by David Frey | Apr 16, 2012 | Food & Farm, The West
EDIBLE ASPEN
Beneath the visage of Mount Lamborn rising in the distance, Tom and Lynn Gillespie’s farm on the edge of Paonia spreads out in all directions. It’s a 212-acre operation, home to East Frisian sheep, heritage turkeys, chickens, hogs, beef cattle and a lone dairy cow. The Gillespie’s call it the Living Farm, and it’s hard to come up with a more fitting name. (more…)
by David Frey | Jan 9, 2012 | Environment, Food & Farm, The West
Tai Jacober. David Frey photo.
EDIBLE ASPEN
In his cowboy hat and blue jeans rolled over muddy boots, Tai Jacober seems more Marlboro Man than green crusader, but he’s a little of both. (more…)
by David Frey | Dec 16, 2011 | News, Radio, The West
Matt Cudmore, founder of Meier Skis, shapes a ski at his shop. David Frey photo.
ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO
If you’re a skier, you’ve probably heard of brands like K2 and Salomon. But what about Meier Skis? The one-man operation, which handcrafts custom skis from local wood, is part of a boom of boutique ski makers that’s making its mark on the industry.
(more…)
by David Frey | Dec 5, 2011 | The West, Travel
AMERICAN PROFILE
Steve Borbas sits inside of a small shack at the top of Tenderfoot Mountain, waiting for a radio signal to flip the switch and light up a Christmas tradition that he and other volunteers have prepared for weeks and maintained for decades in Salida, Colo. (pop. 5,236).
On the Friday evening after Thanksgiving Day, a crowd of spectators has gathered below in downtown Salida to watch the city’s annual Christmas parade, capped off with a visit by Santa Claus and the lighting of Tenderfoot Mountain for the holidays.
“Ho ho ho!” Santa belts out before waving his arm to lead the crowd in counting, “One, two, three!”
As if by magic, the mountain suddenly glows with red, orange and white lights outlining a 750-foot-tall Christmas tree above the town. (more…)
by David Frey | Oct 25, 2011 | Environment, News, Radio, The West
Red trees, the telltale sign of beetle kill, rise amid the snow in Eagle County, Colorado. David Frey photo.
ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO
Many trees on the White River National Forest are dying. Bark beetles are killing lodgepole pines. Aspens are experiencing what biologists call sudden aspen decline. So the Forest Service is trying to actively manage for the future forest. It’s part of a national priority called “forest resiliency.” But some critics wonder if humans should be trying to play Mother Nature. (more…)
by David Frey | Oct 25, 2011 | Environment, Essays, The West
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
She had three dogs at her feet, and her girlfriend sat beside her on a motel lobby couch. The two cats were at a kennel. Their VW van was full of climbing gear, and their motel room had a couple changes of clothes.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about impermanence,” Ashley Woods told me. (more…)