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Litany of Vail Valley tragedies underscores debate over personal responsibility in the wilderness
Jul 1, 2008 —
The last eight months in Vail have been a perfect case study in the never-ending battle by many Americans to exercise their God-given right to kill themselves in the wilderness.
In October I attended a press conference at the Vail hospital for a 23-year-old Missouri man who spent two nights soaking wet on the slopes of one of the state’s most grueling...
Assessing Vail’s next presidential prospects
Jun 17, 2008 —
Vail has demonstrated an amazing capacity over the years to put its politics aside and show a fawning allegiance to presidents, politicos or royalty of any sort – especially if they’re dead and plastered on paper currency.
But the live ones, too, will do.
We love the limelight, though we feign indifference, and are able to effect...
McClellan book steals spotlight from Obama as education gets pushed to the background
May 28, 2008 —
THORNTON, Colo. — The Obama campaign has tried again and again to look forward, but America can’t help but look backward.
On a day when Barack Obama tackled the ghost-issue of education at a town hall meeting in Denver, the mass media has turned its attention to something far more vicious, vitriolic, and in the long run, less important to...
Earth Day: Is climate change really our nation's biggest challenge?
Apr 22, 2008 —
I just returned from Washington D.C., where anyone with a heart feels a strong sense of wonder at the history of this nation. I found Lincoln memorial particularly moving, even now on my fifth or sixth visit to that sacred place.
Slavery and the War were the big issue in Lincoln’s time, but now what is the major issue of our day? Do the...
For this hunter, ducks make a worthy cause
Mar 25, 2008 —
There’s a young couple across the street with whom I’ve become absolutely fascinated. They moved in a couple of winters ago – she’s trim and healthy, and if I may say so, he’s a fine specimen himself. They’re fairly quiet and sometimes hard to see, but every time I lay eyes on them I’m filled with a tremendous gratitude that they’ve moved into our...
What does it take to be dubbed a 'longtime local'?
Feb 21, 2008 —
The question usually comes by about the second or third lift tower - superseded perhaps by an offhand, “So, how’s it going today?” – but it’s a query as inevitable as a safety bar in the back of the helmet.
It’s the quintessential ski question because it says so much about one’s lot in life, status in society and just how far you’re willing or able to go to...
Giving more than just lip service to skier safety week
Jan 17, 2008 —
It seems like every ski season a case crops up - usually at one of my home mountains of Vail or Beaver Creek - that glaringly underscores the need to teach kids slope awareness, respect for other snow riders and the fact that adults often act worse than children on the mountain.
This season’s mindbender is the case of 8-year-old Scott Swimm, or Eagle, who...
Jensen will be missed, but all is not lost
Jan 9, 2008 —
There will no doubt be a lot of hand wringing and gnashing of teeth in Vail over the loss to ski-company rival Intrawest of Bill Jensen, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain.
Jensen in June will assume the duties of CEO of Intrawest, which owns Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada, and Copper...
The best and worst of the Vail Valley in 2007
Jan 3, 2008 —
Best new Vail action sport:
Bed bartering. That’s right, a ski town with a long a steamy history of after-hours arguing over sleeping arrangements has now legitimized and made official the sport of bed bartering.
And we’re not just talking about the new town housing regulations aimed at...
Thomas Wolfe was wrong: you can go home again
Dec 11, 2007 —
Depending on who you talk to, I’m either Michael Landon in Little House on the Prairie or Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast.
Alternately a stalwart father figure tending my flock in America’s high-altitude hinterlands or a dogmatic and maniacal fantasist bent on destroying my family through the feverish pursuit of my own twisted...
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