Still, there is more that each of us can do. For example, check out TerraCycle. This program allows outdoor enthusiast such as ourselves to upcycle things that we’d typically throw away, like our wrappers from granola bars, gels, and energy blocks. So, now, the things that we “pack out” to keep the slopes clean can be diverted from landfills and upcycled. Better yet, this process can earn money for charity. Check out the press release below and the TerraCycle website for more information.

Instead of throwing out their garbage, hikers, park-goers and outdoor enthusiasts have another option for their non-recyclable trash after they pack it out: sending it free of charge to pioneering company TerraCycle® to be recycled. TerraCycle collects people’s trash and recycles the non-recyclable into eco-friendly, affordable, and practical products.

For more information on how to sign up, send in trash and earn extra cash for your favorite school or charity, visit www.terracycle.net.

Photo courtesy of TerraCycle

So, please, and an outdoor enthusiast, do your part to keep our outdoors a beautiful playground. If you don’t recycle, consider making a recycling plan for yourself as part of a New Year’s resolution. If you recycle already, begin TerraCycling! We all make a difference in the world in which we live! Live it and treat it well

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Generations is a short film produced by TGR about something that should concern all skiers: climate change. It’s a really good movie, with a lot of historical footage, climate change information, and even a fair bit of top-notch skiing and snowboarding. The download is free, and can be found here. I tend to prefer ski movies with a little bit of plot or storyline in them, and this film was no exception. The kids near the end are hilarious, too.

Meanwhile, my friend Alison Gannett recently walked from London to Copenhagen to attend the Copenhagen Climate Conference and raise awareness for her Save Our Snow Foundation Climate change awareness is something that Alison has been working hard on for several years, and her efforts are noteworthy. Thanks for being such a leader on this issue, Alison!

Finally, I thought I’d mention how sad it is that so many people continue to dismiss climate change and the role humans play. The evidence is overwhelming, and the only studies discounting it seem to come from scientists funded by the oil industry. Even for people who think the entire global warming scenario is something cooked up by environmental extremists, reducing the use of fossil fuels should be a top priority for us all. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is just one benefit of moving away from fossil fuels. The last time I was in Salt Lake City, the air was so thick with smog I couldn’t see even one block, and I don’t need any studies to know that my burning eyes and the metallic taste in my mouth was not good for me. Take some action, even if it’s just the small things mentioned at the end of Generations, like unplugging as much as you can every time you leave the house, or changing your light bulbs to the new compact florescents. At least check the movie out, it’s worthwhile as a ski flick alone.

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Let me start by saying that I am a fan of Wilderness. It’s an amazing thing to have pristine and untrammeled land right outside my back door. In the winter and spring, I recreate in Wilderness areas on nearly a daily basis. The majority of Colorado’s Fourteeners are within Wilderness boundaries. Getting deep into one of Colorado’s larger Wilderness areas, such as the Weminuche or the Maroon Bells/Snowmass can be a life-changing event.

Despite this, I am against the Hidden Gems proposal. There are problems with designating lands as Wilderness, here are a few of them:

• Mountain bikes are not allowed
• Hang gliding, BASE jumping, etc is not allowed
• Horses are allowed
• Cows and ranching equipment are grandfathered in
• Events like running races are not allowed
• Climbing bolts are not allowed unless done by hand
• At what point is there enough Wilderness in a given area?

Of course, I’ve neglected to mention that Wilderness areas also ban motorcycles, ATV’s, and snowmobiles, among other things. I’m OK with that, because even as a snowmobiler I can recognize that I don’t need to be allowed everywhere. I also don’t have a problem having my bike banned from these existing areas, even though studies show time and time again that mountain bikes do no more damage than hikers on most soil types. A bike certainly has less impact than a horse or herd of cows, and yet they are allowed in Wilderness areas. I have a problem with that kind of hypocrisy. Either ban horses as well, or let the bikes in. Finally, there is the question of: How much is enough? Here in Crested Butte, I can reach trailheads to the following Wilderness areas in the following amount of time:

• Maroon Bells/Snowmass: 5 minutes
• Raggeds: 20 minutes
• West Elk: 20 minutes
• Fossil Ridge: 45 minutes
• Powderhorn: 1 hour
• Collegiate: 1 hour

This is a tremendous amount of acreage where people can really only hike, ski, or ride a horse. What this means for me is that we currently have a nice balance of protected areas and areas that allow other forms of recreation. Of course, even in non-Wilderness areas, some activities are still banned, like dirtbikes on some trails or snowmobiles up certain valleys (i.e. Gothic). This also means that we have no need for more Wilderness in this area.

Several groups have lined up to oppose the Hidden Gems campaign. I encourage readers to take a look at these sites and follow through on the recommended actions such as writing your local politicians. The Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association opposes Hidden Gems due to the number of trails which will be shut down on the North side of the Elks. The White River Forest Alliance
is an umbrella group representing all of the user groups affected by this proposal.

CLOSER TO HOME…

Meanwhile, it appears that another “Hidden Gem” has recently been discovered much closer to home here in Crested Butte. It is being called the Whetstone Wilderness and lies just south of town. The Crested Butte town council recently voted to support the measure, and more information on that aspect can be viewed here. What this newspaper article only hints at is this: The Whetstone Wilderness is proposed for one reason, and that is to thwart the Mt. Emmons Molybdenum Mine Project. Like the Climax mine outside of Leadville, this proposed mine will need a place to put all the tailings and toxic water. The proposed Whetstone Wilderness *may* be problematic for the mining company.

It’s a silly Wilderness area otherwise, popular with mountain bikers, dirtbikes, and snowmobilers. A fit person could easily walk the whole thing in a day. On the north, it would be bordered by the Splain’s Gulch 4×4 roads (or would those be in it?) as well as the Trapper’s Crossing McMansion/Ranchette subdivision. Those homes tend to be abandoned except 4th of July weekend and Christmas, so I guess it already has a Wilderness feel to it any way. On the west side is Ohio Pass, and the south and west sides are private property, mostly ranches. Here it is, roughly:

This is one “Gem” I guess I’ll have to support, assuming it throws a wrench in the mining plans. The Green Lake trail may be one of my favorite rides, and I’ll miss the easy snowmobile access, but if the payoff is sending the mine packing, it would be a small price to pay. I wish this area wasn’t included with the rest of the Hidden Gems, the vast majority of which I do not support. The mine is such a looming problem for those of us here in Crested Butte that I will even have to support the whole proposal if I truly feel it will hurt the mine. What a mess…

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Marshals concerned with new wave of pesky bear problems – Aug. 19, 2009

Local vehicles feel brunt of bear problem – July 22, 2009

Bears gone wild? Local bruins cause night chaos across town – July 15, 2009

Photo from Travel Alaska

But, perhaps the funniest encounter I’ve heard comes from my friend Alison. Posted on her Facebook earlier this week she said:

We have a big momma with two cubs who comes by our house all the time. Three weeks ago, the mamma broke into our house, while we were away on a bike tour, and ate 200 Clif Bars. She wrapped up her excursion by heading into our bedroom for a drink of water in the toilet, complete with an investigation into our bathtub, it was full of hair. Each bar was opened carefully and nothing broken in the house. Wrappers filled four rooms. How she got back out remains a mystery, as our door swings shut after you open it.

This past friday night, asleep and home alone while Jason was working in Vail, I heard our door open, and a moan, which puzzled me, as I had locked both doors. Then I heard moaning and a crash. I grabbed my newly purchased paintball gun, ready on the bedside table, and came around the corner all rambo-styled, as I had just freshly graduated from Hunter Education and rifle training the day before. With two hands on the gun, I cop-styled around each corner of the mudroom, with the last turn leaving me face to face with the 500-pound mamma bear. She roared repeatedly, not happy with me being home. I yelled “GET OUT”, and it went on for a bit, like a bad soap opera, until she started stepping backwards. She was so big that her rear foot was still keeping the door open, but she was through the gear room and her nose was in the next room, our greenhouse/mudroom, just inches from my barrel. After many roaring protests on her part and yelling and gun waving on my part, she backed out the door and I shot her with a paintball, which caused her jump and turn. She ran while I got two more shots. She came back an hour later, and tried to open the locked patio levered door again. I watched in fascination with her dexterity on the levered knob, moving it around carefully while she leaned her full weight into the door in pulses. Frustrated, she went for the second door, where we had removed the knob to keep her out. On this one she just tried to break it in with her weight, but was clearly pissed. When she looked away to listen to our neighbors dog bark, I quickly opened the door and was able to get in three good shots.

All of this chaos makes me feel sad for the bears. Bears are getting killed because of our invasion on their home. Negligent people who left their trash out without bear-proof latches caused these bears to learn to rely on human garbage. Now that they can’t find the garbage, the are forced to look elsewhere in our cars and houses.

All this said, I find it completely ironic that I have never even seen a bear in Colorado!

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Movie of the Month: An Inconvenient Truth

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Year: 2006

Where can I find it? Netflix, Amazon.com, climatecrisis.net

An Inconvenient Truth is inspired by Al Gore’s global warming campaign. Since an accident almost claimed the life of his six-year old son, Gore has vowed to try to make this world a better place. Since college, Gore has shown interest in the research and science behind global warming. As Vice President, Gore continued his interest and was a political leader in global warming policies. But nothing has been stronger than Gore’s current campaigns.

An Inconvenient Truth documents Gore’s recent campaigns where he educates people about global warming. His goal is to campaign as hard as he can about a subject that he believes is one of the most important global issues. In this campaign, he educates regular people about global warming. Afterall, he states, the only way he knows how to tell the story is to impact one person at a time. This is Gore’s campaign.

In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore breaks down the science of global warming, making it understandable to the average person. He avoids scientific jargon and makes the points plain and simple. The throws myths out the window. For instance, Gore addresses the myth that some scientists believe global warming is not happening. That simply is not true. He also highlights scientific research in CO2 and climate change. Paleoclimatologists have long recognized the correlation between rising CO2 and rising temperatures. Many people think that the earth can handle today’s skyrocketing CO2 levels, as it is just the same as a cycle in the past. But, what most people don’t know is that climate records have never shown the CO2 levels being much higher than 300 ppm (parts per million). What are today’s levels? 387 ppm according to 2008 Mauna Loa studies. As far as we know, CO2 levels have never been this high. How is the earth going to handle it?

Gore goes into details about what will happen as a result of temperatures rising. Many of our biggest cities will be under water. The global ocean circulation will shift, causing weather patterns to shift drastically. Rising ocean temperatures will allow storms to absorb more moisture causing more drastic disasters like hurricane Katrina. We’ve all heard these stories before, but Gore brings these to reality.

Gore speaks about the Kyoto Protocol, mentioning how it was a shame that the US couldn’t join in international global warming efforts because of political pressures coming from the oil/energy industries. However, he recognizes that many states have individually recognized the Kyoto Protocol and have passed measures showing support of these global warming efforts.

Gore addresses the issue that US citizens are energy whores. Per capita, we use the most energy compared to any other country in the world. European countries use about half the energy we use per person. With countries like China and India on the industrial rise, we need to set a good example of our energy use.

Most people believe in global warming, as Gore recognizes. However, most people are in denial of it. Many don’t want to change their lifestyles. Or others get so overwhelmed with the issue that they push it aside. Politically speaking, global warming is often considered one of the least important issues by our Congressmen today due to pressures from the oil industry. Yet, most don’t deny that global warming is happening. Most people just don’t want it to be happening. Simply stated, global warming is an inconvenient truth.

With these things in mind, Gore states that we already have all the measures we need in place to reduce CO2 levels back more normal levels. He makes it clear that we all need to do our part and that we all need to spread the word about global warming. How can you make a difference? Find out on climatecrisis.net.

View the trailer for Inconvenient Truth here:

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Why should we care?

Global warming is no doubt happening. Here in Crested Butte, we had some of the warmest temperatures in January and February this year than has ever been recorded. If this rise in temperatures continues, we will no longer be able to enjoy our favorite sport of skiing. Even worse, future generations will not be able to enjoy it either. On top of this, global warming is a major factor in the spread of beatles which are killing our forests. Soon, we may not even have forests due to this devastation. Global warming will impact each and every person on this planet. Please do your part to prevent it!

You can also purchase the book here:

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