First snow?
It’s hard to believe, considering the heat and near-unbearable drought, but it’s time to submit your guesstimates of when the first snow, dustings counted, will hit Mt. Sopris. Send your best guess of a date when you believe snow will first grace Mother Mountain this year to news@soprissun.com And don’t forget to send entries, along with a photo and height measurements, for the tallest sunflower contest to the same address by Aug. 31.
Artist opportunities
The Red Brick Center for the Arts is looking for Colorado-based artists who want their work featured among four gallery exhibitions next year. A committee will choose the work of artists who demonstrate “artistic excellence, originality and meaningful engagement with contemporary ideas and practices,” according to a press release. Additionally, Aspen Public Art and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies strive to hire teams to design and build a human-sized birdhouse at Hallam Lake: “Perch.” The three finalists will each receive $1,000 to create a display of the bird-house to be shown at the Red Brick. The public will vote for a winner, who will see a $50,000 budget to construct and exhibit the 120-square-foot bird house from May to October of 2027. Both applications are open at redbrickaspen.com until Sept. 30.
Bondale mountain man
Carbondale’s own Chase Tesoro, 20, might have set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) on a 16.5-hour, 22.5-mile, 9,069-vertical-foot sufferfest, summiting seven Colorado 14ers in the Mosquito and Front Ranges. Tesoro set off at 4:15am on Aug. 8 from Kite Lake, knocking out the DeCaLiBron Loop (which includes Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross peaks) by 8am. He drove to Fourmile Trailhead at mid-morning and summited Mount Sherman, before driving to Stevens Gulch at 4pm and summiting Grays and Torreys. He returned to his car at 8:45pm. Of the 16.5 total hours, he spent a total of eight hours and 38 minutes on foot. Tesoro is currently in the process of establishing this as an FKT, and claimed, as far as he knows, he’s the only person to complete the climbs in one day.
ACT Auditions
The Aspen Community Theatre will host auditions at the Black Box Theatre Aug. 21–23 for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.” The company is looking for actors, singers and dancers of all skill levels, as well as puppeteers. The show does not include roles for children. It will run from Nov. 13–22 at the Aspen District Theatre. Sign up to audition at aspencommunitytheatre.org/auditions
Clogged trails
While the Mill Creek Trail north of Basalt is currently free of deadfall and “riding well,” the Basalt Mountain/Cattle Creek Loop is clogged with fallen trees and thistle, Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association stated in its newsletter on Friday, Aug. 7. The association said they would send a crew up to clear as much of Cattle Creek as they can, but encouraged any “trail agents” to head up to the Cattle Creek Loop with their own handsaws and “get after what they can.” The Cherry Creek trail north of Silt also has about 10 downed trees in its midst, the association said. Post any progress with the trails by reaching out to info@rfmba.org or on rfmba.org/ta/
310 Fire
The wildfire that ignited on Aug. 6 about 3.5 miles southeast of Parachute burned 603 Acres and was 65% contained as of Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, according to the Grand Valley Fire Protection District. The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday that all evacuation statuses were downgraded to “ready” from a higher evacuation status, which could still mean, at the time, a possible evacuation for various areas near the fire on Morisannia Mesa Road and County Road 302. Those in this evacuation zone should “prepare, monitor and pack your valuables,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/310fireinfo
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Briana Boland, John Ginn, Larry Gottlieb and Sarah Overbeck (Aug. 13); Alex Fisher, Ariane Montez and Alejandra Rico (Aug. 14); Anna Broome, Jill Knaus, Cara Nieslanik, Maggie Seldeen and John Williams (Aug. 16); James Leonard and Jake and Heather Marine (Aug. 17); Rebecca Binion, Emily Good, Lindsay Gurley and Jonathan Shamis (Aug. 18); Kyle Bruna and Lance Norton (Aug. 19).