Cripple Creek Backcountry Carbondale Staff

Paul 

Also known as 'the slender skinner', frequents his favorite stashes in the upper Crystal River Valley during the peak of winter season. You'll catch him laying a mean uptrack on his lean pow sticks with laser focus and precision, hooting and hollering as he makes kick-turn after sweet kick-turn. Paul also enjoys competing in the immensely popular and cut-throat Cosmic Series Randonnee Rally events, where like-minded enthusiasts gussy up in their finest Lycra and lightest touring gear to see who can slide up and down snow with speed and style. When he's forced to rest and attend to his work obligations, Paul helps guide the smooth operation of Cripple Creek Backcountry in Carbondale with the help of a knowledgeable and eager team. 

 

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 Randy 

Growing up in Ohio, Randy was lucky if he got to spend a handful of days on snow each year which made those days all the more special.  Randy moved to Colorado just after college and his love for skiing and snow only grew. He quickly found ski touring and loved the difficulty and adventure that came with it. He wanted to do more with better gear, but options and availability were extremely limited. That's when he realized that backcountry touring needed a dedicated shop. Randy and his good friend and business partner Doug opened Cripple Creek Backcountry the next winter and it has done nothing but grow since then. Randy is extremely grateful to be a part of this sport and the communities that support it. Running three stores keeps Randy on the move so be sure to say hi when you see him and be sure to ask him your gear questions because he loves to nerd out on the gear that keeps us moving up and down the mountains.

 

 Jewel

She firmly believes that skis and skins would beat fatbikes in a fight- so you know where to find her during the winter months! She takes solace in the perfection of low angle glades painted in a fresh layer of pow and come springtime, you’ll find her joyfully skiing corn, slush, mush, running water, dirt, fallen trees, and any other surface she encounters along the way. When she’s not quenching her thirst for adventure, you’ll find Jewel at our Carbondale Shop talking straight about gear, gettin’ down on the tuning/repair bench, or doing computer things on quickbooks. She hopes to see you sometime in the shop, or better yet, doing weird stuff out in the backcountry!

 

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 Doug

It is tough to love every part of the sport of ski touring as much as Cripple Creek Backcountry founder Doug Stenclik. One day you might find him ripping a high alpine powder filled ball near you and the next day entering a ski mountaineering race somewhere else in the country. But his favorite thing to do is to scare himself on steep and remote peaks in the spring when the snow starts to stabilize. As the host of the Totally Deep Podcast and frequent contributor to WildSnow.com, he enjoys introducing skiers to human powered turns almost as much as he loves making them himself. If you find yourself in Colorado, keep your eye peeled for Doug's sprinter van as he jets around the state spreading stoke for the sport.

 

Eric

Eric moved to the Roaring Fork Valley from Boulder, and after spending a short time in Carbondale he knew this was home. After a decade of taking deep tele turns through the front range backcountry, he decided it was time to lighten the gear and lock the heel. Now a days you will find Eric frequenting local backcountry stashes around the valley, while still taking occasional deep lunges down an open bowl; just to keep the legs in shape. When forced back into the shop, Eric handles most of our back end operations; from repairs on your old beloved gear, fine tuning your boots, to keeping the shipping/receiving running smoothly. While you will mainly find Eric in the Carbondale store, he occasionally floats around the Aspen store as well through the winter months.

Hugh

Hugh grew up snowboarding in Montana until he was forced to switch to skiing for a job at Deer Valley Resort in 2014, a ski-only resort that he wasn’t aware of just before his first shift. After accepting the offer and less than 16 hours prior to clocking-in, he had to race down to the Black Diamond store in Salt Lake City to buy a pair of ski boots that fit “comfortable” enough. The boots were mondo size 29 (I now wear 26) and the older demo pair of Black Diamond Amperage demo skis were 115mm underfoot with frame bindings. The next morning, Hugh hopped on the chairlift with the new bosses not knowing how to ski. The pizza eventually became a french fry over the years living in Colorado while working for daily newspapers in ski towns as a photojournalist. The rest was history and he never touched a board again. Hugh's favorite style of ski touring is exploring new peaks that require long traverses.

Jim

I grew up in central NY, right outside of Rochester. In highschool night skiing on man-made snow/ice was all the rage. We’d pile in a bus after school, and take the 45 min drive to Bristol Mountain. I skied with clear goggles and absolutely no idea what a “powder day” was. Ignorance was bliss, but now I know what I was missing.

Four years saw me through college, a quick study abroad trip to Australia, then I dove into restaurants for the next decade-plus. I had a few summers in the Hamptons and, surprisingly, that's what led me west. I followed a friend to the Tetons on my first trip west of Illinois, and was blown away. At the end of that summer, I threw what I had in my car and moved to the mountains (never heard that story before, right?).

I settled in Telluride about 10 years ago, and solidified the idea that I need to live in the mountains forever. There, I learned to skin straight uphill, assess sketchy snowpacks, and the joy of long days on skins with good friends. I also got the cycling bug, real bad. Oh, and fell more in love with climbing. It was a solid alpine education.

Now I’ve moved to the big city of Carbondale with my partner, Eden, and furry friend, Teddy. With a City Market mere blocks from our front door, plus endless directions for adventure, we’re extremely excited for this new life. Already Doug (boss, but long time friend) has humbled me on an 80+ mile singletrack excursion of the valley. We’ve hung from bolts on walls above Redstone, and “Ooo-ed and Ahh-ed” about the colors seen from hikes above Marble. All I’ve heard about the skiing in [insert undisclosed peaks/ridgelines] fills my daydreams at the shop. Yeah- this valley should make us super happy.

We’re psyched to find our place in this community, and can’t wait to see you on the skin-track!

Tyler

 I came from the corn fed state of Iowa, transplanted to Carbondale when I was 18 years old to study Outdoor Education, and embark on an endless journey of ski touring, biking, and climbing. I've never locked my heel down, not even once. Not sure why, I've always tele skied. Probably because it was cheaper at first (pulled a pair out of a dumpster when I was 20), but now it's probably stubbornness to conform. *All my friends are faster on the uphill than me...