Have a spooky, fun, creative, entertaining Halloween! Love, the ghouls at TheMountainCulture

After reading Chad Jackson’s post last week on the Teton Freedom Riders, check out this video Clay Curley made a few months back – also recommended by Chad Jackson. Yes, we’re getting ready for ski season. Yes, local filmmakers are premiering their ski movies (stay tuned for upcoming trailers), yes most locals just stocked up at the Jackson Hole Ski Club’s swap on Saturday. But, still. There are a few leaves left on the trees, a few trails free of snow, a few rides to be had. …

As the weather starts to change, temps drop, and there is not quite enough snow yet to start skinning, some of the folks in Telluride turn to the desert for off-season fun and weekend warrior projects.

Groups head to Moab for biking the Slick Rock experience, and others head to Indian Creek to battle it out on the beautiful parallel-sided sandstone cracks.

So, it’s now weekend Number Three for me. I still get reduced on a daily basis, but the strength and endurance is slowly returning and I am hoping to step up to some of those climbs that are on my “hit list.”

This weekend, I was in the presence of greatness with some rad climber couples. Dave M & Ximena and Melanie & Winslow– all versatile, hard climbers from Telluride that love what Indian Creek has to offer us in way of humility, strength and highs. Read More »

All I really want to do is improve at the sport I love.

Nothing breeds frustration like being on a plateau and not seeing any improvement for long stretches of time. So, I’ve recently decided to start an aggressive training regimen, complete with a decorated Army veteran – Dave Wahl – to coach me along the way. Read More »

Ski town culture in America is changing, and being a ski bum is not what it used to be. When I moved to Telluride about eleven years ago, fresh with dreams of scenes from Greg Stump’s “Blizzard of Ahhhs,” a big part of the draw was the culture of the people that seek out this sport.

Those people are now losing their foothold in American ski towns. It used to be easy to work a couple of jobs, go out at night, and attend one of the many themed parties from “the Loveboat” to “Ullr Bonfires.” These days it is seems that you really need an insider advantage to have a chance of survival.

What drew many of us to these places in the 80’s, 90’s etc, has now changed and is slowly, but surely barring others from entry. Being a ski bum is no longer what it used to be. Read More »

If you’ve frequented many mountain towns in the autumn months, you’ll notice a common theme: fall is a tranquil time.

The last chance to nab one more [insert your summer activity of choice here] beckons you off the couch, and winter is just around the corner. Carving pumpkins, starting up the woodstove again, ski swaps, and all that crap that is sappy but also nostalgia-inducing fun.

But then the precipitation comes, and since it’s often too cold to snow or a mix in-between drizzle, everyone is driven indoors. People in athletic towns go crazy without a fitness outlet, and it’s mind-boggling how the climbing gyms’ and athletic clubs’ parking lots swell overnight once the weather turns. Read More »

Fall is in the air … still.

It has been an incredibly long summer season in Jackson, which seems to still be kicking with this extended Indian summer (Editor’s Note: Now it’s raining and snowing, but when Chad wrote this a few days ago, the weather was brilliant).

I cannot remember a fall when the trees stayed yellow for this long and October had this many nice warm days. The morning air is cold and crisp but by midday the sunny days make it impossible to focus at work. My mind drifts to what I am going to do as soon as I am off work. I am going to ride Jimmy’s Mom. Read More »