An Interview with Author/Photographer Peter Bronski

Boulder-based adventure writer and photographer Peter Bronski has been digging around Colorado history, researching backcountry skiing at Colorado's abandoned ski areas. He is researching the defunct hills for his forthcoming book, Powder Ghost Towns: The Backcountry Skier’s Guide to Colorado’s Lost Ski Areas. BSA caught up with Peter, fresh off an assignment at the Chic Choc Lodge for Vermont Sports Magazine.

* * *

BSA:
Your writing portfolio is diverse, with work for publications including Appalachia, Golf Course Management, International Cemetery and Funeral Management, and Rocky Mountain Sports, among many others. Tell us about your writing path – how did you get here?

PB:
My writing career started quite by accident. During my senior year at Cornell University, where I was earning a degree in Natural Resources, I took a course in "non-fiction writing for magazines." That course was a true catalyst for me. It exposed me to the craft and profession of writing, and in a sense, I haven't looked back since.

Later that same year, I sold my first piece, about rock climbing at the Gunks in New York. One of my photos was published as the cover shot of the magazine. I spent a long time in the trenches, writing more articles, and building my reputation. Now, some seven years later, I've won a few prestigious awards, and published a few books (At the Mercy of the Mountains: True Stories of Survival and Tragedy in New York's Adirondacks was just published by The Lyons Press. I have two more on the way later this year: Hunting Wind, about storm chasing, and Powder Ghost Towns, the lost ski area bc skiing guidebook).

Although my writing is fairly diverse, I do focus on a few key subject areas: outdoor adventure, environment, travel and culture, food and wine, and human interest profiles. Beyond that, I cover stories as they interest me, or as my editors offer them to me. I just returned from a great assignment - backcountry skiing at the Chic Choc Lodge in Quebec.

BSA:
Your first book, At the Mercy of the Mountains just came out. Describe releasing your first book.

PB:
At the Mercy of the Mountains was a long process. Work on the book started in January 2005, but the concept much earlier. I was living in the southern Adirondacks, and was part of the local search and rescue group, Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue. I wrote an article about the Thomas Carleton search and LASAR for Adirondack Life Magazine. Soon after, I felt the time was right for a ‘biggest misadventures book.’ Similar books had been written about other mountain ranges, but the Adirondacks had been seemingly overlooked.

Lyons Press was the publisher for the book and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ll soon begin planning a tour for this summer. There should be reviews coming from outdoor magazines soon.

BSA:
You have another book, about storm chasers in Tornado Alley, in the works. Tell me about your research for Hunting Wind...

PB:
I’m co-authoring with Roger Hill, one of the nation’s top storm chasers. He’s seen more than 350 tornadoes. I met Roger through the Denver Stormchasing Convention, while researching an article on local storm chasers for 5280 Magazine. The book provides a great mix of highlights from Roger’s career and major events in storm chasing history.

BSA:
Talk about Powder Ghost Towns...

PB:
This one has been a lot of fun researching. I have to give credit for the idea to two other people. A friend named Tom Hudson told me about the New England Lost Ski Areas Project, and a local version: Colorado Ski History. Tom’s idea was to find and ski these old ski areas as backcountry skiers. I wrote a piece for 5280 Magazine titled “Powder Stash,” about that experience. The book would eventually grow out of this.

While researching “Powder Stash” I was skiing at Geneva Basin with another friend, Andrew Jones. Andrew suggested that a lost ski areas guidebook would be a great resource. He was right. Wilderness Press picked up the book, which will be published in October 2008 in time for the 08/09 winter season.

Colorado has approximately 200 lost ski areas. However, a lot of these areas are of little interest to backcountry skiers due to lack of snow and vertical, and in some instances, private property. Powder Ghost Towns will include 35-40 of the best destinations – places where you’ll find great snow, good vertical, and pieces of Colorado’s skiing history. In that sense, Powder Ghost Towns is one part history and one part guidebook.

BSA:
What is your goal for Powder Ghost Towns? Where will the book fit in the Colorado skier's collection?

PB:
Powder Ghost Towns is a fully functional guidebook, with the traditional information like trailheads, approaches, vertical, and mileage. I’ve also provided closest Snotel information for checking conditions, as well as CAIC forecast zones. It’s meant to be an all-inclusive information source for how to find and ski these areas. This book is really aimed at enhancing the backcountry experience with the history of the skiing.

BSA:
Colorado sees a fair amount of localism in protecting backcountry ski zones. Have you encountered any of this opposition to your writing?

PB:
Not directed at me. When I began this project, I gave a lot of thought to this issue. A book like this serves to distribute users more widely, reducing crowding. Also, none of these areas are secrets – they were all operating ski areas and were driven to in the past.

BSA:
What information sources have you found in your research for Powder Ghost Towns?

PB:
The Colorado Ski History website and Brad Chamberlain; the Colorado Ski Country USA poster “Colorado’s Lost Resorts;” the Colorado Ski Museum and Resource Center; the United States Forest Service; old newspaper clippings and books; and folks that skied at the areas, especially when other information is scarce.

BSA:
What signs, if any, have remained of the abandoned ski areas you've visited?

PB:
The signs really spanned the gamut. Some places were old and overgrown – unrecognizable as ski areas except for the snow, of course. At others, old buildings, cabins, condos, and even lifts with chairs and cables remain (Cuchara Mountain Resort and Marble Ski Area). In a lot of instances, even in places that have been closed for more than 30 years, the runs have been preserved due to altitude and the slow rate of growth of the trees.

BSA:
What has been your favorite area thus far?

PB:
Cuchara Mountain Resort – it was a surprise. It was eery with so much infrastructure standing and to be the only ones there…it’s a very surreal experience. My understanding is that an inconsistency snowpack was a contributing factor in causing the mountain to close, but when we were there, we enjoyed a deep, consistent snowpack with fresh snow on top.

I also really enjoyed the north side Wolf Creek Pass. And Pioneer near Crested Butte – with old cabins still at base, we were there just after a 54” snowfall. Pioneer had the first overhead chairlift in Colorado, installed in 1939. Although the lift itself is no longer there, you can see the liftline in the trees, clear as day.

Other areas that stick out are Libby Creek (WY), which was surprisingly good. The area holds powder well. Also Geneva Basin, which is close to the Front Range and has open runs.

BSA:
What areas do you have left to research?

PB:
Three in Southwest Colorado – Coal Bank Pass, Stoner, and Mesa Creek, which is popular with backcountry skiers. Also, Chambers Lake near Cameron Pass, a couple areas north of Steamboat, and one area on the west side of the Snowy Range (WY).

BSA:
What's on the burner next for you?

PB:
My magazine writing continues. I’ll be finalizing the Mercy tour for this summer. For Powder Ghost Towns, I’ll have a tour scheduled for October.

I’m also working on a fourth book, The Hardest Year, chronicling my attempt to qualify for the national championships in three sports – ski mountaineering, adventure racing, and XTERRA off-road triathlon. The qualification year will be 2009.

Stats:
Hometown
Farmingdale, NY (on Long Island)

Backcountry skiing in Colorado since
Regularly since the 2004/05 winter season

Preferred method of downhill travel
AT all the way

Family
I live in Boulder with my wife, Kelli, and our dog, Altai

Learn more about Peter's past, current, and future projects online at www.peterbronski.com