epic colorado - winter / sring 2013

EPIC COLORADOA FAREWELL

TO WINTERSPRING RIDING, SUNNY

BREW DECKS AND A LOOK BACK AT SNOW DAYS

VOL. 1 ISSUE 2

CHRIS EWART OURAY ICE FESTIVAL CELIA MILLER TELLURIDE MOUNTAIN

FREE

1EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013

JEFF BROCKMEYER

RIDER: JAKE BLACK

SPRING 2013 » EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE2


TABLE OF CONTENTS

INSIDER PANELCHRIS EWART INFUSES SKATE, PARK

AND TELE IN AN INNOVATIVE WAY

SPOT CHECK: TELLURIDEON-POINT AND OFF-PISTE

OURAY ICE FESTIVALA TRUE GRASS ROOTS EVENT

INSIDER PANEL PROUP, UP & AWAAAAY

WITH CELIA MILLER

MADE INSka Brewing Company

SUMMIT MEDIA LABS

EPIC CULTUREThe Buzz: Nightmare DevelopmentThe Gallery: Dorothy TannerSoundwaves: Michal Menert

THE LIFEThe Art of FlightChicks with PicksTransplantedRuby Hill

BACKCOUNTRY BRAIN

DURANGO MOUNTAIN RESORT

EYE CANDY

WHAT’S THE HAPS

TALK SHOP

PHOTOHUNT

ON THE COVER:Karsten Delap at Kennedy's Gully in Ouray, Colorado. Photo by Fred Marmsater. Check out the Eye Candy section for more photos like this.

FEATURES

34

40

48

54

10

14

17 21 26

62 67 71 74

80

82

84

108

110

112

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Caleb Barcus

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER/PUBLISHERBen Dills

MANAGING EDITORJeff Nass

ART DIRECTORAndrea Goodlin

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERDave Apple

CONTENT EDITORRichard Scott

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERJayme Barcus

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSLynnea Tamsen, Kelsey McMaster, David Rodman,

Mike Cook, Giesel Widmer, Ryan Cruze, Pat Milbery, Sven Brunso

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSJeff Nass, Aaron Dodds, Scott DW Smith,

Ben Koekler, Brett Schreckengost, Chris Farona, Dan Milner, Drew Levin, Fred Marmsater,

Jeff Bernhard, Jeff Brockmeyer, Kelsey McMaster, Mike Artz, Patrick Orton, Terry Ratzlaff

EVENT COORDINATORDavid Rodman

CORRESPONDENTSEllen Feldman, Maddy Hagen, Rhonni Jameson

WEB DESIGNSecret Stache Media

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Denver, Colorado

ADVERTISING SALES AND GENERAL INQUIRIES [email protected]

EPIC Colorado Magazine and distinctive logo are trademarks owned by EPIC Colorado LLC.

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EPIC Colorado LLC

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Golden, CO 80401


EPIC COLORADO PROUDLY PRESENTS TO YOU

OUR SECOND ISSUE. BRINGING YOU A RETRO-

SPECTIVE LOOK AT THE INCREDIBLE SEASON WE

HAD AND MORE OF THE SPORTS, MUSIC, AND

CULTURE THAT WE HAVE GROWN INSEPARABLE

TO. IN THIS ISSUE, OUR GOAL IS TO FURTHER

EXPLORE THE MANY, IF NOT INDEFINITE, WAYS

TO ENJOY COLORADO WHILE SAYING FAREWELL

TO THE 2012-2013 WINTER SEASON. THANK YOU

FOR READING, ENJOY!

» EPIC COLORADO

WELCOME

FRED MARMSATER CLIMBER: CHRIS MILLER


WELCOME


» HERE IS A PEEK INTO THE SKA

BREWING COMPANY BAR/TASTING

ROOM IN DURANGO, COLORADO.


MADE IN

by lynnea tamsen by scott d.w. smith

CRACKING A COLD ONE WITH DAVE THIBODEAU

OF SKA BREWING

I SIT HERE WITH A TRUE BLONDE BY MY SIDE, HELPING ME PEN

something magical. Seriously; after conversing with Dave

Thibodeau, co-owner of Ska Brewing, I become unbearably

thirsty! So, a can of True Blonde Ale in hand later, I’m sud-

denly feeling more inspired to write. Call it article research,

a love of handcrafted brews, or whatever you like; it always

goes down smooth. Now raise your glass with me, and

settle in for the tale of how this brewery came to be…

It all began with Ska music-loving teenagers, the discovery

of a parent’s dusty “home brew journal”, and a burning de-

sire for booze. And now, Ska Brewing Company of Durango,

CO, is still all about booze; but also about things like hand-

crafting with love, giving back, and character. Intrigued?

Read on for the full scoop.

(Ska) Gentleman Prefer (True) Blondes


Q&A HAPPY HOUR:

ECM: Talk to me about how you got into the brewing business…

DT: “In high school, we were punk rock kids; we did a lot of beer-drinking, and we listened to a lot of Ska music. One day we ran across a book on my dad’s shelf, and it just said, ‘Brew Log’. The first recipe was from 1969.

(…) We’d never heard of ‘home brew-ing’! In all honesty, at first, it didn’t have anything to do with an appreciation of a fine-craft beer; it was just about getting wasted; partying. But that book was the spark we needed. From then on, we always had this idea in the back of our heads that we wanted to open our own brewing company.

ECM: So, when did you finally pull the trigger?

DT: We basically had a business plan on the back of a napkin; nobody wanted to lend us money. Professional brewers tried to talk us out of it …it seemed like every-one was a naysayer…so we just decided that we HAD to open up something, even if only out of spite. So, with a little money from Bill’s dad, we opened in 1995…found a small warehouse, had enough second-hand equipment to brew. We’d get off work at our regular jobs at five; go work on our brewery until 3am; sleep a couple hours, and do it all over again.

ECM: Who are your brewing partners in crime?

DT: Two of us started the brewery (Bill Graham and me), and after a year, a third friend of ours bought in (Matt Vincent). The three of us have owned it for 16 years.

ECM: What’s up with the comic book theme?

DT: “We’ve always loved comics, and our friend actually made one for us. So, all the packag-ing, branding, and art have all come from that comic. The story is about our war on ‘Rotgutzen’, a huge beer conglomerate. The heroine in the story is named ‘True Blonde’.

(…) We were lucky! We were young enough not to know any better…so, we just took the things we were passion-ate about –beer, Ska music, and comic books – and put them all together!”

ECM: Which Ska brew is nearest and dearest to you?

DT: “My favorite beer changes with my mood and seasons…but True Blonde holds a special place in my heart, for being our first beer. It’s a golden ale with honey from the local bees. Modus Hoperandi is probably my favorite all-around, taste-wise. Our Steel Toe Milk Stout is the most decorated, prize-winning beer.”

ECM: What are Ska Brewing’s core values?

DT: “We put a lot of thought into run-ning a sustainable business; built extra space in our facility for non-profits to use for meetings/events; sit on differ-ent boards around town; we try to pay it forward with everything we can. If you’re fortunate enough to have a successful business, I think it’s your responsibility to give back. It makes for a better envi-ronment for the whole community.”

ECM: Elaborate on the idea of “open source” craft brewing

DT: “We started as home brewers, so we have an affinity for those guys, and they’ve been a vocal minority in the beer world, pushing the growth. If someone wants to brew one of our beers at their

house, we’re will-ing to give them a scaled-down reci-pe. We encourage people to try to clone the beers and talk about ‘em with us!”

ECM: What does the future hold?

DT: “We’re going to focus on the quality of our beers, the quality of our people, and the quality of life for our employ-ees…until the next idea comes along!”

If you’re a true brew aficionado, and don’t stop into Ska Brewery when you’re in Durango, you should be shamefully forced to drink tasteless big-box light beer the rest of your days. Well, maybe not; but do yourself a favor and make an adult beverage pit stop during your next venture through the San Juans. Bottoms up!

GET YOUR BEER ONSka Brewery225 Girard StreetDurango, CO 81301(970.247.5792)www.skabrewing.com

TRUE BLONDE

HOLDS A SPECIAL

PLACE IN MY

HEART, FOR BEING

OUR FIRST BEER.


MADE IN

» SKA BREWING COMPANY BELIEVES

IN GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

AND MAKES SURE THAT THEIR HOME

IS A PLACE THAT LOCALS AND

TOURISTS WILL WANT TO VISIT OFTEN.


SUMMIT MEDIA LABS IS

located in beautiful Brecken-ridge, Colorado. Summit is taking riders’ lives from the mountains to the big screen. From rentals, to sales, to full production, Summit offers whatever you need, when it comes to filming. From the amateur videographer to the park blazers and backcoun-try documenters, Summit makes your footage come to life. Summit Media Labs is Summit County’s one stop shop for video production as well as the sale and rental of POV cameras and Camtrol stabilizers. They are able to film anything from rider ed-its to aerial photography.

Camtrol is a support sys-tem for cameras that can be used to film high action sports. It limits unwanted shakiness in footage. This product took years to per-fect and uses the concept of suspension and leverage to provide non-shaky footage from every angle possible. Summit offers videogra-phers the opportunity to bring real professionalism to their footage.

The company is not only

known for the sale and rentals of their video pro-duction equipment, but also for their professional staff. They allow customers to get as hands on with their video projects as they want. If you aren’t familiar with edit-ing, that’s no problem. At Summit, there are teachers available Monday-Friday, offering editing and filming classes from 4-5PM each day to help you with anything from basic to advanced ed-iting. These classes are af-fordable and limited to 5 students per session so that each student gets the time and attention they need to learn to be great editors. And for our super busy shredders and skiers who do not have the time and patience to edit their own footage, Summit is here for you. At Summit they offer professional, on site edi-tors to personalize, stylize and put great sound to your

footage. After your edit is complete, they also have their own personal theatre with six theatre chairs set up to view your final cut with friends and family--the more the merrier. Ed-iting turnaround is quick, affordable, p r o f e s -sional and a l w a y s p l e a s i ng to the eye and ear.

Summit is working with some a m a z i ng brands and teaming up to create film magic. During the Dew Tour, Summit and ION teamed up with a mo-bile media lab on site to capture live feed and edit it right on the spot. They will also have a large presence at S.I.A in Denver this upcom-ing month. Look for more exciting collaborations in

the near future. So, if you get a chance to

stop in, visit the amazing staff of Summit. The com-pany is located at 211 North Main Street right across from the Breckenridge Gon-dola. They are paving their

way into the cre-ative and videogra-phy world of Colora-do. Unlike their com-p e t i t o r s they are not just

aiming at sales, they are try-ing to teach their customers a unique and technical way of capturing their experi-ences on and off the moun-tain and editing them in a clean, fun, but professional way. If you have any ques-tions about their services feel free to give them a ring at 970.423.6465.

by giesel widmer

GIVING VIDEO PRODUCTION

A NEW REPUTATION

Summit Media Labs


Nightmare Development

by kelsey mcmaster

THE BUZZ

LIVIN’ A RIDER’S DREAM TRUE TO IT’S SNOW-BOARDING ROOTS


HOW IT ALL STARTED Rooted in a 90’s era “skate-shop mental-ity” and motivated to keep the snow-boarding industry in the “hands of snow-boarders,” out of a dream came Night-mare Development. This dream was evoked by a group of friends in Sum-mit County, Colorado who snowboarded everyday and didn’t want the fun to end. In effort to keep their dream alive and very much an everyday reality, Nightmare Development Co-Owners Joe Suta and Tom Schneider made their snowboard-ing passion a high standard of work and play as they started building their own snowboards.

Melding together their different skill sets, resources, ideas and equipment a

collaborative effort was made between Suta and Schneider, and with the sup-port of others in the community, the

Nightmare Factory was built.

THE NIGHTMARE FACTORYThe 3,500 square foot Factory is headquar-ters to Nightmare and is where all of the off slope magic happens. It houses a tune shop, printing equipment, presses, tools, a mini skate ramp, and pretty

much anything else you could possibly need. The Nightmare team uses this as home base for all of their production and creative developments as well as social events like skate night and the occasional crazy party.

After a few years of trial and error as well as a lot of broken snowboards,

Nightmare got their product dialed in. Upholding their high standards for the industry, they emphasize quality American made product as well as pro-duction practices. They are continually innovating, keeping the best possible product available. Proud of where they live, Nightmare supports local economy in many ways but also by providing and keeping jobs in Summit County. Nightmare in a sense, learned as they went and have had a lot of fun doing it.

THE BIZ & A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORYAfter the snowboard industry boomed and markets settled in the mid 90’s, smaller mom-and-pop shops that were unable to meet demand came to pass. With the elimination of these small companies the result was big manufac-turing companies with deep pockets getting bigger. They dominated the market place with their primary con-sideration being money and less about

PROUD OF WHERE

THEY LIVE, NIGHTMARE

SUPPORTS LOCAL

ECONOMY WHILE ALSO

PROVIDING AND

KEEPING JOBS IN

SUMMIT COUNTY.

JEFF BERNHARD & SARAH SUTA


quality product ultimately tearing snowboarding away from its true roots.

At not so Nightmare-ish prices, these customizable boards have different art, size, profile and shape options with a price point around $380. “It’s like a sushi menu,” said Suta as he looked over an order form. Nightmare has managed to keep the prices low by making every-thing in house down to the core. “We could’ve sourced our cores to China for $11 each or to an American manufactur-er for $50-$60 but we learned how to do it ourselves instead,” said Suta.

“This is snowboarding to us,” said Suta. Nightmare Development, is so much more then the production of boards and making money. Because even though Nightmare Development ultimately sells snowboards, it’s not so much a business as it is a lifestyle.

“I don’t pay attention to the competi-tors,” said Suta. Beyond the cool snow-boarding videos they watch, the crew doesn’t follow what others are doing. Nightmare isn’t trying to compete with big brands like Burton or K2 because to them, it doesn’t matter. Nightmare is a crew of hardcore snowboarders who build their boards from the ground up, really caring about their product and the guys who make it. They are doing

their own thing and don’t want to be in big box stores like Sports Author-ity. Keeping it small, local and focused on lifestyle over dollar signs is what Nightmare stands for.

THE NIGHTMARE CULTURE & CREWTo keep things going, the support of others living the same way has had a large part in what makes Nightmare Development work. For example, team rider and board builder Ethan White also contributes by doing lay-ups; as he says he “puts the bun in the oven.” On mountain, the team spends a lot of time filming and shooting photos of tricks at the terrain parks. But especially, people like snowboarding legends Trent Bush and owner of Summit Snowboards, Steve Link, continually play a large role.

“He’s (Steve Link) like our mentor, he saw what we were doing and wanted to help out,” said Suta.

“Tom Sims used to babysit me,” said Link. “Along with Tom, I worked di-rectly with Terry Kidwell who was the 1st freestyle pro snowboarder, we started the snowboard scene 20 years ago.” Link was manufacturing his own boards through his business Summit Snowboards but recently, when he’s not

helping others with their businesses, decided to build boards for himself. “Its my art, my love,” said Link.

“I watched what he was doing when I was a kid,” said Suta. “Half of our equipment is Steve’s old shit.”

Besides Link helping out on the pro-duction side of things, Bush founder of Brandbase who helped start Tech-Nine, Nomis, Analog, and Twist, walked away from it all and chose to join Nightmare’s cause. “He is responsible for snowboarders having an identity in this industry,” said Suta. Bush currently works with Nightmare on their distri-bution, focusing on core retail as well as a board re-issue project.

CURRENT PROJECT & INDUSTRY CHANGECurrently, Nightmare is working di-rectly with Kidwell on building the 1985 Sims Terry Kidwell re-issue. Be-fore Sims passed, Kidwell was directly given the rights from Sims to work on the reissue project. Everyone involved in the project feels very honored to be apart of it and excited for the final product release. Above all the excite-ment and great products, Nightmare Development has undoubtedly brought the snowboarding community together in Summit County.

NIGHTMARE INFOFor more information about Nightmare Development’s team, production practices, snowboards and more visit www.nightmaredev.com

i

THE BUZZ

19EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 JOE SUTA & JEFF BERNHARD

» RYAN MCCOY HITS

A JUMP AT THE

NIGHTMARE FACTORY.


ELECTRICITY AT PLAY: AN ILLUMINATING

CONVERSATION WITH SCULPTOR

DOROTHY TANNER

written and photographed by kelsey mcmaster

THE GALLERY

Peanut Butter Jams


THE GALLERY

TANNER STARTED OUT HER ART CAREER

working with conventional materials like wood, stone and metal but then discovered Plexiglas and the way that it transmitted light. She and her husband kept experiment-ing with forms, colors and lights and together cre-ated Lumonics.

Born in New York and later spending 20 years in Florida, the well-established artist decided to move to Denver to continue the Lumonics cause. After her late hus-band and artistic counterpart passed, it was time for change. Tanner loves the mountains and great weather, but it was also the youth that drew her to Colorado.

“Denver has a high concentration of people conducive to another kind of mentality,” said Tanner. “I appreciate the young people here; they are very developed and intellectually curious.”

Dancing forms made of Plexiglas lit by LED lights, Tanner’s sculptures truly embody the playful and humorous side of her personality. “The light defines

it,” said Tanner. “My interest is in creat-ing an environment that makes you feel good. Lights and color changes are all conducive to a spiritual state.”

Tanner’s gallery and staff of three have a kind of energy, the same calming energy her work com-municates to its admirers. And de-spite her age, Tan-ner has a youthful and open mental-ity, much like that which she admires in the youngsters of our Denver community.

But more than the good vibes

one gets from her playful sculptures is the grass roots movement that Tanner and her staff have become supporters of. The Denver Peanut Butter Plan is a movement gaining momentum in com-munities worldwide. People are getting together at meet-ups to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to hand out to those in need.

“It inspired us and our ‘co-conspirator,’ Hazy Meadow, to form a monthly dance event at Lumonics called Peanut Butter Jamz where people donate peanut butter,

“DENVER HAS A HIGH

CONCENTRATION OF

PEOPLE CONDUCIVE TO

ANOTHER KIND OF

MENTALITY. I APPRECIATE

THE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE;

THEY ARE VERY

DEVELOPED AND

INTELLECTUALLY CURIOUS.”


THE GALLERY

jelly, and bread. Tonight is our first of-ficial one,” said Barry Raphael, Tanner’s event coordinator. “Hazy, his wife Dani-elle and us will be making sandwiches tomorrow and handing them out.”

Everyone of all ages and demograph-ics is invited to come be supporters of the movement. The Denver Peanut But-ter Plan meets monthly on a Sunday. After volunteers make the PB&J’s, they head out in carpools to the Denver Mis-sion neighborhood and hand the sand-wiches out to homeless on the streets and in the parks. Any leftovers are then donated to the Samaritan House or oth-er agencies. The next Peanut Butter Plan meet-up is set for February in Denver. More information can be found by vis-iting the Facebook page for details. The Peanut Butter Jamz dance party at Lu-monics also takes place monthly.

“Sharing is what Lumonics is about, I like the interaction,” said Tanner.

Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery

rents and leases its pieces to homes and companies. The gallery/performance space can also be rented for events. Dorothy’s website is www.dorothytan-ner.com and event info is available at www.lumonics.net.

“MY INTEREST IS IN

CREATING AN ENVIRON-

MENT THAT MAKES YOU

FEEL GOOD. LIGHTS AND

COLOR CHANGES ARE

ALL CONDUCTIVE TO A

SPIRITUAL STATE.”

JEFF NASS


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SOUNDWAVES

Michal Menert

by david rodman

GOING OLD SCHOOL TO BRING SOME MAGIC BACK TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

27EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 JEFF NASS

The 30-year-old Colorado native discussed these plans as well as his career with me during an Epic Colorado photo shoot recently. Mr. Menert has been actively making music and performing in Colorado since 2001, years before the state became an EDM mecca.

That summer he and his friends bought a used Peavey PA and started playing parties from the back of a truck. From these modest beginnings he eventually formed a group with Derek Vincent Smith (aka Pretty Lights), Cory Eberhard, and Ken Daley called Listen. They began opening for jam bands and hip-hop shows along the Front Range and then moved on to ski towns, eventually ending up with 6-week runs throughout the West Coast. Menert has been a key player in the Colorado EDM scene since its inception, but he is humble about his role in it.

“I certainly helped shape the scene, but its not like I was the only driv-ing force or anything, I feel like we ALL played a big part. I do think the

first Pretty Lights record that I pro-duced with Derek was one of the first albums of its kind to come out of Colorado, and it was released in a way that revolutionized indepen-dent albums.

I remember seeing an article in Forbes Online that credited us as the business model that Radiohead built upon when they released In Rainbows. That was nuts because some of my idols were using an idea that my friend and I came up with in our house; an idea that just seemed logical at the time due to the high costs of independently printing and promoting CDs, con-vincing people to buy them, not to mention the never ending struggle against piracy.

I think Colorado artists in the early 2000s started working together or were at least very aware of each other because it wasn’t a huge scene. The styles were varied but became parallel, since we all taught each other production because there wasn’t anyone pioneering production locally.


SOUNDWAVES

I guess my point is that I think influenc-ing and helping build anything cre-atively is a two-way street and a way for someone to direct a movement while at the same time being directed by it--like dancing with someone, or demonic possession. Or an acid trip, where technically your mind is creat-ing the hallucinations, but it’s pulling from your senses and experiences. Whatever hand I had in build-ing anyone’s experience or this scene, I’m honored to have played that part, and to have watched it grow over the years."

Menert was excited to discuss his upcoming project to bring some value and some magic back to the music buying experience. In a unique—and quite possibly—truly inspired move, he is planning on releasing several special tracks on vinyl this March. The impetus for this project lies in his passion for creating the perfect, all-encompassing musical experience for his fans. As a musician, Menert is excited about the better sound quality that comes from vinyl; but as a painter, he is ecstatic about getting to explore the potential of album art.

Q&A JAM SESH:

ECM: Why subject yourself to the extra costs and complications associated with pressing a record?

MICHAL MENERT: I sample from vinyl, and ever since childhood I have been drawn to the artwork, feel and sound of vinyl. Giving music away for free through an independent label makes it tricky to sell physical copies, and CDs are so disposable and cheap that I don’t really

want to mess with them. But pressing 500 copies of a special project gives peo-ple something tangible and real to buy. I want to bring back some of the magic that has been lost.

ECM: Given your background in visual art, I assume you will be doing the al-bum artwork that accompanies the LP?

MM: Absolutely.

ECM: How did you become interested in visual art?

MM: I have loved drawing my whole life. I always designed logos and covers

for groups I have been a part of. Through my early passion for hip-hop, I was drawn to graffiti, and at 19 I started hanging out with a few really talented writers. They showed me how to cut lines, how to blend, how to be patient and fix mistakes by incorporating them into the piece. In my early 20’s I gave acrylic painting a second chance, after being frustrated with it my whole life. With the help of my friend Zeke Derderian, I taught myself how to manipulate the medium and make it do what I want. A lot of the techniques I picked up from spray paint helped me with my brushwork.

ECM: Moving on to your music, if you had to pick one song that would best exemplify your sound and style what would it be?

MM: I’d say “Tomorrow May Never Come” of Dreaming of a Bigger Life is the most complete piece in terms of touching on what I do as a whole.

ECM: Who would you say are your big-gest influences musically?

MM: I’d say overall it’s the Beastie Boys, because of their ability to flip a one bar loop into an incredible song. The result is a listening experience that changed

29EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 DREW LEVIN

» THIS PAGE: MICHAL MENERT

PERFORMS AT THE AT THE AGGIE

THEATER IN FORT COLLINS AND

AT SXSW MUSIC FESTIVAL IN AUSTIN,

TEXAS ON THE OPPOSITE PAGE.


SOUNDWAVES

my life when I first heard them. I had a friend in high school named John Egg-ert who was one of the few hip-hop DJs in Fort Collins at the time. He took me through a song from DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing and pointed out the individual samples as they came in, and it made me realize the real potential, beauty, and coincidence of sample collage. Another big influ-ence on my musi-cal style is Mike Oldfield. He was a favorite of my par-ents and one of the reasons my name is Mike. His layering and composition was amazing. His music introduced me to the importance of building harmonies and changing feels and showed me how simple melodies and instrumentation can be very emotive.

ECM: Who are you actively listening to now?

MM: I’m actually on a folk kick. I just

started really exploring Buffy Sainte-Marie, who has a very unique voice and an extensive career ranging from

protest songs to Sesame Street.

ECM: How has growing up in Colo-rado affected your music?

MM: For a long time, it was very limiting, because there wasn’t really a sense of commu-nity, or even a scene within the styles of music I was drawn to. I think that frus-

tration led to producers like myself creat-ing a new facet of EDM that has strong roots in hip-hop. Since we were creating our own genre, the incubation period was much longer for my peers and me, which forced us to refine our vision for years before it started playing out.

ECM: What do you feel has been your greatest success to date?

MM: I’d have say that being able to live

off of music while releasing it for free is a huge blessing and a perpetual success.

ECM: As you become more successful and your fame grows, do you intend to stay in Colorado?

MM: Yes, I just bought a house, and I love my state. It’s got a great scene for art, music, food, outdoor activities, and the vibe is laid back, which makes it a great place to come home to after being on the road.

ECM: Where do you see yourself profes-sionally in 10 years?

MM: I hope to be fusing my music with my visual art, I’ve really wanted to study animation, and bring my artwork to life.

ECM: I know that you are an avid snow-boarder, where might our readers catch a glimpse of you shredding?

MM: I grew up going to Winter Park, Breck, A-Basin, and Keystone. I love riding at those resorts because there is a sense of nostalgia for me, a lot of great times with friends, causing trouble and pushing ourselves to try crazy shit.

DREW LEVIN

“SINCE WE WERE CREAT-

ING OUR OWN GENRE,

THE INCUBATION

PERIOD WAS MUCH

LONGER FOR MY PEERS

AND ME, WHICH FORCED

US TO REFINE OUR VISION

FOR YEARS BEFORE IT

STARTED PLAYING OUT.”


SAMMYADAMS& T.MILLS

TOU

R

WWW.SAMMYADAMSMUSIC.COMWWW.TMILLSMUSIC.COM

INSIDERP A N E LP A N E L


tele

PATRICK ORTON

by giesel widmer

CHRIS EWART INFUSES SKATE,

PARK AND TELE IN AN INNOVATIVE WAY


tele



CHRISTOPHER EWART, 24

years old, stepped onto the competitive scene just a lit-tle over a year ago taking 1st place in Big Air, and taking home $2,500 in cash from Vail’s Winter Mountain games. Although new to the sport, Ewart is one to keep your eyes peeled for. He is giving this sport an entirely new and larger state of life than it has yet to see.

A park rat at heart but passionate about the legiti-macy of his sport, Ewart is bringing steeze to the tele-mark scene, infusing park with tele-skiing and making it look smooth. He was at-tracted to the idea of jumps, rails and parks as soon as he got the hang of turn-ing. He was a frequent rider at Beaver Creek, and after three seasons of lapping the park, gathering on look-ing stares from other riders who hadn’t seen tele skiers attempt the things Ewart was attempting, he gained his first sponsorship from the Resort.

So, what we all want to know is where Ewart came from? Ewart is more or less a Colorado native. His fa-ther was always a big skier. He was from upstate New York. After high school his father moved to Aspen and lived with his aunt and un-cle for a while, working at a ski tuning shop. He loved the life, and after meeting Christopher’s mother, the passion never left him.

Chris was born in Ger-many and lived there for two years while his father worked, and then the fam-ily picked up and moved to

a little town in Massachu-setts. This is where Chris learned to ski; he was part of a small ski club that his father coached. Chris was about 6 when he started skiing, and the sport has not left his side since. He

moved to Fort Collins, Col-orado, when he was 8 and continued skiing as much as he could between school and clubs. He grew up rac-ing, left racing to start snowboarding for a couple of years, and then joined the volunteer ski patrol at Winter Park. Patrollers he met in Winter Park turned

out to be the catalysts for Chris’s telemarking career. He was curious about their sport and wanted to get in-volved. When Chris turned 18 and graduated from high school, he moved up to Vail from Fort Collins.

I asked Chris if his school work was affected by the sport. Interestingly enough, Chris isn’t just an athlete; he’s a smart kid. “Skiing nev-er affected my school work, but I thought about it all the time. I was always ready for the weekends,” he replied. He did well throughout his schooling and went on to

attend Colorado Mountain College to become an EMT. He now works full time for Vail Medical Center and also helps in Beaver Creek as well. He is as dedicated to his EMT profession as he is to skiing.

When speaking to Chris about his passion for ski-ing, he’s very humble about his talent. He is not in the sport to win or even to be a fierce competitor. He just wants to be able to do what he loves as much as he can. “I really want to shoot more film and photography as op-posed to competing. I want to get my name out there in the telemark industry, and I want people to recognize telemark as a sport, not just a hobby. I want to make a good name for myself as well as the industry.”

Not only is he making a good name for himself in this industry, he’s mak-ing them for his sponsors. Ewart is represented by Meier’s Ski’s, a smaller and newer ski company. He chose to go with Meier’s because they are starting out and really allow their riders to have a voice in the production of the skis. They are open minded to change, and give Ewart a little bit more of an opinion in the style and ride of the skis he wears. He is also sponsored by Beaver Creek Resort, Scarpa and Ravinos. His list of sponsors has grown over the past year. With his love for the sport and a profes-sional and dynamic person-ality, the list promises to grow with his reputation.

Beyond telemarking Chris

“I WANT PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE TELEMARK AS A

SPORT, NOT JUST A HOBBY. I WANT TO MAKE A GOOD

NAME FOR MYSELF AS WELL AS THE INDUSTRY.

BEN KOELKER


is multi versed. When the mountain isn’t covered with snow, and Chris isn’t able to wear skis on his feet, he turns to motocross instead.

He picked up motocross this past summer and competed in two different races. He placed 4th in the local Colo-rado RMXA race. It’s easy to assume Chris has a passion for extreme sports and loves to be outdoors. I think we are just seeing the begin-ning of a long and promis-ing career. Ewart may have just popped up on the radar for professional racing, but I think it’s easy to say he won’t be disappearing any-time soon. This is only the beginning.

Look for Ewart in up-coming competitions. He will be competing in the

Telemark Skiing Extreme Challenge in Grand Targhee at the end of February and also at the Crested Butte Telemark Extreme Skiing Championships around mid-

March. Good luck, Chris, from everyone at Epic Colo-rado Magazine. We will be cheering you on all the way to the championships.

WHEN THE

MOUNTAIN ISN’T

COVERED WITH

SNOW, AND CHRIS

ISN’T ABLE TO

WEAR SKIS ON HIS

FEET, HE TURNS

TO MOTOCROSS

INSTEAD.

PATRICK ORTON

by lynnea tamsen by brett schreckengost

LOCAL EXPERT, BRETT SCHRECKENGOST PINPOINTS THE HOT SPOTS

TELLURIDE

SPOT CHECK

On-Point and Off-Piste


TELLURIDE41EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013


ON: POINTFirst and foremost, let’s talk “snow goods” and mountain stats. For those of you interested in numbers, get ready for overload (to the left).

Numerical tallying aside, the mountain is perhaps better known bluebird days; next-to-zero lift lines; and being this close to the town itself. Reinforces our resident local expert, Brett Schereckengost.

“The town of Telluride is ‘ski-in ski out’, which is pretty sweet. Access to our terrain is easy, both on and off piste. Grab a couple lifts up and you’re at 12,000’

with 3,000’+ vert dropping you right back to Main Street.”

“Oh, and check the map, the nearest big city is more than a six-hour drive away, so NO crowds and NO lift lines pretty much ever. Spoiled? Yep.”

OFF: PISTE All this talk of stats and verts and zero crowds has us salivating for some sweet backcountry action. And there is plenty to be found.

“Our surrounding backcountry ter-rain is absolutely massive. I have been

2,000 ACRES of skiable terrain4,425 FT. vertical drop125 trails41% Advanced/Expert Terrain 309” annual snowfall3 terrain parks9 hike-to chutes

TELLURIDE STATS


here for two decades, and am still learn-ing more each season because there is just so much out there to get to know.”

So, where to even start the explora-tion? “I became familiar with the zones around the ski area and Bear Creek in particular by ski touring to Telluride from the town of Ophir. I had loads of photos from the tours, which – along with some aerial images – became really popular with a small group of skiers (aka poachers) that skied the Creek in the early 90’s. The wheels were spinning.”

The wheels on Brett’s Bus kept going

‘round and ‘round until he crashed right into the idea of combining his show-stopper photos, navigational skills, and backcountry knowledge of Telluride. Off-piste maps were brainstormed, and Brett was on the edge of adding “car-tographer” to his repertoire.

The final push he needed to turn his map idea into reality? “When the US Forest Service officially opened a backcountry gate on top of Gold Hill it became clear that Pandora’s Box was about to spring open. Some of my friends on Ski Patrol, Search and Res-

cue and the San Miguel Sherriff’s de-partment expressed concern about the potential increase of incidents back there and the general ambiguity and ‘unknown factor’ of the zone.”

“…In the interest of getting everyone on the same page (skiers, riders, rescu-ers), I felt the time had come to get a

guide out there and hoped it would make it a little safer to navigate the backcountry accessed from the ski area.”

We’re all for noble causes, but let’s be honest; what has been the reaction of other locals to this kind of “giving away of the goods”? With a smile in his tone, Brett discloses,

“I’ve heard some grumbling, but most have been really positive and love the maps. I donated a stack of maps to the ski patrol, Sheriffs and SAR team and they have been utilized on every ava-lanche rescue that has happened back there since the gate opened. When something goes down, everyone knows exactly where it is and can respond quickly, which is pretty crucial.”

ON: TREND Okay, yes, there’s more to Telluride than snow. So if the idea of hip night-life and town ambience is more exciting than backcountry (um, who are you!?), never fear; Telluride will more than quench your après thirst. With bars

“MOST PEOPLE COME

HERE TO SKI, AND END

UP STAYING FOR LOTS OF

OTHER REASONS: THE

COMMUNITY, THE SUM-

MERS, THE FESTIVALS…

I STAYED HERE FOR

THE SKIING.”

- Brett Schreckengost, Telluride-ite for two

decades (and counting)


aplenty harkening its rowdy mining heritage (“Last Dollar Saloon”; “Smug-gler’s Brew Pub”; “Tomboy Tavern”), you’d have to try hard NOT to run head first into a cold brew after a long day. There’s also world-class dining for the fancy visitors; a museum offering “Telluride Afoot Walking Tours”; the well-loved “Baked in Telluride” bakery; and no stoplights for days.

Oh, and Brett won’t let us forget about the general feel and tunes scene, either: “It’s a pretty relaxed vibe in town overall with a couple classic bars to kick back in. We get some good mu-

sic, and get to see it in one of the best small venues in Colorado, The Sheridan Opera House.”

OFF: SEASONStill not convinced Telluride is the place to be? What if you learned the sum-mers often beat the winters in seasonal popularity contests? (Because they do).

“The summers are amazing, and busy with a festival every single weekend. I love the off-seasons best; the ski tour-ing is good through May/June and you can skip on down to the desert to catch some warmer weather for climbing, bik-ing, rafting, etc. We are lucky in Tellu-ride to have the desert at our doorstep, you can ski tour in the morning and be riding singletrack in the afternoon.”

One last gem of local wisdom from Brett? “Living here full-time actually slows down the aging process.”

Promoting a youthful glow, bestow-ing thrills on and off-piste, and pro-viding adventures on and off season!? That’s enough to motivate anyone to sing a country ballad about Telluride.

Our resident expert and star of this article, Brett Schreckengost, is a photojournalist and filmmaker living and working at 9600’ in the small mountain hamlet of Ophir (a quick ski away from Telluride mountain and town). He’s been a proud Telluride-area resident for 20+ years.

Check out a few of Brett’s maps on the opposite page. This is just a taste. To get your mittened hands on your very own coveted backcountry maps go to:

www.tellurideoffpiste.com

If you can’t visit Telluride in person, you can always daydream about it online:

The Mountain www.tellurideskiresort.com

The Town www.visittelluride.com

The Festivals www.telluride.com/telluride/festivals

ABOUT THE EXPERTi


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Ski Area Boundary, DO NOT CROSS6 Apex Lift 9 Plunge Lift 14 Gold Hill Lift 15 Revelation Lift

[ the creek]1. The Lowers 2. Revelation 3. Nellie 4. Deep & Dangerous 5. Palmyra Peak, South face 6. The Uppers 7. Little Wasatch Face 8. Wedding Chutes 9. Waterfall

[ nellie]A. Gold Hill Access Gate B. Nellie Mine/ Bowl C. Nellie Bench D. Nellie Shoulder E. Nellie/ E-Ticket Traverse F. E-Ticket G. Nellie Apron H. Delta Bowl I. Needle’s Eye J. Eagle’s Nest K. Eagle’s Claw L. S&S Traverse M. S&S N. Deep & Dangerous O. The Graveyard P. Wedding Chutes (see pic #8) Q. Waterfall Traverse Revelation Lift

[ palmyra peak, south face]A. Palmyra Summit (13,319’) B. Palmyra North – top of ski area hiking access C. Mainline D. Mainline Ramp E. South Couloir F. South Apron G. S&S Traverse H. S&S K. Lena Basin

[ deep & dangerous]A. Delta Bowl B. Eagle’s Nest C. Deep & Dangerous D. The Graveyard E. Egress to Wedding Chutes F. S&S Traverse G. S&S H. Double Trouble Couloir I. Palmyra Peak J. Lena Basin K. S&S Traverse (cont.)

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Ski Area Boundary, DO NOT CROSS6 Apex Lift 9 Plunge Lift 14 Gold Hill Lift 15 Revelation Lift

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[ nellie]A. Gold Hill Access Gate B. Nellie Mine/ Bowl C. Nellie Bench D. Nellie Shoulder E. Nellie/ E-Ticket Traverse F. E-Ticket G. Nellie Apron H. Delta Bowl I. Needle’s Eye J. Eagle’s Nest K. Eagle’s Claw L. S&S Traverse M. S&S N. Deep & Dangerous O. The Graveyard P. Wedding Chutes (see pic #8) Q. Waterfall Traverse Revelation Lift

[ palmyra peak, south face]A. Palmyra Summit (13,319’) B. Palmyra North – top of ski area hiking access C. Mainline D. Mainline Ramp E. South Couloir F. South Apron G. S&S Traverse H. S&S K. Lena Basin

[ deep & dangerous]A. Delta Bowl B. Eagle’s Nest C. Deep & Dangerous D. The Graveyard E. Egress to Wedding Chutes F. S&S Traverse G. S&S H. Double Trouble Couloir I. Palmyra Peak J. Lena Basin K. S&S Traverse (cont.)

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SPRING 2013 » EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE46ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.com

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.comEXCLUSIVE VIDEO

ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.comEXCLUSIVE VIDEO ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.comEXCLUSIVE VIDEO




47EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.com

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO


ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.comEXCLUSIVE VIDEO ONE STYLE. TWO SIZES. www.dragonal l iance.comEXCLUSIVE VIDEO




» KYLE DEMPSTER SCALES A ROCK

WALL DURING THE OURAY ICE

FESTIVAL IN JANUARY.



A TRUE GRASS ROOTS EVENT

by kelsey mcmaster by scott d.w. smith

STEAM DRIFTS FROM HOT SPRINGS AS EARLY MORNING FOG LIFTS

over the cozy wintery town of Ouray. Nestled among the

impressive San Juan Mountain range, like many mountain

towns in Colorado, Ouray too was once a mining town rich

in gold and silver ore. Still built of Victorian houses and old

storefronts, Main Street is a registered historical district, but

don’t let the quaint façade be confused with a tired town

because this place is far from it. Many extreme athletes work

and live here, making the beautiful steep terrain of the San

Juan’s their back county playground and setting for the larg-

est Ice Festival in North America.

OURAY

FESTIVAL


Pronounced (yer - ray), the “Switzer-land of America” got its name from lo-cal Ute Native American Chief Ouray when it was established in 1876. Beauti-ful country year round with much of its business being drawn during summer months, the ice park attracts a differ-ent crowd during winter. Ice climbers of all ages and abilities come to take advantage of Ouray’s free ice park from mid December through late March.

E n h a n c i n g upon the natural waterfalls that already occur in Unc ompahg re Gorge, a gravity-fed sprinkler system has been set up with do-nated materials and funds and is maintained by the non-profit volunteer corpo-ration, Ouray Ice Park Inc. (OIPI). Sourced by over-flow water from the City of Ouray spring water sup-ply tank, it spans a good portion of the deep Gorge providing prime climbing for more than a mile in length and three miles of cumulative vertical terrain.

Without sponsorships, park member-ships, and OIPI’s volunteer force, the continuance of the grass-rooted Ouray Ice Festival wouldn’t happen every year, nor would the free park be able to re-main open without the funds it raises every year during the festival.

This spectacular icy event occurs ev-ery January, growing in size each year. It draws athletes, sponsors, climbers and spectators from all over, many hoping for

a piece of the ice action. With over 200 ice and mixed climbs, Ouray’s ice park is perfect for athletes that like to take advantage of the proximity to accessible climbs and extreme terrain. Much of which is located within walking distance from Ouray’s Main Street.

For those who are interested in ad-vancing their skills, there are many clinics of-fered during the ice festival that focus on differ-ent aspects of ice climbing. Booking clinics in advance is key because most are sold out a few weeks be-fore the festival begins, and un-less participants nab a spot in one, it may be chal-lenging to get in a lot of climbing. The gear used in ice climbing can be expensive to purchase, so free demos of the hot-test and newest gear are offered from many spon-sors on a first come-first served basis including gloves, ice tools, belay devices, jackets, crampons,

boots and more. The Ice Fest hosts two competitions

this year with a $16,000 overall purse in prize money. One being the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp, and the other being the Hari Berger Speed Climbing Comp sponsored by Lowa. This year was even better than years before, as it featured a new 25 foot overhanging tower at the end of the Elite Mixed route and more women competitors giving it a go than ever before.

Fierce competitors took each other

THIS YEAR WAS EVEN

BETTER THAN YEARS

BEFORE, AS IT FEATURED

A NEW 25 FOOT OVERHANG-

ING TOWER AT THE END OF

THE ELITE MIXED ROUTE.


MANY OF OURAY’S ICE PARK CLIMBS ARE LOCATED WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM MAIN STREET.


on, scaling sheer rock and ice walls. The telephone poll transition to the 25 foot overhang for the Elite Mixed Comp was the crux, or toughest part of the route. E v e r y o n e cheered for each other, but a few dan-gled above the rest. The over-all results for the 2013 Elite Mixed Climb-ing Comp rankings: 1st for men was Simon Du-verney with Jeff Mercier in 2nd and Sam Elias in 3rd. For wom-en, Ines Papert came in 1st, then Mari-anne Van Der Steen in 2nd and Emily

Harrington in 3rd place.There’s plenty to do after a full

day of climbing, zip lining or spectat-ing climbers in and out of competit ion. Many partake in icy cold lo-cal brews and bone warm-ing hot springs to work out sore muscles. Even if climb-ing isn’t your thing, once the sun goes down and evenings set in, there are many activi-ties to attend. Silent auc-tions, dinners, films, multi-

media presentations, and speeches by the likes of recent Everest summiteer

and competitor Sam Elias, are available to fest goers.

The free annual kick-off party and Petzl/Arc’teryx theme party are not to be missed either. Beer, food and prizes are provided at the free kick-off party hosted by the American Alpine Club and the Saturday night theme party this year was “lost in space.” People, of course, were encouraged to dress up in space garb, which is always a fun op-portunity to hang out with old friends and meet new ones.

After a full weekend of ice festivities and steamy hot spring affairs come to a close, one comes away from the whole experience feeling inspired, rejuvenated and enchanted by Ouray’s spirit and natural surroundings.

AFTER A WEEKEND FULL OF ICE

FESTIVITIES...ONE COMES AWAY

FROM THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE

FEELING INSPIRED AND

ENCHANTED BY OURAY’S SPIRIT.ICE PARK INFOFor more information on the ice park and ice festival, visit ourayicepark.com

i

» THE FALLS AT THE UNCOMPAHGRE

GORGE ARE ENHANCED BY A

GRAVITY-FED SPRINKLER SYSTEM

WHICH MAKES THREE MILES OF

CUMULATIVE VERTICAL TERRAIN.



ProPro

SPRING 2013 » EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE54 JEFF BROCKMEYER

by lynnea tamsen

THE BACKCOUNTRY QUEEN GIVES US A LESSON IN FLYING

UP, UP, & AWAAAAYCelia MillerWITH


» CELIA TAKES A BREAK FROM

BACKCOUNTRY RIDING TO POSE

FOR THIS SHOT IN ALASKA.



ProPro

*FLY: to be carried through

the air by the wind, wings,

or any other force.

You know how sometimes you meet a person, and a word immediately comes to mind? (ex: mesmerizing; awkward; Jerkstore; you get the gist)…

Well, after spending some time with Celia Mill-er, I can’t seem to get the word “fly” out of my head. This chick embodies every aspect of “fly”…the noun (she really is so cool); the verb (this girl literally flies through the air,); and even the essence (such a free, soaring spirit).

Celia’s word is “fly”. And this is the Queen of Back-country’s story, set to some startlingly-appropriate lyrics.

“I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise...to fly...”

LEARNING TO FLY.Celia Miller took off from her Connecticut roots, and came to Colorado with vi-sions of Breckenridge, sun-ny days, and powder danc-ing in her head. Set free from the confines of icy, gloom-and-doom East-Coast conditions, she embraced Colorado like the third-place trophy she would later win in an O’Neill Evolution competition.

“I didn’t know I wanted to snowboard professionally; I just wanted to see how far I could take snowboarding for myself…so needed to be somewhere where I could do it every day. (…) When I came out here, it was the first time I’d ever seen any-thing like this. I was like,

HOLY CRAP, what IS this!?! I was blown away by all of Colorado…it was an imme-diate connection.”

Years of flying down – and off of – hills later, Celia is gracing glossy magazine pages for brands like Flow

and O’Neill; cutting crazy air through the no-man’s land that is backcountry; and is revered as a seriously legit snowboarder world-wide. She’s also competing in contests with words like “Big Air” and “Tailgate Alas-ka” in the title; and setting

new standards for the sport.Oh, and by the way…

after all of this backcoun-try playground-ing and jet-setting, Breckenridge is still her mountain soul mate.

“Breckenridge is always my favorite. They have the

best park in the world(…) The jumps at Breck and Keystone are just perfect; if you want to learn to jump, and get bet-ter at riding, it’s where you should be. I love Colorado!”

“I am not fly, I am levita-tion. I represent an entire generation.”

BACKCOUNTRY QUEEN.While on the topic of ac-colades and singing Colo-rado praises, let’s discuss how Celia is making a name for herself in a histori-cally dude-dominated sea of snow. She’s been lov-ingly dubbed “Backcountry Queen”, and is setting the bar for a new generation of powerful female riders. How did her journey to roy-alty status come to be?

“I have to give all the credit to Chad Otterstrom; he’s a king of backcountry. He pretty taught me every-thing I know. But, I mean, Backcountry is a never-end-ing learning experience!”

What advice would you give a female who’s look-ing to get into the back-country arena?

“For a new girl to come on the scene and say, ‘I’m gon-na go do Backcountry!’; it’s hard. If you don’t have the right equipment, the right crew, and you don’t know where to go, you’re kind of blind. Plus, most guys aren’t gonna want to take a girl on a trip, because they probably don’t have a sled, probably don’t know how to shovel or build…and then they’ll probably be afraid to hit the jumps! So, I feel really lucky to have been exposed to backcountry. It’s kind of like you have to earn the respect. It’s an honor.”

But the girls are repre-senting, and Celia is helping to lead this effort.

“The girls have really been stepping out recent-ly, especially in contests…and if you compare it to the guys, it can seem like

“I FEEL REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED

TO BACKCOUNTRY. IT’S KIND OF LIKE YOU HAVE

TO EARN THE RESPECT. IT’S AN HONOR.”

CHAD OTTERSTROM & AARON DODDS


no big deal, but no other girls are doing this stuff! They’re pushing bigger and bigger things. And in the backcountry, there’s a lot of girls trying doubles, and pushing the limits. You can out there; there’s a lit-tle more room for error. I haven’t landed a double yet, but I’m workin’ on it!”

Why does backcountry trump everything else?

“There’s nothing better than hitting a jump, and landing in the powder. It doesn’t compare to any-thing else. It’s you and your buddies; you’re in touch with nature; it’s the stuff you really remember.”

“I win, thrive, soar, high-er, higher, higher. More fire.”

TELL US MORE…(As in, I want more Celia like Christopher Walken wants more cowbell!) What’s on the radar for 2013?

“This year, I’ve been do-ing a bunch of contests, and am trying to do the Olympic events. I need to stay in the top 30 to qualify, and have four more events to go. My heart is still in filming in the backcountry, though!”

Anything else you want to leave us with?

“Yes! In the spring we’ll be filming again; planning on doing at least one or two more edits with Sarka of

our season this year (it’ll be online vid to come out next fall). And other than that…just promoting women’s snowboarding, and Colo-rado! It’s my home!”

Amen to that, Her Back-queen Highness. Keep tak-ing us up, up, and away!

SO MANY SPONSORS (!):» Flow » O’Neill» Bollé» Discrete Headwear» POW Gloves

DID YOU KNOW:

Celia and Chad opened up their own non-snow-related clothing store in Breck? Check out the shop to score some stylie duds.

Moxie Clothing Boutique124 S. Main StreetBreckenridge, CO (910.453.6722)

There are two wiener dogs in Celia’s life named Calloway and Chopper who have their own Instagram “Wienergram” page, and so many followers it’s embarrassing

Follow them here: http://web.stagram.com/n/wienergrams/

CELIA FACTS

“…IN THE BACKCOUNTRY, THERE’S A

LOT OF GIRLS TRYING DOUBLES, AND

PUSHING THE LIMITS. YOU CAN OUT

THERE; THERE’S A LITTLE MORE ROOM

FOR ERROR. I HAVEN’T LANDED A

DOUBLE YET, BUT I’M WORKIN’ ON IT!”


ProPro

» CELIA GETS HUGE AIR

WHILE RIDING SOME FRESH

POWDER AT VAIL PASS.

59EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 JEFF BROCKMEYER


3/6 Pert Near Sandstone & Good Gravy

3/7 The Heavy Pets & Jet Edison

3/8 Dead Phish Orchestra

3/9 Salvador Santana + The Jaden Carlson Trio

3/10 Congo Sanchez from Thievery Corp. & See I + DJ DC & Loveautivity (aka ThuMpeR)

3/11 Dead Larry & Free Beer from 9 to 10

3/12 Free Show with Tatanka "the kings of Dubtronic"

3/13 Polyrhythmics "hard-driving horn driven funk"

3/14 Twiddle & Smooth Money Gesture

3/15 Grant Farm & The Drunken Hearts

3/16 Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue ft. Rob Eaton of Dark Star Ochestra

3/17 St Patrick's Day with Euforquestra

3/18 Conspirator and Signal Path

3/19 Donovan Frankenreiter & Rayland Baxter

3/20 Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band with Funkma$ter

3/21 Daedelus & Two Fresh

3/22 This Must Be The Band "the real deal talking heads tribute" + Grood

3/23 The Kyle Hollingsworth Band "2013 BrewSki"

ft Keith Mosesly +The Springdale Quartet

3/24 Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd solo)

3/25 Polecat "americana stomp grass" + free beer

3/27 Toubab Krewe

3/28 Little People

3/29 The Lady Wu "all female wu tang tribute"

performing 36 Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in it's entirety

3/30 Zoogma with Damn Right

4/2 Free Show with Marinade

4/3 Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

4/9 Robotic Pirate Monkey

4/11 Je� Austin & Friends (Danny Barnes, Larry & Jenny Keel)

4/13 YAMN

4/14 The Werks

More dates TBA

Music is just better this high

www.three20south.com


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INSIDE THE WORLD OF A HELI PILOT

by lynnea tamsen mike artz

WANTED: PART-TIME PILOT WITH A FULL-TIME LOVE OF SOARING

THROUGH HIGH ALTITUDES; MUST WORK WELL UNDER PRESSURE;

FEAR OF HEIGHTS IS A DEAL-BREAKER; BADASS-NESS A PLUS.

You don’t go looking for jobs like this; jobs like this find YOU.

And, like an ill-fated bug on life’s windshield, the “flying bug”

hit Lee Rhodes when he was twelve years old.

THE ART OF FLIGHT

THE LIFE


“We were at a Fourth of July fair, and they had helicopter rides…and I took a ride…and I thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna do that someday!’ “

THE TAKE-OFFFast forward a hand-ful of years, a fire-fighting career, and hours of practice in the air later, and Lee could add “full time pilot” to his resume. And then…he took off; literally. Zigzag-ging through the air, the newly-minted pi-lot worked contracts ranging from trans-porting geologists to active volcanoes; putting out forest fires; flying for a California news sta-tion; and even chauffeuring the rich and glamorous from land-to-yacht. As if that weren’t captivating enough, he

then set his sights on the heli-skiing world. Enter Silverton, where this pi-lot would hover for two years, calling eager backcountry skiers and riders his copilots.

THE FLIGHTNot surprisingly, this type of flying quickly became his favorite; his voice glows with the giddiness of a rider landing his first Method as he de-scribes what it’s like to fly for backcountry powder hounds.

“So many people are having a great time, and so many say

it’s on their bucket list, or it’s the cool-est – or craziest – thing they’ve ever done. So it’s about giving that experi-ence to people for the first time. It’s re-ally fun for me to be involved in that

whole process; see their eyes just light up while they’re flying.“

Of course, amidst the fun and views, there is always a foundation of acute awareness in the mind of a heli pilot. The most daunting aspects of piloting a helicopter in the backcountry?

“Weather can change really quickly…you have to pay attention to that. But once you get the skills, most of flying is decision-making. You have to know what you’re capable of, what you’re not capable of, and say ‘no’ when it’s not safe. Especially in Silverton! It’s the highest ski area in North America; we’re landing at 13,500 feet. You have a fully loaded helicopter, at that altitude, with drastic wind… you’re right at the edge of what the helicopter can do, and you always have to be thinking about what could go wrong.“

“Whiteouts are also a very real concern; you get close to the ground, snow starts to blow, and then all of a sudden you’re in a ‘bowl of milk’, as

“YOU’RE RIGHT AT

THE EDGE OF WHAT

THE HELICOPTER CAN

DO, AND YOU ALWAYS

HAVE TO BE THINKING

ABOUT WHAT COULD

GO WRONG.”


they call it. You can’t let that happen. Helicopters are not like airplanes; you always have to have a visual reference with the ground. If I lose that, I have no idea which way is up, and there’s basically a second or two before hitting the ground.”

Speaking of terrifying things, Lee’s biggest scare came last winter, in front of a large audience, no less.

“It was the “Red Bull Cold Rush” competition at Silverton, and I was fly-ing the athletes and crews. Everything seemed normal, and it was a clear day. But in the mountains, the winds are un-predictable. I was coming into a landing spot, and this big downdraft came out of nowhere; I had to do an abrupt ma-neuver very close to the ground. All the spectators were right there.”

Death-defying conditions; navigat-ing a hunk of metal through the air; daredevil, life-saving moves in front of a crowd…all in a day’s work of a heli pilot, right?

THE LANDINGSo, what’s on the horizon for this pi-lot? He’s thinking Alaska’s Valdez, for a change of backcountry scenery. But, then again, in the world of freelance helicopter flying, the possibilities are as endless as the clear blue sky. “Everyone always tells me I have the coolest job in the world!”, he quips. (Amen!)

Lee can be reached at [email protected] if you’re ever in the mood for some soaring through the air…or are now completely enamored with the idea of becoming a helicopter pilot yourself. Until then, keep your head in the clouds.

Itching to heli-drop immediately now? Don’t forget that Silverton has a whole menu of options, whether you’re in the mood for a single drop, a whole day, or private transport to any mountain!www.silvertonmountain.com/ page/experience/heli

Fascinated by choppers in general? Spend 10 minutes at this site, learn some aviation lingo, and feel instantly cooler: http://sierrahotel.net/ slang-18.html

GET YOUR HELI ONi

THE LIFETHE ART OF FLIGHT


Owl House Pottery

Durango, COowlhousepottery.com


THE LIFECHICKS WITH PICKS

FROM CLIMBING TO CHARITY FUND RAISING, THESE GALS ARE BADAXE!

CHICKS WITH

PICKS

CLIMBER & GUIDE: DAWN GLANC

by kelsey mcmaster scott d.w. smith

GENERALLY, WHEN ONE THINKS OF TAKING A RETREAT, LAZING ON SANDY BEACHES WITH

FRUIT-FILLED COCONUT COCKTAILS COMES TO MIND. HOWEVER, CHICKS WITH PICKS/CHICKS

ROCK CLIMBING CLINICS OFFER A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENRICHING GET-AWAY.

14 years ago, life coach and climbing guide Kim Reynolds, along with associate Kelly

Day, started the Ouray, Colorado based Chicks With Picks guiding company. The

company offers a unique guiding service that is a women specific organization with

the mission to promote climbing in a fun and safe environment. “Our goal is to help

women become strong, self-sufficient climbers,” said girly guide and accomplished

rock and ice climber Dawn Glanc. “Our guides are awesome!”

THE LIFE CHICKS WITH PICKS

The Chicks With Picks guides are very accomplished climbers who have climbed all over the world, putting up first ascents on a vari-ety of terrain. Many of the guides have AMGA training and certifications. Chicks offers clinics in a variety of lengths, levels and types. When ice season is over, Chicks Rock kicks into gear and expands its rock climb-ing clinics into different ter-rain and locations across the United States. Some years they even offer guided Ne-pali trekking trips.

“Our events are very em-powering and often times a moment of wow in a per-son’s life,” said Glanc. Wom-en of all ages from different states attend these different climbing events. They cre-ate a comfortable and safe atmosphere for learning, and when different pressures are removed from the equation, it opens people up to getting in touch with themselves. And maybe, in lieu of lazing on sandy beaches, that kind of enriching experience with Chicks is just what the doc-tor ordered.

“The impact these clinics have on the women who take them, it ends up being SO much more than climb-ing,” said Reynolds. This ex-perience results in what one can only describe as a kind of learning intensive but re-laxed women’s retreat. After the events, many women give feedback that the clin-ics were life changing. The learning that occurs in the women that attend is not only monumental in climb-ing skills, but in life skills.

“Mental barriers are the

hardest thing to overcome. They can stop even the stron-gest climber,” said Glanc. “I have seen many clients be-come empowered throughout the Chicks climbing events. There is something about fac-ing fear and pushing comfort levels that makes transforma-tion happen.”

Chicks With Picks/Chicks Rock is doing more to help women than just offering the clinics. They raise mon-ey for Ouray area charities like The Tri-County Wom-en’s Resource Center and The Ouray Ice Park. They are helping at risk women receive safe shelter. “We host two public slideshows/auctions; we have raised $186,000 for local charities. It’s a big piece of what we do,” said Reynolds. “Women climbing with women, for women. That’s just a piece of it.”


For more information on Chicks climbing clinics, how you can get involved or to sign up visit: www.chickswithpicks.net

CLIMBING INFOi


» INES PAPERT (THIS PAGE)

EMILY HARRINGTON (OPPOSITE

PAGE) CLIMB BOTH A ROCK

FACE AND AN OVERHANG

TOWER IN OURAY, COLORADO.

THE LIFETRANSPLANT

WE WANDER AROUND THIS GREAT EARTH IN SEARCH OF MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.

Some wander to discover themselves, others wander to encounter a lover,

some others may wander to achieve a higher quality of life and me, I wander

because I want to ride the best mountains in the world. The Rocky Mountains

energy sucked me in at the young teenage age of 13 while visiting Colorado

on a trip with my incredible family. We adventured out to the Vail Slopes and

I soon feel deeply in love. I remember there was an event taking place at the

top of Vail called “Unvailed,” and every one of my favorite pro-snowboarders

were riding the super unique set-up the Vail park crew had built for them.

by pat milbery

TRANSPLANT

71EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 TERRY RATZLAFF

THE LIFE TRANSPLANT


I had the opportunity to meet Kevin Jones and saw him stomp a frontside 900, I met Bryan Iguchi and watched him boost giant Mctwists out of a quarter pipe, and I even met Jim Rippey, the backflip slayer, who’s video part the year be-fore in the video TB4 blew my mind! These guys were all having so much fun and taught me quite a lot about snowboarding in one single afternoon of shredding in the Rocky Mountains.

Granted, I only visited Colorado from my home-land of Minnesota once a year for the next 8 years, there was something

about this place that made me so happy.

I made the move in the spring of 2002 and trans-planted my existence to the town of Breckenridge. What a place, I spent 6 sea-sons shredding the slopes there and I have since re-located to the birthplace of Epic Colorado Magazine, Golden the gateway to the Rockies. That decision was the best decision I have ever made. I have grown as a person, as a friend, as a snowboarder, as an artist, as a nature lover and most importantly a committed believer to the notion that Colorado is the best place on the planet.

The more people I met while living in Colorado, the larger percentage of correlation between them being transplants became a very consistent obser-

vation. I began to notice that Colorado has a special energy about it. Maybe it exists in the air, or maybe in the water or in the m o u n -tains? My answer is that is ex-ists in the p e o p l e ! We make this state what it is today through our creativity, positive energy and build-ing together.

I am very lucky to travel the world as a professional snowboarder, and spread that Colorado love

around the globe. I take pride in representing this great state of Colorado.

This col-umn goes out to the thou-sands of us trans-p l a n t s t h a t c h o o s e this awe-s o m e state to coexist in, lets keep bu i l d ing

it through the respect and love the locals have wel-comed us in with.


“I ONLY VISITED

COLORADO ONCE A

YEAR FOR THE NEXT

8 YEARS, BUT THERE

WAS SOMETHING

SPECIAL ABOUT THIS

PLACE THAT MADE

ME SO HAPPY.

CHRIS FARONA


THE LIFE RUBY HILL


by mike cook

DENVER’S NEW RUBY

CHRIS FARONA

RUBY HILL RAILYARD MADE ITS LONG-AWAITED

grand opening this January. For those who

haven’t heard yet. . . Tucked conveniently near

the South Platte River, within the old Ruby Hill

Park, now rests a ski and snowboard terrain

park. That’s right, a terrain park, in the armpit

of our city. A project which is the result of a

collaboration between Winter Park Ski Resort,

Denver Parks & Recreation, and Christy Sports

Retailers, the launching of which has been many

years in-the-making. Colorado citizens might

remember that low-pressure week of bitter

January weather that rolled out across our state

mid-month. While most of us were layering

clothes to the point of injury and cursing the

cold, volunteers and staff behind The Ruby

Hill project couldn’t have been happier. For

although Playoff Week brought dashed hopes

and biting cold, it also graciously ushered in the

weather necessary to get Ruby Hill in operation.

IT SEEMS OUR HIGHLY SOUGHT CITY HAS A NEW GEM TO BRAG ABOUT…OR RATHER, A NEW RUBY.


THE LIFE TRANSPLANTED

JEFF NASS RIDER: CAMERON LAWRENCE

Indeed, last year we never hit the three days below 27 degree-streak needed in order to blow and retain the snow base appropriate for a terrain park. Not just any ordinary terrain park, but a totally in-novative, inner-city park at that. Thus a few abnormally mild winters have continu-ally postponed the Ruby Hill Debut season after season. But Mother Nature and Old Man Winter were on our side this season and Ruby Hill Railyard opened to the powpow-anticipating public on Monday January 21st.

Word must have done a quick downhill run through the Denver Valley, because by as early as Monday after-noon the park was teeming with riders and skiers.

A couple bright-eyed vol-unteers ro-tate shifts maintain-ing the entry and landing of all ten of the park’s fea tures . The menu Ruby of-fers park-goers is as f o l l o w s : a couple b o x e s w i d e enough for even the most nov-ice to bust a sick boardslide, some smaller and more chal-lenging boxes, a double rail at the bottom just for good measure, a rainbow and a bent rail, and for the more experienced taste is a tall and slim rounded rail; but by far

the most interesting of all the features is “the torpedo,” aptly named as it looks to be a missile, half-buried on the farthest East side of the park.

Ruby Hill boasts a few less tangible, yet nonethe-less worthy ‘features’ which are rarely encountered in on-mountain terrain parks. Not only is there an uncom-mon, yet distinct sense of calm dousing the park to its perimeters, but also an over-whelming feeling of com-munity replacing the typi-cal, competitive tension that can be as hard and sharp as morning ice in most parks. This tension is exactly what deters a good number of novices from ever venturing into a park and furthering their skill base.

Upon observation it be-c o m e s apparent that Ruby Hill is not like other parks. At any given time the age-range on the hill is as wide as the range of skill. A diverse c o l l a g e of people atypical to the crowd u s u a l l y

seen on the slopes, and all of them with one common thread- they’re all Sno-wheads. Any sex, any age, any color; and all of them Snowheads. Everyone is courteous, despite the lim-ited space, waiting patient-

ly their turn to grind, un-strap and climb back to do it all again. From middle-aged beginners who can’t stand for the length of the “bunny hill’ sized run, to a few young ones who the Olympics should start look-ing out for.

Yet further beneath the surface: below the features, the snow, and even beyond the vibe, Ruby Hill is truly doing big things behind the scenes for our state, our city, our people, and even for the sport as a whole. It is a “big picture” sort of project, you might say. Ruby is making it possible, where it once was not for a range of unfortu-nate Coloradans to finally get a taste of why people travel the world simply to say they’ve skied in our state. On Colorado Snow. In the Rocky Mountains.

Let’s face it, skiing/snow-boarding must be one of the most expensive sports

to participate in. For some, the sport is out of the ques-tion based on cost alone. For others insufficient or unre-liable transportation can’t guarantee them a safe trip up the hill. Whatever it may be, many Colorado residents aren’t able to enjoy the sport that makes their state fa-mous, and there’s just some-thing inherently wrong with that fact.

Apparently the three powers-that-be who make Ruby Hill happen felt the same way. So they decided to offer absolutely free rent-als for anyone over the age of 8, every weekend the park is able to stay open. Just another way Ruby Hill and those responsible for seeing it into reality are making it possible for ev-ery Coloradan to enjoy our namesake, our white gold, and our proclaimed but un-official State Sport.

RUBY HILL

RUBY IS MAKING IT

POSSIBLE, WHERE IT

ONCE WAS NOT FOR

A RANGE OF UN-

FORTUNATE COLO-

RADANS TO FINALLY

GET A TASTE OF WHY

PEOPLE TRAVEL THE

WORLD SIMPLY TO

SAY THEY’VE SKIED

IN OUR STATE.


inspiring youth to make positive decisions for healthy

and successful lives through winter and outdoor sports

www.sosoutreach.org

C O U R A G E

D I S C I P L I N E

I N T E G R I T Y

W I S D O M

COMPASS ION

spread the lo

ve s

pread the love

spre

ad the love

a youth development charity


inspiring youth to make positive decisions for healthy

and successful lives through winter and outdoor sports

www.sosoutreach.org

C O U R A G E

D I S C I P L I N E

I N T E G R I T Y

W I S D O M

COMPASS ION

spread the lo

ve s

pread the love

spre

ad the love

a youth development charity

Vital Outdoors1224 Washington Ave.Golden, Colorado 80401303-215-1644

Golden Colorado.com

Great Deals! Great Brands!


In the last issue we covered the basic equipment you should have when headed outside of resort and ski area boundaries. For this time around we will give some essential guidelines to prepare for getting out in the mountains and riding untracked lines. Some of the basic knowledge that you will need to enjoy the backcountry is given here and remember that continu-ing your outdoor education is a must if you want to progress to bigger and steeper terrain.

GET PREPARED: Taking an avalanche course is the first step to becom-ing more confident and capable. Always remember the essential tools; an avalanche beacon, shovel, probe, water, first aid, and extra layers. Also pairing up with experienced partners will give you the best on hand resources for having a safe and enjoyable day. Be sure to tell someone where you are going and an approxi-mate time of when you will return. If for some reason you don’t make it back search and rescue will have much better odds of finding you when they know where to start looking.

A crucial first step is getting yourself familiar with the symptoms of avalanche potential. You can find this information from local avalanche center updates, watching for obvious clues, viewing natural avalanche paths and by digging snowpits. Using all the available tools will help you to make safe decisions and boost confidence when in the backcountry.

OBVIOUS CLUES AND RED FLAGS: There are some clues that you can pay attention to that will give you signs of instability before you even dig a snow pit if you know what to look for. Observing natural avalanches or detecting a rapid temperature

rise indicates potential avalanche danger. Details such as shooting cracks in the snow or also whoompfing (a burst of air pressure as snow layers beneath are settling) tell you immediately that there is a weak layer or lack of bonding in the snow. Recent snowfall in the previous 24-48 hours is also a sign of instability since new snow usually hasn’t had time to bond on old surfaces. Entry-level avalanche courses will teach you how to conduct a proper compression test of the slope, and even if you are comfortable with the terrain it is good habit to dig a pit every time you head out into the backcountry.

TRAVEL PROTOCOLS: Avoid undercutting slopes, traveling over convex rolls, and areas that expose one to terrain traps such as valleys and creeks where it may be easier to get buried by snow. Minimize the number of people on the slope, and remember to stop only in safe locations away from the dangerous areas described above. When the snow does show signs of instability you want to have a plan for an easy route to ski or ride down. This may even involve hiking down something you just walked up. It may seem frustrating, but remember even the best riders in the world sometimes will change their route to safe zones and choose other slopes when the conditions just are not right. Once you become more comfortable and familiar with your surroundings in the backcountry, noticing these signs and how to respond should become easier as you gain more experi-ence. Check out http://www.avalanche.org/ for more information on local avalanche centers and courses available throughout the US.

BACKCOUNTRY BRAIN

TERRY RATZLAFF

TIPS FOR RIDING BACKCOUNTRY SAFELY

by ryan cruze


» RYAN CRUZE TAKES A BREAK

TO CHECK OUT THE VIEW ON HIS

SLED IN SILVERTON, COLORADO.


TO SOME, THE TERM

“Basecamp” brings to mind a sea of yellow tents, sher-pas, and time spent getting acclimated to some unfor-giving climate. For those visiting Durango Mountain Resort each winter, the term basecamp is common-ly used to describe the per-fect location from which to harvest the bounty of outdoor activities located amidst the rugged terrain of the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.

This is definitely not the I-70 experience as Durango Mountain is more than 3 hours away from the clos-est major city which keep the crowds minimal and the untracked snow plentiful. In many other resorts the term powder-day has been replaced with the moniker powder-hour. Not so here, as the snow tends to last for days instead of hours.

We like to think of our basecamp as a place that is perfectly located in the heart of winter adven-ture. From your Durango Mountain Resort doorstep you find more than 1360 acres of varied terrain at Durango Mountain Resort, access to more than 35,000 acres of untracked pow-der via snowcat with San

Juan Ski Company, endless backcountry touring op-tions with Kling Mountain Guides, and quick access to Silverton Mountain provid-ing the most challenging ski and snowboard experience in America. Need a day off? Take a drive on the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray and play at the Ice Climb-ing Park or head south 20 minutes to the town of Du-rango where there are more restaurants per capita than any city in America plus four craft breweries includ-ing the legendary Steam-works and SKA.

No other place in ski country has access to such a wide variety of winter sports opportunities. Whether you want the comfort of riding high-speed lifts and skiing at a resort or earning turns in the backcountry, Du-rango Mountain Resort puts you in the heart of every-thing winter.

After a day in the moun-tains, guests retreat to slopeside lodging where they enjoy all the comforts of home plus many others such as rooftop hot tubs and a full service spa facil-ity. After soaking away the day, guests have numerous choices for dining in the Purgatory plaza.

by sven brunso

NO PLACE CAN BEAT ALL THE OPTIONS THIS PLACE OFFERS

Durango Mountain Resort

SCOTT D.W. SMITH

CANDY85EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013

TERRY RATZLAFF

RIDER: GREYSON CLIFFORD

DENVER, COLORADO


JEFF NASS

RIDER: MARK HOYT

SUMMIT COUNTY, COLORADO


FRED MARMSATER

CLIMBER: MICHAEL ARNOLD

LONG'S PEAK, COLORADO


MIKE ARTZ

RIDER: LEO AHRENS

SILVERTON, COLORADO


DAN MILNER

RIDER: ANGUS LEITH

TELLURIDE, COLORADO


FRED MARMSATER

CLIMBER: BRYAN SMITH

DEAD ELK COULOIR, COLORADO


DAVE APPLE

RIDER: MAT FERIC

RED CLIFF, COLORADO


CHRIS FARONA

RIDER: PAT MILBERY

RED ROCKS, COLORADO


BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

CLIMBER: MATT STEEN

TELLURIDE, COLORADO


JEFF BROCKMEYER

VAIL PASS, COLORADO


TERRY RATZLAFF

RIDERS: RYAN CRUZE & RITCHIE COLASANTI

SILVERTON, COLORADO


JEFF NASS

SKIER: JOSH BERLAND

EVERGREEN, COLORADO


MARTIN SODERQVIST

SKIER: SVEN BRUNSO

DURANGO MOUNTAIN RESORT

DAVE APPLE

RIDER: DICK HOFFMAN

VAIL, COLORADO



DAN MILNER

RIDER: ANGUS LEITH

TELLURIDE, COLORADO


ASPEN Eoto, Belly Up March 14

Yonder Mountain String Band, Belly Up March 16-17

Toubab Krewe & See-I, Belly Up March 24

Aspen AIDS Benefit Fashion Show, Belly Up March 27

Elephant Revival, Belly Up March 29

Bombastic Meatbeats, Belly Up March 30

Lotus, Belly Up April 2

Modestep, Belly Up April 10

Soul Asylum, Belly Up April 12

Buttermilk Closing Day April 7

Snowmass Closing Day April 14

Aspen Mountain Closing Day April 14

Rusko, Belly Up April 14

Aspen Highlands Closing Day April 21

Mobb Deep, Belly Up May 11

BOULDERDillon Francis, Boulder Theater March 7

MURS, Fox Theatre March 8

Kill Paris, Fox Theatre March 14

G.Love & Special Sauce, Boulder Theater March 15

Hoodie Allen & AER, Fox Theatre March 16

French Montana, Fox Theatre March 20

Toubab Krewe & See-I, Fox Theatre March 21

Lotus, Boulder Theater April 4

Sammy Adams & T. Mills, Fox Theatre April 9

Bonobo (Live Band), Fox Theatre April 25

The Black Angels, Boulder Theater May 10

CRESTED BUTTEConspirator, Eldo March 20

CB All Stars, Eldo March 23

Crested Butte Closing day April 7

DENVERCERVANTES THEATER

Nit Grit, Gladkill, Sugar Pill, Rodway, 50 Carrot, Lt. Dan March 16

Touwab Krewe and See-I March 22

Joey Porter’s Shady Business March 23

Stop Making Sense March 29

Revenge of the 90’s III March 30

Random Rab Live & Bluetech April 5

Polish Ambassador & Blockhead April 6

Method Man & Redman April 20

The Unified Field May 3-4

Lettuce May 31 & June 1st

(DENVER EVENTS CONTINUED)

Animal Collective, Ogden Theatre March 22

Tech N9ne, Fillmore Auditorium March 22

Imagine Dragons, Fillmore Auditorium March 23

Chris Tucker, Paramount Theatre March 23

All That Remains, Fillmore Auditorium March 26

Lindsey Stirling, Ogden Theatre March 28

Erykah Badu, Fillmore Auditorium March 30

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Pepsi Center April 2

Band of Horses, Ogden Theatre April 8

Bad Religion & Against Me, Fillmore Auditorium April 10

Bullet For My Valentine, Halestorm, & Young Guns: Harddrive Live Tour, Fillmore Auditorium April 12

Lily Tomlin, Paramount Theatre April 13

Rusko, Ogden Theatre April 12-13

Bon Jovi, Pepsi Center April 16

Danzig, Ogden Theatre April 19

Slightly Stoopid with Cypress Hill, Red Rocks April 20

SOJA (Roots Underground and Euforquestra), Ogden Theatre May 3

SOJA (Air Dubai and Las Rakas), Ogden Theatre May 4

Global Dub Festival: Flux Pavilion/Excision, Red Rocks May17

Ron White, Temple Buell Theatre May 17

Vampire Weekend & Of Monsters and Men, Red Rocks May 20

Arctic Monkeys, Ogden Theatre May 28

WHAT'S THE HAPSWINTER EVENTS ACROSS COLORADO

GUIDE

109EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013 109

Bassnecter, Red Rocks June 1

DURANGOJoel Racheff, Derailed Saloon March 16

The Gamits, The Summit March 16

Three Brothers, Deraled Saloon March 23

Policulture, The Summit

March 30

DEVO Bike Swap, LaPlata County Fairgrounds March 29-31

Ska Beach Party, Durango Mountain Resort March 31

Purgatory Closing Day March 31

Wolf Creek Closing Day April 7

Silverton Mountain Closing Day April 14

Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, Main St., Durango April 19-21

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic April 24-27

EAGLE COUNTYWinter Market, Edwards March 17 - 31

Korbel American Ski Classic, Vail March 20 - 23

Vail Film Festival March 28 – 31

Taste of Vail April 3 – 6

Spring Back to Vail April 8 – 14

Vail Mountain Closing Day April 14

Beaver Creek Resort Closing Day April 14

Short Track Mountain Biking Series, Beaver Creek May 15

MTHDS, State Bridge May 24

Campout For The Cause, State Bridge May 24-26

Blues, Brews & BBQ, Beaver Creek May 25 – 27

Vail Valor Half-Marathon, Vail May 27

STEAMBOAT SPRINGSBud Light Rocks The Boat Concert Series March 9 – April 14

M.T.H.D.S., Sweet Water Grill March 16

St. Patrick’s Day Torchlight Parade & Fireworks Display March 17

Annual Cody’s Challenge at Steamboat Resort March 23

Ski 4 Yellow at Steamboat Resort March 29 - 30

The Big Motif, Ghost Ranch Saloon April 6

33rd Annual Cardboard Classic at Steamboat Resort April 13

String Board Theory, Old Town Pub April 13

Gipsy Moon, The Tugboat April 14

SPLASHDOWN Pond Skimming Competition at Steamboat Resort April 14

Steamboat Resort Closing Day April 14

SUMMIT COUNTYSt. Patty’s Day O’Fuego, Copper Mountain March 16

Breckenridge Spring Fever March 17 – April 14

5 Peaks Mountaineering Race, Breckenridge March 23

Spring Fever Chili Cook-off, Breckenridge March 24

Throwback Throwdown, Breckenridge March 30

USASA National Champion-ships at Copper Mountain March 30 – April 9

SHAKEDOWN STREET, Three20South April 5

Breckenridge Spring Beer Festival April 6

Bud Light Concert Series at Breckenridge April 6 - 14

Keystone Slush Cup April 7

Keystone Closing Day April 7

Imperial Challenge at Breckenridge April 13

Annual Loveland Derby April 13 – 14

Sunsation, RedBull Slopesoakers, Copper Mountain April 13 – 14

Breckenridge Closing Day April 14

Closing Day Party with The Werks & Free Beer, Three20South April 14

Copper Mountain Closing Day April 14

Loveland Closing Day TBA

Arapahoe Basin Closing Day TBA

TELLURIDEFirst Thursday Art Walk, Telluride April 4th

KOTO End of Season Street Dance, Telluride April 5th

Bluegrass Party, Telluride April 5th

Telluride Closing Day April 7th

Mountainfilm Festival, Telluride May 24-27th

Telluride Bluegrass Festival June 20-23rd

WINTER PARKSo-Gnar Shred Circuit Finale April 6th

Silver Bullet Base Bash, Presented by Coors Light April 6th, 13th

Winter Park Springtopia April 20-21st

Coca-Cola Spring Splash April 21st

Winter Park Summer Opening June 15th

EPIC Singletrack Race June 15th

Trestle Gravity Series June 22-23rd

For more info on upcoming events, please visit www.epic-mag.com for an updated event calendar.

MORE INFOi

INSET PHOTO BY KELSEY MCMASTER

GUIDE

TALKIN' SHOPWHERE TO GET YOUR GEAR

ASPEN (ASPEN, HIGHLANDS, BUTTERMILK, SNOWMASS)SKIING (soft goods/hard goods/rentals)

D & E Ski and Snowboard Shop Aspen 970-920-233 520 E. Durant Ave Aspen, CO 81611 www.aspensnowmass.com

Hamilton Sports 970-925-1200 520 E. Durant Ave #106 Aspen, CO 81611 www.hamiltonsports.com

Pomeroy Sports 970-925-7875 614 E. Durant Ave. Aspen, CO 81611 www.pomeroysports.com

Stapleton Sports 970-925-9169 426 S. Spring St. Aspen, CO 81611 www.stapletonski.com

SNOWBOARDING (soft goods/hard goods/rentals)

D & E Ski and Snowboard Shop Aspen 970-920-233 520 E. Durant Ave Aspen, CO 81611 www.aspensnowmass.com

Radio Boardshop 970-925-9373 400 E. Hopkins Ave. Aspen, CO 81611 www.radioboardshop.com

UP Snowboard Rentals 970-920-0123 426 S. Spring St. Aspen, CO 81611 www.upsnowboard.com

MUSIC (stores, venues, etc.)

Belly Up Aspen 970-544-9800 450 South Galena Street Aspen, CO 81611

www.bellyupaspen.com

Two Old Hippies 970-925-7492 111 S. Monarch Street Aspen, CO 81611 www.twooldhippies.com

DENVERMUSIC (stores, venues, etc.

Cervantes Masterpiece 303-297-1772 2637 Welton Street Denver, CO 80205 www.cervantesmasterpiece.com

EAGLE COUNTY (VAIL, BEAVER CREEK)SKIING (soft goods/hard goods/rentals) Charter Sports 888-295-9797

PO Box 4570 Avon, CO 81620 www.CharterSports.com

Charter Sports has 12 convenient ski and board rental locations throughout Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon and Breckenridge. Save 30% on rentals by reserving online at www.CharterSports.com.

Double Diamond Ski Shop 970-476-5500 520 E. Lionshead Cir. Vail, CO 81657 www.DoubleDiamondVail.com

“America’s Top Ski Shop” Just Steps From the Gondola

Pepi Sports 970-476-5206 231 Bridge Street Vail, CO 81657 www.pepisports.com

Pepi and Sheika have brought you one of the greatest selections of quality skiwear and equipment for over 40 years. In the lower level, we have a full service ski & rental shop containing the finest winter equip-ment and ski accessories.

Transition Sports/ The Stash Boardshop 970-845-7388 240 Chapel Place #125 Avon, CO 81620 www.Transition-sports.com www.Stashboardshop.com

Transition Sports accepts all types of “in-season” sporting goods and associated gear. Bring in your old, lightly used outdoor equipment and we will sell it for you in the shop. Consignors receive 60% cash or 70% store credit for all sold items…in certain cases, we may even buy the gear directly from you.

Venture Sports 888-825-8245 51 Beaver Creek Pl.


Avon, CO 81620 www.avonventuresports.com [email protected]

Voted “Best of the Vail Valley” 10 years running, we pioneered ski & snowboard rental delivery and offer a 100% money back guarantee on all our services. Locally owned and op-erated with the best prices, services & locations.


Charter Sports 888-295-9797 PO Box 4570 Avon, CO 81620 www.CharterSports.com

Charter Sports has 12 convenient ski and board rental locations throughout Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon and Breckenridge. Save 30% on rentals by reserving online at www.

CharterSports.com.

Double Diamond Ski Shop 970-476-5500 520 E. Lionshead Cir. Vail, CO 81657 www.DoubleDiamondVail.com

“America’s Top Ski Shop” Just Steps

From the Gondola

Transition Sports/ The Stash Boardshop 970-845-7388 240 Chapel Place #125 Avon, CO 81620 www.Transition-sports.com www.Stashboardshop.com

Transition Sports accepts all types of “in-season” sporting goods and associated gear. Bring in your old, lightly used outdoor equipment and we will sell it for you in the shop. Consignors receive 60% cash or 70% store credit for all sold items…in certain cases, we may even buy the

gear directly from you.

Venture Sports 888-825-8245 51 Beaver Creek Pl. Avon, CO 81620 www.avonventuresports.com [email protected]

SUMMIT COUNTY (KEYSTONE, BRECKENRIDGE)SKIING (soft goods/hard goods/rentals)

Base Mountain Sports 970-453-6405 500 South Park Avenue Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.basemountainsports.com

Columbia Breckenridge 970-453-9307 108 S. Main Street Breckenridge, CO 80424 PO Box 5590 [email protected]

Main Street Sports 970-453-1777 401 S. Main Street PO Box 1560 Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.mainstreetsports.com

Mountain Wave 970-453-8305 800-453-3050 600 S. Park Ave www.mtnwavesnowboards.com

Mountain Vibe 970-423-6052 [email protected] 221 S. Main St. Breckenridge, CO 80424

Slope Style 970-547-4417

110 S. Main St, Unit A Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.slopestyle-ski.com

Slope Style is Breckenridge’s new-est ski shop, and Breck’s only core freeski shop. Located in the heart of main street we’re just minutes away from both the bottom of 4 O’clock run and the Gondola.

The North Face Breckenridge 970-453-1613 322 S. Main St. Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.breckgear.com


Base Mountain Sports 970-453-6405 500 South Park Avenue Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.basemountainsports.com

Big Hit 970-453-1109 100 North Main # 210 Breckenridge, CO 80424

Main Street Sports 970-453-1777 401 S. Main Street PO Box 1560 Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.mainstreetsports.com

Mountain Wave 970-453-8305 800-453-3050 600 S. Park Ave www.mtnwavesnowboards.com

Mountain Vibe 970-423-6052 221 S. Main St. Breckenridge, CO 80424 [email protected]

Underground Breck (970) 453-7400 320 South Main Street Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.undergroundsnow boards.com

OPTICS (glasses, goggles, etc)

Sun logic 970-453-8477 421 S. Main St Breckenridge, CO 80424 www.sunlogic.com

Mountain Vibe 970-423-6052 [email protected] 221 S. Main St. Breckenridge, CO 80424

OTHER (etcetera)

Joes Lock & Key 970-389-KEYS PO Box 3253 Dillon, CO 80435 [email protected]

JEFF NASS SKIER: PAUL COTTER 111EPIC COLORADO MAGAZINE » SPRING 2013


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epic colorado - winter / sring 2013

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