Writing

I recently completed a Masters in Biography & Creative Non-fiction at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. I am also a fellow at the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab.

Between November 2014 and March 2015, I walked 3,000 km down the length of New Zealand with my Dad and produced a new media project about the experience. I wrote weekly articles and produced a 16-part web series. The project also included regular newsletters, written and visual content for sponsors, and a bit of freelance work on the side.

“Think Like A Forest,” The Gulch, August/September 2018

The fading scars of the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire were an ever-present reminder that it could happen again. All it would take was one long drought, one wayward spark. Sixteen years later, winter never came. Southwest Colorado suffered one of its driest winters on record and locals knew it wasn’t a matter of “if,” but rather “when” Durango’s next big fire would ignite. It happened on June 1st, 2018, approximately ten miles north of town in the bedroom community of Hermosa.

Screen Shot 2018-06-24 at 7.43.03 AM “Traveling Light,” Adventure Pro, Summer 2018

In the ounce-counting realm of ultralight backpacking, it’s a race to the bottom where the lightest pack wins. Not that backpacking is a competitive sport. But if it was, Pete Vogt AKA “Five Pound Pete,” would leave his competition in the dust. As his trail name implies, Vogt hiked the Colorado Trail with a five pound backpacking kit. With food and water, his entire pack weighed just twelve pounds.

“Walls,” The Gulch Magazine, April/May 2018

In a grainy black and white video, a furtive figure casts his gaze from side to side. It’s nighttime. Moths flitter in front of the camera and Sombra’s eyes glow like two full moons. The video is high contrast and pixelated, like footage of a fugitive caught on a security camera. Unaware he’s being filmed, Sombra holds his head up, alert to opportunity and danger. Both may find him in the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona.

“Saving the San Juans,” The Durango Telegraph, 4/26/18

When former Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., introduced an act to expand wilderness areas in the San Juan Mountains, political battles over remote landscapes in the American West weren’t often the subject of national news. That, of course, was before the largest reduction of federally protected land in U.S. history. The recent reduction of Bears Ears National Monument pushed the conversation to center stage. Since then, debates over public lands have become intensely ideological and partisan.

“Mouse House,” 2017 UEA Biography & Creative Writing Anthology

There was a warning etched into the rusted metal door. The spidery letters looked as if they’d been hastily scrawled before the unknown victim fled his attackers. It read:

Mouse House.

“A Land of Rabbits and Gold,” New Zealand On Foot

Summer seemed a rapidly fading memory. Each step, hour, and day brought us nearer the 45th parallel, the mid-way point between the Equator and the South Pole. Sunrise was a long time coming in the mornings and sunset was never too far away. The nighttime chill lasted well into the morning, and on a cloudy day it stayed cool.

“Snow in Them Hills!,/” New Zealand On Foot

New Zealand has over 950 huts in its remote backcountry. What a number for a landmass only a hair larger than the state of Colorado! Kiwis began constructing huts in the late 1800s for sheep musterers, miners, and loggers…

Engineering Paradise – Will De-Extinction Save the Planet?, The Urchin Movement

There’s no Edit>Undo button in real life. Except when it comes to accidentally/on purpose eradicating an entire species from the planet. There’s an app for that. Back in the day of Jurassic Park, this was the stuff of theoretical philosophizing. Today, geneticists are in the process of bringing extinct species back from the dead and diversifying the gene pools of many endangered species through genetic restoration and de-extinction. From flocks of passenger pigeons to zoo exhibits starring the great woolly mammoth, we will see true resurrections within the century.

Fueling Your Chocolate Addiction, Edible Southwest Colorado

When archeologists found remnants of hot cocoa mugs in Honduras, it officially confirmed that humans have been addicted to chocolate for over 3,000 years. But it wasn’t until chocolate touched the unsuspecting taste buds of Spanish conquistadors that it quickly became one of the world’s most popular foods. Quantity and quality, however, are two very different things, and no one knows it better than Durango chocolatier Carley Felton.

Olympic Connections, Durango Magazine

It’s more than 5,000 miles from Durango to Sochi, Russia; but come winter, our mountain town of 17,000 people will be plugged directly into the Olympics through a rich history of world-class athletes. For well over 40 years, Durangoans have been competing on the international stage, and now, thanks in part to the Durango Winter Sports Foundation (DWSF), three more athletes will have a shot at the XXII Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 7-23, 2014

Fast And Fun, Durango Embraces Ice Hockey, Durango Magazine

For some, the first snowflakes of winter send thrills of excitement shooting through their bloodstream. For others, it’s the smack of a puck hitting the ice for the first time. With all the love given to snow sports, Durango ice hockey flies a bit under the radar, but its vibrancy in the community is no less potent.

Not Your Father’s Roller Derby, Durango Magazine, Summer 2013

Just imagine a pack of bruised, scarred and determined women slamming into each other, elbowing, shouting and all but tackling their opponents. On skates. Roller derby, one of the few full-contact sports for women, is often misunderstood and stereotyped. The Durango Roller Girls are out to prove otherwise.

Ice Play, Durango Magazine, Winter 2012/13

Not so long ago, places like Cascade Canyon, north of Durango, were a frozen Narnia to any who dared trespass in winter – a beautiful but bitter land of frozen waterfalls and sharp, icy pinnacles. The now familiar crunch and crack of titanium axes and biting crampons echo through the narrow walls. Ice climbers rhythmically hammer and step their way up the slick ice in a methodical dance.

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