Posts by cmcgenesis
Steve Mills: Community First
Steve Mills made it his mission to make sure Colorado Mountain College was in tune with the communities it served. For example, in the 1970s, when surveys determined that 10 percent of the adult population lacked a high school diploma; the college “built the biggest adult basic education program in the state,” Steve says. Steve…
Read MoreMary Ballou: Get a Little Class in Your Night Life
I arrived in the Aspen area in August 1972, having just graduated from college, married, and back from our honeymoon. A frat brother of my husband spent the previous winter in Aspen and he advised us, “You have to spend one winter in Aspen before you go somewhere to get serious about life.” So, that…
Read MoreDarryl Grob: Bigger and Better Life
It was 1969. Darryl Grob emerged from the Vietnam War and headed back home to central Los Angeles. Before long he, like many former soldiers of the time, went down the rabbit hole of what Darryl called “dysfunctional distractions.” But a short visit to Aspen changed all that. Darryl left “all things LA” and moved…
Read MoreKrystal Baucum: Finding Academic Courage
Fear can come in many forms, but what sent Krystal Baucum running for the hills was math class. Luckily, she found the academic courage she was searching for here at Colorado Mountain College. “CMC provided me with the perfect opportunity to take classes at my own pace,” says Krystal, a CMC Aspen student. “If you…
Read MoreMelanie Friedersdorf: Feeling Part of the Community
When Colorado Mountain College Aspen opened the doors of its brand-new building, I was newly married and new to Aspen/Snowmass. In a community where swapping stories of how long you have been in town is part of getting to know anyone, being a part of a new chapter in local history was meaningful to me.…
Read MoreNoelle Brigden: Fulbright Scholar
Looking for direction, Noelle Brigden found it at Colorado Mountain College. Noelle was recently out of the army and recovering from a severe back injury. She hadn’t done well in high school but received a California Proficiency Exam Diploma, so she decided to give college a try with her veteran’s benefits. “CMC helped me find…
Read MoreMark Mueller: Powder Chaser to Avalanche Forecaster
Like most mountain folks, Mark Mueller fell in love with snow culture at a young age. But after a few years of working as a cook and in the rental/ repair shops, he recognized he needed knowledge and skills to grow his passion for powder into a rewarding career. It was in the early 1970’s when Mark…
Read MoreGenny Michael – Change of Heart
When Genevieve “Genny” Michael heard that her husband had taken a job at the Forestry Service in Leadville her reaction was downright biblical. “I thought I had died and gone to hell truthfully,” jokes Genny, who worked at the Colorado Mountain College Leadville campus from 1967-1980. “But it ended up being a place we really…
Read MoreGeoff and Allison Marriner: Olympic Experience
South Korea is over 6,000 miles away from Colorado, but when it comes to the ski industry, it’s surprisingly close. Nobody knows that better than Allison Kohn Marriner and her husband, Geoff “Salty” Marriner, both alumni of Colorado Mountain College Leadville’s ski area operations program. The couple was hired to join an international team of…
Read MorePowder Guild: Lifelong Connections
In the early 1980s a lifelong bond was formed among the students and instructors of the Colorado Mountain College Ski Area Operations program. They called themselves the Powder Guild. It was their desire to turn a passion for skiing into a career that brought them together in Leadville, but it was their never-ending quest for…
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