E^2=MC

Nick Malik photo

No I did not go through Einstein's calculations and discover a mistake. This is an equation of my own and it has nothing to do with time changing as we approach the speed of light. Marble, Colorado = Epic Squared (or beyond epic). Marble is a little town situated in some of the most beautiful mountains in Colorado (I may be a little biased...). As far as government goes it is somewhat of a no man's land, I don't really know what the ruling government is, I drive through two counties to get there, only to arrive in a third whose main populated district is a 5 hr drive away in the winter (Gunnison County). It is called Marble for a reason, the giant Marble quarry; marble from which contributed to the Lincoln Memorial. It is to this quarry that we skiers are in debt. Luckily they operate in the winter so the road must remain plowed for the gnarly vehicle that makes its giant marble cube laden trip up and down the steep, inevitably snowy road. While in most ski towns mining is dead and skiing is alive, in Marble both persist.

My home lies at the confluence of two rivers, the Roaring Fork and the Crystal River. My whole life I have ventured up the Roaring Fork to the bourgeoisie central of the USA: Aspen, Colorado. Although it will quickly drain your bank account if you attempt to visit Aspen for a week the mountains are truly great, the lift lines almost always small and tons of terrain with stellar access. Little did I know that at the top of the Crystal River there also was a skiing mecca. Marble is the polar opposite of Aspen, as Aspen accents consumption and luxurious living, Marble accents a removal from the normal hustle bustle of consumer society. Maybe it is kind of ridiculous that I have lived in the same place for years and had no idea that if I just turned right instead of left when I left my house I could be skiing epic powder in silence. When Aspen reports four inches it is likely Marble got twelve. Each day I skied Marble last week I had the most epic powder of my life, but the next day it had snowed twelve more inches... And from what I can tell the skiing opportunities are endless. It is kinda funny, at the beginning of the season I was looking to ski somewhere else, now I am almost bummed I am hitting the road and leaving so much skiing left undone. Although it did rain at 8000' today. Here is a couple highlight pictures from our Marble adventures, from stream crossings, deep powder to cliff hucks.

-Jake Sakson

OH YEAH!