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Profile: Sam Lumb

By Dawne Belloise

Most long-time locals remember that before Sam Lumb was a successful realtor, he ran the most popular nosh and social place in Crested Butte for many years back in the 1980s called the Bakery Café, which was located at Third and Elk. Maybe you’re even among the lucky who still have one of the 12,000 large coffee mugs made with the café’s name emblazoned on it. Sam had bought the bakery, then named Old World Bakery, after it had fallen on hard times and its doors were shuttered during the recession of 1981. He renamed it and opened in July that same year. The new bakery had 14 seats and seven tables, “And we rocked,” Sam grins. Sam has had three different full careers in his 45 years in town where he built a home and a family. 

Sam came from a modest family, growing up in the western suburbs of Chicago. He played little league baseball but tells that childhood was less activity driven when he was a kid. “It wasn’t as structured as it is now. My family was keen on camping and we’d go on car camping trips to the upper peninsula of Michigan or Wisconsin. I was fortunate to have a wonderful family and caring parents.” 

He graduated from high school in 1965 and attended Drake University in Iowa where he earned a liberal arts degree in economics in 1969. It was there that he met his wife Nan at a mixer dance. Sam then moved to the north side of Chicago. “It was hip, edgy and youthful back then. It was the ‘70s, and there were restaurants and clubs. I would ride the L train to work as a social worker for disadvantaged and poor people in neighborhoods like the southside.”

He and Nan thoroughly enjoyed the city life there, going to the clubs to see legends like Howling Wolf, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. They were in their mid-20s and life was good. They were also avid hikers and outdoors people, camping in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Boundary Waters, a national park on the north side of Lake Superior. “And then we got into Colorado backpacking and fell in love with the West,” he recalls. They arrived in Colorado in 1972 and visited the rebel hippie town of Ward, above Boulder, and Rocky Mountain National Park. 

In 1977, they decided to get married, and moved to Crested Butte that June. “It was rustic and unpolished. The houses were old and many were dilapidated but we fell in love with CB,” he says, even though opportunities were limited. “It didn’t have the economy or the cultural resources that it has today. What it did have was a significant collection of the old-timers, the old mining families. I got to know a great many of them.”

The newlyweds rented a house next to the Forest Queen where the CB Arts Fair was right outside their door. “We grabbed a broom and swept Elk Avenue after the fair. It was an afternoon of feeling the life we wanted to live,” he reminisces. “That first summer, I put the nail belt on and went to work as a carpenter.” From his days as a social worker, Sam felt there was an opportunity to help people by working as a marshal, and was hired in the spring of 1978 after attending the law academy. Reflecting the persona of CB, the marshals back then wore an appropriate uniform in the old west flavor. “I wore a leather vest and a gold star. I favored wearing cowboy boots and we were very western.” One tragedy from that time sticks with him still. “It was 11 p.m. and there was a terrible accident on Elk in front of the Forest Queen where a victim was trapped in the car.” The victim died that night, and the haunting memory of that scene remains. “You grow up a lot when you have to go in the middle of the night and tell someone their loved one has died. I appreciated who I worked with and enjoyed the job, but I needed to look for better opportunity.”

The Bakery Café was that opportunity. “We were ultra food-oriented. We customized menus, everything was baked fresh on the spot, not fried, and anything that was eight hours old headed to the day-old basket. We provided for visitors and locals. We gave away thousands of cups of water to everyone and there were always lots of kids hanging around after school for cookies.” The café would also conduct kitchen tours and field trips for the kids. In 1984, during a remodel project in the café, Sam tells “We had to fill a hole in the floor and thought it was a good spot for a time capsule. The kindergarteners brought over a time capsule, and we poured the concrete and tiled over it, and it’s still there, inside the front door,” he says of the perhaps forgotten capsule to be rediscovered in some future remodel of what is currently Pitas in Paradise. 

Every day, the bakery rolled out fresh breads, cinnamon rolls, fruit pies, danishes, true European croissants, and they made thousands of eclairs over the years. “And all made from scratch. We had a wonderful crew of many people that gave their heartfelt work as bakery staff, like Jimmy Faust, Jim Michael, Carol Bauer, Berit Deer and every year we had a bakery family Christmas party.” 

The bakery was also a meeting space where plans were made and events were planned, like the Rubber Duckie Race and the first Wildflower Festival meetings. “It was a community space,” he says of his 20-year business that closed in 2001. “People still talk and recollect the enjoyment of Mountain Munchies and Sausage en Croute, they were the fast food of town. They were damn good,” he says proudly, but affirms that he still won’t give out the sacred recipes.

“It was a magical time. We literally fed millions, from governors to celebrities, but most importantly, we fed locals.” The bakery’s tagline was from a time when Crested Butte turned on a much slower pace, “Wakin’ up Crested Butte since 1981,” and Sam wants a side note to his epitaph to read, “Is this for here or to go?” 

After the bakery days, Sam became a realtor in 2001. “I had built homes and remodeled. I had an interest in building, contracting and construction, so the weathervane pointed to working in real estate.” In between and throughout his 45-year tenure here, Sam built two homes for his family, a house in Gunnison for his mom, became a volunteer firefighter on the early crew, was a founding member of the High Country Citizens Alliance (HCCA) and was at the first Red Lady Salvation Ball and many thereafter. He spent a four-year term on the county planning commission. He also played softball for 25 years on Sunshine’s Bathhouse team in the ‘80s and he’s now been with the Hares for 20 years where he still pitches. As a broker, Sam joined with LIV Sotheby’s. These days, he hikes and this past winter picked up his 44th Crested Butte Mountain Resort season ski pass. He’s done a dozen Chainless races, and this year he did the festive local event with his two kids, Paris and Hayley. 

“I have good close friends to pal around with,” along with his golden retriever Stella, “and that’s good stuff,” he smiles and says. “Our CB lives have been a wonder and all we’ve ever hoped for – fulfilling, challenging, rewarding and the community we’re so fortunate to be part of. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served the community in different ways through the years. There’s still the core here, there are still a lot of us who came here for the life that was and is still here. It’s my life’s home here.”

Bird by bird…

Good advice I’ve heeded through the years is to take things bird by bird to get good things done…or in my case this past weekend, stroke by stroke. But a big house project all came around to again seeing a great trait of our community through the fumes of 20 gallons of siding stain.

Spending four, eight-hour days on a ladder breathing oil-based stain fumes is not the best way to enjoy a sunny weekend at 9,000 feet, but it accomplished a needed house project that was put off for years. It also gave me a lot of time to think, but the fumes are lingering a day later, and I don’t remember most of what crossed my mind 23 feet above the ground.

Staining a house takes time. Just the idea can be overwhelming when looking at the size of a house and the size of a brush. It’s probably one reason it didn’t get done for so long.

In her book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott focuses on writing and life. It is a good book. One lesson she imparts is that when facing a daunting task, take it one piece at a time. A worthy task can be full of challenge and frustration and also very rewarding. Just start and see what happens. 

The title Bird by Bird comes from advice that her dad gave her then 10-year old brother who had let a three-month school deadline slip to the very last minute and was faced with having to compose a big report on birds in a single night. He panicked and froze as he thought of the task ahead. “(My brother) was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”

Good life advice. That’s how I did the house. One stroke at a time. I took it stroke by stroke. And four days later, 95% of the house is richer and darker than a week ago. Of course, I had help from family and it wasn’t easy, but it got done…and looks great by the way! In the haze of redwood stain fumes, it was also a reminder of how we accomplish real things in the valley—bird by bird.

In this world of screens and instant gratification where one expects easy answers to sometimes complicated issues, this community has taken the approach to get things done. Big problems are daunting, but the folks here understand they can be faced one step at a time. 

Yeah, there isn’t enough affordable housing for people who want to live near where they work. There probably never will be but it can be better. Since the 1990s, the town of CB has taken on the issue one stroke at a time. The town set aside land in the 1990s for mobile homes at the entrance to town. They used carrots and sticks to get more deed restrictions on homes in Crested Butte. The community found ways to incentivize homeowners to use small accessory dwelling units and alley houses for people. And when compared to most other mountain resort communities in the Rockies, Crested Butte today has one of the highest percentages of full-time residents actually living in town. About 65% of the homes in CB are occupied by residents year round. Other resort towns are closer to 30%.

As experience and money have expanded in the valley, there are two major workforce housing projects that will likely see dirt turned within a year or two. The Sixth and Butte Mineral Point project should begin this fall and includes 34 rentals for people not making a lot of money as well as deed-restricted home ownership opportunities in Paradise Park. The Whetstone project south of Crested Butte will, in theory, add about 230 units dedicated for workers. The hope is to begin that project in the fall of 2024. That likely means another 450-600 people living in the North Valley and being a lot closer to their jobs than the workers who live in Leadville and work in Aspen or Vail. Throw in the potential of the North Village, Homestead and projects in Gunnison, and the community is figuring out ways to keep a vibrant full-time community living in this magical place that could have easily turned into just another enclave for the super-rich. Bird by bird.

The RTA started out 20 years ago as an avenue to support airlines coming into the valley. It gradually added bus service up and down the valley. In 2008, its first year on the road, it provided 11 roundtrips in the winter, three roundtrips in the spring and fall and nine in the summer. Right now, there are 28 roundtrips going between Gunnison and Mt. Crested Butte every day this summer. This winter there could be up to 42 roundtrips every day. Bird by bird.

Other models of local success reached step-by-step through relationships, truth to place and honest commitment to compromise and respect include things like the Gunnison Basin Strategic Sage Grouse Committee, the myriad trail systems at both ends of the valley that weave in and out of public and private property. In that vein, there are the Crested Butte Conservation Corps, the Gunnison Trails trail crews and the STOR Corps backcountry crews. U.S. Senator Michael Bennett is working hard with local recreationists, ranchers, businesspeople, wildlife advocates and conservation groups to come up with the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act that could benefit our region. It has taken awhile but it keeps moving forward. Bird by bird.

I tuned in to a Gunnison County commissioner’s meeting last week. It was at that meeting that Western Colorado University representatives laid out the basics of their new strategic plan. 

Commissioners Jonathan Houck and Laura Puckett Daniels (LPD) praised the plan for its return to seeing its location as a positive, its commitment to a liberal arts education element and its acknowledgment that it too will have to address challenges like housing one step at a time. 

“Our community excels in problem solving and that is in part through the application of the skills that are the foundation of a liberal arts education,” said Houck. He said this community can see challenges and look at different ways to solve problems and then take the numerous, not always easy, steps needed to finish something. Bird by bird. 

Accomplishing real goals and not just coming up with more plans comes through creativity and resilience. It’s not thinking a magic wand is out there to suddenly fix everything. But it’s what we do as a community. Being able to communicate with friends, neighbors and adversaries is also important in any successful endeavor. LPD agreed a liberal arts education can help provide all those skills and emphasized the value of communication and lasting relationships. That too is part of our “brand” if you will. Add to it by not making the mistake of letting the perfect get in the way of the good (my staining job certainly was not perfect, but it was good) and it all adds up to success.

The fumes are still swirling in my brain, and I am sure there are a thousand of other examples of local accomplishments that came through creative ideas, hard work and resilience. The thing that frustrates too many here is that it actually takes time and work to accomplish real success. Frankly, I have little patience for those that just want what they want now and can’t see the practical steps it takes to get something done.

 If you want to get good things done— it’s done bird by bird, stroke by stroke. We are fortunate to live in such a place…and I am fortunate that the staining project is over.

—Mark Reaman

Junior mountain bikers to take over Crested Butte

Three days of racing,five days of fun

By Than Acuff 

For the eighth year in a row, Crested Butte Devo is hosting Junior Bike Week starting Wednesday, June 21 and continuing through the weekend, culminating with the Crested Butte Junior Wildflower Classic on Sunday, June 25.

It’s a five-day festival celebrating kids on bikes and includes a full slate of activities for the junior racer, the beginner junior mountain biker and their families that continues to gain ground each year with a peak last year. Yet, rather than continue to grow the event by opening it up to more people, Crested Butte Devo avoids the trappings of more is better by opting for a quality over quantity philosophy. They limited the number of participants last year and kept that limit in place this year despite events selling out well in advance and interest continuing to grow.

 “We really made a shift, it’s not about numbers,” says Crested Butte Devo executive director Amy Nolan. “It’s more about the depth than the width. We have similar numbers to last year and that’s a number where we can provide a fun, safe experience.”

Furthermore, while racing is part of Junior Bike Week, it is far from the main focus of Junior Bike Week. 

“This is a festival,” says Nolan. “The mission of Crested Butte Devo is to provide a fun and safe environment for young cyclists to develop skills and passion that last a lifetime.”

Things started on Wednesday, June 21, as Crested Butte Devo joined the Crested Butte Conservation Corps for some trail work. In past years their efforts were concentrated on the Town of Crested Butte Bike Park by the community school, but with the park already in good shape, Crested Butte Devo is heading into the hills to help CBCC with some trail work.

The festival then officially kicks into gear on Thursday, June 22, as families and their junior riders rolling into town will be treated to opening events, event registration, food trucks and plenty of libations from the Horsefeather Mobile Bar at the Junior Bike Week headquarters by the Crested Butte Community School. Riders in the Enduro race slated for Friday will be able to pre-ride the course in the Evolution Bike Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort during the day, complete with discounted lift tickets for participants and families. Also on Thursday, from 5-7 p.m., Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association is hosting a “no drop” ride for adults on the trails surrounding the town.

Friday is when the racing starts for the junior shredders with the Enduro races. The first two years of the Enduro event were held on local trails but this year the Enduro will take place at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. 

“We wanted a more spectator friendly event and the resort has been super supportive,” says Nolan.

The Enduro is also the first of three events in the Triple Crown Challenge for kids who want to challenge their gravity-fed, pump track and cross-country riding abilities. Last year, 122 riders did all three and when all is said and done, the Kings and Queens of Junior Bike Week will be awarded in all age categories.

The Enduro course is set for Upper Luge and Teaser and the racing is set to kick off on Friday at 10 a.m. with the awards ceremony set for 2 p.m. back at Junior Bike Week headquarters in town.

Meanwhile, there will be food and drinks throughout the day at the event headquarters, including a cookout fundraiser by the CB Devo high school bike team, and Friday’s schedule concludes with a movie night and raffle at the Majestic Theatre starting at 6 p.m. 

Junior Bike Week is then centered almost entirely at headquarters with the Pump Track Challenge in the bike park, the second event of the Triple Crown, as well as a “foot down” challenge, skills clinics and more food and drinks ramping up the festival atmosphere of Junior Bike Week.

“Saturday is when it all comes together,” says Nolan. “It’s such a different vibe from the usual junior race weekends when you combine festival, fun-focused events. Saturday is all about fun.”

The attention then turns to the third and final event of the Triple Crown as junior riders will be lining up Sunday, June 25, for the Junior Wildflower Classic with neutral starts and the finish line on Peanut Lake Road and the courses utilizing the Lupine and Lower Loop trail system.

“The flowers are going to be ready just in time,” says Nolan. “It blows the doors off any junior racecourse I’ve seen. Partnerships with the Town of Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Land Trust make it all possible.”

The racing begins on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and while Junior Bike Week riders will dominate the trails and the public is asked to steer clear of these trails in the morning, Nolan assures all will be back to normal and open to the public early in the day.

“We understand we take over things, but we do move off the trails pretty darn quickly,” says Nolan. “Last year we were off by noon.”

While all events and races are already sold out, there’s still plenty of activities to take part in throughout the five-day festival as families and kids celebrate all things mountain biking and, as always, volunteers are needed to make the event another great success. For all information regarding Junior Bike Week go to juniorbikeweek.com.

March forth….

By Mark Reaman

It doesn’t seem possible, but we are hitting the homestretch of the ski season. It is hard to believe it is already March. With a relatively early April closing, the snow should last well beyond when the ski lifts stop spinning in less than a month. But before that happens, there is a season to close out. March can be a fantastic ski and event month and we are in it. 

Spring Break up at Crested Butte Mountain Resort is always a crapshoot as the school breaks in Texas, Oklahoma and the Front Range either stack up or spread out the spring visitors. Kids at the CB Community School are used to spring breaking after the lifts close in April, but the rest of the world takes their break in March and we get the flood of happy people here to enjoy snow and sun that closes out the season. Get ready for lines.

Based on in-depth analytics— riding the bus with the dude from the ski shop who prepares the rental fleet—it appears this coming week will be one of the busiest in the valley for March. Given our fantastic snow, it is expected that the entire month will stay pretty busy this year. But if we do indeed hit a spring peak this weekend, you may want to double-think your choice to catch the Red Lady Lift about 10 o’clock this Saturday. One fun alternative might be to sip a cup of coffee and tune into the online mountain cams at that time instead. 

On top of thousands of spring breakers arriving soon, I see the Prater Cup is coming to the mountain this week. Without even looking at the forecast, I would take the bet we’ll get some snow this weekend. I swear that in the past three decades, no matter how much of the donut hole we were experiencing, whenever the Prater Cup was held we could count on at least a day or two of powder that slowed down the race but made the all-mountain skiing soft and fun. The parents of racers loved it.

The Prater storms really helped in years when the pow was lean, but it’s not so much needed this season. I get the feeling now that some locals are getting tired of the clouds and snow and would prefer to see some high-altitude sunshine. Fair enough. I’ve gone through a couple of big snow shovels in the last four months, so I get it, but the skiing is fantastic.

I will note that the Prater used to take place in February, and aside from snow, it always brought a mid-season emotional pop to the resort. The race has always been a fun event with local flavor organized by Steph Prater that ended in smiles and socializing from all the young skiers from across the region. 

Racers and their families attended Garcia BBQs, were assigned teams based on various countries, donned the colors of the team’s country and competed with other young racers who wanted to have a good time on the mountain. This year’s Prater is geared to an older ski competitor that is likely to be more serious about winning and probably cares less about carrying flags and decorating the slopes in the colors of Japan or France. The racing will likely be faster, and I have no idea if there will be fun activities on top of the competition. I do know that with the event in March, we can all expect some more shoveling. 

We are moving into the crescendo of a good 2022-23 ski season. All sorts of events like the Al Johnson, Flauschink, Disco Inferno, the Grand Traverse, film presentations, Town League hockey finals, Ski Town Breakdown, concerts and dance parties will fill the remaining calendar. As tired as you might be, take that extra breath and grab the end of a sweet season. Live the life that is presented as a gift at 9,000 feet.

One March reminder on a more sober note. Last Monday, March 6, was the 33rd anniversary of one of the harder days in Crested Butte’s modern history. That was the day in 1990 that the Crested Butte State Bank exploded, killing three of our locals and injuring many others. Three Ladies Park is named in honor of the women, Jade Woelk, Donna Smith and Monica Henning, who lost their lives that tragic morning. No one knew the reason for the explosion when it happened, and thoughts of a terrorist bomb were rampant. As it turned out, it was caused by a propane gas leak. The bank was rebuilt, the community scarred but united. It is a day that is part of modern CB and one that many people experienced and carry with them to this day. 

It is a reminder that while we live in a place geared toward adventure and fun, life is precious, and one never truly knows when it might change. So, embrace the mountain life when you have the chance. March offers that chance. Take the end of the season breath and enjoy a pretty good finale in the mountains. Oh, and don’t put away that shovel just yet.

On a mission…

By Mark Reaman

Being on a mission can accomplish good things. Looking at something as a “mission” brings focus and tangible goals. That’s the point of a mission. Being on a mission can also take so much focus at times that it blinds the person on the mission to the bigger picture. I see a lot of people on a lot of missions these days, both locally and in the world at the moment. Some are good, others not so much…

The valley of elected officials all seem on a mission to provide workforce housing at both ends of the valley. That’s good. There are probably a half a dozen major affordable housing projects on drawing boards somewhere. The overall goal seems to be to provide as many beds as possible at any given site. Density is the rallying cry. I’d argue that comfortable and affordable neighborhoods should be the ultimate call to arms. That might mean fewer units in any given project to make space for things like yards or common areas to accommodate dogs, garages or storage spaces to accommodate vehicles and recreational toys, and trails and transit stops to accommodate integration with the whole valley. It should be about quality of life not just filling a busser position. The overall mission is a needed one as we see free market prices push out blue-collar workers that add depth to the community. But to do it differently from other resort communities, to do it better than other resort communities and do it with the true overall community in mind, should be a big part of the mission.

Fox News was on a mission after January 6…to deceive their fickle viewers even if it meant weakening the country for a few (million) bucks. That became obvious in court papers involving Dominion Voting Systems released this week where it was shown top Fox News staff admitted that Donald’s accusations of a rigged election were bullsh*t. But seeing Fox viewers flee to even more right-wing wingnut media outlet Newsmax that promoted the BS made the top Fox executives and on-air egos peddle the BS to retain the viewership of Trump sycophants who fell for the con. It never seemed to me Fox was a beacon of principle over money, but the January 6 situation is taking it to a new, frankly, despicable level. 

Politics is primarily about communication and getting things done. I normally appreciate county commissioner Liz Smith’s voice on various boards but at the recent RTA meeting she seemed on a mission to replace the current air consultant for the RTA who was awarded a contract from the board at the end of last year. She said she just wanted to see what else was available despite saying the current consultant, Bill Tomcich of Airplanners LLC had provided “excellent service.” I have spoken to her since the meeting, and she clarified her goal is not to push out Tomcich but to simply make the board and public aware that there could be some conflicts with Airplanners as the air consulting landscape has changed over the years. Airplanners is potentially taking on a partner that consults for the Montrose Airport that Smith sees as GUC’s major regional airport competition. I’m not sure there’s really that much competition between GUC and MTJ (we are what we are) and Tomcich made clear his sensitivity to the potential conflict of interest perception and stated how that would be avoided. Still, Liz said at the meeting she didn’t want to arm wrestle anyone over the issue or belabor the point, but she spent close to an hour belaboring the point and twisting arms to have a new RFP issued. No one else on the board at the meeting expressed any interest in pursuing an immediate RFP for the air consultant position but most seemed open to doing so when the current contract expires in less than two years. While this is sort of inside baseball with the political landscape, the public discussion was frustrating and seemed a waste of time especially since the discussion would have been more appropriate a few months ago when the contract was up for renewal. Maybe it’s just a matter of better communication…

Like so many mean old men fading into the sunset, Vladmir Putin seems on a mission to restore his legacy and apparently restore the old Russian empire — or destroy the world trying. His evil attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine while looking east toward Poland and who knows where from there, seems as if it could easily trigger the next war of the worlds. The cry of American Republicans to stop spending American dollars in Ukraine might turn to weeping if Putin is allowed to proceed with his twisted dream that could turn all of Europe into a battlefield nightmare that the US would have no choice but to engage, especially if he continues his march to a NATO ally like Poland. I am not an advocate for any war but my more pacificist values don’t always align with the realities of a psychopath with power like Putin who has clearly demonstrated his intent and his mission that seems to be to sow the seeds for war in order to die with an empire. Republicans who support Putin’s vision seem on a mission to reshape this country in his mold. 

Not unexpectantly, genius Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is on a mission to literally split the country through a “divorce” of red states and blue states. Secession is always a cool position for members of Congress to take. What she might not understand in her mission is that a study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government found that traditional Democratic blue states contributed significantly more federal taxes per citizen than Republican red states. And yet, these same Republican states receive far more in federal dollar expenditures than they contribute in taxes. For example, Mississippi receives $2.07 for every tax dollar it sends to Washington, Kentucky $2.89, Virginia $2.24. In other words, red states, on average, rank significantly higher than blue states when it comes to freeloading off other states. If Marjorie accomplishes her mission, I anticipate the reds will be green with envy.

And finally, there’s Crested Butte Town League hockey that might need a mission. As younger and better players have joined the winter version of CB softball, it has caused tension. The skill and temperature have risen. The really good players have a tendency to up their game against one another. The experienced players seem to too often revert to the typical college or junior hockey style that includes “chirping” at opponents and the refs. 

The refs are getting fed up with that (see story on page 27) so there may not be any refs willing to show up, which ultimately means there may not be any games, which means there may not be any Town League if players aren’t careful and shape up their hockey culture. Maybe there needs to be the super competitive A league and the more relaxed B league? Maybe the top 24 players form four teams of six that play NHL overtime rules with 3X3 on the ice for three eight-minute periods. Lots of ice space, lots of scoring, lots of opportunity to show off the skill set. But it sounds like a mission needs to be taken to right the Town League ship. It would be a shame to lose a good winter community staple in Crested Butte.

Profile: Leah Fischer

By Dawn Belloise

Leah Fischer spent 20 years volunteering as a firefighter paramedic with the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) under chief Rick Ems and three years as a paid career employee. She resigned in May of 2021 and continued to work part-time for Gunnison Paramedics. In the winter of 2020, she also began working as needed at the Mountain Clinic. She still fills in a few times during the season.

She was hired full-time this year by the Fountain Fire Department and bought a part-time home in Fountain, near Pueblo. Her captain in Gunnison, Jill Adams, had helped get her a position as a paramedic with American Medical Response (AMR), a private ambulance company in Pueblo. “Within four weeks of running ambulance calls in Pueblo, I superseded 23 years of call volume in the Gunnison Valley. Jill Adams was the best support I had, that organization, Gunnison Valley Paramedics, operates as a family and they are top notch,” she says. She’s now part-time with AMR since being hired at Fountain.

Leah was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She laughs that she was a Canadian Navy brat. As an 8-year-old kid, she played lots of softball with her dad coaching their fast pitch team, and all through her high school days until she graduated in 1987. Leah left home at 19 and headed straight for the mountains up at Whistler where she joined the volunteer ski patrol and did the ski resort shuffle of employment as a bartender, waitress and human resource for the mountain and banquets. “I’ve never held less than two jobs in all of my adult life,” she tells. “Back then, I wanted to ski as much as I could, and the difference between then and now is that my focus is my kids. I have to keep moving forward for them. It’s what kept me above water when I lost both my parents in 2021 and then my job with the CBFPD, which was really more of a family.” Leah has two kids, born and raised in Crested Butte, Ty who is 19, and Gavin who’s 16 and a junior at CBCS. She and her former husband Dave Fischer raised their kids together, “even after we split up. We’re still good friends,” she says. 

She had met Dave at Whistler in 1990, and after six years, they moved to Telluride. Leah worked in housekeeping at a B&B. The owners also hired her to work in their restaurant and she played on their softball team. She recalls that snow year 1992 through 1993 was an incredible year in Telluride. She and Dave decided to move to Bellingham, Washington so Dave could pursue chef training. Leah became a travel agent. But the mountains were calling them back so when a friend suggested Crested Butte, Leah did some research. “I tried to look it up in a ski magazine, but it was nowhere to be found,” she laughs, “so we said, let’s go.” They packed up their lives and drove out. They had already sent a check for a rental, sight unseen. “It was 1995, it was a different era,” she says of the time where one could actually find housing. “We arrived, drank a beer sitting on our porch in the sunshine, and it was beautiful. But moving our stuff up the stairs, we realized we weren’t at sea level anymore. I loved it,” she smiles at the memory.

Mac Bailey hired Leah as a travel agent, and she was also a lunch waitress at the Idle Spur for the Garcias. After a year at the travel agency, she moved to reservations with the Chamber of Commerce but continued to work at the Idle Spur. “It was that summer when I joined the fire department,” she says, having taken her EMT certification that spring. “Lyn Moore said I had to come to the fire side too, so I signed up as an EMT for that as well. They teach you to be a firefighter and it was all volunteer back then except for the chief and the mechanic, and (CEO) Mike Miller. I obtained Firefighter 1 shortly after.”

Leah became an assistant bookkeeper with Lyn Moore (Moore for Your Money) in ‘99, and in 2000 she launched her own bookkeeping business with her own clients. She was still working at the Chamber and Idle Spur until 2000. She then accepted a full-time position with CBMR as assistant to the mountain manager, “Because I got benefits for my kids, health insurance and ski passes,” she explains.  In 2010, feeling the need to be more flexible for her sons, she decided to focus full-time on her bookkeeping business and left CBMR. It also enabled her to invest more volunteer time for the CB Fire Department. 

Leah feels that taking the recent Critical Care Paramedic Certificate Program in the fall of 2021 through the University of Florida online program helped her to regain a belief in herself, especially after feeling so knocked down with all the personal events of 2021. The course itself taught her the why of paramedicine. “It was a higher level of education. I always need to know why, not just what. It helped me rebuild myself and my self-esteem.” 

“I’ve lived in the Gunnison Valley now for 28 years, which is more than half my adult life. This is my town. I love my town, the people, the surroundings, the character,” she says and recalls her very first time she drove into the valley, “I fell in love with the mountains, it was incredible and from day one I made friends who I’m still close with today.” 

When she’s not working, she’s in Pueblo. Leah goes mountain biking there and in Colorado Springs and Canon City. She was also a little surprised to discover that her new part-time home in Fountain actually gets snow. “I’ve made some great friends there. It’s a whole different lifestyle outside of a ski resort, where I’ve lived since I left home at 19. But when I come back to Crested Butte, I appreciate the mountains and not working myself to the bone. My kids grew up doing all the things you do in the mountains, and we still do all those things together.” But now Leah says she can be more chill. “I can actually take a breath and just enjoy it more with my kids because I chose to fulfill my career in Pueblo.”

Elevation Hotel and Spa getting bar and lounge makeovers

Lobby’s billy barr and Matchstick Lounge opening soon

By Kendra Walker

Since being taken under new ownership, the Elevation Hotel and Spa team has been hard at work over the last six months to reestablish the hotel as a local community gathering place. With renovations underway for both a lobby bar and a new restaurant lounge area, and more plans in the works, the Elevation team is hoping to bring some vibrancy back to the Crested Butte Mountain Resort base area. 

The 262-room Elevation Hotel was acquired by Dallas-based hospitality company WoodHouse from Boxer Property last August, and Elevation’s managing director Nick Klaus recently shared with the News some of the new hotel improvements in development. 

Klaus said that the process so far has been heavily driven by local collaborations and partners in order to make the updated property reflect the vibe of the local community and truly feel like Crested Butte. He stressed that the goal is for the Elevation to be a gathering place and community anchor for locals and visitors alike.

“It’s important to us that we’re bringing the community back here, but also that the guests experience Crested Butte history and what makes Crested Butte unique. Visitors want that local energy and vibe and want to feel like they are part of the community as well. We can create that ecosystem and give people a reason to stay up here.”

billy barr 

The hotel lobby has been renovated into a full-service bar, named the “billy barr” after the world-famous local Gothic resident and environmental researcher. “We want it to be the living room hub of activity,” said Klaus, noting the lobby bar offers a fresh take on the gathering area vibe of the old space now with food and beverage options. “We want to bring the community back in to have a comfortable place to hang.” The space is for guests, locals and anyone who wants to grab a coffee, bite to eat or cocktail. Coffee and breakfast service will be from 7 to 11 a.m., and food and cocktail service will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Klaus recounted the Elevation team’s recent Nordic ski adventure out to Gothic to meet with barr, get his blessing to use his namesake and gather inspiration for the hotel’s new concept. Elements of Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) history will be sprinkled throughout the space, and RMBL and the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum have donated old photos and memorabilia for the décor. 

“billy barr is part of what makes Crested Butte so special!” said RMBL executive director Ian Billick. “For 50 years he has been his own unique individual, doing ground-breaking science around snow. He has generated more international exposure for Crested Butte than any other person or institution, including RMBL. It is great to see the Elevation ensure local awareness around just how special he is.”

The new billy barr is slated to open this month. 

Matchstick Lounge

A new lounge is also in the works within the José restaurant, an award-winning Mexican cuisine and tequila pop-up concept that was introduced last fall as part of the Elevation’s 9380 Tavern food and beverage offering. The overflow space located near the restaurant’s restrooms is being revamped into a new lounge concept called the “Matchstick Lounge.” The space will be able to seat 60, host 100+ people for events and will be open to guests, locals, skiers, riders and athletes. Klaus said the goal is to have a place for brands, athletes and influencers to show their movies, visit and hold events. The Matchstick Lounge will include a pool table, dart board, games and state-of-the-art AV for sporting events, film screenings and world premieres. 

The name and design are inspired by local film production company Matchstick Productions, and the new lounge will include movie posters, Matchstick memorabilia, old cameras, skis and behind the scenes production photos. 

“For over 30 years the crew at Matchstick Productions has been proud to call Crested Butte home,” said Murray Wais, executive producer and director of Matchstick Productions. “We are excited to partner with the Elevation Hotel to open a space where we can celebrate the sports we love, while sharing in the passion of film. We hope everyone can come to have a drink, play some pool and watch some shred flicks or other events. It’s going to be a really cool place and I know our team will be hanging out there. It’s the perfect place to hang after skiing or biking.”

 The Matchstick Lounge is slated to open to the public in early March. Matchstick Productions and the Elevation plan to host events throughout the year for film screenings, athlete signings, industry parties, resort holidays and more.  

Bringing vibrancy to the base area and providing places for workers

Klaus said the Elevation’s new Matchstick Lounge and billy barr are among many projects aiming to create inspiring spaces at the base area to bring people together and celebrate the Crested Butte community and culture. Since WoodHouse took ownership of the Elevation, Klaus said the team has been engaged with the community’s goals and desires to bring vibrancy back to the base area. The town of Mt. Crested Butte recently adopted their new Master Plan, which has stressed the collaborative need to revitalize the base area and sparked stakeholder meetings with property owners at the base area. “People are looking for that vibrancy and to bring some life back to the base area,” said Klaus. “We want to help bring that energy here and contribute some spaces that people want to hang out in up here.” 

The Elevation is also making an effort to house locals, providing housing for hotel staff and CBMR employees. Currently, the hotel has 43 rooms being used for hotel staff housing, said Klaus. “We also have a master lease with Vail to house 40 of their employees here. That’s important for us. As a hotel we want our guests to have a great experience on the mountain, which means employees should be happy and are having a great living experience here.” 

Klaus said the team is still working on the Elevation’s long-term plan for rooms and other parts of the hotel, but he has received positive feedback on the changes since WoodHouse took over ownership. “Sales are up, people appreciate the quality of the food at Jose’s and the service, and everybody so far has been very positive,” he said. “And when it warms up, you can’t beat that patio location.”

Reality vs. idealism: Whetstone, Elk Ave. and chances to guide the growth…

In an ideal world, the property at the top of Elk Avenue would be operating as its traditional use as a working sawmill. All Crested Butte’s local workers would live within 500 yards of their part-time jobs that funded them the freedom to ski and ride and play. The 13-acre Whetstone parcel south of CB would be a scenic meadow filled with wildlife. 

Alas, that ideal is not based in current reality. The reality is money, waves of new people who appreciate resort amenities and gentrification of an old mining town are shifting the old uses to higher end roles like nice homes and affluent businesses. Money is now a major factor on what town will look like and the working class requires specific places and special effort to keep them living in the North Valley. 

That is where decisions made today to guide growth through smart direction and compromise come in.

At Monday’s appeal hearing over a proposed minor subdivision at the top of Elk Avenue, Crested Butte planning commissioner and councilmember Jason MacMillan said he couldn’t say in five years whether someone would have the money needed to build a house on top of the hill. 

He was referring to the weird parcel of land located looker’s right at the very top of Elk Avenue that used to be a quarry and sawmill. MacMillan was debating with some of his colleagues whether someone would have the means to build a house on what looks like an unbuildable hillside but that would have a prime perch overlooking town while being smack dab in town. Lord knows it would take some major engineering to accomplish and that takes deep pockets. But I think I can answer Jason’s question: No — it won’t be five years when someone with such capital comes to town. They got here yesterday. 

Whether a person with that much money wants to spend it for that site is another matter. But this isn’t the 1990s where the wealthiest of CBers might not have the bank account to pay for the engineering, lawyers and construction that would need to go into such a build, or when CB lovers would understand such a decision was not best for the place they wanted to be part of. Learning from our sister resorts ahead of our curve, the new reality is that there are plenty of people of such means here now and someone with an attitude of owning such a unique ‘look at me’ second (or fifth) home would not be surprising these days.

Not to go all softhearted on developers, but it was disappointing to see their appeal fail with CB elected officials when the proponents were suggesting two houses on six lots and a guarantee to keep the hillside site line clear of development in what could be a very visible spot overlooking the heart of CB. It seemed a reasonable compromise that provided some certainty in a highly visible spot and believe it or not Don Quixote, compromise is not always a bad word. You don’t have to tilt at every windmill if you can grab a win without a fight. The developers and town staff spent 20 months working to find a workable compromise solution and BOZAR and the elected planning commission (town council) were split over the proposed solution, so it was rejected.

Now, I went by the lot after the meeting was held and to say it would be a tricky place to build is an understatement. Nothing looks like it would be easy to do on that piece of property. I have no idea how someone could build a house and get in the front door if they built up on the hill. Maybe nothing happens there, ever. But as has been seen in other resort towns, anything is possible — with enough money. It is a matter of engineering, concrete, effective attorneys and creative architecture, all of which would cost bank. Thank goodness CB isn’t attracting people with money!

Which leads me back to the idea of Whetstone, compromise and certainty…

The proposed Whetstone affordable housing project had a public hearing last week and unlike the Corner at Brush Creek process, this one started with a lot of community outreach and dialogue by the county (kudos!) that resulted in goals for a livable neighborhood full of workers. Not a single person at the public hearing said the location was not suitable for workforce housing. To get to the proposed sketch plan design, various compromises were achieved over months of outreach and discussion. The number of apartments versus duplexes, the amount of green space, the parking allocation, the need for workable transit access, all came about through lots of discussion and basically compromise. 

More potential compromise could come as planners figure out how close to the highway the major apartment buildings should be to retain green space and make future residents comfortable without urbanizing the entrance to CB. How Crested Butte might provide utilities to Whetstone will include compromise with what conditions are included. How best to respect and coordinate with adjacent neighbors will be a result of compromise. But the bottom line at that public hearing was that even when someone brought up a point of concern, they all started by saying they supported the spirit of the project. 

Time too has softened opposition to large numbers of new full-time residents being situated a few miles from CB. Reality vs idealism. Compromise on how best to accommodate the future neighborhood has resulted in new ideas like a roundabout on the highway. Discussions over unavoidable impacts of hundreds of new full-timers will include more dialogue and compromise as the process continues. But the bottom line is that being willing to move a little to the left or move a little to the right to improve the overall community makeup will result in a better place for the future of the North Valley as it changes so fast. Guiding growth now and not just saying no will have the greatest impact.

Which brings me back to the Elk Avenue parcel. When developers can whittle down an agreement with town staff that protects an in-town viewshed while dropping the (normal) density on a piece of property, it seems reasonable to strike a deal. You can tilt at every windmill that appears in the North Valley or you can accomplish some reasonable protections that will matter to some future Crested Butte. 

Who is to say whether someone will be willing to spend seven or eight figures for an opulent house perched at the top of Elk Avenue in five years? I’m pretty sure the money part of the equation already exists here, so when a chance to stop that perch possibility came up but was rejected, that was a bit disappointing. 

Compromise is not always a bad word. That is how government officials can guide the direction of what is to come with some certainty. The Whetstone process is a good example of that. The decision for the top of Elk Avenue is not.

—Mark Reaman

Planning pays off…for skiing and housing

There hasn’t been a lot of sun in Crested Butte this January and more than one person is getting edgy over its absence. But what a great few weeks of skiing – especially as more and more of the Extremes get open. There is no shortage of fluff back in Phoenix and that is what we want. We are a ski town after all, and it certainly looks and feels like one with residents and visitors alike getting after the goods. Kudos to those at CBMR that have made it happen. And kudos to the towns and county for keeping the streets passable and the snowbanks manageable. They all prepared and made plans for a good snow winter and it is working out for the most part…

Now of course, being a ski town comes with other challenges and one of those consistent challenges is being addressed this week. The proposed Whetstone affordable housing project was discussed Tuesday at the Crested Butte town council meeting since the potential 231 units that will have about 430 bedrooms will be located two miles south of town and might end up using CB water and sewer services. That will not be cheap. Council generally felt it was worth continuing to see what it would take to get utilities from town to the site so more research will continue.

The county planning commission will be listening to public comments on the development Thursday. It is in the sketch plan phase, and everyone should remember that a sketch plan lays out the basics of what could be permitted. Number of units, transportation and utility infrastructure potential, a basic layout of the 14 acres all essentially get a thumbs up at this initial point of the plan. The details will be cemented in the preliminary and final plan phases and when a developer is chosen to make the sketch come to life. Frankly, the evolution could end up looking little like what is on paper today.

Sketch plan is a good time to bring up potential issues and that has happened with the proposed location of the development’s largest buildings being right next to the highway. While logically that could encourage more use of buses that stop on the highway or on the other side of a roundabout, there should be wiggle room to keep it a few more yards away from the constant traffic that would impact residents. Let’s not just follow planning points found in a textbook, but let’s always keep in mind the quality of life for people who will eventually live there.

While some public comments sent to the county have mentioned the number of people that could be located on the 14 acres as being too much, no one seems adamantly opposed to using that parcel for workforce housing. A priority of the planning commission and proponents should be to not try and cram as many workers as possible into a finite space, but the North Star so to speak, in my opinion, should be to provide a quality place for members of the community even if it means a few less people get to live there.

The eventual residents of Whetstone should have the space to live a comfortable life. They should have the opportunity to store their toys, whether that be kayaks, snowmobiles, bikes or 4-wheelers. Most will have a vehicle (welcome to America where an off-season road trip to Moab is not unheard of or where a dermatology appointment is scheduled for Montrose) so adequate parking (onsite or off) should be provided and not just wished away in a Utopian sustainability plan. Residents should be able to easily get to the grocery, the school and ski area. Ideally, there will be space for single people happy to work seasonal tourism positions and families that have graduated to year-round jobs and want to raise their kids here.

Let’s not forget that Crested Butte will likely green light the Sixth and Butte (now called Mineral Point!) affordable housing project and Mt. Crested Butte is taking steps to move forward with Homestead while the North Village (now called the Village at Mt. CB!) has potential to provide further workforce housing. 

While more people than ever live full time in the North Valley, there is no doubt most of the new residents are not picking up shifts at Pitas or checking tickets as lift ops. There is a definite need to provide housing in and around Crested Butte for the people that make this place tick. That of course adds to the overall growth in the region, so there will always be more of a need for things like additional classrooms, plumbers, parks and rec programs, snowplow drivers and so on. It seems to me the CB councilmembers are being too timid at the moment in not bringing up (at least publicly) the direct ramifications on their infrastructure that comes with hundreds of more people (600-700 at full buildout) using their facilities. But they apparently feel comfortable about taking their time in voicing their concerns, if they have any.

As people of means flock to nice places and locations less impacted by climate extremes, Crested Butte will be a draw for those climate refugees. While no one “deserves” a house in Crested Butte, I believe Crested Butte is a better place with workers being able to live close to their jobs. A diversity of citizens is a positive for a ski resort community. That is where Whetstone comes in. It likely will not happen all at once but it generally seems to provide a good spot where, as the needs arise, it can be phased in to address issues as they come up. It can act as a pressure relief valve.

For the first time in a while, the phone forecast actually has several running days with a sun icon. The atmospheric river is apparently eddying out. And as good as the snow has been, seeing the sun is also a good thing in a ski town. 

Thanks to good planning and a lot of work by those in charge of getting the Extremes open, the snow will stay good and safe in the steeps. While the snowbanks are getting taller, the streets are working and people are getting where they need to be. Good planning and good work matters. The same can be said for the local housing issue. Those in charge are doing the good work now and there will eventually be more places for workers to live up here. 

Now is the time to make sure the developments are not simply overcrowded islands built to squeeze in more workers just to benefit businesses, but rather that they are good places for our neighbors to live and to thrive. That ultimately will benefit businesses, neighbors and a snowy ski resort community.

—Mark Reaman

A quick journey of COVID, pow, questions and gratefulness

About the time the CBMR T-bars started spinning last week giving access to the renowned Extreme Limits terrain, I took a COVID test in the office. And then another because I didn’t like the result of the first one. Donald might have been on to something back in 2020 when he said, “When you test, you create cases.” Had I not tested, would I still have had a case of the Vid? If there was no chance to see the two lines appear, would I have just had a cold like I thought since my throat was sore and my nose drippy? If the High Lift spins in the night, does Teo 2 really exist? If the red light is on in the morning but the hotline says uphill skiing is probably okay, does a Paradise lift op really care?

“Cases are up because we have the best testing in the world and we have the most testing,” said math genius Donald. The fact was that I did test, and I did get the dreaded double line (twice) to indicate I had tested positive for COVID.  

And it was dumping as the T-bars were spinning. 

My wife was fortunately out of town and had tested negative, so it was just me and the dog to imagine the soft pillows of powder getting the season’s first tracks down Headwall and Hawks Nest. If Mojo dreams of untracked pow does a PAWS cat get its wings?

As reported last week in the CB News, Gunnison County saw a spike in flu, RSV and COVID cases as we moved into high gear for the tourist season over the holiday period. While the hospital is doing fine, more people here have the crud and some of the cruds are probably COVID…we’d know if they tested but then, Lord knows how many more positives we’d tally to skew the numbers. Nationally, COVID is producing new variants that are spreading across the country. Get ready for XBB.1.5!

My COVID bout felt like a lingering cold, but I followed the CDC guidelines and isolated for five days. I did a lot of snow maintenance on the driveway. If I don’t drag the snow off my roof, is it really a snow problem since it changes to ice? Mojo and I took a lot of walks. The neighbors politely tried to not return to the neighborhood and rub in how good the skiing was but if a neighbor is grinning, is it because someone plowed the berm or because there were face shots on the Monument rope line?

Taking the Tao attitude that the situation was a test of patience…sort of like four years of Donald’s math and deduction skills, I accepted the situation. Deep breaths helped as I moved snow onto the growing snowbanks along the driveway instead of the growing moguls in The Glades. If a mogul appears on The Face does the CB Mountain Bike Association gain another storage space by Baxter’s Gulch or does a big Whetstone building get closer to the road?

Honestly, it was not a bad weekend as the days were beautiful and the life tempo more mellow than had I been caught up in the opening frenzy…which I find less and less desirable. Several times I looked to the sky and expressed gratitude to the Universe for being able to live in this beautiful high mountain valley amongst this wonderfully rich community. 

And speaking of, we lost another of those who truly appreciated living here. Annie Coburn “crossed the river” this week and to me she was one of those who particularly embraced what the place added to family. As a mid-timer, peers making the crossing is the inevitable time we are in, and in the Tao space, I am happy Annie was here and that I knew her just a little bit.

Over the weekend I was cleared under CDC guidelines and had tested negative for COVID. Does my positive still count if it is now negative? On Monday, I slipped out of the office about 2 o’clock and scooted up for the end of day High Lift to NFL T-bar lap. There were no lines. Heck, there were few skiers. If a ski run is empty have there been any turns? I actually saw morning groomer lines that were still there on at least one run, so maybe not. 

The thing about the late Monday ski was not that it was filled with fresh snow (although it was still soft) and not that there were any over-the-hood shots left — but that it was open. Having that terrain accessible, for me, borders on the spiritual. The nooks and crannies of the Extremes whisper to those who live here and ski the hill. That terrain being open is one of the things that makes this place special. Despite some previous marketing campaigns, it’s not family-friendly Roller Coaster that draws the tourists or keeps the locals here, it is the steeps. It is the traverses. If a local kid can ride Smoke-a-Bowl Point, should she get busted, or will another Mark Walter restaurant stop serving locals while not telling anyone?

As we head into the heart of the winter ski season, there are no doubt challenges in this growing resort community. But I am grateful for those who live and play here. I am grateful for the ski area and the people who work to get open the places that make this place magic. I am grateful the white snow is falling which will help make the summer green. I am grateful there was only one line on the last test and my symptoms were like a mild crud rather than a harsh beatdown. I am grateful progress is being made on workforce housing. If an electric bus carries a waiter to the Four-way does the school need another classroom?

Checking back in on the political world, the first order of business for House Republicans was to try and defund, disrupt and dismantle government. Their priority was to try and defund the IRS under the deceptive reasoning that the money already approved in the budget is going to fund 87,000 stormtroopers to come after your house. That is a lie. The money is actually meant to hold their wealthy donor tax cheats accountable and get the rightful money owed to the American people while improving agency technology. Is a House of cards built on lies any way to start serious work? No, but it is not surprising.

When is a negative a positive? When it’s on a COVID test! As the days consistently grow longer and the snow consistently gets deeper, it is shaping up to be a good season in a place the relies on seasons. We awoke to another surprise six inches Tuesday, and more is in the forecast. It is a time to be grateful. Happy winter everyone.

—Mark Reaman