Telluride Magazine Summer/Fall 2020

SUMMER/FALL 2020 $4.95 | priceless in Telluride LESS IS MORE • THE COMEBACK • BEING BLACK IN TELLURIDE ENDLESS WINTER • THE WORLD HAS MANY BUTTERFLIES

ALL-DAY SUNSHINE WILSON MESA HAVEN STUNNING VIEWS 4 Beds / 4.5 Baths / 2.15 Acres 35 Acres / Flat Meadows / Creek Frontage 7 Beds / 6.5 Baths / On 14th Green 307 Basque Blvd - Aldasoro Ranch Lot C, Posey Road - Wilson Mesa 131 AJ Drive - Mountain Village $2,995,000 $680,000 $4,795,000 HOUSE + GUEST HOUSE TRANQUIL LIVING GRADE A SKI ACCESS 7 Beds / 2.44 Acres / Huge Wilson Views 3 Beds / Horse Amenities / 35 Acres 5 Beds / 5.5 Baths / Direct Ski Access 92 Park Lane - Ski Ranches 185 South Point - Specie Mesa 403 Larkspur Lane - Mountain Village $1,895,000 $740,000 $4,200,000 STEVE CIECIUCH (Chet-chu) Director Te l l u r i d e A r e a R e a l E s t a t e . c o m

STEVE CIECIUCH [ Chet-chu ] The Art of Listening ELEGANCE ON FAIRWAY RIVER RANCH LUXURY SKI 7 Beds / 7.5 Baths / On 8th Fairway 318 Acres / 13 Beds / 1+ Mile River Frontage 7 Beds / 1.97 Acres / Beautiful Finish 139 Adams Ranch Rd - Mountain Village Red Rock River Ranch - Dolores River 133 Victoria Drive - Mountain Village $4,875,000 $9,500,000 $6,995,000 360° VIEWS COMMANDING VIEWS PRIME LOCATION 4.29 Acres / Incredible Views / Best Value .39 Acres / Ideal Parcel for Stunning Home 4 Beds / 4.5 Baths / Steps From Gondola Lot 73 Josefa Lane - Aldasoro Ranch Lots 11A & 7 Gregory Ave - Telluride 233 South Oak - Telluride $675,000 $1,395,000 Price Upon Request [email protected] | 970.708.2338 237 South Oak Street @ the Telluride Gondola Team [Chet-chu] Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu) Director Ellen Williamson Broker Associate

SLOPESIDE SKI HOME SWEEPING VIEWS Prestigious neighborhood with slopeside ski access & big views. Mountain elegant, 4-bed golf course home set on 1+ knoll-top acres. 141 Sundance Lane - Mountain Village $6,750,000 128 Adams Ranch Road - Mountain Village $4,095,000 AUBERGE RESORTS IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN 4 & 5 bedrooms enjoy private ski access, concierge, spa, & more. A combination of 8 bedrooms steps from skiing, restaurants & shopping. Auberge Resorts at Element 52 - Telluride $5.2M - $6M 403 West Colorado Avenue - Telluride $4,995,000 Video Tours at O N e i l l S t e t i n a G r o u p . c o m

Setting a Higher Standard in Telluride Real Estate EXCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ONLY ONE RE MAINING Rare offering on 25+ acres with exceptional views, 15 min. from Town. Modern 4 bedroom with views & convenience to everything. 175 Raspberry Patch Road - Raspberry Patch $6,995,000 Transfer Telluride, LoftHouse 2 - Telluride $4,450,000 MODERN LOG HOME CHOICE AMENITIES Enjoy perfect ski access & mountain views from this 5-bed home. Steps to ski/golf/gondola with 2 masters, game room, sauna & more. 120 Snowfield Drive - Mountain Village $6,600,000 184 Country Club Drive - Mountain Village $5,950,000 TOGETHER, WE DO MORE FOR YOU. Brian O’Neill, Director I 970.708.5367 I [email protected] Marty Stetina, Broker Associate I 970.708.4504

The Service and Expertise You Deserve PRIVATE SKI HOME POSTCARD PERFECT 5-Bed / Ski Access / Close to Gondola / Views / Private Setting Steps to Skiing / Protected Panoramic Views / Sunny .39 Acres 123 San Joaquin Road - Mountain Village $3,999,000 Lot 21, Cortina Drive - Mountain Village $1,295,000 VALUE SKI LOTS RIVER FRONTAGE 5-Bed / Ski Access / Close to Gondola / Views / Private Setting 200 ft of River Frontage / 1.22 Acres / Big Views / Minutes to Town Lots 4 & 5, San Joaquin Rd. - Mountain Village $310,000 / $335,000 Lot P3 - Idarado $1,695,000 “I value his “I have used Eric on a number of transactions in Telluride. He is extremely knowledgable about the local insight & Telluride market, including market trends, factors affecting value, etc . He places long-term client success trust him.“ before his own short-term gain. He is a good person, well integrated into, and well-liked by the local community. I will continue to use him without hesitation for all my real estate needs.” Ethan Miller ERIC SAUNDERS Broker Associate [email protected] | 970.708.2447 Saunders.SearchTellurideRealEstate.com I 237 South Oak Street @ the Telluride Gondola

From Any Perspective... Its a Beautiful Investment! REMARKABLE SETTING IN-TOWN HOME Mountain & Golf Course Views / 1.34-Acre Private Peninsula / 6 Beds Sunny Hillside Home / 4 Beds / Close to Skiing & Downtown 99 Pennington Place - Mountain Village $4,600,000 970 Primrose Lane - Telluride $2,500,000 PA N O R A M I C STUNNING VIEWS END-OF-THE-ROAD 360° Views / Contemporary Home Plans Privacy / Stunning Views / 3,279 s.f. 2.77 Acres Nestled in the Aspen / Great Views Lot 613-C1 - Mountain Village $399,0000 680 Elam Ridge Rd. - Hastings Mesa $995,000 105 W. Serapio - Aldasoro Ranch $469,000 A heart-felt salute to San Miguel County officials, our Medical Center, the benevolence of United Biomed Inc. AND those awesome front line providers and volunteers whose foresight and willingness to act on our behalf has gone a long way to keeping our county safe. “I am so proud to be a passenger on such a well guided ship!” DAMON DEMAS Seasoned Broker [email protected] | 970.708.2148 Damon.SearchTellurideRealEstate.com I 237 South Oak Street @ the Telluride Gondola

MOVING FORWARD from where you are, to where you want to be. Self-reflection on your quality of life and what’s important moving forward are undoubtedly heavy on your mind. Telluride Properties has been a market leader since 1986 and we remain committed to providing you with the necessary tools and proactive guidance required to make informed decisions in the pursuit of your goals. whit richardson photography CONNECT WITH US and start moving forward. 970.728.0808 I TellurideProperties.com I 237 S. Oak St. I 560 Mountain Village Blvd., Ste. 103 tellurideproperties @tellurideproperties LLURI DE A F E STIYOG TE June 24 - 27, 2021 VA L 201 W. Colorado Ave. Ste. 200 / (970) 729-1673 schedule at: tellurideyoga.com DROP-INS WELCOME / many styles and levels

Time for Sanctuary Telluride is the Place. If not now, when? SHIMKONIS PARTNERS Personal Touch, Expertly Crafted TellurideAreaHomes.com Mike Shimkonis, Director I 970.708.2157 I [email protected] Asa Van Gelder, Broker Associate & Appraiser I 970.708.1220 I [email protected]

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Michael J. Ward, CLHMS, GRI Lynn K. Ward, CLHMS 970.708.0932 • 970.708.0968 [email protected] 235 N OAK STREET, TELLURIDE LOT 333 BENCHMARK DRIVE, MOUNTAIN VILLAGE Located on North Oak Street, this home is contributing to the National Historic If you are looking for the ultimate private building site with premier direct ski-in/ski- Landmark District of Telluride. Built around 1900 and the garage/shed shortly out access in the most spectacular location with views than cannot be rivaled, look thereafter, the property is historically significant for its association with Telluride’s no further! This one-of-a-kind 1.68 acre estate parcel is located in one of the most early residential development. The home was remodeled around 1990 and is very coveted neighborhoods in Mountain Village, at one of the top ski areas in North livable with an open concept living area, four bedrooms, three full baths, and a flex America. Located at the top of Benchmark Drive and near prestigious neighbors, room/loft. The lot is more than twice the size of a standard town lot, providing an this lot comes to market for the first time in 15 years. Directly on the Double Cabins abundance of outdoor living and entertaining space. The storage shed can be used ski run, easy ski access can be enjoyed by all levels of skiers. Build your dream as a garage. Views from the home are spectacular and encompass Bear Creek home in this private, beautiful neighborhood and enjoy spectacular views from your and the box canyon. home in Telluride Mountain Village! $3,800,000 $2,495,000 TBD CORTINA DRIVE LOTS 3-7,10 3362 RANCH ROAD 207 E GREGORY AVENUE LOTS 8&9 MOUNTAIN VILLAGE RIDGWAY TELLURIDE Unique opportunity to own six unparalleled trailside lots Incredible opportunity to own a spectacular ranch Two spectacular land parcels totaling 5,000 square offering unrivaled amenities in a private setting with in San Juan Ranch near Ridgway and Telluride. This feet, with views of Bear Creek, the ski area, and majestic views and ski access. Owners may opt into amazing property offers 110.51 acres and includes a Telluride. An existing structure/cabin straddles the subdivision amenities including year-round pool and 1,143 square foot fully furnished two bedroom, two lot line between lots 8 and 9, so the lot line may be outdoor spa, owner’s lounge and patio with outdoor full bath guest home built in 2012 with a garage and vacated allowing for the construction of a single home. fireplace, spa treatment rooms, workout facilities, steam storage for two four-wheelers which are included with This provides tremendous flexibility for development room, concierge, ski valet, and private car service. Lots the property. Nearly two miles of off-road trails have of one larger home, or two smaller homes. Water range from 0.20 to 0.43 acres, and total 2.11 acres for been built providing lots of off-road fun! The property and sewer are currently provided to the cabin, with all six. All lots are either directly trailside or have easy ski contains stands of old-growth aspen, a natural rock no water/sewer tap fees for a house up to 2,500 sf. access. A developer’s dream, this is the last remaining quarry, seasonal water, and lots of wildlife. A main Convenient to shopping, dining, the Galloping Goose developer inventory at Cortina. Fabulous opportunity to home can be built, and views of the surrounding bus, and the Gondola Plaza providing easy ski access own six lots at an amazing price! mountains are spectacular! to skiing and the Mountain Village. Starting at $450,000 – Bulk Purchase $2,195,000 $1,350,000 $1,275,000

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16 • SUMMER/FALL 2020 DEPARTMENTS 19 WITHIN CONTENTS Emergence FEATURES 20 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 32 The Comeback Economic recovery in a resort town The Who, What, Where, By D. Dion and When in Telluride 34 Caregivers 22 LOCAL FLAVOR Photo essay By JT Thomas Choice Cuts 40 Endless Winter 24 MOUNTAIN HEALTH How one Telluride ski instructor chased snow for ten seasons By Katie Klingsporn Pandemic Newborns 46 Less is More 26 ASK JOCK Microdosing psychedelics is trending By Reilly Capps Athletic Advice from Our Mountain Guru 74 Being Black in Telluride A mother shares her experience of raising kids in a rural, white town 28 INSIDE ART By Angela Pashayan Otherworldly ESSAYS 52 FICTION 30 Passing Time Sheltered in place and examining the world around us “The World Has Many Butterflies” By Craig Childs By Curtis Sittenfeld 44 Thirsty for News 68 INNOVATION Searching for signs of life in America’s news deserts By Judy Muller Launched and Loaded 62 Rx for All 70 FICTION Forest bathing for better health By Michelle Curry Wright “Fairy Tale” By Emily St. John Mandel 64 Buttermilk on River-Right Seafood enchiladas with Jud Wiebe 76 TELLURIDE TURNS By Maple Andrew Taylor Seas of Trees, CROWNing TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020 Achievement, Life in Prison, Easy as π 84 ENVIRONMENT Voters to Decide Fate of Wolves 86 HISTORY Sequel: Telluride Film Festival in its Second Decade 94 COLOR BY NUMBERS Index of Facts and Figures 96 LAST LOOK Take it to the Streets

REDEFINING EXPECTATIONS OF MOUNTAIN DINING From the intimacy of Allred’s and exotic cuisine of Siam’s Talay Grille, to the healthy choices of Altezza at The Peaks, Telluride Ski Resort offers the finest range of dining experiences. This season, we invite you to unwind and enjoy the stunning views and exclusivity of mountain dining that you’ve been craving. TellurideSkiResort.com/Dining

18 • SUMMER/FALL 2020 Magazine Telluride Magazine is produced by Telluride Publishing LLC, Contributors EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL a locally owned and operated company. SARAH SHATZ Emily St. John Mandel (“Fairy Tale,” pp. 70–74) published her fifth novel, The Glass Hotel, this spring PUBLISHER © JOSEPHINE SITTENFELD in Canada and the U.S., and the title is forthcoming in TELLURIDE PUBLISHING LLC TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020 the U.K. in August. Her previous novels include Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award ~~~ and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and won the 2015 ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honors, and has been translated into thirty-three languages. She lives JENNY PAGE in New York City with her husband and daughter. ~~~ JT THOMAS EDITOR DEB DION KEES Photographer and writer JT Thomas (“Caregivers,” pp. 34–37) dwells on the northern edge of the ~~~ Colorado Plateau with his wily sister Aussie pups Suki CREATIVE DIRECTOR and Jetty. He learned to love this region as a 20-year- KRISTAL FRANKLIN old backcountry maid with the San Juan Hut System, which inspired him on to bigger seasonal adventures ~~~ in Alaska and Argentine Patagonia. Illogically, that DISTRIBUTION launched him into the wilderness of New York City TELLURIDE DELIVERS to become a full-time photojournalist focusing on science and environmental issues. His work ~~~ has appeared in High Country News, The New York Times, Discover Magazine, Science, Nature, National WEB ADMINISTRATOR Geographic, Le Monde, the International Center of SUSAN HAYSE Photography, and at the United Nations. ~~~ CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Reilly Capps, Craig Childs, Deanna Drew, Beth Ann Kelly, Katie Klingsporn, Jess Newens, Jen Parsons, Corinne Platt, Emily St. John Mandel, Judy Muller, Paul O’Rourke, Curtis Sittenfeld, Sarah Lavender Smith, Maple Andrew Taylor, Lance Waring, Lorraine Weissman, Michelle Curry Wright ~~~ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS Ryan Bonneau, Phil Borgeson, Kellie Day, Brooke Einbender, Tim Hartmuller, Melissa Plantz, Nathan Rist, JT Thomas ~~~ WWW.TELLURIDEMAGAZINE.COM Telluride Publishing produces the San Juan Skyway Visitor Guide and Telluride Magazine. Current and past issues are available on our website.. © 2020 Telluride Publishing For editorial inquiries call 970.708.0060 or email [email protected] For advertising information call 970.729.0913 or email [email protected] The annual subscription rate is $14.95. Cover and contents are fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. SUMMER/FALL 2020 CURTIS SITTENFELD $4.95 | priceless in Telluride Curtis Sittenfeld (“The World Has Many Butterflies,” LESS IS MORE • THE COMEBACK • BEING BLACK IN TELLURIDE pp. 52–60) is the New York Times bestselling author ENDLESS WINTER • THE WORLD HAS MANY BUTTERFLIES of the novels Prep, The Man of My Dreams, American Wife, Sisterland, Eligible, and Rodham, and the story ON THE COVER collection You Think It, I’ll Say It, which have been Longtime local photographer Melissa Plantz has translated into thirty languages. Her short stories documented every corner of Telluride and most of its have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington human and animal residents with her images. Post Magazine, Esquire, and The Best American Short Kristal Franklin illustrated the butterfly design, Stories, of which she was the 2020 guest editor. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The populating its wings with these images. Atlantic, Time, and Vanity Fair, and on public radio’s This American Life. DIGITAL PARTNER

Within h EMERGENCE Summer doesn’t just arrive in the Coming back to life after photo essay by JT Thomas, portraits mountains—it unfolds. Wild- the pandemic cocoon of all the caregivers who kept us safe flowers bloom in succession, dif- during the pandemic. There was also ferent varieties opening their colored a local who set the U.S. record for petals at different points in the sea- memorizing the digits of pi (“Easy son, starting at the lower elevations as Pi,” p. 82) and a 16-year-old girl and working up toward higher altitudes as the last If escape is your thing, however, this is the who raised money to donate more than a thou- vestiges of snow melt. Trees bud, light green with issue for you. We have two pieces of fiction to keep sand baby trees to be planted in the community promise, then deepen in color and end in a blaze of you entertained: an excerpt of The Glass Hotel by (“Seas of Trees,” p. 76). And, Colorado legislators yellow, red, orange. Rivers and creeks thunder and Emily St. John Mandel (“Fairy Tale,” pp. 70—74) abolished the death penalty (“Life in Prison,” flood before subsiding into a steady rhythm and and a short story by Curtis Sittenfeld (“The World p. 80) and passed the CROWN act (“CROWNing lazier flow. It’s a continuum, a process. Has Many Butterflies,” pp. 52–60). We also have Achievement,” p. 78). It will be much the same in Telluride as we a host of essays, including one about forest bath- One of the upsides of having to stay at home spread our wings after being cooped up inside ing (“Rx for All,” p. 62), another about the phe- this spring was the lack of obligations. We had during the pandemic. As people venture outside and nomenon of news deserts (“Thirsty for News,” time to indulge ourselves by reading, cooking, businesses slowly reopen, it’s almost like a meta- pp. 44–45), a piece about considering our close organizing, and connecting with people (even if it morphosis, an awakening. We examine that idea surroundings while quarantined (“Passing Time,” was just texting or in an online meeting room). As with stories in this issue like “The Comeback,” pp. p. 30), and one more about a fateful river trip in you emerge from this period of timelessness, when 32–33, about the region’s economic recovery, “Being which the river guide met Jud Wiebe, the person days seemed to melt into one another, and back Black in Telluride,” pp. 74-75, about raising black for whom the local trail is named (“Buttermilk on into the harried world of work and play and worry kids in a white town, and “Less is More,” pp. 46–48, River-Right,” pp. 64–66). and schedules, we hope you remember that feeling about the way microdosing hallucinogens can be We also explore some of the good things that of being still and content. Like all fearsome and transformational. There are also some people who happened this spring, while the world was in awful and unexpected things, the pandemic was, don’t want to wake up from the dream, or escape stasis. The babies born during the stay-at-home in some small ways, a gift. the short days and long nights of a ski season: Meet orders (“Pandemic Newborns,” p. 24), the rev- the local ski instructor who spent ten seasons chas- olutionary data privacy tech startup out of Tel- Happy reading, ing snow in “Endless Winter,” p. 40–42. luride (“Launched and Loaded,” p. 68), and a Deb Dion Kees SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 19

20 • TEEVELLNUTRCIADLEEFNADCAERS CALENDARSummer • Fall 2020 of EVENTS ARTS Ah Haa’s annual Art Auction goes online this year. The live auc- Telluride Blues & Brews Festival is slated for Sept. 18–20. The tion starts at 7:30 p.m. on July 17. The silent auction begins July 3. fall music festival features craft beers from all over the country Check out the items and register online. ahhaa.org and a beer tasting, as well as legendary music acts in Town Park Ah Haa School for the Arts has adapted its summer programming and at late night “Juke Joints” performances in local venues. to include online classes, private sessions for individuals and fam- tellurideblues.com ily groups of up to four people, and to-go art kits. Updated pro- Telluride Festival of Cars & Colors takes place Sept. 24–27. This gram information is available online. ahhaa.org annual celebration for automobile enthusiasts features a motor- Telluride Art Walk takes place the first Thursday of every month cycle concours, antique plane show, and exhibits of luxury and from 5–8 p.m., using a one-way route to visit gallery exhibits and classic cars. carsandcolors.com view window displays from the sidewalks. Live music will be Telluride Horror Show is scheduled for Oct. 16–18. The genre provided and participants are asked to wear masks and observe film festival screens independent horror, fantasy, and sci-fi mov- social distancing. telluridearts.org ies and hosts special programs, a pig roast, and industry guests. The 2020 Art + Architecture Weekend is July 13–19. Guests tour telluridehorrorshow.com homes in and enjoy the work of architects, designers, chefs and artists. telluridearts.org LIBRARY Telluride Theatre hosts its annual Midsummer Gala fundraiser The Wilkinson Public Library is hosting online workshops and July 31–August 1 with a party at a secret location. The 30th annual programs, offering curbside pickup and delivery service, has Shakespeare in the Park takes place August 22–30. Dates are ten- remote library access, and is making other resources available. tative and subject to change. telluridetheatre.org telluridelibrary.org FESTIVALS TRANSPORTATION Most of Telluride’s summer festivals have been cancelled or post- The Gondola will open June 15 and operate seven days a week, poned due to COVID-19 public health orders. The following is a ten- from 6:30 a.m. until midnight. Public health guidelines will be tative list of festivals that are still scheduled to occur. observed. townofmountainvillage.com Telluride Film Festival celebrates its 47th annual event Sept. 4–7. Buses include the Galloping Goose, which operates a town loop, The internationally acclaimed festival features world premieres, and SMART buses which offer service to Telluride, Norwood, Down movie stars, filmmakers, directors, and a free outdoor cinema. The Valley, Lawson Hill, and Rico. telluride-co.gov lineup is always kept secret until the day before the festival, but For more information about public health orders and regulations, a significant number of TFF premieres have gone on to win “Best please visit sanmiguelcounty.org/590/Coronavirus Picture” Academy Awards. telluridefilmfestival.org NATHAN RIST TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

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22 • LOCAL FLAVOR NATHAN RIST CCHUOTICSE TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020 Tomboy Butcher sells natural, humanely raised meat By Sarah Lavender Smith Standing at a wooden butcher table in a remodeled industrial workspace on Ilium Road, Sadie Farrington hoists a skinned pig in her muscular arms and traces a finger along the animal’s fat-marbled leg. “We utilize the whole pork, and this part will become prosciutto someday,” explains Farrington, who singlehandedly runs Tomboy Butcher, which she opened in September of 2019. She was speaking to a small group gathered next to a two-foot table saw and a meat grinder for a sausage-making class. Farrington looks nothing like the stereotypical brawny, blood-spattered male butcher. Standing 5’4” and at just 33 years old, she has a shape to her face and a smile that resemble Scarlett Johansson. The pig she is holding, of the Mangalista breed, came from a small farm only about 75 miles south- west of Telluride. Unlike much of the pork sold at a supermarket, this one was raised humanely and without antibiotics or hormones. As the only whole-animal butcher shop near Telluride, Tomboy Butcher has become an influen- tial link in the farm-to-table and locavore move- ments by striving to educate consumers about where their meat comes from while supporting ranchers and farmers in southwest Colorado who promote sustainability. Asked about her business goals, Farrington says, “I want people to have a connection to the food they are putting on their tables, to advocate for local farmers and ranchers who are making positive environmental changes to their farming practices, and to promote eating less meat with better quality.” Eat less meat? That’s an odd thing to hear a butcher say. But Farrington explains, “I would probably be a vegetarian if I was unable to get clean local meats.” Noting that the scale of beef eating in America is environmentally destructive and unsustainable, she says, “I’ve chosen to work with ranchers and farmers that are small and doing amazing work trying to find ways to be carbon neutral. This only works and can be profitable if people pay attention and support these ranchers.” Her business model works on a subscription basis, rather than through a storefront. Con- sumers subscribe through her website, tomboy- butcher.com, to receive a box of choice meat cuts a couple of times a month, and they can buy a la carte items. Each subscription comes with recipes

for the meat and information about the animal’s breed and where it was Quench raised. Her business has grown to more than seventy-five ordering 500 yThoiursrt pounds of meat per month. lunch & dinner • kids menu • full bar • outdoor patio Each animal comes straight to her shop from a regional processing facility and has been killed less than fourteen hours prior to its arrival. open every day • 728-3985 • www.oaktelluride.com “I let it hang for a few days depending on the carcass, and then I break the animal into primal cuts, sub-primal cuts, then ready-to-prepare cuts. SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 23 At that point, I will begin to plan out how to distribute the meat among the clients,” she says. Aiming for zero waste, she strives to use every portion of the butchered animal. Customers therefore are treated to jars of lard for baking and broth made from bones, as well as the meats. “It is all very labor intensive, but I have always gravitated towards working with my hands.” Farrington learned the butcher’s craft by raising farm animals during her upbringing in Northern California—participating in 4H and Future Farmers of America—and then she apprenticed with butchers in San Francisco. “I raised my own livestock to sell at our local auction as well as animals that fed our family,” she says. “My parents were both involved in agriculture and understood the importance of organic and food edu- cation. … My mother would always make a point to show respect and acknowledgment to the animal that was on our dinner table.” While studying photojournalism at the San Francisco Art Institute, she worked for free at a gourmet butcher shop called The Fatted Calf, where she learned from European butchers. “I would absorb as much as I could so I could understand carcass quality and how the life and death of the animal played into the meat quality,” she says. “I WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE FOOD THEY ARE PUTTING ON THEIR TABLES, TO ADVOCATE FOR LOCAL FARMERS AND RANCHERS WHO ARE MAKING POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES TO THEIR FARMING PRACTICES, AND TO PROMOTE EATING LESS MEAT WITH BETTER QUALITY.” Farrington moved to Telluride three years ago to work as the wine buyer for Dunton Hot Springs as well as sommelier for Allred’s restau- rant. When she got the idea for Tomboy Butcher, she visited Sunnyside Meats in Durango and met the woman who runs that processing facility. “We talked a lot about the lack of food education and the need for advo- cacy for local farmers and ranchers, and she put me in touch with many of the farmers and ranchers I work with today.” The meat she butchers and sells varies seasonally. “When you source items locally, you are experiencing the type of seasonal diet our ances- tors had. We live in a harsh climate with often long winters. For exam- ple, pasture-raised chickens in winter is not realistic for our climate.” Before the coronavirus hit, Farrington expanded into teaching a few introductory classes in her butcher shop. After the virus, she helped the local community by posting on her Instagram account that she would give away spare cuts as much as she could to anyone who is struggling with hunger in tough financial times. A few people took her up on her offer. She wants Tomboy Butcher to help diversify Telluride’s economy by thriving year-round and serving locals rather than depending on tourists. Mostly, she hopes to help locals feel more connected to the food they consume and to those who raise and cultivate it. “I’ve been so impressed with the quality of food coming out of our surrounding valleys, and the people getting into agriculture in the region because they love what they do. That pride and respect for their product is some- thing you’ll never find in big commercial agriculture, particularly in the livestock sector.” \\

24 • MOUNTAIN HEALTH PANDEMIC NEWBORNS Telluride Medical Center makes house calls for infants By Beth Ann Kelly My first google search upon MCGOUGH, DRESSED IN FULL story. “It just wouldn’t have been the learning I was pregnant: PROTECTIVE GEAR, IS ONE OF THE same experience if I couldn’t have the “What do very short, very father of my child with me holding my pregnant women look like?” ONLY PEOPLE TO HAVE hand,” Carly said. CONNECTED WITH MANY OF THESE Followed by: Should I choose a BABIES DURING THEIR FIRST MOST Emily McGough, the pediatric midwife or OB-GYN? Should my mom nurse at the Telluride Regional Medi- stay with us when the baby comes PRECIOUS WEEKS AT HOME. cal Center, estimates ten babies were home? Do I need to sign up for day- born in Telluride during the early shel- care now? Oh god, do I need to get on St Mary’s Birthing Center in Grand but how we were going to do it was ter-at-home days of the pandemic. a waiting list for preschool? Junction in a negative airflow room the question.” surrounded by medical staff wearing McGough, dressed in full protec- Other questions kept me up at protective gear. The answer was three weeks tive gear, is one of the only people to night: Will my child be healthy? Will early, according to their son Patrick, have connected with many of these I be a good parent? Can I eat a tur- On April 5, Rowan was born, who was born on March 25. babies during their first most pre- key sandwich? The future seemed entirely indifferent to the coronavi- cious weeks at home. “I took vitals, suddenly and wildly uncertain. rus, and very healthy. These births, mind you, came measured weight, oxygen levels, during a time when some hospitals head circumference, body length. I But this pregnancy was experi- Carly and Patrick Latcham’s due were opting to keep partners out of checked every part of the baby, from enced on another planet. A distant date for their first child was April 15. labor rooms, in the hopes of staving off head to toe,” said McGough. planet named 2012. And so I also felt Carly said, “We knew we were going the spread of COVID-19. Fortunately, optimistic—confident even—that to give birth during the pandemic, that would not be Carly or Kristen’s During each home visit she made whatever lie ahead would fit into a in March and April she’d loop in Dr. normal paradigm. Kent Gaylord on an iPad so he, too, could see the baby and talk with par- Now don’t get me wrong, there ents and answer questions. For these were problems in 2012. Some of the new mothers, whose pregnancy inter- issues were obvious, others unad- net searches sent them to the Centers dressed and roiling—but for better for Disease Control and World Health or worse, I did feel free to occasion- Organization’s websites, the com- ally direct my attention away from fort of having access to quality care, those issues, sometimes even for in their own home, was profound. hours at a time. “Originally we worried about bring- ing a child into the world during the I can’t help but to juxtapose my coronavirus pandemic, but the sup- experience with those of the these port from the Telluride community women: mothers of babies born put those worries at ease. We were so during the pandemic. grateful for Emily to visit with our son. It was such a relief,” said Carly. But I don’t bring it up. Just as when I watch a tightrope walker, I Kristen likewise had deep appre- witness in quiet awe. I must wait for ciation for the support she and her her to arrive safely on the other side new family received, especially from before I erupt into hysterics. Possibly McGough and Dr. Gaylord. “Incred- even waving a turkey sandwich. And so ible. I didn’t want to be anywhere it is today that the women of the world near people … having health care make their way through pregnancy like that was just incredible.” during a global pandemic—steadily, with a steely gaze, or if not—and this McGough said the honor has is OK too—clutching the tightrope been all hers. “I have been so amazed with the entirety of their body as they by the experiences and resilience inch toward the other side. I’ve seen from these parents. It has been a ray of light for me.”. Kristen Kull was in the third trimester of her pregnancy when it But just as tightrope walkers became clear that the novel coro- do (mostly) find their way to their navirus might change things. She destination, the future will (mostly) told me recently, “Oh man, we had a remain uncertain, except for this beautiful birth plan.” inevitability: Babies will be born and women, along with the communities Yet two weeks past her due date, who support them, will always rise to with the hospital policies changing that occasion. \\ rapidly, Kristen and her husband Garan Dimuzio found themselves at TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

FROM OUR TEAM TO OUR COMMUNITY: Thank you! Every day we add names to the list of donors to the Telluride Medical Center Foundation and our COVID-19 Telluride Medical Center Fund: 221 South Oak Jeff Collins Jackie & Michael Tami M Huntsman Amy Levek Dmitriy A Pankov Bruce Sandler Telluride Rotary Clare & Bas Afman Colorado Health Gardner Julee & Steve Alyce & Doug Levy Steve R Parr Corinne Scheman Judith J & John Bree & David Alban Foundation John Gardner Hutchison Dennise Lite Kathleen & Christine Schiff Temple Alpine Chapel Colorado Hospital Ellen & Mark Michael Allen Hyman James Loo Jonathan Peacock Mary Jo & Wynne & Alpine Bank Assoc. Geldbaugh Natalie Binder Victoria & Tim Lovely Jan Michelle & Arvin Leonard Schillaci Thomas Thacher Alpine Title Eleni Constantine Dee & Martin Girard & Don Imwalle Radina Lukanova Peltz Bev Schulman Sue Theile Dr. Sharon Grundy Celia & Everett Coon Linda Goad Robert Isbell Jeff Lymburner Kim & Simon Perutz Peter Segaloff Judy Thompson & Tor Anderson Jennifer Ines Cordova Allison & Jeffrey Taylor S. Ivey Kimberley Ann Tess & Greg Peters Jane Shivers & Bill J. Thompson Family Tricia & Greg Anesi Cornet Creek Goldberg Carolyn & Kit Jackson Martin Lynch Joanne M Pike Sharp Charitable Fund Nancy Ayres Foundation Janie & Steve Elizabeth Ryan James Michael J Lynch Meghan & Scott Libby & Tom Sharp Elizabeth & Amanda Baltzley Cosmopolitan Goldberg Kelley & Dave Dr. Christine Pittenger Sharon & Nelson Stuart Thornton Keith D Beaty Greg Craig Jodi Jacobs & Jemison Mahoney R & Y Podolsky Sharp Phillippa & Bill Connie Beaudoin Lynn Cranford Kenneth Goldman Mary & Neil Johnson Laura & Bertrand El Pomar Foundation Carly Shaw Threlfall Jim Bedford Victoria & Hank Frank Shields John ONeil Marchal Estrella & Bob Posey Debbie & Patrick Charles Tindol Cassidy & Dierks Crawford Goodman Johnson III Rebecca & Thomas E Preston, Shea True North Youth Bentley Beth & Chris Cullen Colleen Trout Johnson Family Jay Markley MD Diane Sherman Program: Vivian Fran & Mark Berg Rosie Cusack & Jay Goodwin Foundation Sage & Alex Martin Jenny Franks & Jeff Naani Sheva Russell Peter Berley Elizabeth & Allen Kathy Green Julie Beth Joraanstad Michelle & Price Shimkonis Family & Loren Knobbe Jane & Don Berman Cutler Family Ellen & Rick Greubel Tingate Jue Chris Maughan Marion Proud Craig Sieving Lynda Tueller Ilene Bilenky Dalton Family Ali N Griswold Jen, Travis, Hud Karen McCarthy Deborah & Steven Patricia & Joel Siger Two Skirts Greg Blatt Foundation Barbel Hacke & Viv Julia Diane & Raymond Pruett Rick Silverman U.S. Bank Katherine Borsecnik Lawry de Bivort Sarah & Henry Anthony Kalyk McClure Thalia & John Pryor Mark Silversher John E Uribe Heather Boucher Mia & Ray Delong Haizlip III Carol & Bob Kammer McClure Family Peggy Raible Hallie Mark & Amy Yenkin & Garrett Brafford Jacquelyne Denuyl Katie Hall Tesha Foundation LIV Sotheby’s Kestrel Simpson Robert Usdan K & S Bridgers Mary DeRose Kimmy Hanley Karnchanakphan Andrea & Bob International Realty Lary Simpson Helen Lynn Van Pelt Alexis Brown William Dietze Clifford Hansen Leslie Larson McMahon Kathleen & Ambassador Nancy Venne Joanna & Stuart Sarah Diggdon Elle Hansen & Donald Katz Megan & Casey Malcolm Ream Pamela H. Smith Susan and Clint Brown Joe Dillsworth Chris Harden Tiffany Kavanaugh McManemin Francesca & Tammy & Scott Smith Viebrock Joanne & Harmon Carol M Dix Jonathan Moore Saree Kayne Dahlia Mertens Sam Rehnborg Tracy Lynn Sollitto Kate & David Wadley Brown Dave Doemland Harris Monica Kelly-Warren Marianne Cindy Rekdahl Wendy & Allen Laura Colbert Robert Brown Patricia Doerr Bettie L. Hastings Thomas G Kennedy & John Merz Leigh Rinearson Solomon & Lance Waring Jill & John Burchmore Arline Dowling Judite & Adam Haut Carol & John Keogh Rebecca Messier Susan Ringo Cynthia Sommers Jane & Mark Erin & Chris Busbee Sandra L DuBois Alexandra & Paul Judi Kiernan M’lin & Jon Miller Kenneth Roberts St. Patrick’s Catholic Watenpaugh Tara B Butson Durfee Day Family Heerdt Sueanne Kim Mandy Miller Kimberley Roberts Church Seth Weatherfield Mark Callender Cathe & Chip Dyer Heirloom Farmshare James Marsh King James S Minnis Flair & Homer Robert Stalford Lindsey & Miles Jeffrey Campbell Elaine Richey Ehlers & Personal Chef Beth Mayer Linda & Jerry Moore Robinson Robert Star Welch Mary Campbell Paula J Eisenberg Molly D Herrick & James King Lynn Moore Paul Rockwood Steaming Bean Mindy West Amy Cannon Patricia & Robert End Amy Conger & Joni & John Knowles Aela & Don Morgan Albert Roer Marcie & Glenn Joanne & John Wiesel Gary Canton Carl D Endresen Robert Herschler Kyle Koehler Carol Morgenstern Jill & Harvey Roisman Steckler Tony Wilcox Nancy Heim Jason Ensler Mike Hess Dr. Diana & Selwyn Rayzor Leah Roman Joanne & James Susan Williams & Lucinda Carr Angela Esposito Richard & Nicke Dr. Paul Koelliker & Rich Moses Elyse Rothchild Steinback Elizabeth Willis Keely & Carl Carter Elizabeth T. Farrar Hetzel Gretchen Diana & Sean Dr. Teresa & Melody & Charlie Karen Winkelmann Donna Caruso Joanne & Thomas Emily Hickey & David Koitz Mulligan Dr. Edward Ruch Stevens Janet & Jack Wolinetz Werner R Catsman Fatur Barbara Hinterkopf Mark Kozak Debbie Neiberger Megan Rutherford Jessica Stevens Melissa & Michael Sara & Chris Chaffin Nicole & Steve Finger Matt Hintermeister Karen & Dave Lamb Ava Nelson Len Rybicki Donna & Tom Stone Wood Don Chan Jamie Finney Susanna Martina William Langford Jan & Tom Newell Anna Salem Caitlin Storhaug Sheryl & Gary Wood Christ Presbyterian Walter B Hoffman Marty Langion Christine T Newman James Salem Donald Strickert Estrella Woods Church Fitzsimmons Jim Johnson & Kiernan Lannon Ginna & Mark Neyens San Miguel County Wende & Riley Sweat Kenneth Wyrick Kendall Cieciuch Ginny & Stu Fraser Paul Hokemeyer Heidi Lauterbach Suzanne Nikolaus San Miguel County Kiersten Talbert Brad Zaporski Gay & JT Coe Joshua Freeman Kristin & Kevin Karen & David Michelle Olson Behavioral Health Kathryn Tanner Aura C Zink Marcia Cohen Melba & Jim Gacek Holbrook Lavender Mary Jondrow Solutions Telluride Fire Ben & Priscilla Zintak Carlotta & John Horn Leigh Ellis Interiors & James Ostrem Ian Sanders Department Elizabeth & David Kristen Hughes Lucy Lerner Robyn Pale Natalie Sanders Telluride Foundation Zott Janet Humphreys Dale J Zulauf TELLURIDE MEDICAL CENTER Join the community effort at TELLURIDE FOUNDATION Tellmed.org/support REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

26 • ADVICE ASK JOCK Athletic Advice from Our Local Mountain Guru Bivouac—French for “Mistake” Dear Jock, Q I’m recovering from a knee replacement, and my surgeon says I’m ready for any activity that doesn’t hurt. To celebrate, I want to climb Wilson Peak. I feel good, but I’m moving cautiously—especially in rough terrain with a pack. I hear the approach is a long hike through scree, and the climb is loose and time-consuming. Knowing that I won’t set any speed records, should I bring extra gear in case I have to bivouac? If so, what should I bring? —Slow and Steady Dear Slow and Steady, A You pose a tricky question because the more gear you pack, the slower you’ll move and the more likely you are to need it. Your best bet is a true alpine start. This will require a headlamp. On your descent, the head- lamp might also keep you moving after dark, allowing you to skip a bivouac. If you decide to carry extra, bring enough clothing to survive a night out based on the weather forecast. If you have room in your pack, add a lightweight sleeping bag or a space blanket for a few extra degrees of comfort and protection from the elements. Bring a lighter or matches and tiny wire saw to build a small emer- gency fire. A large chocolate bar will raise your spirits if you must shiver until the sun rises. Even with these small comforts, you’ll still be in for a memorable night. My best advice would be to focus on a smaller objective to assess your speed and agility in the mountains before committing to the summit of Wilson Peak. May your new knee take you safely up and down, — Jock Mask Etiquette Bike Basics Dear Jock, Dear Jock, Q During the pandemic, we’re supposed to stay six feet apart and wear Q I’m getting stronger on my mountain bike and riding longer and a mask in crowded public spaces—especially indoors. I also know farther. Now I sometimes wonder how long it would take to walk Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, recommends individual outdoor activi- home if my bike broke. What parts of my bike should I inspect before ties, such as hiking and biking. every ride? And which tools should I carry to fix my bike on the trails? How should I maintain a 6-foot distance from others on narrow trails? —Rookie Rider Should I wear my mask when I’m hiking the Jud Wiebe, riding on the bike Dear Rookie, path, or walking on Colorado Avenue? A Before each ride, I recommend the following ritual: Squeeze your tires —COVID Conscious to make sure they’re properly inflated. They should feel like a flexed Dear CC, bicep. Next, check that your front and rear brakes are functioning by deploy- ing each brake lever one at a time while pushing your bike forward. Each A The COVID-19 virus is most likely to spread via airborne droplets from wheel should lock up. As soon as you’re in the saddle, run through your gears a sneeze or a cough, so wearing a mask reduces the risk of transmis- to confirm the drive train is shifting properly. The chain should move up sion by containing the droplets. Maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and down quickly and quietly. Then spend a moment listening to your bike. also reduces the possibility of spreading the disease. Outdoors is safer than There shouldn’t be any rubbing, squeaking, or other unusual sounds. Failing indoors because the droplets diffuse more quickly in the open air. any one of these quick tests is a bright red flag mandating an immediate visit to your favorite local bike shop. As a courtesy, I’d suggest you bring your mask on the Jud Wiebe and slip it on when you pass other hikers. The same holds true when riding the bike Regarding essential tools: Knowledge is power. You could tote a full sad- path if it is busy, but it might be hazardous to don a mask while riding. Wear- dlebag of tools, but if you don’t know how to use them they’re dead weight. ing a face covering while walking on Colorado Avenue and other crowded Find a competent friend or search the internet for instruction in basic bike outdoor spaces is especially gracious. maintenance and repair. At a bare minimum, you should acquire the tools and knowledge to repair a flat tire in the field. As they say: Your mask protects me, and mine protects you. Thanks for doing your part, Happy trails, — Jock — Jock TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

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28 • INSIDE ART OTHERWORLDLY Brooke Einbender creates virtual reality artwork By Jess Newens Picture a brilliantly glowing tropical sea those brushes can react to sound,” she explains. 81435 in February and March 2020. For that show, anemone at the bottom of the ocean, “I love the creative challenge of thinking about viewers could experience the show by download- rhythmically undulating in response my 2D paintings as 3D spaces that one can ven- ing the app ARize onto a smart phone or iPad. to deep, underwater currents. Then ture inside of and explore. I build off images of my “Using the ARize app, I linked each oil painting to imagine traveling so close to that sea paintings to create digital sculptural forms and their designated virtual reality 3D artwork,” says anemone that you inexplicably slide down its use animated, sound-reactive effects in my work.” Einbender. “As a result, users could open the app, translucent tentacles, glide into its mouth and Einbender then pairs her art to music, taking scan each painting, and interact with the VR art- enter into another realm. You hear sounds and see the experience to a multi-sensory level. “These ani- work that’s triggered by the painting.” colors shifting and altering as you explore every mated brushes pulse to the beat of the song, adding One visitor to that show described the art view- facet of the creature’s insides. an entirely new dimension to the piece,” she says. ing as “visceral,” and said that the music selected This is the experience of virtual reality, a Einbender’s abstract, intuitive painting style by the artist enhanced the experience. computer-generated platform that simulates a lends itself well to VR augmentation. Many of her According to Einbender, “The best VR is some- person’s physical presence in a virtual environ- pieces seem to resemble what you might see through thing you do, and not watch. Interactivity is by far ment. Virtual reality, or VR, enables the user to a kaleidoscope. “When starting a painting, I have no the most important aspect of a good VR experience.” see, hear, and in some cases interact with the vision of what the end result should look like. I let To that end, Einbender has been exploring virtual setting or elements. The experience is like my intuition guide me,” she explains. “My painting VR as a collaborative artistic medium, discovering traveling into another dimension, blurring the practice shifts between chaos and order, organic and there are numerous ways she can bring VR to the boundaries between real and virtual worlds. The geometric shapes, and irregularity and symmetry.” masses, including public art installations where technology has many applications, she puts VR video projections to full from education to gaming, but for effect. For Telluride Art’s 2019 Art + Telluride-based artist Brooke Ein- Architecture Weekend, Einbender bender, VR is an emerging artistic won a People’s Choice award for medium—a platform for creation, her transformation of a garage into collaboration, and presentation. “FOR ME, THE GOAL OF VIRTUAL an immersive, otherworldly space, A San Francisco native, Ein- complete with rainbow fractals, bender graduated from Wake Forest REALITY IS TO MAKE THE black lights, music, and original University in 2017 as a Presidential 3D imagery. She has also designed Scholar for Visual Arts with a con- VIEWER FEEL AS IF THEY ARE IN one-of-a-kind VR projections for centration in painting. She first Telluride Mushroom Festival, Fire discovered virtual reality post grad- ANOTHER PLACE AND DIMENSION, Festival, and Original Thinkers. uation, while working for a gallery DISPLACING THEM FROM THEIR More recently, after a serendip- curator and VR artist in New York itous meeting with several Telluride City. Through Einbender’s subse- Science Research Center scientists at quent experiments in the woman’s a local bar, Einbender began applying VR lab, she experienced a whole new PHYSICAL REALITY.” her VR skills to create graphics for way of deepening and presenting her some internationally distributed dig- own work, something she has greatly ital and print science publications. expanded upon since moving to Tel- She’s also discovered applications for luride in 2018. Thanks to a Telluride therapeutic healing work. Arts Small Artist Grant, Einbender was able to pur- After she completes a virtual reality piece, Ein- Beyond Telluride, Einbender has her eye on the chase her own equipment—an HTC Vive VR headset bender considers three options for presenting her Museum of Other Realities, a fully virtual museum and a powerful gaming laptop—in 2019. Since then, artwork. She can enable the viewer to experience the along the lines of Santa Fe’s Meow Wolf, where her art has grown to encompass oil painting, virtual work as it was originally created, by providing a VR VR artists challenge and redefine what is possible reality, augmented reality, video, sound, installation, headset. She can record a video inside the VR piece, with a headset and computer. But perhaps her ulti- and projection mapping. “For me, the goal of virtual capturing the experience of journeying through, inside mate goal would be connecting with WaveXR, the reality is to make the viewer feel as if they are in and around the VR artwork, and then project it. Or, Ein- world’s first social platform for virtual reality music another place and dimension, displacing them from bender can turn the VR artwork into an augmented, or concerts, pairing VR artists with musicians to cre- their physical reality,” explains Einbender. mixed reality, piece, combining the 3D simulation with ate interactive multi-sensory events for people to She begins each piece by importing a photo- the reality of what is in front of you. Think Pokémon Go “attend” while wearing a VR headset; just imagine graph of one of her paintings into Tilt Brush, VR or Snapchat face filters, which augment your real envi- a VR-enabled livestream Phish concert. painting software. With headset on, she can then ronment by inserting virtual digital images. Since this It has been an intensive year-and-a-half jour- engage a variety of different brushes or tools— approach requires only a computer or smart phone to ney into the depths of VR and its potential for the draw a line, suspend it, walk through it, grab it, experience, it makes Einbender’s artwork accessible young artist, and she is excited about the future. shrink it, replicate it. Using the virtual palette, the to more viewers at once. “This is just the beginning,” says Einbender. BROOKE EINBENDER act of painting becomes a three-dimensional, full Einbender gave Telluride a taste of her aug- You can find Brooke Einbender in her Voo- body experience. “Different brushes have different mented reality art during a recent solo exhibition, doo Studio space in Telluride, or online at www. animation features—smoke, fire, bubbles—and “The Unknown Zone,” at Telluride Arts’ Gallery brookeeinbender.com. \\ TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020



30 • ESSAY WHEREVER YOU ARE, GET OUT. WATCH THE SUNSET. PAY ATTENTION TO SPRING BUDS STARTING TO OPEN. PEEL YOURSELF FROM THE CLOCK ON YOUR PHONE AND LOOK AROUND. YOU’LL SEE TIME PASSING AT THE RATE IT DOES FOR THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE. PA S S I N G SHELTERED IN PLACE a glittery gray local stone or exotic By Craig Childs AND EXAMINING THE WORLD purples and greens brought from some distance. She marked sites The mountains around you AROUND US with flagging. I’d find stacks of two are old. You remember that or three chipped rocks no bigger when you look at them for like slowly sinking ships, and the itage from stone tool manufacture, than coins where she’d made a col- long enough, wondering how La Sal Mountains stand like a lone, shards of glassy, colored rock from lection on the ground. I followed her much time it takes for ridgelines to batwinged beacon across the line Native American ancestry. Some breadcrumbs of discoveries. Beside form and glaciers to cut the rock. I in Utah. I framed this place every of what she came upon was Desert entering bills for her business in Tel- live west of the mountains, where day, looking out windows, measuring Archaic in age, roughly between luride, clattering at the keyboard to forest duff and aspens turn to sand- movements from light into dark and 3,000 and 6,000 years old, manu- help keep her store afloat with the stone and juniper. The mountains I back. Usually, I’m on the road, in some facturing flakes, stone scrap, small town mostly closed, she ran a small see in the distance, the snow-stud- farther desert requiring research and blades, pieces of projectiles, broken archaeological industry around our ded San Juans, are about thirty exploration, working with geologists tails of atlatl points. She discov- house, putting us in our place. million years old, dating back to and archaeologists, exploring the ered ancient yucca processing sites enormous volcanic eruptions in the breadth of time. Now, I was home. from nomadic hunter-gatherers If you have the time, you think Oligocene. I see them as a remnant who stopped on a West End mesa to about time. It may be a modern luxury, of an earlier world, fossils of volca- While I’d been gone, teach- sharpen tools and collect stiff, green but I imagine an Archaic hunter-gath- noes left out and eroding. ing an archaeology program in the yucca leaves, which they pulped using erer paused on this mesa slope, taking Utah backcountry as the pandemic large, roughly-edged hammerstones a moment to look across rimrock and Living past Norwood with my gal, was just starting to ramp up in the that fit in her palm like a hand-axe. tilted buttes, watching cloud shadows orders given to stay in place, we had States, she’d been walking the piñon People used yucca fibers for weaving move. He or she may have laid back time to kick around our place. Sunrise, and juniper slopes around our house, into baskets, twine, rope, mats, nets, on the ground, head cradled in hands, I’d stand on a hill watching light come finding flakes of rock and pieces of and knots. To scrape out these fibers, wondering how many of his or her peo- across the mountains, fingers and god stone artifacts in places she’d never they used rounded blades made from ple had come through this same place rays splitting through the ridges. noticed them before. She found deb- to find yuccas, each person counted like another cloud across the sky. We set tracks from the house in every direction, some on our prop- Wandering the slopes below our erty, some on public land laced with house, we explored remnants of ditch dirt roads and faint trails. Mesas tilt diggers and miners who’d lived here TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

turquothisee door gallery Hand painted photos by Valerie Levy Franzese bring Telluride’s history to life! THE TELLURIDE SILVER CORNET BAND IN BRIDAL VEIL PARK 1886 ~ 11 x 22 oil TIME TELLURIDE’S FIRST GONDOLA ~ 11 x 22 oil in the century before us. We often Are you watching dry seed heads of CABLE FOR THE NELLIE MINE TRAMWAY – SUMMER 1897 ~ 11 x 22 oil come down here, but sheltering at grass swaying in a breeze or the slow home, we took more time looking for drift of shadow and light as the sun NEWLYWEDS MOVING DAY 1903 ~ 11 x 22 oil old cans, parts of wood stoves, rusted moves across the sky? Is it a blue 970.728.6556 • 226 W. COLORADO AVE. bed frames. The canyon rim had been glass bottle several decades old or (ACROSS FROM THE NEW SHERIDAN HOTEL) a dump, delivering pieces of broken, part of an arrowhead? The clouds [email protected] colored glass mixed with cup handles that pass are generally from Pacific and horseshoes that rose and fell with moisture, carrying their postage SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 31 every storm and snow melt. I found stamps of shade across inland Cal- the long, hexagonal barrel of a rifle ifornia and the Sierra Nevada, fol- dating back to the 1890s, a heavy lowed by hundreds of miles of beige piece of iron that felt familiar in my desert, and now up the flanks of the hands. She found a carbide lamp with Rockies, building as they rise. Each a flint striker still in place. action you see is another hand on the clock, no longer only seconds, I wrote articles and gave radio minutes, and hours, but moon, creek, interviews during the lockdown and the first wasp of spring to land about going outside, ethical and on the windowsill. health implications, how to walk with friends and not share germs. When I walk up the hill behind The message was simple: Wherever our house in the morning, it’s like a you are, get out. Watch the sunset. stream of hourglass sand. Sunlight Pay attention to spring buds starting pours through the mountains, made to open. Peel yourself from the clock of rock 30 million years old, started on your phone and look around. from the sun eight minutes and You’ll see time passing at the rate twenty seconds before it warmed my it does for the rest of the universe. face. Look at the world long enough That, I believe, is healthy. and time feels more like weather. You stand still, sheltering in place, Outside, time moves in countless and it flows over you. \\ ways, snow coming, snow melting.

32 • FEATURE THE COMEBACK ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN A RESORT TOWN By D. Dion | Photos by Ryan Bonneau even after the resort and local businesses shut Some restaurants were allowed to operate in a down just before spring break traffic peaked, the limited capacity offering takeout meals, and some The local public health response to the pandemic December through March sales tax receipts in shops got creative—Between the Covers bookstore was swift and successful. Restoring the region’s Telluride and Mountain Village ended up down by fulfilled online orders and left wrapped packages economic health could take much longer. only 3.5 percent. Still, restarting the economy after on the back porch for pickup. “It was a wonderful this hiatus will take time; Martelon said economic channel of support and we thank everyone who Telluride, with its single road in and out of town recovery could take two to three years. “When you logged on to shop. Without online sales generated and a countywide population of only about literally flip the switch to off-season just as you’re by locals supplementing a loan and some grants, 8,000 people, has always felt like a sanctuary. hitting the profitable side of the equation, it will not sure we’d be as motivated to keep fighting. It It felt even more like a haven during the pandemic; knock the wind out of you for sure.” showed us that books are ‘essential’ items after while the crisis peaked in crowded urban areas, all,” said bookstore co-owner Daiva Chesonis. here there were zero COVID-19 deaths and fewer ON THE REBOUND than two dozen cases of the disease. Despite the local support, the unexpected Local businesses suffered during the stay-at-home losses were devastating. And the prospect of a It was more than just the rugged remoteness orders. Many still needed to make payroll, pay summer season without major events and festi- of this area that kept residents safe from a major expensive rent on Colorado Avenue locations, and vals is daunting. “To go from the level of business outbreak. County officials acted quickly to shut take care of other bills, despite not being open. we were doing to a screeching halt was unprece- down everything in mid-March, and every resident dented, since we were mandated to close without was offered free serological testing from United much notice,” said Wendy Basham, co-owner of Biomedical Inc., led by Telluride locals Mei Mei Hu Telluride Toggery and member of the Telluride and Lou Reese. The community rallied, with health Tourism Board. “In other economic downturns care workers, county employees, and about 1,400 we were at least able to keep our doors open and volunteers mobilizing to man three testing stations adjust to a lower level of income. Many businesses in the county. County Public Health Director Grace like ours received the PPP [paycheck protection Franklin said the testing was crucial, including the program] money from the government, and that swab tests for the live virus conducted at the local was what got us through. For many, that money is clinics. “It helped us understand the prevalence [of spent and we are now totally reliant on visitors. COVID-19], which was important for decision mak- Without any festivals, weddings, or events, tourism ing and keeping people safe. Testing was the true is more important than ever.” lynchpin to solving the crisis.” The county formed an Economic Recovery The pandemic, however, wasn’t the only crisis. Committee in May, chaired by Telluride Ski Resort The local economy was also severely affected by CEO Bill Jensen, with thirty local representatives the closures and will continue to be hit hard by from municipal government and various economic the cancellation of summer festivals and low tour- sectors and industries. Their challenge is working ism numbers. Michael Martelon, CEO of Telluride together to open up the economy and safely wel- Tourism Board, said that the 2019-20 ski season come visitors back. There will be a phased approach, had been on track to increase sales revenue by an with lodging, restaurants/bars, and stores only able astounding $15 million. With such a strong start, to accommodate a limited number of patrons. They are seeking some unorthodox solutions to help local TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

THE UNEXPECTED LOSSES WERE DEVASTATING. AND THE PROSPECT OF A SUMMER SEASON WITHOUT MAJOR EVENTS AND FESTIVALS IS DAUNTING. businesses survive, the most bold of which is the clo- whelming our limited rural care facilities and are ELLRUISEEAT LOCAL sure of eastbound traffic on Colorado Avenue to cre- asking second homeowners to observe safe practices T SHOP LOCAL ate a fenced-in pedestrian area where people can eat like social distancing and wearing masks. But busi- PLAY LOCAL and drink from local establishments outside, creating ness owners have merchandise and services to sell, space for more customers. Restrictions have also been and they depend on part-time residents and visitors VisitTelluride.com/Tellurise Telluride & Mountain Village loosened around to-go liquor sales. Mountain Village to make the financial calculus work. “We’re twice the has something similar in place—they already have size of Crested Butte and half the size of Vail. Both are ELLRUISEEAT LOCAL several plazas that can act as common consumption more of a drive destination than we are—and both T SHOP LOCAL areas, and they are enhancing them with additional were considered more of a ‘hot spot’ than we were,” PLAY LOCAL furniture, lighting, and live music performances. said Martelon. “We’ve been on an upward trajectory for a decade and our visitors are loyal to Telluride. We’re VisitTelluride.com/Tellurise Telluride & Mountain Village These efforts will help boost summer commerce, focusing our efforts on teaching visitors our way of but looking ahead to winter, businesses will have to life in a remote mountain town and supporting local ELLRUISEEAT LOCAL improvise again. Martelon said bookings for winter businesses. We want to inspire our guests to join us— T SHOP LOCAL are up 50 percent compared to this time last year. under some different circumstances, obviously.” PLAY LOCAL “Operationally, winter is certainly more complicated than summer. With the tremendous efforts of both To that end, Telluride Tourism Board is launching VisitTelluride.com/Tellurise Telluride & Mountain Village town councils, restaurants and bars are welcoming a new campaign, “TelluRise,” that will direct locals, an abundance of al fresco opportunities this summer. part-time residents, and visitors to a platform with With current predictions that masks and social dis- online information about local business hours and tancing will continue, this winter will be even more options. The board also developed regional signage challenging. When those tables and chairs go into about health protocols. storage, restaurants are going to need innovative approaches to dealing with capacity limitations.” Franklin said that we need to maintain these precautions—distancing, mask wearing, and hand- BACK IN BUSINESS washing—until there are therapeutic treatments or a vaccine. She said that the stay-at-home orders were Different resort communities in Colorado are dealing important at the time because we didn’t have ade- with reopening in different ways. Gunnison County, quate testing, protective equipment, or hospital space, home to Crested Butte ski resort, initially ordered non- but that the orders gave the county time to build up resident homeowners to stay away. Months later, they these supplies and plans. “We’re more ready for it rescinded that message in their marketing, despite lin- than we were a few months ago. As we loosen up these gering concerns about public health. Gunnison County orders, just because we have cases, doesn’t mean we’ll had 180 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. shut down again. We’re expecting to have more cases but we have testing, tracing, hospital capacity, and can Eagle County, home to Vail, is embracing its continue moving forward. The community has been second homeowners with an ambitious marketing doing a great job at being resilient and innovative. campaign by locals called “Welcome Home.” Eagle We all need to support each other and maintain some County had 581 confirmed cases and eight deaths. semblance of the new normalcy to make it through the financial crisis on top of the pandemic.” \\ Telluride’s messaging is somewhere in between. Public health officials are concerned about over- SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 33

34 • PHOTO ESSAY CAREGIVERS W hen the pandemic shutdown began, so many of us were forced, for better or worse, into stillness. Others, by virtue of their vocations or professions, were cast into a frenetic and risky scramble to provide care or services for the majority of us who were, overnight, forced to get familiar with idle hands, isolation, and the dissonant noise of internet media. I ventured out of the refuge of my house in mid-April to photograph “the pandemic” in Western Colorado. The contrast of our adaptive (or not) behaviors was shocking, and I soon retreated home, taking measure of the experience of being in the field. It was that meditative time that led me to do this series of portraits in order to offer a few minutes of shared meditative time with the medical professionals of the region. Stillness was elusive for them in the tempest of the pandemic and I felt that portraits—and their ability to suspend time in a photographic frame—was a fitting and respectful way to share our collective appreciation of them. —JT Thomas

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, AT THE TOP: PAM MCCREEDY & NATALIE BERTONI, PAULA SCHEIDEGGER, LINDSAY WRIGHT, ELAINA COLLINS, BETSY MUENNICH. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, AT THE BOTTOM: SHARON GRUNDY, MELISSA TUOHY, KENT GAYLORD, ERIC JOHNSON (ABOVE), KATHRYN BECK & LAURA CATTELL, PARKE EHLERS (ABOVE), RAE SHAFFNER.

36 • PHOTO ESSAY

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, AT THE TOP: NORMA LEYVA & MICHAELA DICK, ERIC ADOLPHI, EMILY MCGOUGH, STEVE LANGON & HEIDI ATTENBERGER. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, MIDDLE ROW: CHRISTINE MAHONEY, ROMA PODLASKI, HEIDI HOFF, EMILY MARK, GRAYSON PHELAN, DAN HEHIR. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTTOM ROW: KATE WADLEY, KARLA MARTINEZ, HEIDI HOFF, KELLY YOUNGSTROM, TERRI HUNTER, JENNA HANSON.

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40 • FEATURE HOW ONE TELLURIDE SKI INSTRUCTOR CHASED SNOW FOR TEN SEASONS By Katie Klingsporn W orldwide, most people tolerate winter. his car and moved to Durango. In the winter With its frigid temperatures, short of 2013-14, after finishing his master’s in non- days, and cheek-chafing storms, how- profit management—and not finding work ever, few could stomach the notion of enduring in that field in Durango—he got a job as an it all year long. entry-level instructor at Purgatory Resort. But for Telluride ski instructor Tim Hart- Going through orientation, he said, it was muller, winter means spending each day doing obvious the Purgatory team was a big family. what he loves most: sharing his passion for “There’s this camaraderie there and that was skiing with others. And that love has fueled really attractive,” he said. an unorthodox career and led to an endless winter of ten back-to-back seasons that would As a lowest-on-the-totem pole instructor, he have stretched into eleven, had COVID-19 not started out teaching little kids. He didn’t have shut down the world. much experience working with children and was initially a little nervous about it. But when Hartmuller has bounced between Colo- he got out on the snow with his tiny clientele, rado and New Zealand since 2015, arriving in he became swept up in the infectiousness of each country just in time for flurries to begin their energy, the bigness of their accomplish- to fly and chairlifts—or, in the case of New ments and the pureness of their enthusiasm. Zealand, rope tows—to begin to turn. Little kids throw into relief just how fun skiing is, he said. “I just had a blast. I guess what I The lifestyle entails a bit of cognitive realized in that first lesson is that we’re all big dissonance, he admits. Just as he’s donning kids … After my first lesson I was hooked. I was Chacos in Colorado, it’s time to head to New like, ‘wow, how do I make this my life?’” Zealand, where it’s already coat weather. But it’s the only arrangement he could finagle that The answer to that question is tricky. allows him to do the seasonally dependent Teaching skiing is a snow-dependent seasonal work he loves so much year-round. “It still gig that for most people only lasts four or five feels like it’s the most fun thing I could do for months a year. a career,” Hartmuller said. Hartmuller started like many resort SPRING DEPRESSION employees do, by working at Purgatory every winter and patching together work at summer Hartmuller, 32, grew up in Oklahoma, and would camps and restaurants the rest of the year. travel with his family every winter to Beaver Creek for a ski vacation. He fell in love with ski- At the time, Hartmuller didn’t know any- ing pretty early, finding a freedom in it that still one who did the endless winter thing; the enchants him, and he remembers idolizing his concept was foreign to him. But as time went ski instructors. “I just had a calling that I wanted on, he began obsessing about ways he could to do that at some point in my life,” he said. stretch out his winter career. “I was just rack- ing my brain of what to do for spring-summer He went to college in Oklahoma City, while jobs. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this any- his best friend headed west to Fort Lewis in more. I want to be on snow.’” Durango. Visiting him in the Colorado moun- tain town, it felt like he had discovered par- At the end of each winter, he said, he adise. “I thought about transferring to Fort would experience something like melancholy. Lewis, but I felt like I would drop out of college After spending every day for months outside in if I moved to Durango,” he said. a beautiful place teaching skiing, it was tough to transition to another existence. “You almost Instead, he stuck with college in Okla- have this little depression where you are try- homa. But the day after graduation, he packed ing to fill this void,” he said. TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

The lifestyle isn’t always glamorous. It entails living out of a suitcase half a year, never settling in a long-term home, being far from friends and family and struggling to sort out visas. Plus, never enjoying the fruits of summer: barbecues and lake swims, backcountry hikes, wildflowers, farmers markets, and all the rest. SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 41

42 • FEATURE When the spring of 2016 came around, knowledge of biomechanics and the psychol- it felt particularly acute. He made gratitude ogy of teaching children and adults. And in TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020 lists, tuned his skis, but nothing was working. Telluride, he gets to focus solely on teaching He couldn’t get sorted. skiing, the reason he got into the work in the first place, and often works with families for One night, he sat down at his computer entire weeks. He said he’s had many meaningful and started researching like mad. Pretty soon interactions with guests and families over the he came across a small ski area called Mount years, and remembers receiving a letter from Olympus on the South Island of New Zealand. a teenage student. It was teacher appreciation It was hiring. month at her school. “Each student was to pick the most influential teacher in their lives and to He fired off an application, had what he write them a letter. She chose me. I think it’s so recalls as the most laid-back interview of his life, cool when we can affect students/athletes’ lives and then began making travel arrangements. Thus in a positive way on and off the snow.” began the sought-after dream: his endless winter. Hartmuller said he geeks out on things like FARTHER AFIELD biomechanics and the psychology of teaching. Finding an outlet that lets him get paid to com- When he arrived at Mount Olympus, he found bine those aspects with his favorite activity, he a much different ski experience than he knew said, is a great privilege. Finding it year round in in the United States. these two wildly different settings just doubles the fortune. “When it comes down to it, I am a The area is known as a “club ski field.” huge ski nerd. I love to be a ski instructor. Grow- These New Zealand destinations typically ing up, this sport was a huge confidence booster offer more intermediate and expert terrain, for me, a way to enjoy the outdoors with my little to no grooming, and a degree of hike-to friends and family and kind of get to know these backcountry terrain. A more stripped-down wild places in a really fun way,” Hartmuller, who ski experience, in other words. Think Silver- is now a level-3-certified instructor, said. “I think ton, with a less hard-charging vibe. “It’s a raw the reason I love it this much is because I get to way to ski,” Hartmuller said. share that same experience with others.” And this one was a tiny operation with WHAT IT TAKES rudimentary rope tows, a lodge for weeklong stays, and technical terrain all above treeline. The lifestyle isn’t always glamorous. It entails Hartmuller found himself as the lone ski living out of a suitcase half a year, never settling instructor on the staff of only eight people, in a long-term home, being far from friends and which also included a chef, bartender, moun- family and struggling to sort out visas. Plus, tain manager, and patrollers. never enjoying the fruits of summer: barbecues and lake swims, backcountry hikes, wildflow- It was absolutely foreign, fairly intense ers, farmers markets, and all the rest. work, and it was completely out of his com- fort zone. He took to the Kiwi sense of humor, Which may explain why it’s fairly rare. donned a backpack with avalanche gear for Hartmuller only knows a few others on the Tel- the job, and found a refreshing openness to luride ski school staff who chase winter; he’s new experiences among his clientele — like the only American among them, he said. the 60-some-year-old New Zealanders he taught to whirlybird, he said. “It’s a totally dif- “I bet it’s only about 10 percent of our staff ferent ballgame down there,” Hartmuller said. that is either currently doing it or has done it in the past,” Telski’s Ski School Director Noah And even after he broke his ankle and had Sheedy said. “You need a certain level of expe- to get evacuated by helicopter off the moun- rience and certification to engage with a visa, tain, he said, his bosses asked him back. He’s so you not only have to be passionate about the returned every season since. winter, you also have to develop your teaching skills. Then there’s that last piece of being in GONDOLAS VS. ROPE TOWS your ski boots 250 days a year.” Hartmuller was hired to ski instruct in Tellu- Hartmuller said it also helps to be open ride for the winter of 2018-19 and has spent to the unexpected. “It definitely takes an two seasons on the mountain. In Telluride, he element of trust and faith but also a sense of relishes the massive terrain and variety of ski- adventure and being OK with the unknown.” ing. While both of his jobs entail his primary love, teaching skiing, the contrasts are stark. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic made the decision about his instructing career. First At Mount Olympus, being the lone instructor it shut down the Telluride Ski Resort weeks means wearing many hats. He patrols part-time, early, curtailing his season. Then travel bans ski cuts, helps haul guest gear to the lodge via the restricted travel. With most international trav- rope tows or snowmobiles, digs out if a big storm elers banned from New Zealand, returning to hits, occasionally even bartends or chops veggies Mount Olympus wasn’t an option. in the kitchen. He could teach teenagers one week, college kids another, baby boomers a third, That adaptability Hartmuller has learned and his lessons are in short two-hour blocks. through his endless winter experience has “What is cool about Olympus is that I’ve learned come in handy. He decided to stay in Ophir a lot that I’ve been able to carry into other parts with his girlfriend. He hasn’t figured out exactly of my life: how to be a handyman and learning what he’ll do for work, but said he’s looking for- about snow safety,” Hartmuller said. ward to his accidental summer. “It’s pretty cool that I get to have a summer this year. I’ve kind Meanwhile, in Telluride, he’s one of 300 of been craving it,” he said. “I’m at the point instructors and part of a vastly larger opera- where I’m definitely a firm believer in getting tion. Hartmuller said Telluride has one of the some vitamin D and some warm weather.” \\ strongest training cultures in the industry, and that ski school clinics focus on individual skier development as well as imparting an in-depth

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44 • ESSAY LOTCHIARSLTYNFEORWS SEARCHING FOR SIGNS OF LIFE IN AMERICA’S NEWS DESERTS By Judy Muller In the time between my writing this and you reading it, many small town newspapers will perish. Many were already on life support due, in part, to the demise of a business model that relied heavily on local advertising. Then the pandemic shut down whatever remaining advertisers they might have had. That means that just as one of the most influential stories in the lifetime of most readers came along, there was no trustworthy voice for delivering vital facts and information at the local level. According to research by the University of North playing the slots, and corresponding with Publisher’s Carolina, the U.S. has lost more than 2,000 papers since Clearing House” is a kinder spin than “He had a serious 2004. More than 500 of those were in rural communities. gambling problem.” Only in a hometown paper. Because of the isolation of these towns, there is nothing else to fill the void. At least, nothing helpful or true. With no police blotter, the art of dishing dirt in the dispas- sionate language of law enforcement disappears: “An Edge- Welcome to the news deserts of America. wood man called to report that his wife had gone missing 18 What does a news desert look like? A lot of hot air, months ago” says so very much in so few words. A rural haiku. generated by rumors on social media, and no oasis of factual reporting to quench our thirst for truth. It’s also With no school sports documented, complete with pho- the absence of local stories that have served as the glue tos of, say, your kid scoring the winning touchdown, what’s for many communities. And that glue comes down to the the point of all those refrigerator magnets? What happens details of everyday life that they cannot get anywhere else. to the sense of community pride? Almost ten years ago, I wrote a book about small town newspapers. Emus Loose in Egnar: Big Stories from But most important of all, who will keep an eye on how Small Towns was a tribute to those courageous editors and taxpayer dollars are spent? Who will sit through school board reporters who, week after week, and for very little pay, put and town council meetings on your behalf? Nobody, that’s in the hard work of covering what I call the Holy Trinity of who. It could be a very good era for crooked politicians. local news: school sports, obituaries, and police blotters. More importantly, they serve as watchdogs for local gov- The coronavirus has underscored the vital role of local ernment, despite the “too close for comfort” pressure of papers. The Malheur Enterprise, an award-winning weekly reporting on neighbors. As one editor told me, “If we found in Eastern Oregon, has been using its website to keep res- a political official misusing taxpayer funds, we wouldn’t idents up to date on the latest pandemic developments, hesitate to nail him to a stump.” including shooting down false rumors. Here is one example, Since I wrote those words, hundreds of these vital, sin- published around the same time the county marked its first gular sources of local news have shut down. With no home- COVID-19 death: “Local police agencies have been fielding town paper to print obituaries, lives go unheralded. The hundreds of calls concerning rumors circulated on social art of euphemism dies a little, too. “He loved his horses, media that the border between Idaho and Oregon has been closed and that workers must carry authorization letters to move around as a result of Oregon’s order that people gener- ally are to stay home. Local officials told the Enterprise that TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

these rumors are completely unfounded and are causing panic among citizens, and lost time for law enforcement.” Malheur Enterprise editor Les Zaitz decided to pro- vide free access to their website stories on the pandemic. At the same time, he asked for support by either sub- scribing, contributing, and sharing: “Share our website by email, by Facebook, by Twitter, by chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Get.The.Word.Out.” The dangers to our democracy, to factual discourse and an informed citizenry, are very real. Consider the case of my friend Laurie Ezzell, the editor of The Canadian Record, an award-winning weekly paper in the Texas Panhandle. Laurie succeeded her father in the job, and has enjoyed the trust of the community over many years of fair, in-depth reporting. But when I spoke to her just before the pandemic swept the nation, she said she did not know how long she could hold on. She’s been forced to reduce her staff and she hasn’t had a day off in a year. Why? Because the paper is a business, dependent on other businesses for advertising. The oil and gas industries have been hard hit in her county, and local stores are closing. Subscriptions cannot make up for that loss. Her incentive to keep going, despite these setbacks, came in the form of a story that had become a hotbed of conspiracy theories on social media. The official investiga- tion into the death of a local teenager was going nowhere, so the boy’s mother began speculating online that perhaps the sheriff had been responsible. Ezzell had no real evidence to dispel these poisonous rumors until someone leaked a recording of a closed-door meeting between investigators and the boy’s family and supporters. Ezzell chose to pub- lish excerpts from that session, because the authorities had evidence that the boy had been contemplating suicide. The result: Ezzell was bombarded with hateful diatribes, includ- ing death threats. “But here’s what was amazing,” she told me. “The community showed up—literally, people coming to the office—to thank us for shedding light on a controver- sial case in the form of facts they could trust. And I realized that I could not walk away from this.” The courage of editors like Ezzell and Zaitz to keep going under financial and personal duress is all that is standing between an informed citizenry and a news desert. At a time when the United States is so sharply divided along urban and rural lines, when we no longer operate from a shared set of facts, a news desert becomes, ironically, fertile ground for propaganda. A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report found that Russian operatives had created fifty-four fake local news sites. Domestically produced fake outlets are also grow- ing, with names like Battle Creek Times, Detroit City Wire, and Lansing Sun. They look like the real thing, designed to fool the reader into thinking the stories are factual. There are some hopeful signs out there. Right here in Colorado, hundreds of people—journalists, professors, businesses and foundations—have teamed up to create the Colorado Media Project (Full disclosure: I am on the CMP Advisory Board.) The idea is to bolster local journalism by joining forces. Some seventy-five journalists will one day share the state’s largest newsroom on the third floor of Rocky Mountain PBS’s new headquarters in Denver. CMP has con- ducted a study of news consumers in Colorado and their will- ingness to pay for news, and created a ten-year business plan for the The Colorado Sun, an online newspaper. Small town newspapers are not antiquated bits of Americana. They are the connective tissue of truth in a country that has been stretched to the breaking point. As one editor told me, “Our paper says, essentially, we are here.” When they are no longer here, we all lose. Subscribe. Contribute. Share. \\

46 • FEATURE LESS MOisRE Microdosing psychedelics is trending

By Reilly Capps He tongued “a wee bit of acid” During the world’s first acid trip in 1943, the Swiss chemist who discovered and went golfing. LSD first felt “a desire to laugh”—and spent the rest of the evening He might’ve expected the thinking he was going to die. “I half-crazily cried or muttered indistinctly,” ball to dance on the tee, wrote Albert Hofmann. “My field of vision fluctuated and swam like an image in as impossible to hit a distorted mirror.” as a fastball, the putter wiggling like a snake. But instead of the trees talking to him and the grass doing the wave, Forte says, “I shot 74 on one of the hardest courses in California on a cold and windy day.” By the Seventies, after people high on LSD fell Protocol. It’s this: take between 1/20th and 1/5th boarder Ross Rebagliati, who incorporated LSD out of windows, entered mental institutions, and of a standard dose of LSD or psilocybin in the and mushrooms into his training routine. Com- quit solid jobs to chant to Krishna, Hofmann called morning. Dose once every four days for a month. puter programmers say psychedelic microdoses LSD “my problem child.” He told interviewers Go about your typical day. See how it affects you. help them stay in the zone. Sufferers of chronic he’d only tripped about a dozen times—and never pain say microdoses smooth out their day. would again. “I believe all an LSD experience can Some people have said microdosing makes give me has already been given,” Hofmann said. them anxious. But studies suggest most people “Over the past five years, microdosing has When Hofmann died in 2008 at the age of 102, LSD find microdosing tends to improve their mood, skyrocketed in popularity,” says Paul F. Austin, seemed, to the world, like a big mistake. increase energy, and enhance flow. And the posi- founder of The Third Wave, a company that sells tive stories I’ve heard are incredible. An elemen- courses in how to microdose. Austin guesses But one of the twentieth century’s greatest tary school teacher who teaches on small doses of between 500,000 and a million people world- alchemists had a secret—one that almost fol- mushrooms, and finds herself more engaged with wide have microdosed. Microdosing has become lowed him to the grave. students. World-class athletes who microdose, the psychedelic story America has been wait- including Olympic gold-medal-winning snow- ing for. After all, there are no bad trips. No one Don’t take so much, Hofmann quietly told microdoses and drops out to join an ashram. You friends. One such friend was Robert Forte, author can dose in your cubicle, at the bank. You can of Entheogens and the Future of Religion and Tim microdose and work on Wall Street. Microdosing Leary: Outside Looking In. One day decades ago, requires no re-thinking of the world. “It’s really Forte decided to try taking less. He tongued “a wee just getting started,” says Austin. bit of acid” and went golfing. He might’ve expected the ball to dance on the tee, as impossible to hit as a The trend has particularly caught on in cer- fastball, the putter wiggling like a snake. But instead tain liberal, open-minded towns. At a recent job of the trees talking to him and the grass doing the where I worked in Boulder, 20 to 30 percent of the wave, Forte says, “I shot 74 on one of the hardest staff were microdosing. The boss knew and didn’t courses in California on a cold and windy day.” care. “In Colorado, it’s part of the culture,” says Chrissy Gillis, an ad sales rep. Gillis says she was Golf, meet microdosing. taking an antidepressant, Lexapro, for three years. Over the past few months, she switched to a half- Over the next decades, Forte microdosed a lot. Not gram of shrooms every three days. “It’s amazing,” every dose was so successful. And yet he rarely men- she says. “With antidepressants, I wasn’t happy, I tioned microdosing to his friends. Why would he? just wasn’t depressed. Since I started microdosing, Forte is a spiritual man who believes full doses of I feel joy more. I also feel pain more, but maybe I psychedelics, used by caring, respectful facilitators, need to feel pain.” can connect us to the living intelligence of Mother Earth and reveal the divinity in us all. Who cared if To meet the demand of microdosers, a cottage smaller doses might improve your short game? industry has sprung up. Hayden Dudley, 37, lives in the Roaring Fork Valley and is very health-con- Turns out, a lot of people. About ten years ago, scious. He crack climbs in Moab and paraglides off Forte casually mentioned Hofmann’s microdosing local peaks. His kombucha company Elevated Elix- secret to a friend, who published the idea for a irs is dedicated to wellness, its drinks infused with microdosing regimen, called the James Fadiman vitamins, probiotics, and CBD. Now, he’s also selling SUMMER/FALL 2020 TellurideMagazine.com 47

48 • FEATURE microdoses. He calls them “Protocol,” gel capsules became unequal. After I stopped, my pupils mostly Skeptics include the man who helped bring with a pinch of psilocybin mushrooms along with evened out—but not completely. microdosing to the world’s attention, Robert healthy supplements including lion’s mane mush- There are mental risks. Schizophrenics and Forte. He was microdosing decades before the rooms and niacin. A month’s supply is $80, and sales people with bipolar disorder can be harmed by media hype, and neither he nor any of his friends are booming. “Microdosing eases people into alter- psychedelics. “If it’s done too often it can lead to who microdosed then felt the practice was a native medicines,” Dudley says. game changer. Most of his microdosing Only a very few business people in the days weren’t magic, they were “trivial,” world openly sell microdoses; mainly in says Forte. Forte believes microdosing Canada, where enforcement of drug laws is could lead to what religious folks call relaxed. But Dudley has watched cannabis About ten years ago, “spiritual bypassing.” “Frequent drug use and CBD go from forbidden drugs to main- Forte casually mentioned Hofmann’s might erode the will necessary to really stream medicines. “I would love to be in transform oneself into a more conscious, front of the curve on this one,” Dudley says. microdosing secret to a friend, healthy being,” Forte says. Forte believes who published the idea for a that, in foolish or oppressive hands, even There are, however, headwinds. Most microdosing regimen, called the microdoses of psychedelics can be portals obviously, there are legal risks. Currently to insanity, mind control, and destruc- three cities—Denver, Oakland, and Santa James Fadiman Protocol. tion. Critics point to a recent article by Cruz—have decriminalized certain psy- a U.S. Marine major who suggested “an chedelics, including mushrooms, and cops advantage may be gained over our adver- in progressive towns like Telluride have saries” by soldiers microdosing psychedel- never aggressively prosecuted users of ics. Forte says meditation, exercise, and psychedelics. Still, microdosing is illegal prayer improve your life more than micro- at the federal level everywhere. There are physical risks. Scientists dosing ever could. worry long-term use of LSD and psilocybin But if you want an idea of the kinds microdoses could damage the valves of the heart, anxiety and burnout,” psychedelic advocate Austin of situations LSD microdosing must surely be good although the evidence for that is inconclusive. says. To mitigate such issues, Austin advises micro- for, start with the world’s second acid experience, Some people with red-green colorblindness report dosing only for a month or a few months at a time, also in 1943. In a mountain hut in the Alps, Albert lasting visual distortions from microdosing. I’ve followed by long breaks. Hofmann took one-twelfth as much LSD as he had been covering drugs as a journalist for Rooster, Finally, many people think microdosing is sim- with his first terrifying dose. The evening could not a Boulder-based magazine for millennials, since ply over-hyped, the latest health trend with mas- have been more different. Hofmann drank coffee 2016, reporting on cannabis, opioids, ketamine, sive claims that won’t pan out in the long run. No and grappa with his buddies, played foosball and and psychedelics. After I had been microdosing scientific study validates the assertion that micro- billiards, and went to bed experiencing “warm, (as well as macrodosing) for three years, my pupils dosing actually increases creativity. comfortable feelings.” \\ TellurideMagazine.com SUMMER/FALL 2020

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