The world of Anthony Perez revolves around being able to stay afloat amidst change—change in plans, change in direction, change in the weather, change in the wind. He’s sort of a self-made hybrid of a concierge and Mary Poppins.
Anthony grew up among the tall pines and thick woods of the Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River comes off Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. “The headwaters of the Mississippi is just a tiny creek there,” Anthony says and he pulls out a photo of a few young kids walking knee-deep through a tranquil, small creek, maybe six feet wide with cattails along its banks, that many hundreds of miles downstream becomes the wide and mighty Mississippi. “I like to pull out that photo for people from Louisiana or Mississippi, especially New Orleans,” he laughs, “just to show them what the river looks like from up here.” Read More »

It’s a festival…

Five months after Dan Prater died suddenly and unexpectedly in October 1979, his close friend and attorney, Paul Puckett, created the first-ever Dan Prater Memorial Cup in March 1980. Read More »

A diligent (and sometimes critical) reader sent me an email Monday evening just as I literally finished writing this piece. “So I thought you would like to read this before you have an editorial about how great the snow is…and how dangerous it is out there…” she wrote and she included an interesting piece on how Obamacare is tied to job loss. While her powers of clairvoyance (or maybe my predictability) are impressive, there are times to live in the moment. And the moment calls for a shout out to one of the things that makes living here worthwhile. Obamacare is important and flawed and worthy of discussion but this time I have to write about an epic snowstorm—We are a ski town, after all, and when it snows like it has, our mountain is one of the best.

First, some appreciation. Everyone in the High Lift or North Face lift line jokes about the lack of work being done in the valley as they spy the faces around them—but there’s a key crew who give it up for everyone else.
Thanks to those who work to make this place safe and livable when it is Duuuuumping like it has the past two weeks. I’m thinking specifically of the ski patrol and lift ops. The plow drivers, snow shovellers and cops. The Crested Butte avalanche forecasters and bus drivers. Without you men and women, we’d just be stuck in a storm with a silly name. As it is, we get Open Snow meteorologist Joel Gratz forecasting for Crested Butte bliss and we are able to navigate nirvana in a ski town. So thanks to all of you!

Now, let’s talk about the good…or the goods in this case. More than 16 feet of fresh is gracing the mountain this season—so far. It is one of those winters. The winters we live for. The winters that bring joy and smiles and adrenaline to those who don’t mind skiing a storm. Let’s also note that this type of winter should also bring top-notch wildflowers and boating and fishing to us in the summer. It might also add a few inches to Blue Mesa.
Resort skiing has been off the charts the last 14 days. It is a real high mountain winter and that’s when that piece of rock, with its industrial tourism infrastructure and chairlifts, shines. Every run is skiing well. The rocks are there but there are a lot fewer of them now than there were a month ago. The CBMR website is reporting that 43 inches of snow has fallen the last seven days. And this storm cycle has lasted more than ten. More than 200 inches have painted the hill this winter.
And for those who ride the snow, it has been fantastical. Social media is full of photos and videos of people enjoying the powder. There are photos of stop signs sunk below drifts. The fences are getting shorter and disappearing. The excitement is palpable on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. People are enjoying the ride. The hoots and hollers are constant as skiers of all abilities cut the fresh snow. These days (compared to, say, 1990) it sure takes less time to cut it all up but when it snows like this, there is always tomorrow. Snow means fun in a ski town. It has been a lot of fun in Crested Butte.

The bad…
Now that fun comes at a price. Snow maintenance is necessary. It’s hard work shoveling and snowblowing. But the snowbanks that are being created will be the ones that are seen 50 years from now hanging as photos in the museum. The tunnels leading into the front doors of local houses, the people throwing snow up over their decks because there is nowhere else to put it are the memories of a legendary ski season. Backs are stiff, shoulders are sore and chiropractors must be busy.
There’s also the affliction known as Cabin Fever (see Steve Church article in the February 7 issue of the Crested Butte News). Cabin Fever can get real ugly. As someone mentioned to me after day 6 or 7 of the storm, for those who don’t ski or board, the forecast is one of pain. The foot of overnight snow isn’t about hitting High Life or Staircase; it’s about staying sane. It’s about moving snow out of the driveway or dealing with the snowbanks from the plows. It’s about not seeing the sun for days. That is testing. It’s about living in a harsh environment where the fun isn’t front and center. I feel bad for those who don’t play in the snow.
And to those who play a little extra during the ski day…be aware when you smoke weed on the hill. The hill is located on U.S. Forest Service property and so it is illegal to smoke pot there. It’s a stupid waste of time, money and resources for the feds to seek out pot smokers in the Glades but they apparently are…so be aware.

The ugly…
Unfortunately there are times when extreme weather can bring harsh consequences in a place like this. It happens more often here than at more “normal” locales. This week was no different. Some people out to enjoy the winter mountains were caught in an avalanche. One of them was killed. That is weirdly not abnormal here. We send our thoughts and condolences to those who are family and friends of the people impacted. There are times to be out there and times to stay away. This was a stay-away time. Hopefully others will learn a lesson from the tragedy of one more avalanche death in our neighborhood. These mountains provide so much pleasure but they must be respected.
And in times like these, it’s not just in the backcountry. When it warms up, the roofs shed and I’ve seen cars get smashed from sliding snow. Pets and people need to be on guard as well. It’s not easy to see around corners when snowbanks are literally 12 feet high so be wary driving or walking through intersections. And remember 2,000-pound machines don’t stop on a dime in this weather.

So be careful and aware and respectful out there. Yeah, the snow is great and we are lucky enough to have a group of professionals who run a ski area that provides safe riding during these wonderfully over-the-top but dangerous conditions. Enjoy it all. Push the boundaries but understand there are boundaries and responsibilities that come in such times.

Funkateer

Tyler Lucas sits on the couch, cradling a guitar as though it were an old friend, a favorite child and a wondrous mystery that has kept its allure all these years. He plucks and strums out snippets, a bit of classical, blues, jazz and a Grateful Dead riff, easily transitioning from one to the other to demonstrate how music functions, how different scales fit the different chord progressions. 

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No sales contract signed by deadline

The potential sale of Crested Butte Mountain Resort that was announced last November has fallen through. A deadline to sign a sales contract was set for last Friday, January 31 but no agreements were signed, so the deal as discussed by the Mueller family and an unnamed suitor is off the table. Read More »

The Life and times of Jeff Schneider

When Jeff Schneider started building his house on Teocalli and First Street in 1978, the upper west end was just an empty space with no trees. It was just mine tailings and open views south to Gibson’s Ridge, north to Paradise Divide and the old dirt trail road leading to Peanut Lake curved up at the end of his street. The house took Jeff five years to build, while he lived in a van parked outside. He feels it was one of his great accomplishments—and that’s saying something for The Schnoid.
So, what the hell is a Schnoid? Jeff thinks his local given nickname was fashioned from Mr. Snoid, a character created by the artist R. Crumb of the early 1970s psychedelic Zap Comix era. 

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Roxana Alvarez sits at a table at the Ginger Café with her son, Cash, who is fingering morsels of appetizers while spouting hilariously clever snippets worthy of a precocious ten-year old.
Between bites and banter, Roxana’s story unravels like a frayed but colorful skein of yarn, beginning in post-missile crisis Havana, Cuba, where she was born.
Most school kids in the United States at the time were learning how to “duck and cover” under their desks. In Cuba, Roxana’s parents were studying at university. Her mother was going to be an architect, her father an accountant, but both were forced by law to quit when they refused to pledge themselves to Castro’s Communist Party.
Like many women at that time, Roxana’s mom dropped out of university and was living with her mother. “And that’s where I was born,” in the house built by her grandfather, says the woman with the almond eyes. Read More »

Eleven’s quest for domination continues

The potential expansion of commercial property in the Irwin area moved closer to reality last week as the Gunnison County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the Eleven company’s sketch plan for development to the Board of County Commissioners for approval. Read More »

Crested Butte’s icy sidewalks present challenges…

 “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” —Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings

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The man of many cloths

At the Crested Butte Ski School, instructor Rick Barton is exchanging warm, comical banter with a fellow skier, “We really enjoy him because he sets the bar so low,” he jokes and elicits a big grin from the guy. There’s a sincere and compassionate tone in Rick’s voice, a joyous sense of humor, and an undeniable sparkle in his eyes that says he is happy with his world. 

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