BLUECORN BEESWAX

CANDLE-MAKING AT NEW RETAIL CAFÉ BLUECORN BEESWAX

Words by Gus Jarvis | Photos courtesy of Bluecorn Beeswax

When he looks across the factory floor as the day’s bustle of candle-making processes ramp up, he sees customers talking over cups of coffee. Some are having a bite to eat. The sound of the barista’s coffee grinder mixes in with their conversations. The space is big, yet cozy. It’s industrious and chill. It’s a scene Bluecorn Beeswax founder Jon Kornbluh dreamed of creating.

“I have always paid attention to and appreciated great spaces, whether they are retail stores, coffee shops or restaurants,” Kornbluh explains. “I’ve dreamed about creating that space, and I think we pulled it off.”

Located at 1842 S. Townsend Ave. in Montrose, the building that once housed the Furniture Connection is now the headquarters of Bluecorn Beeswax. The beautifully renovated building provides the factory space needed to manufacture the company’s successful line of beeswax candles and simple living products. It also provides a relaxed setting for the Bluecorn Café & Mercantile, where one can sip a specialty coffee drink and enjoy a breakfast burrito or a

lunchtime sandwich with views of the candle production line. The café area doubles as a retail space for Bluecorn candles, as well as other products that fit into Bluecorn’s simple living style.

Until early 2020, Kornbluh and the candle business focused mainly on customer-tocustomer website sales. After nearly thirty years of producing and selling candles, he asked himself if he had the energy to continue on. As he prepared to sell Bluecorn Beeswax, people around the world became more homebound due to the COVID pandemic, and the beeswax candle business, surprisingly, received an uptick in sales. Partnering with investors, Kornbluh found new energy and a new vision to expand from the already cramped facility in Ridgway to a new Montrose location.

“This is fascinating,” he says. “When we looked for a new space, there were no warehouse spaces available in Montrose. This building was really our only option, and it ended up being perfect in so many ways. We weren’t necessarily focused on a front-facing retail café, but there are 35,000 vehicles driving by here every day. It gave us the opportunity to make our headquarters a special location that has a positive impact on Montrose and the brand. We knew this could be an elevated community space, so we went for it.”

The manufacturing side of the business moved into the space in October 2021. In the move from Ridgway, manufacturing was only offline for three days. “We were making and shipping candles on top of electricians working on the building,” he reveals. After extensive renovations, the retail café space opened its doors in April 2022.

For Kornbluh, the vision of the retail café has only just begun. Already, the mercantile has been populated with all kinds of simple living products that Kornbluh and his staff love. There are body care products, juice presses, organic cotton napkins, coffee and coffee brewing products that are just a few examples. Of course, the mercantile carries Bluecorn’s flagship beeswax candle line and its scented candles. While the business is venturing into the sales of different housewares and body products, he says

the beeswax candles are still the backbone and spine of Bluecorn, which is why it’s so unique to sit and enjoy a coffee and lunch while watching one of the 30 Bluecorn employees strategically dip racks of tapered candles into nearby vats of hot beeswax.

“We have been blessed with our employees,” he says. “We seem to be attracting a really high caliber of people to work with us. It’s a great place to work and a great scene. It’s clean, quiet and chill. This place is so inviting for both customers and employees. I really want to maintain this feeling of welcoming and simplicity. It’s just a great place to hang.”

Kornbluh hopes to have a liquor license in place soon to pair with future planned events at the mercantile café, including musical events produced by Pickin’ Productions, weekly community candle-making nights and book readings. “We’ve only just begun, and we are pretty darn excited for what we built and what’s coming,” he adds.

Be sure to visit beeswaxcandles.com for all Bluecorn products, as well as Kornbluh’s blog on his journey into making beeswax candles, starting in an off-the-grid cabin near Telluride. :

Bluecorn Beeswax founder Jon Kornbluh

Visit bluecorncafemontrose.com for more information on Bluecorn Café & Mercantile, including its menu. The café is open every day but Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

www.studiomwarch.com

Resilient Design Guided by a Love of Wild Places.

A TREAT FOR YOUR EARS crêpe girl

Words by Gabriela Reitz | Photo by Honor Blevins

When thinking of crêpes, your mind probably conjures mouthwatering images of a French delight, not the sound of indie music. Eliza Grégoire, known on stage as “crêpe girl,” hits on both senses.

Born in Indiana to French parents, Grégoire initially moved to Grand Junction to race for Colorado Mesa University’s cycling team. Now, she’s planted roots in different ways — first with her crêpe stand, LULU Crêpe, and now by writing and performing music as crêpe girl (casually branded in all lowercase).

“It’s kind of funny, because I literally make crêpes, and I’m French, so it’s part of my culture,” Grégoire explains, speaking in a light accent.

While her voice alludes to her European heritage, her style of brown Converse and a long tee oozes an edgy, cool confidence — a call-out to the musician side of her crêpe aesthetic.

Crêpe girl is the definition of self-made. After teaching herself the guitar at the age of 10, Grégoire went on to learn the drums, bass, vocals and a little bit of keyboard. Not only does she write and play her own songs, but she produces everything from the comfort of her bedroom.

“I really like teaching myself production,” she explains. “Nowadays, you can look up a YouTube video for anything.” To Grégoire, writing music is both fun and a challenge. “I just like it so much,” she adds. “And, I like each of my songs for different reasons.”

Her most recent song, “Try Me Out,” is more artistically “open” than her other songs, meaning she didn’t follow any music rules and she “just went with what [she] felt.” While most of her songs are about love and relationships, she says that it’s up to the listener to interpret

them as whatever makes the most sense to them personally.

“When you release a song, it’s not yours anymore … Whatever the listener thinks the song is about, they’re right,” she says. And crêpe girl’s listener count is on the rise! At the beginning of this year, she had just under 1,000 monthly Spotify listeners. By summertime, she reached 20,000.

The best part of writing music, Grégoire says, is performing it. This past spring, she performed her biggest shows to date when opening for one of her favorite artists and musical inspirations, Del Water Gap. The audiences at these shows were upwards of 600 people, and Grégoire describes it as “the best experience [she’s] ever had.”

The process of performing with bigger bands and in front of bigger audiences has taught her various lessons, the most important one being to always “shoot your shot ... with everything.” Because Grégoire doesn’t have a manager, she’s the person who reaches out to artists about opening at their shows; she reasons that “the worst thing they can say is no,” a response that is very common in the music industry. “I’m way more used to rejection than people saying yes,” she elaborates, “but sometimes they say yes, and it’s incredible.”

While her listener count continues to rise, and she’s performing in front of bigger audiences, Grégoire plans to stay in Grand Junction. She argues that with everything being online nowadays, there’s no need to move to a bigger city, and why would she when she loves the Western Colorado area?

“I happen to make music in a time where I can build an audience from my computer,” she explains. Not only can she share her music from Grand Junction, but the fact that it’s not a big city with music influencers telling her what to do is also appealing. “I think, in general, Grand Junction is beautiful,” Grégoire details, “but also the slower pace and seclusion makes it easier for me to write what I want.” Needless to say, crêpe girl is staying in the area to satisfy all your senses — with tasty treats and even better music. : Located at the base of Mt. Garfield, The Blue Beryl Winery serves traditional dry wines — estate grown and made — with a local Palisade twist. Enjoy the wine and the view.

3587 G 7/10 Rd Palisade, CO 81526 970.712.0679 theblueberylwinery.com

CONSCIOUS FARMING PRACTICES YIELD BETTER PORK WINDDRIFT FARMS

Words + Photos by Gus Jarvis

Jan, Dave and George Rosenbaum

“I t has that malty, graham cracker smell,” he says, holding a handful of dark brown feed. “This is what makes our pork taste so good.” George Rosenbaum, along with his parents, Jan and Dave, operate Winddrift Farms in Olathe, Colorado, where corn, barley and soybeans are grown to build the feed needed for the 600700 fat hogs they sell to their customers each year. The dark feed made of roasted soybeans and barley is just one of the details that make Winddrift Farms’ pork so special. From no-till farming and regenerative farming practices to the genetics of the sows, and their dedication to just pricing, the Rosenbaums’ focus on every aspect of the operation is what makes their product one-of-a-kind.

“We treat our entire operation as one organism,” George Rosenbaum says. “Our first thought in anything we do is how will it affect our soil health? Everything we grow from that soil is going into our feed. Higher quality soil means higher quality crops which means higher quality feed and bedding. In the end, you are getting higher quality pork.”

Over the last 20 years, the Rosenbaums have cultivated relationships with their customers

based on just pricing, rather than relying on a traditional supply-and-demand model. The diversity in their consumers, along with the operation’s reliance on its own-grown crops for feed, provides stability for both pork pricing and the demand of their product. Their focus on being insulated from the national pork and commodities markets is the result of some tough times in the early 1980s.

After working at the nearby Grett Dairy and realizing running a dairy farm of their own was untenable due to expense, Jan and Dave Rosenbaum first launched Winddrift Farms in 1978. With the help of a friend, they took the leap into a pig operation selling hogs on the national market.

“We decided to jump in with a 100-sow operation. It was a big jump,” Dave Rosenbaum recalls. “At that time, we were sending semitruck loads of hogs out to Modesto, California. We were pretty good at it.”

In order to take that leap into the business, they utilized a loan to purchase property to operate on, as well as a production credit loan. Both loans had variable interest rates. During the recession of 1980, the interest rate on their loans climbed from 4% to 16%. Meanwhile, the national price of pork crashed from 55 cents a pound to 24 cents.

“We had no bargaining power,” he admits, adding that the hogs their sows were producing were going almost too well, and that came at a cost. “We had great production, but every additional pig a sow kicked out cost us more than the hogs we were selling.”

Working to make some sort of profit, Dave Rosenbaum had the pork USDA inspected in Cedaredge in order to sell hogs wholesale closer to home. While selling to a small handful of independent markets didn’t pull the couple from their debt, it did implant an idea in Dave’s head that selling pork direct to consumers at a just price made more sense. “Even though the price for us dropped, the price in the grocery store

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George Rosenbaum tends to his soybean crop.

hadn’t changed that much,” Dave Rosenbaum says. “That taught me that the price markup is not to the wholesale market necessarily, but wholesale to retail was making all the money at that time. That developed the idea in the long run to sell to our consumers at a fair and just price that is not market based.”

In debt and unable to sell their large operation of hogs at a price to keep them afloat, Jan and Dave Rosenbaum quit the hog business for good. They shifted their careers toward teaching in Peru, and later, teaching in Olathe. “We spent 10 years in the penalty box paying off our loans,” Dave Rosenbaum says. “We were never going to do it again.”

They vowed never to do it again until their children’s 4-H projects brought them two exceptional sows. Over time, they began to inch themselves back into the hog-producing business thanks to the two sows their daughters Nancy and Betsy raised. In that time, Dave and Jan Rosenbaum built relationships with a few Hispanic families working in and around the ever-evolving construction boom(s) in Telluride. In fact, their sole marketing campaign consisted of a sign painted “Se Venden Puercos.” Their customer base grew even more when Sunnyside Farms Market opened in Durango, which was eager to carry locally-raised pork products. Little-by-little, Jan and Dave Rosenbaum inched themselves back into the hog business, but this time, the focus was on direct-to-consumer sales and wholesale based on just pricing. “It’s a market of consensus rather than an opportunistic market,” George Rosenbaum believes.

While their business grew on more solid ground this time, Winddrift Farms was still tied to the national market, because the feed they used was still being purchased. George Rosenbaum, now in his 30s, had spent time in Maui building houses. He decided to come home to be a part of the farming operations, particularly with growing a rotating crop of corn, barley and soybeans on approximately 135 acres.

“They developed the good market and the good genetics of the pigs, but they were buying all the feed on the national market, so the next step in vertical integration for us was now the feed production,” George Rosenbaum shares. “Regenerative farming is what we are aiming for. While producing our feed, we want to leave the soil better than what it was.”

He says there’s a lot of economics, science and experimentation in their farming methods that are ever evolving and improving. For starters, they don’t use insecticides and are 100% no till. To keep symbiotic bacteria and organic matter in the soil, they rotate the three crops on their fields. This also allows for a lot less use of insecticide than other farms in the area, as the healthier soil is able to ward off some of those bugs on its own. The corn, barley and soybeans are not only used to feed the animals, but the leftover stalks from the corn and barley are used as bedding for the hogs. This combination of bedding, along with the animal scat, are then put back into the fields to ensure the soil’s nitrogen components are prime for the next crops’ success.

“I lived ten years in Maui building custom homes,” George Rosenbaum says. “I love building, and I love Maui, but at the root of it, I knew I would never do that forever, because what I was doing for a living was contributing to what I didn’t like about Maui. Here, I know I am improving a piece of land, and I am providing a high-quality feed and nutrient source consciously.”

He adds that their crop of soybeans is of particular importance, as there’s nobody in the area growing them, and, on top of that, there’s nobody roasting the soybeans and pressing the soybeans to remove the oil (many use chemical separation) for the feed. The end pork product is just better.

“Everything has a benefit. The roasting of the soybeans and the barley creates that nutty, malty, barley flavor, and it really adds to the pork fat,” George Rosenbaum says. “It is so damn good, and I know it comes from a good place.”

“We have happy animals, and that really matters to us,” Jan Rosenbaum shares. “We have great customers, and they all treat us with such respect, because we respect them.”

“I am so proud of our sow heard,” Dave Rosenbaum adds. “It has been developed over time to produce well in these conditions. And, our just price reputation for a straightforward, win-win relationship with our customers is intended to benefit both members of the deal. If we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t do it.” :

Anyone interested in purchasing pork from Winddrift Farms should visit Sunnyside Farms Market in Durango or Kinikin Craft Butchers and Processing in Montrose.

“It has that malty, graham cracker smell,” George Rosenbaum says, holding a handful of dark brown feed. “This is what makes our pork taste so good.”

Words by Kristen Grace | Photos courtesy of Tom + Elizabeth Lutes

Restore Hyper Wellness is bringing innovative wellness services to people across the nation. Cryomedspa in Durango provides Restore’s signature services. Their services are all centered around the goal to help people “do more” of what they love by optimizing vitality.

“Our purpose as human beings is to evolve. Evolving takes energy, and energy takes vitality,” Elizabeth Lutes, co-owner of Cryomedspa in Durango and Restore in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, said as she received a vitamin cocktail via an IV drip.

IV Drip Therapy is among the many wellness modalities offered by Restore. The IV Drip provides vitamins, minerals, nutrients and amino acids in a saline solution. Registered nurses always oversee the medical processes at Cryomedspa and Restore, review health history and create an individualized protocol to ensure the most effective outcome. Additional services include Cryotherapy, an Infrared Sauna and Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, plus other state-of-the-art offerings.

Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, is designed to boost energy, activate healing and defy signs of aging. “Forever, people have been using cold as a way of stimulating circulation,” Elizabeth Lutes shares. It works by sending your body into a sympathetic nervous state, renewing your cells and leaving you feeling fresh. You walk into a futuristic-looking cubicle chilled with nitrogen and walk out feeling revived and peaceful, thanks to the endorphin release.

“All the blood is rushing to your core, getting nice and oxygenated. Then, when you get out, that oxygenated blood goes back out to your extremities,” Max Allen, Restore regional manager, explains. A full-body Cryotherapy session takes just two to three minutes. Localized Cryotherapy is also offered to people who need more specific treatments.

The Infrared Sauna is an enticing and ambient room for one. “The difference between a traditional sauna and an infrared sauna is [the latter] uses infrared light to heat what is in the chamber, so it’s heating your body from the inside out,” Allen explains. Some of the numerous benefits of the Infrared Sauna are detoxification, cardiovascular maintenance and muscle recovery. You can adjust the color of the light, and all the variants on the spectrum have unique benefits.

Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves settling into a chamber and receiving 90 to 95% pure oxygen through a nasal canula. Oxygen is a great healer, as Allen points out, so anyone recuperating from injury or illness, people recovering from cancer, those with autoimmune or neurological disorders and athletes seeking enhanced performance find the oxygen chamber to be helpful.

“[Restore is] a perfect way of helping people access deeper levels of health,” says Tom Lutes, co-owner of Cryomedspa and Restore Hyper Wellness. In addition to the core wellness services, Cryomedspa’s and Restore’s licensed aestheticians provide Hydrafacials and Cryoskin treatments.

Restore is membership-based and treatments are individualized; clients can drop in for a quick, two-minute Cryotherapy session or stay longer for a facial and relax in the Infrared Sauna (or any combination of treatments that fit their needs). “It’s a fun place to help people heal,” Allen says, zealously. Restore brings many wellness modalities together, so anyone can find refreshing vitality.

Elizabeth Lutes believes vitality exists in four dimensions — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Tom Lutes agrees, saying that depth in each of the four realms of vitality is fundamental to a person’s overall well-being. He believes that being rooted in dimensional wellness gives people the freedom to expand and contract, bend and not break. He shares, “Roots are core strength — core strength physically, core strength emotionally, mentally, spiritually.”

“Roots are [your] ability to contact deeper and deeper levels of self,” Tom Lutes proclaims. Elizabeth Lutes emphasizes, “The deeper the roots, the more you’re able to flower and reach out and explore.”

Restore is guiding people to vivacity by helping to ensure the efficiency of their bodily systems and renew their mindsets because, as Elizabeth and Tom Lutes believe, mindset is causative. Restore helps people plant intentional roots in their well-being and vitality; deeply rooted in wellness practices, you can expand your capacity to “do more” of what you love. :

cryomedspadurango.com restore.com

At REGENESIS PLASTIC SURGERY, DERMATOLOGY & SPA, helping you look good, feel good, and be happy in your own skin is our goal. Our team of BoardCertified physicians offer both surgical and nonsurgical procedures. Our plastic and facial surgeons, Dr. Hartshorn, Dr. Swelstad, and Dr. Pitcher, are experts in facial, body contouring, and reconstruction, while our Dermatologist, Dr. Kappius, is the authority in skin cancer detection and the treatment of skin disease.

Our new medical Spa at ReGenesis holistically serves clients through a full-service spa experience in a beautiful and relaxing environment. With certified laser technicians, medical aestheticians, and massage therapists working together under the guidance of Medical Director, Dr. Kappius, our team can help you from head-to-toe. Our medical grade aesthetic services include HydroLuxx™ Facials, microneedling, dermaplane, and chemical peels. Laser services with our ADVATx, IPL, and CO2 lasers to eliminate veins, sun spots, unwanted hair, and resurface the skin. Our

massage therapist provides Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Lymphatic massage customized to each client’s unique and specific needs. Our physicians also offer Botox® and fillers to help each client achieve their individualized goals and desired outcomes.

Founded in 2007 by Dr. Hartshorn and Dr. Swelstad, the practice has grown rapidly through referrals and testimonials from local patients and patients from across the county. “The catalyst for ReGenesis was our drive to develop an environment that was comfortable and focused on plastic surgery, specifically aesthetic surgery. Patients want to be in a soothing locale, be able to confidentially discuss their concerns and wishes, and feel they are in the presence of professionals who care about them and their safety. My favorite part of my day is when patients return happy, empowered, and have gained personal confidence from what we have done.

Be it cosmetic improvement to bring back their feelings of self-confidence, or disease management like skin cancer removal or reconstruction so it is unnoticeable following unexpected trauma. It is the joy of personal relationships developed with patients as they develop trust in us and enjoy our expertise and results. I love coming to work every day!” said Dr. Hartshorn.

ReGenesis accomplishes these amazing results with their team of Board-Certified Physicians, certified Physician Assistants, certified aestheticians, laser specialists, massage therapists, and knowledgeable and caring staff. Each person who walks through our doors is unique and special in their own way and we honor that.

ReGenesis Plastic Surgery, Dermatology & Spa is here to provide exceptional care, safe and effective surgeries, procedures with distinct outcomes, aesthetic treatments, and skincare products that help clients look and feel their best in their own skin. Because you are worth a beautiful investment — yourself!

2515 Foresight Circle / Suite 100 Grand Junction, Co., 81505 970.242.8177 regenesisplasticsurgery.com Mon - Thurs 8am - 5pm / Fri 8am - 4pm

gatherings + getaways guide Special Advertising Section

SKYDIVE MOAB

The Skydive Moab reputation speaks for itself. With over 700 ‘Excellent’ reviews on TripAdvisor, they are the most rated skydiving company in Utah. Since they opened in 2003, their focus has been on safety and excellence. In their quest for excellence, they have added a new airplane to their fleet, a Cessna Caravan — it holds 19 skydivers! But don’t just take our word for it, check out TripAdvisor and see for yourself what others have to say about Skydive Moab! Over 75 years of combined skydiving experience and 100,000+ jumps our staff has accumulated.

skydivemoab.com 435.259.JUMP(5867)

KEBLER CORNER

Kebler Corner is known as the place to be in the summer when you visit the North Fork Valley and Kebler Pass … but have you ever been in the area during the winter? It is a truly magical spot. The property features five winter cabins of varying sizes and price points. Each cabin has heat, a private bathroom and a kitchen or kitchenette. Kebler Corner offers ample snowshoeing and cross country skiing, nearby access to backcountry skiing and snowmobiling, Wi-Fi and even a grocery delivery service. This small, family-owned and operated, pet friendly property also has indoor space that is used as a yoga studio or a group gathering spot. If you are looking to get away from the resort crowds and revel in the peace and beauty of a winter wonderland — Kebler Corner is the place for you!

keblercorner.com 970.929.5029

gatherings + getaways guide Special Advertising Section

CampV Inspired Shelter for the Spirited Wanderer CampV was established in 1942 by the Vanadium Corporation to house the engineers who worked in the uranium mines outside of Naturita, Colorado. In 2020, this historic gem was restored by StudioVille Crew to welcome wanderers to a remote and scenic corner of Southwest Colorado. Discover your Wild without the crowds.

Beautiful with a tiny bit of dirt under the fingernails and 120 acres to explore, travelers can sleep well in one of the newly reimagined historic cabins, glamping tents, Jupes, airstreams or riverfront camping.

Through our arts non-profit WEarts, explorers can experience our curated art and support art and creative programming in a rural community. When you’re ready for a mission, check out Planet V, our annual arts and music gathering over Memorial Day, and prepare to lift off.

campv.com 970.369.9520

WILD WEST BALLOON ADVENTURES

Floating in a hot air balloon surrounded by the vibrant fall colors is one of the most spectacular things you can imagine. Wild West Balloon Adventures, located in the heart of Steamboat Springs, offers you the chance to experience the Colorado mountains like you never have before. Imagine soaring above the glistening Yampa River, directly between Emerald Mountain and the Steamboat Ski area. The balloon flights always take place in the morning, leaving you plenty of time to head out on your next activity. You will fly with Bud Whitehead, owner and operator of the company. His experience and skill in the air will leave you feeling safe while you get to relax and take in the views.

A must on any traveler’s list, a ride with Wild West Balloon Adventures will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

wildwestballooning.com 970.879.9191

gatherings + getaways guide Special Advertising Section

FALL EVENTS ON THE LOWELL SCHOOL COMMONS

The Lowell School Commons is downtown Grand Junction’s newest outdoor open space, located at the Historic Lowell School (310 North 7th Street). Please join us at these upcoming events: – First Friday of Every Month: First Friday

Art Happenings. Featuring a new local artist each month. – September 15: 7th & Grand Wine Bar

Celebration. Enjoy your favorite wines from several regional wineries. A benefit for Mesa

County Habitat for Humanity. – September 29: Artisans and Makers

Vendor Market. Find one-of-a-kind artisanal items made or sourced by local vendors. – October 1: Grand Valley Food Truck

Throwdown! Sample fare from a variety of popular food trucks and award-winning craft beer from Gemini Beer Co. Advance tickets recommended as this event may sell out. For more info, to purchase advance tickets, or to book your next event: MyDowntownGJ.com

CLIMBERS + COALMINERS FIND COMMON GROUND JOE’S VALLEY FESTIVAL

Words by Laura Mills | Photos courtesy of Joe’s Valley Festival

Located on the outskirts of Orangeville and Castle Dale lies Joe’s Valley — a bouldering paradise. With tens of thousands of unique rocks, fine grain sandstone, a wide variety of routes in every style and an unparalleled level of access, climbers from Salt Lake City began to develop the routes in this area in the mid-’90s. A landmark send of V13 Black Lung in 2000 caught the attention of the climbing community worldwide, and the buzz has never stopped.

Perseverance, tenacity, struggle, love, community and resilience are all words one would use to describe the sport of climbing. Similarly, those words could be used to describe the people of Emery County, Utah, home of Joe’s Valley and the surrounding towns. When Joe’s Valley was earning its claim to fame in the early 2000s, the cowboys and coalminers of Emery County were not thrilled to see a bunch of ragtag vagabonds with punk rock haircuts and wild personalities coming into their towns. These very towns had been the same for hundreds of years, relying on the coal mining industry, which had started to fall apart. With Emery County going from 20-plus coal mines down to three, hardship engulfed the community. Families and businesses began to disappear, leaving empty homes and shops in their place, making the fear

of this place becoming a ghost town all too real. The financial struggle combined with the tension building between the climbers and the locals was recipe for disaster, or maybe something beautiful.

It all began one Saturday in 2013, during the annual Orangeville and Castle Dale town clean-up. Unshowered, with taped fingers and dirt-covered clothes, the climbers who refer to themselves proudly as dirt bags, led by Steven Jeffery, showed up ready to work. Existing residents weren’t sure what to think, but as the day went on, they came to realize these dirt bags were here not just for the free food, but for the aid of the community. After the successful day of bonding and civic duty, Jeffery was asked by the city council to give a presentation on what bouldering was and why so many people were coming to Emery County for it. Jeffery gave his presentation on the valley, its routes, the “mattresses” on their backs known as crash pads and all things climbing in hopes that this would continue to bridge the gap.

He went back home and returned the following weekend to signs around the town saying, “We Love Our Rock Climbers.” Suddenly, Food Ranch, the town grocer, had climbing chalk and kombucha on the shelves with crash pads at the register available to rent. It seems as though Emery County had begun to accept that the climbers were adding to their town instead of taking away. There was serious potential for increased tourism to bring their beloved county out of its economic slump. Jeffery and his partner, Adriana Chimaras, had just the idea to keep this blossoming bond growing for years to come — a festival. Not a festival just focused on bouldering but, rather, focused on bringing together the interests of the townspeople and the boulderers who were beginning to call this place home.

In 2015, the first Joe’s Valley Festival came to life with stewardship as its backbone. Patrick Bodnar, rock climber and marketing manager of the festival, gave some insight as to what the weekend entails and how its success has

continued to help this community gain back financial stability.

“The festival can be broken up into three parts: clinics, climbing and community,” Bodnar states with a grin on his face.

Bodnar and the team behind the festival pack the weekend with a variety of activities. The festival offers trail building and bouldering clinics held by some of the industry’s best climbers, such as Ethan Pringle and Conrad Cooper; jewelry making taught by local jeweler San Rafeal Works; photography and videography clinics held by professional photographers and making massive pizzas at the local favorite, R Pizza. The grand finale of the weekend is a good old-fashioned rodeo — where the climbers are encouraged to participate.

“It’s old mining roads with easy access to thousands of deposits of boulders that brings climbers here, but it’s the insane level of community and the love from the locals that keep climbers coming back year after year,” Bodnar believes.

You will find people climbing in Joe’s Valley no matter the time of year. With shaded climbs available in the summer to higher-elevation routes accessible in the winter, Joe’s has become a place for nomads to put their feet down. With the success of the festival and the added diversity to the community, the economic future of this area is beginning to look bright once again. This has resulted in Joe’s Valley Festival earning the Economic Impact Award from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation in 2018 and Emery County putting a bill in place that protects over one million acres of this very land for climbers and recreators alike to use for years to come. All of this growth and positive economic impact has led to “The Fest.”

As Joe’s Valley Festival continues to grow, so does its mission. With the festival holding 501c3 status as a nonprofit, their big focus is continuing its advocacy group and adding more stewardship days throughout the year. The festival is held September 22-25, and tickets are in a choose-your-weekend type layout with custom gear and swag bags from sponsors depending on the level of ticket you select. This gives you the opportunity to customize your experience and truly get what you want out of the weekend. With Orangeville being less than three hours from Grand Junction, this place is a must-see on your upcoming fall road trip. :

joesvalleyfest.com

GEAR PROFILE EREM

Words by Kim Fuller | Photos courtesy of Erem

When it’s hotter than hot in the desert and very little can survive, “the cacti are humming.” That’s how Noah Swartz puts it, and he has big ideas about how certain cacti may just provide a big solution to some of the planet’s toughest challenges.

Swartz is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Erem, an outdoor brand focused on desert performance. This past spring, I spent several days in Joshua Tree, California with Swartz, the Erem team and several other journalists to learn about the company, their products and, most importantly, Erem’s commitment to plant one million cactus pear and the projected impact of this mission.

“As a desert company, we applaud the UN’s goal to plant one trillion trees but recognize that this goal isn’t relevant for a massive portion of the planet, and so, doesn’t go far enough,” says Swartz. “Planting cactus pear is a better solution for arid landscapes in terms of long-term carbon sequestration, protecting local ecology, revitalizing local economies and conserving precious water resources.”

Swartz emphasizes how one-third of the earth’s landmass is desert, and 20% of the global

population lives in the desert. Other parts of the world, including South America, Mexico and Africa, have already invested in large-scale cactus pear projects, but in America, Swartz says, every time someone has tried this for the past 120 years it hasn’t worked.

“Now, we’re at the point where we can look at all those past mistakes, and we have the potential to really make it happen for the first time in America,” he says.

So, what is it about this plant that holds this great potential? Known commonly as prickly pear, cactus pears have a great growth rate, their carbon sequestration is high, the fruit are in demand as food and the plants have biomass potential to be used as biofuel or fodder. The plants also need very little water in comparison to fruit trees (over 90% less water than orange trees, for instance). To start a new plant, all you have to do is cut a pad, let it dry for five days, then take that pad, dig a hole, put the pad in the earth and cover it with a little bit of soil, and you have a new plant. I actually planted one in Joshua Tree, and it’s just as easy as it sounds.

Certain cacti, cactus pear in particular, breathe in carbon, but underground they take that carbon and store it, not as CO2, but as mineral — calcium carbonate. This move of carbon underground is a permanent sequestration, even after the cactus dies. With the plant’s impressive ability to pull carbon from Earth’s atmosphere, Erem’s initial goal of planning 1 million cactus pear (which they have calculated will take around 2,000 acres) has the effect of taking 40,000 cars off the road every single year.

In addition, this move to grow large quantities of cactus pear can produce calories in the fruit and pads to feed hundreds of thousands of people. The cactus pear can be turned into renewable bioenergy and can also be used as a form of cattle feed, so the economic potential from this plant is multi-fold and stands strong alongside its environmental benefits.

“If you used to be a cotton farmer in Arizona, you have a very big problem on your hands,” says Swartz. “You have thousands of acres of plants you can no longer grow, because you can’t get water to grow it, so what are you going to grow? We have a solution for you. With 2,000 acres, a cotton farmer who used to get subsidized water can work with this solution that is going to be good for the planet and good for their bottom line.”

Erem’s brand pillars are to deliver bestin-class performance for the desert, raise the sustainability bar for the outdoor industry and look to the desert for the planet’s biggest challenges.

“One of our founding beliefs is that the desert is under-represented and under-thoughtof in a lot of different ways, including when we think about some of our climate’s biggest challenges,” Swartz shares. “We think this is our responsibility to uncover what we believe is a global-type solution; we think it’s our responsibility to push it.”

Erem started this mission by planting its first 250 cactus pear cacti at a pilot site outside of Joshua Tree and is now scaling its Cactus Pear Program by cultivating thousands more plantings at a time. Erem will use proceeds from every sale of its products to fund this program until the goal of a million cacti is reached with partner farmers all over the world.

I haven’t even touched on their desert hiking boots, but I can attest that the brand’s commitment to quality stands out as much as its sustainability initiatives. Erem’s Xerocole collection provides the protection and support you need in harsh desert environments, and the collection uses only materials with 100% proven paths back to nature — a methodology they are trademarking as Biocircular.

The name “Erem,” pronounced Eh-rem, is an acronym adapted from the ancient Greek word for desert that stands for Exceptional, Responsible, Enduring and Motivated. This is the company’s product promise and brand philosophy. :

To learn more, visit eremlife.com.

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Mountain Hardware Stryder Pant For hiking, backpacking and camping, this durable jogger has an adjustable belt to provide the perfect fit. The nylon fabric dries quickly and features a DWR finish to shed moisture. We love the grey camo print! $75 mountainhardwear.com Pactimo Summit Aero Mesh SS Jersey We really put this jersey to the test during some hot days this year. Pactimo and 37.5 Technology partnered to create cycling wear to help regulate your core temperature by removing humidity from your apparel. The lightweight mesh fabric works wonders when the temps seem too hot to handle. $163 pactimo.com

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Words by Kimberly Nicoletti | Photo by Maurizio Torry

Cameron Smith Succeeds by Training in Ways That Feel Right to Him, Not a Coach

Cameron Smith isn’t your typical Olympic athlete. He didn’t grow up dreaming of skiing in the Games; in fact, his chosen sport — ski mountaineering — won’t be eligible as an Olympic event until 2026. Smith didn’t even love skiing as a kid; living in the flatlands in Rockford, Illinois, his athletic interest revolved around running. Only occasionally did he get to the little Midwestern ski hills. Nevertheless, Smith exemplifies how carving out your own way as an athlete can lead not only to record-breaking success, but also to a balanced, fulfilling lifestyle.

While most Olympic-bound competitors have at least one coach, Smith prefers to skip coaching in favor of following his own body wisdom and academic knowledge. With a degree in exercise science from Western Colorado University, he ascribes to scientifically-based training, from working out in the gym to biking, skiing, skinning and running; it’s just a matter of when he does each activity. If he’s psyched to mountain bike, he’ll put on the miles, but if he’s tired from work, he’ll dial it back a bit.

In addition to not growing up as a skier, he faces a couple of hurdles European skimo athletes do not. First, he works full-time at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte every summer. Second, he doesn’t live in Europe, where skimo is popular. To address the first, he lets his internal drive — along with an early alarm clock — steer his day.

“I think my success isn’t in spite of having balance in life but, largely, because of it. Since I do things that motivate me and keep training fun while keeping balanced with holding down a meaningful job, I’m able to stay consistent over the years,” he believes. “Most athletes struggle with burnout and injury problems over time, but I believe a big part of my success lately has been that I do things that bring me joy and train in a variety of ways. I wake up every day excited for whatever training I’m going to do, and that helps me get the most out of myself in the long run.”

To make up for not living oversees, where intense World Cup skimo racers train, the Crested-Butte-based athlete has decided to spend the entire winter training and racing in Europe. There, he plans to focus on sprint and relay, since only those more intense disciplines of skimo — and not his stronger event, vertical — will be Olympic events in Italy.

“I do okay in sprints, especially relative to other Americans … but I’m small — 5’9”, 130 pounds — so a powerful, short event doesn’t maximize my strengths, which are more grinds, where endurance and fitness plays more of a role than pure strength,” he explains.

So, he’s practicing more explosive interval training.

“What stands out to me most about Cam is sheer dedication to the sport and improving himself in any way he can,” shares training partner and friend Logan Greydanus. “Cam doesn’t come from a mountain sports background growing up in the Midwest, so he doesn’t have many of the advantages that starting a sport really young brings. Instead, he really puts in the time to be the best of the best. This can take the form of waking up super early to get a workout in before work or really drilling down on identifying weaknesses and focusing on improving them.”

As if excelling in one sport isn’t enough, Smith recently qualified for team USA for the Mountain and Trail Running World Championships, which will be held in Thailand in early November. Though Smith found some success in competitive running in middle and high school, he ultimately stopped revolving his life around the sport because, “I was good, not great at it,” and small injuries began to add up.

“I was devastated when I couldn’t run because of stress fractures toward the end of high school. It was too much stress,” he says. “It was unhealthy how invested I was in the sport.”

Through those experiences, he learned to view life in a less competitive light and take the pressure off of himself.

“I realize now that the result isn’t everything,” he adds. “There’s so much more to life, and if a race doesn’t go well, I can still take satisfaction in the journey I took to get there, because it’s motivating me, and it has taken me to beautiful places.”

Since college, he has enjoyed the social, fun and adventurous aspects of sports, so much so that when he visited his older sister at Western Colorado University, and she took him skiing and climbing, he fell in love with the lifestyle — which was ironic, because he swore he wouldn’t enroll in the same university his sister attended and the same one his parents met at as college kids. But, mountains can be persuasive; he not only earned a degree from the school, but also coached skimo there for the past four years.

Though being in Europe will prevent him from coaching there this winter, he still plans to work summers at Adaptive Sports Center, because he “fell in love with meeting interesting people with great stories and perspectives,” he explains. “Seeing their lives change right in front of your eyes — there’s nothing more important I can do than being with that person in that moment.”

While Smith is proud of making the USA Skimo team, being the first North American man to make the podium in World Cup skimo, placing first in the 2018 Grand Traverse ski, run, dual sport and triple crown, and being the 2019 Sprint national champion, there’s much more to him than stats.

“Cam embodies the phrase ‘hometown hero’ more than anyone else I know, even though he wasn’t born in CB,” Greydanus says. “He spends a lot of his time giving back to the community through things like raising money for our local cancer support group, Living Journeys, coaching at the local Nordic center or working at the Adaptive Sports Center helping disabled folks get outside and enjoy the outdoors. With all this community engagement, it’s pretty hard to walk down the street with Cam and not have someone shout a hello or ask where he’ll be running or skiing the next morning. It’s cool to see how the community really rallies behind him and celebrates his successes when it comes time to race.”

Maybe that’s because he takes such an authentic approach to sports, encouraging people to “do things that are fun and motivating.”

“I hope that people can understand that you don’t have to sell out in any way and that sport is complementary to your lifestyle; it can’t be your entire identity and motivation to be alive,” he says, adding, “I just enjoy the process of trying to be my best.” :