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How to prepare for the winter snowsports season

The Geiger Counter’s weekend picks

JT Greene stands in his shop, Wilderness Sports, on May 19 in Dillon. The store is having a gear swap this weekend.
Grace Coomaraswamy/For the Summit Daily News

Editor’s note: The address and date of the Wilderness Sports gear swap have been corrected.

Don’t know what to do this weekend? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Pull up a seat to the counter, and I’ll tell you about everything that’s hot and happening.

Snow officially made it down to Summit County towns this past week. That means it’s time to swap the sandals with snow boots, the car sunshade with the ice scraper and the summer tires for snow tread. Stop watering the grass and flowers, and bust out the blankets and tea.



Everyone’s winterization routine is going to be different, but I have some ideas if you’re looking for some assistance on how to prepare for the upcoming snowsports season.

Get the gear tuned

Chances are your skis or snowboard have been collecting dust in summer storage. Now is the time to get them tuned and prepped for the slopes. There are countless shops around the county offering tunes, and some enthusiasts opt to do it themselves, but I’m partial to Pup’s Glide Shop, 107 Ski Hill Road in Breckenridge, or the mobile Ski Doctor that can sometimes be found at local breweries.



Make sure everything fits

Maybe you’ve put on some pandemic pounds. Maybe some older clothing needs to be replaced. No matter the reason, you might find yourself needing to do some last-minute shopping. Like tuning, there are a plethora of options.

Wilderness Sports, 701 E. Anemone Trail in Dillon, is one such location. This weekend, the store is hosting a gear swap. Head over from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, to check out what’s available.

The store doesn’t take a cut, and there is no charge for people to sell their own items. It will also have a few tables and rolling clothes racks to use on a first-come, first-served basis.

Analyze maps

Visualization of great runs will have to suffice with resort openings still in the future. Legendary map artist James Niehues — responsible for the trail maps used by ski mountains all over — recently announced that he was stepping away from creating maps after more than 30 years. He instead will be turning to sketches of national parks and other landscapes.

Yet his winter maps are still available for purchase. Prints of all sorts and sizes can be bought online, and collectors will be interested to know that Niehues is auctioning off 10 originals Tuesday, Oct. 19. to benefit the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame. Visit JamesNiehues.com for details.

Plan for the future

Much of those scenes rely on snow, and they won’t look the same in the future if something isn’t done about climate change. That’s why High Country Conservation Center and Protect our Winters are hosting a free screening of “Purple Mountains” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at the Riverwalk Center, 150 W. Adams Ave., Breckenridge.

The documentary follows professional snowboarder and Protect our Winters founder Jeremy Jones as he tries to find common ground with outdoor-loving people from diverse backgrounds. An in-person Q&A with Jones will follow after the movie.

Tickets are required for the free event and attendees must follow Breckenridge Creative Arts’ COVID-19 guidelines. Visit BreckCreate.org for more information.

Jefferson Geiger
What I’m Reading

‘Y: The Last Man’ by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

I’ve been a fan of Brian K. Vaughan ever since I started reading his highly acclaimed comic series “Saga.” Afterward, I discovered he worked on one of my favorite television shows — “Lost” — and the entertaining “Under the Dome.” I’ve been meaning to read his earlier work, and the television adaptation of “Y: The Last Man” was the impetus to finally do so.

Right out of the gate, the comic shows that a mysterious illness kills every creature on Earth with a Y chromosome. Well, except for Yorick Brown and his pet Capuchin monkey, Ampersand. It’s unclear why, so he searches for answers while trying to keep a low profile as chaos ensues from sudden plane crashes and governments deal with new hierarchies.

I’m a little under halfway through the 10-volume run, but the gripping — though somewhat dated — read is an enjoyable pastime.


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