool accommodations. Fort Robinson State Park boasts shady campgrounds for horse lovers and non alike, with electrical-hookup sites and primitive sites. Put your horse up for the night in one of the newly remodeled horse barns. There are plenty of lodging options here that can accommodate two to 25 people. Try one of the 1909 enlisted men’s quarters, or the former officers quarters (read: cabins) that date from 1874 to 1909. All feature kitchens, baths, living rooms and bedrooms. No horse? No problem. Trail rides are offered all summer at Fort Robinson State Park and Chadron State Park. Want more? Our Heritage Guest Ranch north of Crawford rents horses you can ride on your own, offers lessons and leads trips on its property.

•

SLEEP For information on the 15 both primitive and non-primitive campgrounds in the ChadronCrawford region, head to discovernwnebraska.com/ campgrounds. To find Bed and Breakfasts in the area, check out the comprehensive listing at Northwest Nebraska High Country (nebraskahighcountry.com). For a sleep experience that’ll snub all of the #vanlife geeks, stay in a hike-to mobile sheepwagon, “the marvel of practicality and efficiency,” on grasslands and timbered ridges, with the proprietors of the RuJoDen Ranch (sheepwagonhideouts.com/ ecosetting.htm). At High Plains Homestead (highplainshomestead. com), north of Crawford, the owners, the Kesselring family, built an entire old west town from scratch. Head to the mercantile for homemade jams or to the daily cookout with ribs, steaks, and a two-pound “Coffee burger,” named for its creator, served on a regular-size bun.

EAT Chadron’s Bean Broker serves food all day but their baked goods are to die for. Try the daily special, which uses location-grown herbs and local produce. The Snack Shop in Crawford, serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Hit up Q’s Dairy Sweet in Crawford for Texas-style barbecued beef, or hit the locally owned D & S Market in Crawford for small business offerings, which are always throwback and cool. Chadron State College students hit Wild’s Bar and Grill, for the fresh-cut locally rasied ribeye, or the Ridge, for its cowboysize chicken fried steak. Cowboys, families, and other Crawford locals rave about the burgers, fries and ice cream, all devoured in an openair setting, at Staab’s Drive-In (it’s only open in the summer, though).

CHADRON’S FUR TRADE DAYS IS A THROWBACK TO THE ERA WHEN FUR TRADING RULED THE AREA—AN IMPORTANT PART OF NEBRASKA’S HISTORY. COMPETE IN THE WORLD CHAMPION BUFFALO CHIP THROW AND WATCH THE PARADE, COMPLETE WITH A CANOE RACE IN CHADRON STATE PARK. JULY 5-9. FURTRADEDAYS.COM

A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

EVERY TRAIL, ANY DISTANCE THE NEW DURO | DYNA SERIES

Running. The simplest form of adventure. The Duro | Dyna Series carry all the essentials, with volume options for runs that span minutes, hours, or days. Our vest-packs are outrageously comfortable, for men and women, on any and every trail. So strap one on and lace your shoes. We’ll see you out there, on the #CommonPath.

PHOTO / ©PATITUCCI PHOTO

BIKE GEAR

04.17 GIANT

ANTHEM ADVANCED 0

NINE BIKES WE LOVED In the market for a new ride? Meet the bicycles that put a smile on our faces when we put them to the test this spring. by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

MOUNTAIN

Giant Anthem Advanced 0 Giant's top-of-the-line, 27.5 beast may cost a bundle but you won't complain about your credit card debt when you put this composite baby out on the trail. The buttery 110-mm, Maestro rear suspension and the addition of a trunnion mount shock and Advanced Forged composite rocker arm give it real guts on both on the ups and the downs. Add in a 120-mm RockShox Pike RCT3 Solo Air fork and SRAM componentry and you have the perfect machine for singletrack.

CANNONDALE QUICK 1 DISC

WHY WE LOVED IT: It rides as advertised. If you are

serious about your game, it’s worth all that cash for a bike with this kind of poise on the trail. $8,750 | giant-bicycles.com

PAVEMENT

Cannondale Quick 1 Disc The Quick 1 Disc delivers a lot of performance at an outstanding price point. The most noticable componentry is a super smooth Shimano BR-M396 hydraulic disc brake system. And a 2 x 11 gear ratio gives it some oomph even when hauling a trailer. Top it off with geometry that's forgiving but not too upright and you have a crowd-pleaser. WHY WE LOVED IT: You won’t be racing on this bike,

but you will be cruising all over town and getting out for the occasional spin. The bottom line? It’s the perfect bike for casual riders. $1,300 | cannondale.com

LIV

PIQUE 2

WOMEN’S

Liv Pique 2 Liv delivers just what a woman wants out of a bike: female geometry. A playful 27.5-inch ride, the Pique 2 features a lower stand-over height than a men's model, which makes it easier for women to navigate tough technical sections on both gutty climbs and raucous descents. Add to that the full benefits of 120-mm Maestro suspension that sucks up downs and stays stable on climbs and you have a bike that can keep up with, and pass, the boys. WHY WE LOVED IT: It's refreshing to hop on a bike

that simply feels like it was made for a woman on the trail—and the price is not too steep. $3,150 | liv-cycling.com A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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LOCAL CRED: TRAIL

LOCAL CRED: ROAD

Guerrilla Gravity Megatrail

Denver bike makers Guerrilla Gravity are interested in more than just manufacturing plush rides. That's not to say they aren't damn good at doing that and keeping the whole process local by testing and building everything here in Colorado. Beyond the bikes, however, the brand is determined to promote advocacy: Encouraging more people to join the sport and keeping trails accessible are part of Guerrilla Gravity's mission. The brand also wants to be sure bikes are not too expensive. Case in point is the Megatrail. The aluminum frame bike comes from an engineer with a background in race car suspension, and features two modes, Gravity (160 mm of travel) and Trail (150 mm), which shift the head angle and bottom bracket height to correspond to the terrain. It basically gives you two bikes in one. Plus, the Megatrail can be fine-tuned to suit the ride and rider preferences. And while it's focused on charging downhill, it's also quite effective on the climbs, too.

Alchemy Atlas

Hand building frames with meticulous care here in Denver, Alchemy has made our A-list of bike brands for the past few seasons. The Atlas puts that love into a carbonframe road warrior that weights in at less than 900 grams. The 2017 version features clearance for 30-mm tires and flat mount disc brakes. WHY WE LOVED IT: The bike is ideal for

typical Colorado road riding, stable on fast descent and stiff on those big, long climbs. Plus, it may seem pricey but the cost is quite reasonable for a hand-built carbon ride. Want a different look? For $750 extra, you can get a custom paint job. $3,999 (frame only) to $5,699 (full build) | alchemy.bike

GUERRILLA GRAVITY MEGATRAIL

ALCHEMY

ATLAS

WHY WE LOVED IT: Once you learn

how to dial it in, this bike is a true quiver of one, able to adapt to most rides, be they a backcountry sufferfest or a few lift laps at Keystone. And all that comes at a very reasonable price. Plus, it's easy to support a local brand with an eye on growing the sport. $2,095+ (frameset/custom) to $5,295 (race build) | ridegg.com

ENDURO

Transition Patrol The key to the best enduro bike is to find that fine balance between downhill stability and the quick reflexes of a trail bike. The Patrol delivers on both counts. Credit the slack 65-degree head angle and GiddyUp Link suspension for the confidence it inspires when you point down an ugly line. But this bike is not just for riding the lifts: It will thread through tricky trails and climbs with real gusto, too. WHY WE LOVED IT: No bike felt better when we pointed it down the fall line.

$1,999 (frame only) to $7,799 (full-spec build) | transitionbikes.com

PRIORITY

TRANSITION

CONTINUUM

PATROL

COMMUTER

Priority Continuum You get a lot for your money in this sleek commuter: The bike's stocked with disc brakes and a smooth Nuvinci hub and Gates Carbon Drive system that's quiet, effective and won't crap out when you are late for your morning meeting. WHY WE LOVED IT: We simply adore belt drives and the even, easy ride they

impart when we are headed in to work or just cruising to the farmer's market. $899 | prioritybicycles.com A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

ELECTRIC

Haibike Xduro FullSeven S RX

HAIBIKE

XDURO FULLSEVEN S RX

Sure, we get it. You think e-bikes are ruining the sport ... until you hop on one, and suddenly you are hooked. Coming in at a very reasonable price, this baby is a true mountain bike with Magura MT4 hydraulic disc brakes, a 120-mm of travel and 27.5-inch wheels. Oh, it can also hit 28 mph at full pedal assist. That makes for a bike that can ferry you to work without breaking a sweat and can also get you out on long rides on backroads and trails where e-bikes are permitted (be sure to check). WHY WE LOVED IT: It's the best trail-

performing e-bike we have tested—the ideal machine for big rides, with a little bit of help. $4,699; haibike.com MOMENTUM ROCKER

FAT CRUISING

Momentum Rocker Want to simply enjoy the ride? Saddle up on this fat boy with its meaty 26 x 4.0 tires and soak it in. The Momentum can handle anything from a jaunt to the distillery to a bit of swoopy singletrack to packed snow. Disc breaks and a seven-speed drive train seal the deal. WHY WE LOVED IT: This bike reminded us that riding is

supposed to be fun. It's a cruiser that can handle some impromtu commando rides. Just get on and enjoy it! $620; momentum-biking.com

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CYCLING SWAG BAG With riding season in full swing, we found the little extras that make life better in the saddle. by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

SHADES

Spy Hunt We have long been fans of Spy's Happy Lens technology, because it really seems to work: It keeps out nasty glare while letting in long-wave blue light that's easy on the eyes—making it simpler to focus on the trail or pavement ahead. The sturdy Grilamid frames on the Hunt can take a beating if they do come off your face but the soft arms do an admirable job of keeping them secure, even while you are riding. $160 | spyoptic.com

COMMUTER PACK

Shimano Tokyo

Shimano came up with the perfect, stylish bike commuter pack here. It's pimped out with a padded

laptop sleeve and organizing pockets on the inside and can handle the slings and arrows of bad weather thanks to a roll-up rain cover and low-key reflectivity details on the outside. $140 | shimano.com

HELMET

SHELL

This is one high-tech helmet. Weighing in at 9.9 ounces, it includes MIPS technology to mitigate a concussion on impact as well as double-layer EPS to suck up the force of a blow to the head. Pair those safety features with an easy-to-dial-in fit and plenty of ventilation and you have the ideal lid for road rides and races. $230 | bellhelmets.com

This stretchy, breathable shell is fully waterproof and fully seam-sealed—and it's surprisingly light thanks to a process that puts the membrane on the outside of the jacket, removing the need for an extra layer of fabric. Stuff it in your pack for when the weather gets truly nasty. $180 | columbia.com

Bell Zephyr

Columbia OutDry EX Stretch Hooded Shell

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GLOVE

MEN’S SHORTS

This light glove is the ticket for those cold days in the saddle. There's just enough soft-shell material on the back of the hand to keep out the wind—and you don't have to take it off to use your smart phone. $55 | pearlizumi.com

Portland-based Swrve got its start with sensible commuter bike gear, and that mindset is key to these light shorts that can do anything from handle a mountain bike ride to pack into your suitcase for European travel. $95 | swrve.us

PHONE MOUNT

ENERGY

If you like to geek out over your ride stats, this simple sturdy mount will be your new best friend. It simplifies following Strava times or GPS maps while you are mid-ride. $55 | iomounts.com

No mere energy gel, this ayurvedic concoction includes 30 wildharvested herbs from India along with Keralan mountain honey, artisanal ghee and sesame oil. That translates into a mid-ride snack that will impart long-term health benefits. $49 (12 pack) | hanahlife.com

Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Softshell Lite Glove

I/O Nomad

WOMEN’S SHORTS

Swrve Lightweight Regular Shorts

Hanah One Go Pack

Craft Velo XT Shorts Swedish endurance brand Craft impressed us once again with these tough, comfy women's shorts that can make an easy transition from ride to brew pub and include a removable inner chamois that's easy to wash. $130 | shop.craftsports.us

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / A P R I L 2 017

MUST-HAVE GEAR SP E C I A L A DV E RT I SI N G SE C T I ON

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AS THE FOLIAGE STARTS TO RETURN

and the days grow longer, spring is a fantastic time to hit the trails. Of course, springtime trail runners may also contend with occasional rain showers and mud, so it’s important to be prepared with the right gear. When prepping for the season, consider the following six essentials to improve your time on the trail:

STAB L E , PR OT E C T I V E T R A IL RUNN I N G SH OE S If you live in a region that gets a fair amount of precipitation in the springtime, look for shoes with a waterproof breathable membrane such as Gore-Tex® or Climashield®. It’s also not a bad idea to treat your shoes with a DWR spray for additional protection. Nikwax Fabric Proof is a trusty choice. Aggressive, all-terrain outsoles with multidirectional tread are another important feature that provide stable grip on slick, off-road surfaces. The Terrex Trailmaker from adidas and the XA Pro 3D from Salomon are two good examples.

L IGHT WE I G H T, M O IST UR EWICK I N G SO C KS Having a few quality pairs of running socks is just as important as having the right shoes. Look for quick-drying fibers like CoolMax® polyester or merino wool. Stay away from cotton, which retains moisture and dries slowly.

L IGHT WE I G H T, B R EAT HA B LE SHIRT Brands like New Balance, Brooks and Under Armour all have great options for running shirts. Grab a couple in short sleeves and at least one in long sleeves so you can easily adapt to the wide range of spring temperatures.

R U NNING SH ORTS Although a basic pair of running shorts will do just fine for warmer days, it doesn’t hurt to look for extras like integrated pockets to hold energy gels and other small essentials. If your run takes you from trail to pavement, consider shorts with reflective accents to increase your visibility to motorists during dawn and dusk hours.

R U NNING PA NTS OR TIGH TS Those morning runs can start off pretty brisk, especially in early spring. For cooler weather, a pair of running pants or tights is a must.

W IND P R OOF A ND WATER R EP EL L ENT V EST OR JACKET Ideal for windy and/or chilly spring weather, a running vest or windbreaker will provide much needed core protection without weighing you down. Ultralight jackets and vests from brands like Marmot, The North Face and Brooks should be unlined (or only lined with a very light mesh) and also have a water-repellent finish to shed light rain. If you live in a region that gets heavy and/or sustained spring showers, go with a waterproof breathable shell instead. Look for models with pit zips to vent excess heat and sweat vapor. A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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RUNNING GEAR

0 4 .17

FIVE TRAIL RUNNERS FOR ANY OCCASSION

SALOMON

S-LAB SENSE ULTRA 5SG

We chose these off-road shoes to match up to the way you plan on beating them up out on the trails. by GARETT GRAUBINS

Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra 5SG BEST FOR: SPEED UP AND DOWN TECHNICAL MOUNTAIN TRAILS

Salomon aimed to build a lightweight-yet-protective shoe here that could carry neutral striders over tough terrain. Did it ever succeed. What this 9.2-ounce shoe lacks in cushioning it makes up for with performance. Over sandrock and through spring-melted mud, this luggy trail shoe brandished the responsiveness of a road runner. A firm midsole protected the underfoot while providing powerful leverage through the stride cycle. And the upper fit was never a question, as Salomon’s trademark quick-lace system neatly and snugly provided a plastic-wrap-like fit around the foot for maximum comfort. $180 | salomon.com

Brooks Caldera BEST FOR: DOOR-TO-TRAIL RUNS

Beloved long-time running shoe brand Brooks crashes the “maximalist” party with the Caldera – an extremely well-cushioned, stable trail shoe that still manages to feather the scales at under 10 ounces. The Caldera features a foam midsole that feels lively and responsive, not energy-absorbing, mushy or clunky. That extreme cushioning takes to pavement and smooth gravel very well, while the underfoot lugs easily transition to trail. The toe box was roomy—which increases the shoe’s surface contact with trails, making it a trusted BFF when the mountain is trying hard to humble you. $140 | brooksrunning.com

Hoka One One Challenger ATR 3 BEST FOR: LONG MILES, ON A

VARIETY OF SURFACES

Many trail running shoes claim to be all things to all runners. The ATR 3 is the closest to delivering on the promise. It provides pillowlike comfort over both road and trail miles. One female tester, a two-time Ironman finisher, raved, “Right out

of the box, I could race in it this weekend.” Another tester, who is training for a new FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the unforgiving 486-mile Colorado Trail this summer also loved it: “Any time you can wear a shoe for four-plus hours and can't feel it, it’s working,” he said. “I plan to have three pairs of the ATR 3 for the Colorado Trail.” $130 | hokaoneone.com

BROOKS

CALDERA

UnderArmour Horizon RTT BEST FOR: GRAVEL PATHS AND GROOMERS, OCCASIONAL PAVEMENT

This shoe, aimed at the moderatenovice trail runner, features a ripstop upper that envelopes the foot. With all of that protection, it’s a safe bet that this 9.8-ounce kick will outlast nearly every other this spring. On rocky trails, the Horizon RTT performed like a champ, with a protective forefoot plate working yin-yang style with responsive foam cushioning to furnish a smooth ride for both weekend enthusiasts and wire-framed elites thirsty for vertical miles. Make no bones about it: Under Armour is bringing credible high performance to the mountains. $130 | underarmour.com

HOKA ONE ONE (WOMEN'S) CHALLENGER ATR 3

UNDER ARMOUR HORIZON RTT

The North Face Endurus TR BEST FOR: TRAIL ADVENTURES

The 11.2-ounce North Face Endurus TR brings the brand’s big-mountain heritage to trail running. Runners fixated on their Strava splits will likely want to consider lighterweight options, like The North Face Ultra Terrain ($120), which is also new this spring. But everything is a tradeoff and, while the Endurus is not a ballerina slipper for the trails, it undeniably will survive a run through the wringer. The end result is a beefy trail shoe that can move quickly when the situation is right. That makes it a worthy sidekick for fastpacking or “crossover” exploration where a steady hike is more efficient that an uphill wind sprint. $130; thenorthface.com

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Whale Lake, Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado - Devon Balet

HEAR THIS

04 .17

AFTER THE FLOOD Two albums and a new home later, the Lyons-Based band Taarka is here to stay in the Colorado music scene. by JEDD FERRIS

n the chorus of the optimistic, up-tempo newgrass tune “Sun and Rain,” a standout from Taarka’s new album “Fading Mystery,” mandolin player David Tiller and five-string violinist Enion Pelta-Tiller harmonize: “Don’t try so hard and it won’t get harder.” The song is an anthem of resilience, which the married couple and leaders of the eclectic string band know something about. Back in 2013, the Lyons residents lost their house during the flood of the St. Vrain River that turned the sleepy town into a national disaster area. In the aftermath of dealing with the loss and uncertainty about where they would ultimately live, the Taarka couple found solace in making new music. They loaded up salvaged instruments from their waterlogged home studio and retreated to David’s family house on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. And just months after being forced to evacuate, they recorded the songs that would become the 2015 album “Making Tracks Home.” It’s a therapeutic album with some direct responses to their experience, including the Delta throwback “River’s Eddy Blues.” Focused around this comfortable recording space, the trip to Virginia has become annual; hence the quick follow-up. This year’s “Fading Mystery” is a concise That effort can be heard on some of the 10-track effort that summarizes Taarka’s evolution most engaging tracks from the new record, the as a skilled and versatile string outfit. The new band’s seventh, just released in March. David’s album blends nimble-fingered acoustic exploration “Polyamorous Polly Ann” is a pastoral story song with well-crafted songs highlighted by thoughtwith fanciful, Beatles-esque lyrics about feelings provoking lyrics. for an old lover, even after moving on to another. David and Enion Enion conjures the met in 2001 at a shared IN THE AFTERMATH OF DEALING WITH THE raw emotion of Joni gig in New York City LOSS AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHERE THEY Mitchell in the driving and soon after bonded folk-rock of “Athena,” WOULD ULTIMATELY LIVE, THE TAARKA COUPLE over a love of acoustic and shares the FOUND SOLACE IN MAKING NEW MUSIC. music from around heartbreak of losing a the world: Celtic traditionals, the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli and the stylistically inclusive work of quick-picking masters like David Grisman. The couple initially swirled these influences as an instrumental duo but eventually decided to expand their reach by adding band members and finding their singing voices. “When we first got together, you wouldn’t have wanted to hear us sing,” David jokes. “We have a love for all of these world music styles and at first we were really focused on our instruments. When we decided it was time to try singing, it wasn’t great. We had to work on it. As we started writing songs and our voices got better, we saw a larger variety in our audience.”

family member, in the title track, a mystical ballad about her late brother. “Enion writes dreamy songs. They’re like landscape paintings of her experiences,” says David. “My songs tend to be more story-like. I’ll start with a theme and take notes as I think of things. When I eventually sit down to actually write a song, I work with those scraps of ideas and it often goes in a completely different direction.” Even with more focus on lyrics, deft instrumental composition is still very much part of Taarka’s equation. “Fading Mystery” contains three instrumentals, including the Latin-inspired “Retreat” and the speedy, progressive bluegrass odyssey “Finn McCool Crosses the Rocky Mountains.” The latter features tight string

interplay between David, FINDING VOICE Enion and guitarist Mike TAARKA—MIKE ROBINSON, DAVID TILLER, TROY ROBEY Robinson, who joined ENION PELTA-TILLER the band three years ago. AND (LEFT TO RIGHT)—JUST Bassist Troy Robey, who RELEASED A STRONG NEW ALBUM IN “FADING has been with the band MYSTERY,” AND THE since 2008, rounds out LYONS-BASED BAND WILL the quartet. BE ALL OVER THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT THIS SUMMER. With the new album photo courtesy Taarka released last month, the group’s focus now turns to touring. David says the band—which has played with the likes of Darol Anger, Peter Rowan and Yonder Mountain String Band, and found favor in the worlds of both indie folk and jamgrass—will have a big presence on the summer festival circuit. First up, though, is a Front Range show at the Caribou Room in Nederland with We Dream Dawn on April 14. As far as home life goes, David and Enion are settled in Lyons again. The couple purchased a new house last winter and they have another studio in the works. “I am in the process of building it at this moment,” David says. More music is on the way.

IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD “FADING MYSTERY” AND FIND UPDATED TOUR INFORMATION, HEAD TO TAARKA.COM. A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

THE ROAD

04 .17

RIDING BLIND When a blind, half-deaf, combatinjured veteran mountain bikes the hut system from Telluride to Moab, he finds joy in the sweet sensation of spinning wheels. words and photos by JONATHAN WATERMAN

Transferred to the Walter Reed Hospital from t’s a time-honored ritual for bikers to trade first overseas, he learned that he was permanently snow in the mountains for cottonwoods blazing disabled—blind at 22 years old. He’d also lost in the desert. But to me, the grinding, road-trip hearing in his right ear and feeling in his nearly transition from high country to slickrock—missing amputated left arm. “I had 22 years of vision,” everything in between—has always seemed jarring Steve told me, “so I’m not complaining.” He began by car. kayaking and then climbing the Seven Summits; So last September, I joined Joe Ryan, owner he still had all of his life in front of him—without of the San Juan Huts, and his wife Anne, director the golden leaves and soft light of fall that I’ll of LEADs (an adventure coaching agency), on a never again take for granted while cycling mountain bike ride from Telluride to Moab. Our through (or to) paradise. mission: accompany a wounded veteran, Steve Baskis, 215 miles on a bike. alfway up the Silver Dollar Road from Steve’s life since he served in the Army in Telluride, we started pedaling to the first May 2008 defines the meaning of bravery. That hut. Steve and his pilot, Anne Ryan, led on a year, a command-wire-controlled, lethal projectile tandem bike. Although he hadn’t ridden a mountain blew through the side of his armored vehicle and bike since Iraq, Steve has logged thousands of exploded in a burst of deadly shrapnel. Body armor road bike miles saved Steve’s life, but surrounding his home the sergeant he’d BODY ARMOR SAVED STEVE’S LIFE, BUT THE in the Midwest. Anne, been sitting next to SERGEANT HE’D BEEN SITTING NEXT TO DIDN’T an ace bike mechanic, didn’t have a chance. HAVE A CHANCE. MERCIFULLY, STEVE HAD is a frequent mountain Mercifully, Steve BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, BLEEDING bike competitor—no had been knocked OUT FROM HIS FACE, NECK, ARMS AND LEGS. guarantee, it turned unconscious, bleeding out, from bottoming out from his face, neck, out, stalling and splashing her and Mike in a arms and legs. cavernous mud puddle. Steve danced out of the water, He recalled, when he awoke: “I knew my eyes mostly dry; Anne was soaked, but also smiling big. were damaged real bad but I was hoping it was okay.”

IT TAKES TEAMWORK Joe brought up the rear with their ANNE RYAN AND STEVE BASKIS GET AN ASSIST teenage son, Nolan, FROM JOE RYAN ON AN Steve’s brother, Kevin 18-PERCENT GRADE ABOVE and Victor Henderson, THE GATEWAY HUT. videographer and partner in Steve’s Blind Endeavors Foundation (which raises awareness for the handicapped through adventure) following. We spent the last hour pumping up the final switchbacks to the top. At Silver Dollar, the first of six huts we reserved, Joe gave us the tour. His chain of 20 humble biking, backpacking and ski huts hide in the woods alongside composting outhouses. Joe, as I would learn over the next week, blithely spends an hour below—rather than on—the throne of each and every tall outhouse. Stooped over in the surprisingly odorless vault here, he stirred the waste with wood shavings, then shoveled this rich fertilizer into a composting bin—locked against inquisitive bears. Within a year, Joe will scatter the compost-turnedinto-soil in the forest. The outhouses are hardly the main draw, just another smart amenity in this environmentally astute and well-built hut system. Truly, the huts are perfectly spaced for a long day’s ride. They are spectacularly located and offer lodging for up to A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

eight riders. Here’s how it works: squeeze a few breezed past glowing, LIFE IN THE SADDLE warm layers into panniers, top off your CamelBak, trembling aspen leaves, DIGGING INTO THE LA SAL LOOP ROAD CLIMB (LEFT). and cruise 28 to 40 miles a day—gaining and losing through air redolent STEVE LUBES UP THE thousands of feet in elevation—on back roads and with the honeyed rot of TANDEM (RIGHT). singletrack. The huts are stocked with beer, readyautumn. I rode next to a to-cook foods and sleeping bags. You play cards and grinning Steve and asked, Trivial Pursuit, make journal entries, read, stargaze, “Isn’t the air sweet?” sleep, then wake up, ride and repeat, down mountain “I haven’t been able to smell anything since ranges, across high plateaus and into the desert. 2008,” he answered, lifting his arms and mimicking That night at Silver Dollar, I heard Steve slip a bird as he balanced behind Anne. out of his bunk and tiptoe out the door to pee. She smelled the brakes overheating on their Forty yards out in the chill, high-altitude air, he got long-framed bike, so they stopped at a stream and disoriented and walked further away from the hut. splashed the smoking discs with water. Steve was Several minutes later I heard him say: “Somebody?” clearly reacting proactively, feeling the lack of Then louder, “Somebody please?” pressure in her pedaling, her back stiffening, the Rushing to the door, I said, “Hi Steve,” and front tire hitting jarring bumps. guided him back to the hut. Lying in my bunk, This is how it went for a week of perfect I wondered about autumnal weather— the disorientation from Spring Creek to “I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO SMELL ANYTHING (more likely panic) I Columbine Huts, then SINCE 2008,” HE ANSWERED, LIFTING would’ve felt alone from Graham Ranch to HIS ARMS AND MIMICKING A BIRD AS HE and outside, blinded the Gateway Huts. The BALANCED BEHIND ANNE. in a permanently dark whole time, Steve made wilderness. I couldn’t us laugh. “Got to hut imagine how one would manage the myriad of and it was dark,” he wrote in one logbook. “I go to daily chores-cum-puzzles one must navigate in sleep hoping for it to be light in the morning.” a sightless world. Particularly on adventurous Always a philosopher, even while pedaling, he expeditions (e.g., climbing Kilimanjaro and Elbrus) pondered aloud whether regaining consciousness that Steve regularly embarks upon. I couldn’t, so after the explosion had brought him into the over the next week, I tried to let go of how I saw afterlife. Even on this bike ride—unable to utilize the world and adopt Steve’s perspective, learning most of his senses—he mused about whether he had to be reactive instead of proactive, relying on touch entered some sort of purgatory. and good communication. Sipping a cold beer with him on a picnic bench In the morning, we coasted 2,000 feet out of outside the town of Gateway, we took in the the San Juans to the highway on Dallas Divide. We spectacular sandstone towers in front of us. At one

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point, he put down his IPA and stood. Ever the joker, he excused himself to go to the bathroom. Before heading off, though, he fiddled with his prosthetic eye. He pulled it out, and placed it next to his can of beer. “Keep an eye on this, will you, Jon?” he said to me.

eaving Gateway Hut on the sixth morning, we began the 5,000-foot climb to the last hut beneath the La Sals, blanched with the season's first snow. The climb approached an 18-percent grade, and while Steve wouldn’t stop pedaling, Anne prompted constant banter, even at the most muscular of speeds. I focused doggedly on keeping up their pace. Our final destination was now just a day away. Cottonwood leaves were already turning and I realized the bike ride would be over in Moab. I repeatedly breathed in the sweet aroma of fall. Two thousand feet above town, I traced my fingertips over the edges of dinosaur tracks, cast in stone. A raven squawked in the distance. And then, as I began the long descent toward the end of this stimulating trip, I watched circling hawks, lengthening shadows, tawny golds and flickering red leaves go by as if I had never seen any of them before—as if I was now seeing them for Steve. JONATHAN WATERMAN LIVES IN CARBONDALE, COLORADO. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF 12 BOOKS INCLUDING THE COLORADO RIVER: FLOWING THROUGH CONFLICT. BETWEEN REMODELING HIS HOME AND BUILDING A TINY HOUSE, HE MAKES FREQUENT TRIPS TO THE DESERT. TO BOOK A BIKE TRIP OR JUST SOME DOWN TIME IN THE SAN JUAN HUT SYSTEM GO TO SANJUANHUTS.COM.

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A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

ELWAYVILLE

0 4 .17

DENVER'S GIFT It might not be Paris, but the Queen City of the Plains has the diversity, spirit and free access to the outdoors that make America truly great. by PETER KRAY

rnest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast is my favorite book. I read it once a year. I especially love the beginning of the chapter “A False Spring,” where Papa writes: “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits.” To me, that passage offers the greatest promise of the longer days Northwest this morning, I realized Denver’s Park and warmer temperatures to come, Hill will always be that essential place for me. with the gentle reminder that we can have as much joy as we allow ourselves. lm-lined, dotted with small shops, parkways Written about a time nearly a century gone, and and avenues, Park Hill was a kind of unwitting published in 1964, the collection continues to inspire social experiment in the late 1970s. The new films and books. Woody Allen channeled it for wide variety of housing options, neighborhood his 2011 film “Midnight in Paris,” the same year schoolsand easy access to jobs downtown meant the author Paula McLain re-imagined the book for her neighborhood where I came of age was a mélange popular novel, “The Paris Wife,” told from the point of personal storylines that changed from house to of view of Hemingway’s ex-wife Hadley. house, and block to block, creating an epitome of the Almost two years ago, Papa’s old friend A.E. proverbial melting pot that is the American ideal. Hotchner shared Park Hill was THE FACT THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE WORKING not Paris, for sure. the heartbreaking backstory behind RIGHT NOW TO CURTAIL OUR RIGHT TO ENJOY OUR But you would have the book in had to travel the PUBLIC LANDS BY INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO Hemingway in Love, SELL OFF THAT FREEDOM FILLS ME WITH AN ANGER world to share the just a month before wealth of culture THAT I CANNOT PUT INTO WORDS. IT’S NOTHING A Moveable Feast available in a single hit the bestseller list LESS THAN AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY, AND sixth-grade class WHO WE ARE AS AMERICANS AND AS PEOPLE. again in France, as here. To see those the country tried same classmates to recover from the tragic November 2015 Paris go on to become judges, detectives, photographic Attacks. icons, punk rock pioneers, personal trainers, An autobiography of an artist coming of age, cruise line queens, Hollywood actors, expedition the book explores the discipline and self-denial cameramen, mayoral candidates, musicians and Hemingway employed in his quest to master a charismatic leaders in the fight for LGBTQ rights new “art of narration.” The future Nobel-Prize only reinforces that we also lived in a special place, winner was starving in a city with the world’s best in a defining era. restaurants in between drinking bouts with F. Scott The local library at Montview and Dexter Fitzgerald, James Joyce and Picasso. It was arguably (where I still sometimes go in dreams, pulling the most important era in the history of modern art wondrous new books off the shelf) certainly and thinking. provided its share of roadmaps. As did the Museum The book explores the mixture of discovery of Natural History, and the Denver Zoo, and the and memory that creates instant nostalgia, and a open fields, ponds, and iconic boathouse of City sense of place that you can return to at any time in Park, which every network covering The Broncos your life. After a call from an old friend in the rainy employs as the quintessential Colorado scene on its game-day telecast—those high peaks rising above the Denver skyline in the background. Illustration by Kevin Howdeshell / KEVINCREDIBLE.COM Those peaks were, and still are, the jackpot. The

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sheer breadth and depth of the Rockies, combined with Denver’s ever-growing mix of uptown options (which the mountains certainly inspire), provide the essence of Colorado. That my parents were so set on sharing those mountains with their kids shaped me then, and defines me now. They loved those mountains as much as anyone, although I think their unquenchable thirst for adventure was as inspirational as it was economical. Growing up, we didn’t have much money. So mom and dad gave us the cheapest, most interactive entertainment anyone could buy—the outdoors.

hat’s more expressive of freedom than walking in and through our country? You know, America? The fact that elected officials are working right now to curtail our right to enjoy our public lands by introducing legislation to sell off that freedom fills me with an anger that I cannot put into words. It’s nothing less than an attack on our country, and who we are as Americans and as people. Whether you’re a hiker, hunter, skier, snowmobiler, climber, kayaker, mountain biker, ATV’er, birder, mushroom gatherer, wood gatherer or whatever, you know how strongly your personal identity is tied to those public lands, and how you feel when you’re out there. For me, that sense of self is also strongly tied to the collective gift of public schools, libraries, museums, parks and zoos. This is the backbone of America. This is the moveable feast that we all share. I will do what I can to protect it all, for me and for all of you. I know you will too. —ELEVATION OUTDOORS EDITOR-AT-LARGE PETER KRAY IS THE AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF SKIING. THE BOOK HAS BEEN CALLED “THE GREATEST SKI NOVEL OF ALL TIME.” DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE? YOU CAN BUY IT HERE: BIT.LY/GODOFSKIING

A P R I L 2 017 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

Visit a city where adventure stretches as far as the eye can see. From gazing across its breathtaking mountainsides, to witnessing a thousandyear-old sacred ritual, to reawakening one’s thirst for adventure, each person leaves here viewing their own world in a whole new light. #TrueABQ

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