Elevation Outdoors November-December 2019

FAREWELL SNOW | ODE TO THE POWDERGASM | RIDING ON INSULIN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019

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E L E V AT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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Morgan Tilton learns how to scale vertical ice in Ouray and the surrounding backcountry with Peak Mountain Guides.

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NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2019 PHOTO BY XANDER BIANCHI

DEPARTMENTS 7 EDITOR'S LETTER The Nordic countries can teach us about public lands.

9 QUICK HITS Dean Fidelman’s Stone Nudes Kickstarter, learning to ice climb in Ouray, Riding on Insulin, Crested Butte’s big change, an emergency jumpstarter and more...

14 FLASHPOINT A new report states that skiing and snowboarding will become “unviable” in most places in North America, but POW is ready to take action to reverse that diagnosis.

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17 HOT SPOT Telluride has something for everyone—from a beginner’s-only area for the nubes to the untouched powder on Palmyra Peak’s hike-to terrain for thrill seekers.

18 NUMEROLOGY Sad stats about the Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge.

19 STRAIGHT TALK Wyoming native Kelly Halpin is putting down brave new routes and setting FKTs. Here’s how she finds the motivation.

35 HEAR THIS Tune in to Elevation Outdoor’s picks for the best albums of 2019.

36 THE ROAD Paddy O’Connell does not want his mom to read this, his sordid ode to the powdergasm, but he wants to share it with you.

38 ELWAYVILLE Peter Kray reflects on how we can do our best to live—and ski—in the here and now.

school to construct skis with non-Newtonian polymers. Now the NBA may be calling.

30 THE 2019 WINTER PEAK GEAR AWARDS To determine the winners, we asked our contributors: What gear can’t you live without? What gear changed your life?

32 THE GIFT GUIDE From Steal Your Face skis to Hawaiian honey, these gifts are sure to please outdoor lovers.

ON THE COVER Boulder-based designer Alyssa Gonzalez cozies up in Dynafit’s Radical Down jacket, featured in the gift guide on page 32.

by Andrew Bydlon / andrewbydlon.com

FEATURES 23 WAGNER CUSTOM SKIS This is how Pete Wagner built the anti ski-factory.

27 RENOUN SKIS Cyrus Schenck dropped out of engineering

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C O N T R IB U T O R S | 1 1 .1 9 WHAT'S YOUR CURE FOR TOO MUCH CONSUMERISM DURING THE HOLIDAYS? E DI TOR-I N -CHI E F

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

doug@elevationoutdoors.com PRE SI DE N T

BLAKE DEMASO

blake@elevationoutdoors.com PUBLI SHE R

CONOR SEDMAK

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

LAUREN WORTH

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

CAMERON MARTINDELL

cameron@elevationoutdoors.com COPY ASSASSI N

TRACY ROSS

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

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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

craig@elevationoutdoors.com DI G I TAL MAN AG E R

DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

We have been making plum jam—with flavors like star anise, lavender and cardamom— from the bumper crop this fall on our backyard tree.

conor sedmak

Streamline your consumption plan to coffee, water, pow and love.

CAMERON MARTINDELL

Playing outside with the kiddos. Sure, they’ll get a little something to unwrap from under the tree, but mostly they get to ski, giggle, make snow angels—and ski some more.

TRACY ROSS

Ski so much that I'm too tired to shop. And bake goodies to give people instead of gifts.

Morgan Tilton

I leave my phone on airplane mode while exploring a new place for multiple days— connected only to the fresh air, star-filled skies, indigenous histories, a book, a journal and the people I love.

Paul TolmÉ

We don't buy squat— except for the nieces and nephew. Well, and booze. We get outside.

Last Christmas morning, we kayaked on Lake Union in Seattle and we had the lake to ourselves in the midst of the bustling city.

Cameron m. Burns

Listening to the YouTube clip of “Damn it Feels Good to Be A Gangsta” set to scenes from “Office Space” while eating Funyuns with mayo.

Lily Krass

Everyone in my family gets homemade pickles.

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FAR NORTHERN EXPOSURE W H AT C A N W E L E A R N FRO M T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I E S A B O U T H OW W E C A N B E T T ER CO N N E C T TO O U R P U B L I C L A N DS ?

by DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

K

eijo Kurtilla is up every morning to milk the cows before he heads over to his hotel, the Roukanhovi, in Finland’s Rokua National Park. He took over the farm from his parents but just recently began operating the hotel, which is surrounded by a network of rolling hiking, biking and ski trails that interconnect in the forest of evergreen and birch. Kurtilla grew up Nordic skiing on these trails, training for the Finnish Olympic team. He competed at the Games in Salt Lake City and Torino as well as taking four podiums at the World Cup. But these days he’s most content to spend time with his family and oversee his reindeer and cows. He takes us for a tour on the Oulujoki, the river that abuts his farm, in a boat he finally had the time to get working this year. He tells stories about growing up here and shows us the little cabin he built when he was 10.

Later, we relax in one of Roukanhovi’s saunas. You cannot come to Finland without taking a sauna, which is a social ritual, an aspect of Nordic culture that I learn connects the journey of life (women used to give birth in the sauna, children would come of age discussing big community ideas in the heat, and a corpse would be washed and stored here). At Rokua, we laugh, share stories of biking and skiing, brave a discussion of the

CALLING TO THE HILLS AN ALPHORN BRINGS THE SOUND OF JOY TO FINLAND’S ROKUA NATIONAL PARK. PHOTO COURTESY DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

American political situation, and break up time in the steam with leaps into a cold lake. During our sauna conversations, and while touring his farm, I am struck by how personally connected Kurtilla is to this landscape.

I’m here to look at how outdoor tourism works across Lapland and the Nordic countries, hoping I can bring some insight back that can help us better manage our public lands. From many travels here over the past decade, I have seen how the Scandinavians have cultivated a deep-rooted respect for their natural landscapes that puts us to shame.

American public lands are truly under attack. OHVs are about to run rampant in Utah's national parks without a lick of public comment. The rare landscape of Grand Staircase Escalante National monument is set to be forever churned up by mining in areas that had been given supposedly permanent protection.

Alaska’s untrammeled Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is slated to be callously drilled for the first time for no real benefit when it comes to oil reserves. Every bad idea that almost of a century of smart protection has toiled to build is being dismantled without democratic process for no better reason than spite.

I can only hope we reverse our course before we lose what gives us our unique character. I hope we can learn from the kind of example I saw in Rokua, where a UN Geopark exists alongside a farm like Kurtilla’s. Maybe we should spend more time discussing these issues in a sauna.

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Q U I C K HI T S | 1 1 .1 9

Stone Nudes

PRIMAL LINE

T H E L AT E S T B O O K O F S TO N E M A S T ER D E A N FI D EL M A N ’ S B L AC K-A N D -W H I T E S T U D I E S O F B O DY A N D RO C K W I L L G O L I V E O N K I C K S TA RT ER T H I S M O N T H .

AN ORIGINAL MEMBER OF THE LEGENDARY STONE MASTERS, the ragtag crew that put Yosemite Valley climbing (and style) on the map back in the 1970s, photographer Dean Fidelman, 63, lives to take photos. “That is all,” he says contentedly from his Stone Master friend John Long’s living room, where he often couch surfs. Fidelman’s work illustrates his intimate connections with his subjects, whether they’re the finest climbers in the world or nudes set in a black-and-white landscape. Fidelman is the author of five photo books, including Stone Masters (2009), Stone Nudes: Art in Motion (2010), Valley Climbers (2011) and Yosemite in the Fifties: The Iron Age (2015). The latest, Stone Nudes: Climbing Bare, revisits his beautiful black-and-white work of naked climbers on the rock. It’s due out in February through Rizzoli Books. Long, the recipient of the prestigious Literary Award from the American Alpine Club, wrote the forward. A Kickstarter for the book is going live this month and will reward funders with a special signed edition of Climbing Bare as well as signed prints. —Chris Van Leuven

BEYOND YOSEMITE, THE STONE MASTERS PUSHED THIER LIMITS IN JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK IN THE 1970S. HERE, A CLIMBER FINDS A RESPITE FROM THE DESERT SUN ON THE COOL CAVEMAN BOULDER. PHOTO BY DEAN FIDELMAN

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Q U I C K HI T S | 1 1 .1 9

THE OURAY WAY G E T S C H O O L ED O N I C E FRO M T H E PA R K TO T H E W I L DS O F T H E S A N J UA N B AC KCO U N T RY. DRESSED IN SNOW THE AND RED

sandstone and shale cliff band curls around us like the boatman of an hourglass. I slide the rope through the belay device with my eyes on Lance Sullins, an American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Certified Rock Guide and Apprentice Alpine Guide, who leads our backcountry multi-pitch ice climb on the periphery of Ouray, Colorado.

Shwing, thump, thump: Sullins strikes the frozen waterfall with his ice tool, followed by two crampon toe kicks. Fragile chandeliers of ice decorate the uneven face. Sullins stops to place an ice screw and a puff of snow cascades like smoke down the ice. The morning is so still at -6 degrees Fahrenheit, that I hear the minuscule granules settle below the frozen skeleton. Moments later, Lance calls, “Off belay, Morgan!” I unclip my belay device, yell back, grab my ice tools, and posthole to the base of the vertical ice.

This is my fourth full-day climbing.

Despite growing up in the San Juan Mountains, I’d never experienced the Ouray Ice Park, one of the largest human-made climbing venues in the world. But after ascending a practice wall in Banff National Park, in 2018, I became excited about ice climbing as an avenue to discover new corners of my backyard. Enter: Peak Mountain Guides (peakguides.com), owned by Sullins, which offers an introductory program for backcountry ice.

According to Rock and Ice magazine readership surveys, ice climbing participation grew by 25 to 30 percent between 2018 and 2019.

Nevertheless, the sport has barriers: Educators like Sullins can mentor newcomers like me, while managing the risks including avalanche danger, pricey gear, and route-finding—all of which can be tricky for the untrained.

Since 2007, the percentage of icetraditional-and-mountaineer climbers among the U.S. population has remained at 0.8 percent, now 2.5 million climbers, according to the 2018 Outdoor Industry Association’s Outdoor Participation Report.

My exploration of the sport kickedoff in Ouray’s Ice Park, followed by three days in the backcountry. Day one, Sullins taught me the isosceles triangle form—wide stance, forward hips—and to trust my feet, via a single ice-tool drill. After six lines, he encouraged me to drop into Pic o the Vic: a 150-foot steep, sustained WI4 that starts with a committing solo rappel.

Halfway up and gripped, I fall beneath an ice-stalactite. Though shaken, I am fine. I pluck my way back on course, and continue. I realize ice climbing hinges on consistent, methodical movement and positive more than physical strength. In a way, it’s more accessible than forms of climbing that depend on technique.

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KICKING AND PICKING MORGAN TILTON HONES HER SKILLS AT THE OURAY ICE PARK. DON'T MISS THE BIG EVENT HERE ON JANUARY 23-26, 2020, WHEN CLIMBERS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE WILL CONVENE ON THESE FROZEN WALLS. PHOTO BY XANDER BIANCHI

Finally, on our lastclimb in the ethereal amphitheater, I scale the column, unstrained and with a quiet mind. Close to 90 feet up, the ice bulges and thins. I observe the flowing water beneath. You only need a fingerbreadth to hold you, I remind myself. I decide to trust that inch.

Seconds after, I top out and exclaim, “This climb is incredible!

What’s it called?” Sullins responds, “I’ll tell you if you keep it a secret. The local community ethic is for this sacred place to be unwritten and untold.” I agree. The most magical places are best revered in person.

—Morgan Tilton

CRESTED BUTTE’S BIG CHANGE R E S I D EN T S O F CO LO R A D O’ S L A S T G R E AT SK I TOW N A R E B OT H O P T I M I S T I C A N D U N C ERTA I N A B O U T VA I L R E S O RT S’ P U RC H A SE O F T H EI R LO C A L H I L L .

IN THE 58 YEARS SINCE CRESTED BUTTE

Mountain Resort (CBMR) was founded, the local lifts of “Colorado's Last Great Ski Town” have transferred hands only a handful of times. Former owner Howard Callaway steered CBMR for more than three decades—during which, an '80s advertising campaign promised “We’re not Vail.”

Last year, when Vail Resorts (VR), one of the world’s largest ski resort operators, took ownership of the family-

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run ski mountain, more than a few heads turned. The Muellers sold CBMR for $74 million alongside the family’s other properties—Okemo Mountain Resort and Mount Sunapee—plus $155 million to settle the leases.

A year into the transition, many locals are optimistic about the new holding. “CBMR needed money for infrastructure… [VR] has funding for the quality of product and upkeep that everyone is hopeful to see,” says Frank Konsella, a 25-year local and realtor.

In June 2019, the U.S. Forest Service green-lit the 500-acre Teocalli Drainage Expansion Project, which includes nine intermediate-advanced trails, three chairlifts, and a ski patrol outpost.

Additionally, Teocalli Lift, a 1979 doubleseater, will be replaced with a quad before the 2019-20 season, according to VR. Several CBMR employees, like Angie Mauldin, a 20-year alpine and telemark instructor, are happy with VR benefits, which include a 401(k) Retirement Plan; medical, dental and vision insurance; PTO; and free counseling.

“Crested Butte is in a huge investment phase. Certain business owners are excited and others see the change as negative,” says Sam O'Neil, a restaurant manager and CBMR lift operator. “Immediately, VR upped minimum wage to $12.25 per hour, above Colorado’s $11.10. They offer support like educational grants for employees and their children,” he says.

Aware of the housing demand, VR entered a 25% partnership in the proposed Brush Creek housing development, of which more than half of 156 units are deed-restricted workforce housing. Still, O’Neil worries that the strain of affordable housing for full-time locals, including his restaurant colleagues, is exacerbated by a higher socioeconomic class of renters and buyers who are being introduced to the Valley via VR’s Epic Pass. Others anxiously echo that concern and speculate that VR-driven visitors will fuel the already-powerful Airbnb market, which competes with long-term rentals.

Adjacent to CBMR, The Grand Lodge’s condominiums and hotel rooms experienced market surge post VR acquisition. “Before VR’s announcement in June, the average price of a condo was $94K. Twelve months later, it was $141K. There was an increase in demand. Individual condo owners saw value in raising the price, until all of the condos hit the higher prices we see today,” explains Konsella.

Generally, it’s difficult to attribute Crested Butte’s tourism or property cost heights to VR, given those trends were in upswing prior to CBMR’s sale. “[Real estate] prices were increasing before Vail announced it would buy CBMR, then the real estate growth continued through the sale closure, last fall,” says Konsella, noting that the former Rocky Mountain Super Pass attracted new home buyers and

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EPIC VIEW

November 22 December 6, 26, 29 January 3, 24 February 21, 28 March 6, 13, 27

WHAT WILL CHANGE NOW THAT CRESTED BUTTE IS A VAIL RESORT?

She Jumps (All Female) January 18

PHOTO BY ERIC PHILLIPS

Maroon Hut that the Epic Pass might, too.

Regardless, the Valley’s real estate is in a discovery stage, he says.

Denverite and two-decade VR passholder Matt Cullen has day-tripped along I-70 up to 45 days per winter since 1999. After VR bought CBMR, Cullen purchased a lot in CB South, a housing development eight miles southeast of Crested Butte. His family has a 10-year plan to transition from the city to the mountains.

As the Valley evolves, locals hope Crested Butte’s character prevails. And many choose to focus on the positive perspective of change, too. As Adge Lindsey, co-founder of the Crested Butte Dance Collective, says, “Let’s try to believe VR sees and loves our funk.”

—M.T.

LOCAL HERO: SEAN BUSBY T H E P RO SN OW B OA R D ER A N D F O U N D ER O F R I D I N G O N I N SU L I N C A M P S EM P OW ER S K I DS W I T H D I A B E T E S .

SEAN BUSBY WAS A PROFESSIONAL

snowboarder in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, when he was diagnosed with diabetes at 19 in 2004 year. As a result, Busby had to learn to manage his diabetes on and off the mountain. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which people must test their blood sugar and inject insulin multiple times a day to survive (Busby now wears an insulin pump, which makes shots unnecessary).

Today, Busby runs the nonprofit Riding On Insulin, which offers snowboarding and skiing camps for kids with diabetees. He founded the camps a decade ago and this season, he and his

December 13 January 10, 31 March 20

Monarch Pass January 3, 31 February 14

Lake City (Snowmobile) January 17 BEATING DIABETES SEAN BUSBY HAS BUILT A CONFIDENT COMMUNITY THROUGH SNOWBOARDING. PHOTO COURTESY SEAN BUSBY

Taylor Park (Snowmobile) January 24

Irwin Cat Ski Operation April 17

team will be at Winter Park, in Colorado, Whitefish Mountain, in Montana, and Diamond Peak, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, as well as other resorts in the United States and New Zealand.

“It’s a good way for kids to come and learn a sport for the first time,” says Busby, pointing out that many camps for diabetics run in summer months. “We can keep them active and keep them learning about the disease, especially in a winter environment.”

Kids get first-hand experience balancing the impact of variables like exercise, altitude, humidity and climate on their bodies. Siblings are invited to ski and snowboard, and parents can take classes on diabetes and connect with other parents during camp time.

Busby emphasizes that it takes a community to successfully manage a disorder like diabetes. Camp counselors (many of whom have diabetes themselves) and trained medical volunteers like EMTs and nurses help keep the environment safe. The organization also hosts mountain biking and surfing camps.

“We want kids to come to camp where they can feel connected to other kids, make new friends, share those experiences and feel empowered to take care of their disease,” he says.

—Kate Ruder

Bentgate Mountaineering + Crested Butte December 17 January 14

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PHOTO COURTESY DEVIL’S THUMB

PHOTO COURTESY PURGATORY

EAT, SLEEP, PLAY: DURANGO, COLORADO SEEK POW DER IN THE SOUTHW E S T THIS W INTER. EAT A lot of breweries take the easy way out with bulk food-service deliveries, but Steamworks Brewing Company (steamworksbrewing.com) on Second Avenue does food just as well as they do beer. They source as much as they can locally like the daily fresh ground Black Angus beef for their burgers, seasonal salads, and homemade beer bread. This is also an extremely family friendly restaurant—it’s already loud so loud children fit right in, and the concrete floor is impervious to all sorts of messes. For the totally opposite ambiance, Cyprus Cafe (cypruscafe. com) is set in a beautiful Victorian House that was renovated in 2014. The award-winning Mediterranean-focused lunch and dinner servings are sourced locally including the produce grown in their own garden.

SLEEP Shack up at the downtown Rochester Hotel and Leland House B&B (rochesterhotel.com). Built separately some 40 years apart around the turn of the 20th Century, the older (built in 1892) Leland House features historically themed rooms and the younger (1927) Rochester Hotel has rooms with themes inspired by classic Western movies. Enjoy a gourmet breakfast included with your stay. And even though it’s right downtown, the Rochester’s Secret Garden provides a little touch of nature.

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CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE? PURGATORY MOUNTAIN RESORT SPINS (LEFT), DEVILS THUMB RANCH SLIDES (MIDDLE), AND TRAIL FORK SMILES (RIGHT).

PLAY The San Juan Mountains, including Purgatory Resort (purgatoryresort. com), always manages to get far more than its fair share of snow with a 10-year average annual snowfall of 260 inches—and most of that is dry fluffy powder. The ski area maintains 13 lifts to access 101 trails covering 1,605 skiable acres. Purgatory is an easy 35 minute drive up the wide and cruisey road (no switchbacks!) from downtown Durango. Drive it yourself or take the $10 skier shuttle service (on the weekends and select holidays) that picks up at the Durango Trainsit Center at 8:30 a.m.. Ski and gear hauling carts are available at the skier drop-off, and accompanying the resort’s excellent beginner terrain, Purgatory offers free tickets and season passes to all kids 10 and under. If you want a cardio rush, head just one third of a mile north and across the highway from the resort to the Durango Nordic Center (durangonordic.org/ nordic-center), where trails for all ability levels wind trhough the woods.

—Cameron Martindell

THUMBS UP

DE V IL’S THUMB R A NCH W ILL S ATE YOUR NORDIC CR AV ING. FROM HUMBLE, HOMESTEAD BEGINNINGS,

Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa has grown into a ski destination capturing national attention. Currently ranked as the top cross-country ski resort in North America by readers of USA Today, with additional honors in Condé Nast Traveler and the Wall Street Journal, this local Colorado resort is

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preparing for the winter season by doing what it has always done best: grooming trails.

“With over 120 kilometers of trails, you can experience all levels of terrain,” said Dan Abrashoff, general manager of the resort. Located in the town of Tabernash, this working ranch covers 6,000 acres of privately owned wilderness and has a focus on sustainability with a Western heritage feel. Luxury accomodations and a full nature-based spa are drawing more out-of-town guests each year, but the number of amenities for Front Range skiers has also grown.

A full shop for rentals and repairs provides lessons for all levels and styles of cross-country skiers and snowshoers, and a day-use cabin, restaurant, and coffee shop allow locals to make a day of it. A big draw has also been over 15 kilometers of skijoring trails where you can ski with your dogs.

Skijoring gear is available for rent and monthly lessons are available for you and your pup.

As the number of activities and amenities continue to grow, Abrashoff speculates that it’s the land itself that keeps people coming back every season. “The backdrop is the Continental Divide, and the views are just spectacular.”

—Heather Ridge

THRU-HIKER DELIVERY TR A ILFORK L AUNCHE S A LONG -DIS TA NCE TR A IL SUPPORT PROGR A M.

NOURISH YOUR ADVENTURES, ESPECIALLY

the big ones: TrailFork, founded by Lillian Hoodes, is a Boulder-based food company that creates on-the-go

PHOTO COURTESY TRAIL FORK

customized, healthy, sustainablypackaged meals for travelers and outdoor adventurers. New on the 2020 menu: custom meal kits for longdistance trekkers, resupply deliveries included.

“The program’s benefit is reliable logistical support,” said Hoodes, who launched the pilot program in Spring of 2019: a source-to-sea journey from Rocky Mountain National Park to Baja, Mexico, for European athlete Ana Zirner. “As mission control, we had Zirner’s gear at TrailFork Headquarters. She could email us and ask for a new stove in her next meal package.” Some folks will also enjoy the ease of a company handling their meal plan, in addition to having personalized, healthy nutrition.

Hoodes actualized the thru-hiker delivery after receiving outreach from venturers prepping for the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)—which spans 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada—and the Appalachian Trail (AT), a 2,192mile route from Maine to Georgia. The demand should come as no surprise, as backpacking and camping are among the most popular outdoor activities nationwide, according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2018 Outdoor Participation Report.

TrailFork will phase-in the service with a limited, discounted beta pool next summer, followed by a full-blown docket in 2021. “The program will be tailored to national interest, but we need to test the time demands,” said Hoodes. Backpacking the PCT, AT, or Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) in 2020? mytrailfork.com —M.T.

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F L A S HP O IN T | 1 1 .1 9

Farewell, Cryosphere THE L ATEST MA JOR CLIMATE REPORT CL AIMS THAT THE FUTURE OF SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING IS “UNVIABLE.” WILL THIS FINALLY INSPIRE THE INDUSTRY TO GET POLITICAL AND DEMAND ACTION?

by PAUL TOLMÉ

T

he word cryosphere, from the Greek word krýos, refers to the Earth’s frozen zones. Used by scientists since the early 20th Century, this previously little-used term is now entering the mainstream lexicon. Why? Climate change.

The cryosphere, from polar ice to mountain glaciers and snowfields, is literally weeping.

For skiers, the latest sobering news came with the release in late September of a major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.” While media coverage of the report largely focused on the decline of ocean ecosystems, rising sea levels and unprecedented melting in the Arctic, a small subsection detailed the threats to mountain tourism, including skiing and snowboarding.

“At the end of the century,” if humans continue to emit greenhouse gases unabated, “snow reliability is projected to be unviable for most ski resorts under current operating practices in North America, the

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European Alps and Pyrenees, Scandinavia and Japan, with some exceptions at high elevation or high latitudes.”

“Unviable” is the descriptor that should concern skiers and snowboarders who care about the future of their sport—and of mountain ecosystems in general. The report’s findings mean that skiers “may not be able to teach their grandchildren how to ski at their favorite resorts where they learned how to ski,” says economist Marca Hagenstad, a contributing author to the skiing section of the IPCC special report.

The IPCC’s findings once again highlight the profound importance of implementing the goals of the Paris climate accords, according to Hagenstad, lead author of the 2018 report “The Economics of Snow in a Changing Climate” from the climate action group Protect Our Winters. The Paris agreement, which the Trump administration backed out of, calls for reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 with the goal of keeping global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. The snowsports industry faces uncertainty even if humanity succeeds in hitting that target, but Hagenstad thinks it could survive. Inaction, however, will be “disastrous.”

Snow Droughts and Worse

The IPCC report adds to the drumbeat of studies that show the bleak future facing snowsports on a warming planet. Season lengths could shrink by half by 2050 and 80 percent by 2090 in the United States, according to the 2017 report “Projected Climate Change Impacts on Skiing and Snowmobiling: a case study of the United States,” published in Global Environmental Change. The study concluded that “limiting global greenhouse gas

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emissions could both delay and substantially reduce adverse impacts to the winter recreation industry.”

A study published in August in Geophysical Research Letters found that “snow droughts” in the mountains of the western United States will become more frequent. The authors defined snow droughts as two consecutive winters with less than a quarter of the historical snowfall. Snow droughts are currently rare, occurring only about seven percent of the time, but within a few decades they could occur about 42 percent of the time, says the study.

Snowmaking is crucial to ski areas, allowing them to open before the important Christmas holiday period. But you can’t blow snow when it’s warm.

“Within the next 20 years, the number of days at or below freezing in some of the most popular ski towns in the U.S. will decline by weeks or even a month,” says a Climate Impact Lab report. “If global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at the same pace that they did in the first decade of this century, ski resorts could see half as many subfreezing days compared to historical averages by late century.”

The ski industry has been constricting for decades, with the number of resorts in the United States declining to 460 from about 700 in the 1980s, and “lower elevation resorts are already challenged with more rain in winter and shorter seasons,”

BLEAK FUTURE DURING THE WINTER OF 2016-17 SOME RESORTS IN ITALY'S DOLOMITES HAD AS FEW AS SIX SNOW DAYS. AS SNOW DROUGHTS, OR CONSECUTIVE WINTERS WITH LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF THE HISTORICAL SNOWFALL, BECOME MORE PREVALENT ACROSS THE PLANET DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, SKI AREAS WILL BE FORCED TO WIND DOWN OPERATIONS. PHOTO COURTESY PROTECT OUR WINTERS

particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, Hagenstad says.

“The reality is that the IPCC report confirms what we already know,” says Lindsay Bourgoine, director of policy and advocacy for POW, whose 2018 report was cited by the IPCC. “This just ups the ante.”

Bourgoine recently traveled to Capitol Hill as part of POW’s annual climate lobbying day, when athletes and members of the snowsports community speak to members of Congress. She says this year marked a noted change.

“Republicans are no longer denying climate change. They are looking for a way into the conversation. It’s a big dramatic shift. But while this change is heartening and exciting, we are up against a timeline.”

“If global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at the same pace that they did in the first decade of this century, ski resorts could see half as many sub-freezing days compared to historical averages by late century.”

Don’t Cry for the Cryosphere—Act Up For Auden Schendler, senior VP of sustainability for Aspen Skiing Company and a leading voice for climate action within snowsports, the

ski industry has a choice: Make climate change a top priority or begin planning to “wind down” resort operations. “The question I have is,” he says, “when does this become the number one issue for the industry?”

Resorts, equipment manufacturers and snowsports trade groups must get more political, Schendler says, and they must reject climate denialism and obstructionism from political leaders—and within their own ranks.

“We have to shame leaders who have no substantive climate action plans,” Schendler says.

In late September, public shaming and pressure from within the snowsports industry led the International Ski Federation, or FIS, the governing body for international competitions, to join the U.N. Sports for Climate Action Framework, which commits the group to not only reducing its own carbon footprint but more importantly advocating for climate action.

The FIS announcement came seven months after Protect Our Winters, Burton snowboards, and Alterra Mountain Company called for the resignation of FIS President Gian Franco Kasper after Kasper appeared to deny climate science by referring to “so-called climate change.” The protest campaign generated 9,000 letters to the FIS and “shows the power of speaking up,” Schendler says.

Individual skiers and boarders

must communicate with the resorts where they buy season passes and let management know they want the resorts to use their business clout to push for action, whether locally, at the state or federal level, Schendler says.

“We all need to push a bit harder.”

But politics is the most pressing issue.

The big environmental improvements in American history have only come when government got involved and passed laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, before which rivers were open sewers and the air was unbreathable in some American cities.

POW and its allies are now targeting the 2020 elections with the goal of getting members of the snowsports and outdoor recreation communities to go to the polls and vote for candidates that support climate action, such as carbon pricing.

POW feels that it can make a big difference by turning out just a few thousand skiers and snowboarders and climate-activist voters in swing districts and swing states. “We believe there are lots of passionate outdoor people who care about climate,” Bourgoine says, “and we are going to make sure they vote in 2020.”

She cited a recent poll from Western Priorities which showed that members of the outdoor recreation community are an increasingly powerful voting bloc.

Bourgoine points to the 2018 victory of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana as an example of how a few thousand votes can get a pro-climateaction candidate into office. The Protect Our Winters Action Fund, POW’s political action arm, blitzed Montana with digital, radio, and print ads in 2018 in support of Tester’s climate stance. The ad blitz, including a social media video from climber Conrad Anker calling Tester’s opponent Matt Rosendale a “Jerry” who doesn’t care about climate or the mountains, generated more than 1.3 million impressions, according to POW. Tester won re-election by 15,000 votes. While it is impossible to quantify how many of those votes were generated by the POW ad campaign, the result shows that “we don’t need a lot of people to swing an election,” Bourgoine says.

Margins of victory can be even smaller in U.S. House races. For instance, Ben McAdams, who supports strong action on climate

POW feels that it can make a big difference by turning out just a few thousand skiers and snowboarders and climate-activist voters in swing districts and swing states.

change, won Utah’s 4th Congressional District representing Salt Lake City by a razor-thin margin of about 700 votes. POW’s political action fund, a 501(c)4 organization, will target districts such as this that President Trump won or lost by 10 points or less.

Examples include the Grand Rapids area of Michigan. “That is an area with colleges and outdoor industry brands and an active outdoors community where a small number of pro-climate voters can make a difference,” Bourgoine says.

Protect Our Winters strategized on its 2020 swing-state campaign during its annual meeting in Moab in October. “The 2020 elections are a major deal where skiers and the snowsports industry can with a few thousand voters get a climate friendly candidate into office,” says Schendler.

He pointed to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as a candidate who has been “wishy washy on climate” who could be susceptible if the state’s large community of snowsports enthusiasts goes to the polls.

Skiers worried about the cryosphere, and who live in hotly contested districts, could begin seeing POW Action Fund ads as soon as November. Climate Jerrys beware.

Paul Tolmé is a professional wordslinger, journalist, copywriter and content creator who specializes in projects related to the environment. JournalistOnTheLoose.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

the perfect weekend

SKI

THE ALLEY LOOP

CRESTED BUTTE | FEBRUARY 1, 9am–2pm Crested Butte is known as Colorado’s last great ski town for good reason. With epic pistes for alpine skiing and 50 kilometers of groomed cross-country ski trails, skiing is the community’s lifeblood. Nothing epitomizes the passion and charm of Crested Butte more than the Alley Loop.

The Alley Loop is a cross-country ski race that feels like a festival. The race course winds its way through the historic alleys and streets of downtown Crested Butte, filled with snow and groomed specially for the occasion. The locals come out in force, racing, cheering, volunteering, or hosting annual “aid” stations, replete with festive libations.

With six distance options and events in both classic and skate skiing, the Alley Loop offers something for everyone. The 21K and 42K draw avid nordic skiers, but most folks join in the fun of the 5K, where the competition is focused on best costume more than best time. The Alley Loop’s focus on skiing and fun, costumes and community is the perfect way to experience the best of Crested Butte.

Sip

COLORADO CRAFTED MT. CRESTED BUTTE | FEBRUARY 1, 2–6pm After the Alley Loop, round out your weekend by heading up the hill to Mt. Crested Butte to partake in Colorado Crafted, a craft food and spirits festival held the very same day. Live music will keep you entertained while you sample Colorado wine, beer, and liquors from companies such as Wood’s High Mountain Distillery, Eddyline Brewery, and Black Arts Cellars, as well as foods like artisan smoked meats from Hogwood Barbecue and handmade ice cream from Third Bowl.

After a fun ski through town in the morning, relax into the evening by enjoying the best apres scene of the year. This year, Crafted is offering $5 off to Alley Loop Participants to make this weekend even sweeter.

Stay

LODGING PARTNERS MT. CRESTED BUTTE After all that skiing, eating, and drinking, you’ll be ready to spend the night. Mt. Crested Butte has a variety of lodging options just steps away from Crafted, no driving needed. Want to get the authentic ski lodge experience? Try the Nordic Inn. Want ski-in, ski-out access and luxury accommodations? Try the West Wall Lodge. All of the Mt. Crested Butte lodging options position you perfectly to get in a glorious day of downhill skiing to cap off a great weekend. In addition, lodging partners offer a variety of discounts to Alley Loop participants to make it easy for you to ski and stay for the whole weekend.

Ready to experience the true passion of a true Colorado Ski Town? Register now for the Alley Loop and receive discounts on tickets to Colorado Crafted and lodging. cbnordic.org/theperfectweekend

The Alley Loop | February 1, 2020 | Crested Butte RACE DISTANCES - 42K, 21K, 10K, 5K, 3K, 1K

Crested Butte is the Nordic Ski Capital of Colorado. CB Nordic maintains 50 kilometers of world-class groomed trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, accessible right from the town of Crested Butte. The Nordic Center offers ski and snowshoe rental packages, as well as private lessons, clinics, backcountry tours, and fine dining at their trail-side yurt. Get more out of winter with CB Nordic.

VISIT CBNORDIC.ORG | (970) 349-1707 | CRESTED BUTTE, CO |

@CBNORDIC

H O T S P O T | 1 1 .1 9

Telluride on Top H ER E’ S O U R I N S I D ER ’ S G U I D E TO T H E C L A S S I C CO LO R A D O M O U N TA I N T H AT H A S I T A L L— FRO M B E G I N N ER S- O N LY P L AYG RO U N DS A N D B LU E C RU I SER S TO H I K E -TO T ER R A I N A N D B I G P OW D ER S TA SH E S .

by CHRIS KASSAR A LL T H O S E C LI C H É S A B O U T Telluride? You know, the cowboy charm, the postcard-perfect scenery, the trendy scene, and the chefs moving out here from New York and LA? It’s all true. But of course, what really matters is just how easy it is for everyone to enjoy southwestern Colorado’s biggest resort.

The promise of that terrain, the vibe, and a town that keeps evolving while holding on to some authentic funk make it worth the seven-hour drive from Denver (or short flight into Montrose). Considering traffic jams routinely bring I-70 to a complete standstill for hours every winter weekend, travel to Telluride seems a small price to pay for non-existent lift lines and a mountain peppered with glades, bowls, chutes, cliffs and long, cruising blues.

Like A Virgin: For Newbies

Telluride is an ideal place to up your ski and snowboard skills (or just enjoy chill cruising) since 60% of its runs are dedicated to beginners and intermediates. Want some space to practice what you are learning? The Sunshine Express (Lift 10) offers exclusive access to beginner terrain.

It’s groomed daily, separate from advanced and expert runs, and provides a comfortable environment for newer skiers to enjoy the slopes.

One can’t-miss classic for everyone is the always groomed Galloping

Goose. Telluride’s longest run begins just below the summit at the top of Prospect Express (Lift 12) and flows downward for 4.6 breathtaking miles to the base. Beginners and intermediates will also dig doing laps and taking in fabulous views of Gold Hill and Palmyra Peak on flowy trails like Magnolia, Madison and Sandia in Prospect Bowl. And no matter your level you can still explore the entire mountain. Every lift here has one or more groomed, easier trail down.

So rejoice newbies. At Telluride, you’re not stuck at the base area, you don’t have to worry about which chair you ride, and you still get to enjoy all the breathtaking vistas from the hill’s highest spots without the embarrassment of riding the chair back down.

Meet Me in The Middle: For Intermediates

Blues and double blues are the meat of the Polar Queen Express (Lift 5) where intermediates, advanced intermediates, and speed freaks can easily spend a full day lapping run after run on the high-speed chair.

Enjoy the long sweeping Ophir Loop or spice it up with a drop into chutes like Alta or Silver Tip. No matter what your level, no trip to Telluride is complete without at least one (we’d recommend a few) drops down the aptly-named See Forever. Though accessible from Lifts 6, 9, 14, and 15, we suggest picking it up from the top of Revelation Lift (Lift 15). Groomed daily and hugging the ridge that forms the resort boundary, this trail is simply beautiful. You revel in views of 14,246-foot Mt. Wilson, 14,017foot Wilson Peak, 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels and even Utah’s La Sals on clear days.

The Need For Speed: For Adrenaline Junkies

With massive steeps and exhilarating hike-to terrain, Telluride’s got experts more than covered. From Revelation Bowl, hike the new Gold Hill access

road, enjoying big mountain views as you do. Check out the bridge and stairs accessing Chutes 9 and 10, and then pick your poison by dropping a gnarly line on this fun but challenging terrain that spit you out into Palmyra Basin. (Note: Chutes are not always open, so pay attention to signs before setting out on the hike).

Continue onto Palymyra Peak and Black Iron Bowl for some spicy, exhilarating expert-only lines.

Complete the hike-to circuit—if your legs have anything left—with a hike up Bald Mountain and a run down Jackpot or Wildcat. Double-black powder stashes often await even late in the day. For a change of scenery and stellar views, head to the other side of the mountain: From the Plunge Lift (9) drop Bushwhacker, Bail Out and Mine Shaft, a series of black and double black runs that deliver you directly into town.

tellurideskiresort.com

Logistics Just outside of Telluride proper, the Inn at Lost Creek (innatlostcreek. com) offers ski-in, ski-out access from Mountain Village, which is connected to town via the free gondola. Park the car and forget about it. Enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet, private rooftop hot tubs (that’s right, private), dog-friendly rooms, extremely kind and accommodating staff and the views.

Don’t miss Gorrono Ranch, perched mid-mountain on the Misty Maiden run for lunch or happy hour; an unbeatable view, live music, a sweet deck, delicious burgers, a noodle bar and a smokehouse make this the place to be. Bon Vivant (at the top of Lift 5) has stunning views and delicious French cuisine. For some local color, grab a beer at the Poacher’s Pub right across from the Inn at Lost Creek. In town, the best options are Brown Dog Pizza, Taco del Gnar and The Oak, a BBQ joint at the base of the gondola. —C.K

BLUE SKY SPLASHDOWN THERE’S PLENTY OF UNTOUCHED POW IN TELLURIDE’S EXPERT TERRAIN—HIKE AND HUNT FOR IT. PHOTOS COURTESY TELLURIDE SKI RESORT

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N U ME R O L O G Y | 1 1 .1 9

Cold Realities H OW M U C H W I L L W E LOSE W H EN T H E D R I L L S CO M E TO T H E A RC T I C N AT I O N A L W I L D L I FE R EFU G E T H I S FA L L?

IN JUNE, PATAGONIA AMBASSADORS CLARE GALLAGHER, TOMMY CALDWELL, AND LUKE NELSON ALONG WITH PHOTOGRAPHER AUSTIN SIADAK MADE AN OVERLAND VOYAGE ACROSS ANWR TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT PLANS TO DRILL IT.

by WILL BRENDZA Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is perhaps the wildest place in the U.S.—a massive, untouched and fragile wilderness that plays a vital role in ecosystems around the globe. And this fall, for the first time since oil was discovered beneath its surface, the Department of Interior is set to start leasing it off, piece by piece, to oil and gas interests.

What will be lost?

1.5 million acres

PHOTO BY AUSTIN SIADAK

The size of the “1002 Area,” (aka the Northern Slope, or the Arctic Plains), the extremely sensitive wildlife corridor where the vast majority of the Porcupine herd’s calving grounds are located. It’s also the very specific region of ANWR that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act opened up for drilling activities in 2017.

PHOTO COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

photo by GREG BALKIN

The number of different resident bird species that have been recorded in ANWR (not including migratory species)—including yellow-billed loons, red-necked phalarope, gray-headed chickadees, peregrine falcons and golden eagles. The lakes, rolling tundra and high mountain cliffs of ANWR are teeming with birds all year long.

2017

5 The number of First People tribes that have survived off of the Porcupine Caribou Herd for hundreds of years, relying on the animal’s yearly migration for resources. The Gwich’in culture counts profoundly on Porcupine caribou as their primary source of food. But it’s also an important asset to Inupiat, Inuvialuit, the Hän and Northern Tutchone cultures, all communities built on and along the migratory route of the caribou. Should caribou numbers decline, the lives of many Natives will change drastically for the first time in centuries.

0.4–1.2 percent The minimal impact on global oil prices that opening up ANWR will produce by 2030.

“Consequently, ANWR oil production is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices,” reads the Energy Information Administration’s Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Not to mention, OPEC says an economic effect could be achieved simply by reducing oil exports by an equal amount.

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1,500: The mileage that the

Porcupine caribou herd migrates every year. This herd makes a non-stop circle from their calving and birthing grounds (in the “1002 Area” in ANWR, aka the Northern Slope or the Coastal Plain), to the Porcupine River, to the Ogivile and Richardson Mountains in the Yukon, to the Southern Brooks Range in Alaska. It is the longest migratory route of any land mammal.

The year ANWR was legally opened to drilling, as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, to be sold off, one land lease at a time to oil and natural gas companies. President Donald Trump publicly stated at a GOP congressional retreat that originally he had no personal interest in opening up ANWR for resource extraction. But when a friend of his “who’s in that world and in that business” explained that it was something Republicans had been trying to do for decades, he had it included in the 2017 act.

218,000

The number of caribou in the Porcupine herd, an ancient mass of antlered beasts that has been engaged in an ongoing clockwise migration since the last ice age—and currently this herd is at its largest size on record. These animals represent a vital pillar of the natural ecosystems and the livelihoods of the people that live in ANWR. The Porcupine’s numbers have been steadily growing between two to three percent since 2010. Its last peak was in 1989 (at 178,000 animals) and then the Porcupine Herd experienced a decline that bottomed out in 2001 (at 123,000 animals).

Year the U.S. and Canadian governments signed the “Agreement on the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Act” a treaty that was meant to protect these animals, their environment and their migratory routes from being damaged by oil and gas interests.

SIX

30,136 The total square mileage of ANWR. It stretches from the Canadian border west to the Canning River, and from the Arctic Ocean south for thousands of miles. It encompasses boreal forests, high alpine mountain ranges, the Arctic foothills, the coastal plain, coastal lagoons, rivers and river deltas, barrier islands and the Arctic Ocean itself, all in one single protected unit.

1960: The year that ANWR was established by the U.S. Congress to protect the vast biodiversity and extremely sensitive ecosystems that have been thriving here for thousands and thousands of years.

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1987

Continents from which birds migrate to reach ANWR in the summer to nest.

Months later, when winter approaches, they all pick up and fly off to places like Malaysian Borneo, Africa or Central and South America.

800,000

The minimum acres required by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to be leased off to oil and gas companies for development and exploitation. The act requires a minimum of two land lease sales each for a minimum of 400,000 acres. Which, in total, is over half of the 1002 Area.

S T R A I G H T TA L K | 1 1 .1 9 Where did the inspiration come from to try to run a new route on the Teton Center Punch?

I love to do these big ridge linkups because I think it’s one of the coolest ways to see a mountain range from as high up as possible. I always wondered why the Teton Crest Trail ends where it does because it’s only the southern half of the range. I kept thinking, what about the rest of it? So a year or QUICK UPERCUT two ago, I started looking at maps to figure out HALPIN AND MOST KNOCKED OUT 16 how to link up the whole PEAKS AND 22,000 range. I found a few VERTICAL FEET established routes but ON A ROUTE THEY nothing that went all the CALL THE “TETON CENTER PUNCH.” way through. Eventually, I noticed the spine behind PHOTO COURTESY the center of the range.

KELLY HALPIN It’s super aesthetic and draws almost a perfect line through the whole thing, following the hydrographic divide.

Kelly Halpin

T H I S T R A I L RU N N ER A N D C L I M B ER I S Q U I E T LY P U T T I N G U P I M P R E S S I V E FA S T E S T K N OW N T I M E S ( FK T S) I N T H E T E TO N S A N D WA S ATC H . L E A R N W H AT P USH E S H ER TO C L I M B P E A K S AT R E CO R D PAC E.

by LILY KRASS

Just after 10 p.m. on September 6, Kelly Halpin and her partner Fred Most were feeling their way through thick, dark fog on top of Mount Glory on Teton Pass. It was hour 43 of a 70-mile traverse through the Teton Range and just a few hundred yards stood between the exhausted team and their car. Lost in familiar terrain, Halpin and Most finally staggered back to their vehicle a half hour later, setting a bold new route on what they dubbed the Teton Center Punch. Not only is the Center Punch a challenging endurance feat for a trail runner, but it also includes long sections of technical class 5 climbing, ascending over 22,000 feet of vertical gain while going up and over 16 summits along the spine of the Teton Range.

The summer of 2019 was big for Halpin. All told, the Jackson native nabbed four fastest known times (FKTs) in the Tetons and Wasatch. In July and August, she knocked out a sub 24-hour time on the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup (W.U.R.L.) as well as setting a record female time of 9:11 on the Teton Crest Trail. For a range that sees over 3 million visitors a year, an FKT (or entirely new route like the Punch) isn’t exactly an easy feat. The La Sportiva athlete took the time to walk us through what it’s like to carve out a new route through the center of the mountain range closest to her heart.

What’s it like to look across at a mountain range as far as you can see and know that you have all that ground to cover?

It’s really daunting. But it’s also really empowering because I know I can do it. I know my body can take me from A to B and I just need to figure out the way there. I’ve spent years building up to this and it’s cool to see the accumulation of everything I’ve learned and trained for propelling me through the mountains. It’s also really motivating to be creating your own route and discovering what’s around each corner.

The first half of the traverse is so raw and remote and that feeling of exploration is really powerful on it.

When it gets hard, what do you tell yourself to keep going forward?

My normal answer is that I know I can finish it, so I should. But I also do a lot of compartmentalizing. If I’m really struggling, I tell myself just to get to the next peak, because you can always do

that. Then I get there and tell myself all I need to do is get to the next one. Then, at some point, I realize how close I am to finishing. Breaking it into smaller chunks makes it easier to digest and less daunting to look across a mountain range and know you have to run across it.

How do you decompress and recover from a huge push like the Punch?

Physically, it usually takes about two weeks to recover but I struggle with it emotionally quite a bit more. They call it the post-race blues when after you’ve done something big you get a little depressed.

Chemically, you’ve just shot out a ton of endorphins so you have to recover from that.

But I spent my whole summer building up to this big goal, and now I did it, so it’s kind of like well, now what? Emotionally I think it took me longer to recover than I thought it would and people don’t talk quite as much about that part of it.

What draws you to setting fastest known times and pushing your limits on new routes?

I’m so fascinated and curious by what my body can do. I keep wondering how much farther I can go, or how much faster.

With the W.U.R.L, I keep going back every year to try and do it faster because I know I can, and I always think back on scenarios that I could get through quicker. It’s as much a competition with myself as anything else.

Growing up in the Tetons, how has your view of the mountains in your backyard changed over time?

Everything feels so much more accessible. When I was little, they were just these huge fortresses. I’d think, how can I get in there? It’s amazing to watch yourself progress and climb something or link something together that used to seem so big and impossible.

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T HE L IF E | 1 1 .1 9

The Anti

WORKS OF ART RED MOUNTAIN ALPINE LODGE IN THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS IS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL BACKCOUNTRY TOURING LODGES THAT PROVIDES BEAUTIFUL WAGNER PLANKS FOR ITS GUESTS TO DEMO. / PHOTO COURTESY WAGNER CUSTOM SKIS

Ski-Factory WAGNER CUSTOM HAS BEEN MAKING SKIS THE HARD WAY SINCE 2006—AND THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

by KIMBERLY BEEKMAN

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he snow is coming down hard in fat, fluffy clumps that land with a soft hiss on my jacket. It’s late afternoon, and after the quick 15-minute skin in from Highway 550 to the Red Mountain Alpine Lodge, the bags the snowmobiles brought up are already covered with an inch of the stuff. Pete Wagner, owner of Telluridebased Wagner Custom Skis, clicks out of his bindings and adds his skis to the fleet of other Wagners standing sentry under the eaves.

The lodge is one of many—including the Tordrillo Mountain Lodge in Alaska, several Eleven Experience properties and Patagonia Heliski in Chile—that uses Wagner to provide its demo skis. “You can go and try them, we can talk to you about your experience on them, and make something that’s even more dialed in for you,” Pete says, gesturing at the fence of skis, all sporting his trademark logo.

If you’ve never heard of Wagner Custom Skis, you’ll

be surprised to start noticing them everywhere— especially down here in Southern Colorado. Nearly half the people in the tiny Ridgway coffee shop where we ate lunch earlier were wearing Wagner baseball hats. “Do you know all these guys?” I asked Pete. He shook his head and laughed.

Pete founded the company in 2006—and it remains one of the first and only truly custom ski companies in the United States. Now, Wagner makes more than 1,000 pairs of skis per year, which works out to roughly six pairs of skis each day. Each one is completely unique, created using proprietary software and algorithms he designed.

As we drag our bags into the hallway, Trax, the owners’ Bernese mountain dog, runs over to us and rubs his snowy body against our legs. The lodge is gorgeous—built on the European model of backcountry luxury, a concept that is pretty unique in Colorado’s DIY-style rustic hut culture. A huge

wall of windows on the open main floor looks out into the snowy trees and peaks out back, and the craftsmanship shows in every beam of warm-hued Douglas fir—all notched together with pegs. As we stand around the kitchen and refuel with chips and guac, we discuss the possibility of a quick evening ski tour with our guide and the co-owner of the lodge, Nate Disser.

We only have a couple hours of light left, so we opt to go just in back of the lodge to a zone called Hollywood, so named because you can ogle your tracks afterward from the deck. As we gear up and ski down into the valley, the clouds seem to hold their breath, pausing the snow that’s incited a winter storm warning for tonight.

We pass a mining shack crouched on a hillock, its roof sunken from the weight of the snow. Nate tells us it’s an old jail from the mining camps of the 1870s (more than 30 million dollars’ worth of gold was extracted from these mountains), which the lodge is eventually going to repurpose into a wine cellar.

We reach the bottom and start to wend up the mountain, skinning through a sparse glade of trees.

Crystals suspended in the air sparkle in the watery sunlight, which is breaking through the clouds in

Pete founded the company in 2006—and it remains one of the first and only truly custom ski companies in the United States.

Now, Wagner makes more than 1,000 pairs of skis per year, which works out to roughly six pairs of skis each day.

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earnest now. Pete is just ahead of me, our clomping steps in unison, and I pepper him with questions because I’m both curious and breathing harder than he is.

Pete, now in his mid-40s, is the antithesis of the ski-bum stereotype who starts a ski company in his garage. He’s small and wiry, a mechanical engineer and computer scientist, and though he’s a passionate skier, he has zero bro-ego around the sport. Before starting Wagner, he wrote software in San Diego for enhanced-performance golf clubs, using a swing monitor to collect information about how players were hitting the ball. “Using all those data points, we could design the perfect equipment for someone,” he says, executing a kick turn up the track.

He started working remotely from Telluride so he could ski every day and soon realized the skis he bought weren’t a good fit for him. “They were too demanding,” he says, but there was no way of knowing that before actually skiing on them. “I was creating all this tech about how to fit people with their perfect golf clubs, and I didn’t see anyone doing that in the ski industry,” he says. “The golf world seemed to be operating on a much higher level than the ski world.”

So, as any mechanical engineer and computer scientist would, he wrote an algorithm and software for creating custom skis. He couldn’t actually measure the data with skis as he could with golf clubs, so he created a questionnaire

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CRAFT CONSCIOUS WAGNER BUILDS MORE THAN 1,000 PAIRS OF SKIS EACH YEAR, TAKING INTO CONSIDRATION EACH CUSTOMER’S UNIQUE NEEDS (AND TOPSHEET ART REQUESTS) AND DRAWING ON MATERIALS THAT INCLUDE AEROSPACEGRADE FIBERGLASS.

and then used predictive engineering to determine stiffness depending on a skier’s weight, preferred terrain, and ability. He also created a database of other mainstream skis that cataloged materials, flex index, mounting points, and shape, so that when customers pointed to a ski they liked in the past, he could incorporate similar qualities. He shopped the system around to big manufacturers, whom he figured would be interested in making their process better. “But no one even wanted to talk to me about it,” he says.

W

e’ve worked our way up the bench, and we can see the beautiful swath of untouched powder that lies just over the ridge. It’s just mellow enough of an angle to be safe—these snow-choked peaks are known for avalanche danger (a massive slide would close the Million Dollar Highway for weeks come March)—but steep enough to merit one-at-a-time protocol. We give enough space between us on the traverse, and then stomp out a transition zone in the last stand of trees. We rip skins, drink some water and then watch the first of our group inscribe his signature all the way down.

My turn comes, and I stack my tracks right of the others, my skis purring through the velvety pow. Even though every ski Wagner makes is unique, there’s a commonality I’ve felt in every pair I’ve tried—a feeling I can only describe as buttery.

They feel simple and beautifully made, like a cake baked from scratch. In comparison, some mainstream

models feel like something from the King Soopers display case.

It’s no wonder: Every ski Wagner makes boasts a classic sandwich construction with a wood core and vertical sidewall, which is the best—and most expensive—way to build a ski. Pete uses more than 270 high-quality material combinations, like aerospace-grade fiberglass to add torsional rigidity or metal laminates to damp vibration. Each ski takes roughly 10 hours per pair of labor, handmade with an attention to detail you do not get from skis massproduced in China. “Love and passion go into the skis we build for people, and I think people can feel that,” Pete says.

Indeed, when we tour Wagner’s shop in Mountain Village, it strikes me as the anti ski-factory. Guys still in baselayers from their morning ski worked side by side in light-filled, sawdust-fragrant rooms right off the main pedestrian drag, with a vibe somewhere between backcountry ski hut and Santa’s workshop.

The same computer program that designs skis talks to the milling machines, which cut out the cores precisely to the specifications of his algorithm, and then the skis get layered and pressed in adjustable ski presses Wagner built.

Everything is customized—even the vacuum system that sucks up the sawdust. “We work with a guy who’s a bit of a mad scientist,” Pete explains as he walks us through his process.

The company now has 15 employees and is still growing, but they’ve had to climb many barriers to get there. People who buy custom bikes and custom liners for their boots somehow still view custom skis

The same computer program that designs skis talks to the milling machines, which cut out the cores precisely to the specifications of his algorithm, and then the skis get layered and pressed in adjustable ski presses Wagner built.

as “untested prototypes,” Pete tells us. Others fear they don’t know enough about skis to be able to articulate what they want or they’re not good enough skiers to merit the investment (Wagners start at a hefty $1,750). Wagner guarantees every ski they make, but they end up rebuilding only a few pairs a year (a failure rate of .32 percent, says Pete, ever exact). “It works—people love them.”

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he last of our group makes it down the apron, and we’re high-fiving and laughing, buzzed from floating through pow. Our tracks are beautiful, perfect turns spooned together— Hollywood is aptly named. A few of us are debating about whether we have time for another lap, but the sun is low, the clouds are moving in, we have a big day tomorrow, and a deep wine list and hot shower are waiting for us back at the lodge.

We put our skins back on and work our way through the trees near the valley floor. In one section, the slope drops precipitously on our right, so we go one at a time. Conditions are good, though—we hit it during the perfect window—so tomorrow we should be able to get into some steeper terrain, Nate says.

He wants to bring us to a gladed zone down the road called Sam’s Trees, and then, if we’re feeling good, up and over the backside to Chattanooga, a steep and open valley that wouldn’t be skiable in less favorable avalanche conditions.

As the lodge comes into view, the wind blasts our faces with crystals so fine they sting—one final caper before the curtain of clouds closes and the snow starts to fall again. Then, all is still, save the big, fat, fluffy flakes that pile up all night long.

Kimberly Beekman is the former editor-in-chief of Skiing (RIP).

She lives in Denver with her daughter and a psycho cat, and writes mostly about skiing (and occasionally about rollerblading in neon tights).

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Good(bye) Vibrations

ARMED WITH NON-NEWTONIAN POLYMERS, RENOUN FOUNDER CYRUS SCHENCK IS CHANGING THE WAY WE SKI.

by CAMERON M. BURNS

POLYMER POWER PLAY CYRUS SCHENCK DROPPED OUT OF ENGINEERING SCHOOL AND INTO AN UNTRACKED LINE IN SKI DESIGN.

PHOTO COURTESY RENOUN

F O R WA R D T HINK E R S | 1 1 .1 9

hen Cyrus Schenck built his first two pairs of skis, he knew they were junk. He was studying engineering at Clarkson University in Upstate New York, and building skis was a side project, but wasn’t going very well. The 2012 fall semester was drawing to a close, and Schenck was thinking about his future—including dropping out at the end of the year. Then, one of his aeronautical engineering professors, Ajit Achuthan, threw Schenck a curveball: non-Newtonian polymers.

At the time Schenck and his fellow students were studying the building blocks of the world, stuff like concrete, cement, steel, glass, stone. Non-Newtonian polymers are in a world all their own. They don’t behave the way those materials do. What they resemeble most is Silly Putty. When you press Silly Putty with your finger, it smoothly and calmly allows your digit to penetrate. Hit it with a hammer and it seizes up, like stone. Hit it hard enough and it should, theoretically, shatter.

Schenck, who was still trying to feed his desire to build skis and create a ski company, wondered what the stuff would do if it was built into a ski. So, he started casting about, trying to get his hands on some polymers. None of the companies that make the kinds of polymers he wanted would sell to him—after all, he was a kid who’d dropped out of engineering school.

But tenacity won the day.

“When we got ahold of some we were off to the races,” he said. He labelled his big idea—a combination of the ski design, along with the use of the polymer—“Hyper Damping Technology” or HDT. By the spring of 2014, Schenck and his crew had created three sample sections of ski. They were only about two feet long, but they included the core, edges, top sheet—everything you’d find in a normal ski. One sample had no polymer, one had a few strips of HDT, and one had the strips plus a sprayed-on layer of HDT. Schenck sent them to a friend, Tyler Arsenault, who has a PhD in vibration-related studies (“his job is to keep helicopters in the air, basically”) and quickly recieved an email response: “What is this stuff, guys? This is insane.”

Tests showed that the HDT could produce a reduction in vibration of more than 300 percent. However, additional experiments found that too much HDT in a ski (34 percent by volume in this case) “sucked,” in Schenck’s words. The optimum, they learned, was 13–15 percent.

So how does HDT perform on the mountain? The faster and harder the snow, the stiffer the ski becomes. Mellow conditions create a softer ski. Schenck insists Renoun is just doing what all ski companies do.

Skis are built of wood, metal, fiberglass, carbon… whatever. “At the end of the day, we’re just introducing a new element to the ski world,” he said. “We’re just adding a new fun ingredient to the mix.”

However, HDT is something of a game-changer. In 2015, Renoun won a highly coveted gold ISPO award based on Arsenault’s vibration tests. Schenck recalls standing on the stage, above reps from Rossignol and Elan, and accepting the award. It was surreal. Renoun didn’t even have a website. Renoun won another gold ISPO award in 2019.

Why haven’t other ski makers followed Renoun? One word: patents.

Renoun holds a handful of patents associated with the use of nonNewtonian polymers and is in the process of applying for more. Some ski brands have approached Schenck about using Renoun’s approach, and so have makers of products outside of the ski industry.

Case in point, HDT is now being put to use in one of the gyms at Penn State. After all, chronic vibrations in the hard flooring at basketball venues can contribute to injury. Schenck has been in talks with NBA officials, so who knows where this might go. And then there is the possibility of using HDT in surfboards, and possibly bullet-proof clothing. The list goes on.

For now, Schenk is just happy that his idea has worked. But just look at Renoun’s launch angle—to date, the company’s slowest annual growth rate has been 50 percent (2019 is coming in at 75–80 percent).

“We’re not trying to change the world,” Schenck says. “We’re just trying to quiet it down a little bit.”

The faster and harder the snow, the stiffer the ski becomes. Mellow conditions create a softer ski.

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T HE G O O D S | 1 1 .1 9

Dynafit Hoji Free

The 2019

Winter Peak Gear Awards IT’S TIME TO PRAISE THE STUFF THAT MAKES OUR WINTERS EVEN BETTER. CONTRIBUTORS: DEVON BALET, STACY BARE, AARON BIBLE, ROB COPPOLILLO, JESS DADDIO, SCOUT EDMONDSON, LILY KRASS, RADHA MARCUM, CAMERON MARTINDELL, DANI REYES-ACOSTA, DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN, CHRIS VAN LEUVEN

Moment Deathwish Tour

Give’r Classic Gloves

Smartwool Intraknit Merino 200 FjÄllrÄven Keb Touring Trousers

T

wice each year we hand out these coveted Peak Gear Awards to the very best gear we put to the test in the field. How do we determine the winners? Simple. We ask our top contributors—who, we are proud to admit, spend far more time skiing, riding, skinning, biking, climbing and exploring than they do “working”—to name the best gear they used over the past year. What products made your adventures better? What gear can’t you live without? What gear changed your life?

FjÄllrÄven

K E B T O UR IN G T R O U S E R S

$250; fjallraven.com WHY THEY WON: These stretchy Swedish touring trousers can take a beating out on the trail and work as ski pants, too, with hems that adjust to accommodate ski boots and zipper venting for when you work up some steam. Plus, they’re made from enviro-friendly recycled polyester and organic cotton. Men’s and women’s.

WHERE WE TOOK THEM: Everywhere from the Arctic mountains of Fjällräven’s home country in Lapland to the snowy streets of Boulder

Scarpa

R IB E L L E T E C H O D

$359; scarpa.com WHY IT WON: This is the “Ueli boot,” a boot designed/ conceived by Ueli Steck before his untimely death.

Light, climbable, insulated, positive in crampons, workable on rock, and providing all the feeling of a mountain-running shoe, the Ribelle Tech OD blew us away as soon as we slapped a rigid crampon on it.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: This is our go-to boot in Chamonix.

It proved its versatility on the Aiguille d’Entrèves, Cosmiques glacier, and Vallée Blanche.

Dynafit H O JI F R E E

$900; dynafit.com WHY IT WON: The Hoji Pro Tour took home a Peak Gear award last winter and our staff was right back on board for this season's new big-brother version, which has the abilty to work with a frame touring binding like the Marker Duke as well as tech bindings. It only builds

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on the performance of the original, with the ability to drive with power and precision like no other techbinding boot on the market thanks to the innovative lock system that pulls together the shell and upper to deliver all the performance of a full-on alpine boot.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: SIA On-Snow Demo test at Copper Mountain, Eldora, A-Basin, Indian Peaks and Berthoud Pass touring

Jones Snowboards W O ME N’S H O V E R C R A F T S P L I T

$880; jonessnowboards.com WHY IT WON: The Hovercraft wowed us with its power to punch far beyond its weight—with a squat nose and short length the rockered board motors up the skin track, but it can truly float in the deep stuff when you get it up to speed. It proved quick and agile in tricky terrain and tight trees. Plus, the STD clip system is simple, trustworthy and doesn’t mess with the riding.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: SIA On-Snow Demo test at Copper Mountain, Keystone, Breckenridge, Summit Country and Berthoud Pass touring

Atomic

H AW X U LT R A X T D 115 W

$700; atomic.com WHY IT WON: This is truly a one-quiver boot—light on the uphill and stiff and responsive on the downhill.

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It's incredibly comfortable and can be molded to fit a variety of feet. Weighing far less than an alpine boot, it feels and performs like one on big descents.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Ski touring in the Tetons, resort skiing at Jackson Hole, ski mountaineering in the Italian and Austrian Alps, skiing off the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, hut skiing in Colorado

Black Crows A NIM A 115

$890; black-crows.com

WHY IT WON: For such a big ski—115mm underfoot—the

Anima is surprisingly nimble thanks to a flex pattern that becomes progressively softer towards the tip and tail of the ski. The former racers among us were able to set these big planks on edge like a GS ski on the groomers. We all enjoyed the big, fat, playful float they provided when we got them in the deep stuff.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: SIA On-Snow Demo test at Copper Mountain, Eldora, Durango, the Front Range and Berthoud Pass touring

Black Diamond V I S I O N H A R NE S S

$165; blackdiamondequipment.com WHY IT WON: At just 22.4 grams, it’s the lightest, most compact harness we’ve ever used. Bonus: It folds flat.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Long, hard climbs in the Sierra

Flylow Quantum pro Jacket

Shred Dog Unisex Pups Hardshell Jacket

Scarpa Ribelle Tech oD

Osprey Kamber 42

Jones Women’s Hovercraft Split

Salsa Horsethief carbon gx eagle

Black Diamond Vision Harness

Black Crows Anima 115

Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 115W

Flylow

QUANTUM PRO JACKET

$420; flylowgear.com WHY IT WON: Flylow upped the performance on our longstanding favorite shell with OmniBloq, a new ecofriendly DWR that beads water off the jacket without messing with the membrane, and doesn’t use the earth-degrading chemicals that go into usual DWR. WHERE WE TOOK IT: A-Basin, Keystone, Taos, the Front Range and Rocky Mountain National Park backcountry

Give’r

CLASSIC GLOVES

$45; give-r.com WHY IT WON: These simple, badass leather gloves feel better the more you wear them. “I gave my first pair up to a driver in Afghanistan,” says our tester who was filming there. “He coveted these mugs. And Afghans are some of the toughest people living in the most rugged climate—they know durability and gear.”

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Afghanistan, Jackson Hole, Utah

Osprey K A MB E R 4 2

$190; osprey.com WHY IT WON: This do-it-all pack handled everything from lift-accessed backcountry to two-day snow-camping trips, accommodating snacks, puffies, water bladder and

standing up to sharp objects (think: axes and crampons).

But smart, functional details like a hip belt that accommodates a set of touring gloves and an insulated hydration-hose sleeve really sealed the deal.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Various peaks, chutes and choss piles in the Sierra Nevada, Cascades and Rockies

pow with aplomb and makes a perfect Tele ski.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Winter Park, Copper, Loveland Pass, Mary Jane sidecountry, Eldora tree skiing

Smartwool

$130; shreddog.com WHY IT WON: This jacket is the ideal choice to keep little shredders warm and dry (thus, happy!). The Boulderbased direct-to-consumer brand also works to keep the cost of quality kids’ snow gear down, thanks in part to a two-way size adjustment allows the jacket to grow with one kid and shorten back down for the younger sibling.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Eldora, Steamboat, Breckenridge

IN T R A K NI T ME R IN O 2 0 0

$120; smartwool.com WHY IT WON: This lightweight, comfortable piece— didn’t smell after eight days of daily use. It dries in a hurry and keeps you warm when you’re descending but doesn’t overheat when you’re working hard. Plus, it looks like a normal shirt when you have to do laundry and only have base layers to wear while you wait.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: Bikepacking 550 miles of gravel from Washington, D.C. to Damascus, Virginia

Moment

D E AT H W I S H T O U R

$779; momentskis.com WHY IT WON: Moment is one of the most innovative ski brands in the U.S. but no one has heard of them—yet.

They don’t do any marketing beyond putting guides and other hardcore skiers out on the product. The Deathwish is the most forgiving and versatile ski we have ever hopped on. It crushes crud, bashes bumps, smears

Shred Dog

U NI S E X P UP S H A R D S HE L L J A C K E T

Salsa

H O R S E T HIE F C A R B O N E A G L E

$5,199; salsacycles.com WHY IT WON: With a Split Pivot suspension design featuring 140mm of front travel and 120 mm in the rear, this incredibly versatile 29-inch-wheel trail bike felt at home on a wide variety of trails–and the long-travel ride really proved its mettle on rocky, technical terrain.

WHERE WE TOOK IT: We rode it all over Colorado, Utah and California—but we gave it lots of time on its namesake trail, and one of our favorite rides anywhere, Fruita’s Horsethief Bench.

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T HE G O O D S | 1 1 .1 9

The 2019 Outdoor Gift Guide LOOKING FOR THAT PERFECT SOMETHING FOR YOUR PERFECT SOMEONE? FROM SUSTAINABLE HONEY TO COZY PUFFIES, OUR ANNUAL ROUNDUP OF THE STUFF WE COVET MOST IS SURE TO HELP YOU FIND WHAT YOU NEED.

by RADHA MARCUM AND DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

DYNAFIT RADICAL DOWN WOMEN’S HOODED JACKET

The perfect puffy has to pull double duty: It must to keep you warm and dry when you are powering up the skin track and blasting through backcountry pow, but it also needs to bring some sass when you head out for aprés or just go for a stoll during a chilly night on the town. The water-repellent down in this technical shell will ensure you stay cozy in the worst conditions, yet it has enough Euro style to look at home sipping craft cocktails. It’s also available in a men’s version. $280; dynafit.com

A T O M IC

GRATEFUL DEAD BENT CHETLER

A ski built for the faithful, this version of Chris Benchetler’s weapon of choice for slaying big lines is adorned with his artwork tribute to his (and oh so many other ski bum’s) favorite band and built in conjuction with Teton Gravity Research. And the ski? The 184cm Bent Chetler with a fat 120mm waist can truck through the deep stuff. Only 250 of these beauties went into production this year, so don't wait for a miracle to get your hands on them. $1,000; atomic.com

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L AWS WHIS KEY HO U SE FOUR GRAIN BOURBON

Whiskey makes for an ideal gift, especailly since it’s one best shared. Denver-based Laws crafted this high-class bourbon with the four American mother grains: corn, wheat, barley and rye.

That complex combination makes for a special sipper with deep character. $65;

lawswhiuskeyhouse.com

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E C OX G E AR

WALLS O U T D O O R G O O D S

These tough, waterproof Bluetooth buds fit right into the ear pads on your ski helmet, providing a wall of sound for when you rip down that headwall. They also include a walkie talkie app function to help you stay in touch with your posse on the mountain.

Don’t get stuck up on the irony that the type of pants your grandfather used to bust his ass in are your best choice for hanging out at a food truck with an IPA. The truth is these tough work pants do the trick for multiple occasions, whether you are nailing in a new roof or hitting the trail for a winter hike. $45; walls.com

ECOPUCKS

$99; ecoxgear.com

KICK-IT PANT

LE ATH ER M A N FREE K4X

Leatherman’s reboot of its stand-by multi-tool is ligher and easier to deploy than previous iterations.

Perfect for the toe of that Christmas stocking, this particular version of the brand’s new Free series features a straight and serrated knife blade as well as the usual handy tools. $90; leatherman.com

R OYAL R OB B I N S

HIGHLANDS LONG CARDIGAN

Who doesn’t love a flowy winter cardigan? Especially one with pockets. Modern color blocks meet Royal Robbins’ classic functionality and design here—all wrapped up in a merino blend. $98; royalrobbins.com

FJÄLLR ÄVE N NORRVÄGE POCKET

This smart little travel piece doubles as a simple aroundtown shoulder bag.

Made with Fjällräven’s classic, durable wool, the bag fits your wallet, phone, passport, and a novel nicely. $80; fjallraven.com

T O A D A N D CO.

YOG A DE S I G N LAB COMBO MAT

MASON SHIRT JACKET

This shirt jacket is the perfect solution to Colorado’s pyschotic winter temps, serving as a snazzy primary shell on a afternoon dog walk or extra layer when the mercury drops. Plus, Toad and Co. built the soft, tough Mason with recycled materials.

Energize practice with a cheerful mat made with natural tree rubber and waterbased inks. Pay it forward, too: Yoga Design Lab donates one dollar from every purchase to urban youth yoga programs.

$120; toadandco.com

M OUN T A IN K HA K IS WINTERLUST JACKET

This super-plush piece has you covered on mild winter days and doubles as a mid layer for more warmth on the slopes. The 4.5-inch tall collar is extra cozy. It’s available in three sleek colors: linen, slate, and nightshade. $129;

$78; yogadesignlab.com

BR ONWE N SEMPLICE EARRINGS

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ME R R E LL

HAVEN TALL BUCKLE WATERPROOF BOOTS

P AT AGON IA P R OV ISI ON S

MOLOKA’I HONEY

With an eye on bringing its sustainable ethos to food, Patagonia produces this tasty spread on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i, a place that takes pride in keeping bees that pollinate plants free from pesticides.

The proof is in the spoonful—ideal on toast whether you are headed out ski the local hill or just snuggling at home. $17; patagoniaprovisions.com

Gold and silver—or silver and gold. Designed by Bronwen Lodato, whose company is based in Bend, Oregon, these elegant tear-dropshaped earrings add simple dazzle to any outfit. Made by hand in the U.S. $96; bronwenjewelry.com

T H E W I L D L I N ES O F J ER E MY C O L L I N S 2 0 2 0 C A L EN D A R

It’s no secret we are huge fans of climber and artist Jeremy Collins—hey, he illustrated the cover of our August 2019 10th Anniversary issue. Here you get a dose of his work every month of the year. (And be sure to check out his clothing company Meridian Line if you want more.) Available through Mountaineers Books. $22;

Perfectly grippy and warm— yet not clunky—these boots are this season’s most versatile pick.

A waterproof leather upper, sealed outer layer, and rubber outsole prevent moisture from getting in, while lightweight insulation keeps toes toasty. $180; merrell.com

S LE E PPH ONE S W I R E LE S S

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In winter, I miss the sounds of sleeping outside—the breezes, creeks, and crickets.

SleepPhones, a pair of headphones in a simple cozy fabric, are the cure. Take nature sounds or your favorite tunes into a relaxing nap or a better night’s sleep. Bonus: They drown out the snores on a hut trip. $99; sleepphones.com N OV E M B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 019 / E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S . C O M

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HE A R T HI S | 1 1 .1 9 IAN NOE—“BETWEEN THE COUNTRY”

The Best Albums of 2019 I T ’ S T I M E F O R EO’ S A N N UA L RO U N D U P O F T H E B E S T M US I C W E H A D O N H E AV Y ROTAT I O N D U R I N G A Y E A R O F A DV EN T U R E A N D ROA D T R I P S .

by JEDD FERRIS

BON IVER “i,i”

The fourth full-length effort from Bon Iver feels like a culminating statement that bridges the different instead looks forward, sonically and elements found on personally, celebrating the beauty of the Justin Vernoneveryday simple things in the sparkling, led project’s three atmospheric R&B of “Stay High” previous albums. and diving into futuristic funk in the Sonically, Vernon has empowering “13th Century Metal.” In the evolved far beyond the latter, she uses spoken word among a artist in wintry hard-hitting industrial groove, declaring, isolation who “Every day I am alive I am given the created the trend-setting opportunity to become that which I predominantly acoustic admire most of others. I am nonviolent. debut “For Emma, Forever Ago” more Around.” When drummer/vocalist I am a master student and my spirit will than a decade ago. He bloomed into Julien Ehrlich starts to sing in his gentle never be stomped out.” majestic folk-rock on his outfit’s selffalsetto, it feels like an invitation to titled 2012-release and went deep into relax, slow your thoughts and ponder the electronic wilderness on 2016’s “22, what ails you in front of a sunset, A Million.” Bits rather than the glow of a screen.

“BETWEEN THE COUNTRY” and pieces of The effort—full of airy 70s rock that past work callbacks shaded by organic R&B Sorrow and strife seem to be around are all present and jazz influences—is cozier and every corner for the struggling smallon “i,i,” and more laid back than the band’s town folks in Ian Noe’s vivid storyit all comes lauded debut, “Light Upon the songs. The main character in “Barbara’s together here Lake.” That feel partially comes Song” sends out a farewell to his love with warm and from the somber longing in the before a tragic coal train crash, and communal lyrics of standouts like “Valleys the addict in “Junk Town” is just “trying cohesiveness.

(My Love).” But the to chase away Joined by a band has some serious those cold-sweat bevy of wellchops, too: Bursts of fun fears.” Noe, a BON IVER—“I,I” integrated spontaneity, in particular burgeoning special guests, including Bruce Hornsby, the head-bobbing horn-andtunesmith from Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak, Moses guitar instrumental funk jam rural Kentucky Sumney, James Blake, the Brooklyn “Rhododendron,” break up the who sings with Youth Chorus, and members of The pensive moments. a commandingly National, Vernon has crafted some of his stark Southern most intensely uplifting songs to date— drawl, has a capped off by the fiercely emotional keen eye for four-track run of “Holyfields, “Hey, Ma,” “JAIME” dark details, BRITTANY HOWARD—“JAIME” “U (Man Like)” and “Nameem.” observing While many were hoping for angst in his native Appalachia and a new Alabama Shakes record this channeling it into startlingly authentic year, the frontwoman folk revivalism. He anchors his excellent WHITNEY—“FOREVER TURNED AROUND” and guitarist of the “FOREVER TURNED debut album— produced by Nashville soul-driven Southern AROUND” studio ace Dave Cobb—with engaging garage-roots band hard-luck tales, delivered with powerful In this age of fasthad other ideas.

IAN NOE

BRITTANY HOWARD

WHITNEY

paced digital chaos, Whitney’s music is a patient breath of fresh air. The gratification comes when you have a chance to pause and take it in. Analog warmth emanates immediately in the first notes of “Giving Up,” the soulful meandering opener of the Chicago group’s second album, “Forever Turned

Howard’s first solo record is an extremely bold and dynamic release from an artist clearly intent on avoiding complacency. “Jaime” is named after Howard’s late sister, whom she lost to cancer as a teenager, but the album doesn’t dwell on past pain. Howard

5

THE NATIONAL—“I AM EASY TO FIND”

retro simplicity reminiscent of early John Prine while also incorporating some of the vintage jangle of earlyelectric Dylan and the Byrds. Noe is an artist who is turning his honest view of troubled times into music that’s too powerful to ignore.

THE NATIONAL “I AM EASY TO FIND”

Less than two years after the release of 2017’s “Sleep Well Beast,” it was surprising for The National to return with an album this ambitious, so soon.

“I Am Easy to Find,” released with an accompanying short film of the same name from director Mike Mills, features the indie quintet augmented by a whopping 77 guest musicians; the most memorable contributors being a cast of female vocalists, including Gail Ann Dorsey and Lisa Hannigan, adding engaging strokes of color to the deep dark baritone of front man Matt Berninger. While it’s not the band’s strongest album front to back, the sprawling record—full of emotionally sweeping textures—still manages to yield some of the best songs in the group’s expansive catalog, namely the heartfelt electro-pop of “You Had Your Soul With You” and the haunting banger “Rylan” which examines the societal stigma and internal madness of fighting depression.

More Essential Albums BIG THIEF, “U.F.O.F.” THE HIGHWOMEN, “THE HIGHWOMEN” WILCO, “ODE TO JOY” FRUIT BATS, “GOLD PAST LIFE” JOAN SHELLEY, “LIKE THE RIVER LOVES THE SEA”

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T HE R O A D | 1 1 .1 9

An Ode To The Powdergasm O N E SN OW LOV ER ' S T E S T I M O N Y O N W H Y P OW D ER SK I I N G I S ( A N D A LWAY S W I L L B E ) B E T T ER T H A N SE X .

by PADDY O’CONNELL

Warning: if you are my mother, please read no further.

The inch-long icicles hanging from my mustache couldn’t hide my smile.

Back-to-back to back powder days will do that. It was only the beginning of February but it was already a historic winter in Colorado. The snow gods left the faucet wide open during the 2018/2019 season, and on this particular powder day the goods were great—feet not inches. My pal Seth and I caught first chair at Snowmass and slashed untracked depth on Sam’s before we made our way across the mountain.

When we loaded the Sheer Bliss lift, I thanked the patrollers standing by the shack for getting the mountain ready for us.

One of them cracked a grin and said, “We just opened the Wall.” Wide-eyed, I looked at Seth and screamed, “We’re about to have more fun than twelve hours of bedroom gymnastics!”

The Wall had been closed for two days. Ski Patrol had been so busy keeping up with snow mitigation on the main guts of the Snowmass trail system that the local-favorite Hanging Valley terrain had been put on the back burner. Forty-eight-hours worth of nonstop, pristine, untouched Colorado feathery snow was just waiting for Seth and me.

We traversed from the top of the lift to the top of the headwall faster than Marty McFly gunned it back to ‘85. I lost Seth after my third wiggle in a dizzying slope of powder turn remains, sheets of snowy linens hanging in the air.

I spat out of the trees and into a solitary field.

Maybe 25 yards directly below me sat my favorite terrain

"

Immediately after sex, everyone involved needs a Gatorade, a ham sammich, and a nap (or at least I do).

Immediately after skiing, everyone wants more skiing.

INTIMATE MOMENTS THE AUTHOR FINDS HIS BLISS IN THE BACKCOUNTRY SURROUNDING RED MOUNTAIN ALPINE LODGE (REDMOUNTAINALPINELODGE.COM) BETWEEN SILVERTON AND OURAY, COLORADO. / PHOTOS BY BLAKE GORDON

WR18COADV0192 - Print - Multipack - CO - E

feature: a bulbous knob atop a gradually sloping convex roll, swollen fat with unaffected new snow. I let my skis run straight, picked up as much speed as I could before I was nearly on the white fold, let my tails wash out, dropped my hip, and leaned as deeply as I could into a right-footed slarve turn. Snow garden-hosed into my mustache and past my head. I was enveloped in the blissful slow motion joy explosion of a face shot. My entire being vibrated and became abuzz with the pulsing energy of the moment.

This exact instant and the barbaric yawps that follow—the pronouncement and announcement of extreme unbridled, unedited elation—are my favorite things in life. I love powder skiing above everything else. It’s better than free donuts and endless coffee refills, better than a golden-hour bike ride though aspens ablaze in Fall, better than “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” And yes, it’s even better than sex. Because, hands down, powder skiing is the greatest thing of all the things in the history of things. Period.

M

aybe you’re thinking that I am a loon. But let me ask you this, friend. When is the last time you had a post-coital hoopn-holler-n-high-five session with a bunch of grinning, psyched-outtatheir-minds strangers? I’d imagine never. But, guess what? It happens all the time at the bottom of chairlifts on a powder day. (Side note: If you answered that question with “pretty recently,” may I commend you on your sexual escapades but also offer a suggestion: Maybe it’s time to retire your zipper-mouthed leather mask, your riding crop, that Orgy of the Month membership and the industrialsized bucket of Astroglide—and pick up a pair of powder skis.)

Listen, I’m not saying sex is not awesome. Sex is great. It’s wonderful.

It has to be in the top five things to

do while breathing.

But skiing deep untracked snow delivers unmatched joy and incomparable energy.

Immediately after sex, everyone involved needs a Gatorade, a ham sammich, and a nap (or at least I do). Immediately after skiing, everyone wants more skiing. Plus, when’s the last time you met up with your friends for 50cent chicken wings and expounded on how gnar you just got in your bedroom? Ain’t nobody wanna hear about your nighttime double dipsy doodlin’ while gnawing on some Buffalo chicken, pal. But replace the hibbitty dibbitty with powder day reminiscing and that spicy poultry never tasted so good.

This is about priorities, my friend.

If a supermodel…hell, if the woman of my dreams—if Kelly Kapowski herself (I’m pretty sure she’s the reason I am a heterosexual)—gave me the comehither on a powder morn and told me that she wanted to spend the day toe curling in bed, I have no question how I’d respond. I’d look deep into her eyes as I cradled the nape of her neck, kiss her softly, and tell her I hope she’ll be around for après before swiftly snagging my ski boots and zipping out the door to my Subi.

I’ve directed and shifted my entire life for the pursuit of untracked snow.

It has determined how I spend my free time, my career path, how I spend my money, where I live, who I spend my time with. And people understand that. Even non-skiers think it’s an admirable, albeit out-of-the-norm, life path to live in a small Colorado mountain town all for the sake of snow. But think about if I did the same for sex. Seriously, stop a sec and just think about it. Eeewie. I wouldn’t be considered a cool mountain hombre

then. I’d just be a big weirdo.

O

n that fateful February powder day, Seth and I found one another at the base of Sheer Bliss and loaded the lift with two women, all four of us covered in snow and happiness. When our fellow powder fanatics heard Seth and me talk about skiing over sex, one woman nudged me and jabbed, “Really? Ya think so? Maybe you’re doing it wrong.” To which I laughed and responded, “Or maybe I’m doing one thing really right.” She couldn’t help but agree.

And if you still disagree with me, then I challenge you to prove me wrong. It is, of course, up to you to figure out how. Leather masks need not apply.

***NOTE: Yes, the writer is single.***

Paddy's Favorite Powgasm Locales

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN—THE "LAND OF THE RISING UUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH" GASM. TELLURIDE, COLORADO—THE "STEEP, DEEP, TECHNICAL, ROUGH-N-RUGGED" GASM. SILVERTON, COLORADO—THE "MAKE YOU WORK FOR IT" GASM ASPEN, COLORADO—THE "FANCY" GASM ANYWHERE WITH THE NEXT BIG DUMP— THE "HERE-AND-NOW" GASM, THE "ANTICIPATORY" GASM, THE "MINDFULNESS" GASM

E LWAY V IL L E | 1 1 .1 9

Back to the Start

Ski Here Now T H E SE A SO N IS H ERE. S TO P WO RRY I N G A N D FI N D T H E PERFEC T I O N I N FRO N T O F YO U.

I

by PETER KRAY

met a lone skier in a backcountry shelter once years ago. We talked for a while, discussing the lines we planned to ski and the condition of the snow.

Then we exchanged the stickers we had coincidentally both made and both stuck on the shelter wall.

Mine said, “Shred White & Blue,” expressing what I thought—and still think of—as a patriotic solidarity untethered by politics and built on a love of our country, boardsports, fresh waves and pure snow.

His said, “Ski Here Now.” It’s much more Zen, the way it expresses the endless possibility of making the turn right in front of you.

Wherever and at whatever moment you are at in the world.

The more I think about it, the more it reminds me of what happens in winter.

Once the cold comes, your mind starts to wander in the reverie of skinning, the metronome of ascending steps up the long flanks of repeating white peaks, with only your heartbeat and the wind in your ears.

And how on the way down the turns blend into each other, snaking down the slope. The days become almost inseparable, with only the memory of the faces of the friends you were skiing with that day to set them apart.

In the waybackmachine heyday of my ski-bum existence, an Internet-free four-year memory-making tour in Jackson Hole, our hunger was visceral.

We were always really hungry, hungry to the point where you start to seriously consider the lone aluminum wrapped piece of shrimp, pineapple, sausage and green pepper pizza that has been sitting in the corner of the refrigerator for months, if not a year.

On an almost daily basis, we lived on eggs, beans, spaghetti and happy-hour nachos.

Sometimes, we ate nothing at all.

We thought we hit the big time when a buddy who worked at Albertson’s started dropping off wilted broccoli and day-old donuts and eclairs.

One roommate—a movie-star-handsome Upstate New York farm boy who had almost made it to race in the World Cup— lived by the carbfriendly mantra that, “There’s a sandwich in every beer.”

What I remember most viscerally Illustration by KEVIN HOWDESHELL / THEBRAVEUNION.COM however, was how free it felt to be out on the mountain every day, roaming like a bird. I can’t forget “To be honest,” that sense of only snow and sky, Peter said, “I still want where any limits disappeared above to hold on to that for a you in a basin of blue. little while.”

There’s that moment when you I was jealous to hear realize that what you are basically him say it, because I doing for free, people pay thousands had missed some of of dollars to do. But every day, you the best days on the just ski because basically, there’s local hill. Some prior, nothing better to do. self-made commitment If I am waxing a little poetic then had kept me willfully shackled. Some I am sorry. I am just writing out the interview or lunch meeting I had script for my next personal one-onscheduled or some freelance story I one “get-your-love-of-life-as-youhad due. experience-it-right-now-together And in between all those said wake-up calls.” commitments, what did I do? I wasted The bottom line? Nobody has it most of the day checking out the better than the person who is going chairlift webcams, watching dog skiing tomorrow! Here, and now. videos on social media, and resolving absolutely not one bit of political or —ELEVATION OUTDOORS EDITOR-AT-LARGE climatological angst by watching the PETER KRAY IS THE AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF nightly news.

SKIING. THE BOOK HAS BEEN CALLED “THE Rather than taking the time to “Ski GREATEST SKI NOVEL OF ALL TIME.” DON’T Here Now,” at least at my local hill, I BELIEVE THE HYPE? BUY IT HERE AND READ IT NOW: AMZN.TO/2LMZPVN hardly skied at all.

"Once the cold comes, your mind starts to wander in the reverie of skinning, the metronome of ascending steps up the long flanks of repeating white peaks, with only your heartbeat and the wind in your ears."

Worry Can Hibernate

My friend Peter Donahue teaches skiing at Taos Ski Valley every winter.

I ran into him this past April in Big Sky, Montana, after not seeing him in

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person for a couple of years.

We had both traveled north to catch some spring turns with colleagues and friends. Neither one of us wanted the season to end (we did not know at the time that last season would extend well into June).

Peter, who can paint a clear picture in very few words, was matterof-fact about how in the winter the real world disappears for him—the daily news, the Internet, unpaid bills— while he takes clients out on the hill to chase gravity, skiing all day with new friends and old, then relaxing in the quiet embrace of the season with his family at home.

E L E VAT I O N O U T D O O R S / N OV E M B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 019

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