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Editor's note: For eight years, Telluride local/mountaineer Ben Clark and a few friends/professional colleagues have made Spring treks to the majestic Himalayas. Follow his adventures on Telluride Inside... and Out, including links to his regular podcasts. If you have missed any of Ben's posts, just type "Ben Clark" into Lijit Search to find them all.

When I broke my ankle on May 1 last spring, I was at 17,600’ on 23,390' Baruntse, also known as my own personal Moby Dick for reasons you can research at www.skithehimalayas.com. Unlike Ahab, I was rescued by a vessel rather than doomed to one. Lifted into the skies, wrapped in bandages, worked over through weeks of PT and now here I am again today, returning to wrestle with ambition and not the ankle. Hopefully stronger, admittedly risk averse and yet still with an appetite for the unknown. The whale is gone though, off my range for a spell. 

17 October, 2010 /

Dateline: Athens, 10/16/2010

IMGP1701 You know you are not in Kansas – Telluride either – when the view outside your window is, yes, a mountain, but not a very big one, and on top of that mountain –  or "Sacred Rock," the name locals gave it – is a cluster of ancient buildings, marble masterpieces dating back to the late fifth century B.C., the Golden Age of Athens.

The temples on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, are among the most important monuments in the Western world. Yesterday, day #2 in Greece, we made the required pilgrimage. I say "required," not "desired," because the place is on everyone else's bucket list too, and so even now, the tail end of tourist season, there is barely room to turn around. But I am getting ahead of myself.

17 October, 2010 /

IMGP1708 Regular readers of Telluride Inside... and Out will recognize a familiar voice at the helm: Deb Dion has the con while Susan and I are on the road. Thanks for taking control, Deb.

We had a good week in Hackensack, NJ, with Susan's parents, with a few side trips into New York for art, theatre (if you're in New York, don't miss "Little Foxes" at New York Theatre Workshop) and catching up with friends. We had good pass rider karma on Delta Airlines, with seats in Business Class for the 10 hour flight to Athens. That set us up to hit the ground running when we arrived.

Construction and traffic delays related to labor strikes (protesting austerity measures mandated by EU bailouts in Greece) slowed our ride into the city. Our driver, Stevios, had plenty of stories to fill the time. Our first home-away-from-home, the Eridanus Luxury Art Hotel, has proven helpful beyond measure, as well as beautiful. The view of the Acropolis from our patio is also a major benefit.

15 October, 2010 /

IMGP1496 I believe I have mentioned before: for me there is no good time to leave Telluride. But things are so busy in Telluride during the Winter and Summer, that if one is to get out of town to visit family, the shoulder season is when it's going to happen.

We were in Telluride long enough to be aware of this even-more-beautiful Autumn, but mostly we have been on the road. We were in Pittsburgh in early September with daughter #2, Kjertsin Klein and husband Greg and grandkids Dylan and Anna. That was a great time. We hadn't been together for a year, so there was a lot of catching up to do, and lots of noticing that the kids had shot up in the meantime.

09 October, 2010 /

 Telluride locals, Ben Clark and Jon Miller, returned to climb and ski Baruntse, 23,390' in the Himalayas of Nepal. Their attempt in the Spring of 2009 was cut short. In this episode, Spring of 2010, we see them climbing in the 20,000' range, getting acclimated...

02 October, 2010 /

IMGP1496 We at Telluride Inside... and Out have family on both coasts, and in between. With the busy calendar in Telluride in Summer and Winter, most of our travel gets concentrated in the off seasons. Throw in the occasional glitch, and that off-season travel can get hectic.

IMGP1567_2 The past several weeks serve as an illustration: Susan and I spent a week in Pittsburgh with daughter Kjerstin and family. Some transportation difficulties made it more advantageous to forgo our planned two day stop in Telluride before continuing to the Seattle area to be with Chief Geek Kimm Viebrock and her family. The change meant we had a few extra days with the Northwest contingent, but brought a few difficulties of its own. We had driven to Denver and our car was at the airport. Instead of flying to Rapid City, SD for the annual get-together with fellow retired Northwest Airlines pilots, I flew to Denver, got the car, drove to Rapid City.

28 September, 2010 /
Carrera If any of you happened to see an outrageous vintage sports car – or two or ten or twenty - cruising over Dallas Divide last Tuesday, you were witnessing the running of the 2010 Colorado Grand, a 1,000 mile, five-day driving tour of pre-1961 sports cars that takes place each year during the third week of September and journeys over some of Colorado’s most spectacular mountain passes and scenic byways.

Since its inception in 1989, the Colorado Grand has generated more than $2.8 million via donations and auctions for Colorado charities, local organizations and foundations, as well as set up college assistant funds for students in Hotchkiss, Paonia, Ridgway and Salida.
15 September, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with GM Ray Farnsworth]

Parlor This week, Telluride is positively a-glitter with gems, on screen and off.

Critics often describe Telluride Film Festival, this long Labor Day weekend, September 3 – September 6, as a "gem," even a "crown jewel" among the roughly 1,700 similar events around the world.

There are real gems at local galleries too: The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art (Hollywood fav Lori Rodkin for one), Lustre (Gurhan) and Dolce (Pamela Froman and Katey Brunini, also Tinseltown queens).

The historic New Sheridan Hotel is another sparkler. The Grande Dame of the town –  the heart and soul of the social scene 118 years ago, back in the days Telluride's streets were paved with gold –  was restored to her Victorian splendor by world-famous interior designer Nina Campbell a little over a year ago. And this year, once again, the New Sheridan is the place to be and be seen over the Telluride Film Festival weekend.
30 August, 2010 /