Gunnison Country Magazine

G U N N I S O N • C R E S T E D B U T T E • MT. C R E S T E D B U T T E • A L MO N T • L AK E C I T Y • P I T K I N

A NEW PERSPECTIVE Think you’ve seen it all here?

Think again INSIDE:

Calendar of Events • Dining Directory COMPLIMENTARY

Allows direct access to thousands of acres of National Forest. ATV riding, Mountain Biking, Horseback riding, Hiking, Fishing and Hunting are all yours to enjoy from this pristine property. Home, Guest Cabin, Caretaker's Cabin, Shop, Arena and much more located on this 160 acre in holding provides for a private, year round, accessible haven.

Offered at $1,500,000 this scenic property boasts a most private Mecca for the avid outdoorsman looking for a perfect hunting & fishing hideaway.

Well-built, one level home on 3.42 acres with attached garage has brand new metal roofing!

Barns, corrals, 1400 sf shop building, two wells, all fenced bordering National Forest! Great southern exposure & unending valley & mountain view! Recently reduced to $355,000.

17 Unit Mountain Meadows Mall next to City Market and Wal-Mart in Gunnison with 66 space paved parking lot. This 6 unit building has over 8500 sq ft, excellent walk-in traffic location for busy retail center. Call MINDY to learn how you can buy all or part.

Excellent income opportunity!

Just below Hartman Rocks Recreational Area, this condo has all the right stuff! Vaulted ceilings, open kitchen-livingdining area, fireplace, two master bedroom suites & roomy 2- car garage. Private fishing provided on Tomichi Creek & 18 hole golf course right across the road! Call for current pricing.

MINDY

Situated on the West end of Gunnison with 300 ft Gunnison River frontage. Property boasts two large trout ponds Restaurant/bar building area totals 6,295 sf. Finished cabin includes carport & wood deck. Interior includes granite countertops. 4 additional cabins (partially finished) include attached carports and wood decks. Approval is in place for development of additional 6 more living units. List Price: $1,895,000. Owner will finance with substantial down payment, terms negotiable.

MLS

COSTANZO INDEPENDENT BROKER

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Phenomenal Gunnison River 2.28 acres, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, one-level home plus 780 sq. ft. log garage with guest quarters! Incredible price at only $595,000!

New Thornton Meadows home sites in scenic Ohio Creek Valley with underground utilities, nice pond area only 2.5 miles north of downtown Gunnison.

Prices begin at $60,000!

Be the first to build your new home! Low tap fees!

MINDY has full details, plat & covenants.

New log-sided home on 1 acre near Sargents, Colorado. Only 27 miles east of Gunnison and within short drive to Monarch Ski Area with high efficiency furnace & in floor heat system, Trex decking, hickory cabinets, knotty pine doors, Low-E windows & nestled right in the middle of lots of wildlife adjoining National Forest! The very best part is the price at only $250,000 & includes a roomy, 2-car detached garage.

Three Rivers Resort & Outfitting “The Gateway to Taylor Canyon”

Whitewater and Scenic Raft Trips

Riverfront Cabins • Vacation Homes • Lodge Rooms

Fly Fishing and Lure Trips

Visit our General Store for: Groceries, Gift Shop, Paddle Shop, Fly Fishing Shop, Restaurant Our Smokehouse offers homemade food and BBQ from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Three meals a day plus beer and wine served on our fun outdoor patio!

Best Ribs in the Valley.

Duckie Trips and Kayak Lessons

Visit our new shop

Three Rivers Outpost at the 4 way stop in Crested Butte

Activities • Bike Rentals We serve Camp 4 Coffee Fishing Licenses • Souvenirs Let us book all of your vacation activities: Horseback Riding, Rock Climbing, Hot Air Balloon Rides and more!

970-349-5930

Located 10 miles north of Gunnison on Cty. Rd. 742 in Almont (970) 641-1303 or 1-888-761-FISH (3474) www.3riversresort.com

GUNNISON • CRESTED BUTT • E MT. C R E S T E D B U T T E • A L MO N T • L AK E C I T Y • P I T K I N

A NEW PERSPECTIVE Think you’ve seen it all here?

Think again

INSIDE:

Calendar of Events • Dining Directory

COMPLIMENTARY

About the cover: The Castles — as this dramatic rock formation in the West Elk Wilderness area, not far from Gunnison, is known — is one of the iconic images of the Gunnison Country. Few people see them from this view, however, and even fewer are able to capture them this dramatically with a camera.

This shot was taken by Allan Ivy, who, with his wife Francie, owns Mesa RV Resort. See more of his work at mesarvresort.com.

GCP

Gunnison Country Publications, LLC Publisher/Managing Editor Chris Dickey Advertising Leia Morrison, Heather Messner Contributors Will Shoemaker, Matt Smith, Judy Buffington-Sammons, Cara Guerrieri, George Sibley, Chris Rourke, Brian Riepe, Suzy Metzler, Luke Mehall, Larry Jensen, Mary Burt, Rose Tocke, Pam Montgomery Production Manager Jennie Wren Layout/Design Kirsten Dickey Online www.gunnisontimes.com For more information regarding this publication or other special publications of Gunnison Country Publications, LLC, call 970.641.1414, or email leia@gunnisontimes.com Copyright© 2011 No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publishers. Copyright© 2011. No part may be transmitted in any form by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of the publisher. Any work (written, photographic or graphic) which the publishers “hired-out” becomes the property of the publisher. Publisher accepts no liability for solicited or unsolicited materials lost or damaged.

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Inside Not our first rodeo .. 10

The Gunnison Valley is playing host to the US Pro Cycling Challenge this August.

But it’s not the first time the world’s top road cyclists rolled through here.

Black Magic .. 24-29

The Black Canyon National Park is home to some of the country’s most extreme rock climbing.

A new era of recreation .. 36-39

Gunnison Trails is leading the effort to bring more volunteerism, and cooperation, to public lands management.

What’s on tap .. 40 Home brewing is hopping here in the Gunnison Valley.

Kid connection .. 47

Ann Bertschy didn’t set out to create a legacy with local youngsters. But that is what’s happened out at her goat ranch.

A night to remember .. 67-73

A local ranching pioneer recalls the summer her family hired Navajos to help with haying season, and one special night at a drum ceremony.

A match made near heaven .. 84-85 Local couple set out on epic adventure to scale North America’s “50 classic climbs.”

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T

he Gunnison County Pioneer and Historical Society had its beginning in 1880 with the early pioneers who settled in the Gunnison Valley. The Pioneer Society was reorganized and incorporated as a non-proďŹ t organization in 1930.

From its very beginning the society stated its interest in preserving the history of the pioneers of Gunnison County and by 1964 the Pioneer Museum was ďŹ nally begun.

The board of the Society oversees the operation of the Museum which is staffed mostly by senior volunteers. These volunteers are happy to answer your questions as you browse the exhibits at your own pace.

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The Museum grounds, its 19 buildings, the artifacts and memorabilia that make up the many displays have been donated

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by generous members and friends of the Society. Most of the items on display date back to the early settlers. The Museum’s collections truly represent the cultural history and heritage of the people of Gunnison County.

In addition to the Museum, the Pioneer Society also owns the Aberdeen Quarry which is located on Beaver Creek just a few miles from Gunnison. Granite from this quarry was used in building the Colorado State Capitol. As part of the summer program at the Museum, jeep tours are scheduled to provide an opportunity to visit this historic site.

Advertiser’s Index ARTS, EVENTS AND THE OUTDOORS

C&C Building & Design

11

The Bean Coffeehouse & Eatery

Adventure Park at Mt. Crested Butte

Gunnison Country Collision

33

Greatland Engineering

57

Three Rivers Resort Smokehouse

Greatland Log Homes

45

J Reeser Architect, LLC

80

John Roberts Motorworks

21

Harding Company Architect & Builders

49, 62, 77

Art in the Park

22

Blue Mesa Resevoir & Morrow Point Resevoir

87

Calendar of Events

88, 89

Camp CB Summer Adventures for Kids

46

Canopy Zipline Tour Mt. Crested Butte

77

58 25

87 41

Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy

45

Morrison Tile & Stone Western Lumber

76

Gunnison Country Partners

74

Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Project

70

Gunnison Valley Family Physicians

22

Insurance Center

69

Parker Pastures

44

Richard Almgren Insurance Agency Inc

69

Six Points Evaluation & Training

46

Spring Creek Landscape Company

74

Squeeky Clean Auto Wash

21

The Sanctuary Yoga Studio

70

Western State College of Colorado

50

19

REAL ESTATE AND LENDERS

81

Community Banks of Colorado

71

Dennis Steckel Realty

66

Gunnison Bank & Trust

80

Gunnison Real Estate & Rentals

11

Gunnison Savings and Loan

14

Live Water Properties

17

Crested Butte Music Festival

15

Crested Butte School of Dance & Dansummer

25

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival

86

Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival

59

Colorado Adventure Rentals

53

Community Yoga Class

70

Crestone Music Festival

41

Dos Rios Golf Club

87

Fantasy Ranch Horseback Adventures

69

Gene Taylors Sporting Goods

5, 71

Gunnison Arts Center

27

Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association

17

Gunnison Outdoors

76

Gunnison River Festival

58

Gunnison Valley Farmers Market

44

Gunnison Valley Observatory

44

Pioneer Museum

6

Rage in the Sage Weekend

33

Tenderfoot Outfitters

76

The Arts Alliance of the East River Valley

61

Three Rivers Resort & Outfitting

3

Traders Rendevous

5

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

37

Weekend Warrior Ourdoors

87

SERVICES, HEALTH AND ORGANIZATIONS Gunnison Community School & Lake School

Crested Butte Center for the Arts

34, 46, 49 62, 77

3, 82, 83

B & B Printers

Cattlemen’s Days PRCA Rodeo

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

22, 82, 83

Mindy Costanzo Real Estate

2

Premier Mountain Properties

33

RE/MAX Community Brokers

86

St. Johns Partners

14

RESTAURANTS AND LODGING A-B-C Motel

86

Bakery and Café at Gunnison Vitamin

22, 82, 83

Brick Cellar

57, 82, 83

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

34, 82, 83

Djangos Restaurant & Wine Bar

Back Cover

Dos Rios Golf Club

82, 83, 87

Gunnison Brewery

41, 82, 83

Gunnison Country Magazine Dining Directory Gunnison Lakeside Resort

82, 83 34

Pappy’s at Elk Creek Marina

82, 83, 87

Garlic Mike’s Italian Cuisine

76, 82, 83

Gunnisack Cowboy Bistro Restaurant & Bar

38, 82, 83

Island Acres Motel Mario’s Pizza & Pasta Matterhorn Hotel Mochas Drive-thru Coffeehouse & Bakery Nordic Inn Ol’ Miner Steakhouse

AUTOMOTIVE AND CONSTRUCTION Buff’s Collision Specialists

46

Pizza Hut

C S I Concrete Systems Inc.

58

Rockey River Resort

69 17, 82, 83 21 82, 83, 86 80 57, 59, 82 83 22, 82, 83 59

SHOPPING AND RETAIL B & B Printers

58

Back at the Ranch Home Furnishings

65

Bookworm Books & Gifts

66

Boom-a-rang

25

Gunnison Vitamin & Health Food Store

22

Gene Taylors Sporting Goods

5, 71

Ice Mountain Jewelry

45

Hair of the Dog Dog Wash & Boutique

76

High Mountain Liquor

66

Hope & Glory/ Misty Mountain Floral

74

Miller Furniture

57

Red Mountain Furniture

76

Shop Local

26

Six Points Retail Store

46

Spin a Christmas Tale

41

Tee’z Me Screenprinting

22

Traders Rendezvous

5

Western Lumber

76

Western World

80

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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A fresh view Jannette Runge A long-time resident of Gunnison County, Jannette Runge has been taking photographs for 24 years. Her photographs have been published in National Geographic Travel, Sports Afield Magazine, Colorado Board of Tourism, Colorado Homes, AAA Advertising, Colorado Activity Center, Gunnison Country Magazine, Crested Butte Land Trust Calendar, Crested Butte Magazine, Treasury Magazine, San Luis Valley Magazine, and many other regional publications.

Jannette is noted for her wildflower, landscape and outdoor portrait photography.

Living on Cochetopa Creek gives her a fresh view of Gunnison and the vast and beautiful landscape surrounding this community. Galleries can be viewed at http://rogi.smugmug. com/contact. She can be contacted via e-mail at rogirunge@msn.com.

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Pro cycling — not our first rodeo Looking back at the Munsingwear International Stage Race

by Brian Riepe

I

n the third week of August, professional road cycling will steamroll its way through the quiet, scenic roads of Gunnison and fly up Hwy. 135 to a lung-busting finish at the base of Mt.

Crested Butte. The following day, starting in downtown Gunnison, the peleton, or pack of riders, will leave Gunnison for a grand day of high altitude racing over Cottonwood Pass and Independence Pass for a finish in Aspen.

For Gunnison, Crested Butte and all of Colorado, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is a very big deal. But when it comes to professional

road racing, international cycling stars, and the drama that comes with them, this is not Gunnison’s first rodeo.

Our first soirée into the spectacular, often controversial, world of professional international road racing came 25 years ago when Gunnison played host to a little known but hotly contested event called the Munsingwear International Stage Race.

Continued on page 12

Outside of ample coverage in the hometown Gunnison Country Times, the 1986 Munsingwear International Stage Race went largely unnoticed in the road cycling community — except with some of the world’s best riders who came here to compete.

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

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“It was the biggest race nobody ever heard of,” says Gunnison’s Chris Haas, who helped organize the event and still has a small collection of memorabilia from the race stashed in his attic.

For five days in the summer of 1986 Gunnison played host to an unlikely mix of cycling’s historical legends and international Olympic team riders. The story of how this came to be and the outcome is part of its mystique and reflective of some wild times in cycling’s history.

“We (the West Elk Road Club) had been running a road race in Gunnison for several years,” says Haas. “We had a great sponsor in Munsingwear, we had money, and a great team of people to organize the events.”

In fact, at a regional level, the Munsingwear race in Gunnison was well known for being a “racers’ race,” very difficult with long, hard stages in the mountains.

That year, the UCI World Road Racing Championships were to be hosted in Colorado Springs, and the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) needed a venue for a selection race to determine who the final member of the U.S. team would be.

“We were known for putting on a great event, so the USCF called us and suggested we put on a stage race,” says Haas. “They said if we hosted a stage race, we would likely get some big-name teams to show up as a warm up for the World Championships.”

It turns out they were right.

“Sure enough, we had the French team, the Spaniards, Italians, and in typical Cold War era fashion, the Soviets showed up under cloak and dagger the morning of the event,” remembers Haas. “We had been putting on events but nothing of this caliber, nothing this big. It was more than we expected.”

But the West Elk Road Club had good leadership under race directors Kathy Kregel and Jack Panek and put together a worthy event.

The stages consisted of an individual time trial on Hwy. 135 from Jack’s Cabin cut-off to the base of Mt. Crested Butte; a criterium in Crested Butte; a circuit race from Crested Butte to Mt. Crested Butte; a 130-mile road race from the Blue Mesa Dam to Hotchkiss, and back; and a team time trial from Gunnison to Crested Butte and back.

“The stages were brutal,” says longtime

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An underdog from Durango named Ned Overend, seen here preparing for the individual time trial, took second at the ’86 Munsingwear Classic.

Photo by Greg Morin

“

It was the biggest race nobody ever heard of.

”

Chris Haas local cycling advocate Jim Dirksen. “The weather was bad and back then our roads were very rough.”

With the top international teams came some of the most famous names in cycling history: Two time Tour de France champion Laurent Fignon and European classics champion Charly Mottet were potential favorites.

Many of the top American riders had already qualified for the World Championships and, choosing to take a rest after recently finishing the biggest U.S. stage race at the time — the Coors Classic — were not in attendance at the Munsingwear race. But with one spot on the U.S. team up for grabs, things were set to be exciting.

“The West Elk Road Club wasn’t a category 1 club, but since we were the host club for the event, the USCF let us put together a team for the event,” explains Haas.

“The two most notable riders we managed to get were 1984 Olympic Road Race Gold

Medalist Alexi Grewal and an underdog from Durango named Ned Overend.”

It’s not clear how Grewal, who in a twist of irony once lived with his family in Almont, a small town just north of Gunnison, ended up racing for the local team. But he and Overend would prove to be a powerhouse and shake up the Munsingwear race in more ways than one.

For all the excitement and inspiration cycling is known for, its dark side began to rear its head during the early 1980s when riders began experimenting with performance enhancing drugs. Grewal had become entangled in that system.

“Alexi showed up at the Munsingwear with a black cloud hanging over him,” says Dirksen, who volunteered at the event. “He had tested positive for Ephedrine (a bronchial dilator) at an earlier event.”

Doctors would later clear Grewal for using the drug to treat his allergies but at the time he was under investigation.

A big-time comeback

It was a wet, slippery ride in the circuit race, which took riders on six laps between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.

Members of the West Elk Road Club: Josh Thompson, left, and Greg Morin.

Photo by Greg Morin

“Grewal was a real bad boy at the time,” remembers Greg Morin, another West Elk Road Club veteran. “He showed up at the race with a skull and cross bones drawn on one side of his helmet and a pack of cigarettes taped to the other side.”

Once the racing got under way, it became clear who the bad boy was.

“Alexi crushed it. It was ridiculous,” says Morin. “In the circuit race he led every lap up Mount Crested Butte.”

“No other riders would pull through and help,” adds Haas. “He was so angry he would look back and spit on them, but I think they just couldn’t match his speed. It wasn’t by choice. The stage was extremely difficult. They did six laps up the mountain and then finished with 10 shorter laps at the base area.”

The Soviet team won the team time trial — they started last and passed all the other teams — but Grewal proved to be untouchable, winning the overall title at the Munsingwear. The only other rider who came close was his own teammate, Overend, who finished second overall.

Despite Grewal’s amazing performance in Gunnison, the Ephedrine investigation kept him from being selected to the World Championship Team and a young Overend was given the spot. Overend fared poorly at the World Championships but went on to be one of the most accomplished mountain

bike racers in the world.

Grewal went on to have a long and successful career — while eventually admitting to his own drug use and the prevalence of “doping” in pro cycling at the time. He now lives in Longmont, Colo., and at the age of 50 has launched a comeback with expressed hopes of competing in the US Pro Cycling Challenge.

Haas, Morin, Dirksen and the West Elk Road Club took their experience from 1986 and continued to run the Munsingwear Stage Race and other prominent events over the years, influencing cycling history and putting Gunnison on the map time and time again. In following years, the Munsingwear did get more attention with articles published in Winning Magazine and Velo News.

It’s been nearly three decades since Grewal, Fignon, Mottet, Overend and the Munsingwear Classic quietly streamed over the asphalt in Gunnison and Crested Butte.

So when the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and more than 128 of the world’s best road cyclists come here in August, with the benefit of past experience, Gunnison’s rich cycling community will be ready to ride that bull again. ■ (Brian Riepe is the editor of Mountain Flier Magazine. He lives and rides in Gunnison.)

The inaugural 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge will take place August 22-28, and it is expected to be the largest spectator event ever held in Colorado.

The race travels through some famous and beautiful destinations, including Colorado Springs, Salida, Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte, Gunnison, Aspen, Vail, Avon, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Golden and Denver.

To keep in touch with the latest news and updates on the USA Pro Cycling Challenge or to volunteer, visit www.usaprocyclingchallenge.com.

Upcoming events: Friday, July 29, 8 p.m.

Light Up Your Bike Ride Start and finish at the Crested Butte Brewing Co. -Meet at the Brewery to light up your bike. Then join us for a ride around town and music at the brewery.

Tuesday, August 23 USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 1 -Watch the world’s best cyclists fly though town en route to the stage finish in Mt. Crested Butte.

Wednesday, August 24 USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 2 -Enjoy the Lifestyle Expo and pre-start festivities before the official start of The Queen Stage in downtown Gunnison.

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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Celebrating a Century of Service in the Gunnison Country!

Savings & son ni 1911

YEARS 2011

Assn.

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Gunnison Loan Department

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

Fiddler

for hire Gunnison’s Drew Murdza has almost as many jobs as instruments he plays

D

rew Murdza is the hardest working musician in the Gunnison Valley. It’s hard to imagine any musician, anywhere, being much busier, actually.

The 36-year-old Maryland native teaches private lessons. He runs the after-school strings program at the Crested Butte Community School. He’s heading up the Kids Bluegrass Camp for the Crested Butte Music Festival this summer (www.crestedbuttemusicfestival.com). He plays in no fewer than four local bands. And he’s finishing up his bachelor’s degree at Western State — in music, of course — and performs with the college’s orchestra and string ensemble.

He is a huge advocate for music education in public schools, which is where he got his start playing violin at age 7.

“For me, arts are what made school,” he explains. “The arts are what make interesting people.”

Following is a Q&A with Gunnison’s Fiddler for Hire: You’ve got your fingers on a lot of fret boards. How do you keep it all in tune?

I did an apprenticeship a long time ago with a guy who builds wood canoes.

He told me when you do a lot of weird things that don’t necessarily provide a full-time salary, you have to diversify.

(Playing and teaching so much music) keeps me a lot busier than I’d like to be.

But you have to make some sacrifices in life. And, then, mine are not really bad Continued on page 18

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Murdza and his ever-growing collection of string instruments.

Photo by Chris Dickey

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| 17

sacrifices. It’s all pretty fun. No, it’s really fun.

You originally moved out West to, as you say, “play music and be outside” in the mountains. How’d you get to Gunnison?

I was looking at colleges. My plan was to drive here and then to Fort Lewis and apply to both. It was like negative 37 (degrees) when I got here, and it ate my Jeep. I didn’t have enough money to fix it, so here I am 15 years later.

I think I’ve made the right choice. I love Gunnison. It’s the best place in the world.

Some of your musical influences?

I started listening to bluegrass on WAMU out of Washington, D.C., when I was 10. I loved it, even though all my training was classical. And I had a musical family.

Then there’s the Grateful Dead. They changed my life. I credit them as much as any teacher — and I’ve had some amazing teachers over the years — to opening my eyes to all the possibilities of music. Of being open minded. They championed acceptance of a lot of types of music.

Several years ago you became a fan of Leftover Salmon, really admiring Drew Emmitt, who played a lot of the same instruments — especially mandolin, guitar, violin — and styles that you do. Now you live in the same valley.

It was really cool to come here and have Drew live here. He was a huge influence. I’ve gotten to play with him some. I played bass with his band out on the road once, at the Montana Big Sky Bluegrass Festival.

How’d that go?

Heavy duty. It was trial by fire, total immersion. The first night we played I didn’t even get to practice with the band.

Were you able to keep up?

Well, Drew still talks to me.

Tell us about the strings programs you’re heading up.

It’s funded by the enrichment pro-

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

Drew Murdza with his favorite instrument.

Photo by Chris Dickey

“

For me, arts are what made school. The arts are what make interesting people.

”

Drew Murdza

gram and the CB Music Festival. We offer free lessons in the school, after the school day, in beginning and advanced guitar, mandolin and bowed strings. We have kids from fourth grade through high school seniors.

It’s great. We play a lot of classical music, as well as bluegrass, jazz, rock and roll. I had the kids play (Ozzy Osbourne’s) “Iron Man” at our last concert.

We’re trying to get a similar program started out of the Gunnison Arts Center.

We’ve got a grant request out right now.

And the kids bluegrass camp this July?

I’m really excited about it. We’ve got a really great staff. Tyler Grant, of the Emmitt-Nershi Band and a national flatpicking guitar champion, is going to be

there. I’m excited about getting to work with him, let alone the kids. Amanda Thompson teaches percussion at WSC. Karen Jensen on vocals. It’s going to be really, really fun.

It’s for all experience levels, and everyone will come away with something.

It culminates with a big performance on Friday afternoon. It’ll be like “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.”

What’s your go-to instrument?

Violin. I like it because, in a band, it can be really loud.

And I’m a bluegrass lover. I love to play fiddle tunes, “Old Joe Clark,” “Cripple Creek,” those kinds of songs.

There’s such a huge body of American and European fiddle music that kids should be learning. ■

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| 19

Gunnison’s Chad Zummach (right) and Maryo Ewell (center) threw a “Wisconsin tailgate party” as an auction item for a Gunnison Arts Center fundraiser.

Courtesy photo

Putting the ‘fun’ in fundraisers

Gunnison Valley’s charitable events are known for being wacky, weird and wild

by Will Shoemaker

W

hat do you get when you cross die-hard Packers fans, Johnsonville brats and a to-die-for tailgate party? The perfect auction item in a Gunnison Arts Center fundraiser.

It all began back in September of last year when Gunnison’s Chad Zummach — a native of Sheboygan, Wisc., who came to Gunnison to attend Western State College years ago — and fellow Cheesehead and Gunnison resident Maryo Ewell conjured up the idea for a “Wisconsin tailgate party” as an auction item in the annual Gunnison Arts

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

Center Gala, which is held early every winter.

You see, as part of the Gala, businesses and individuals all chip in something to be auctioned. They’ve been known to include off-the-wall items and services — the tailgate party is a case in point. The Gunnison Brewery offered up the rights to name one of their seasonal beers — an honor that went to local Stephen Pierotti of the Gunnison Country Times and culminated with a whisky barrel-aged porter called Porterotti.

The Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum’s annual Black and White Ball has been known to bring out loads of formal, festive and funky black-and-white attire.

Photo by Nathan Bilow

Continued on page 23

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Goofy, strange and unique fundraisers are nothing new for the Gunnison Valley. From mock-American Idol shows and a local chef cook-off to a raffle that involves a helicopter and hundreds of golf balls, finding the most interesting and elaborate means of turning good, clean fun into an even better cause is a local specialty.

Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum director Glo Cunningham has become renowned for her outrageous fundraisers. The annual Black and White Ball — held July 2 every year in downtown Crested Butte — is one such event. It’s been known to bring out loads of formal, festive and funky black-andwhite attire for a big street dance.

Last year, Cunningham launched what’s called the Beachball Express. “It turned out to be fabulous,” she says.

This goofball bonanza is a spin-off of the local Rotary club’s “rubber ducky race” and works by sending balls rolling down Warming House Hill at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR). Each beachball corresponds to a raffl e ticket that is sold.

“Instead of ducks on water it’s beachballs on snow,” Cunningham explains.

Cunningham’s summer-time kickball tournament has helped to create awareness about the museum among a younger crowd. For all of the Mountain Heritage Museum’s fundraisers, expect some goofiness and a whole lotta fun.

“I’m all about costumes,” Cunningham says.

Speaking of which, Gunnison Valley Animal Welfare League’s (GVAWL) annual “Fur Ball” has been known to bring out the pooch in more than a few locals.

“I came as a poodle,” GVAWL President Lora Van Renselaar says of the fifth annual Fur Ball last fall. This fundraiser is targeted specifically to help construct a new animal shelter outside Gunnison.

The event has included a silent and live auction, and there’s a theme. One year, the Fur Ball even featured an animal cracker eating contest for kids.

“It has evolved back and forth between a ‘let’s set up the popcorn machine and bring the kiddies and dogs’ to, well no, ‘let’s have an adults night out,’” says Van Renselaar. “We change our minds every

Chef’s on the Edge, an annual fundraiser for the Center for the Arts in Crested Butte, is a Top Chef-style face-off of some of the Gunnison Valley’s best culinary artists.

Photo by Carlie Kenton

year and try different things.”

So, how’d Zummach’s tailgating party turn out? Talk about your fairy-tale endings.

When the idea to offer a Wisconsinstyle bash as an auction item came about, little did the organizers (or anyone else, for that matter) know that the Green Bay Packers would wind up playing in — and winning — Super Bowl XLV. Plus, this past winter, Zummach just happened to be on the website of Johnsonville — the famous bratwurst maker — glancing at some recipes when he came across a contest. It was billed as “Superville” — a call for brat-eaters to tell their best Johnsonville story.

Zummach, who grew up near Johnsonville’s headquarters, jotted down a paragraph about the Arts Center fundraiser — and the role that Johnsonville brats would play in it. Zummach’s account was selected among 28 “daily winners,” but to win the grand prize he’d have to pen a longer story.

For clearing the first hurdle, Johnsonville sent out a party package of T-shirts and gear that was to be donned during the Gunnison tailgate party.

On Feb. 6 — Superbowl Sunday — the tailgate party went off without a hitch, featuring cheap canned beer from Wisconsin, potato salad, and, of course, gobs of brats. The Packers won, Gunni-

sonites gathered to watch it, photos were taken and Zummach had the makings of a perfect story to tell. A final winner would be decided by e-mail voting.

“My strategy was to hit up groups of people and there’s a huge contingent of Wisconsin people in Gunnison,” he says. In addition to friends in Gunnison, there were friends from Wisconsin he contacted, fellow Packers fans, anyone who might be willing to cast a vote.

Word has it that votes were cast from as far away as China, Japan and Europe.

The suspense was broken in midMarch, when Zummach learned that he smoked the competition, having garnered nearly 1,300 votes. The secondplace contestant received just 647 votes.

For his outlandish tale, Zummach received a television and an Xbox. “More than that, it was just fun to do,” Zummach says.

Oh, and at the time this story was written, Zummach had 150 more brats on the way from Johnsonville that he planned to cook up for Memorial Day and sell to benefit the Gunnison Arts Center.

Whatever the cause, expect no shortage of creativity in ways of funding the Gunnison Valley’s nonprofit organizations. ■ (Will Shoemaker is the editor of the Gunnison Country Times.)

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| 23

The Black Canyon, with the Hooker Buttress in view downriver.

Photo by Dave Ahrens

Black magic

Black Canyon National Park is home to some of the most extreme rock climbing in the U.S.

by Luke Mehall

I

t was a textbook beginning for a day of climbing in the Black Canyon: Waking up at 4 a.m. at our campsite, hiking down the poison ivy-choked, aptly named “S.O.B. Gully” and watching the sun rise on our objective, The Painted Wall.

At 2,300 feet, it’s the tallest wall in Colorado. We were warned by friends: “Don’t underestimate it. When you think the climbing is over, there is still a long way to go.”

Even with all the warning and preparation, we still find ourselves in a predicament. We’re 1,600 feet up the wall, the sun has set and we have no sleeping gear. We

24 |

2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

could continue to climb in the darkness, but the route-finding is difficult enough in daylight.

In many climbing areas the answer would be simple; rappel down using fixed anchors. But this is not a normal climbing area.

With nothing but lightweight jackets and pants, my climbing partner and I huddle together on a ledge with just enough room for two people. That’s where we spend one long and sleepless night.

Luckily, it’s clear and the stars are as bright as can be.

What are we looking for up here, I wonder.

In his book “American Rock,” author

Don Mellor writes, “No other canyon in America is as deep and narrow as the Black Canyon. More than anything else it’s the combined impression of depth and narrowness that makes the canyon the most intimidating spot in American rock climbing.”

Climbers began to venture into the Black Canyon in the 1960s. A prolific climber of that era, Layton Kor, established many of the routes that are still popular today. The ethic that was established by the pioneers of the canyon still holds true in 2011: permanent protection (bolts) are only used when absolutely Continued on page 28

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2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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You know the old saying about “When in Rome. …” Well, we like to localize it by saying, “When in the Gunnison Valley, please Shop Local First.” Gunnison and Crested Butte are full of wonderful shopping opportunities. Whether you are a long-time local or a visitor passing through, local stores and restaurants are here to serve you — with great service and selections. We’d like to highlight all of the businesses advertised in the pages of this year’s Gunnison Country Magazine. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with who they are and what they offer. We guarantee you’ll be glad you did.

- Publisher/Co-owner Gunnison Country Publications

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102 S. Main St., Gunnison, CO 81230 • 970-641-4029

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necessary, leaving a traditional, leave-notrace style of climbing.

Any bolts that are placed must be done with a hand drill — a painstakingly slow process that can take up to an hour per bolt.

One of the more storied and publicized climbs in the Black Canyon was the 17-day first ascent of Hallucinogen Wall, a route on the North Chasm. The party of Jim Newberry, Ed Webster, Bryan Becker and Bruce Lella undertook that feat in 1980.

The climb remains one of the more popular multi-day endeavors in the Black Canyon, with most parties completing it in three to four days now. Hallucinogen Wall has also been soloed, climbed in winter and speed climbers have now raced up the wall in less than nine hours.

Phil Broscovak started climbing in the Black Canyon in the 1970s, when he was a Western State College student. The canyon has left a memorable impression in his psyche, and his cartoons featuring climbers in precarious situations are published in the only climbing guide to the area, “Black Canyon Rock Climbs” by Robbie Williams.

He describes “The Black” as a very isolated and a remarkably serious climbing area, and notes that even approaching the climbs is different than most areas.

“Most mountains and crags you walk to the base, climb to the top and then descend back to the base,” Broscovak said.

“In the Black Canyon you descend to the base first, climb to the rim, and then walk back to your car.”

For Broscovak, the experience is a metaphysical one of transformation. “The Black has always been a crucible of adventure and discovery where the superfluous in life is utterly burned away, leaving the climber to face himself and his continued existence, on the most existential of levels.”

Over the years many Black Canyon climbers have sought what Broscovak describes, some going to more extremes than others. There have been free solos (climbing without a rope), winter solo first ascents and link-ups of multiple walls.

One of the most impressive link-up thus far was done by Mike Pennings and

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

Andrew McKean climbing the route Cheap Hooker on the Hooker Buttress.

Photo by Jonathan Schaffer

Jeff Hollenbaugh, when they climbed the canyon’s three major walls — The Painted Wall, the North Chasm Wall and the South Chasm Wall — in one 24-hour push. Their day amounted to roughly 6,000 feet of vertical climbing.

While its fierce reputation is warranted, the Black Canyon also has some

relatively moderate terrain. A skilled traditional climber can venture onto the walls of the Black Canyon on various shorter routes such as Maiden Voyage, the Casual Route and Escape Artist. These routes are shorter and more forgiving than the Black’s notorious walls.

That said, climbers have still been

water.”

Calkins calls the experience one of the most powerful that can be found in today’s rock climbing world. “The feeling that you get when you’ve topped out is the best high out there. Looking back down into the depths and hearing the roar of the Gunnison River below, you know you’ve experienced a spot that not many people dare venture to.”

Calkins added that it doesn’t hurt that many climbs in the Black Canyon finish close to the rim, near a cooler full of beer that waits at camp.

“

... it’s the combined impression of depth and narrowness that makes the canyon the most intimidating spot in American rock climbing.

”

Top photo: Casey Czinski climbing the route Good Skills, located on the Peter Terbush Tower. Bottom photo: Lindsey Schauer climbing Movable Stoned Voyage on the North Chasm Wall.

Photos by Shaun Matusawicz and Jonathan Schaffer

injured or killed on these climbs, and one should only venture into the Black Canyon if she or he has a few years of experience with traditional climbing.

Seth Calkins is a Gunnison based climber who began scaling the walls of the Black Canyon five years ago. He enjoys the adventure the experience provides

and credits the pioneers of the canyon for setting such a high standard with regards to level of climbing and ethics.

“The pioneers had a saying about the Black, ‘to climb with a rope, a rack and the shirt on your back,’” Calkins said. “It still holds true today. We climb in the canyon with a minimum of gear, food and

As for us, our night stuck on the Painted Wall was an eternity of waiting, suffering and shivering. When the sun finally rose we were faced with a decision to retreat or to continue. Retreat would have meant rappelling by leaving our gear in the rock, and a brutal hike out the aforementioned gully.

We climbed.

Fatigued and out of water and food, progress up the wall was slow. We tried to keep our focus on survival, and not knocking any of the many loose rocks on each other.

It was after noon when we finally reached the summit. We hugged and a wave of relief and adrenaline came over us. At that moment, we knew the meaning of climbing in the Black Canyon. We felt it in our souls. ■ (Luke Mehall is a freelance writer who publishes “The Climbing Zine.” More of his climbing related writing can be found on his blog, “A Climbing Existence” at lukemehall.blogspot.com.)

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C hurch D irectory BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH

THE GUNNISON CHURCH OF CHRIST

. 7ISCONSIN 3T s Worship Service at 9 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Weekly ministries, Bible studies High school/junior high youth activities www.gunnisonbethany.com

% 6IRGINIA s s $ARRIN #OWGER -INISTER Welcomes you to Bible Classes and Worship Assemblies Sunday Bible Study 9:30 a.m.

Worship 10:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Nursery Provided During Worship Service: Birth Through 5 Years Wednesday Bible Study 7 p.m.

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN %PISCOPAL s 7 6IRGINIA !VE s Rev. William Waltz (Father Bill) %DUCATION HOUR A M s 7ORSHIP 3ERVICE A M Tuesday Morning Eucharist 7 a.m.

All Saints in the Mountains in Crested Butte Sunday Services at 5 p.m. at Queen of All Saints Thursday Healing Service 12:00 p.m.

(401 Sopris Ave., Crested Butte)

GUNNISON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH-UCC A progressive, relevant & active community of faith Open and AfďŹ rming - Just Peace - Earth Covenant Sunday Worship Service w/ Kids & Youth program 9 a.m. !SPINALL 7ILSON #ENTER %SCALANTE $RIVE 'UNNISON 2EV "RENDA "ROWN s GCCOFl CE QWESTOFl CE NET s WWW GUNNISONUCC ORG Church OfďŹ ce Address: 123 #1 West Tomichi

COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GUNNISON . )OWA s Sunday Morning Worship & Children’s Worship *UNE !UGUST A M s 3EPTEMBER -AY A M Sunday Worship Broadcast on KEJJ 98.3 FM and Cable channel 15 www.gunnisoncommunity.com email: communitychurch@qwestofďŹ ce.net

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 6IRGINIA 3T AT 0INE s 3UNDAY "IBLE 3CHOOL A M s -ORNING 7ORSHIP A M Share and Prayer Service 6 p.m.

Wednesday Gunnison Bible Institute 7 p.m.

Ed Slaughenhaupt, Pastor

MT. CALVARY CHURCH . -AIN s 2EV +ARL "OHMER Parking lot off Wisconsin St. (1 block West of Main) 3UNDAY 7ORSHIP A M s 2EFRESHMENTS SERVED AFTER CHURCH Sunday service at Blue Mesa 7:30 a.m. (June-Sept.)

NEW SONG CHURCH 0 / "OX s s 0ASTOR #HRIS ,UEKENGA )NTERDENOMINATIONAL s WWW NEWSONGGUNNISON COM 120 E. New York in BrushďŹ re building, ďŹ rst block South Iowa Worship Service, 9:30 a.m.

ST. PETER’S CATHOLIC CHURCH 7ISCONSIN 'EORGIA s s &R 3TEVEN * -URRAY Mass: Sat.-6:30 p.m., Sun.-10:30 a.m., 12 noon (Spanish) Summer Schedule: Call for weekday Mass times.

St. Rose of Lima, Silver St., Lake City, Sat. 4 p.m. Mass Queen of All Saints, 4th and Sopris, Crested Butte, Sun.-8:30 a.m.

TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH . 0INE s s 0ASTOR $R 7ILLIAM )SAACSON Sunday Worship 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m. & 6 p.m.

Hispanic Worship Service Sundays at 6 p.m.

Family Bible Study Sundays at 9:15 a.m.

Prayer Meeting Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Youth & Children’s Activities Sundays at 6 p.m. & Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday Night Service 6 p.m.

Gunnison Area Churches Welcome You!

Edible Landscaping: Now you can have your gorgeous garden and eat it too!

Photo by Rosalind Creasy

Go eat your yard out One of the best ways to control weeds like dandelions ... is to eat them

by Rose Tocke

F

or many of us, the after school snack is a habitual relic from childhood that persists into adulthood. Now, instead of school, we come home from work, we snack and then we go about our evening business.

Rather than going for the chips and salsa, imagine instead coming home and snacking as you make your way through the yard to the front door. You enjoy the happy snap of a pea, the cool crunch of lettuce, the juicy sweetness of raspberry, the spicy tang of a nasturtium flower.

By grazing through your yard you have essentially eaten a salad before you even make it inside, not to mention that you

are surrounded by an abundant and visually interesting home landscape.

This is the basic idea of edible landscaping, and to the undiscerning eye an edible landscape can look just as beautiful and inviting as a traditional yard landscaped with ornamentals. The difference is that with an edible landscape, you can eat your yard.

The spectrum of design possibilities with an edible landscape can be something as simple as a vegetable bed, or a few container pots tucked in a sunny spot; to something as complex as an inter-planted forest of edible trees, shrubs, vines and herbs integrated throughout the entire property. Aesthetics are under-

scored by function and productivity.

In addition to producing food, another aspect of edible landscaping is incorporating plants that also provide important ecological functions — such as attracting pollinators, discouraging pests, providing habitat or food for beneficial insects, fixing nitrogen or accumulating trace minerals. The integration of such highly functional plants can result in a low-maintenance home landscape that mimics the self-maintaining dynamics of a healthy forest ecosystem.

In the last few years a lot of press Continued on page 32

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Take a stroll down the streets and alleys of Gunnison and Crested Butte (seen here) in the summertime, and you might be amazed at what you find.

Courtesy photo

has gone to the local food movement, a grassroots movement dedicated to reducing “food miles,” or the distance between where food is grown and where it is consumed. This movement has positive implications for the environment, for the quality of the food, and for the economy.

And while much of the local food focus is going to small-scale farmers and ranchers, keep in mind that food can’t get any more local than when it is grown in your own yard.

So just how much space is needed to design an edible landscape that produces a worthwhile amount of food? Not much.

The average U.S. yard is a fifth of an acre, which, if using an intensive organic raised bed gardening system, could produce more than enough vegetables per growing season to feed a family of four for a full year.

Clearly, not everyone will have the time or penchant to garden that intensively, but hopefully this illustrates that dedicating even a modest portion of the yard to food can, at minimum, yield enough to seasonally supplement the grocery bill.

In case the idea of saving money by growing your own food isn’t compel-

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

ling enough, research shows that one of the most effective ways to improve your health is to plant a garden. More fresh food in your yard means more fresh food on your plate, not to mention the fresh air and exercise that comes with working the soil.

Admittedly, edible landscaping in the Gunnison Valley climate comes with unique challenges, not the least of which are harsh winters and a short growing season. Fortunately, these challenges are surmountable with good planning, season extension techniques and a willingness to expand your palate with unconventional foods.

In addition to the tried and true cold-hardy crops we all know and love, one of our best cues for what grows well in our climate comes from wild edibles.

Native or naturalized greens, berries, seeds and roots are often happy to make an appearance in our home landscapes.

It is exciting to eat delicious wild foods like stinging nettles or buffaloberries, and you can bet you’ll never see them at the grocery store!

If you are willing to let them, most common weeds will even surprise you with their edibility (you are already

familiar with their durability!). In fact, one of the best ways to control weeds like dandelions, lamb’s quarters and pigweed is to eat them.

Your interest in edible landscaping may start and end with carrots and broccoli in orderly raised beds. Or, your tendency for the novel and unconventional may pull you towards an edible food forest that flirts with chaos. Either way, and anywhere in between, you can call forth elegance, beauty and, of course, dinner from an otherwise unassuming yard.

Next time you are enjoying some leisure time in your yard, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to reach over, grab a handful of something green, and pop it into your mouth. Guaranteed it won’t be grass, and that’s really what this local-food grassroots movement is all about: moving grass, planting food.

Bon appetit! ■ (Rose Tocke is a biologist by training, a landscaper by trial and error, and an idealist by default. She is owner of Avant Gardens Edible Landscaping and cofounder/codirector of Mountain Roots Food Project. You can reach her at rose@ fullcirclecollaborative.com or 596.5376.)

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

Running away from home

by David Pinkerton

T

he trail sloped down from the north side of Castle Mountain, a craggy outcropping three miles up-valley from Gunnison. As a result, my running shoes slipped on bits of breccia, that coarse volcanic rock making up much of our neighborhood namesake.

Those rock fragments make downhill the sketchiest part of trail-running around here. But being careful wasn’t on my mind.

Less than an hour ago, I opened the mail to see another job bid come back rejected. I put everything I had into that one, but the outcome was like so many of late.

Our savings was getting thin and I felt frustrated, even angry, like I didn’t have much control over my life anymore.

That’s when Beth asked me if I’d help her take down the laundry.

“Can’t you see I’m trying to make a living,” I snapped, tossing the envelope onto the kitchen table as if somehow she sent the letter.

Beth glanced at the return address and then walked to our bedroom. In a moment, she returned, holding out my trail-running shoes.

“You need to run away from home,” she said.

That’s exactly what I did, after changing clothes and putting on my trail shoes.

Oh, and after saying “I’m sorry” to Beth while I stretched my Achilles tendon.

She knew how running off-pavement relieved my stress. It wasn’t like the city — where I was either dodging traffic or breathing smog, not to mention the hassle of squeezing in a run before my long commute. Here, running was a private escape so close and accessible that it fit seamlessly into my routine.

Now, I was running downhill faster than I should, thinking I could leave the feeling of rejection and inadequacy in the dust my shoes kicked up. I’d tried to do that before. Once, when I was 10, kids wouldn’t stop calling me “Beanpole”

because I was tall and skinny enough to be different from them. I ran away to a park six blocks from home, where my dad found me behind the backstop, crying and hungry.

Much later, I left a woman whose love had drifted. One day I just drove off.

Sure, running away seemed like quitting, sort of like not facing what’s in front of you. So when that letter came, all those feelings returned. I wanted to run away.

Fortunately, you can do that around here without lots of pain and drama. And you can do it in healthy doses instead of one big flame out. All you have to do is step outside your front door and start running.

Trails like the ones around Hartman Rocks, Western State College and the Nordic Center up in Crested Butte are close enough to neighborhoods that driving isn’t necessary. Getting away isn’t something you do on special occasions or when the schedule is right. It’s part of everyday life.

Except here, running away always leads you back home.

With every downhill there’s an uphill.

I could see several between me and the top of the Palisades, those smoky-colored cliffs featured on post cards of Gunnison since the late-1800s.

I ran on the service road under the power lines most of the way, past defiant western sage, resilient flowering current

and renegade Indian paintbrush the color of awareness. I ran past them all, in mindsoothing multitude, all the away to the tallest spire, where I sat and cast my eyes 300 or more feet below.

A red-tailed hawk soared on updrafts.

Its path traced the outline of our town, from the eastern boundary, north past the college to the rec-center and then all the way to where Ohio Creek joins the Gunnison River.

Herefords grazed in the old Van Tuyl meadow and young rafters drifted by in a war of splash and giggle. A fisherman held a bent rod high above his head and leveraged a fat trout to the net.

I wasn’t working. I wasn’t being responsible. And I certainly didn’t feel that throbbing tightness in my head and back when life ratchets up pressure and outside control. I had run away for a few minutes, to the end of a trail with no other responsibility than to observe, appreciate and marvel.

That’s what living and playing here does, in measures small enough and easy enough that life’s ups and downs become part of the fun, not a reason to despair.

The trail back wore me out. That’s good, especially when I’m using most of my energy to feel picked on. I only stumbled a couple of times, but caught myself before falling.

By the time I reached our driveway, I was walking, my shorts and T-shirt drenched. I could see Beth coming out from the front door, both hands occupied. She stood in the shade of the garage and waited, giving me time to catch my breath.

When I was close, she held out a tall glass of lemonade. In her other hand was a towel, which she dabbed around my neck and face while I drank. After I’d finished a big gulp, she lifted herself onto her tiptoes and gave me a soft, lingering kiss.

“How was running away?” she said, using the towel around my neck to hold me close.

“Not nearly as good as coming back home,” I said. ■

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The biggest local trail project in 2010 was the construction of a new Aberdeen Loop out at Hartman Rocks — a significant undertaking that involved hundreds of hours of volunteer labor.

Photo by Matt Smith

A new era in recreation Gunnison Trails leading the way toward more cooperation, coordination between the public and public land managers

by Mary Burt

I

n downtown Gunnison the Sunday before Memorial Day, a tall cowboy will be seen walking in the middle of Main Street carrying a shotgun. He’ll yell “saddle up” and fire two shots into the air.

Those shots signal the beginning of a race — a mountain bike race called The Growler. It’s a wildly popular ride that doubles as the annual fundraiser for the nonprofit group Gunnison Trails.

This organization was founded by professional mountain biker David Wiens, who

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

is known not just for his six consecutive wins at the Leadville 100 or for defeating cycling icon Lance Armstrong. He is known to make world class singletrack trails.

Wiens has retired from racing and is now focused on helping the Gunnison community become more educated on trails. His experience as codesigner of the mountain bike course at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics has led to other private and public trails projects in the United States and Mexico.

In 2005, after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) asked for Wiens’ assistance

building trails, it inspired him to create an organization that could support such efforts in a larger capacity. In partnership with the BLM, he helped organize trail work days at Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, located a couple of miles southwest of Gunnison.

Popular but unsustainable trails were rerouted. Some trails were closed, some new ones were built.

It was the beginning of an end to a disengaged community of outdoor enthusiasts and land managers.

Continued on page 39

Looking for a great burger?

Certified Angus Beef burgers ground in-house served on our house baked sesame bun

Looking for a great steak?

Try a Bacon Wrapped Filet, New York Strip, Sirloin Cutlette or maybe Center Cut Pork Loin Chops all served sizzling with soup or salad, choice of side, fresh veggies, hot applesauce and a biscuit

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House battered and breaded Shrimp & Atlantic Cod, wild caught Pacific Salmon, Ahi Tuna or a cowboy bowl of Tiger Shrimp.

Looking for something different?

The Gunnisack is Gunnison’s original Trans-Fat-Free zone. Featuring original “from scratch” recipes with a southwestern flair. We make all of our soups, sauces, dressings and desserts in house so you know there’s none of the same old thing here.

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Trailhead Potential Trail Alignment Existing Trail Proposed City Loop Trail

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Back when mountain biking was getting its start in Gunnison in the late 1970s, The Tune Up bike shop was fielding an influx of cyclists inquiring about dirt trails. When owner Chris Haas asked the agencies that manage Hartman’s to put up signs and map it, he was turned down. So the shop did it themselves.

This interaction created a group of wellmeaning locals who started to link the cow trails and roads together, to the delight of many, yet oftentimes to the detriment of the area.

As trail based recreation increased dramatically in the 1990s, the multiple user groups and occasional storms — that would wash out trails built without proper drainage — created many areas that needed serious attention. Now the once dismissive land agencies were doing something about it.

Wiens reflects back on the beginnings of a new era of cooperation that was born from those early trail work days.

“What was cool about working on those trails was how collaborative it was ... free riders, hikers, equestrians and motorcyclists all came together,” he recalls.

Today Gunnison Trails serves as a liaison between land agencies and the public, spreading awareness of seasonal closures, travel management plans, wildlife and resource issues that impact trails and trail users.

BLM Gunnison Field Manager Brian St. George moved to Gunnison in 2009 and has become a Hartman’s trail user himself.

“Gunnison Trails is invaluable,” he says.

“As a small office with more recreation use than we can manage, partnerships with good, responsible organizations that spread an ethic of responsible trail use help us do our job.”

The BLM is focused on trails that cut through habitat of the Gunnison Sagegrouse, which is a candidate for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Funds raised from Gunnison Trails events are beginning to be allocated to help raise awareness and other support for sage grouse protection efforts.

A Gunnison Trails Board of Directors was established in 2010 and appointed Wiens as executive director. The board has the task of trying to keep up with the momentum that has been created. This

TH

TH

MCINTOSH MOUNTAIN/ WEST ANTELOPE TRAIL SYSTEM GUNNISON

HW Y5 0

SIGNAL PEAK/ LOST CANYON TRAIL SYSTEM

Linking Gunnison and Crested Butte via a singletrack trail is one of the long-term goals of Gunnison Trails. Above is a conceptual map of what that trail could look like.

includes adding running races, organizing ladies rides, workshops and developing membership.

Gunnison Trails’ signature event has become The Growler. It’s an epic 32-mile loop, almost all on trails, that meanders through Hartman’s sea of sage and slickrock. Most contestants ride the demanding loop twice.

Not many events offer such an epic, singletrack-intensive ride. Racers have taken note and entrants have quadrupled in three years. This year’s 350 available spots sold out in seven minutes.

Gunnison Trails has its sights on other efforts as well. One of them is what could become a crown jewel of trails — Gunnison to Crested Butte.

“I signed on to the board primarily to help develop the CB to Gunnison trail,” explains Gary Keiser, a retired CPA living in Mt. Crested Butte. “Not only will it be fun to ride and a great amenity for residents,

but it will be an economic driver bringing visitors to the valley.”

The downtown cowboy with the gun thinks it could actually happen. As a City of Gunnison employee for 30 years, he has witnessed firsthand how a community changes.

After starting the race, Gunnison’s City Manager Ken Coleman replaces the boots and hat with bike shorts and a helmet — and rides into the sunrise to volunteer on course at Hartman’s.

For more information on Gunnison Trails, check out their website at www.gunnisontrails.com. ■ (Mary Burt is an aspiring writer and grant coordinator who has lived in Gunnison since 1982. When she is not exploring the valley on bike or skis with her husband and son, she volunteers for Gunnison Trails, currently serving as the board president.)

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Home brews:

what’s on tap P

resident Obama isn’t the only one jumping on the home brew bandwagon.

While the Commander-in-Chief served the first beer ever to be brewed inside the White House — at a Super Bowl party, naturally — many local home brewers in the Gunnison Valley were already well on their way to cooking up their own superior suds.

This past March, a mishmash of longtime brewers and those new to the trade packed into the Gunnison Brewery one chilly Saturday night to celebrate the craft.

“It’s fun just to get some of the local home brew community together,” said Kevin Alexander, who owns the Gunnison Brewery with his wife, Lori. “They may not have known who’s all brewing in town, so it’s a way for different people to meet each other and see what other brewers are doing.”

The fascination with home brewing began for Gunnison’s John Ehmsen about 15 years ago, when his sister gave him a cheap home brew kit as a gift. While he readily admits that his first few batches didn’t come out all that well — which is a common story among the crowd — he’ll also tell you that it can become a lifelong passion that gets better with age.

“I would encourage people who have an interest to get into it,” said Ehmsen, who now has about 20 different recipes in his stable. “You can start with inexpensive kits and branch out as you graduate through the levels.”

According to fellow Gunnison brewer Russ Japuntich, it’s about $100 for the

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most basic brewing supplies. es.

A kit, which includes all the he ingredients necessary to make mak akee beer, runs about $25 and m makes akes ak es a batch of 50-55 bottled beers. eers ee rs..

Japuntich began brewing about 10 years ago when en na roommate showed him thee tric tricks cks ks of the trade. It wasn’t until recently rreece cent ntly that he has noticed a resurgence of interest in the hobby.

“When I first moved to Gunnison, it was hard for me to find people who really did it,” said Japuntich. “All the sudden, recently, it’s like people are coming out of the woodwork.”

A recent outcropping of that resurgence is the Gunnison Valley Home Brewers’ Association, which gathers those interested in sharing their passion for the trade twice a month. Updates about their happenings can be found on their Facebook page.

Plans for future competitions hosted by the Gunnison Brewery are already in the works. According to Alexander, one idea is to eventually submit one of the local “best in show” winners into the Great American Beer Festival’s Pro-Am competition.

In the competition, professional craft brewers from across the nation produce the recipes of home brewers and the results are judged at the annual festival in Denver. More information about the event can be found at www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com.

“A tremendous amount of professional brewers started out as home brewers,” said Alexander, who has been brewing for about 17 years. Included in that line-up of past amateurs gone pro is Colorado’s current Governor, John Hickenlooper.

Whether or not there is a correlation between home brewing and political persuasions is still up for debate. One certainty is that home brewing is a subculture in itself and its popularity is on the rise here in the Gunnison Valley and beyond. ■

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A scenic overlook of town, plus the post office and a parade (opposite page).

Courtesy photos

Loving living in Pitkin A quiet get-away at the end of the road

by Suzy Metzler

A

t 9,241 feet above sea level, Pitkin is not for the faint of heart. In fact, its population dwindled by nearly half since the 2000 census — to 63 year-round residents.

That’s okay, we like it small.

The Town of Pitkin is the longestincorporated town on the Western Slope of Colorado, established in 1879, and still has a Mayor and Town Council who meet monthly in the historic Pitkin Town Hall (built in 1900). Because there are so few people here, and due to the

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fact that most people who are drawn to living so remotely tend to be independent thinkers, our town meetings often become both interesting and entertaining.

Living in Pitkin is a little like being adopted into a family. We try to take care of each other. If someone is ill or injured, others help them with rides to Gunnison, clearing their snow, providing meals, or whatever is needed. Though the natural beauty and cool climate are what initially attracts people to Pitkin, the caring people who live here are what make Pitkin even more special. Everyone

knows everyone.

In the summer and fall, the quiet village of Pitkin has lodging available at three businesses — the Silver Plume General Store & Lodge, the Quartz Creek Lodge and the Quartz Creek Cabins.

The Silver Plume sells gasoline, groceries, gifts and offers free wireless internet.

The Quartz Creek Lodge has a gift shop which sells clothing items, gifts and snacks.

The Pitkin Post Office is the only business which keeps its doors open yearround. It is the social center of town.

This past winter, we had two medical

emergencies within eight days. Each involved people from out-of-the-area who had come to visit cabins outside of town via snowmobile. It was a beautiful thing to see how the townspeople reacted and helped save two lives.

The Pitkin Volunteer Fire Station’s alarm siren sounds and several people rush to the station to find out what they can do to help. Hearing the siren is always an unsettling feeling, as townspeople realize they most likely know the people involved.

Even if a person has not been trained as a first responder, an EMT or

a firefighter, there are often tasks that a volunteer can perform in an emergency here in Pitkin: Sometimes it is simply directing the Gunnison County emergency vehicles to the location of the emergency; other times it might be to call other volunteers who might not have heard the siren; or in the case of this winter’s emergencies, residents who have snowmobiles were able to help trained medical personnel get to the site of the emergencies.

Especially memorable for me is the middle-of-the-night medical emergency and ensuing rescue in February of 2011.

Townspeople, including our one EMT, had to snowmobile out of town about 2 miles to reach the patient, who had to be brought off the mountain on a rescue sled behind a volunteer’s snowmobile, transferred to a Gunnison EMS ambulance, stabilized, then flown out at 3:30 a.m. to a hospital in Grand Junction.

Watching the Care Flight helicopter arrive over the town’s rooftops, seeing it land on snow-covered State Street and knowing that everyone awake here was pulling for the patient was surreal.

Every season has its own beauty in Pitkin. In the summer, the population goes up to around 250-300 people, as many part-time residents spend summers at their cabins in Pitkin or in the nearby Quartz Creek Properties. People who have been lucky enough to discover Pitkin have found that it is a wonderful place to vacation. Fishing, camping, bicycling, 4-wheeling and annual Pitkin activities — like the Fireman’s Ball on the 4th of July weekend and Pitkin Days in late July — draw many visitors.

Another attraction is the Alpine Tunnel, which is about 10 miles outside of Pitkin high up a scenic, winding road.

The fall brings beautiful golden aspen trees, crisp temperatures and good hunting.

Wildlife is abundant throughout the area. Those who live here have seen deer, elk, mountain lions, bears, raccoons, foxes, porcupines, rabbits, coyotes, lynx and occasionally moose, both in town and in the mountains of the Gunnison National Forest that surround Pitkin.

Pitkin is not for everyone. If you are the type of person who likes city life, with lots of entertainment and shopping, you might have trouble seeing what Pitkin has to offer. But if you like a quiet getaway at the end of the road with a lot of scenic beauty, Pitkin might just become one of your favorite places! ■ (Suzy Metzler and her family have lived in Pitkin for 15 years. They owned and operated the Silver Plume General Store & Lodge from 1996 until 2004. Suzy writes Pitkin’s online newspaper, The Pitkin Miner, found at www.pitkincolorado. com.)

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Gunnison Valley Observatory

Open for public viewing every Friday and Saturday evening from June 17th through September 17th. Gates open at 8 pm in June & July and at 7:30 pm in August & September. Evenings consist of a brief astronomyrelated lecture and multiple telescope viewing opportunities. Admission is by donation and reservations are not required.

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The kid

connection What began as a ‘wild hair’ has turned into an institution of uniting children and goats

A

nn Bertschy is known throughout the Gunnison Valley as “the goat lady.” In 1996, she retired from being a manual therapist in Denver and, as she puts it, “got a wild hair.”

She moved to Gunnison and bought a ranch up Ohio Creek, where she got her first pair of goats. The doe gave birth to twins, a buck and a doe, and from then on Ann was hooked.

One day, a friend of Ann’s came to visit with her kids. The children played with Ann’s goats, and the goats played back. Ann saw how much they enjoyed each other.

From there the idea was born to have a 4-H program where children could learn to care for goats while enjoying a full 4-H experience. At first she needed to find 4-Hers. Soon the tide shifted and Ann needed to find more goats for all the 4-Hers.

Now, after 15 years on the goat ranch, Ann has close to 200 goats and 58 4-Hers who enjoy the ranch with her on a daily basis.

What started as a wild hair has turned into a program where young and old can learn lessons of life while caring for a living animal.

Following is a Q&A with Gunnison’s “goat lady”: Why did you want to have a goat ranch with kids?

Why would I want to do this alone?

Why would I? It’s much more fun ... with others.

Ann Bertschy’s goat ranch has turned into a haven for kids, large and small. She is pictured here, in middle, with four of her young charges.

Photo by Chris Rourke

How did 4-H start out here?

It started probably a year or so (after moving to Gunnison). It really got going when a new (CSU) Extension Agent came in. She jumped on it. She saw the potential opportunity for town kids to learn Ag, and she saw a bigger picture than I ever did or anyone else. She really pushed it along.

Who helps you with 4-H and the goat ranch?

The current extension agent and the office staff do so much work for me. I’m totally supported by extension. They’re wonderful. The support I get from the Continued on page 48

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extension (service) is enormous. They do all the book work and all this stuff so I don’t have to think about it. Then I have club leaders and that’s Colleen Vader and Cara Faulds. They actually run the whole club. I just can’t do it all. My interest is just the goats and the kids. They take over and do all the club stuff.

What do you think the kids learn here?

The responsibility of taking care of a living being. And goats are so emotional.

They’re very emotional. I think that’s why the kids get so attached to them, because of the emotional life, the richness of goats. They connect with their animals on a pretty deep level, one that’s really easy to underestimate.

What is interesting about goats?

They’re goats. You can’t make a goat do something it does not want to do. It just simply can’t be done. So the kids are learning. How do you make this goat want to do what you want them to do?

And it’s a different approach, instead of ‘might is right’ or overpowering or domination, it’s cooperation, compromise. It’s being empathetic to what that animal is trying to tell you when it isn’t doing what you want it to.

What’s an average day like out on the goat ranch?

When the moms (goats) are in the maternity ward I get up in the morning and I grain, because my mom goats are all on grain. I have morning and evening graining I do (when the goats are kidding). Every day the water tanks need to be filled. The (school bus) shows up at five after four (during the school year) everyday. Usually I have done my chores by the time the kids get here because I like doing them, and then I can spend more time with the kids just hanging out and being with them rather than being off on a tangent of work.

What do you do when you’re not with goats?

Not much (laughs). I don’t like being away from home. I like where I live, I like what I do. When I go somewhere all I want to do is bide time until I can get

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Ann Bertschy’s 4-H kids love showing off their goats, including to a group from the Gunnison Senior Care Center (seen here from this past spring).

Photo by Chris Rourke

“

... two years later she came back to visit and that doe saw her and went flying up and went, ‘bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.’ She was so happy. It just brought tears to my eyes. These kids really matter to them.

” home again. I like it right where I am.

I’m right where I want to be, doing what I want to do.

What is something a lot of people don’t know about goats?

Goats have incredible memories and attachment capabilities. They don’t attach to a wide range of people. But they will attach to one or two, mostly one. And that is who they will have a relationship with.

I had a gal who had a doe here and she left goat club. And two years later she came back to visit and that doe saw her and went flying up and went, “bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.” She was so happy. It just brought tears to my eyes.

These kids really matter to them.

Why is having a goat different from having a dog?

Goats are prey animals. In their nervous system (is) flight. They don’t have a way to defend themselves except to run.

So they have a very fear based type of existence and we don’t really think about it because we’re up high on the food chain and they’re not. They’re easily overwhelmed and overpowered, frightened.

How do you know every goat by name?

From the back I can’t always tell but from the front, their faces and their horn shape. When I see your face, I know you.

That’s how it is for me and the goats.

They were born here. I’ve known them all their lives. And all the 4-Hers know all the goats. ■

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Recycled Places Old mining and railroad towns have found new life as vacation destinations

by Larry Jensen

I

n the days when mining was king, wherever minerals were found, civilization followed. Towns, large and small, sprung up all over the Gunnison Country, beginning in the late 1870s.

Many of these towns — often located in unlikely spots — quickly faded as the ore played out and the people moved on to the next strike. Others lasted through those wild and woolly days, ultimately achieving varying degrees of permanence — although most had ups and downs over the years that usually corresponded with regional and national economic conditions.

Today, mining precious minerals is virtually non-existent in the area. While many former town sites are only marked by a few rotting boards — if that — the places that have survived and thrived did so through adaptive reuse; taking what remained and using it as a starting point to create something that serves modern needs.

Each of these places has its own individual character. The word “character” also applies to some of the citizenry, with more than a few places boasting an assortment of unique individuals and eccentrics.

How the towns have physically evolved varies greatly. Some are lovingly restored, offering shopping, restaurants and visitor amenities. Others have avoided becoming visitor attractions, instead focusing on serving as summertime escapes for recreationminded second homeowners. A few are still quite rustic; little changed over the years.

Using Gunnison as the starting point, we’ll explore some of the various interesting places that surround it. Their locations in relationship to each other can be seen on the map that accompanies this article.

Lake City Photo by Allan Ivy

Gunnison, elevation 7,703 feet, never really fell on hard times like other towns in the region. As the county seat, longtime home of Western State College and regional headquarters for various state and federal agencies, the town has long benefited from a steady influx of government dollars.

Several architectural gems from the early days exist in both the downtown district and adjacent residential neighborhoods.

Also of interest is the Pioneer Museum on the eastern edge of town. Many historic structures have been moved to its grounds.

The exhibits include a complete train from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Rail-

road, headed by steam locomotive No. 268, built in 1882. It operated until 1955, when all of the track in the area was pulled up.

East of Gunnison on U.S. Hwy. 50 is the former railroad town of Parlin. Two railroad lines were constructed through Parlin in the early 1880s, headed for Gunnison and points beyond.

The “Rio Grande” was built from Salida over Marshall Pass, south of Monarch Pass, and followed Tomichi Creek into Gunnison. The Denver South Park & Pacific RailContinued on page 52

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Carbondale Aspen road was built over the Collegiate Range, cresting the summit via the Alpine Tunnel.

It followed Quartz Creek to the confluence with Tomichi Creek. Both lines then paralleled each other into Gunnison.

Today, the railroad structures at Parlin are gone, but the Q.T. Store still stands.

It is one of those once-common general store-motel-post office complexes that have largely disappeared elsewhere. Parlin is also where paved County Road 76 heads northeast up the Quartz Creek Valley.

Eight miles up the road is the oncethriving community of Ohio City. Several picturesque, old-west-style buildings still stand, but none of the stores are currently in operation. The town is now primarily a bedroom community for Gunnison.

The much larger town of Pitkin is six miles further. It, too, has many examples of early architecture, both commercial and residential. There is little retail activity. The town has become a vacation getaway for second homeowners.

The original 1882 railroad depot still stands, converted into a residence. The old railroad right-of-way to the northeast, now a gravel road, can be followed for several miles to the western portal of the Alpine Tunnel. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for this portion of the trip.

East of Parlin on Hwy. 50, at the foot of Monarch Pass, is the former railroad town of Sargents. It was once a “helper” station for steam locomotives that were added to trains to get them to the summit of Marshall Pass. Several railroad structures, including the water tower, are still there — just off the highway — along with many old residences and unused commercial buildings. The town has a number of year-round residents, in addition to vacation homes.

North of Gunnison on Hwy. 135 is the settlement of Almont, established in 1882 where the Taylor River and East River join

Gothic 133

Paonia

285

Crested Butte 135

Tin Cup Almont

92

Pitkin Ohio City Parlin 50

Gunnison

Montrose 50

Sargents

149 114

550

Gunnison County Lake City

to become the Gunnison River. For more than 100 years, Almont has been famous as a fishing resort. Some of the log buildings from the early days are still in use.

County Road 742, the Taylor River Road, winds northeast from Almont through a long, spectacular canyon that ends at the dam impounding Taylor Reservoir. This man-made lake is in the shadow of the dramatic Collegiate Range. Seven miles of gravel road leads to Tin Cup, the sole surviving town in what used to be a large mining district (see below).

Crested Butte lies north of Almont on Hwy. 135. The town was once the centerpiece in a large mining district. By the 1950s, the various operations had closed and Crested Butte was a sleepy place with few residents. The establishment of the ski area in 1961 changed that. Over the years Crested Butte has blossomed into an upscale, year-round visitor destination.

The ruins of mining operations can still be found in the mountains around Crested Butte. Most of these areas are best explored by four-wheel drive. Gothic is accessible by passenger vehicle on County Road 317, three miles north of Mt. Crested Butte. This former mining town is now maintained by

the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory as a summertime research facility.

West of Gunnison, the creation of Blue Mesa Reservoir in the early 1960s put an end to early-day settlements like Iola and the original Sapinero, which now lie hundreds of feet under water.

Southwest, on Hwy. 149, remote Lake City can be found. It is the seat of neighboring Hinsdale County and another former mining town that has reinvented itself as a getaway destination high in the Rockies. The quaint downtown district has fine shops and restaurants and the town’s population booms during the summer with visitors seeking outdoor recreation.

This is just a brief survey of local places with historic interest. The Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center — on the east side of Gunnison in Legion Park — has brochures covering all of these spots and more in detail. For those who want to explore the back roads, the Bookworm at 211 North Main Street in downtown Gunnison has a large selection of area maps. ■ (Larry Jensen writes a weekly history column for the Gunnison Country Times.)

The old mining town of Tin Cup dates to the early 1880s.

Located 10,157 feet above sea level, it did not disappear like many other towns did when the ore played out. Tin Cup is still a close-knit community with many private cabins owned by people who want to spend their summers in a remote and beautiful place. While amenities are few, the Tin Cup Store provides residents and visitors alike with the basics Photos by Allan Ivy

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285

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Powderhorn is one of many old ranching communities of the Gunnison Basin that has its own cemetery.

Photo by Walt Barron

Tales behind the

tombstones

A history of cemeteries, and the burials before them, of the Gunnison Country

by Judy Buffington Sammons

S

ince man first inhabited the Gunnison Country, there have been burials of one kind or another.

We have little record of the earliest ones — the Indian graves. We do know that the Ute tribe buried their dead in caves and crevices, and that these burials must exist throughout the county.

The Ute’s tradition was to wrap the deceased in a blanket and carry him on

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horseback at night to his grave site. The remains were covered with rocks or dirt. His implements of war and his clothing were buried with him. It was common practice to sacrifice the deceased’s dogs and two of his horses at the grave as well. Burials were made quickly, as the Utes were afraid of the dead; they left the burial site as soon as possible.

Ute women were buried in a similar fashion as the men but, generally, without the sacrifices.

The earliest prospectors in the area, as well as the earliest homesteaders, performed impromptu burials before towns and cemeteries — and “proper” burials — were established.

Before the advent of cemeteries, people were buried alongside trails, in the hills or on ranches. Some rested in marked graves and some under a simple mound of dirt, often outlined by rocks.

Mortality rates were high during the Gunnison Country’s early days. There was

always the possibility that a woman would not survive childbirth and an equally good chance that all the children would not survive to adulthood. Infant mortality rates reached 25 percent in the 19th century, and the old sections of the Gunnison Country’s cemeteries bear mute testimony to this fact.

When a death occurred in the Gunnison Country’s earliest days, coffins had to be hand-made. They were constructed out of rough boards and lined with white cloth. A wagon might carry the coffin, or friends and family carried it to its final resting place, whether that was a family plot or a proper cemetery.

As Gunnison became more civilized, coffins could be purchased and the dead were carried in a black, horse-drawn hearse with glass oval sides and brass ornaments. (This hearse is on display at Gunnison’s Pioneer Museum.)

Once cemeteries were established it was common for people to be buried in certain designated sections of one, such as “catholic” or “protestant” sections. “Undesirables,” such as gunfighters and prostitutes, were buried outside the cemetery’s fence.

Erecting an iron fence around the grave originally served the purpose of keeping livestock out. At first, wooden markers were used to mark graves. Granite or marble tombstones could be ordered from larger cities. In the early days tombstones could be ordered from Montgomery Ward, though it might take three to six months for it to arrive in Gunnison on the train.

Briefly, in the early 1880s, Gunnison had its own monument business, known as Crahan & Zugelder of Gunnison Marble Works. Crahan and Zugelder frequently advertised in the early-day Gunnison newspapers “monuments and grave stones and cemetery work of every kind.”

The Gunnison cemetery has several of the tombstones created by them. These markers all have a distinctive look, being made out of red sandstone. Many of them are now weathered and difficult to read.

Virtually all of them are partially covered with beautiful orange lichen. This is what makes them easy to pick out among the other gravestones.

Gunnison’s first cemetery was established in 1880 and located south of town on the site of the present day airport.

Marker for mass grave for those killed in the Jokerville Mine disaster in Crested Butte.

As Gunnison became more civilized, coffins could be purchased and the dead were carried in a black, horse-drawn hearse with glass oval sides and brass ornaments. This hearse is on display at Gunnison’s Pioneer Museum.

Photos by Walt Barron

When the airport was built, most of the graves were moved to the southeast corner of the present cemetery. A few of the more than 200 unmarked graves there were not moved.

Another early Gunnison cemetery was located one-and-a-half miles west of town on a sage brush flat. It was called the Palisade or Glendale cemetery. There are 50 graves here with only two broken markers remaining that can be read. Vandals have pretty much destroyed this cemetery, which is now on private property.

Gunnison’s main cemetery is located one mile east of town off of Hwy. 50. It was established in 1887. A Cemetery As-

sociation was organized by the IOOF and Masonic Lodges around 1900.

The Sapinero cemetery is located 26 miles west of Gunnison. The original Sapinero cemetery, which had to be moved when the waters of Blue Mesa Reservoir inundated the area, was relocated to the other side of the valley. An icy, blue chasm now separates the town’s living from its dead.

The moving of the cemetery in 1963 was opened for bids. The low bidder, at approximately $5,000, was Western Vault Company of Holyoke. The contract called for the movement of 28 known graves and a search for additional unknown, unmarked ones.

Another prominent cemetery in the area is the Crested Butte Cemetery, located one-half mile northeast of town. It was established in 1879 and has served the community since then. The names of Slavic and Italian pioneers and their descendants are common among the gravestones, as are what seems to be an abundance of children’s and infants’ graves. The picturesque cemetery is situated under towering Crested Butte Mountain.

Buried in a mass grave in the Crested Butte Cemetery are 46 men, victims of one of the worst coal mining disasters in the history of the West. The tragedy occurred on Jan. 24, 1884, at the Jokerville Mine. Funeral services for the men who met their fate in the mine were held five days later. Sleighs carried the coffins to the cemetery. These were followed by the mourners tramping through the deep snow. The miners were buried together and a simple home-made monument now marks their resting place. It reads: Their lives were so gentle, And the elements so mixed in them, That nature might stand up And say to all the world – “They were men.” ■ (This article was excerpted from Judy Buffington Sammons’ latest book, “Graves of the Gunnison Country.” It is available at Gunnison’s Bookworm Book Store, located on Main Street, and the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum and Handworks Store, both located on Elk Avenue in Crested Butte.)

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The Elk Creek Marina, seen here, is under new management.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

New

Blue Mesa operators

mean business

Marinas, and more, now under the wing of local entrepreneurs

by Heather Messner

L

ocal entrepreneurs Ryan and Vicki Johnson, owners of The Sign Guys and Gal, did not expect their proposal to take over certain contracted operations at Blue Mesa Reservoir to stand much of a chance with the National Park Service.

After a lengthy bid process — which was momentarily sidetracked by the premature birth of their second son last November — they received a call.

Their bid was accepted to manage

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the Elk Creek and Lake Fork marinas — including boat and slip rentals, docks, stores, maintenance and boat repair — as well as Pappy’s Restaurant.

“This first year will obviously be a steep learning curve,” said Johnson, who will juggle running both his guide business, Weekend Warriors Outdoors, and the marina while Vicki will focus on their sign business and caring for their two young boys — Hoyt, 2, and newborn, Jayce.

“Vicki and I both grew up on farms

in Alamosa,” he explained. “So hard work in the summer is nothing new for us!”

They both also graduated from Western State College with business and accounting degrees, which no doubt come in handy with all that they have on their plates.

Taking over the contract from Recreation Resource Management, a former off-site management company Continued on page 60

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Wednesday:

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Thursday

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Friday:

• Event Registration @ WWP • Vendor/demo set up 10am-6pm • Sunset Concert LIVE MUSIC 6-8pm

Saturday:

• Costume River Parade • Downriver Raft Race • USA Freestyle Kayak • SUP Surf Comp • SUP Downriver Race • Raft Rodeo • Hooligan Race • STRIDER CUP: Toddler Bike Race • River City Fun Zone & Foam Boat Race

Sunday:

• Taylor Canyon Enduro • Taylor Canyon Downriver Race • Lower Taylor Family Float • BBQ and LIVE MUSIC @ Almont Resort

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Weekend Warriors Outdoors owner, and new Blue Mesa marinas manager, Ryan Johnson conducting a little quality control on the reservoir.

Courtesy photo

a new full bar and aquarium and adding a whole slew of personal touches.

The menu will feature similar Pow-

Plenty of fishing fun on the line It doesn’t matter whether you prefer chunking a rappala at brown trout, trolling for lakers or tricking rainbows with a dry fly, the Gunnison Valley offers one of the largest varieties of prime fishing opportunities in the western United States.

Following are just a portion of the events slated for the 2011 summer season.

Taylor Park Marina Fishing Derby June 11 Cash prizes will be presented for longest northern pike, largest pike by weight, most pike caught and largest trout caught in the Taylor Park Reservoir.

For info: 970.641-2922, 303.908.7160, www.taylorparkmarina.com.

Caddis Cup Fly-Fishing Tournament July 14–15 Catch the biggest flopper or tell the biggest whopper during the Crested Butte Land Trust Caddis Cup fly-fishing tourna-

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erstop fare of burgers , wings, “Phillies,” beer and even a specialty pizza delivery service. Plans also include live bands on some weekends, playing outside on the expansive deck overlooking the marina.

Courtesy of the National Park Service, a brand new west dock will be installed as well as a new “floating” bathroom located behind the Elk Creek store. No longer will it be necessary to run up the boat ramp to use the restroom.

Future goals for the marina include expansion of the boat rental fleet from just fishing and pontoon boats to jet skis and, someday perhaps, even houseboats. The season for Blue Mesa and the marina generally begins around the first week of May and ends in September.

There’ve always been plenty of good reasons to head out and enjoy the largest body of water in Colorado. Now, with new and improved management of the marinas and related businesses, there are even more. ■ (Heather Messner is a horse-lover, mom and advertising sales rep for the Gunnison Country Times.)

ment. Guides are matched with competitors and each pair heads into the wilds for catch-and-release fly-fishing adventures in the valley’s most prized (and secret) fishing holes. At day’s end, everyone gathers for prizes, tall fish tales and a cocktail party, all on behalf of land conservation. The event entry fee is $600.

For info: 970.349.1206, or e-mail events@cblandtrust.org.

Superfly Fishing Tournament Sept. 9–10 The Gunnison Angling Society is hosting its 21st annual Superfly fishing tournament on Sept. 9–10. The tournament will be a classic two-fly contest, meaning each two-person team has to choose the two flies they will be fishing with for the duration of the tournament to catch as many inches of trout as possible. One section of private water and one public section will be fished in two competitive sessions on Saturday, concluding with a banquet and awards ceremony that evening in Almont.

For info: www.gunnisontu.org.

NATHAN BILOW

out of Arizona, Johnson made a point to maintain a few experienced employees. This includes long-time Morrow Point guides, Robbie Richardson and Ryan VanLanen; maintenance managers Don Alhquist and Bernie Alhquist; and Duane “Buck” Barnes, boat mechanic.

Most of the remaining positions on the 15-person staff Johnson offered to Gunnison locals.

“We wanted to support Gunnison locals who not only live here but love the lake and are passionate about Blue Mesa,” said Johnson.

Johnson has also put his money where his mouth is by bringing in Gene Taylors Sporting Goods, another local business, as the new supplier for both Elk Creek and Lake Fork stores. Both stores are in the process of receiving more modern displays and fixtures as well as a sampling of the large variety of apparel and equipment Gene Taylors offers.

Another Gunnison business connection — the Powerstop — will be assuming new management of Pappy’s Restaurant. Owners Sean and Deven Barrett are in the process of changing Pappy’s to counter-top service, installing

NATHAN BILOW

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Mt. Emmons, seen here on the right, overlooking Crested Butte, has been eyed for molybdenum mining for decades.

Courtesy photo

When the back yard is full Crested Butte is too small for two things too big

by George Sibley

A

full-fledged resort community today — skiing in the winter and a diversity of mountain recreations in the summer — Crested Butte seems perpetually faced with a proposal to put a major molybdenum mine near town.

Molybdenum is a mineral that could be considered foundational to the modern resort economy. A super lubricant and an alloy that makes steel lighter and stronger, it is used in everything from the airplanes and autos the resort habitués

arrive in to the skis and bikes they use while here.

But Crested Butte does not want this mine, although its residents hope that molybdenum mined somewhere else will continue to contribute to bringing visitors here and keeping them entertained while here. This ambivalence brings charges of NIMBYism upon the community: “Not In My Back Yard!”

On the surface, Crested Butte is vulnerable to this charge. But, of course, there’s more to the story.

When I arrived in Crested Butte in

1966, the town would have welcomed this mine, or any mine, or anything at all. At that time, most of the people who lived there had always known it as a mining town — coal mining for 75 years, then when the coal mines left in the early 1950s, they had lured a hard-rock mining company there for the metals in Mount Emmons.

They had also cooperated with the Forest Service in getting a ski area on Crested Butte Mountain just across the Continued on page 64

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valley. But they thought of their town as a mining town with a ski area, and had little faith in the resort economy. “You gotta have the lunch bucket,” they said.

I got a job that year that required a lot of shovel work, but it was for the ski industry, not the mine. My job was ski patrolman, when slope maintenance was part of the ski patrol’s work.

So in 1966 that was the situation: The Crested Butte Ski Area was operating on the mountain just east of town, and the Keystone Mine was operating on the mountain just west of town. Both were marginal and struggling, but always “showing promise.” The ski resort had just come through a major “financial reorganization”; the mine was frequently back in “R&D,” with a skeleton crew looking again for the Whenever activity on a mine proposal heats up, so do the town’s subsequent protests.

Courtesy photo mountain’s elusive ore bodies.

Through an absence of anyone truly — having in the interim exhausted the The Keystone Mine, meanwhile, went qualified, I became editor of the town initial infusion of outside money and very quiet around that same time. Thus, newspaper, and that was the economy received another just a few years ago. An the mining side of Crested Butte mostly I reported on. One week’s paper might incredible amount of building has gone fell out of consciousness — except, of report that a huge Kansas ski club had on. Megamanors, instead of mine tailcourse, for the “mining heritage,” which come to town (in a 15-passenger van!), ings, have filled up much of the valleys. is a marketable item in a resort economy. and also that the drillers at the Keystone Most of the “NIMBYs” who strenuSuppose that the outside money in had again found “The Vein” in Mt. Emously oppose the mine are not much 1970 had come to invest in a big molybmons’ fractured geology. happier with the grow-or-die mantra denum deposit in Mt. Emmons rather To a typical 20th-century graduate driving industrial resortism, or the growthan the ski area? My guess is that today of 19th-century liberal arts education, ing inequality between non-working Crested Butte would be in its third deknowing nothing of practical value, I residents and non-resident workers. But cade of producing moly — maybe with a thought that was a pretty decent ecothat’s the devil we married back in 1970, ski area too. nomic future: a mine and a ski area. That like it or not, and the mine is the devil we Instead, when AMAX Mining stated was my vision — a town in which miners don’t need now in addition. its desire in the late 1970s to pump a lot and resort workers went west and east in Succumbing every so often to nostalof money into a moly mine on Mt. Emthe morning to their respective mounmons, it was already too late for cheers to gia, I find myself wondering where we tains, then returned to rub elbows in the would be today, had both the Keystone greet the announcement. Except for the same bars and restaurants after work.

Mine and the Crested Butte Ski Area residual handful of “old-timers,” the idea Diversity, and equity: Whether you were continued to bumble and muddle along of a major mining operation was pershoveling muck in the mine or snow on incrementally these past 30 years with ceived as a threat to the growing resort the slopes, it was all the Brotherhood of only modest investments, alternately economy. the Muckstick, and everyone was about An honest effort was made, circa 1980, growing and shrinking a little as they did equally poor. through the 1960s. What would the valto try to figure out how a mine — maybe Then, of course, everything started to ley be like today? a smaller one — could be shoehorned change, in the manner of the American But that’s not the way things happen in into the Crested Butte area. But before West, with outside money moving in. In the West. I think of something contrarian anything was resolved, the price of moly 1970 the ski resort got new ownership economist Leopold Kohr said: “Wherever collapsed and AMAX abandoned its and a big infusion of outside capital, and something is wrong, something is too plans. The price has been up and down skiing and related businesses took off big.” And these mountain valleys — our ever since, with some new owner or andramatically in the 1970s. back yard — are just too small for two other expressing that “This time a mine The reportable news was all about things that are too big. ■ will happen!” — with an increasingly new restaurants, ski lifts, resort-type well-coordinated opposition. businesses, a new town sewer system to But the local economy is a generahandle the load, three tries on a sales tax (A version of this column originally aption further along the resort track now to handle the infrastructure, et cetera. peared in Colorado Central Magazine.)

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The night the Navajo danced

by Cara Guerrieri

I

t was the feathers she remembers most.

So many feathers, so boldly worn.

There was no campfire, just dancing and singing, the drum keeping the rhythm. To an 11-year-old, the red-gold sunset shining through the feathers was magical and mesmerizing. She’d never seen anything like it, and it turns out she never would again.

That’s how Phyllis (Spann) Guerrieri, age 78, describes a glorious night in 1943 on her parents’ ranch just outside of Gunnison.

The hay crop that year was “well above average,” yet there were concerns of a labor shortage. The Gunnison News Champion reported “ranchmen calling for stackers, hay hands,” all throughout the summers of World War II. The young men Aubrey and Ernestine Spann, Phyllis’ parents, normally hired to harvest hay had enlisted in the war. Aubrey, like most of his ranching neighbors, took advantage of the emergency farm labor placement program through Colorado State College in Fort Collins. Many of these fill-in ranch hands came from the Native American reservations throughout the Southwest.

The first year the Navajo were placed with the Spanns, in 1942, Phyllis and her

drum), Gerrie Lou Spann Spann, Bobby Lujan Lujan, Cruecito Lusaro (holding drum) Audre Spann, Phyllis Spann (top photo). (Bottom photo) The Spann sisters with their dad, Aubrey.

Courtesy photos

two sisters peeked out from their hiding place in the barn, giggling and watching as an older fellow with long hair in braids and four or five younger ones arrived with the labor representative. For young girls growing up on an isolated ranch a few miles out of town, the sight of “real Indians” was extraordinary. Seeing long hair and braids on a man was strange enough.

That these unusual men would live for the next few weeks in bunkhouses Continued on page 68

“

Many of these fill-in ranch hands came from the Native American reservations throughout the Southwest.

”

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less than 50 yards from the ranch house thrilled the curious girls.

They liked to watch the men wash their hair in the irrigation ditch near the house, which they did on Saturday nights before they all went to town. On those days the old man changed the colors of ribbon in his braids from black or brown to bright yellow and red.

One of the men named Bobby Lujan became a favorite of the sisters because he would leave a little bag of candy at the back door for each of the girls after his Saturday night excursions.

For several years during the war Aubrey and Ernestine hired the same Navajo men. The Spanns’ positive experience was echoed by ranchers throughout the county. In 1942 the local paper noted, “Reports on the Indians imported ... to

“

They liked to watch the men wash their hair in the irrigation ditch near the house, which they did on Saturday nights before they all went to town.

” work as hay hands are very favorable.”

Just days after the arrival of the Navajo men to the Spann ranch in 1943, Bobby Lujan, who spoke English better than the others, approached Aubrey. He gestured to the hide hanging over the corral fence and asked if he could have it. Aubrey hesitated.

The hide was valuable. Aubrey had hung it there just last week when he’d butchered the animal so Ernestine would have enough meat to feed the haying crew. The hide buyer would come around in the next month or so and it would be dried out and ready for sale.

“We need it to make a drum,” Bobby communicated.

A drum! Aubrey certainly didn’t want loud drumming in the bunkhouses keeping he and his family awake at nights.

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He questioned the need for a drum, and was told it was to be used only once at the end of the season, when the Navajo men wanted to perform a traditional ceremony.

After that, a deal was struck. The hide was given and, in exchange, the Spann family would be allowed to witness the ceremony.

Each day when Phyllis and her sisters went out to do their evening chores they would see the Navajo men working on the drum outside the bunkhouse. The hide had been soaked and stretched across a makeshift frame. The men worked at scraping the hair and flesh from the hide, talking away in their unusual tongue.

Cowhide isn’t the easiest material with which to make a drum and can take a whole day just to de-hair. So it took several nights of scraping. Plus, it is thick and heavy compared to deer, goat, or elk, making it unwieldy, though the deep reverberating sound of the thick hide is exceptional.

On days when it had rained and was too wet to hay, some of the Navajo men worked on the drum while the others went with Aubrey to train young horses.

Those men must have been excellent horsemen, for it was unusual on the Spann ranch to have seasonal workers train horses. Aubrey was quite particular about his horses, which he trained carefully not only for his daughters to ride, but as teams to pull the hay equipment.

In spite of some rainy days, over the course of the next weeks nearly 35,000 acres of hay were harvested in Gunnison County. On the Spann ranch not only was the hay put up, but also some young colts experienced the training of the Navajo and a large cowhide drum nearly two feet in diameter was constructed.

During that time the cowhide was cut, shaped and dried. Holes were cut for lacing and the hide was stretched over a large hoop. Strips of hide were used to secure the round hide to the hoop, and the drum was cured in the warm sun outside the bunkhouse.

Phyllis and her sisters tittered with excitement when they saw the nearly finished drum. It was all they could do not to play with it as it sat there for several days, but their parents had admonished

“

On the Spann ranch not only was the hay put up, but also some young colts experienced the training of the Navajo and a large cowhide drum nearly two foot in diameter was constructed.

” them strictly not to touch it.

At long last the night of the ceremony arrived. Phyllis sat cross-legged with her sisters and young cousin, Whit Eastman, on the soft grass in the front yard, staring at the drum and the attire of the Navajo men. They had no shirts on, and wore decorated loincloths instead of pants. Their regular work shoes had been exchanged for low fringed and feathered moccasins, and on their headbands were feathers they’d found in the hay fields.

The old man with the braids had the most feathers, and it was he who picked up the drumstick and started the beat — Boom. Boom. Boom.

The low-pitched rumble seemed to shake Phyllis’ body. It felt as if the very ground she sat on was trembling. As the rhythm began, the other Navajo men started to sing and dance in a circle. The feathers on their heads and feet flapped to the beat.

The incessantly noisy children were muted, the solemnness and rarity of what they were witnessing not lost even on ones so young.

Round and round the dancers went, underneath the pine trees they whirled as the sun lowered. The drum’s big, soft beating continued — faster and faster, then slowing for a time, then speeding up — always in perfect cadence with the Continued on page 73

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365 days of advertising Distributed in late May

Here are some other great opportunities to advertise your business throughout the year

COMPLIMENTARY

Spring

INSIDE

& OUT UT

2011

WESTERN WELCOME

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

2010 GUIDE TO GUNNISON COUNTRY

2010

2 0 1 0

Celebrating Celeb brating 110 Years

HUNTING

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Southern Exposure

A CENTURY

PAGE 14

Units 66 and 67 offer big-time big game potential

IN THE SADDLE Through ups and downs and lots of changes, Gunnison Country stockgrowers still riding tall.

PAGE 18

Not all mailboxes are created equal

MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Days Queen, Molly Cannon, is comfortable punchinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cows. Wearing a tiara? Not so much. PAGE 7

Basic tips for selling a home in a down market

Eye on the Prize Optics: An ever-important tool for your hunt

Meat in the Middle Ranchers, sportsmen team up for game meat donations

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Complimentary Publication of the Gunnison Country Times

THE GUNNY-CB CONNECTION PAGE 6

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A show of support More than 120 supporters of Gunnison Valley School attended Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s RE1J Board of Education meeting in Crested Butte, dozens of whom expressed their desire to keep the alternative high school intact in the face of the ongoing budget crunch.

Here, GVS student Skyler Kienle addresses the board (at left), as does GVS program coordinator Neil Coen (below).

Photos by Matt Smith

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR LIVE MUSIC

...

PAGE 16

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Building season off to slow start

GUNNISONTIMES.COM

Claims prove costly for city Half-million dollars the tab for poisoning, RHPI incidents

WESTERN WELCOME

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Distributed 4 times throughout the summer and in August

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Several items matching the description of things that were reported stolen from local businesses and residences â&#x20AC;&#x201D; mainly computers and other electronic equipment, according to Wilson â&#x20AC;&#x201D; were seized. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We found a lot of property that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still attempting to tie back to past burglaries,â&#x20AC;?

Wilson explained.

Fleming has been arrested on numerous burglary and burglary related charges. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently in Gunnison County Jail and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because Fleming is

A carbon monoxide incident and the folding of a former health insurance provider are expected to cost the City of Gunnison more than a halfmillion dollars.

Finance Director Wendy Hanson proposed to City Council on Tuesday additional appropriations totaling $558,000 from the general fund to the insurance reserve fund to cover the two unanticipated expenses.

Last November, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former health insurance plan, Rural Health Plans Initiative (RHPI), announced bankruptcy, leaving city employees with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid claims. City leaders have vowed to pay the outstanding claims from general fund reserves.

Hanson estimates that there is $375,000 in outstanding claims for medical expenses accrued by city employees that were never paid by RHPI. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll go above that, just because of the claims

Burglar A10

Insurance A10

Suspected burglar behind bars Arrest in connection with rash of recent thefts Chris Dickey Times Editor

Some officials expect pace to pick up Will Shoemaker Times Staff Writer

Judging by permits that have been issued thus far in Gunnison County, building activity is off to a slow start in 2011.

With construction season readying to get into full swing, permits issued in the City of Gunnison and Gunnison County are lagging behind last year â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly a boom time. But some local building officials are expecting this building season to surpass last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lackluster activity.

According to Gunnison Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest building report, 10 total building permits had been issued through the end of March, compared to 11 for the same time in 2010. There Permits A10

HOMES GUIDE

A8-A9

Will Shoemaker Times Staff Writer

IN

...

INSIDE

FRIDAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FORECAST

COLORADO'S OLDEST PROFESSIONAL RODEO EVENT

Some heads-up police work is being credited with the arrest of an individual who is suspected of being linked to the rash of burglaries that have taken p l a c e i n Fleming Gunnison since last December.

In the early morning hours

of March 31, 23-year-old Kasey Fleming was contacted in the northeastern section of the downtown business district when a patrol officer noticed some suspicious activity outside a local business, according to Police Captain Chris Wilson.

T h a t o f f i c e r, N a t e Chubbuck, discovered that Fleming had a backpack full of â&#x20AC;&#x153;burglary tools.â&#x20AC;? According to Wilson, those tools included a drill, screwdriver, crowbar and hammer. Bolt-cutters were later found in Flemingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Columbine Hotel apartment.

That wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all that was found in Flemingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence.

Did winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cold kill the bark beetle?

Local temps likely not low enough to thwart pesky populations Matt Smith Times Staff Writer

Spruce beetles, like this one, are present in the Gunnison Basin, not in epidemic proportions.

The bark beetle epidemic is a topic that has been heating up across Colorado in recent years, but what are the chances that the Gunnison Basinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely cold weather could freeze further expansion of the pesky insects here?

Slim to none.

According to Roy Mask, the

lead entomologist with the Gunnison Service Center â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a United States Forest Service (USFS) research office â&#x20AC;&#x201D; thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unlikely. Especially with the relatively mild winters we have seen in the past few years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What you need is a temperature probably in the neighborhood of 30 below zero and you need not only to have that as an ambient temperature,

but you need to achieve that temperature below the bark,â&#x20AC;? said Mask. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It usually takes more than just a day, or a few hours, of that kind of temperature to affect the beetles.â&#x20AC;?

The good news is, at least for most parts of the Gunnison Basin, bark beetle populations havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exploded into epidemic proportions like they have Beetle A11

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dancers’ steps and twirls and song.

The dance felt to Phyllis like a prayer, not at all like a performance as the young girl had expected. It was as if she and her family, sitting on the outside of the circle, were completely superfluous to the ritual.

“

Phyllis would never know the answer, though she notes that her marriage, performed under the very trees where the Navajo danced, has lasted 60 years.

” She didn’t understand the purpose of the dance. Were the Navajo men celebrating the harvest, or the sun, or the equinox? Were they praying for safe travel, or for their loved ones, or for their tribe?

Did they bless this yard, this land, and the Spann family as they danced?

Phyllis would never know the answer, though she notes that her marriage, performed under the very trees where the Navajo danced, has lasted 60 years.

On and on, while the sun went down, the men danced and the drum kept beating. It was dark and getting chilly on her bare arms by the time it ended, but Phyllis was sad when it was over.

The next day the men travelled back to Santa Fe. Although Phyllis and her family hoped to see them again next haying season, it wasn’t to be. Aubrey and Ernestine’s bunkhouses failed the government inspection because one of them, built into the side of the hill, did not have running water. The Spanns could no longer receive emergency labor placements.

Bobby and the other young Navajo who worked for the Spanns enlisted in the service later that fall. At that time there was a big push for tribal members to join the war effort.

Like many tribal members, Bobby

Phyllis and Richard Guerrieri on their wedding day, in 1951. On right, Phyllis and her son, Burt, in 2010.

had no bank account so he and several others sent their war bonds to Aubrey for safekeeping. After returning from the war he travelled to Gunnison to retrieve the war bonds.

It was the last time Phyllis would see Bobby. He was dressed in his uniform, and he barely resembled the feather-clad man dancing in their yard. The day after the young soldier had dinner with the family, Aubrey took him to the bank and gave him the war bonds. In the afternoon, Bobby headed back to New Mexico, where he eventually made his living as a

skilled silversmith.

Aubrey and Ernestine stayed in touch with Bobby throughout their lives. They often visited him when they travelled to New Mexico. Ernestine always came back from those visits with a piece of his beautiful turquoise and silver jewelry.

Some of the jewelry has been handed down to Phyllis, and for her it is a reminder of the unlikely wartime friendship between a Colorado ranch family and a group of Navajo men, and of one magical, unforgettable night of dancing and ceremony. ■

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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Right where we belong Attachment to a place breeds success, in all kinds of ways

by Pam Montgomery

A

lively social scene. Beauty and openness. What do they have to do with local nonprofits and the economy of the Gunnison Valley?

Attachment. That’s the answer. Really.

There is scientific data behind the answer — and it’s pertinent to Gunnison County, our nonprofit community and potential economic growth.

Attachment is defined as the emotional connection to place that goes beyond just being satisfied with where you live. The data suggest that a significant correlation exits between passionate attachment to community and economic growth.

When you think about what might create emotional attachment to a place, what might you say? If you mention basic services like education, the economy and jobs, you’re right — but they don’t reach the top on the attachment list.

The results of a study may surprise you. The top three drivers aren’t the usual suspects. Consistently, social scene, openness and beauty are the top three.

Interestingly, all are part and parcel of our diverse nonprofit community in Gunnison County. They are the “softer side” of our community.

Social offerings — arts and cultural opportunities and the “entertainment scene” — are vibrantly represented by the nonprofits in the county in both seasonal and year-round programs. And it’s a fact that nonprofit fundraisers are a staple of our social life. (See related story on page 20) Openness is defined as a community welcoming of all types of people; from our students to our seniors, our visitors to our part- and full-time residents, those

who are other-abled and those whose lifestyles and choices are different from ours.

Mostly we are welcoming, yet we have need for the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley’s “Speak Your Peace” program that offers a safe place for those with differing viewpoints to explore common interests rather than opposing positions. So we address our differences and usually embrace them.

Beauty – aesthetics. We certainly have beauty in abundance in our valley.

We have glorious streams and rivers, abundant forests, magnificent mountains, glorious hay fields with grazing cattle, and incredible view corridors. We have nonprofit organizations that protect our views and our resources and others that maintain trails for our enhanced enjoyment of our incredible surroundings.

What does all of this have to do with the economy? The top three drivers — beauty, openness and social opportunities — serve to keep folks attached to their communities. And when we are attached, there is pride in community and a sense that we are exactly where we belong.

How many times have you heard someone say, “I know the winters are long, but I can’t even begin to think where I’d rather be.” I’ve said it. You’ve probably said it and I know you’ve heard it.

The Knight/Gallup study that identified the drivers also found a correlation between attachment and the economy.

More attachment, more local GDP growth. Local growth not only means current economic success, it represents the ability to grow to meet local needs.

Enter the current economy. Enter government budget cuts. Sobering questions

arise. With less funding for basic needs such as education, health care, food for the hungry, who picks up the slack? It isn’t possible for churches and charitable organizations to do it all.

What does all this mean? Gunnison County has the key drivers mentioned in the study that create attachment and we know from years of other studies that our independent nature is inseparable from our sense of community here in the valley. Now it’s up to us to grow without losing a bit of the treasure we hold. We have the elements that make folks want to live here and come to visit.

At the same time, it is crucial that we advance information and dialogue about the underlying issues that exist in every community, especially in times of a poor economy. The Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley encourages collaborations among nonprofits, government and business to explore innovative solutions to our basic social issues. We support advocacy for those nonprofits that serve those in need. And the foundation will invest its grant dollars to help as many nonprofits and those they serve as possible.

So love a lot, play a lot, get to know the folks you sit next to at a concert or the theater, be welcoming, be passionate, be involved — and you will be a part of one of the finest communities in the West. Whether you live or visit here. ■ (Pam Montgomery is the executive director of the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley. The study mentioned is “Soul of the Community,” funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted by Gallup. Find out more at www.cfgv.org.)

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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unnison County knows how to roll out the carpet for summer and fall fun with an amazing array of one-of-a-kind festivals that reflect the lifestyle, natural beauty and Western friendliness of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Gunnison River Festival June 23-26

31st Annual Crested Butte Bike Week June 23–26

Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte are the proud hosts of the world’s oldest mountain bike festival, previously known as Fat Tire Bike Week.

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Trio, American String Quartet and Igudesman & Joo. Celebrating its 15th year, CBMF also has a bluegrass festival with 12 bands, the opera “Carmen,” DjangoFest (gypsy jazz), a free family concert series on Saturdays and more on its six-week schedule.

For info: 970.349.0619, www.crestedbuttemusicfestival.com.

111th Annual Cattlemen’s Days July 8-17

For a unique blend of hard-core and lighthearted outdoor recreation for all ages, don’t miss the ninth annual Gunnison River Festival. Where else can you find a mix of freestyle kayaking, a costume river parade, down-river raft race, hooligan race, kayak enduro, raft rodeo, Strider Cup bike race and foam boats for kids? The Gunnison Whitewater Park serves as home base for the festival, with the Taylor River near Almont and Oh-Be-Joyful Creek near Crested Butte also playing into the fun.

For info: 970.596.7094, www.gunnisonriverfestival.com.

Crested Butte Music Festival July 3–Aug. 14 The 2011 festival will showcase outstanding performers from all over the world and internationally acclaimed groups such as Boston Brass, Kingston

People who love the authenticity of The West should plan on attending the 111th annual Cattlemen’s Days at the Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center and various venues around Gunnison.

The event features a county fair, parade, live music and dancing, a horse show, cowboy poetry, horse races, and of course rodeo events sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Activities are spread throughout the 10 days, with rodeos scheduled for the evenings of July 14-16.

For info: 1.800.814.8893, www.cattlemensdays.com.

25th Annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival July 11-17

professional instructor on July 22.

For info: 720.375.5241, www.crestedbuttewine.com.

39th Annual Crested Butte Arts Festival Aug. 6–7 Crested Butte Arts Festival (CBAF) is one of the biggest weekends of the summer, drawing world-class artists from all 50 states and several international exhibitors. Open-air booths line the five-block center of Crested Butte’s National Historic District on Aug. 6 and 7, featuring 175 artists who are selected through a competitive jury process. In addition to an Art Alley for kids, the festival features an artist demonstration tent, food court, beer and wine pavilion, live entertainment, art auction and culinary demonstrations.

For info: 970.349.1184, www.crestedbutteartsfestival.com.

Crested Butte, which was designated the “Wildflower Capital of Colorado” by the state legislature in 1990, hosts this colorful festival during the peak of wildflower season. Photography and art classes, 4X4 tours, hikes and flower identification walks, garden tours, cooking seminars and more focus on the magnificent sight of miles and miles of wildflower fields abloom in the area.

For info: 970.349.2571, www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com.

Car, Carving & Art Aug. 18–21

Fall Festival of Beers Sept. 10 Get into the spirit of autumn with Mt. Crested Butte’s annual Fall Festival of Beers & Chili Cook-Off held on Sept.

10 at the base of CBMR. Heat up by sampling great chili prepared by area cook-off contestants, cool off with beers poured by several microbreweries and savor live music all afternoon.

For info: 800.814.8893, www.cbchamber.com.

Crested Butte Film Festival Sept. 29–Oct. 2 Look for Academy Award nominees, films from Cannes and Sundance and many unknown gems at this new festival. Most of the films will be Colorado premieres. The festival kicks off on Sept. 29 with “Sneak Peek Gunnison” with a double feature of movies showing at the Gunnison Arts Center and the Ruby Cinema, located on the campus of Western State College of Colorado.

For info: 303.204.9080, www.crestedbuttefilmfestival.org.

Crested Butte Land Trust Wine & Food Festival July 20-24 The festival’s signature event, a Grand Tasting, featuring hundreds of wines and a selection of appetizers, will be held on July 23 at the base of Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) ski area. There also is a Celebrity Chef Tour with two dinners staged at Uley’s Cabin, located mid-mountain at CBMR. Sommeliers will host wine seminars and Canvas & Cabernet participants will sip wine while painting their own work of art outdoors with the guidance of a

Main Street on Friday evening. On Saturday, admire all the chrome during the open car show and browse the creations of 80 artisans from around the region.

From Aug. 18-20, approximately a dozen wood carvers from around the country will transform tree stumps into works of art that will be on permanent display in Legion Park and at other community sites.

For info: 970.901.6215 (carving), 800.814.8893 (arts/crafts), www.gunnisoncarclub.com.

•••

This dynamic weekend for all ages includes the 24th annual Gunnison Car Show, High Octane Arts & Crafts Festival, and Carvin’ Up Colorado. Most of the activities take place in the neighboring Jorgensen and Legion parks, with a ’50s-style cruise-in and free dance on

To find out more about GunnisonCrested Butte’s calendar of events and personalized vacation packages, call the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association at 1.800.814.8893 or visit then on-line at www.GunnisonCrestedButte. com, www.facebook.com/gcbtaor, www.twitter.com/gcbta. ■

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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Gunnison’s hometown bank for more than 100 years.

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Personalized service, attention to detail, and convenience are just a few of the reasons that we stand out in Crested Butte. When you’re ready to be treated with good, old-fashioned hospitality, call us!

1.800.542.7669

970-641-0320

. Outdoor Hot Tub . Continental Breakfast . Walk to Base Area

Crested Butte’s Friendly Little Family-Owned Lodge Check us out on the Web at www.nordicinncb.com

Ask about our chalets for 6-8 people.

.

.

P.O. Box 939 Crested Butte, Colorado 81224 E-mail: info@nordicinncb.com 970.349.5542 970.349.6487 Fax

.

970-349-0170 FULL SERVICE MORTGAGE DEPARTMENT 970-641-7841 970-349-0170

THE GUNNISON BANK AND TRUST COMPANY 80 |

2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

J Reeser Architect LLC

Jody Reeser, AIA | office. 970-641-4740 jody@jreeserarchitect.com | www.jreeserarchitect.com

PHOTOS BY NATHAN BILOW

Dining Directory Playing hard in the Gunnison Valley builds up one’s appetite.

Fortunately, there’s a local establishment to satisfy just about any hunger pang.

GUNNISON 1)

5 B’s Bar-B-Q Award winning BBQ Catering Available!

303 E. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-641-7360

2)

Anejo Bistro & Bar Authentic Mexican Food Open 7 days a week, 11 a.m. - close 107 S. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-1427

3)

Brick Cellar Wine Bar Bistro, local ingredients, full bar 122 W. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-641-9463

4)

Cafe Silvestre Great Mexican Food Serving Lunch & Dinner 903 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-4001

5)

Chavolos Mexican Restaurant Located in the Mountain Meadows Mall Serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 800 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-0057

6)

Crested Butte Brewing Company Tasty Food, Good Cheer, Great Beer.

Red Lady Ale, White Buffalo Peace Ale and many other locally brewed hand crafted beers 212 W. Hwy. 50, Gunnison 970-641-4487

7)

Double Dragon Chinese Food Supreme Authentic Hunan & Mandarin Cuisine Dine-In or Carry Out 113 W. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-642-6363

8)

Dos Rios Golf Club Restaurant Breakfast & Lunch Daily Dinner served ThursdaySunday. Catering available.

Located at the Dos Rios Golf Course in Gunnison 970-641-1482

9)

El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant Come enjoy our patio this summer!

112 S. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-4957

10) Farrells’ Restaurant Specializing in fresh, delicious house made goods 310 N. Main St., Gunnison Serving Breakfast & Lunch, Mon.-Fri. 7-3 970-641-2655

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11) Firebrand Deli Breakfast, Sandwiches, Soups 108 N. Main St., Gunnison Serving Breakfast & Lunch Tues.-Sun., 7-3 970-641-6266

12) Garlic Mike’s Italian Cuisine 2674 Hwy. 135, where 135 crosses the Gunnison River Serving Dinner 7 Days a week 970-641-2493

13) Gunnisack Cowboy Bistro Unique, from-scratch recipes with a southwestern flair Serving lunch & dinner, Tue.-Sat., Sunday Brunch, kids menus and we have a full bar!

142 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-5445

14) Gunnison Brewery Brew Pub & Eatery Take out orders welcome!

138 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-2739

15) Mario’s Pizza & Pasta Italian Cuisine Catering Available Dine In, Take Out, Delivery 213 W. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-641-1374

16) Mochas Coffeehouse & Bakery Coffee Drinks, smoothies, breakfast items & sandwiches Open 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Everyday 710 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-2006

17) Ol’ Miner Steakhouse Serving Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Catering Available 139 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-5153

18) Pappy’s Restaurant Awesome Burgers, Buffalo Wings, Deluxe Pizza.

Blue Mesa Reservoir lake vista with an amazing deck Live bands on the weekend.

Elk Creek Marina, Blue Mesa 970-641-0403

19) Pie-Zans Pizza, Pasta, Salads In Town Delivery 730 N. Main St. Gunnison 970-641-5255

20) Pizza Hut Pizza, Pasta & Salad Bar Delivery, Dine in or Takeout 800 W. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-641-1703

21) Powerstop Locally Raised Beef, Burger, Beer, Coffee and more Serving Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 905 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-2328

22) The Bean Coffeehouse & Eatery Coffee Drinks, juices, sandwiches, etc Free wifi for customers 120 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-2408

23) The Trough Fresh Steak & Seafood Serving Dinner 7 Days/Week 5-close, Lunches Mon. - Fri. 11-2 W. Hwy. 50, Gunnison 970-641-3724

24) Tic Toc Diner 50’s style American, New Mexican, Greek, Vegetarian Open 7 days a week, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.

323 E. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison 970-642-0444

25) W Cafe Best Breakfast 10 years running!

Entire menu available all day Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

1st block of Main, Gunnison 970-641-1744

26) Twisted Fork Specializing in American/ Asian fusion food, innovative drinks and great atmosphere Tues. - Sat., Dinner / Sun. Brunch 206 N. Main St., Gunnison 970-641-1488

CRESTED BUTTE & MT. CB 29) 9380 Prime Fine Dining Serving Lunch & Dinner Located in the Elevation Hotel Mt. Crested Butte 970-251-3030

MOUNTAIN

RESORT

30) Butte 66 Roadhouse BBQ American Cuisine Serving Lunch & Dinner Located at the Ski Area Base, Mt. CB 970-349-2999

MOUNTAIN

31) Django’s Restaurant & Wine Bar A small plates restaurant Located in Mountaineer Square Mt. Crested Butte 970-349-7574

32) Donita’s Cantina Fresh, Affordable, Delicious Serving Mexican Food-CB Style 330 Elk Ave., Crested Butte 970-349-6674 www.donitascantina.com

RESORT

33) EastSide Bistro Regional American Cuisine with Global Influences and spectacular views of Mt. Crested Butte.

435 Sixth St. Crested Butte 970-349-9699 www.eastsidebistro.com

Mt. Crested Butte

34) Ice Bar at Uley’s Cabin Upscale Colorado Cuisine Serving Lunch & Dinner Located on the Mountain Mt. Crested Butte 970-349-2275

31 MOUNTAIN

RESORT

Take 135 N. to Mt. Crested Butte

35) Jefe’s Burritos Open during the ski season Mexican Cuisine Located in the Breezeway at the Base Area, Mt. Crested Butte 970-349-4755

29, 30, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41

MOUNTAIN

Crested Butte

RESORT

36

36) Paradise Cafe in Crested Butte

39 Elk Ave.

Open for Breakfast & Lunch Specializing in breakfast burritos, soup and burgers Located inside the Company Store 970-349-6233

37 32 33

37) Rumors Coffee & Tea House Cozy, inviting atmosphere, free wifi to customers Coffee, Tea, Baked Good & Breakfast Burritos 414 Elk Ave., Crested Butte 970-349-9831

38) Spellbound Pizza Co. Open during the ski season Pizza & salads Located in the Treasury Building at the base at Mt. Crested Butte 970-349-2998

27

Almont

E. on CR 742

28 to Harmel’s Ranch

CR 742 MOUNTAIN

RESORT

Gunnison to Almont - 11 miles Gunnison to Crested Butte - 28 miles Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte - 31 miles

39) West End Public House Elevated Comfort Food, feature Colorado and Global Craft Beers, full bar, wonderful Eclectic Wine list 201 Elk Ave. 970-349-5662 www.westendpublichouse.com

12

N. on 135 to Garlic Mike’s

21

40) Woodstone Bar & Grille

4

Breakfast and dinner daily Open daily 7 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. & 5 p.m - close Mt. Crested Butte In the Grand Lodge 970-349-8000

MOUNTAIN

MOUNTAIN

16

Denver

RESORT

10 26

41) The Woodstone Deli Coffee & grab-and-go snacks, Sandwiches, salads Mt. Crested Butte In the Grand Lodge Open daily from 6:30 a.m.

970-349-8000

5 19

Gunnison

RESORT

13 14 17

ALMONT

25 11

3

20

22

Tomichi / HWY 50

27) Three Rivers Resort Smokehouse Restaurant

15

Outdoor patio seating serving 3 delicious meals daily. BBQ, Ribs, smoked meats, homemade soups, sandwiches and dinners.

130 CR 742, Almont 970-641-1303

2

9

1

24

6

N

28) Harmel’s Ranch Resort Riverside Dining in Beautiful Taylor Canyon Serving 3 meals per day, everyday!

6748 CR 742, Almont 970-641-1740

7

Not to scale W. on 50 to The Trough & Pappy’s

23 18

Left on

8 Camino Del Rio to Dos Rios Golf Club Restaurant

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The Crested Butte duo of Mark and Janelle Smiley are entering their third year in a quest to scale “The 50 Classic Climbs of North America.”

Courtesy photos

A match made near heaven Smileys pursue “The 50 Classic Climbs of North America”

by Matt Smith

T

here’s a lot to learn about the dynamics of a marriage when you’re both clinging to the side of a 1,500 foot vertical rock wall.

It’s a predicament that the Crested Butte husband-and-wife team of Mark and Janelle Smiley are all too familiar with. More than 27 routes into their goal of becoming the first people to complete a compilation of climbs entitled “The 50 Classic Climbs of North America,” they’ve experienced the highs, the lows and everything in between on their unique matrimonial journey.

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“It’s interesting, because when you go with someone that’s your life partner, it’s easy to become more concerned about their welfare,” said Janelle, who began climbing at the age of 11. “The thought of losing them makes the stakes much higher.”

“We’ve had some near misses,” added Mark, a climber since the age of 14. “There’s been a couple of climbs that we’ve held each other a little bit closer afterwards.”

The routes that the duo have set out before them were first made famous by a guide book published in 1979, also called “The 50 Classic Climbs of North America.”

For many in the climbing industry, it’s

simply known as “the book.”

Mark had tackled a handful of the climbs in years past, but never aspired to complete the entire line-up — a feat that is yet to be accomplished by any climber.

That was until he pitched the idea to Janelle three years ago and they decided to take on the challenge as a team.

“When the idea first was hatched, we really didn’t know what it would all entail,” said Mark. “We still don’t have the entire plan, but we have a much better understanding.”

Both Smileys carried a wealth of knowledge and past experience into the project.

Most recently, Mark guided trips on Mt. Rainier from 2004 to 2007. Janelle joined him there as a guide for the 2006 and ’07 seasons. They now own a guide company called Salt Mountaineering (saltmountaineering.com).

The 50 climbs on their list stretch across western North America, including eight stops in Alaska, 10 routes in western Canada and a total of 11 in California.

The four climbs in Colorado reach as close to their home as the 14,197-foot Crestone Needle, in the Sangre de Cristo Range.

When all is said and done, they will have covered more than 25,000 miles and scaled more than 164,000 vertical feet of terrain.

Hiking off of Mt Temple, Alberta, Canada

“

We’ve had some near misses. There’s been a couple of climbs that we’ve held each other a little bit closer afterwards.

”

Mark Smiley One major catch to climbing all 50 of the original routes is the various ways the landscape has changed since the publication was released in 1979. The Sierra Route (Shiprock, N.M.), for instance, has been closed to climbing by the Navajo Nation, while one route in Rocky Mountain National Park had two of its pitches completely fall apart.

They still plan to make the trips to these locations in hopes of making similar climbs, but documenting the changes that have occurred throughout the years is another piece to the puzzle.

“The project has adapted from not only climbing, but climbing and documenting,” said Janelle. “We’d like to make a documentary that we could submit to the Banff Film Festival. If it goes to (television), I don’t know if we’re that interesting, but it would be really cool.”

The duo has already teamed up with a

Looking down from the summit of Charlotte Dome, Calif.

film crew, Capture Your Adventure, and produced a series of short videos that can be viewed on their website that is dedicated to the project: smileysproject.com.

The adventure began in 2009, when they managed to bag three climbs on the list. In April of 2010 they picked up the pace to a full-on sprint and checked off 24 more climbs by the end of last summer.

They have a full slate of climbs planned for this summer, but after spending their entire life savings last year, the Smileys are working hard in order to find the resources necessary to continue the journey.

“Basically it’s Mark and I just saving up all we can and then obliterating our savings,” said Janelle. “We’re trying to find people with the same principles and values as us and somehow make it mutually beneficial for them.”

The Smileys also plan on drawing from the experience to create what they call a “couples coaching” program. According to Mark, the idea is to put couples in adventure settings and equip them with the tools to help strengthen their relationships.

For more information about the Smileys’ project, visit smileysproject.com. ■

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O ’ S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

| 85

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2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com 970-349-2571 • info@cbwildflower.com

Open seven days a week • Championship 18 hole course • Driving range • Memberships available • Open to the Public every day but Thursday • Well stocked pro shop • Gourmet Restaurant & Bar

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Call for Tee Times (970) 641-1482

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| 87

Calendar of Events 2011 4

weekly summer events Sundays @ 7 (Free Summer Concerts) Presented by the Gunnison Arts Center, Legion Park, Gunnison, May 30 through August 29

5, 12, 19, 26

Crested Butte Farmers Market, Elk Avenue & First Street, Crested Butte, Sundays, June 13 through September 26

10

Alpenglow (Free Summer Concerts) Presented

by CB Center for the Arts, Town Park & CB South, Mondays, June 28 through August 16

11 16

Fridays @ 5 at the Gunnison Art Center, Live Music on the Patio, Gunnison, May 28 through August 27

17-19

First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison, YearRound

18

Gunnison Farmers Market, Virginia Avenue & Main Street, Gunnison, Saturdays, June 26 through October 9 (see ad page 25)

22, 29

ArtWalk Evening, Galleries in Crested Butte, Last Thursday of the Month, June 24 through September 30

23-26

Live! From Mt. Crested Butte (Free Summer Concerts), Red Lady Stage at Ski Area Base, Wednesdays, July 7 through August 25

23-26

24

Wednesdays at Western State College, Different Activities/Topics Each Week, June 23 through August 25 Gunnison Valley Observatory Public Viewing Nights, Gunnison, most Fridays and Saturdays, May 14 through September 24

24-26

24-26, 29-30

may 28-29

Rage in the Sage Weekend including Sage Burner 50k/25k Run, Original Growler Mountain Bike Race, 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory rock climbing & Gran Fondo bike ride from Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte and back, Gunnison

25-26

27

30

Fishing & Outdoor Sports Derby, Jorgensen Park, Gunnison Sundays @ 7 (Free Concerts) Presented by the Gunnison Arts Center, Legion Park Gunnison Golf Classic Presented by Gunnison Valley Health Foundation, Dos Rios Golf Club, Gunnison Taylor Park Marina Fishing Derby, Taylor Park Reservoir Annual Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Bird Survey, Gothic Crested Butte Writers Conference, Elevation Hotel & Spa, Mt. Crested Butte Readers in the Rockies, Elevation Hotel & Spa, Mt. Crested Butte Wednesdays at Western State College, Different Activities/Topics Each Week Gunnison River Festival, Gunnison Crested Butte Fat Tire Bike Week, Crested Butte & Mt. Crested Butte Western State CollegeColorado Brass Band Concert, Quigley Band Shell, Gunnison Wildflower Rush Cross Country/Downhill Bike Races, Crested Butte Mtn. Resort “Oklahoma!” Presented

by CB Mountain Theatre, Mallardi Cabaret Theatre Bridges of the Butte (24-hour townie bike tour), Presented by the Adaptive Sports Center, Crested Butte Alpenglow (Free Outdoor Concert), Crested Butte Center for the Arts ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Crested Butte

2-9, 15-27, & 29 - Aug. 5 3 - Aug. 14 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

3 4

4

4, 11, 18, 25

6, 13, 20, 27

6, 13, 20, 27

6, 13, 20, 27 8-17 9-10

10, 17, 24, 31

11-17 14-15

15-17

20-24

june 3

3

3-10

3, 10, 17, 24

88 |

First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Crested Butte Crawl (Pub Crawl Kicking off Restaurant Week), Crested Butte Restaurant Week (Special Dining & Lodging Deals) Fridays @ 5 at the Gunnison Art Center, Live Music on the Courtyard

2 01 1 G U N N I S O N CO U N T RY M AGA Z I N E

july 1

1,2,8,9,15,16, 22,23,29,30 1, 2, 5, 7

1, 8, 15, 22, 29

First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Gunnison Valley Observatory Open for Public Viewing, Gunnison “Oklahoma!” Presented

by CB Mountain Theatre, Mallardi Cabaret Theatre Fridays @ 5 at the Gunnison Art Center, Live Music on the

22-23

24 28 28-31

Courtyard Marble/marble XXIII - A Marble Sculpting Symposium, Marble Crested Butte Music Festival, Various Locations Sundays @ 7 (Free Concerts) Presented by the Gunnison Arts Center, Legion Park Crested Butte Fireworks Display Independence Day Celebrations, Crested Butte, Gunnison & Mt. Crested Butte Gothic to Crested Butte 1/3rd Marathon, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Alpenglow (Free Outdoor Concerts), Crested Butte Center for the Arts Wednesdays at Western State College, Different Activities/Topics Each Week Live! From Mt. Crested Butte (Free Outdoor Concerts), Crested Butte Mtn. Resort Public Policy Forum of Crested Butte Gunnison Cattlemen’s Days, Gunnison Bluegrass in Paradise Presented by Crested Butte Music Festival, CB Mtn. Resort AWEFest Presented by Artists of the West Elks, Elk Avenue, Crested Butte Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, Various Locations Crested Butte Land Trust Caddis Cup Fly-Fishing Tournament Crested Butte Plein Air Invitational, Oh Be Joyful Gallery Crested Butte Land Trust Wine & Food Festival, Crested Butte & Mt. Crested Butte Epic Rocky Mountain Relay Woodland Park to Crested Butte Gunnison Art in the Park, Legion Park, Gunnison ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Crested Butte Writing the Rockies: Gunnison Creative Writers Workshop, Western State College

30

Living Journeys Summit Hike & Half-Marathon, Crested Butte Mountain Resort Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey - Leadville 100 Qualifying Race, CB/Mt. CB

31

23

24 25

august 1, 8, 15

July 3 - Aug. 14 3, 10, 17

3, 10, 17, 24

3, 10, 17, 24, 31 5

20,26,27 5, 12

5-7

7-8

7, 14, 21, 28

12-14

14

17

18-20

19-21 20

20

20-21

Alpenglow (Free Outdoor Concerts), Crested Butte Center for the Arts Crested Butte Music Festival, Various Locations Wednesdays at Western State College, Different Activities/Topics Each Week Live! From Mt. Crested Butte (Free Outdoor Concerts, Crested Butte Mtn. Resort Public Policy Forum of Crested Butte First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Open for Public Viewing, Gunnison Fridays @ 5 at the Gunnison Art Center, Live Music on the Courtyard Crested Butte Arts Festival, Elk Avenue, Crested Butte Street CB Open Golf Tournament & Gala Dinner, Presented by Adaptive Sports Center Sundays @ 7 (Free Concerts) Presented by the Gunnison Arts Center, Legion Park Yoga Rocks The Butte, Crested Butte & Mt. Crested Butte AWEFest Presented by Artists of the West Elks, Elk Avenue, Crested Butte Historic Preservation Dinner, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic Carvin’ Up Colorado (Carving Competition), Legion Park, Gunnison Gunnison Car Show, Gunnison High Octane Arts & Crafts Festival, Legion Park, Gunnison WOW Downtown Community Party (Week of Welcome for Western State College), Main Street & Virginia Ave., Gunnison 24 Hours in the Sage (Bike Race), Hartman Rocks,

29

Gunnison USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage Finish in Mt. Crested Butte USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage Start in Gunnison ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Crested Butte Chefs on the Edge, Crested Butte Center for the Arts

november 4

12

19

19

september 1-30 2

3, 10, 17, 24

3-4

10

10-11

10-11

11-12 19-24 23-25

25

29 30 - Oct. 1

30 - Oct. 2

September Splendor in the Rockies, Valleywide First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Gunnison Farmers’ Market, Virginia Avenue & Main Street The People’s Fair (Arts, Crafts & More), Elk Avenue, Crested Butte Fall Festival of Beers & Chili Cook-Off, Crested Butte Mountain Resort 35th Annual Pearl Pass Mountain Bike Tour, Crested Butte Gunnison Cowboys High School Rodeo, Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center Wooden Nickel Fall Golf Classic, Club at Crested Butte Vinotok Fall Harvest Festival, Crested Butte Oktoberfest at the Crested Butte Brewing Company, Gunnison Crested Butte Fall Colors Classic (1/2 marathon) Presented by Gunnison Valley Health Foundation ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Crested Butte Western State College Homecoming (Parade, Bonfire, Football, Volleyball & More), Gunnison Crested Butte Film Festival, Various Crested Butte Locations

23 25-26

december 1 2 2

3-4 3 3

10 10 10

17 24

29

31

31

october 30 - Oct. 1

7

Western State College Homecoming (Parade, Bonfire, Football, Volleyball & More), Gunnison First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison

First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Holiday Fashion Show, Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center, Gunnison Sugar Plum Festival, Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center, Gunnison Crested Butte Nordic Center Opens for the Season Crested Butte Mountain Resort Opens for the Season Crested Butte Nordic Center’s 10th Annual Thanksgiving Training Camp

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Learn to Skate Ski for Free, Crested Butte Nordic Center Night of Lights, Downtown Gunnison First Friday Gallery Crawl & Music, Various Galleries & Locations, Gunnison Holiday Downtown Open Houses, Gunnison Holiday Bazaar, Crested Butte Community School Light Up Night & Holiday Parade, Downtown Crested Butte Citizens’ Race - 10 K Classic, Crested Butte Nordic Center Full Moon Yurt Dinner Tour, Crested Butte Nordic Center Moonlight Snowshoe Tour, Crested Butte Mountain Resort Citizens’ Race - 10K Skate, Crested Butte Nordic Center Christmas Eve Torchlight Parade, Crested Butte Mountain Resort ArtWalk Evening, Studios & Galleries in Downtown Crested Butte Frozen Buns Resolution Run (5K) Presented by Gunnison Valley Health Foundation, Crested Butte New Year’s Eve Yurt Dinner Party, Crested Butte Nordic Center New Year’s Eve Celebration, Crested Butte Mountain Resort Please note that these dates are subject to change.

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Scenes from summer ...

John Holder John Holder has lived in the Gunnison Valley for 35 years. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a physicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant with Gunnison Valley Family Physicians who loves to explore the local outdoors while hiking and mountain biking. He pursues photography as a hobby.

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... and scenes from winter Matt Burt Matt Burt obtained an art degree from Western State in 1994. While his career had led him to the information technology field, art and the need to create remain a big part of his life. His prints are available at the Gunnison Gallery downtown and more of his photography can be viewed at http://mattb.net.

2 0 1 1 G U I D E T O C O LO R A D O â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S H I G H C O U N T R Y P L A Y G R O U N D

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