Snowmass

 

One of my favorite conferences has always been the Snowmass workshop that brings together a small group climate people for a week of deep dives and fascinating discussions around the nexus of climate, energy, water, land, socio-economics, and policy all in the beautiful setting of Aspen. This year was the first time the conference has been held in person since 2019, and it was wonderful to be back in the mountains at Top of the Village again (the same place we stayed when skiing in Snowmass back in February of 2020!). Things were a little different - the pandemic caused a boom in summer travel to the mountains, so the conference's usual late July time slot wasn't available, but they were able to fit us in in late June instead, and the earlier date meant there was still a bit of snow on the ground and we didn't have the regular late afternoon storms. That all worked out well for me in one sense as the old slot often conflicted with Cornfest, but did mean that the first week was off the table since Elaine and I already had plans for our 20th Anniversary!

The best part of this year's workshop was that we had afternoon breakout sessions where we could often continue our discussions on a hike instead of sitting around a room. That meant I was able to do the hike around the lake at Maroon Bells for the first time! It really was as amazing as everyone says. Two majestic 14ers looming over an alpine lake with wildflowers all around. I was also able to do a 10 mile afternoon hike from Top of the Village, over on the ditch trail to the Campground lift, then up the mountain and across on the expresso trail all the way to the Elk Camp gondola. Luckily I made it the gondola right before it closed and was able to catch a ride down in time for dinner. On the last day I rode the gondola up and then went up the Elk Camp lift to see the summer view from the top, and hiked all the way back down to the village.

The only hiccup on the trip was my flight back home. I had a layover in Chicago, and due to some problems with the flight computer on our plane I was delayed overnight. Luckily, Steve & Becky were willing to put me up for the night and I had a lovely evening chatting with them and Olivia (though Maura was working and out until 3am, and Sam was out of town). All told, it was a lovely and refreshing trip.

(click here for all the pictures)