• The Oh Be Joyful Church hosts a Bike Drive for Orphans through July 7.

THURSDAY 4

•7-10:30 a.m. The Crested Butte Fire Department hosts its 50th Annual Pancake Breakfast.

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Crack of Dawn Group topic discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•10 -11:30 a.m. CB Museum history walking tours (every Thursday).

•11 a.m. Fourth of July Parade begins on Elk Avenue.

•12:30 p.m. Water fight begins at the Big Mine Ice Arena, followed by a block party with DJ Red. 

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: 11 Step Meditation at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•5 p.m. Intermediate/advanced tennis mixer at the tennis courts across from the visitor center in Crested Butte. For more information contact Don Cook at 970-497-0123.

•8-9:30 p.m. Live music by DJ Solora and Lara Hamilton at Jose’s at Elevation. 

FRIDAY 5

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Open AA meeting: Readings from Living Sober at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-2 p.m. Oh Be Joyful hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 625 Maroon Avenue. Contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071 for info.

•5-8 p.m. Live music by Beer Hunter at Kochevar’s. 

•5-8 p.m. Live music by Strand Hill at Jose’s at Elevation.

•6 p.m. Live music by Rachel Vanslyke at A Bar Above.

•7-8:15 p.m. Open AA Speaker Meeting in the Parish Hall at Queen of All Saints, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. Live music by Boombox at the Public House.

•8 p.m. Live music by Suzy Boggus at the I Bar Ranch.

SATURDAY 6

•10:30 a.m.-noon St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•noon Brothers Helping Brothers event at the I Bar Ranch.

•12:30 p.m. Art Heist mystery fundraiser at the Queen of All Saints Parish Hall, 401 Sopris Avenue in Crested Butte. 

•5-7 p.m. Opening Reception of Sacred Nature and Wearable Sculpture exhibition. 

•5-8 p.m. Live music by Jim Davidson at Jose’s at Elevation.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Literature at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. Live music by Rachel Vanslyke at the billy barr.

SUNDAY 7

•9 a.m.-2 p.m. Crested Butte Farmers Market at the top of Elk Avenue.

•9 a.m.-2 p.m. Art Market at the top of Elk Avenue.

•9:30 a.m. Church in the Park with Oh Be Joyful at Alpenglow Field.

•11 a.m. Partnership Service/Picnic with music at the Train Depot in Crested Butte.

•6 p.m. Open AA meeting: Topic Discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. The Fab Four Beatles tribute band comes to the Center for the Arts.

MONDAY 8

•10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Live music by Rachel Vanslyke at the Almont Resort.

•1:30-3:30 p.m. Gunnison Valley Hospital hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 513 Main Street. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•5:30 p.m. Alpenglow presents Easy Jim at the Center for the Arts.

•6:30-8:30 p.m. Open table tennis in Jerry’s Gym at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

•7-8 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 3rd Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Conscious Caregivers Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Navigating Grief & Loss Bereavement Support Group, www.livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 2nd Monday)

•7:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Favorite Big Book Reading at Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

TUESDAY 9

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Mediation AA & Al-Anon at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•9 a.m. Socrates Café, a philosophical discussion group, at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535. (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•10 -11:30 a.m. CB Museum history walking tours (every Tuesday).

•noon Closed AA meeting: Readings from Came to Believe at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•4-7 p.m. Live music by Rachel Vanslyke at Izakaya.

•5:30-7 p.m. Summer Classics in the Courtyard: Gypsy Jazz Social Club at the Center for the Arts (free).

•7 p.m. Crested Butte Policy Forum presents Lisa Dale Adapting to Climate Change. At the Center for the Arts.

WEDNESDAY 10

•7:30 a.m. Crested Butte Rotary’s weekly speaker series in the Matchstick Lounge at the Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte. (2nd and 4th Wednesdays)

•8:30 a.m. Free T’ai Chi sessions at Three Ladies Park. All levels are welcome.

•8:30 a.m. HCCA hosts a hike to Farris Creek. Meet at the Crested Butte Visitor’s Center parking lot.

•11 a.m. Storytime at Red Mountain Park in CB South, 970-349-6535.

•noon Closed AA meeting: 12 Step & 12 Tradition Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon Yoga at the Garden at the pavilion wedding garden in Mt.Crested Butte (every Wednesday thru 9/25)

•2-3 p.m. Nicotine Anonymous for Young People meeting in the Young Life building next to Ace.

•4 p.m. Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, a support group, meets at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Mt. Crested Butte base area. (every 3rd Wednesday)

•5:30 p.m. Music on the Mountain presents Paul McDonald and the Mourning Doves at The Red Lady Stage.

•6:30-7:30 p.m. Al-Anon Meeting for families and friends of alcoholics in the back room of the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-6482.

•7:30 p.m. Adult pickup basketball at Jerry’s Gym at town hall. 

•7:30 p.m. Live music by Rachel Vanslyke at the Almont Resort.

•8:30 p.m. Live music by Paul Cauthen at the I Bar Ranch.

Digging down to what makes this place special — it comes down to the people. The views are great, the amenities fantastic, the weather spectacular, but it’s the people. And people need a place to live. 

It’s not like there aren’t people living full-time in Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley. Compared to other resort communities, Crested Butte is actually near the top of the list for percentage of full-time residents. But given the widening gap between housing prices and incomes, the variety of economic demographics of the community is shifting and becoming more monochrome. That whittles away from the interesting deepness of a funky technicolor community. While more people than ever live here, and that’s a good thing, the middle and working class can’t comfortably live in free market housing north of Almont anymore.  

There is no doubt some people are dealing with a housing crisis in the valley and that makes it a crisis for all of us. Some camp or live in their vans. Some crash on friends’ couches. Other situations might have two parents with two kids living in a one-or two-bedroom condo with little hope of finding a bigger space. Employers, whether it is a local retail shop or the much bigger economic drivers like the hospital, university or ski area, have difficulty hiring new employees because they cannot find adequate places to live. It is not easy to live and make a living in an increasingly popular paradise.

The sincere efforts of local public officials to try multiple paths to release some steam from the pressure cooker is a good thing but as the town’s urban planning consultant Neal Payton mentioned at last week’s Public Policy Forum, resorts will never build enough housing to solve the problem and affordable housing is rarely affordable.

Last Monday’s council discussion over the proposed Whetstone “affordable” housing development near Crested Butte again shined a light on the conundrum. The 252-unit project is currently estimated to cost $146 million. Ouch. At that price, rents are expected to be above current market rate but stay there for the duration so would actually look cheap in five, 10 or 20 years. But not now.

Officials said the project will put a dent in the problem but will not come close to solving the current housing situation in the Valley. Whetstone will come on top of other projects in the pipeline like Paradise Park, Homestead and Mineral Point that all target different parts of the housing situation. Not everyone likes the idea of a typical big resort housing development. Understandable. But aside from turning a blind eye away from the issue and letting the free market eventually deal with the problem, what else is to be done? Whetstone addresses the people. 

There were parts of Monday’s discussion I really appreciated. While I am a bit leery about the density of the project and see no need to stack the tallest buildings housing the most people on the highway since a roundabout will slow traffic, town and county officials said they had “value engineered” the project as much as possible without really hurting the livability standards for future residents. CB councilmember Anna Fenerty, a resident of a town affordable housing project, said such residents expect some compromises given the fact their living situation is being subsidized with public money, but you can only cut so much before impacting a quality of life. Absolutely. I am an advocate for better quality of life for working people even if it means fewer units.

Whetstone is targeted to be a home for teachers, nurses, small business owners. It would be wrong to have it simply be an island of working folk serving the fortunate wealthy expecting their servers to be seen only at work. The North Star should be one of assisting friends and neighbors to share a good life in this place.

It seems lessons were learned from the oftentimes volatile Corner at Brush Creek discussions as this project more clearly addresses things like traffic mitigation, park and field space, a school expansion to serve kids who will no doubt live in Whetstone. 

Given all that, the public feedback has been legitimate. There should be questions about possible financial impacts on current residents. There should be a transparent discussion about what the council and commissioners will be giving up on its ‘to do list’ when they take the public’s limited funds and put it toward Whetstone instead of…whatever. There should be solid answers about water and sewer capacity now and what it means for the future by adding that many more units.

With Whetstone, given its cost and scale, it would be ideal if Mt. CB was able to significantly partner with the rest of the stakeholders. For the CB council, it seems a no-brainer to figure out the details of allowing the development to pay its water and sewer tap fees over time…a money saving option that makes the project easier on the county now and on the residents in the future with slightly lower rents.

Neal Payton’s reality check that workforce housing is really expensive and you can never build enough — after all adding more people in Whetstone brings with it a need for more people to serve them — is the conundrum. One of his answers to a question at the forum raised my cynicism meter. When asked by an audience member for an example of a successful place using the traditional planning templates, he paused, then prefaced his answer saying that he hated his answer… “Houston,” he said. 

Damn. That’s not a confidence builder for any direction we might be considering.

Crested Butte sure ain’t what it used to be but where then is the better place? As I have been told more than once, no one is entitled to live in Crested Butte. I don’t dispute that but to me, making moves to allow a variety of people to live side by side near their jobs makes for a better and deeper technicolor community experience for everyone. Having the teacher and construction worker able to have a beer next to the hedge funder or retired entrepreneur makes a community better. It just does. It provides opportunity for a more well-rounded life in a special place.

As beautiful as the place is, as many wonderful things as there are to do here, it is still the people that make it special. I wish I could think of a better way to keep the working people here…I haven’t. Whetstone gives the valley a chance to continue that specialness. 

—Mark Reaman

Just so you know…there’s a lot of stuff brewing in Crested Butte. I’m not talking about the opening of the trail you are eying or the potential to eat at one of the new restaurants we all expect to open this summer. No, I’m talking about local government planning that will inevitably lead to some big changes to Crested Butte. Under the umbrella of the Community Compass, plans are underway to possibly loosen up some of the historic preservation guidelines in town. Plans are underway to potentially change some of the zoning and building codes in town that could change the look of the place. Plans are underway to potentially mandate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Plans are underway to possibly make it harder to park in town in the winter near bus stops. Just so you know…all these things could result in big changes to Crested Butte over the next several years.

I know that none of you moved here to go to more meetings in your life—especially when the days are as perfect as they are in the summer at 9,000 feet. And I would not say you should change your personal plans that include living the good life in the mountains to go to 23 meetings this summer. But the Crested Butte council and staff are not sleeping. They are busy setting all sorts of directions to address the issues we are facing as the place grows and the world gets weirder, in both a climate and political sense. And to their credit, they are looking for your input. They want you involved.

Now I for one go to a lot of meetings and that is part of my job, but I just  can’t get to all the meetings they are having. They are flooding the zone with meetings, and it can create a numbing effect at times. I sometimes advise the local planners to hike more and meeting less. But they are on a mission. They aren’t just holding meetings in some secret room in town hall—they might be doing that too—but generally the plan is to reach out to you. They’ll be holding events tied directly to their planning initiatives. They’ll be putting on block parties to attract you to share thoughts with the lure of free food, lemonade and games (no beer!?). They’ll be setting up tables and chairs at Alpenglows and putting QR codes linked to surveys in restroom stalls. And there is frequent summer opportunity to have coffee with a councilmember. Information about all of the plans, including the survey link, an events calendar, and other ways to engage can be found at www.crestedbutte-co.gov/getinvolved.

They are providing opportunities for current citizens, second homeowners and visitors to participate in the future of CB. And given the scope of the plans, that future will likely look different from today. That’s not to say it will be good or bad. It’ll probably be a bit of both depending on your perspective. The intention is certainly to take action that makes CB more livable for future residents, a place that pumps out less carbon than other resort communities, and an easier place to walk or ride a bike. It might have taller, more dense buildings than today and north-facing windows might have to be super insulated. Single driver vehicles will probably be a no-no while solar panels might be required for every new building and remodel.

So that I can skip a meeting to ride Green Lake next month I’ll provide some “interesting” (to me anyway) planning ideas to those guiding the plans…
—Set aside money to subsidize e-bikes for people living within say, an eight-mile radius of Elk Avenue. Make it a substantial enough subsidy to incentivize people to use it and perhaps give an even bigger subsidy to the future residents of the Whetstone affordable housing project if it comes to fruition. But allow it to be used by anyone who could feasibly ride an e-bike as a commuter tool. Perhaps require the new e-bike owner to somehow check in or prove (set up a scanner at the Four-way?) that they used it as a commuter bike at least 30 times in a year to retain or receive the subsidy. That would address some council climate and congestion concerns. It’s an expensive carrot but could directly address what’s seen as a major problem.
—Dedicate one building in Whetstone or utilize the land once dedicated to the Crested Butte Fire Protection district by Aperture as a place designated for the community’s older citizens. Don’t put income or asset restrictions on the spaces. In theory, you could charge higher rents to help subsidize the units housing young working families or single ski bums. It also provides opportunity for generational diversity in a neighborhood and in town. Include a communal gathering space and as suggested by former mayor Jim Schmidt, call it Fossil Ridge.

—Require an ADU and its long-term rental with every new building permit.

—Establish the relationships that make wealthy business owners want to step in and help contribute money to workforce housing. They need it as business owners but why would a billionaire not let the government pay for his employees to have a place to live?
—The council, led by the mayor, hammers the extreme urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in town. The latest discussion indicated most want cutting carbon as the very top need of any plan addressing climate. I would argue that even if Crested Butte cut carbon emissions to zero tomorrow it would have the global effect of a teardrop falling into the Pacific Ocean. It still matters and it matters more if other mountain towns, followed by other resort communities, followed by other cities, followed by other countries see the benefits and follow suit. If everyone behaved as though its greenhouse gas emissions didn’t matter, no one would take action, and the world’s temperature would continue to soar and CB would see major impacts of climate change as snowfall periods were reduced and wildfire threats ramped up. Add to it the expectation that this valley will become a site for “affluent climate refugees” who flee here on their private jets to escape the heat domes (irony alert!) and climate will always impact CB.

But the more immediate urgency in that discussion feels like it should first, or in tandem, focus on a climate resiliency plan. Given the most likely climate impact Crested Butte would experience in the next decade is probably wildfire, such a plan would prioritize the water collection system which currently includes Wildcat Creek to Coal Creek. A wildfire coming down the Kebler Pass drainage could wreak havoc with the system during a fire and afterward with possible mudslides damaging the town’s water source. The town has conditional water rights to take water from the Slate River drainage and this summer town is beginning investigation of developing that water source. Utilization of water from the Slate River drainage is still several years away but now would be the time to prioritize that plan and allocate the money to make that option real. A resiliency plan would make a finite impact on the community more than cutting GHG emissions 50% or even to zero. 

On top of all these Compass direction meetings there are of course all the other meetings. Meetings about the Standard Mine cleanup, meetings on the proposed Whetstone affordable housing project, a Western Slope Climate Forum meeting, design charette meetings (a fun meeting if you have real time available). And don’t forget if you’re getting that meeting itch—go have a cup of coffee with a councilmember. Beth Goldstone will be at Rumors this Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. to talk about any and all of this.

Anyway, the bottom line is that this is another reminder that big changes are afoot, and you have the chance to help guide it. Do not give up a planned bike ride on 401 to go to another meeting about transit…but do carve out some time to click on a survey link or walk up to the table with a Compass logo and share some thoughts. Buttonhole one of the councilmembers or town planners and tell them where you want this place to go. 

Don’t stop living this good life but understand that carving out an hour sometime this summer could result in your being able to continue living the good life here 10 years from now…

—Mark Reaman

•Unleashing Pride exhibition at the Center for the Arts runs until June 27

•Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presents Love Letters June 14-23rd

•The Oh Be Joyful Church hosts a Bike Drive for Orphans through July 7.

THURSDAY 20

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Crack of Dawn Group topic discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•10 -11:30 a.m. CB Museum history walking tours (every Thursday).

•noon-1 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Thursday)

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: 11 Step Meditation at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•5 p.m. Intermediate/advanced tennis mixer at the tennis courts across from the visitor center in Crested Butte. For more information contact Don Cook at 970-497-0123.

FRIDAY 21

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Open AA meeting: Readings from Living Sober at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-2 p.m. Oh Be Joyful hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 625 Maroon Avenue. Contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071 for info.

•6 p.m. Firebird Theatre’s Murder Well Done at Almont Resort, 10209 State HWY 135, Almont. $60. firebirdcb.com/mwd/

•6-9 p.m. Live music by Tyler Hansen at the Bar Above.

•7-8:15 p.m. Open AA Speaker Meeting in the Parish Hall at Queen of All Saints, 970-349-5711.

•8-9 p.m. Full Moon Sound Bath in Rainbow Park with T. Helen Sage, Sage Transformations. Donation based. Rain location 311 5th St.

SATURDAY 22

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Big Book Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

 •10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Mountain Biking Themed Walking Tour with the Crested Butte Museum

•10:30 a.m.-noon St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:00 p.m. Firebird Theatre’s Murder Well Done at Almont Resort, 10209 State HWY 135, Almont. $60. firebirdcb.com/mwd/

•6-9 p.m. Celebration of Life for Kasha Rigby at the Center for the Arts. 

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Literature at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•7-11 p.m.  Summer Solstice Celebration with 40oz to Freedom & Roka at the I Bar Ranch. 

SUNDAY 23

•8:30-11 a.m. Third Annual Pedal Your Butte-Off begins at the Center for the Arts. Followed by an after party with live music by Easy Jim.

•9 a.m.-2 p.m. Crested Butte Farmers Market at the top of Elk Avenue.

•9 a.m.-2 p.m. Art Market at the top of Elk Avenue.

•9-11 a.m. Dems Do Good Highway 135 Clean-up. Meet at the Almont Resort.

• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Live music by Easy Jim on the Crested Butte Town Park stage for the Pedal Your Butte Off fundraiser.

•3-5:30 p.m. Celebrate the life of Ronald Leonard Earl at the Ballroom at the university center at Wester Colorado University.

•5 p.m. Quiet service, All Saints in the Mountains Episcopal Church, 403 Maroon Ave. (UCC), Crested Butte.

•6 p.m. Open AA meeting: Topic Discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•6-9 p.m. Live music by Easy Jim at the Gunnison Arts Center.

MONDAY 24

•9-11 a.m. Gunnison Valley RTA hosts an Open House at the Crested Butte Town Offices. 507 Maroon Ave.

•1:30-3:30 p.m. Gunnison Valley Hospital hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 513 Main Street. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•5:30 p.m. Alpenglow presents Honey Hounds at the Center for the Arts.

•6-9 p.m. UGWCD hosts its 65 Anniversary event at 210 W. Spencer Avenue. 

•6:30-8:30 p.m. Open table tennis in Jerry’s Gym at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

•7-8 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 3rd Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Conscious Caregivers Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Navigating Grief & Loss Bereavement Support Group, www.livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 2nd Monday)

•7:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Favorite Big Book Reading at Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

TUESDAY 25

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Mediation AA & Al-Anon at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•9 a.m. Socrates Café, a philosophical discussion group, at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535. (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

•10 a.m.-1 p.m. Celebrate the new pickleball and tennis courts at Mt. CB at the Ted Scheske Park. 

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•10 -11:30 a.m. CB Museum history walking tours (every Tuesday).

•noon Closed AA meeting: Readings from Came to Believe at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•4-6:30 p.m. The Crested Butte library hosts a Writers Group. 

•5:30-7 p.m. Summer Classics in the Courtyard: Anthracite Strings (free).

•7 p.m. Crested Butte Policy Forum presents Sandra Magnus, Satellite Traffic Jams: Avoiding Collision in Outer Space. At the Center for the Arts.

WEDNESDAY 26

•7:30 a.m. Crested Butte Rotary’s weekly speaker series in the Matchstick Lounge at the Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte. (2nd and 4th Wednesdays)

•8:30 a.m. Free T’ai Chi sessions at Three Ladies Park. All levels are welcome.

•8:30 a.m. HCCA hosts a hike to Snodgrass Preserve. Meet at the Crested Butte Visitor’s Center parking lot.

•noon Closed AA meeting: 12 Step & 12 Tradition Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon Yoga at the Garden at the pavilion wedding garden in Mt.Crested Butte (every Wednesday thru 9/25)

•2-3 p.m. Nicotine Anonymous for Young People meeting in the Young Life building next to Ace.

•4 p.m. Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, a support group, meets at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Mt. Crested Butte base area. (every 3rd Wednesday)

•6:30-7:30 p.m. Al-Anon Meeting for families and friends of alcoholics in the back room of the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-6482.

•7:30 p.m. Adult pickup basketball at Jerry’s Gym at town hall. 

•Unleashing Pride exhibition at the Center for the Arts runs until June 27

•Low cost blood testing at the Queen of All Saints in Crested Butte, June 12-14

•Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presents Love Letters June 14-23rd

THURSDAY 13

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Crack of Dawn Group topic discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-1 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Thursday)

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: 11 Step Meditation at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•5 p.m. Intermediate/advanced tennis mixer at the tennis courts across from the visitor center in Crested Butte. For more information contact Don Cook at 970-497-0123.

•7 p.m. The Golden Games returns to the Center for the Arts.

FRIDAY 14

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Open AA meeting: Readings from Living Sober at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-2 p.m. Oh Be Joyful hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 625 Maroon Avenue. Contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071 for info.

•5 p.m. The Oh Be Joyful Gallery presents an exclusive screening of the documentary Out There.

• 6:00 p.m. Firebird Theatre’s Murder Well Done at Almont Resort, 10209 State HWY 135, Almont. $60. firebirdcb.com/mwd/.

•7-8:15 p.m. Open AA Speaker Meeting in the Parish Hall at Queen of All Saints, 970-349-5711.

SATURDAY 15

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Big Book Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•10 a.m. Coffee with Kathleen Curry at the Coffee Trader 700 Main N Street Gunnison.

•10:30 a.m.-noon St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•5:30 p.m. An evening with Democratic candidate Kathleen Curry at 429 Whiterock Avenue, Crested Butte.

• 6:00 p.m. Firebird Theatre’s Murder Well Done at Almont Resort, 10209 State HWY 135, Almont. $60. firebirdcb.com/mwd/.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Literature at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

SUNDAY 16

•9 a.m.-2 p.m. Crested Butte Farmers Market at the top of Elk Avenue.

•noon- 1:30 p.m. Makers Meetup at the Crested Butte Library. 

•5 p.m. Quiet service, All Saints in the Mountains Episcopal Church, 403 Maroon Ave. (UCC), Crested Butte.

•6 p.m. Open AA meeting: Topic Discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

MONDAY 17

•1:30-3:30 p.m. Gunnison Valley Hospital hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 513 Main Street. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•5:30 p.m. Alpenglow presents Dogs in a Pile at the Center for the Arts.

•6:30-8:30 p.m. Open table tennis in Jerry’s Gym at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

•7-8 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 3rd Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Conscious Caregivers Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Navigating Grief & Loss Bereavement Support Group, www.livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 2nd Monday)

•7:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Favorite Big Book Reading at Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

TUESDAY 18

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Mediation AA & Al-Anon at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•9 a.m. Socrates Café, a philosophical discussion group, at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535. (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

•10 a.m.-1 p.m. Community Weed Pull discussion at the town of Mt. Crested Butte campground

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Closed AA meeting: Readings from Came to Believe at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•5 p.m. 85th Annual GCEA meeting at 37250 W. Highway 50, Gunnison.

•5:30 p.m. Summer Classics in the courtyard of the Center for the Arts presents Chaski Quartet.

•6 p.m. Yoga at the Crested Butte Library, free event.

•7-8:30 p.m. Public Policy Forum at the Center for the Arts.

WEDNESDAY 19

•7:30 a.m. Crested Butte Rotary’s weekly speaker series in the Matchstick Lounge at the Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte. (2nd and 4th Wednesdays)

•8:30 a.m. Free T’ai Chi sessions at Three Ladies Park. All levels are welcome.

•noon Closed AA meeting: 12 Step & 12 Tradition Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•2-3 p.m. Nicotine Anonymous for Young People meeting in the Young Life building next to Ace.

•4 p.m. Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, a support group, meets at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Mt. Crested Butte base area. (every 3rd Wednesday)

•6:30-7:30 p.m. Al-Anon Meeting for families and friends of alcoholics in the back room of the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-6482.

•7:30 p.m. Adult pickup basketball at Jerry’s Gym at town hall. 

•7:30 p.m. Live music by Les Choy + Gypsy Jazz Social Clubat the Almont Resort.

It sure is busy for off-season. Lord knows there is no shortage of things to write about this week alone: local students getting a $180 life lesson in camping and drinking etiquette after being busted by Forest Service law enforcement officers at their graduation campout; developers being told in Mt. CB that, “development has to pay its own way” and that probably includes writing a check for expanding capacity for the main sewer line in town; GCEA board candidates getting frisky over a Boulder nonprofit and election rules; the state Supreme Court saying a CBMR waiver doesn’t cover every single accident at the resort; and even the opportunity to have coffee with a real live town council member! But on page 2 this week we’ll go with the cut that just can’t seem to heal—potential expansion of winter town parking prohibitions.

First, a shout-out that the Crested Butte council agreed at last week’s Wednesday meeting to continue on the path with local contractor High Mountain Concepts and build affordable housing units in Paradise Park. They had looked at using that money to instead help with the far larger Whetstone housing development. That could have thrown some local contractors into a sudden abyss by pulling the rug out from them and upending the next year’s work plan. But council decided to try and “have it all” and do both Paradise Park and Whetstone. They might. That was a good discussion and a good direction chosen by council. Details on where to come up with a significant monetary contribution for Whetstone are in the very beginning stages and might entail selling something like the old Ruby Bed-and-Breakfast that currently houses some seasonal employees. That decision is down the road. HMC will begin building this month and in theory, nine new units should be ready for workforce housing in less than a year.

I don’t really want to write about parking plan issues in CB anymore and I thought there would be a one-year reprieve but alas …that won’t be the case. The controversial direction to implement neighborhood parking permits that include two-hour parking restrictions on approximately 115 street parking spaces near the Sixth Street Mountain Express bus stops next winter appears to have split the council. At that Wednesday meeting, it became clear that at least three indicate they still want to proceed with the new prohibition while the others are weighing the consequences and are considering allowing local vehicles registered in Gunnison County to not fall under the two-hour restriction. That compromise is meant to help locals living outside town limits to be able to park in public spaces near the public bus stops and catch the ski bus to the hill, especially if the free parking in the Visitor Center lot is crowded.

The surprise is why there continues to be a discussion. It’s like when a festering cut on your arm is almost healed but then you decide to pick at it just a bit more and it starts oozing again. Mmmmm. 

While not perfect, the local registration idea put forward by mayor Ian Billick to cut members of the greater CB community some slack in this area makes sense. As stated at the Wednesday meeting, it would have allowed the collection of more solid information, would have eased some tension with the town’s other parking partners, would have thrown a bone to the greater community and would have acknowledged the issue of not currently having adequate parking alternatives like intercept parking lots along the highway or a Mountain Express shuttle to service the school parking lot on busy days. It seems so logical to take a breath and step back to reset the situation. Easy peasy. Even the town’s community development director Troy Russ indicated to the council he supported the timeout and mentioned how going too far, too fast with the initial parking regs on Sopris, Maroon and Elk caused controversy until a step back was taken. 

Instead, the council will let the cut ooze and fester into the fall so that the rumor mill and misinformation bubble can stir up the situation even more. While I don’t see the logic in prohibiting parking on public spaces near public transit opportunities at all, the one-year local registration experiment was a compromise that easily could have helped clear up some of the confusing elements of that part of the town’s plan by gathering more solid data and giving opportunity to the town partners to provide solid alternatives. 

If the council goes forward with the suggestion to slap on the two-hour parking limits for everyone except neighbors, it seems obvious to me it will actually push congestion into local residential neighborhoods (instead of keeping that parking closer to commercial areas or vacant land at the moment), send a negative message to its parking partners, diss the local working folk who use those spaces, as well as play into the projection that the town cares little for the broader community and the impact of what their decisions mean to the greater “community.”

As good as its Wednesday decision was to proceed with affordable housing inside town at Paradise Park and help local construction crews help their local friends and neighbors, this Wednesday decision to scratch the scab when an easy salve was in front of them is just as faulty. I guess this won’t be the last time I write about parking….

—Mark Reaman

If only someone could have waved a magic wand that would have immediately taken me from my suburban neighborhood to the skin doctor in Montrose last week, that would have made everything so much easier. But it didn’t happen….

Let’s me first say that the official detour driving from Crested Butte to Montrose via Minturn and I-70 is a looooong trip even on a beautiful day. Having to take it last week, it confirmed again that central Colorado is pretty darn pretty but man, it’s a drive-and-a-half. Being able to take County Road 26 for the return as the sun set was a treat in more ways than one. It too was beautiful and brought me to a place relatively close to the valley that I should have spent more time in. It is remote, filled with wildlife and gorgeous. I was happy to have that option coming home and the CR 26  journey was a blessing.

The road itself is bomber; hardpacked and full of gravel and mag chloride, the Lake City Cutoff is a safe, easy alternative while the Highway 50 Middle Bridge remains closed. Still, it will be nice to have Kebler opened ASAP. But as I write this Tuesday, it is dumping like a sweet March powder morning, so I imagine the Y, Horse Ranch Park and the trees beyond are getting pounded setting back that opening another few days. If only someone could wave the magic wand and have the snow melt as it lands, and the road immediately be like CR 26 by this weekend. Alas…

If only someone could wave a magic wand and make it so that all the people that use Crested Butte as a North Valley service hub didn’t need wheels to get into town. I would love it if the streets were absent of cars and instead were places dedicated to warm naps by the local dogs. But…. 

I appreciate the Crested Butte town council taking a bit more time to listen to public comments and think about how to deal with proposed parking changes for next winter that will have a regional impact. The most drastic proposed change remains making it hard for people to park on the streets near some of the Mountain Express bus stops along Sixth Street longer than two hours during the ski season. That move would essentially take away about 120 spaces for locals living outside CB who admittedly use the area as a park-and-ride to catch a few laps on the ski hill. The town insists there is plenty of free parking inside the Four-way Visitor Center parking lot and that is true most of the time, but not all the time. There will be times the move to push people away from parking near public transportation will be a pain in the butt. 

Some on council feel implementing the punitive action to make people change their habits is worth it to get more people to utilize mass transit before they drive into town. Call me crazy but making it harder for people, particularly working locals who use the proven winter mass transit system to hop on the reliable ski shuttle bus, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And the argument that the action basically forces other partners to have to act seems like choosing aggressiveness over collaboration. 

Monday’s council discussion was a positive step on the issue. Council agreed to keep listening to people and consider ideas that accommodate those who live in the valley. Ideas in that realm included having locals be able to register their vehicles with Interstate Parking and the town and not get ticketed if they park longer than two hours in the spaces along, say, Teocalli or Gothic Avenues near the Mountain Express bus stops. Part of that would include gathering data to see how many out-of-town visitors are using Crested Butte parking spaces instead of CBMR parking spots when hitting the resort. That is good information to have as a broader parking and transportation plans begins to form. It might also address the urban myth that Mt. Crested Butte lodging properties are sending overflow vehicles to park in Crested Butte…because the parking regs are so easy to understand and navigate in the winter? Another idea is to not just throw cars into the school parking lot on busy weekends and have people make their way to the Clark’s bus stop, but to have Mountain Express include that lot on its regular rounds during the busy times. It was pointed out that that could actually make the lot a desirable place to park on a powder day since it can be easier to score a seat on the bus before it reaches the crowded Four-Way.

Make no mistake…the town’s ultimate aspiration is to drastically reduce the number of cars in Crested Butte. That’s a good goal that in my view doesn’t yet align with current realities. But over the next many years you can expect more parking permits in more places all over CB. And while the town staff contends there is plenty of mass transit opportunity to make most of the shift now, I don’t see it. I will agree with staff who mentioned Monday the town “can take smaller steps” over time to reach its ultimate goals. By expanding bus service even more, providing public park-and-ride intercept lots at places like CB South and Brush Creek, designing the upcoming Whetstone housing project to include super easy and safe bus options, the fewer cars in town goal could work. That is just a matter of money or maybe a magic wand…

Speaking of Whetstone and money or magic wands…

The county is diligently trying to get its ducks in a row to break ground on the 250-unit affordable housing project near Brush Creek Road by next spring. Details are still being worked out with the town about how to best provide water and sewer services to the site. How to pay for the estimated $130 million project is not yet settled. The county is clear that it is willing to proceed with or without the roundabout and pedestrian underpass that would provide good access to RTA buses on Highway 135 for the hundreds of residents who would be living in Whetstone. 

The idea of proceeding without that roundabout and underpass seems dodgy to me. While I too wish a magic wand could be waved to make the whole project cheap and super affordable, not including that transit element as a part of the core project is a short-term housing fix that would result in major long-term headaches. Adding several hundred more residents two miles south of CB without immediately giving them an easy, safe and convenient way to get into town on mass transit will exacerbate the parking issues the town is currently struggling with. That transit plan, in my opinion, should be considered part of the essential infrastructure of Whetstone just like roads and sewer.

A CB town council member on Monday lamented and warned that there are too many cars clogging the streets in town even during the slowest time of offseason. Huh? While there are definitely more cars parked in CB this April and May than in say 1988, it’s not over the top especially given that the cars are mostly, if not all, being driven by the treasured locals who make up a growing community. A glance at Elk Ave. during a snowy, blowy Tuesday showed clusters of cars centered around the few businesses that are open this time of year, but no one would have a problem finding a space to park. 

Look, if a magic wand could be waved to eliminate all the issues we are facing as more and more people choose to actually call the North Valley home, that would be great. If I could click my heels three times and wave the magic wand to return to the pace that allows the local puppies to take a nap in the middle of the street in May, I’d do it at Third and Elk every time the noon whistle goes off. That isn’t going to happen. So thoughtful, deliberate and realistic strategies need to be pursued as the place continues to grow and change…because the place is continuing to grow and change and I’m not seeing any magic wand.

—Mark Reaman

•Where are they now gallery show at the Center for the Arts through April 17.

THURSDAY 4

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Crack of Dawn Group topic discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-1 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Thursday)

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•5-7 p.m. Where are they now Opening Reception at the Center for the Arts. 

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: 11 Step Meditation at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•7 p.m. Dead Head Ed’s End of Season party at the Center for the Arts with live music by Easy Jim, Chris Coady and Donny Morales.

FRIDAY 5

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Open AA meeting: Readings from Living Sober at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-2 p.m. Oh Be Joyful hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 625 Maroon Avenue. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•7 p.m. Live music by Expanding Minds and Brother Cousin at the Almont Resort.

•7-8:15 p.m. Open AA Speaker Meeting in the rectory at Queen of All Saints, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. Flauschink Coronation Ball at Kochevar’s with live music by the Pete Dunda Polka Band.

SATURDAY 6

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Big Book Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•10 a.m. Flauschink Parade on Elk Avenue. (Don’t blink!)

•10:30 a.m.-noon St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•1 p.m. Pond Skim at the Crested Butte Mountain Resort base area.

•3:30-5 p.m. Ski Town Breakdown at CBMR with live music by Viking Sound Machine at Butte 66.

•4 p.m. 21st annual Sam Boyd Crab & Steak Feed Dinner and Auction at Western University’s Mountaineer Field House.

•4-9 p.m. Live music by Strand Hill at billy barr at the Elevation Hotel.

•6 p.m. The Almont Resort hosts an End of the Steezin live music event.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Literature at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. Live music by DJ’s Woody, Augie, and Bayne at the Public House.

SUNDAY 7

•6 p.m. Open AA meeting: Topic Discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•7:30 p.m. Adult pickup basketball in the CBCS high school gym, enter through the doors by Tommy V Field.

MONDAY 8

•1:30-3:30 p.m. Gunnison Valley Hospital hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 513 Main Street. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•6:30-8:30 p.m. Open table tennis in Jerry’s Gym at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

•7-8 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 3rd Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Conscious Caregivers Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Navigating Grief & Loss Bereavement Support Group, www.livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 2nd Monday)

•7:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Favorite Big Book Reading at Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

TUESDAY 9

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Mediation AA & Al-Anon at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•9 a.m. Socrates Café, a philosophical discussion group, at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535. (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•11:30 a.m. The Gunnison Valley League of Women Voter’s meets at the Gunnison Library.

•noon Closed AA meeting: Readings from Came to Believe at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

WEDNESDAY 10

•7:30 a.m. Crested Butte Rotary’s weekly speaker series in the Matchstick Lounge at the Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte. (2nd and 4th Wednesdays)

•noon Closed AA meeting: 12 Step & 12 Tradition Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon Free T’ai Chi Lower Level Town Hall, all are welcome. 

•2-3 p.m. Nicotine Anonymous for Young People meeting in the Young Life building next to Ace.

•4 p.m. Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, a support group, meets at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Mt. Crested Butte base area. (every 3rd Wednesday)

•6:30-7:30 p.m. Al-Anon Meeting for families and friends of alcoholics in the back room of the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-6482.

By Dawne Belloise

Although he’s never skied as a participant in the Grand Traverse, Eric Phillips is certainly familiar with the event as both a photographer and a member of search and rescue teams. In 2022, he was hired to help film a movie about the iconic annual event that sees pairs of skiers set out across the wild terrain of Crested Butte’s backcountry, over Star Pass headed to Aspen in the deep winter snow. As part of the event safety team, Eric heads into the backcountry on the Aspen side five days before the event to set up the race course and radio communications. He recently joined up with the CB Search and Rescue Team. As a professional photographer, he’s learned to bring more battery packs and heat packs to keep those camera batteries warm for the entirety of the event.

Eric grew up in the greater Chicago suburbs with his twin sister, Carrie Phillips, who also lives in the valley. As twins, Eric recalls that they shared everything from birthdays to friends so that by middle school, they grew tired of being around each other constantly and started to drift apart. “My parents tried to have separate events for us, especially on our birthdays. In high school, we had a lot of classes together and we started to get really close again. Knowing that someone has the same lived experiences that you have your whole life is really cool,” he admits.

In high school, Eric spent his time on skateboards and BMX bikes. “Mountain biking is very different than what it looks like here in CB,” he says of his suburbs. He also achieved Eagle Scout status as a Boy Scout. “I’d spend my summers working as a small boat sailing instructor and eventually the camp ranger for a Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin where I had gone as an 11-year-old kid. By the time I was 13, I was allowed to work there,” which he did until he was 21. Eric had also done some backpacking trips in New Mexico with the Boy Scouts when he was 14 and 17. “I loved hiking in the mountains and the outdoors, and it was a big spark for me to explore the outdoors more.”

After graduation in 2014, Eric’s family packed up and left the suburbs to move to the family cabin on Silver Lake, Wisconsin. He laughs about having a hallway for a bedroom which his sister had to walk through to get to her bedroom. With his love of teaching in the outdoors, 18-year-old Eric got a job as a snowboard instructor at a ski resort five minutes from the family cabin. “I started snowboarding when I was 11. The resort was a 200-foot repurposed garbage dump hill called Wilmont,” which is now owned by Vail Resorts. From there, Eric enrolled at Gateway Technical College for his general education requirements, choosing Environmental Science as his major, “Because I thought it was the best of the options available at that college.” 

After his first year, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay as a sophomore. He was a snowboard instructor at Granite Peak in Wausau, Wisconsin, and in 2015 he received his level 1 instruction certification from the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI). The resort was about 90 miles from his college so every Friday he’d head out to teach snowboarding for the weekend and then make that long trip back to college on Sunday night. “I realized then that I cared more about instructing and learning about instructing snowboarding than I did about the college courses I was taking. That’s when I knew I needed to make a change about what I was doing because I didn’t want to be stuck in Wisconsin or a lab all day.”

Eric decided to take a semester off, intending to enroll in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), but he discovered that he could get college credit for those types of courses at Western Colorado University (WCU). “I had no idea where Gunnison or WCU was,” but he applied immediately, signing up for a Recreation and Outdoor Education curriculum. “I remember I Googled Gunnison and wondered if there was a ski area close by,” then he saw Crested Butte on the map. “I was thinking, man, I hope it’s a good ski area.” 

Eric’s parents dropped him off at WCU for the winter of 2015/16. “The first day at Western, we were all a bunch of transfer students playing ultimate frisbee and we were all out of breath and had to chop the field size in half,” he laughs at the change in elevation. “But I felt like I had found my people. I climbed Mt. Princeton the first week I was here. In Wisconsin, I was at the top of the outdoor totem pole as the most outdoorsy person in all of my friend groups. Moving to Gunnison, I was at the bottom of the pole. I had so much to learn, and I was so excited.” 

Eric’s new friends decided to drive over Kebler Pass to Paonia that first week. “I remember driving through downtown Crested Butte and thinking it was really cool but I didn’t see the mountain because it was snowing hard that day.” He was hired as a snowboard instructor for CBMR but couldn’t ride until he went through training, which started December 15. Eric’s first day with the trainer and first run was a rope drop on Crystal. “I had my mind blown at so much snow, hucking myself off the cat track, and the instructor came over and said I had to calm down because I was too loose jumping off stuff. But I was losing my mind! I had never skied powder and it was my first ever run riding out west. I didn’t know what to do with myself in powder,” he grins at the memory.

Things were going really well for Eric at WCU and he joined the Western Mountain Rescue Team there. “It’s a collegiate club that WCU has. It’s also the only nationally accredited collegiate search and rescue team in the U.S. I started to learn many things about the mountains and outdoors and I was so stoked to learn.” 

Cleverly, Eric stacked all his classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so he could teach snowboarding the other five days of the week. He did a ton of hiking and camping, bought his first real mountain bike and started exploring the area. He also bought his first splitboard that year. “It opened up a whole new world. I was learning how to climb the mountains and ride down. I felt like I was living my childhood dream because I had always watched tons of snowboard movies and I thought it was so unattainable and suddenly I was doing it.” He graduated from Western in 2018.

Eric was completely smitten with the valley’s mountains and viewscapes and wanted to capture those images in photos. His iPhone camera just wasn’t cutting it so he bought his first DSLR camera. “I went headfirst into photography. I was taking hundreds of photos every day.” He had stopped teaching snowboarding when Vail Resorts bought the ski area. “I wasn’t making enough money so I switched to serving food at various restaurants in town and focused on photography.”

He then landed a job as photographer for the WCU marketing department. He was sent out to photograph the area for the college’s social media accounts and school events for recruitment and marketing. After graduation, Eric thought he might do mountain guiding or continue pursuing photography. “I ended up going out on a limb to pursue photography,” and was hired to shoot for Travel Crested Butte. “It was an incredible experience and I got to take tons of photos of CB.” 

Eric moved from Gunnison to live with his girlfriend Morgan Tilton in CB just before COVID hit and CBMR closed down the resort. His photography for Travel CB resumed in the summer of 2020. “I eventually left Travel CB to pursue my own photography business, Phillips Photo, in the spring of 2021. I had absolutely no clients and decided to go freelance.” He began shooting properties for real estate agency LIV Sotheby’s, and for other various clients throughout the valley. “It’s definitely been a grind for these past three years but I do make enough to survive and still live in CB. I have a bunch of local clients that I do various photo and video work for.” 

Eric wanted to give back to the community and decided that joining the Gunnison County Planning Commission would be a good way to contribute. The board regulates affordable housing and land use in Gunnison County. “Everyone was talking about housing issues and affordable housing within the valley and I wanted to get involved to try to make a difference.” He was appointed in December 2023 as a one-year alternate and absolutely loved it. “After that first year they asked me to reapply for the full-time three-year position.” Eric appreciates the concerns of people in the valley, “There are a lot of concerned citizens and I try to listen to everybody’s opinion.”

 As for Eric’s housing, his girlfriend was recently able to buy a condo and he hopes to continue volunteering and get more politically involved “to help shape the future of the valley.” His plans for photography are to establish a guiding service in the valley, “So I can show people how to take photos responsibly without trampling the wildflowers and without harming the environment. I have some things in the works and hopefully I can start guiding this year,” he says. 

•Once When I was You gallery show at the Center for the Arts through March 28.

THURSDAY 21

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Crack of Dawn Group topic discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-1 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Thursday)

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: 11 Step Meditation at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•8 p.m. Live music by Vandelux att the Public House.

FRIDAY 22

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Open AA meeting: Readings from Living Sober at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon-2 p.m. Oh Be Joyful hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 625 Maroon Avenue. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•7-8:15 p.m. Open AA Speaker Meeting in the rectory at Queen of All Saints, 970-349-5711.

•7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour presented by the Crested Butte Search and Rescue team at the Center for the Arts.

•8 p.m. Live music by the Thing at the Public House.

•8:30 p.m. Live music by Reno Divorce at the I Bar Ranch.

SATURDAY 23

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Big Book Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•10:30 a.m.-noon St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•6:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Literature at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•7 p.m. Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour presented by the Crested Butte Search and Rescue team at the Center for the Arts.

•7:30 p.m. Live music by Perpetual Groove at the Almont Resort.

•8 p.m. Live music by Rainbow Girls at the Public House.

SUNDAY 24

•11 a.m. Palm Sunday Partnership Service at All Saints, with music, 403 Maroon Ave. (UCC), Crested Butte.

•6 p.m. Open AA meeting: Topic Discussion at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•7:30 p.m. Adult pickup basketball in the CBCS high school gym, enter through the doors by Tommy V Field.

MONDAY 25

•1:30-3:30 p.m. Gunnison Valley Hospital hosts a Mountain Mamas meeting at 513 Main Street. For more information contact Kelsey Weaver at kweaver@gvh-colorado.org or 970-648-7071.

•6 p.m. Opera Colorado presents Cinderella at the Center for the Arts.

•6:30 p.m. The Hartman Castle Preservation Corp hosts Dr. Vandenbusche at the Mallardi Cabaret Theatre on Elk Ave.

•6:30-8:30 p.m. Open table tennis in Jerry’s Gym at the Crested Butte Town Hall.

•7-8 p.m. Cultivating Hope Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 3rd Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Conscious Caregivers Cancer Support Group, livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 1st Monday)

•7-8 p.m. Navigating Grief & Loss Bereavement Support Group, www.livingjourneys.org/calendar, free. (every 2nd Monday)

•7:30 p.m. Open AA meeting: Favorite Big Book Reading at Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

TUESDAY 26

•7:30 a.m. Open AA meeting: Mediation AA & Al-Anon at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•9 a.m. Socrates Café, a philosophical discussion group, at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535. (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

•10 a.m. Storytime at the Crested Butte Library, 970-349-6535.

•noon Closed AA meeting: Readings from Came to Believe at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•4 p.m. The Crested Butte Library hosts a Writers Group.

•4-5:30 p.m. St. Mary’s Garage is open for shopping and donations. 421A Sopris Avenue, stmarysgaragecb.org.

•5:30-7 p.m. Trivia at the Crested Butte Museum. (every Tuesday)

 WEDNESDAY 27

•7:30 a.m. Crested Butte Rotary’s weekly speaker series in the Matchstick Lounge at the Elevation Hotel, Mt. Crested Butte. (2nd and 4th Wednesdays)

•noon Closed AA meeting: 12 Step & 12 Tradition Study at the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-5711.

•noon Free T’ai Chi Lower Level Town Hall, all are welcome. 

•2-3 p.m. Nicotine Anonymous for Young People meeting. Young Life building next to Ace. (every Wednesday)

•2-3:30 p.m. Walking tours with the Crested Butte Museum. (every Wednesday)

•4 p.m. Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, a support group, meets at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Mt. Crested Butte base area. (every 3rd Wednesday)

•6:30-7:30 p.m. Al-Anon Meeting for families and friends of alcoholics in the back room of the Union Congregational Church, 970-349-6482.