Crested Butte Is Home

If you spend any time skiing Crested Butte Mountain Resort at all, you've almost certainly seen ROMP skis, and probably a lot of them, in the lift lines. Brothers Morgan and Caleb Weinberg grew up in the mountains of New Hampshire doing all the things we love to do here in the Gunnison valley, like mountain biking and skiing. Both of them attended Western Colorado University, and like many Western alum, decided to stay and make a home in Crested Butte.

During and shortly after the 2008 recession, they found themselves with a bit more time on their hands and Morgan, a self-described tinkerer, suggested making their own skis. At first, it was just a bit of a hobby and a fun way to play with skis. soon enough, however, it turned into a full-fledged business and ROMP skis was born. In this episode, we talk about the design and construction of a pair of skis, and how purchasing a pair of ROMP skis on a semi-custom basis might be different than any other ski purchase you've likely made.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

As is the case across the country, Crested Butte and Gunnison real estate is seeing substantial price increases along with record low inventory. Take a look at my market reports HERE

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Romp Skis Website

Aaron Blunck was born to ski.  His grandfather started the ski school here in Crested Butte, his mom was a longtime instructor, his dad loves to ski, and Aaron had to keep up with his big brother somehow, too.  By 8 he and his brother were skiing on their own, equipped with cheap radios to call home in case they needed to.

Aaron was always into jumps and he pretty quickly started to excel at it, especially in the halfpipe discipline.  Before he knew it he was competing in the X Games and Olympics before he'd even gotten out of high school.  He went on to win an X Games gold medal, World Championships, and compete in a second Olympics.  

In this episode, we talked about the entire arc of his ski career, how grateful he is to have grown up in Crested Butte, and where he sees his ski career heading in the future.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

Recently, we've seen a lot of commercial properties and development opportunities go under contract in the Crested Butte area.  Additionally, I recently listed a Crested butte property with 3 homes and great rental income- more info here.

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Aaron Blunck Instagram 

Corey Tibljas spent most of his childhood growing up right here in Crested Butte, as one of the first graduating classes at what was then the new Community School.  It was there, at the school, that he and his friend Ben Somrak decided to make a ski movie and start their company, Two Plank Productions.  Thanks to the help of local film makers Matchstick Productions (see episode 26 Murray Wais), and the local TV station (see episode 46 Noah Wight), they were able to release their film to a packed house at the Center For the Arts. 

The duo released several more ski movies, before Corey transitioned the company into a more general film production company and Ben moved on to be a local general contractor.  Another Two Plank event was "Big Air on Elk", which for several years featured skiers towed on snowmobiles launching "big air" right on Elk Avenue in downtown Crested Butte.  It was a favorite event for a lot of people, and he's hoping to bring it back some day. 

Corey also began volunteer firefighting while he was still a teen.  Today, 20 years later, he still fights fires in addition to his Two Plank responsibilities- but now as a full time paid Captain of the Crested Butte Fire Protection District.  Not only that, he helps teens that are following his footsteps into firefighting as well.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

In this episode's real estate minute, I discussed the 2021 Crested Butte and Gunnison real estate outlook.  For more information, please visit the post on my website.

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Two Plank Productions

Shamai Buckel grew up in Southern Colorado as well as Santa Fe, New Mexico and went to Western Colorado University after a powder-filled ski trip to Crested Butte convinced her that this was the place to be.  Joe Buckel's journey to the Gunnison valley from Indiana took a little longer, with a short stint in Denver.  But they found each other and eventually moved to California wine country to learn more about wine making.  There, they discovered "warehouse wineries", and decided that they could do the same thing here.

They get their grapes in Palisade (near Grand Junction), but make the wine in Gunnison at their Winery, Buckel Family Wines.  We spend a lot of time in this episode talking about how to taste wine (great for someone like me who would like to be "better" at it), how to pair it, and of course how to make wine. And of course, one of the great things about wine is travel, too- so we talked about some of the great places to visit.  I hope you enjoy this interview and get a chance to taste their wines, whether at a local liquor store, a local restaurant, or at their winery in Gunnison.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

In this episode's real estate minute, I highlighted the Meridian Lake Neighborhood, located up the Washington Gulch Trailhead near Mount Crested Butte. This beautiful neighborhood with great access to hiking, Long Lake, and more also has amazing views of the ski area. For more information, maps, and all current listings, visit here.

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Buckel Winery

Lucille Lucas grew up in New York City, with parents that were deeply immersed in the art world.  That meant that she was able to meet artists like Salvador Dali and others, and Lucille began practicing her own art at a young age as well.  But a trip across the country proved to her that NYC wasn't her place- the smaller and slower life in the rural West was more her speed.  

She learned how to ski and backcountry ski when few people were doing it, and also lived in a teepee above Aspen, CO for a winter. Another adventure started at the farmhouse she was living at in Northern California- "Come with us to Morocco, and let us buy a VW bus in your name", they said.  Give this one a listen to find out where that story ends up.  She also worked at the famous "bathhouse" in Crested Butte, which was a popular spot in the 70's.

She is the owner of the Lucille Lucas gallery, specializing in prints- many of which were made by her father.  We finish the conversation discussing art in general, as well as the art scene here in the Creative District of Crested Butte.  This was one of my favorite interviews so far, so I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

This episode is being released in November of 2020, and the real estate market continues to be incredibly busy (normally this is a slower time of year). Therefore, it remains a great time for sellers, and for buyers, they should be ready to "pull the trigger" if they see something that they like. Contact me, Frank Konsella, at my website. for more information.

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Lucille Lucas Gallery

Craig Hall grew up in the Southeast Colorado town of La Junta, but often visited the Gunnison and Crested Butte area to ski and fish.  After graduating with a forestry degree from Colorado State University, Craig headed to Crested Butte to ski.  He was part of a small group of skiers that were heading out into the backcountry and started to learn the newly re-discovered telemark turn as the best way to access the mountains surrounding Crested Butte with the gear that was available at the time.

A heliskiing company was starting, and Craig was recommended as someone who knew the area.  Thus began Craig's career as a heliskiing guide, skiing many of the runs that are popular with today's backcountry skiers.  Later, the operation moved to Marble to attract the Aspen market, where his clients included Saudi Sheiks and local drug dealers.  

After the heliskiing company folded, Craig was able to combine his forestry degree, past experience as a "hot shot" firefighter, and helicopter experience to fight fires from the air, something he still does today.  When we recorded this episode in early October 2020, the Cameron Peak fire had not yet exploded into Colorado's largest ever, and the destructive East Troublesome fire had not yet started.  When you hear updates on those fires, chances are good that Craig was there, assisting the firefighting efforts from the air.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

Are you considering a sale of your home or condo in Crested Butte?  A few simple things can really help- like decluttering, repainting, window washing and more. Want to know more? Contact me, Frank Konsella, at my website.

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First Tracks Heliskiing

Jay Prentiss grew up on the East coast, and like many of the other people I've interviewed, his first visit to the Gunnison Valley was as a freshman at Western Colorado University.  Already an outdoor athlete, he's taken advantage of all the Crested Butte area offers- climbing, kayaking, skiing, mountain biking and more.  One of those passions is mountaineering, which included a trip to North America's highest peak, Denali.  It didn't get off to a particularly auspicious start, with the pilot saying "sorry" seconds before hitting the glacier.  Another mountaineering trip was cut short by bad weather high on Peru's highest peak, Huascaran.  After an unplanned bivouac, Jay and his partner's adventure was just starting when they got off the mountain and then had to navigate an uprising in the country.

Jay is also involved in a number of local non-profits, including Gunnison Valley Mentors.  That organization pairs youth with mentors to help them grow.  Jay previously mentored kids and today, he's on their board of directors.

In late February/ early March, Jay was one of many people who caught Covid-19, as the disease quickly spread through Crested Butte and Gunnison.  Now 7 months later, he's still suffering from a number of symptoms, from fatigue to a severe shortness of breath on the bad days.  He's been travelling to doctors across the country looking for help so he can get back to being the mountain athlete that he's known to be

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

A lack of real estate inventory continues to be a problem for buyers, so if you (or someone you know) are considering selling property in Gunnison or Crested Butte, give me (Frank Konsella) a call.  Stay up to date on real estate news in Crested Butte by signing up for my monthly market updates here.  

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Altitude Painting

Gunnison Valley Mentors

Jake O Connor grew up in Colorado, enjoying the outdoor lifestyle and building houses as he grew older.  In his final year at CSU in Fort Collins, Jake suffered a spinal cord injury at a jobsite, but mere months later, he returned and earned his construction management degree.  He went on to a successful career, even building a "floating casino" in Kansas City, which we talk about in this episode.  

Eventually he decided to move to Crested Butte, and not only that, he thought he could improve upon the handcycle designs of the time and build something better.  After all, he could build homes, so how hard could it be to weld a few tubes together to make a bike?  Hard, obviously- but those were the beginnings of Reactive Adaptations, his handcycle company that now boasts multiple designs and all of them are handbuilt here in Crested Butte.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

Local real estate continues to be extremely active, thanks in part to "Zoom buyers"- those that are now working from home permanently, or at least most of the time.  That means that someplace like Crested Butte has a lot of appeal versus a city that they no longer need to be tied to.  Low inventory continues to be a problem, so if you (or someone you know) are considering selling property in Gunnison or Crested Butte, give me (Frank Konsella) a call.  Stay up to date on real estate news in Crested Butte by signing up for my monthly market updates here.  

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Reactive Adaptations

Reactive Adaptations Facebook

Reactive Adaptations Instagram

Stevie Kremer was born in Germany, but moved to Connecticut with her family before she was 1 year old.   Her life on the CT shore, not far from New York City, was typical- golf, tennis, etc, before heading to Colorado College in Colorado Springs. It was while attending CC that she was introduced to Crested Butte and fell in love with the place, as so many of us do.

Once she arrived in Crested Butte after college, she began hiking and realized she could run instead of hiking half the time, so why not run? So she kept running and even ran her first race, Crested Butte's "Cart to Cart". But it was while she was teaching in Italy that she began competing at a high level in mountain trailrunning, and not only that, she started to win races across Europe, where trailrunning is a huge sport.

Trailrunning took her to every continent except Antarctica, even though she was working full time as a teacher at the Crested Butte Community School. In the winter, she discovered "skimo" racing, donning lightweight skis and racing up the mountains and winning those races, too.  Today, she still races, still works at CBCS, but her focus is now on being a mom.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

July 2020 has been an incredibly busy month in Crested Butte real estate.  Low inventory continues to be a problem, so if you (or someone you know) are considering selling property in Gunnison or Crested Butte, give me (Frank Konsella) a call.  Stay up to date on real estate news in Crested Butte by signing up for my monthly market updates here.  

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Stevie's Instagram page

Kyleena Falzone is originally from Buffalo, New York.  From a young age, she knew she wanted to work in the restaurant business, and that only intensified after a visit with relatives in Sicily, Italy, who owned a restaurant there.  For several years, Kyleena would work in restaurants from Vail to the Hamptons, learning as much as she could about the business, and spending off seasons pursuing her other love- traveling to far-off locales like India.  So far, she's visited roughly 90 countries across the world.

When the time was right, she opened a coffee shop in Western New York, but she was ready for a change and fell in love with Crested Butte and a small restaurant space at the end of Elk Avenue, where she opened the original Secret Stash pizza location. She also runs Bonez in the historic Powerhouse location, and for a short time also had a unique concept in Mount Crested Butte called The Sweet Spot, although that didn't work out quite as planned so we talked about that as an interesting counterpoint to the amazing success she's had at "the Stash".

Finally, we talked about what she's been doing during the Corona Virus pandemic.  Free food, farmer's markets, delving into social media- Kyleena is one entrepreneur who has not shied away from making changes and keeping her businesses top of mind, while also helping locals at the same time.  Her realization that she has a real knack (and voice) for raising money is now leading her to another project- this time a non-profit.

Crested Butte Real Estate Minute:

June 2020 has been an incredibly busy month in Crested Butte real estate.  Appraisers and title companies are so busy that it's hard to get an appointment in less than 5 weeks.  Low inventory continues to be a problem, so if you (or someone you know) are considering selling property in Gunnison or Crested Butte, give me a call.  Stay up to date on real estate news in Crested Butte by signing up for my monthly market updates here.  

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Secret Stash

Bonez