Elevation Outdoors July 2019

SWIFT WATER RESCUE | HIGH TIMES ON EVEREST | DARK SKY FESTIVAL JULY 2019

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DEPARTMENTS 7 EDITOR’S LETTER The joy of family car camping in the desert.

9 QUICK HITS Tintype photography meets backyard skate park, Colorado’s new via ferratas, stargazing at Canada’s Dark Sky Festival, three beers for summer, insurance for outdoor adventures, a #vanlife book and more...

14 FLASHPOINT The traffic in Colorado keeps getting worse. But there are some ways we can mitigate the mess.

17 HOT SPOT Here’s all the beta on how to safely tick off the Crestone Traverse, one of Colorado’s great classic alpine routes.

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E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

19 NUMEROLOGY Everest keeps getting more crowded. Here's a rundown of what happened during the past season on the big peak.

21 STRAIGHT TALK Dale Remsberg is the guide who manages guides at the AMGA— here's what he learned from 27 years in the hills.

27 YES, YOU CAN WORK FROM YOUR VAN Brand innovation guru Dani Reyes-Acosta dishes out tips on how to thrive in a mobile office.

39 HEAR THIS Country music superstar Dierks Bently created the Seven Peaks Festival in Buena Vista to fulfill a lifelong dream.

29 SWIFTWATER RESCUE Tracy Ross watches her son grow up in front of her eyes during a Payette River training session.

40 THE ROAD One woman, her mom and her toddler—what could go wrong?

42 ELWAYVILLE Peter Kray finds more light after the untimely death of beloved skier Sam Coffey.

FEATURES

37 CAR CAMPING GEAR This stuff will make you feel at home in the wild.

ON THE COVER Photographer Seth K. Hughes explores the San Juans with a jeep rental provided by Overland Discovery (overlanddiscovery.com).

by Seth K. Hughes/ sethkhughes.com

22 HIT THE ROAD We live for road trips here at EO. To that end, Sasha McGhee runs down how she took to life on the road, and we deliver packed itineraries for our favorite summer drives.

WANT MORE? CATCH UP ON PAST ISSUES, YOUR FAVORITE BLOGGERS AND DAILY ONLINE CONTENT AT ELEVATIONOUTDOORS.COM

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C O N T R IB U T O R S | 07.1 9 WHAT ROAD TRIP IS CALLING TO YOU THIS SUMMER?

HEADED WEST

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN E DI TOR-I N -CHI E F

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

doug@elevationoutdoors.com PUBLI SHE R

BLAKE DEMASO

blake@elevationoutdoors.com CRE AT I VE DI RE CTOR

LAUREN WORTH

lauren@elevationoutdoors.com EDITORIAL + PRODUCTION M AN AG I N G E DI TOR

CAMERON MARTINDELL

cameron@elevationoutdoors.com COPY ASSASSI N

TRACY ROSS

JULY 2019 Ah, July, it’s good to see you. We’ve been on the road for over three months now and just completed our second cross-country journey back home to Colorado.

With all of the spring snow out west, it’s been a long mud season here. So we’re looking forward to big backpacking trips, campfires with friends, and waking up at 4 a.m. to climb mountains. But great journeys call for great gear, so take a look at the stuff that keeps us going through each new adventure.

G E A R W E ’ R E LO V I N G

SEA TO SUMMIT: AEROS DOWN PILLOW

The latest and greatest in Sea To Summit’s line of lightweight inflatable pillows, this baby combines the reliable support of the traditional Aeros line with a new, luxurious down top that offers surprising comfort for an inflatable pillow. And it weighs in at just 2.5 ounces. We love to use ours when we’re deep in the backcountry, but also just when we’re hanging out in a hammock by the van. $60

ROOFNEST: EAGLE

As a family of three (two humans and a dog), we appreciate the extra space that Roofnest’s largest rooftop tent offers.

With interior dimensions of 6’ 10” by 55”, the Roofnest has plenty of room for all of us. But it’s the ease of use that makes it our favorite rooftop tent. You can go from parking to sleeping in a matter of minutes.

Just undo the four latches and the roofnest pops right up—and you will sleep comfortably the whole night on the 3-inchthick memory foam mattress. It mounts easily on most vehicles. $2,795

SE N I OR E DI TOR

CHRIS KASSAR

chris@elevationoutdoors.com G RAPHI C DE SI G N E R

AMELIA MCCONNELL

amelia@elevationoutdoors.com E DI TOR-AT-LARG E

PETER KRAY

CON T RI BUT I N G E DI TORS

AARON BIBLE, ADAM CHASE, ROB COPPOLILLO, LIAM DORAN, JAMES DZIEZYNSKI, HUDSON LINDENBERGER, SONYA LOONEY, CHRIS VAN LEUVEN CON T RI BUT I N G WRI T E RS

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MARTHA EVANS

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CONOR SEDMAK

conor@elevationoutdoors.com BUSI N E SS M AN AG E R

MOUNTAIN HOUSE: FUSILLI PASTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Want Italian in the backcountry? Mountain House has you covered. The new Fusilli Pasta with Italian Sausage is a hearty home-cooked meal for the trail— where you crave it most. The entrée consists of spun fusilli pasta in a rustic tomato sauce with fire-roasted veggies, garlic, basil, and Italian-style sausage. It’s become a go-to for late night dinners in the van after long days adventuring. And the clean ingredients list would make your grandmother proud. $10 SCHEDULE

JULY 6-7

COPPER MOUNTAIN LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO

MELISSA GESSLER

melissa@elevationoutdoors.com CI RCULAT I ON I N QUI RI E S:

circulation@elevationoutdoors.com DIGITAL MEDIA ON LI N E DI RE CTOR

CRAIG SNODGRASS

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RADHA MARCUM ELEVATIONOUTDOORS.COM 2510 47th Street Unit 209 Boulder, Colorado 80301 (303) 449-1560 P U B L I S H E D BY

©2019 Summit Publishing, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’m looking forward to a family trip to explore the beaches and backroads of New England.

conor sedmak

I’d love to head out on a big West Coast trip: surf, camp, hike and eat all the Mexican food I can handle along the way.

CAMERON MARTINDELL

We’re testing the new American-made Chevy Traverse, packed with kiddos and toys, on a trip to the lakes of Wisconsin for Independence Day.

TRACY ROSS

We’re on one long continuous dream road trip this summer from Nederland to McCall, Idaho, and the Payette River, then on to Montana and the Smith River, and then back to Idaho for the Middle Fork and the Main Salmon!

Dani Reyes-Acosta

I’m going to be pausing my non-stop road trip through the Southwest to mosey through the land of rolling green hills and lakes in the Northeast.

Hudson Lindenberger

I feel mountain hot springs calling to me. I need to soak away my worries and cares.

SASHA MCGHEE

I’m driving the Oregon coast, from Brookings to Astoria, hitting national and state parks and then heading east to camp at climbing destinations along the way.

Aaron H. Bible

Anywhere our VanDoIt campervan will take us before Baby Number Two arrives in October.

Ryan Scavo

Going big—chasing grayling outside Rocky Mountain National Park, camping along the Elk River in Steamboat Springs, and finally checking out fossils with the little ones at Dinosaur National Monument.

peter kray

SUMMIT

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E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

PUBLISHING

I’ve been listening to Tyler Ramsey’s beautiful new song, “A Dream of Home,” lately. It’s inspired a staycation in this timeless place where we are visited by the world.

E D I T O R'S L E T T E R | 07.1 9

SUMMER R E N TA L P R O GR A M

A MOMENT TO BREATHE W H AT ' S T H E B E S T T H I N G YO U CAN DO IN THE OUTDOORS? A B S O LU T ELY N OT H I N G .

by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

T

his was an odd spring. It snowed and rained so much that even hardcore skiers like me started to wonder when it would end. And I couldn’t even get out and after the ski mountaineering lines that were calling to me because I was buried with work.

Likewise, my wife was transitioning jobs and working extra hours. My daughter was stressed out over the pressures of high school finals. And my son felt the (way too early) crush of his first year at an academically focused middle school.

We needed an escape. So we planned to camp in the San Rafael Swell over Memorial Day weekend. Just packing the car for the trip (and digging out camping equipment we hadn’t used since fall) was a monumental effort. But we did it. The new Vampire Weekend album fueled the drive, and we rolled into a desert packed with other families. It didn’t take us too long to find a spot far from the crowds out on double-track road with a sweeping view of emptiness.

We set up around an old, dignified juniper and then did—nothing.

No phones. No stress. No broken refrigerator. No plans. No weeds overtaking the yard. No commitments.

Nothing. We just listened to the wind, laughed with each other, and spent some time in silence. And we realized just how much we needed it.

FAMILY OUTING THE CLAN HIKING ALONG THE SAN RAFAEL RIVER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SWELL. photo by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

It reminded me just how important wilderness is to our survival. I saw the comedian Eddie Izzard last week and he gave a brief, brilliant summation of human history, from the Big Bang to J.R.R. Tolkien. His main point was that humans have these gifts of langauge and creativity, that most of us just want to be good to each other, but some humans are “fuckwitty.” While there were some fuckwits out in the desert that weekend—the ones who were teaching 8-year-olds how to shoot a shotgun in the midst of a campground stand out in particular—the wilderness seems to bring out the best in people away from all the demands and distractions of our increasingly digital life. Out here, we reconnect. We breathe.

From his retreat on Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary.”

Those often quoted words still ring true. I kept thinking of that quote when we were away, of how it explains our essential need to do just this. Phones, Instagram, test scores, work, we get lost in all of it. The cure is easy—and appropriate for this the Road Trip issue of Elevation Outdoors. Just get in your vehicle. Drive.

Find nothing. Do nothing.

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Q U I C K HI T S | 07.1 9

Skate Soul

O L D -S C H O O L P H OTO G R A P H Y G E T S A N E W LO O K .

IN HIS STUNNING TIN-TYPE PRINTS, CARBONDALE, COLORADO-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER AND LONGTIME EO COLLABORATOR David Clifford has perfected the art of bringing real vintage beauty into the saturated age of social media filters. “I started shooting tin types to slow down and get back to what I loved most about photography,” says Clifford. The wet plate collodion process, which dates to the nascent days of photography in 1851, requires exposing and then developing the photograph immediately after on glass in the field. “There’s a sense of mystery and a certain amount of serendipity when you work in collodion. I love pushing the envelope with the medium. Portraits are wonderful, but being able to produce lifestyle and action and other aspects of photography on tin is super cool and has sparked my creative fire.” Here, Clifford shot local skater Nolen Johnson at his home hillside skate ramp. To get this shot, he spent four hours setting up 10 Profoto lights on the hill, assembling a portable darkroom on the Johnson’s lawn and shooting five plates. Nolen’s father Chris runs the Bonedale Skate Revival at Carbondale’s The North Face Skate Park, an event that’s now in its eighth year and continues to grow with support from the community. —Doug Schnitzspahn

HOME RULES CARBONDALE’S NOLEN JOHNSON ROLLS IN HIS BACKYARD PARK. THE JOHNSON FAMILY PROMOTES SKATEBOARDING IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. PHOTO BY DAVID CLIFFORD

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Q U I C K HI T S | 07.1 9

TAKE THE IRON WAY I T ’ S T I M E TO C L I P I N TO N E W V I A FER R ATA S AC ROS S CO LO R A D O ORIGINALLY UTILIZED AS A MEANS TO

move troops across mountain passes during World War I, via ferratas have boomed in popularity in Europe as a safe way for almost anyone to get out on exposed terrain. Italian for “iron way,” via ferrata climbing routes consist of permanent steel cables and rungs fixed to the rock; climbers use a system of slings and carabiners to ensure they are always protected on route.

“Rock faces are, by nature, places we stay away from,” says Bill Jackson, District Ranger for White River National Forest, which has worked closely over the past year on the approval process of two new routes set for construction in the A-Basin ski area. The idea of providing new views and outdoor experiences aligns with the goals of both organizations, who hope to increase access to areas not currently utilized by visitors. “Via ferratas are not as intimidating as rock climbing, especially to new climbers, and are a great introduction to going vertical.”

Via ferratas can be self-guided affairs, such as the ones in Telluride maintained by the Telluride Mountain Club. People can come with their own gear, hire private guides or rent equipment. Other commercial operations, like those in Idaho Springs, Buena Vista, and a new route that just opened in the Royal Gorge (see page 11) are lead by guides. Construction on the first of the two new via ferratas around the East Wall area of the A-Basin resort will begin this summer, and will be the first one based out of a ski resort in Colorado. They will be built by the same company that designed the via ferrata at Jackson Hole Ski Resort and, similar to that one, utilize guides to access two areas of steep terrain around the resort.

“This is a special piece of public land and we think this is a really lowimpact way to expose people to some

stunning scenery and dramatic places that they might not otherwise see,” said Alan Henceroth, COO of A-Basin.

With the passing of the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, partnerships like this one between the National Forest Service and ski resorts are designed to increase year-round experiences for visitors to the area by introducing new activities like via ferratas, though the process requires much oversite.

Purists to the sport of rock climbing may take issue with an easier route to the top, while adherents of “Leave No Trace” might be uncomfortable with the idea of anchors and cables left permanently in the rock. Extensive environmental impact studies and opportunities for public comment help assuage some of these concerns, with benefits such as longer employment seasons and better utilization of existing facilities helping to add to the appeal.

Both Henceroth and Jackson were keen to point out that, rather than an amusement park thrill ride experience, via ferrata construction aligns with a shared mission of exposing more visitors to Colorado’s rugged, natural, high-altitude terrain.

“In terms of benefits to the Forest Service, we’re all about getting people outside and experiencing the outdoors in new and exciting ways,” says Jackson.

—Heather Ridge

TECHNOLOGY

SIMPLY SHREDZ

Taking traditional wilderness therapy methods to the next level, Open Sky Wilderness Therapy brings families on journeys of self discovery and healing. Co-founder and Executive Director Emily Fernandes hosts this podcast, interviewing experts in the field to learn more about the healing power of wilderness.

Meat in any other form than jerky can be tricky (or even gross) to carry along on the trail. New to the market, Simply Shredz is a shelfstable dried pulled pork product that deliciously blends into a number of backcountry menus and is still light in the pack.

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WITH A SYSTEM OF SLINGS, CARABINERS, METAL CABLES AND RUNGS, VIA FERRATAS MAKE CLIMBING SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE. / PHOTO COURTESY ADVENTURE PARTNERS ATTRACTIONS

STARGAZING PARADISE M A K E YO U R WAY N O RT H TO JA SP ER N AT I O N A L PA R K I N T H E C A N A D I A N RO C K I E S A N D FI N D T H E S TO R I E S I N T H E N I G H T SK Y. DON’T LET YOUR ROCKY MOUNTAIN

roadtrip end at the border. Keep heading north to explore Canada’s mountain wonders, including the stargazing jewel of Jasper. On your way, stop by Banff National Park to hike Johnston Canyon, canoe and horseback ride by Lake Louise, and take the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93N) toward the turquoise waters of Bow Lake and view the Bow Glacier.

Keep heading north toward Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper, nestled within.

Jasper is a Dark Sky Preserve, officially designated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, so it’s not surprising that the area is fantastic for skygazing year-round.

Spend some time spying meteor showers, peering at planets, ogling

the Milky Way, and crossing your fingers on seeing the aurora borealis (aka northern lights). You can see celestial wonders year-round, but October is when the community’s stargazing spirit really shines.

Each fall, Jasper celebrates its signature skies with the Dark Sky Festival (this year, October 18-27, 2019). Talks and events fill attendees’ days, but the marquee show is stargazing at Lake Annette and Symphony Under the Stars. The festival also includes a four-day Dark Sky Photography Workshop.

When the festival isn’t in fullswing, there’s still plenty to do in the surrounding area. Hike the Valley of the Five Lakes, backpack one of the numerous multi-day hike options like the Skyline Trail or try climbing or canyoneering with one of the local outfitters, which offer trips to places like Ogre Canyon. Then when the sun drops in the sky and evening emerges, find a favorite stargazing spot to soak in the show.

A few local favorite spots include: Pyramid Lake, just below the iconic Pyramid Lake; Maligne Canyon, just a few miles outside of Jasper; and Lake Annette. For your best chance at spotting the northern lights, check out the University of Alberta’s Aurora Watch (aurorawatch.ca), which forecasts aurora activity.

—Kristen Pope

GEAR WE LOVE

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EAT, SLEEP, PLAY: CAÑON CITY, COLORADO THIS ROCK ING LIT TLE TOW N A LONG THE LOW ER A RK A NS A S RI V ER OFFERS PLENT Y OF OUTDOOR PL AY A ND UNE X PECTEDLY UNIQUE ACCOMMODATIONS. Eat For good reason, there’s often a wait to get a table at Di Rito’s Italian Restaurant (gotodiritos.com) right on Cañon City’s Main Street. The gratis appetizer, a dish of roasted garlic and fresh bread, is so good the menu specifically notes that additional servings cost extra and most folks order more anyway. When playing at the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park (royalgorgebridge.com), plan to have lunch at the newly renovated cafeteria, rebuilt after the tragic 2013 fire that burned down the visitor center.

Burgers, sandwiches and salads are all available with floor-to-tall ceiling windows looking out on the gorge. For a pleasant afternoon on a tree-shaded terrace, set up a private VIP wine-andcheese tasting at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey (abbeywinery.com).

SLEEP Just eight miles west of the city, the new Royal Gorge Cabins (royalgorgecabins.com) and luxury glamping tents have taken over the once commonplace Echo Canyon Campground. The modern luxury cabins come with one or two king beds options (the second king in a loft with great views), and include a kitchenette, gas grill, outdoor seating and corn hole games. The glamping tents range

STARS AND STREAMS (TOP) THE AURORA BOREALIS PUT ON A SHOW IN JASPER / PHOTO COURTESY PARKS CANADA. (RIGHT) RAFTERS GET DEEP IN THE ROYAL GORGE / COURTESY ECHO CANYON RIVER EXPEDITIONS.

from spacious single or double queen options, each with their own fire pit, fire starting kit and some with a private patio. Echo Canyon Campground still offers a few bring-your-own-tent sites, but those are slowly being converted to the next generation of the glamping experience. There are a number of other standard campgrounds and RV resorts in the area, too.

PLAY Spring and summer are prime time to visit the area thanks to the snow melt runoff of the Arkansas River in the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park hosts a bunch of activities like a zip line, gondola, theater showing the colorful history of the area, a playground, and a brand new Via Ferrata rock climbing area right up the walls of the gorge. Echo Canyon River Expeditions (raftecho. com) offers a number of rafting trips on the Arkansas River that range from easy family friendly floats to fun rolling whitewater through the gorge and under the bridge. For a more leisurely time, tour the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience (dinoxp.com) looking at the full-scale fossil casts, uncovering treasures in their dig pit, or taking on the challenge of the ropes course with full scale animated dinosaurs. Train buffs will love jumping on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad (royalgorgeroute.com) ride with their open air car and dome car where meals are served for this two-hour out and back ride up the Gorge, under the bridge, and along the river.

—Cameron Martindell

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BEYOND ALL BARRIERS THE FILM THE WEIGHT OF WATER FOLLOWS WEIHENMAYER ON THE GRAND CANYON. / PHOTO BY SKYLER WILLIAMS

LOCAL HERO: ERIK WEIHENMAYER T H E B L I N D A DV EN T U R ER P L AY S I T F O R WA R D W I T H H I S N O N P RO FI T N O B A R R I ER S .

ERIK WEINHENMAYER KEEPS PUSHING

forward. He became the first blind person to summit Mount Everest in 2001 and subsequently completed the Seven Summits in 2008. In 2014, he kayaked down the Grand Canyon, an accomplishment documented in the new film The Weight of Water.

Beyond those adventures, the Golden, Colorado, resident has poured his effort and energy into No Barriers, the nonprofit he helped found in 2003. Built around the idea of using transformative experiences, often in the wilderness, the organization teaches people that no barrier in their life—either physical or psychological—is too big that it can’t be overcome. In the process, it helps folks reclaim their lives.

With a focus on middle- and highschool-aged children, No Barriers has continually broadened its reach over the past 16 years. Its annual summit allows thousands to take the message back to their communities and its veterans program is helping vets reintegrate into society after the rigors of war. No Barriers is planning on opening the first fully accessible wilderness camp in Colorado next summer. Over 30,000 people have gone through No Barriers programs and the organization projects to double that number in the next few years.

Through it all, Weihenmayer has been the public face of the nonprofit, intimately involved in leading expeditions and teaching classes.

When asked why he is so dedicated, he says, “Lots of people struggle and end up in dark places. I want to help them find their way forward. It’s all that matters to me.”

—Hudson Lindenberger

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PRO TIP: RENT A VAN TO RACE I T ’ S T H E B E S T WAY TO R E S T U P B EF O R E T H E B I G CO M P. THE NIGHT BEFORE A BACKCOUNTRY RACE,

you usually have to deal with checking into a hotel far from the start or a latenight campsite hunt. Both are always followed by an extra-early alarm to get to the race venue and a weary-eyed, pre-dawn fight for parking. Here’s a better idea: Sleep at the start line the night before a race—in comfort, #vanlife-style. There’s no need to invest in your own expensive rig thanks to van demo outfits like Aspen Custom Vans, based in the Roaring Fork Valley. For about the cost of a nice hotel room, you can sleep in a luxe van dwelling wherever you can park it.

I’m certainly a believer. For the Dead Horse Ultra Trail Marathon in Moab, Utah, I scored front row parking with Blue, a 2016 4x4 Mercedes Sprinter and ACV’s flagship rental. I pulled up, cooked some carbs in the van’s mini-kitchen for dinner and got to bed early. In the morning, I snagged an extra hour of sleep since I only needed to roll out of bed, walk to check-in, and go along my merry way in the desert for 50 kilometers. Backcountry races— and the nights before—might never be the same. aspencustomvans.com —Jon Jay

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

HEAD START THE AUTHOR ENJOYS A CUPPA WHILE OTHER COMPETITORS SLEEP IN THE DIRT. / PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL SAGAN

THREE BEERS FOR SUMMER

OUTDOOR INSURANCE

T H E SE T H R EE N E W B R E W S W I L L H EL P YO U CO O L D OW N T H I S SU M M ER .

B U D DY SEEK S TO P ROV I D E COV ER AG E F O R A DV EN T U R ER S .

AS BREWERS CONTINUE TO PUSH THE

envelope this summer, new creative beers continue to surprise us. Such is the case with Upslope Brewing Company’s Sparkling Rosé IPA (upslopebrewing.com). Brewed with a generous dose of hops, it has the bite of a traditional IPA, yet catches you off guard with a sparkling freshness found in champagne.

From Crystal Springs Brewing, Summertime Anytime (crystalspringsbrewing.com) is the perfect brew for those hot and hazy days that settle in as summer stretches on. A Kolsch-style ale, it perfectly balances malt and hop flavors to deliver a refreshing sipper.

Victory Brewing’s Twisted Monkey (victorybeer.com) is a beautiful beer that takes the flavor of Belgium beer and melds it perfectly with mango to create a tasty treat that delivers the moment you crack the can. —H. L.

cyclist and triathlete—he also works in insurance. So he knows how hard it can be for outdoor enthusiasts to find affordable coverage. Many plans up their rates or deny plans for adventurous souls. So he co-founded Buddy, an on-demand insurance plan that can be purchased annually or even for just one day.

“The average individual deductible today is over $4,000,” says Paul.

“Even good plans have deductibles of over $1,000. That needs to be paid prior to co-payments and other costs being added to the total financial cost of an accident. At Buddy we pay benefits directly to our customer—not the medical provider or facility. Our customer can do whatever they want with the benefit.”

Buddy is currently licensed in seven states including Colorado and is partnering with local organizations including the Colorado Mountain Club. buddyinsurance.com —D.S.

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J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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F L A S HP O IN T | 07.1 9

The Future of Traffic AS THE STATE BOOMS WITH AN INFLUX OF POWDER SEEKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS, COLORADO’S MOUTAIN ROADS JUST KEEP GET TING MORE CONGESTED. IS THERE ANY HELP ON THE WAY?

W

by JENN FIELDS

hen traveling on Interstate 70 between Summit County and Denver, the traffic can become part of the adventure. In the summer, you very well may beat the afternoon storms on your summit hike but sit in the downpour of traffic during your eastbound return to the Front Range. In winter, westbound delays to resorts can guarantee the powder is all skied out by the time you get there.

And if you live in the mountains and have a flight to catch, a ridiculously early departure—or sleeping at a friend’s in Denver the night before—is the norm, because there’s no trusting I-70 traffic in the mountain corridor.

Traffic in Colorado has definitely gotten worse. More and more people are traveling on I-70. In 1974, the first full calendar year that the Eisenhower Tunnel was open, 3.3 million vehicles passed through the tunnels. In 2018, 13.4 million vehicles drove through the tunnels, according to Colorado Department of Transportation traffic counts.

But for the weary rider who gave up

14

resort skiing for the backcountry because of the traffic, or the trail runner who moved to the mountains to escape the crowds but now can’t make a simple run to the grocery store on a Saturday thanks to the Franger-influx traffic, there is hope.

There are even bright spots.

Travel time on eastbound I-70 from the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels to Denver has dipped since the toll lanes opened. Ridership on Bustang, CDOT’s wifi-enabled motor-coaches that are designed for travel beyond the typical RTD bus route, from Denver to Glenwood Springs has more than doubled since the route started in 2015. CDOT is breaking ground on a new project this summer to free up westbound I-70 traffic, and stakeholders in mountain communities are still looking for funding solutions that will bring a high-speed passenger rail from Denver to Grand Junction.

Still, funding transportation continues to be a challenge, and the flow of people moving here, mostly to the Front Range, continues—as of July 2018, Colorado’s population had grown 13.2% since 2010.

Traffic through this corridor is frustrating for locals, but it’s also a broader issue, both for the commercial vehicles that use I-70 as the main artery through the state and for Colorado’s growing $1.28 billion tourism industry.

“A lot of recreation is accessed through the I-70 corridor, so its very important economically,” says Margaret Bowes, director of the I-70 Coalition, a group of 28 local governments and businesses along or adjacent to the corridor. She lives in Summit County.

“The folks on the Front Range, many of them move to Denver to have access to the mountains, so for those folks and the native Coloradans, [traffic] is a quality of life issue.”

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

Here’s some food for thought on the I-70 traffic situation for the next time you’re sitting in the middle of it.

Transportation Funding on the Ballot

If you voted in 2018, you might remember two competing ballot initiatives about transportation, Propositions 109 and 110.

Proposition 110 sought a state sales tax increase to fund road projects statewide and other transportation needs. Prop 109, which asked voters to approve up to $3.5 billion in bonds for a limited number of highway projects, was largely a response to Prop 110 from its opponents.

Voters didn’t like either measure.

Both issues went down, with around 60% voting no on each.

The failure of Prop 110 was a blow for transportation advocates. The rise of electric and hybrid vehicles means Colorado’s gas tax isn’t bringing money to the state’s transportation coffers the way it once did, Bowes says. “I think there’s a lack of awareness that the gas tax isn’t meeting our needs.”

And transportation funding isn’t easily increased. Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, known as TABOR, requires voter approval for new taxes and limits how much the state can collect and spend from pre-existing taxes before giving it back to residents via a refund. But the 2018 ballot wasn’t the first time voters had turned down a transportation tax since TABOR went into the constitution in 1992, so state legislators and CDOT are used to finding creative solutions. A bipartisan effort at the legislature coaxed some extra funding into transportation in 2018, and voters can expect to see another transportation question on the ballot in 2020.

In May, Shoshana Lew, the agency’s HIGHWAY OF HELL executive director who was appointed I-70 IS A NIGHTMARE FOR

by Gov. Jared OUTDOOR-LOVING Polis, announced DRIVERS—BUT a revamp of MEASURES SUCH the agency’s AS TOLL LANES notorious $9 billion HAVE MANAGED TO MITIGATE AT LEAST maintenance and SOME OF THE projects backlog.

TRAFFIC. / PHOTO “The backlog hasn't

BY BROOK HAYER gone away, but we are doing a big summer outreach effort to review, validate and update the priorities on that list,” says CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson.

Funding problems don’t always freeze improvement projects in their tracks, though. CDOT announced a $550 million westbound I-70 mountain corridor proposal in May 2018 that included widening lanes at Floyd Hill and linking Jefferson and Clear Creek county trails. The catch? They didn’t have funding for the proposal.

Yet contractors will break ground on a slice of that project, a new toll lane, this summer. “We were able to get a grant from the federal government that provided a portion of the necessary funding to get that under way,” Wilson says.

More Toll Lanes Are Coming

One of CDOT’s bigger projects in recent years, the eastbound Mountain Express toll lane, opened in late 2015. At the time, local media outlets couldn’t help but point out that it’s upper-end fee of $40 made it the most expensive toll road in the state. But as the first year passed, the

true fare most were paying was $4 to $6, and the lane was working—with 8% of eastbound traffic using it (when the lane was open), and traffic in general moving along more steadily. Last year, use of the express lane increased again. It was up 18% from 2017, according to Wilson.

And travel time decreased for all, not just those paying the toll.

The eastbound toll lane “has exceeded expectations,” Bowes says.

“The goal of that lane was to provide a reliable travel time. So they use tolls to make sure that lane is always moving at close to speed limit.” (For those living in the mountain corridor or Western Slope who have to travel to Denver for a flight or medical appointment, a reliable travel time is a big deal.) “That it improved travel times in those two free lanes was a pleasant surprise,” Bowes says.

This summer, construction will begin on another toll lane between the Twin Tunnels (what CDOT now calls the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels) and Denver. The new westbound toll lane will run from Empire to the tunnels. It’s expected to open in spring or early summer of 2021, Wilson says.

Like the eastbound lane, the westbound lane will be a “Peak Period Shoulder Lane” that will be open on hightraffic days, not daily. It will serve as a shoulder the rest of the time.

Bowes has high hopes for the westbound toll lane. “I think the expectation is it will perform very similarly [to the eastbound lane],” she says. “The

The answer to the congestion problems isn’t more pavement.

The only way to accommodate everyone who needs to travel along this route is other modes of transportation. westbound delays have increased dramatically over the last decade, and even the last five years. People are really clamoring for some relief.”

the Bustang Bump

The I-70 Coalition’s plan for the interstate calls for “multi-modal” improvements to the mountain corridor. The answer to the congestion problems isn’t more pavement. The only way to accommodate everyone who needs to travel along this route is other modes of transportation.

CDOT’s wifi-enabled Bustang coaches are part of that answer.

Bustang’s West Line travels from Denver to Grand Junction daily, and ridership has more than doubled since the service launched in 2015.

Wilson noted that the West Line has a ridership dip every year during mud season but that the service becomes more popular year after year. From

Denver to Vail, ridership hit an all-time high in the month of January, when 7,330 people rode the bus. Ridership topped at least 6,500 per month through this year’s ski season. During the 2015-16 ski season, ridership hovered around 2,200.

“That Bustang service was really designed to help residents of the Western Slope reach critical services on the Front Range,” Bowes says. But it’s now on the radar of skiers, who are using it to get to resorts. Mountain towns along the corridor are aware of the multi-modal transportation push and are focused on providing transportation once you arrive, she says, noting that Summit, Eagle and Clear Creek counties have public transit, as does Winter Park.

“We also have Lyft, we have Uber, Breckenridge has Zipcar,” Bowes says.

But aside from de-clogging I-70, she’s been pushing another reason to take Bustang. “There’s a limit to how many cars mountain towns and resorts can park.”

Riding the Bustang from Denver to Vail costs $17. That’s less than you’re likely to spend on parking alone in Vail.

High-speed Rail

The Hyperloop buzz in Colorado has died down a bit. Blasting through the state at 600 mph isn’t possible yet, and Arrivo, the Hyperloop-inspired company that CDOT announced a partnership with in 2017, folded at the end of 2018.

But transportation advocates haven’t

given up on the idea of a high-speed rail line of a different, non-Hyperloop sort, from Denver to Grand Junction. “We know the technology exists, so that’s not the question,” Bowes says. “It’s how to fund it, the feasibility. The coalition and other stakeholders and CDOT have chipped away at those questions, but the bottom line is, at this point, it’s still a pretty expensive endeavor.””

Bowes is still hopeful that a highspeed passenger rail could come to the I-70 corridor, though. “The fact that the governor is very interested in a Front Range rail will move that conversation forward, so I think that’s really encouraging for transit. We have always recognized that a high-speed line would go on the Front Range first, but that perhaps makes it more feasible for it to connect east-west as well.”

Check out goi70.com for a weekly travel forecast, mountain transit options and ridesharing and parking information.

J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

15

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H O T S P O T | 07.1 9

The Crestone Traverse F O L LOW O U R D I R E C T I O N S F O R T H I S A DVA N C ED S C R A M B L E T H AT CO N N E C T S T WO P R IZED F O U RT EEN ER S .

by CHRIS KASSAR

C

olorado claims four “Great Traverses:” the Maroon Bells, El Diente to Mount Wilson, Little Bear to Blanca and the spicy route linking 14,203foot Crestone Needle and 14,295foot Crestone Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. If you’re seeking an adventure with a bit of pucker factor and you have the requisite skills to pull it off, the rewards on this last one are well worth the effort.

Scaling these jagged sentinels requires common sense, preparation and a healthy respect for risks associated with traveling on exposed terrain in the high peaks. To enjoy your trip and be safe, you must possess technical climbing and rappelling skills, plus solid route-finding chops and be comfortable moving through exposed terrain. You’ll down-climb sketchy couloirs, traverse steep rock and negotiate snowy sections, since the white stuff lingers into July. Though you can tackle the traverse from either direction, we describe the Peak to Needle route, since we prefer to climb the tougher section up the Needle, rather than rappelling it, which requires a rope. Here’s everything you need to know about this inspiring climb before setting out.

TRAILHEAD: You can access this

route from Cottonwood Creek, Spanish Creek or Willow Creek Trailheads, but the shortest approach (described here) starts at the South Colony Lakes Trailhead, 12 miles southwest of Westcliffe (75 miles from Colorado Springs). Four-wheel drive is highly recommended since it will cut out a 2.5mile march down a rough road.

WHEN TO GO: Mid-week, mid-

on the sky and bail before proceeding.

Exposed rock turns slick and scary in rain, and this is no place to ride out a lightning storm.

GOTTA-HAVE GEAR: A

helmet to protect your noggin. A small lightweight pack so you can remain nimble while scrambling and/or climbing.

A camera to capture the stunning views.

Depending on conditions, time of year, and experience level, your group might consider a rope, ice axes and crampons.

THE CLIMB DAY 1: Hike up to the lower South Colony

July through August. Skip weekends if possible. The word is out about this special spot (um, no thanks to us now, too) so don’t expect solitude, but offpeak times will at least bring more peace and ease finding a campsite.

lake area from South Colony Lakes Trailhead. Secure a campsite, rest up (tomorrow’s a big day!), and bask in the beauty of this stunning spot perched at 11,600 feet. Another fourteener, 14,065foot Humboldt Peak looms to the north and Crestone Needle rises to the west.

WHEN NOT TO GO: If the

DAY 2: Depending on the forecast and

forecast calls for a high likelihood of thunderstorms or precip of any sort.

Depending on how fast you move, the traverse is a one-to-four-hour commitment; the only options for safe escape are backtracking to Red Gully or finishing the traverse. Keep an eye

your speed and group size, you’ll want to leave camp sometime between 2 and 4 a.m. so you can successfully climb the South Face of the Peak and cross over the Needle via the traverse well before thunderstorms even begin to threaten anytime from 11 a.m. on. Along the way,

look for the following key benchmarks.

BROKEN HAND PASS: From South Colony

Lake follow a well-worn trail that cuts up a rugged slope and finally climbs the narrow 400-foot couloir leading to Broken Hand Pass, a small notch that makes an ideal spot to watch sunrise.

Take care. The terrain is rough (low Class 3 scrambling with fall potential on loose rock) and snow-covered well into July.

A WALK IN THE CLOUDS THIS CLASSIC TRAVERSE CONNECTS CRESTONE NEEDLE AND CRESTONE PEAK. PHOTO BY CHRIS KASSAR

skirts under steep buttresses.

STAY ON ROUTE: Keeping well below the

drop down toward Cottonwood Lake, meander through a verdant basin resting in the shadow of both the Needle and the Peak, and scramble up a stretch of solid rock before entering the Red Gully itself.

ridge is key at this point. You will want to pass just below the saddle between the Needle and the Peak, follow an inviting ledge system down and around the foot of a sizeable peak (13,940 feet), and skirt three gendarme rock formations (taking care on exposed moves and loose rock) before climbing up to the ridge for the crux.

RED SADDLE: Enjoy ascending about

CRUX: Climb an airy 100-foot pitch

700 feet—some sections require hands and feet, but solid rock and a reasonable slope make it fun—to reach this 14,180-foot notch in the ridge. From here, a surprisingly simple 250-foot scramble carries you to the summit, and breathtaking views.

littered with strong holds to top out on the Needle.

RED GULLY: From the narrow saddle,

FIND THE TRAVERSE: Descend about 300

feet past the saddle to find the gully exit/ traverse entrance. Scramble southeast, turn a corner, and hit a ledge system that

DELIBERATE DOWNCLIMB: Descend the

Needle’s south face with care; these slick, exposed gullies have a huge fall potential and if you’re human, you’re tired from the exertion of climbing. From Broken Hand pass, descend the way you came. Pack up and head all the way back to the car, or enjoy another night under the stars.

J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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N U ME R O L O G Y | 07.1 9

The Big Challenge

M O U N T E V ER E S T G OT A LOT O F AT T EN T I O N T H I S SP R I N G — W I T H B OT H SU CC E S SFU L SU M M I T S A N D T R A FFI C JA M S I N T H E D E AT H ZO N E. H OW D I D W E G E T H ER E ?

A N D W H ER E A R E W E GOING??

by TRACY ROSS

J U N E 7, 1 922:

Date of first recorded deaths of explorer’s attempting to climb Mt. Everest (during the second recorded attempt of humans trying to climb it). Records show that seven people died, all Sherpas. In 1924, the Brits tried again and were again unsuccessful. And in 1934, yet another Brit named Maurice Wilson attempted to climb the mountain solo. Wilson wanted to promote his belief that the world's ills could be solved by a combination of fasting and faith in God. He died in his attempt, and his body was later found, “a short distance from Camp 3,” according to Climbing Magazine.

M AY 29, 1 953:

The date Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first climbers to summit the 29,035-foot peak. Only four other people would summit that decade, all within short windows in May.

1 8:

Number of people who summited in the 1960s.

78:

Climbers who summited in the 1970s.

87 1; 1 8 0 A N D 56:

Climbers who attempted Everest, those who summited, and those who died from 1980 to 1989.

3,0 17; 9 0 0; 55:

Attempts, summits, and deaths in the 1990s.

8: Number of people who died

on Mount Everest when Jon Krakauer climbed it for his famed Outside magazine assignment in 1996. At the time, this was the deadliest ascent in history.

The years 2006, 2014 and 2015 would prove even deadlier.

1 9:

Sherpas killed in the Khumbu Icefall in 2014. As a result of this earthquake

and ensuing avalanche, summit totals were the lowest since 1997. From Tibet—an increasingly popular access to the mountain—over 100 people summited. From Nepal, only six did, with aviation assist over and above the disrupted icefall.

3 1 9: Permits issued for Mount Everest in 2015, a year after the Khumbu Icefall break.

1 9:

Climbers killed during a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that decimated large swaths of Nepal that year same year.

29 8:

Permits issued in 2016, just 10% fewer than in 2015.

Economically, this was good for a country that relies heavily on Everest traffic for its GPD. But Colorado big mountain climber and Everest vet Alan Arnette notes, “The more Everest takes lives, the more people come.”

Despite abnormally warm temperatures on the mountain in May, resulting in greater risk of avalanches and ice shifting in the Khumbu Icefall and above, the crowds came. And the Icefall Doctors, who pick and establish a route through the ice flow as part of Everest’s popular South Col route, established one, using seven ladders instead of the normal 20, to get

traffic moving up the mountain.

60 0:

Number of summits in 2016; a “normal season,” reported Arnette. Some 455 climbers summited, and Arnette called it a “good year,” but with a cautionary note. “In speaking with multiple climbers, Sherpas and guides, they all make the same points: There are too many people on Everest who lack the basic mountaineering skills to survive a major weather event or their own misstep when it will undoubtedly occur. And there are too many ‘Sherpa Guides’ who simply don’t have the experience or skills to be of aid to those inexperienced climbers when the inevitable occurs.”

8 02:

Number of summits in 2018, a record. The previous record year was 2013 with 670 total summits by all routes.

1 1: Number of climbers killed on Everest during the week of May 20 of this year. As has been widely reported, some expedition companies blame the glut of climbers, resulting from unregulated permitting by the Nepal government, stalling out in the death zone for creating dangerous conditions. And climber Robin Fischer, who collapsed and

died after summiting on May 25, portended this potential problem in an Instagram post on May 19. “Around 700…people will be looking to summit from Tuesday the 21st onwards.”

Hoping to avoid the crowds, he made his bid on that Saturday. “I am hopeful my decision to go for the 25th will mean fewer people.

Unless of course everyone else plays the same waiting game,” he wrote.

0: Unofficial number of

climbers who summited successfully after the fateful week. But as Everest climber Jake Norton points out, the peak itself isn’t the culprit: “It's a mountain. It's a place where dreams are realized, and where they're crushed.

Lives are fulfilled here, and they're extinguished. It is a place of beauty and sorrow and spinelessness and heroism and all the shades and adjectives reflected in humanity.”

6: Number of times former

Colorado Outdoor Recreation Office director and now VF vice president of governmental affairs and global impact, Luis Benitez stood atop Everest, guiding clients including blind climber Erik Weihenmayer.

CLIMBING FOR EQUALITY ONLY 10 PERCENT OF THOSE WHO SUMMIT MOUNT EVEREST ARE WOMEN. SKI MOUNTAINEER CAROLINE GLEICH REACHED THE TOP OF OF THE WORLD IN MAY IN ORDER TO INSPIRE OTHER WOMEN TO MAKE THAT NUMBER RISE. / PHOTO COURTESY CAROLINE GLEICH

1:

Number of black African women to summit Everest.

South African Saray Khumalo became the first when she stood atop the world’s highest point on May, 16, climbing for her non profit, Summits with a Purpose to raise funds for the Mandela Library and Dr. Thandi Children’s Foundation. participateforgood.com/ projects/saray-khumalo

10%: Approximate number

of women who climb 8,000 meter peaks. Ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich reached the summit of Everest on May 24, ascending the less popular, and less crowded Northeast Ridge route, along with partner/ fiance Rob Lea, as part of her “Climb for Equality” campaign to highlight the role that male mountaineers and people of all genders can play in advocating for women’s rights and making sure this number goes up.

J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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S T R A I G H T TA L K | 07.1 9 How do you make it all work?

I don’t really get burned out. It’s a really good living, and since I’m guiding I get to do really good routes—and lead all the pitches. I took my guiding to a pro level— premium routes and experiences, and I work with individuals on long-term goals.

What are your duties as technical director of the AMGA?

THE GUIDE'S GUIDE AS THE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF THE AMGA, REMSBERG OVERSEES THE ORGANIZATION’S TOUGH EXAMINATION PROCESS. / PHOTO BY HEDI WIRTZ

Dale Remsberg T H E T E C H N I C A L D I R E C TO R O F T H E A M ER I C A N M O U N TA I N G U I D E S A S S O C I AT I O N ( A M G A ) FI N DS H I G H S A N D LOW S I N 27 Y E A R S O F T H E P RO G U I D I N G L I FE.

I guided 120 days last year, but I also have a staff of 53.

I manage all the instructors and the curriculum at AMGA; it’s technical and political in nature because I’m working on an international level. It gives me time to have a desk job and benefits and keep my body rested while I focus on my return clients. Aside from the office responsibilities, I also train young guides. I’m trying to show that guides are high-end athletes and that they’re taking out clients who are also comfortable on some difficult routes.

Tell me about guiding internationally.

I think the U.S. is producing some of the best guides in the world, but I think Canada has an edge on ski guides.

As far as pure athletic ability, European guides are strong but they can be almost competitive. I focus on bringing it all together in a holistic way, as well as respecting the environment, and protecting the resource that we’re using.

by CHRIS VAN LEUVEN

What’s the hardest part about your job?

“Being outside—climbing and skiing—is the only true meditation that I get,” Dale Remsberg hurriedly tells me while packing for the next big trip he will guide. Though his home is in Lafayette, Remsberg’s mind is already in Canmore, Alberta, land of frozen waterfalls, where he’ll spend the next 34 days. The wild area he’s headed to is called the Ghost, and it’s one of several legendary spots he’s been visiting in the Canadian Rockies for the past three decades. Remsberg travels the world all year long to climb and guide, jumping from the Ghost to climbs in Nevada’s Red Rock Conservation Area and Rocky Mountain National Park to alpine ascents in Chamonix, France.

The technical director of the American Mountain Guides Association and IFMGA guide himself, Remsberg juggles a dozen repeat clients and several guide trainings throughout the year. Those clients are top-tier customers, who request custom trips up the longest, hardest routes Remsberg can find—classic rock-and-ice climbs like The Sorcerer (700 feet) and Hydrophobia (500 feet) in the Ghost.

Now in his late 40s and working non-stop for a decade, Remsberg’s just getting started. He sees himself going at this pace for at least another 10 years.

As the technical director, it’s managing 50 some guides with strong personalities.

Guiding-wise, it’s dealing with the unknown, weather, etc.

And dealing with clients and their personalities who spent a lot of money to go on big trips.

What have been some recent highlights for you out in the peaks?

I finally got a long-term client who is 73 up the Matterhorn.

It was our third attempt. Bob’s a Vietnam vet. When we summited I started to cry.

It was very powerful.

Where are your favorite places to climb?

The Ghost in Alberta. That is like going to church for me. It’s quiet.

There are grizzly bears and wolves. I also love sport climbing in Greece. I’m heading back this year for my fifth time. The reason I love living in the Front Range is that we have places like Eldo where it has history and you have to get above your gear and do hard moves. I also love Index in Washington and Smith Rock in Oregon.

I grew up in Winthrop, Washington, close to Washington Pass, and the area has some of the best roadside alpine cragging in North America.

Tell me about some of your big trips. I understand you’ve been to Alaska, Peru, Switzerland. You’ve even climbed the Eiger.

I’ve guided the Mittellegi Ridge over the North Face of the Eiger. It’s the whole profile of the mountain. Near the summit, we had freezing rain and snow, we almost had a hypothermic day.

What challenges you?

There is an interesting dark side to my guiding. The pain and the struggle of guiding.

To go up these long routes, you have to deal with bangups. It’s not an easy job to guide at that level. It’s real. I have to make critical decisions.

Everyone thinks that guiding is glamorous. But they don’t realize that you have to get up every morning at 4 a.m. and climb through cold, wet conditions. The long-term guides, the ones that stay in the game, are the ones that can persevere through that constant discomfort.

J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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R O A D L IF E | 07.1 9

GET OUT THERE The annual EO guide to road trips and the nomad lifestyle

From #FitLife to #VanLife BECAUSE THE BEST NEXT PLACE TO LIVE IS ON THE ROAD.

by SASHA MCGHEE

I

n October 2018, my partner and I quit our jobs in Denver, ended the lease we'd held for three years and took off in my Honda Fit. We'd built a platform that contained storage space and extended into a bed when the seats were pushed forward. We jokingly called it #FitLife.

About a year prior, during a road trip through the southern United States, I'd tentatively asked the question, "Where would you live if you didn't live in Denver?" We'd been in the city for a while, my partner eight years and me almost five, so we'd developed a lot of connections—friend groups, professional networking groups, favorite climbing crags, social justice causes. I knew that this question was a big one.

But truthfully, despite the community we'd created and the familiarity the city provided, I'd been struggling with Denver's rapid growth for a while.

Like most metropolitan areas that become popular, tech in Denver is on the rise, neighborhoods are

FINDING HOME SASHA MCGHEE REDISCOVERED HERSELF ON THE ROAD. / PHOTOS BY BEN PINGILLEY

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E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

When I asked the question "Where would you live if you didn't live in Denver?" I didn't have an answer. I just knew I wanted something smaller, less transient.

quickly becoming gentrified and renamed, and folks are either losing the housing battle and falling into homelessness, moving to the lesser developed outskirts, or leaving the city altogether.

Because of the influx of people, most new Denverites are too green to notice or care about the changes.

When I asked the question "Where would you live if you didn't live in Denver?" I didn't have an answer. I just knew I wanted something smaller, less transient. But the question spurred a conversation that, once opened, generated all kinds of collective wants—mountains nearby for hiking and climbing, access to a major airport, an ocean within six hours, like-minded community. And just like that, we had a goal to leave Denver. Within a few months, I'd created an entire list of potential places to live—Tucson (Arizona), Reno (Nevada), Bend (Oregon), and so many more. Our vacations over that year became about visiting these places.

But every time we visited a new place, once the trip was over, I was eager to visit the next place.

That made me pause and question our plan—was I looking for the ‘perfect’ place, or was I just looking for exploration? That idea seemed irresponsible and unattainable at the time. So after a few visits, we settled on Bend, Oregon. We set a deadline that corresponded with the end of our lease and quit our jobs with a plan to travel until we found something within our career fields.

W

e traveled for six months, transitioning from #FitLife to #AirbnbLife two months into the journey. We drove from Southern California to Santa Fe, back to Tucson, then to Albuquerque, up to Reno and over to Oakland and a few other places sprinkled in between. We cimbed, spent time with friends, advocated for equity in outdoor spaces, all the while, assessing whether we wanted to do this long-term and how it would work with fulltime careers.

Much of how I engage in social justice is through my career—I enjoy managing projects, overseeing programs and interacting with people professionally to create positive changes for advancements I care about: education, equity, co-liberation. I realized I wanted to continue working for an organization with a mission I believed in but didn’t want that company to dictate where I lived. So, I decided to continue my career remotely. I also rediscovered a hashtag I hadn’t considered in a while: #VanLife.

In my exploration, I’ve found that #VanLife is really just a concept that captures all people who live nomadic lives, whether in a van, RV or car; whether working, retired, or younger and traveling full-time; and whether for adventure, or the inability to afford traditional housing in their chosen city. There are even affinity communities, like #BlackVanLife, solo women on the road, or #VanLife with pets. The more I researched this lifestyle, the more I realized that a lot of people are seeking something similar or have already found it.

After a lot of joint life planning, my partner and I decided to seek #VanLife as our next life opportunity.

And that’s where we are today—building a van, selling most of our life possessions, and after searching for the right roles, continuing our respective careers remotely. My partner and I do carpentry as a hobby so other than researching electric and plumbing, building a home hasn’t been a skill stretch. But for those that don’t have those skills, there are also van builders that specialize in creating homes on wheels, many of which began as van lifers themselves.

Thinking back, the moment I submitted the notice to my job, I felt like I had already left Denver. I also realized something else in that moment—I’d been longing for the opportunity to live in different places, meet new people. But the fear of not having stability, of leaving a place and a career that had become comfortable, had prevented me from seeing that.

Making a plan and committing to that plan left the future wide open. And I’m ecstatic to fill it.

Perfect Road Trips for Summer W H E TH E R YO U LI V E I N YO U R V E H I C LE O R JUST WANT TO GET O U T A N D A W AY, YO U WILL WANT TO HOP ON THESE ITINERARIES FOR M A X I M I Z I N G YO U R TI M E ON THE ROAD.

The Live Outside and Play Road Team Favorite

Head from Denver to Telluride via U.S. 285.

Skip I-70 and drink in the beautiful views.

DENVER Start with Illegal Petes for a quick, classic breakfast, and then head to Middle State Coffee, a newly opened coffee roaster that specializes in interesting brews. (middlestatecoffee.com)

ROAD WARRIORS SASHA MCGHEE (TOP LEFT) AND THE LIVE OUTSIDE AND PLAY ROAD TEAM (TOP RIGHT AND BOTTOM) ENJOY A HOME ON WHEELS. / PHOTOS BY BEN PINGILLEY (TOP LEFT), ROXY HARBITER (TOP RIGHT), BEN DAWSON (BOTTOM)

KENOSHA A little over an hour (and a serious lack of cell service) later, get out and stretch your legs in the aspen grove on Kenosha Pass. Awesome views and crisp air. To make it a longer affair, jump on the Colorado Trail.

THE SOUTHWEST SAMPLER

BUENA VISTA Lunch time! Stop in Buena Vista for a fuel up at House Rock Kitchen (get the House Rock Salad, trust us), then digest your food while taking a walk along Riverside Trail and wading in the Arkansas River.

CANYONLANDS

GUNNISON If you have some extra time, we suggest staying a night in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and plan it on a moonless night for the ultimate star experience.

TELLURIDE Stop right outside Placerville for some evening fishing and bear watching. You can set up camp here, or complete the journey with a thirty-minute drive into Telluride for a well-deserved dinner at Brown Dog Pizzia.

The vast red rock desert is the ultimate spot for hiking, canyoneering and simply getting off the grid and chilling out.

DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 365 miles; six hours PLAY TIME: There are two classic options in this

choose-your-own-adventure of a national park. The first is The Maze. As its name implies, it’s a warren of slot canyons that require canyoneering route finding skills (and the occasional leap of faith) to navigate.

The second is the famed White Rim, one of the few backcountry trails in a national park that you can ride on your bike.

BEER: Utah is not Colorado, but you will find some fine suds—and, um, gelato—at the Moab Brewery (themoabbrewery.com).

PULL UP: There are only two campgrounds in the park, Squaw Flat Campground at The Needles and Willow Flat Campground at Island in the Sky. You can find spots along Highway 128 outside of Moab, too.

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CAPITOL REEF DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 437 miles; seven hours, 10

minutes PLAY TIME: Capitol Reef is Utah’s forgotten national

park, but it’s ripe for exploration. The Burro Wash slot is an excellent canyon for pretty much anyone and the Navajo Knobs Trail is an ideal break from a long drive if you don’t plan on staying here.

BEER: Ha! No. But if you come at the right time of year you are allowed to glean fruit from the orchards at the Fruita Campground in the park.

PULL UP: That Fruita Campground is one of our all-time favorites, with the Fremont River running through and orchards planted here by the first settlers still maintained by the park.

GRAND CANYON DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 680 miles; 11 hours, 30

minutes (South Rim) PLAY TIME: The ultimate canyon is all too often ignored by those seeking adventure. We blow off the rim as a tourist boondoggle and simply wait for the chance to go on a river trip here. That’s a mistake.

Adventure in the canyon is a big endeavor (see Timmy O’Neill’s story on page 46) but you can bite off smaller big adventures such as a rim-to-rim-to-rim bucket list run or hike from the crowded South Rim, or tick off a technical slot such as the classic Deer Creek Narrows with its stunning waterfall (just be experienced).

BEER: Flagstaff, Arizona, is the closest spot for the spoils of civilization. Head to the Mother Road Brewing Company (motherroadbeer.com) for refreshment.

PULL UP: Do you like that shot on the cover of this magazine? That’s the view from Toroweap, a short walk from the most amazing campground in the U.S.— Tuweep, where the services “are non-existent.” You’ll need four-wheel drive to get there.

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BLACK CANYON DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 265 miles; five hours PLAY TIME: Colorado has some canyons of its own

and the Black, with its vertiginous drop is just as stunning (if not as big) as the Grand, and the rock climbing is actually better. The five-pitch, 5.9Maiden Voyage is the one climb here most can accomplish, and the level of difficulty just goes up from there.

BEER: Drive to Montrose for suds and food at the Colorado Boy Brewery (coloradoboy.com).

PULL UP: The North Rim Campground is ideal for views.

#3 WYOMING ROCKS

You have to play big in the Cowboy State.

Bring your harness, your dog and prepare to climb like the locals.

LARAMIE DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 129 miles; two hours, 10

minutes PLAY TIME: It’s just a short trip from Colorado’s Front

Range to Curt Gowdy State Park (wyoparks.state. wy.us), with its camping, fishing and an outstanding mountain bike trail system. That makes for a perfect weekend road trip, even.

BEER: Try the Saison du Ruby at Coal Creek Tap (coalcreektap.com).

PULL UP: Curt Gowdy has plenty of places to pitch a tent or park a van—or stay at the historic Hynds Lodge.

SHERIDAN DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 423 miles; six hours, 40

minutes PLAY TIME: The big draw here is the nearby Cloud

Creek Wilderness Area, where you can backpack a 23-mile round trip to 13,167-foot Cloud Peak.

ROAD TO TRAIL SOME OF OUR FAVORITE DESTINATIONS: CANYONLANDS, THE TETONS, THE INDIAN PEAKS. / PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) DEVON BALET, GREG VON DOERSTEN, EMILY TAYLOR

BEER: Point it to the Blacktooth Brewing Company

(blacktooth brewingcompany.com) PULL UP: There’s plenty of dispersed camping on the Red Grade Road

TEN SLEEP

DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 452 miles; seven hours, 20

minutes PLAY TIME: Ten Sleep’s limestone has become a

beacon for climbers who live out of their cars (wait, isn’t that all climbers?). Happiness in Slavery (5.12b) is one of the most popular routes here (and the first bolted) but be sure to take a spin on Bikini Girls with Machine Guns (5.11a/b) and everyone’s favorite, Beer Bong (5.10b).

BEER: Party with cowboys and dirtbags at Ten Sleep Brewing Company (tensleepbrewingco.com).

Pull Up: Pretty much anywhere on the dirt road along Ten Sleep Canyon.

LANDER DISTANCE FROM DENVER: 350 miles; five hours, 45 minutes PLAY TIME: The Wind Rivers offer endless climbing.

Talk to the folks at Wild Iris Mountain Sports for inspiration (wildirisclimbing.com).

BEER: Hit up Cowfish (cowfishlander.com) for beer and classy food.

PULL UP: You’ll find your kind at the Hugh Otte Camping Area.

Fly Fishing

on Ranch Creek & the Fraser River fly fishing derby Fourth of July

FLY FISHING GUIDED TRIPS

Activities include a Beginner Fly Fishing Clinic, Fly Casting Competitions, and prizes – along with some favorites such as hatchet throwing, hula hooping, and barbecue.

We provide unparalleled guide services. Our year-round staff has accumulated more than 50 years of local fly fishing experience.

July 4th | 12:00-4:00

Advance reservations required.

Prices starting at $249

FLY FISHING LESSONS

We offer private & group lessons. With our on-site ponds & highly professional guides, you’ll leave an experienced angler, even if you arrive a newbie.

Advance reservations required.

Casting Lessons | $20 Hourly Lessons starting at $99

All private waters require a reservation & a $75 rod fee per person in addition to any other costs.

UNTRY SK -CO SS

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Visit devilsthumbranch.com or call (970) 726-8231 for more information.

A HUMB R

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ADVENTURE ISN’T OUR ONLY HEADLINER ACT.

1.800.FL.GORGE | 1.800.46.DUNES

With summer events like concerts, rodeos and festivals

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happening each day, even our outdoor adventure has to share top billing. Because, on your way to the National Parks,

THE BEST ROAD TRIP STOPOVER FOR INCREDIBLE SHOWSTOPPERS.

it’s not just about getting there. It’s about getting out.

Don’t just vacation. Explore.

Yellowstone National Park 235 MILES TO YELLOWSTONE

Grand Teton National Park 183 MILES TO GRAND TETON

Jackson Hole

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186 MILES TO SALT LAKE CITY, UT

Green River

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’19

A-BASIN SUMMER

JUNE 28–SEPTEMBER 15 EVENTS

JULY 13 LOW COUNTRY BOIL AUG 3–4 SANCTION DISC 10 17 SEPT 7–8 8 14

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SATURDAYS 1:00PM–4:00PM JUNE 29 LOCAL JAM BAND DAY JULY 6 LIVE DOWN THE RIVER 13 TBD 20 WOOD & WIRE 27 DIRTY REVIVAL AUG 3 EMMA MAYES & THE HIPS 17 TBD 24 NAIVE MELODIES 31 TNERTLE SEPT 7 TBD 14 THOSE AUSTRIAN GUYS

ARAPAHOEBASIN.COM 26

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

ACTIVITIES CHAIRLIFT RIDES

Saturdays & Sundays, 11:00am–3:00pm

YOGA AT A-BASIN WILDFLOWER HIKES DISC GOLF STRIDER RACES TRAIL RUNS

LUNCH & SHOPPING 6TH ALLEY BAR & GRILL

Fridays–Mondays, 11:00am–4:00pm

ARAPAHOE SPORTS

Fridays–Mondays, 9:00am–5:00pm

# VA NL IF E | 07.1 9

WORK FROM YOUR VAN

by DANI REYES-ACOSTA

G

roggy voices murmur over a crackling fire as someone brews coffee nearby. It's a foggy early morning in the Cascades and my fellow full-time climbers will have to reach deep for the motivation to starting climbing soon before the sun begins to scorch. But this isn’t my plan for the morning: I have two meetings and a deadline on my plate.

Today will be a full day. Luckily, Squamish granite will provide afternoon solace. But first, I need to get tea in hand, coffee percolator going, and yoga mat unrolled. Before anything, I need to ground down— and thankfully, we’re finally at a point in the road trip where the mat can touch grass instead of snow.

I’ve been on the road for three months, and I welcome the transition to summer. Snow in South Lake Tahoe, made for a joyful beginning to our trek north. It also threw my travel partner and I into the proverbial fire as we worked out the complications of cohabitation in a Chevy Express.

We chased spring snow into Canada, our mountain bikes and climbing gear at the ready. We didn’t have a destination, per se—instead, we had a shared goal of getting after it. We rode until the snow melted and enjoying an early climbing season. Then we ventured to Pemberton, Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula before tickling granite in Washington and Idaho en route to Colorado. All along the way, I have been able to build the brand program I have been working on for the past year.

Life has become, finally, everything I’d been working to create since doubling down on my career as a digital nomad several years ago. I’ve finally figured out a formula that lets me play as hard as I work. Here are a few tricks and tips I’ve learned through four-and-a-half years of trial and error, conversations with other roadlifers and self-reflection:

Practice Mindfulness

Set aside time first thing in the morning to take a short walk, meditate, stretch or drink coffee while taking in nature. These few minutes will ground you in the

day before the to-do list takes over your brain.

The Insight Timer app helps tremendously.

Set boundaries for yourself on work and play, dedicating yourself to each one fully and completely. That means no emailing while playing!

Block your time and communicate constraints to both adventure and work partners when it might impact your activities. For work: Try Calend.ly to share your availability and Slack for integrated client communication.

Recognize that things usually take longer than you think they will. Optimism bias is your own worst enemy.

Make Your Own Success

You need a power source to keep the dream (and your computer) alive. While a Goal Zero battery is great, more economical tools do exist: try a car power inverter for around $30 to charge electronics while you drive.

Early morning or late-night work sessions require good lighting. Try solar lights with a USB backup charger to set the mood both on and off the clock.

Stay organized: Compartmentalize cables and devices. For example: I keep my cables in a zippered mesh pouch that I can throw in my backpack anytime I want to pop into a coffee shop.

“Four words for you: Massive. External. Hard.

Drives. When working from the road, uploading or downloading content from the cloud is not always an option. I save photo and video assets I create offline on external drives. Get a 2-6TB drive from Costco for just $60-$100,” shares Kaya Lindsay, of One Chick Travels productions.

Manage yourself better to maximize productivity.

THE NOMAD LIFE WORKING ON THE OLYMPIC COAST AND IN MEXICO. / PHOTOS BY DANI REYES-ACOSTA (TOP), CASA KEI (BOTTOM)

Apps like Any.Do (for tasks) and Asana (project management) help set priorities.

Make Yourself at Home

Going to new places is what summer is all about—but do you know where to camp, hike, swim, sleep, and connect with community when you’re there?

Get yourself some apps that make playing easy: Try AllTrails for hiking, Trailforks for Mountain Biking, Mountain Project for climbing, and Gaia GPS for downloadable topographic maps. Try free camping apps like Recreation.gov and The Dyrt too!

Invest in local communities: visit gear shops, farmers markets, and coffee shops at your destination of choice to tap into local knowledge.

Unplug whenever possible to soak in your surroundings. Enable offline file storage (i.e. keep working files in the cloud, but synced locally on your computer) so you can maximize time outside.

Ultimately, the key to working from the road is patience, communication, and (occasional) connectivity. Regardless of whether you’re working 40 or five hours per week, these tips should get you off to a great start.

Now go, get lost. Along the way, I bet you’ll find yourself (and do better work in the process).

Dani Reyes-Acosta is the founder of Nomad Creativa.

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IN T HE F L O W | 07.1 9

SWIFT WATER RUNS DEEP

IN THE FLOW

by TRACY ROSS

F

rom the banks of the Payette River, near the point in the road where you’re stopped because of snow, I’m seeing my son Hatcher in a way I’ve never seen him before.

He’s scrawny for a 16-year-old (but then our whole family is a little scrawny). He has an enormous wingspan, but legs on the short side. He can cream his older brother in a GS race off the couch, but his default—up to this moment—has been to lay around in his tapestry-draped room, watch a few five-hour blocks of South Park, read a couple of pages of 1984, moon over one of his vintage Playboys, or plot his professional and personal future, which currently involves piloting a FedEx cargo plane so he can live in the Vienna, Austria, mansion he found online for $250,000.

Right now, I’m also looking at another Hatcher— not as visible to the naked eye, but fortified beneath the one with the contraband. This one dangles from a sling and a carabiner in the recently icedover Payette, with dark current pushing against his 125-pound body. His body, in turn, is wrapped in a one—or possibly two—sizes too big dry suit. His head supports an equally oversized helmet. The ‘biner and sling carry him from one side of the river to the other—and though he’s grinning, I can see him shivering just a little.

The air is brisk. We’re all cold, but Hatcher must be colder. How can’t he be when he shuns Nordic skiing and cites as one of his favorite foods Dino Nuggets? More important: How will he ever put to use the skills both he and I have come to latespring Idaho to learn, through Wilderness Rescue International and the Salmon River guides and outfitter Canyons Incorporated, so we can be more responsible members of our family raft crew?

In truth, it’s a bit of a gamble. For his first few

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HATCHER EXECUTES A PERFECTLY RELAXED ZIPLINE SWIM AFTER HELPING TO BUILD A PERFECT ZIPLINE. / PHOTO BY TRACY ROSS

years of high school, Hatcher received multiple stamps on his three-strikes-you’re-out card. Last spring, in an attempt to divert him, I encouraged him to apply for a job with the Youth Conservation Corps in Denali National Park. Though he fulfilled his backcountry ranger duties so well he still gets gifts of thanks from his supervisor there, he seemed barely fazed by it.

This past year in school, his deviance was less Jeff Spicoli and more Holden Caulfield (a good thing?), but his success remained tenuous. Then last spring Canyons owner Greg McFadden invited Hatcher to the swiftwater rescue course as a sort of pre-game step toward one day becoming a river guide.

Seeing an attempt to escape my domestic duties and spend some quality road-trip time with my cleverest offspring I signed up too, and here we are.

But it’s not going like I expected because Hatcher is so much more than I expected. I want Hatcher to succeed no matter what.

F

rom day one of the course he’s been a vocal, questioning student (in a group of professional guides and seasoned river rats). He has knotted all of his knots (the nine we were required to show up with plus others he discovered online). He’s mastered several different throw bag tosses (with different coils, including the butterfly and mountaineer). And on our first afternoon, he dove (safely—face up and skimming the surface) into the recently frozen river.

He was attached to a rope, attached to a ring on

the back of his life jacket (PFD in cool river parlance).

If he were to slip beneath a log jam (strainer), or get his foot stuck on something beneath the water’s surface (an entrapment), or the rope became caught on some other watery obstacle, he could pull a quick release on his vest, lose the rope, and swim to safety.

Safety in a cold, fast-moving river is relative, however—so we practiced it, shallow-diving into a rapid, attempting to catch an eddy behind a rock, climbing on top of the rock, and diving again, back into the madness. I say it’s mad only because compared to what several other tens or maybe hundreds of millions of people were doing at the exact moment that my 16-year-old crawl-stroked across the Payette, this was mad. But it seemed just the thing that would begin to turn Hatcher from a boy into a man.

Over the three-day course, he’s clearly much more comfortable with the curriculum than I am.

He lands his throw bag tosses closer to his target (the student “victims” PFD’d and floating feet-first down the river); he swims more times; and he slides across the zip line to the opposite side of the river, unattaches, quickly catches a lower eddy, and then slides back across on another zip line. I, meanwhile, manage one zip across, one unnecessarily nervous swim, and one zip back. Leading up to this final test of our skill (which included using our new knot-tying and river swimming and pulley system knowledge) he also does something he’s never done.

His older brother, Scout, has always been the boy in our family who gave his mother a pat on the back, a hug around the shoulders, or a pep-talk during adventures that suddenly pushed her up against her limits. But without Scout here—or maybe independent of his existence—Hatcher offers a hand when I stumble after my second swim, and a high five when I land my throw bag near my target, and all out hugs me after I do the zip line.

We wrapped up our course and headed back to a gravel lot where we’d abandoned some cars in order to carpool. Nate Ostis, our instructor, gave his final words and started handing out our level 5 certification cards. I already knew that I’d either cut mine into small pieces or store it in the freezer—a cool keepsake, but with little meaning, because my experience showed me that I only need more experience—and I think Ostis knew it too. He said, “I’m really glad you came on this, Tracy.

And I’m glad to have met you.”

But when he turned to Hatcher, his tone changed, and, shaking Hatcher’s hand, he said, “I’m very impressed with your progress this week. You show some serious promise, and I hope to see you again when you’re a professional.” Then we left and both agreed that we’d just had one of our most valuable life experiences.

T

hat would have been a perfect ending to a perfect story, but it gets more perfect.

After McCall, we drove north, to Montana. A friend had scored a permit for the Smith River, and Hatch and I—soon to be joined by my seven-year-old daughter—would be on our own (in a private group) to row it.

We have all the gear and we’ve been rafting as a family for a solid decade. Hatcher and Scout had boated the Smith before, and the Salmon, the San Juan, and the Rogue. But on every trip since we started, their dad has been our captain. This has been hard for me, because it means I’ve always had to take a back seat, and it’s limited (with good

reason) the amount of command each boy could take on a river.

The Smith was a new opportunity. It’s mellow, with only two named rapids. It courses through rolling green hills and sagebrush studded ranchland, shaded basalt-walled canyons, and under trees with enormous bald eagle nests. It’s also one of the most popular rivers to both float and fish, which plays into why boating it iced the cake of the swiftwater course we’d just finished.

It was unspoken understanding that Hatcher would captain our raft and I would fish the Smith’s waters. (Hollis would come along for the ride, meaning she’d have the time of her life.) We put in at Camp Baker and I could tell immediately that Hatcher had changed.

He commandeered the boat—rigging it the way he’d watched his dad do it. Then he helped the others in our group get their boats in the river. After that, he ordered Hollis and me aboard, and we slipped into the stream with him rowing.

I don’t know what overtook him then, but almost immediately he looked different. Bigger, somehow.

Somehow stronger. Definitely not the kid I’d watched bob up and down on the zip line back on the Payette, in Idaho.

He rowed with the arms that resemble wings, and used the power of his (yes, short) legs for leverage. And as the Smith pushed us downriver for the next 56 miles, he grew even stronger still, to the point that he could hold us at a edge of a cool and mysterious pocket of water.

He waited while I cast a wooly bugger, and waited longer while the wooly bugger sank to the bottom. The result was the now indelible memory of me catching my first fish on a fly while my boy held my line.

GATHERING OF THE DRY SUITS HATCHER TAKES INSTRUCTION FROM WILDERNESS RESCUE INTERNATIONAL INSTRUCTOR NATE OSTIS.

GO FLOAT.

TankWestNebraska.com

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ELEVATIONOUTDOORS.COM

BEVERAGE GUIDE THE SUMMER 2019

I

t’s no secret that the Rockies are the epicenter of craft beverage creation— from hoppy IPAs to tasty ciders to barrelaged bourbons to refreshing kombuchas.

The art of libations is expressed at its finest here where fresh snowmelt from the high peaks inspires creative brewers and distillers to concoct drinks that make epic days in the mountains even sweeter. With recent legislation that encourages smallscale production and a culture that draws dreamers and entrepreneurs, the state continues to grow this burgeoning industry.

Now that summer’s in full swing, there’s no better time to hit the road, explore new outdoor destinations and responsibly taste some of the best beverages the Rockies have to offer. To that end, we bring you our annual beverage guide. These producers represent the peak of fine sipping.

ROADHOUSE BREWING CO (JACKSON HOLE, WY)

BOULDER DENVER

WOODS HIGH MOUNTAIN DISTILLERY

SALIDA

UPSLOPE BREWING CO

10 BARREL BREWING CO

EPIC BREWING CO

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

T

10BARREL.COM/pubs/Denver

2620 WALNUT STREET DENVER, CO. 80205

1 0 B ARRE L BR EWIN G C O

here may be no better place in all of Denver to kick back with friends and colleagues and enjoy a beer than 10 Barrel Brewing located in the heart of the RiNo neighborhood at 26th and Walnut.

First off, 10 Barrel’s 20-barrel brewing system (yes, we get the irony) gives their award-winning brewers the ability to really get creative each and every day on the job. The suds magicians here will keep you coming back for more because they continuously churn out one-of-a-kind creations that are only available on site. Plus, the brewery offers a full lineup of 10 Barrel’s standard line of spectacular beers flowing from 24 taps.

Stop in for local Mondays where you can enjoy a pint brewed by Denver brewmaster Kay Witkiewicz for $3 all day long! Need more reason to visit?

Consider the view. This spectacular location offers you the chance to sit and sip on one of the best rooftop decks in the city, or you can sit inside watching the brewers delve into their craft.

And don’t forget the pub food. The menu is essential to the spirit of the brewery and it features a range of diverse offerings including Gorgonzola nachos, Sweet Thai chili wings, pimento cheese dip and fish tacos. Put it all together and you have the makings for one hell of a day, or night, at one of Colorado’s best breweries. 10BARREL.COM

THE PERFECT BEER FOR WHEN THINGS GET ROCKY. At Upslope, we put all our beer in cans. Because when your beer is in a can, there’s no limit to where you can take it. Brewed in Boulder, Colorado to be enjoyed as far and as wide as you’re willing to go.

A

UP S L O P E BR EWIN G C O

s one of the craft brewers leading the crowded field in the state of Colorado, Upslope Brewing Company has stuck to its one main goal since it’s founding 10 years ago: to create beverages that are best enjoyed by you and your friends outside in great settings. It could be a backyard barbecue or deep in the backcountry, all that matters is that you are enjoying one of their fine products in the location you love best.

That’s why Upslope packages its beer exclusively in cans—because when your beer is ready to travel, there’s no limit to where you can take it. It may be brewed in Boulder, Colorado, but this beer should be enjoyed as far and as wide as you’re willing to wander. To help you celebrate your adventures outdoors Upslope asks you to take part in the #CanCountry campaign that encourages you to share your experiences with them by tagging your adventure photos so everyone who enjoys Upslope can see them.

The innovation just continues here, too. Just in time for summer, the brewery is introducing a new Spiked Snowmelt Mix Box of craft hard seltzer. It contains three flavors—Tangerine & Hops, Juniper & Lime, and Pomegranate & Acai. If beer is more your style, grab a six pack of the limited-release Tea Shandy and Sparkling Rosé IPA before heading out. UPSLOPEBREWING.COM

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RO ADH O USE BR EWIN G C O

s one of the newer craft-brew arrivals to the Mile High State, Jackson Hole, Wyoming’s Roadhouse Brewing Company is making its presence known here with amazing beers that are the perfect complement to summer.

From Wilson, a full-flavored Mountain-Style IPA, to Family Vacation, a sublimely smooth Cream Ale, their core offerings (available across the Rront Range in package and on tap) offer something for everyone. When you toss in a lineup of rotating seasonal and specialty brews it’s safe to say that Roadhouse has your refreshment needs covered throughout the year.

From their home base in Jackson Hole, Roadhouse concocts their latest and greatest drinks in a 30-barrel production facility and develops experimental brews at Roadhouse Pub & Eatery, their restaurant and five-barrel brewhouse located on Jackson’s iconic town square. The beauty of the Tetons inspires the Roadhouse crew to live out their passions whether that’s brewing something funky, wetting a line in a mountain stream or tossing some burgers on the grill with friends. All that matters is that you #LiveDeep. Besides just brewing beer Roadhouse is also focused on helping do their part for the environment with numerous sustainability initiatives and a socially and environmentally responsible B Corp certification to boot. So grab a six-pack of their cans and share your adventures using #LiveDeep. ROADHOUSEBREWERY.COM

HIGH MOUNTAIN SPIRITS FOR ALL ADVENTURES

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INTRODUCING San Luis Valley Vodka From Colorado Grown Potatoes

SALIDA, CO | 719.207.4315

W O O DS H I G H M O U N TA IN D IS TILLERY

tashed in the heart of the Rockies, Woods High Mountain Distillery is consistently churning out some of the best spirits in the state, if not the country. From their facility located in downtown Salida, brothers PT and Lee Wood create magic using as many local ingredients as possible.

New for this summer grab a bottle of their Sawatch American Malt Whiskey to sip around the campfire. Aged for over four-years in charred American Oak barrels it is loaded with complex rich flavors that slowly release as you sip it. If you are looking for something a little lighter you should reach for their San Luis Valley Vodka. Made with Colorado potatoes it is a smooth vodka with just a hint of sweetness, perfect straight up or in a beverage.

Maybe the best place to enjoy these beauties, along with Wood's other offerings, is sitting at the bar, soaking up the high mountain air at their tasting room in Salida, Colorado, especially this summer since the rivers are going to be running fat with all the snowmelt. Their bartenders roll out a seasonal menu designed to ensure that you will appreciate the skills that went into crafting each bottle of spirits, while fitting in perfectly with the surroundings.

Our suggestion? We recommend trying any cocktail they are offering that uses the Mountain Hopped Gin, it’s packed with fresh, aromatic flavors that enhance any drink and tastes damn good. WOODSDISTILLERY.COM

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Photo credit: Brittaney Bartow

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E P I C BR EWIN G C O

ooking to treat your taste buds this summer? Well then we suggest that you start stocking your cooler with as many of beers from Epic Brewing as possible. From the smoothly sublime Escape to Colorado IPA to their beautiful SOB (Son of a Baptist) Coffee Stout their brews are some of the tastiest stocking shelves across the Front Range and Rockies. Even better is their wide array of sours and barrel aged beers that really highlight the expertise that causes their brewers to win numerous awards and accolades.

Maybe the best spot to really soak in all this greatness is at Epic Brewing’s RiNo Taproom at 3001 Walnut Street in Denver.

Located right near the A-Line it’s the perfect spot to stop into whenever you are heading into the city to catch a Rockies game ($1 off any draft with a ticket stub), or just to have a night out on the town with a date or good friends.

With 25 tap lines pouring all of Epic’s mainline brews (plus any experimental beers that they are debuting), the taproom is ideal spot to really dive into a wide range of different beer styles and flavors. The expansive tasting room also features rotating work from different local artists and even includes a changing graffiti wall that allows aspiring Banskys to practice their craft. Best of all? You can sip knowing you are helping the community since Epic Brewing continually hosts different non-profits offering them proceeds from different beers bought.

If you are heading into the hills for an adventure make sure that you stop in to load up on provisions. The taproom offers more than 30 beers for purchase so you can make sure your cooler is ideally loaded for fun. New this summer is the Pakka Hard Seltzers that you can pour into your growler for something different. They have three on tap at all times.

Concerts at Red Rocks get a whole lot better when you catch Bus to Show from their parking lot too. You can sip a few at the taproom, get a ride to and from the show, and then maybe grab a nightcap afterwards. Sounds like Epic Brewing is the perfect summer companion. EPICBREWING.COM

S N A C 16OZ ING COM IN SOON ST AUGU

Striving to make the best beer in the world can be a long and lonely trail to blaze. It is with passion that we chase something that can never be caught.

Chasing Ghosts, this double dry-hopped, double hazy, double New England-Style IPA is one of our favorites to drink along the way on this endless journey. Happy trails, amigos!

A 10% ABV DOUBLE DRY-HOPPED, DOUBLE NEW ENGLANDSTYLE IPA WITH JUICY HOP NOTES OF RIPE, TROPICAL FRUIT

CHASING GHOSTS IS AVAILABLE ON TAP NOW ALONG WITH 24 OTHER EPIC BEERS AT THE TAP ROOM AT 3001 WALNUT AVE. IN THE HEART OF DENVER'S RINO ARTS DISTRICT.

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BACKYARD ADVENTURES 2019 Summer is in full swing and it’s time to leave all the weariness of work life behind and seek out your authentic, adventerous self.

It’s road trip season! Not sure where to point the grill? We are here to help with a list of the best places to get outside and play.

BOULDER ADVENTURE LODGE Boulder, Colorado

Built specifically for the adventure traveler, the Boulder Adventure Lodge (A-Lodge) is the perfect spot to rest your head after exploring Boulder, Colorado’s backcountry. Located on the banks of the Fourmile Creek and tucked within the crags of Boulder Canyon, A-Lodge serves up all the serenity of the mountains, but it’s just a fiveminute drive from downtown and Pearl Street.

Boasting a newly renovated lodge and saloon, private rooms, kitchenettes, campsites, a hostel room and car camping, the A-Lodge makes it easy and affordable for adventurers to find digs in Boulder. And why not simply enjoy your time here, too?

Sip a craft beer with local bluegrass pickers in the beer garden or relax in the outdoor pool. Bonus: Guests (and anyone in the area) will want to make sure to check out the Under the Stars Film Series on August 15.

A-Lodge guests enjoy an action packed Under the Stars Film Series!

GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY The A-Lodge isn’t just awesome adventure lodging, they have plenty of programming to keep the outdoor minded traveler entertained. Guided group climbs leave every Monday, Wednesday and Friday directly from the property to climb in Boulder Canyon.

There are weekly group hikes leaving form the property and now Adidas has teamed up with the A-Lodge to offer yoga on Wednesdays and group runs on Thursdays. There is a bluegrass pick every Thursday evening and every second Saturday of the month there is a full band that plays in their beer garden.

Travelers and locals are always welcome up at the lodge to get a beer, play cornhole or just grab some coffee while cruising the Boulder Creek Path.

Now offering adventure campervan rentals as a new option for those true adventure minded guests.

A-LODGE.COM | 303-444-0882

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YMCA OF THE ROCKIES Estes Park Center

Long known for being one of the best spots for families to head for Colorado adventure, the YMCA of the Rockies will keep you busy.

Case in point- a brand-new 35-foot climbing wall located inside of the center gives visitors the opportunity to strap in and “harness” their inner alpinist. Built to resemble a real rock face, the wall features cracks and ledges resembling natural holds- but the luxury of the indoor wall means that guests get the opportunity to feel like they’re climbing outdoors even in the worst of weather conditions. With five top ropes, including two auto-belay systems, and plenty of holds, guests can choose from a variety of routes ranging in difficulty from beginner to advances, making the new climbing wall perfect for an afternoon of family fun. Guests must be five years old to use the climbing wall, but a smaller bouldering wall is available for younger climbers. Kids are sure to have fun reaching for colorful holds in the shapes of trucks and animals that mark their successful completion of the route. It’s the perfect way for kids and their parents to experience the joys of the Rocky Mountain together.

YMCA OF THE ROCKIES

Snow Mountain Ranch Looking for the perfect mix of nature and fun?

Climb, slide, hop and zip through the Spruce Saddle Adventure Zone, the exciting playground that’s new this summer up at Snow Mountain Ranch.

Offering unique adventure activities, the place will bring a smile to the face of children of all ages. This playground is jam-packed with opportunities for confidence building and fun, including a pendulum swing (similar to a seesaw, but in swing form), a small zip line, a twisted log ladder, a bouldering wall, climbing structures and so much more. The third phase of Snow Mountain Ranch’s Family Fun Park, it expands the options for families who decide to head into the mountains to escape the summer heat.

The playground is in line with the whole philosophy here: It’s another way to connect many generations through adventure—that is when they are not busy otherwise exploring the numerous trails and pathways that crisscross Snow Mountain Ranch and the public lands that surround it, of course.

Winter Park makes for one big backyard..

GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY Don’t fret if you are missing the white stuff that makes Snow Mountain Ranch such a wonderful place in the winter. Every Monday and Friday in the summer, head over to the dog park to meet an amazing pack of huskies as part of the Hanging with the Huskies program. Everyone gets to play with the pups and learn about the craft of dog sledding. This is also this is also one of the only spots in the US with a summer tubing hill— you can ride the winter snow tubes down a 300-foot hill covered with a synthetic snow surface and get the same rush. After you make it down, ride the magic carpet back to the top.

Play all you want on the bouldering wall and fun climbing structures in the Spruce Saddle Adventure Zone.

SNOWMOUNTAINRANCH.ORG | 888-613-9622

35-foot climbing wall give everyone the chance for a safe thrill.

GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY Book a lodge room or cabin to rest and relax after days spent exploring the magnificence of the Estes Park valley. The Boone Family Mountain Center, a 10,125-square-foot facility with views of Rocky Mountain National Park provides a basecamp for nature-based and high adventure activities. And the center offers extensive programs every single day. In addition to housing a hands-on education nature center, the Mountain Center serves as the staging and information area for the center’s extensive guided hiking and snowshoeing program, guided fly fishing, mountain biking, archery and also provides a stocked gear shop.

Cast a line at Dorsey Lake or sign up for a fly fishing experience in the National Park.

YMCAROCKIES.ORG | 888-613-9622

Fluid Transport 101 Just when you thought—or didn’t at all—there was nowhere left to go in hydration technology, HydraPak has been slowly, silently, crushing it and is coming into Spring 2019 with the most technically advanced products on the market. “Wait...HydraWho?” HydraPak. You might remember them from such hits as The Dakine Drafter Pack or The Salomon Adv Skin 5. They’ve been the trusted supplier of reservoirs and softflasks your favorite brands have been using for over a decade—Dakine, Salomon, Osprey, Nathan, The North Face, EVOC, Patagonia, and more—but you may not have noticed they’ve also been amassing their own product lineup.

Seeker 2 L

From their base camp boss Expedition™ 8L to their ultra-tough Seeker™ 2L and Seeker™ 4L transporters, HydraPak has revolutionized the old, dry thinking behind hauling water for outdoor activity.

Expedition 8 L

Seeker 4 L

B E S T G E A R | 07.1 9

Music JBL PULSE 3

THE ULTIMATE CAR CAMP

Featuring a rechargeable battery, this fully waterproof 360-degree speaker transforms any campsite into a mini Sonic Bloom festival with colorful LED lighting that keeps the beat. $150; jbl.com

DO IT BETTER WITH THESE UNDER-THE-STARS STANDOUTS.

by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

Tent ROOFNEST EAGLE Our Live Outside and Play road team has made this rooftop tent from Boulder-based Roofnest their home for their tour and they couldn’t be happier. It’s roomy enough for two people and a dog; it’s simple to deploy; and it makes pulling over and setting up anywhere a snap (versus rolling into noisy campgrounds where you need to make reservations weeks ahead of time to get a spot). $2,795; roofnest.com

Sleeping Bag BIG AGNES CABIN CREEK 15 Sleeping bags all too often inhibit snuggling with your sweetie. This double-wide, stuffed with lofty and 100% recycled insulation, ensures that the pair of you can spoon on chilly nights. $290; bigagnes.com

Whiskey TINCUP 10 Full-flavored and easy to sip, Colorado-born Tincup 10 spent a decade in oak barrels and provides the perfect nightcap to a day of adventure when you are kicking back with friends. $44; tincupwhiskey.com

Stove PRIMUS KINJIA Light and svelte but powerful and reliable, the 8-pound Kinjia double-burner transforms your camp spot into a kitchen. Best of all, the removable drip tray is easy to wipe clean. $290; primus.us

Lantern ROVR PHIL LEWIS SERIES CAMP LANTERN Boulder-based artist Phil Lewis, who grew his fame showing work at festivals across the country, collaborated with Rovr on this lantern that adds some panache to your camp while providing two light settings and the ability to recharge USB devices. $60; rovrproducts.com

Cooler OTTERBOX VENTURE 45 There’s a dizzying array of high-end coolers on the market right now, but the Venture 45, which proved a champ at keeping ice solid on a long weekend in the woods, got our attention because it’s designed to work in conjunction with accessories ranging from wheels to a cutting board. Plus, Fort Collins-based OtterBox builds this baby in Detroit. $300; otterbox.com

Hammock ENO DOUBLENEST WITH PRINTS Snazzed up with a series of prints that range from far-out tie-dye to pride rainbow, this two-person hammock gives you space to watch the clouds change shapes or read a book with a friend. $80; eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com

Chair YETI HONDO In full Yeti fashion, this stylishly sleek camp chair is a fine place to park your butt in front of a campfire.

It’s pricey but worth it—built tough enough to withstand all kinds of weather and banging around in the back of the car. $300; yeti.com J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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Summer is for CAMPING! And we’ve got all the gear you need.

CLIMB HIKE CAMP SKI

Your Locally tain Owned Moun Shop since 1973

Besides a huge seletion of the best brands of gear Neptune is now renting everything you need to go camping this summer.

Tents, sleep systems, stoves, you name it - and everything is available in multi-day kits.

Buy or rent - Neptune can get you camping this summer!

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E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

The best part? If you love it and want your own gear, you can apply some of your rental fee towards a purchase.

Located in Boulder in the Table Mesa Shopping Center 633 S. Broadway | 303.499.8866 | www.neptunemountaineering.com

Follow us & find ou about our t weekly ev ents

HE A R T HI S | 07.1 9

Real Country D I ER K S B EN T L E Y ’ S SE V EN P E A K S M US I C FE S T I VA L P RO M I SE S A B I G L I N EU P O F A M ER I C A N M US I C U N D ER T H E B I G G ER SU M M I T S O F CO LO R A D O’ S CO L L E G I AT E P E A K S .

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by CHRIS KASSAR

his Labor Day Weekend (Aug 30-Sept 1), the 2,700-person town of Buena Vista will come alive for the second annual Seven Peaks Music Festival, a three-day, two-stage country and bluegrass extravaganza produced by Live Nation that couples killer jams with camping under the stars (and a beach on festival grounds). Seven Peaks is no Coachella—it’s a fun, friendly atmosphere with zero pretense, all set against the dramatic backdrop of the seven fourteeners of the Collegiate Peaks that dominate the skyline. And where else can you can float across a pond on an inflatable unicorn while reveling in the sweet sounds of a handful of the nation’s best musicians?

The festival is the brainchild of multi-platinum singer-songwriter superstar Dierks Bentley, who chose the Arkansas Valley because of his love for Colorado, and a desire to make the

location itself worth the trip for fans.

“I am so happy and grateful we get to come back to Buena Vista for the second Seven Peaks Music Festival,” says Bentley. “Even with the huge success of the first year, no one is taking anything for granted. If anything, we are all working harder than ever to make sure this year meets and exceeds the expectations of our returning ‘Peakers’ and completely blows away our first-time festival goers.”

This year’s festival will showcase country, bluegrass, roots, and Americana music—there’s even a special round up of 90’s country music on the first night. The lineup, chosen directly by Bentley himself, will feature a star-studded list of notables, including Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Travis Tritt, Jon Pardi, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Steep Canyon Rangers and many more.

If it’s anything like last year, Bentley himself will have as much fun—if not more—as those of us lucky enough to attend. Keeping with the low-key vibe he’s made a point of preserving here, he’ll cruise through the crowd on a golf cart, take selfies with fans, let loose on the beach, and get his groove on while watching each and

every colleague jam out.

Hopefully, he’ll continue the tradition of hopping on stage several times for surprise jam sessions—a real highlight of last year’s show.

Bentley, who’s been in the biz for more than 15 years, is no stranger to success: He has six number one country albums to his name, and has headlined arenas and festivals around the world. Up until 2018, however, he still hadn’t achieved one big dream: curating a festival of his own.

“This is a dream come true for me.

It’s no secret that I love everything about Colorado…the fans, the venues we’ve played and of course, the landscape,” he says. “We are bringing it all together with this festival. It’s our own ‘field of dreams,’ where we are putting everything we have into it, with no details overlooked, in hopes it is the ultimate festival experience.”

On this note, Bentley urges everyone to take advantage of the outdoor opportunities available in the Arkansas Valley. The area’s world-class hiking, biking and rafting are essential to the Seven Peaks experience.

Last year, Bentley’s event captured the hearts of locals and visitors alike; fans traveled from 49 states and as far as Australia for the inaugural festival.

No one knows what will happen this year, but we’re pretty sure you should be there to see for yourself.

Information and passes available at: sevenpeaksfestival.com.

MOUNTAIN MAN VISION COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR DIERKS BENTLY IS WATCHING HIS DREAM OF AN AUTHENTIC MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL IN BUENA VISTA, COLORADO, CONTINUE TO GROW. / PHOTOS BY CHRIS KASSAR

INSIDER INFO OUR TIPS ON HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME AT THESEVEN PEAKS FESTIVAL Pack Your Speedo: A pond with a sandy beach set within the campground buzzes with a fun festy vibe that makes it party central all weekend long.

Explore Beyond the Festival: Don’t just stay on the festival grounds: Raft a stretch of the Arkansas River, pedal a trail, climb a fourteener, enjoy a cold one next to the water. Organizers have partnered with local outfitters to offer specific adventures—rafting, ATVing and kayaking—designed to immerse visitors in the outdoors without missing a minute of music. sevenpeaksfestival.com/adventure Whiskey Row: A makeshift version of Bentley’s gastropub chain, this smaller second stage fosters a rock-club vibe and provides a more intimate atmosphere for newer and local acts. Sit back and enjoy as you sip a drink. We recommend a cocktail made with spirits from Buena Vista’s own Deerhammer Distilling Company. deerhammer.com No Wait for Women: The festival has twice as many Porta-potties for women as for men! Why doesn’t everyone do this?

T HE R O A D | 07.1 9

Matriarchal Lines O N LY A T Y P E -A M I L L EN N I A L CO U L D P L A N A N A DV EN T U R E ROA D T R I P AC ROS S CO LO R A D O W I T H H ER M O M A N D I N FA N T DAU G H T ER —A N D M A K E I T A L L WO R K .

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by RYAN SCAVO t would be wishful thinking to say everything went according to plan. In fact, few things ever do. You see, nearly any time a new idea for some grand adventure takes seed inside my mind, I’ve learned to accept the inevitable fact that it’s almost certain to have some unexpected hiccups. I own this. It’s my character flaw. I’m a dreamer, a wanderer and a chaser of all things seemingly unattainable. Despite all this, I still called up my mother with a plan: a road trip idea that I knew she couldn’t refuse.

Late May marked my seventh month postpartum with my second child—a rather perfect time, in my opinion, to take a girls’ trip to explore a few new locations and some other tried and true sites around Colorado and the southwest. It would be springtime in the Rockies, the desert cactus flowers would be blooming, and snow would be far behind us.

First things first—I pulled out my phone and began our trip checklist, because, one, I’m a millennial and, two, I’m a total type-A list maker.

It was only January and I already had a long list of “to-dos” and “tosees,” including stops across the Rocky Mountains and points west into red rock desert. As the long winter slogged on, I started thinking about how we could make these plans reality.

Little did we know then that winter wasn’t ready to give up its hold on Colorado.

As spring arrived, we refined our list enough to reach itinerary status.

It included breweries, campsites, hikes and life-list destinations across Colorado, eastern Utah and northern New Mexico. Think classic Colorado stops like Hanging Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rio Grande, plus lesser-known but equally awe-inspiring sites

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SNUGGLE TIME RYAN AND HER DAUGHTER ABBEY GET COZY IN THE MIDST OF YET MORE INCLEMENT WEATHER WITH SEBASTIAN. / PHOTO COURTESY RYAN SCAVO

AUTHOR RYAN SCAVO AND HER DAUGHTER ABBEY like Bandelier National Monument, Canyon of the Ancients, and hidden trails and forgotten backroads of the San Juans. This road trip was going to be unlike anything we’d experienced.

With a route mapped out, I booked my mother Marla’s flight months in advance to ensure enough time to make all the magic happen, while also making sure to keep it somewhat flexible to accommodate her almost certain wild hair that would arise.

She planned to come out for 10 days across the Memorial Day weekend and we vowed to pack in as many miles, breweries, smiles and wild places as possible.

A couple weeks before our departure date, we had an adventure van picked out (thanks to Go RVing), the food and beverage provisions sorted, and the camping, hiking and other gear accounted for and staged.

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

RYAN, ABB BIG SMIL EY AND MARLA FLA ES ON THE S ROAD TRIPH SOME

Little did we know then that winter wasn’t ready to give up its hold on Colorado. Fortunately, we were not going to be discouraged that easily.

After looking at the weather report and gut-checking ourselves, we changed course. Marla hopped an early flight, only to be weatherdelayed (and actually arrive after her original flight got in) and we had to face reality. Snow was falling and winter was making itself cozy... again. Our original route west from Denver was temporarily closed due to a multi-car pileup. Rock slides were wreaking havoc on I-70 and critical roadways between Durango and Ouray, and another system carrying yet another foot or more of snow was forecasted for the following week.

My mother is East Coast born and bred, and while she has certainly held her own for the past 60+ years in

FAMILY BONDING EAST-COASTER MARLA WAS MORE THAN WILLING TO EXPERIENCE COLORADO LIFE WITH HER GIRLS. / PHOTOS COURTESY RYAN SCAVO

just about any situation (military wife, mother of three rambunctious kids, world traveler, etc.), one thing she is not willing to do is sleep outside in below-freezing temperatures in blowing snow. I don’t necessarily blame her. She would proudly tell you she’s a fair-weather camper, and with my 7-month-old daughter along for the ride, I suppose I was okay with it this assesment.

As I gassed up just outside the Denver city limits en route to pick up Marla, visions of camping along the Yampa at Dinosaur National Park, eating BBQ at our favorite joint in Steamboat Springs (Double Z), and soaking up the hot desert sun with a cold beer in my hand were quickly fading thanks to the snowflakes gathering around me. I pulled my puffy down jacket over my head before stepping out of my trusty

Subaru and braved spring in the Rockies. This trip would be different alright: Winter in May became our reality for the next 10 days.

When Marla finally joined me and Abbey, it didn’t take long to determine our first stop. Routing west through Golden, we shared a few hugs and high fives with our buddies at Mountainsmith, grabbed some beers and barbecue in town and headed up to some high-country hot springs above the San Luis Valley.

T

he hot springs did the trick. If there’s one way I’d suggest starting off a haphazard, piecemealed, whirlwind road trip after all your original plans crumbled away with the rockslides and avalanches along your intended route, it is to soak. More specifically:pack the cooler, grab a blanket and soak at Valley View Hot Springs. Watching the storms build to the west as we sat together under cloud streaked skies in a mineral-rich geothermal pool was the perfect way to embrace the weather we were no longer able to run from.

Over the next three days, the winds calmed, the skies cleared and we found opportunity to continue embracing the water—this time, the Rio Grande and Arkansas River. While Marla floated for the first time in her life, Abbey and I enjoyed some fly fishing. I’ve been hooked on chasing Rio Grande trout for years, but

Alice isn’t just anyone. She’s a 32-foot 1987 Airstream Excella perfectly placed on a small plot of land on the outskirts of Durango, where the sunsets are as delicious as your iced beverage. watching Abbey’s eyes grow wide as I waded into the Rio Grand with her in a front pack and hearing her squeals of excitement when a fish was on— those moments are hard to beat.

Also over the holiday weekend, our trio explored Buena Vista. Years ago, Colorado’s festival scene became an unexpected favorite, since so many of them are dog and family-friendly, including BV’s Paddlefest. We connected with new friends, enjoyed some cold beers, and danced the day away.

Mid-way through our journey, things started getting blurry. (I’m not sure if it was lack of sleep due to a certain baby girl or the whirlwind of 1,100 miles in five days, but I was ready to lay low for a night.) If I’d have calculated the original route correctly, we should have been somewhere wild in the northwest corner of the state, lazily lounging river-side or hiking. Instead, we were still in the San Luis Valley and I was calling my friend Kate to see if Alice was available for us.

Alice isn’t just anyone. She’s a 1987 32-foot Airstream Excella perfectly placed on a small plot of

land on the outskirts of Durango, where the sunsets are as delicious as your iced beverage. Our friends manage this AirBnB and luck was finally on our side. Their original guests had to bail early. We were in.

O

ur last night on the road we sipping drinks, shared stories, and indulged in the space we were so lucky to call “camp” for the night. It was no tent in the desert, but it sure did hit the spot for all of us. And wouldn’t you know it, by morning, we woke up to a few more inches of snow before blue skies and sunshine settled in for our time at Four Corners National Monument and while eating lunch at Animas Brewing Company.

Road trips can be a heck of a thing. The routes you travel can lure once-lost memories out of the depths of your mind. The smell and the views surrounding you can make curiosity pull you deeper and further into the adventure that awaits. Of course,

ALICE IN WONDERLAND CRUISING ALONG IN ALICE, A 32-FOOT, AIRSTREAM EXCELLA, RYAN, SEBASTIAN, MARLA (AND ABBEY), FINALLY HEADED OVER WOLF CREEK PASS AND FOUND GOOD TIMES AND PLENTY OF SUNSHINE IN FOUR CORNERS NATIONAL MONUMENT. / PHOTOS COURTESY RYAN SCAVO

while they may foster excitement and produce awe-inspiring moments and opportunities for self-reflection, they may also bring the mindboggling, potentially stress-inducing uncertainty when things don’t go quite as planned. No matter the weather or series of unexpected events, we took this one as it came and embraced the cards we were dealt, for better or for worse.

In the end, as we drank our beers along the Continental Divide (our final stop on this leg of the journey), we held no grudges nor scowled at the once again falling snow. Instead, we toasted to the unexpected and celebrated that we were lucky enough to experience it—three generations, rolling full-throttle into whatever came next.

J U LY 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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E LWAY V IL L E | 07.1 9

Love is Now

on coffee, pizza, beer, burgers, bike repairs, flaming whiskey shots or cowboy poetry readings— and they will absolutely hook you up, and almost always suggest some place you would not have found if you hadn’t asked.

TA K E A ROA D T R I P TO A B E T T ER YO U.

by PETER KRAY

I

woke up last night with a phrase in my head. It was, “Love is now. And also what is next.”

I thought it was something I had seen on a t-shirt. But I didn’t find anything when I Googled it.

Which made it even stranger to me, because as far as I could tell, I had been dreaming about pine needles softened and scented by rain. And being in a car with friends, driving into an empty ski area parking lot.

Of course I had been thinking about Sam Coffey, the beloved Aspen skier who died on a surfing trip in Mexico in May at the age of 29 after a sudden series of strokes.

I spent the past two seasons on a pair of skis Sam sent me, the Salomon “Brototype,” a small run version of the QST99 that the brand made for friends.

The more I think about how happy I am on those skis, the more I imagine Sam had to do with why I felt that way.

As for the phrase in my dream, if you read any of the remembrances of Sam—Backcountry, Freeskier, Powder, SKI, SkiRacing.com, and The Aspen Times all published heartfelt odes to the man—you will see his amazing skiing ability is always mentioned second, right after what a great person he was.

Sam shone an almost beatific light of respect and genuine friendship on everyone he met.

Maybe that’s the “Love,” I was dreaming about.

W H AT YOU TE LL YOU R H E A RT

It’s crazy to think about how easy shining that light should be—beginning from a point of kindness and genuine interest in the welfare of everyone you meet. What’s even crazier is how hard we seem to make it. I’m always surprised how I can cloud my mind with BS, even

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3. DO A LITTLE RESEARCH It’s amazing how many mountain towns have little museums, some as big as a mining shack, that provide rich detail about the industry and people who first built the place. Stopping in for a few minutes can give you a deeper appreciation of what it took to be there, especially before cell phones, cars, Gore-Tex Active and the Internet. It can also help illuminate the personal timeline of your own place in the mountain life.

4. LEAVE A NICE TIP If you live in a mountain town, you know nothing comes cheap—which is why leaving a decent gratuity for good service can go a long way towards helping a local stay local, and supporting the vibe of a cool spot.

Besides, you didn’t hit the road to save money, right?

LOV E IS N E X T

when I’m with people I love, doing the things that matter to me the most.

But I’m not going to focus on the numerous ways me, and we, block our own happiness.

Especially not via the four-letter word that is, “H-A-T-E.” That’s not what Elevation Outdoors is about. And there are plenty of places where you can get your fill of that.

Instead, as a former motivational speaker, ultra-athlete couples’ counselor, mountain minister of craft-brews and brother of the often high order of offseason ski bums, what I want to do is show you how you can love yourself.

Just kidding. I’m just going to suggest how to make room for the low hanging happiness in your life by getting

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / J U LY 2 01 9

Which brings me back to that phrase I dreamt. To me, Illustration by KEVIN HOWDESHELL / THEBRAVEUNION.COM it means loving the now, the place you are in, and the people and creatures who are with you in it. To steal a line from rid of the low hanging shit. Especially as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it’s as you travel this summer, and inevitably simple as walking into a situation—any make new friends on a Colorado road trip. situation—and saying, “Isn’t this great?!”

Being happy now, and in love with 1. BE MORE INTERESTED, THAN everything from the weather to the INTERESTING view to the fact that you are alive and When you meet new people, listen first. breathing sweet mountain air, makes “People don’t care what you know until each moment more perfect. It lets you they know that you care,” is a wonderful sigh, and smile, and realize just how phrase I’ve heard outdoor instructors good you’ve got it. use, underlining the fact that in any And by being able to find the beauty learning situation—like a road trip— in every moment (even an I-70 traffic people are more likely to work toward jam, for instance, because the folks in a common goal (such as identifying the L.A. don’t have views like that), it will best local brewpub, or camping spot) be that much easier to recognize the if they understand how thoroughly beauty in what you discover next. invested you are in hearing what they —ELEVATION OUTDOORS EDITOR-AT-LARGE think. Then you can brag about yourself.

2. GO LOCAL Celebrating what the locals create, and not just what they sell, is another way to get to know a place quickly. Ask the people who live there (wherever you are) where they spend their money—

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? BUY IT HERE AND READ IT NOW: AMZN.TO/2LMZPVN

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