Personalities

That April, 22 years ago, I hadn't yet moved away from Seattle. In fact, having taken a year between transitioning from flight school to University of Washington to work as a flight instructor, I wasn't quite finished with my degree in Atmospheric Sciences and...

James Colt had two goals this season skiing in Telluride: He wanted to ski at the top of the mountain and he wanted to ski 50 days.I had the pleasure of starting James on the Magic Carpet, spent a number of days skiing on...

Just as everyone has a "coming to Telluride" story, a lot of people have "end of ski season" stories in Telluride too.  Ralph Dinosaur and his crew performing at Gorrono Lodge were a prominent feature of "Kimm's 'coming to Telluride' story", introducing me to the...

[click "Play" button to hear Amy's podcast]

S1132047190_8046  Intermediate School math teacher Amy Van der Bosch is poised to become Telluride's sweetheart. Listen to her describe her path to Telluride and Maria in "The Sound of Music," and talk about her fellow cast members and director, by clicking the "play" button and listening to her podcast.

Did she or didn't she? Historians claim Maria did not fall head over heels for Georg Ritter von Trapp – she loved the children, and later grew fond of the man – but America swallowed the conceit hook, line and sinker, falling head over heels for Maria in the bargain.

"Maria" is the star of Roger and Hammerstein's hit musical, "The Sound of Music," the postulant nun who leaves her abbey to try her hand at being governess to von Trapp's seven motherless children. She sticks around and after the standard digressions becomes their stepmother.

37 Based on a sneak peak, Telluride Inside...and Out is prepared to go out on a limb: when the cast of the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company's production of "The Sound of Music" says its final "So long, Farewell, Auf Wiederzehn, Goodbye," the crowd at the Palm will be shouting for more. This is one boffo show, arguably one of the biggest and best in The Rep's 18-year history. When the inevitable occurs, much credit must go to its director, Cate Caplin, and her musical director, Dr. David Lingle, who lead a cast of 50 and a crew of 20.

Their resumes not only establish their street cred, they underscore their respective and complementary strengths.

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's interview with Elisabeth Gick]

Fear-emai[1] As part of Telluride's week-long "Phenomenal Woman" Celebrations" Telluride Inside...and Out honors longtime local Elisabeth Gick and her crusade for Tibet.

Elisabeth is bit like Alice of Wonderland fame: her native curiosity always gets the better of her. She falls down holes and meets amazing people in exotic places. She also tries to make a difference.

For several years now, Elisabeth has been traveling in Asia, particularly in Tibet, where she has made friends and made a difference. For example, she is doing what she can for 82 young girls, all orphans, whom she met with daughter Lesley in October 2008, while visiting the town of Ganzi in upper Kham. Thanks to her efforts and the generosity of family and friends such as the Lifton-Zolines, the girls now have two solar hot water showers and will soon have a library. A third initiative involves raising funds for traditional outfits. Elisabeth is $800 short of that goal.

One thing Telluride people love to do is dress up (or cross): witness Halloween, 4th of July parade, Chocolate Lovers' Fling, etc. The In-Drag Race is an annual tribute to TAB's muse, the late Robert Presley. This year's event, another good example, was held on...

[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with Dr. Jeff Ptak]

Ptak TIO' s next Doer, #464, Dr. Jeff Ptak would never be described as existentially fraught. The man clearly loves his life, laughs easily, and wears his success as lightly as a bespoke suit. Lucky for us this highly accomplished, self-deprecating guy with a furrowed brow and an exaggerated sense of irony also has experience – over 20 years in practice – and talent to burn.

Dr. Ptak regularly swaps several hats: husband, father, skier, and doctor.The one he wears to work is bifurcated: Jeff is the Telluride Medical Center’s dermatologist, charged with translating for patients the jabberwocky of sun blocks and sun screens – do you know the difference? – benign squamous cells and deadly melanomas. He is also Telluride’s new plastic surgeon.

Best of luck on this Big Weekend to Telluride AIDS Benefit key players: TAB boardmember/AIDS activist Ron Gilmer, TAB boardchair Jodie Shike Wright of ONE Architects and fashion show director/New York director Shawn Rozsa.(Jen Koskinen photo) ...

For Telluride AIDS Benefit supporters, this is the Big Weekend, the culmination of the efforts of a small army of activists determined to raise the bar on prevention through awareness and to help those affected and infected by the seemingly irrepressible pandemic.

Twenty-five years ago, since  a faceless, nameless virus was announced in this country,
AIDS victims and their families have flocked like moths to flames of hope – a miracle cure whispered here, a sudden recovery talked about there. The pot of gold everyone is seeking at the end of the rainbow is a vaccine – but so far, nada: AIDS has resisted medications through mutation.

Although the number of AIDS-related deaths has tumbled since the advent of a more potent class of HIV drugs in the mid-90s, the rate of new infections in the U.S. has remained unchanged: about 53,000 – 55,000 cases a year.