Here are the folks that make up the team behind The Alpineer’s brick-and-mortar location in Crested Butte, CO, our web store Alpineer.com, and our web community and blog AlpineerView:

Travis Scot Underwood
Hometown: Roscoe, IL
Crested Butte Top 3: Tin Cup Cemetery, All the sick single track – Reno, Flag, Bear to Doctors Park epic ride, Hartmans Rocks Trails
Summer or Winter: Summer
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: My Independent Fabrications Singlespeed and my Gary Fisher Superfly. Mountain Hardwear Sub Zero down jacket in the winter, of course.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Pluto

“Over 10 years ago while sitting at the old Brick Oven Red Cabana, I had a dream to own The Alpineer after riding some sick singletrack. 8 years after that, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity present it self, and I seized the opportunity. Giving up the corporate world has been a great wild adventure. I Travel Wildly and Far while remembering to Pay Attention to the Journey and Not the The Destination. When not at The Alpineer, you can find me spending countless hours on my bike, epic mountain bike racing, running rivers of the west, and chilling with my dogs Annie and Abigail.
Check out what all we believe at alpineer.com/webelieve/.”

Lisa Cramton
Hometown: Oregon, Wisonsin
Crested Butte Top 3: Any mountain bike trail, Tin Cup Area, my garden
Summer or Winter: May / early June, and September.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: That’s not a fair question to my gear!  But my GF Superfly singlespeed.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: If?!?  I’ll never tell…

I “found” Crested Butte in December of ‘86 when I took a semester off (my senior year) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison to work at the Crested Butte resort and to ski.  What a great semester it’s been!   I love Crested Butte mostly for its people, but how can one resist its uniqueness?  I also love that CB is small enough to be directly involved with the community.  I am on the CB Nordic Center board, the treasurer of Crested Butte Mountain Bike Assoc (CBMBA) and co-director of the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse.  I enjoy riding my mountain bike the most, but I can be found on my road bike, on skate skis or in the backcountry on whatever skis suit the adventure.  This is my 3rd year working at the Alpineer and am honored to manage the store.  We have such a great staff, and I’m proud of what we do!

Devon Balet
Hometown: Motown, ColoRADo
Crested Butte Top 3: The Brick Oven, Kebler Pass backcountry, Tower 11 chutes
Summer or Winter: Long mellow temp summer days and long long deep deep winters – that’s not to much to ask for is it? Give me Moab and Fruita in October, the San Juan Mountains in February, Glenwood Springs in July, and Breckenridge in August.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: Single speed mountain bike
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Planet Bikey

I grew up in small town Montrose, Colorado loving the outdoors and photography. My earliest memories are of following my father around on wildlife photo shoots. I had skidding down perfect by age 4 on my Big Wheel. I started working in a bike shop at age 14 and have never looked back. Photography, bikes, and snow are the best words to describe me. I am a master wheel builder of 11 years. I can build you a wheel that you will be rocking your favorite single track for years to come. Colorado is my home! I have lived in Montrose, Glenwood Springs, Vail, and now back to my home, Crested Butte. It is most common to find me with a shovel in hand building sweet flowy single track, my camera bag on back, camera in hand, hiking mountain bike race courses, or skinning in the back country. I want to take amazing photos of all of you, each and every last one of you!

Stevan Beer
Hometown: Hanksville
Crested Butte Top 3: Doctor’s Park Trail, Sock It To Me Ridge on a powder day, Climax Chutes
Summer or Winter: Nuclear Winter?
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: Paco Pad – of course.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Google Earth

“Pretty much been livin’ the dream since I got to CB. I enjoy all the stuff one should enjoy living in this town: girls on townies, bears in trashcans, yelling at people driving too fast, the occasional white knuckles, and over the hood freshies when it’s all Dumplestilstken outside. I tune skis at The Alpineer, and contrary to the traditional gratuities, I am not an alcoholic. I’m a part time ski patroller, and I volunteer as a firefighter/EMT as well as at Crested Butte Search and Rescue. In the summer I work on a wilderness trail crew for the Gunnison National Forest and fight the occasional wildfire.”

Megan Corty
Hometown: Reno, Nevada
Crested Butte Top 3: Ruby Range, Queens Basin, Bracken Creek
Summer or Winter: Winter and Summer.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: My ABS pack – In theory.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Mars, because it’s red.

“I push the flip-flop wearing limits and like watching people wear their buffs at work.”

Sydney Fuller
Hometown: Dolores, CO – A small town South of Telluride and West of Durango
Crested Butte Top 3: Biking 403 to the legendary 401, Skiing the Axtel Backcountry, Teocalli Tamale Burritos
Summer or Winter: They compliment each other.  I can’t choose between faceshots and tacky trailriding?
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: 22 Designs Axl Bindings –  An aggressive telemark binding with a free-pivot touring mode.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: A planet that we play without injury, chowing without getting fat, and living without worry.

When Sydney is not out schralpin the local singletracks or skinning to a peak on a bluebird day, she can be found at The Alpineer sellin’ the gear.  She supplements her income by cleaning horse stalls and paining for her boyfriend (this is the only way to afford her addiction in purchasing gear).  With only moving here just over a year ago, I think she found her paradise!

Mary Haskell
Hometown: Winchester, VA
Crested Butte Top 3: I love the view from Scarp Ridge, 401 and Rainbow park.  I try to frequent those places as much as possible.
Summer or Winter:
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: I seem to always grab my trusty Marmot Driclime Jacket and, of course, when the cold comes around, my Down Sweater.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Venus, right? Because women are from Venus and men are from Mars.

“I am practically a fixture these days at The Alpineer and can’t say that I regret it.  I enjoy doing what I do both at work and when I’m off cavorting with my kids or friends in the Crested Butte area.  Life is short, so I say go ahead and buy that piece of gear you really want but don’t need and get after it!”

Claire Miller
Hometown: Nevada City, CA
Crested Butte Top 3: Ski runs- Can’t decide between Peanut and Cesspool, Trail- 401 during monster wildflower season, Place- a secret picnicing spot with the world’s best views near Paradise Divide (can I just say….Twooo tickets to paradise!)
Summer or Winter: Mud season is pretty sweet, but I’ll have to go with winter being my fav’.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: It’s a toss up between the snowblades and the Mountain Hardwear Wool Baseball Cap (it breaths so well and is naturally antimicrobial!)
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Mars is just a hop, skip and a jump away from all the skiing on Earth.

“Coming up on my 4th winter in the Gunnison valley. Can’t deny that I love the pow’ days, backcountry adventures, Franzia, afternoon bike rides, crockpot dinners and makin’ fresh pie at the end of every epic day for all my partners in crime. Nursing School is next on the “to do” list.

Ryan Opdahl
Hometown: Long Green, MD
Crested Butte Top 3: Teocalli Tamale, loitering on benches(coffee in hand), The Brick Oven
Summer or Winter: I very much prefer winter over summer.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: My down jacket or my fanny pack.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Earth

“I moved to the valley in January 2007. Skiing, mountain biking, and Living the Dream are among some of my favorite activities. I always wish it was snowing.”

Michele Preston or MZP
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Crested Butte Top 3: That’s tough: Crested Butte during the summer months, riding the Lower Loop at the end of the work day, townie cruising with friends through town
Summer or Winter: SUMMER!!!
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: A bike – any bike, but I love my custom townie!
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Venus

“I like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain. I’m not much into health food.”

Dustin Underwood
Hometown: Rockford, IL – Screw Capital of the World!
Crested Butte Top 3: Something hot from Ginger Cafe after a day skiing, the Lower Loop in early summer, wandering the Tin Cup Cemetery late on a fall day.
Summer or Winter: Early early Summer.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: Montrail Wilwood trail running shoes – My feet seem to love them so much that I’ve let them take over full time as my running shoe.
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: Pluto. Wait. They took that one from me. Uh…

I’m currently rocking out in Milwaukee, WI splitting my time struggling with the infamous 75 foot climbs facing bikers everyday on rides in the midwest and trying to explain to my dog Sophie that it is not, in fact, acceptable practice to eat books and shoes – doubly so if they are using them at the time.

Jason Wahl
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Crested Butte Top 3: El Parque de Doctor, the Majestic Theater, Izzy’s
Summer or Winter: Every single day of the year here is a dream.
What Piece of Gear Can You Not Live Without: Santa Cruz BLT on rye with a side of shredded nar!
If You Were From Another Planet Which Would It Be: “… of the Apes”

“Moved to CB in ‘05 - drove a snowcat that first season. Almost lost my sanity here where ‘the sidewalk ends’ and where in the winter, ‘there is only one way in and no way out’.
I picked up nordic skiing the next season and took over the Paradise Caretaker position with Crested Butte Mountain Resort until an over-zealous journalist, an ambiguous building inspector, and a reluctant resort drowned my dreams of spending the next decade or two of my life as a ski bum, one who never had to buy a ski pass, pay rent, or spend a dime on food.  Alas, is wasn’t meant to be.
I’ve been with the Alpineer since ‘06 and attribute this job,career, and lifestyle on my lack of motivation to complete the aforementioned task.  Who needs an education when we have the Internet these days, DUH!  Anyway, here’s to Crested Butte, shred the gnar, shred the pow’, shred any disillusions you may have about needing to live in a mega-metropolis in order to live a meaningful life.”