Topophilia Tony Cannistra and Will Russack

Topophilia is excited to bring you the first episode of The Current. In a time where there are so many things competing for our attention, we want to be a source of relevant information about the places you care about and the issues that affect them. Here’s what you can expect: every 2 weeks (or so) we’ll bring you a new episode with 3-4 summaries of insightful and noteworthy stories. Whether it’s books, podcasts, articles or films, the idea is to give you a chance to stay on top of the issues you care about and maybe learn something new.

This week, we have four stories to share:


With the public release of Patagonia’s latest film Public Trust just a few weeks away, Topophilia hosted a pre-release screening and discussion with our listeners. The film pushed us to think critically about issues that face our public lands and how we can come together to fight for them. Click here for more info about Public Trust.
After the coronavirus pandemic shuttered ski areas early last spring, resorts across the country have begun releasing their plans for operating during the upcoming winter. Will reservation systems make it impossible to have a casual day of skiing? Or is this a potential model for the future to combat the overcrowding that has recently threatened the ski resort experience? Check out the following:

Letter to Epic Pass Holders (Vail Resorts)
Mt. Baker Ski Area COVID-19 Notice
Letter to Ikon Pass Holders (Alterra Mountain Co.)


With the pandemic making most summer city activities like concerts and farmers markets prohibitive, people all over the country are spending unprecedented amounts of time outdoors. Many of them are first time campers or hikers, and there have been reports across the west of overcrowding and destruction of public lands. We talked to Lynda Mapes, author of the Seattle Times article, Recreation becomes ‘wreckreation’ as careless outdoor adventures turn destructive, spark wildfires. Link to the Seattle Times article.
As the Black Lives Matter movement has forced a reckoning on police brutality and race relations in America, high scrutiny has been paid to corporations and how they perpetuate these problems. After weeks of silence, Patagonia acknowledged its shortcomings in an Instagram post.


Music in this episode courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

If you’re a skier near a big city, you’re probably familiar with the typical weekend routine: pack the car at 9PM, get up early, make a big cup of coffee,
and hit the road for a few hours’ drive to the ski resort. You’re probably planning on sitting in some traffic, but the skiing will make it all worth it. This winter though, skiers headed to Washington’s Crystal Mountain, newly owned by Alterra Mountain Company and a member resort on the Ikon Pass, have experienced a unique blend of pre-ski challenges. Unusually long traffic delays, parking lots filling up earlier than usual, and busy bathrooms have led many to claim that the resort simply can’t handle the growing demand for skiing. In response, Crystal Mountain management changed their ticket policy: there would be no more walk-up ticket sales on the weekends. On the first weekend of this bold new policy, we headed up the mountain to take the pulse of the resort and see what people thought of the changes.

Some audio courtesy KING5 News.

Taylor Sanders, together with her partner Ryan, practices regenerative agriculture on a small farm (Long Table Farmstead) on the front range of the Colorado mountains. A former vegan intent on changing the way our food is raised, Taylor’s path took a radical turn when she took a butchery apprenticeship in Italy and returned with a new view on the role of livestock in our food system. When the call came to take over a small plot of land in Lyons, Colorado, she and her partner Ryan knew they couldn’t pass it up. This episode is chock full of stories of global change at a local level, building trust and connection in a new community, and how being open to new opportunities can lead you in unexpected directions.

Links:


Long Table Farmstead
Long Table Farmstead Instagram

Valerie Cleland is a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the United States Senate, where she works to improve the quality of United States legislation concerning our oceans, their ecology, and their adjacent communities. Since she was young, Val has known that she had a passion for protecting the ocean––this past January, after finishing her Master’s degree, she moved to Washington D.C. and got to work. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee for the Minority, she works to review bills and other legislation for their ability to protect ocean resources, and–in her own words–has learned more in 6 months on the job than in a whole year of grad school. Join us as Val pulls back the curtain on how our government makes effective policies to protect natural resources.

Links:


Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship
Senate Commerce Committee
Senator Maria Cantwell

This is part 3 of our mentorship series, which we recorded live during a story-telling event at the Patagonia store in Seattle. This episode’s storyteller, Claire Giordano, tells us about her path to becoming an independent artist and the importance of having mentors who push us to take that first big step. Claire presented photographs and paintings along with her story, which you can find on our website! All images © Claire Giordano, used with permission.












































































© Claire Giordano, used with permission.




This episode is a part of a short series recorded live at a storytelling event focused on mentorship in the outdoors. Thanks to Patagonia Seattle for their support and for hosting this event.

Links:


Girls On Ice / Inspiring Girls Expeditions
Claire on Instagram (@claireswanderings)
Claire’s Website

This is part 2 of our mentorship series, which we recorded live during a story-telling event at the Patagonia store in Seattle. This story comes to you from Molly Bayer, who reminds us why it’s important to remember what it’s like to be a beginner, even as you become an expert.

This episode is a part of a short series recorded live at a storytelling event focused on mentorship in the outdoors. Thanks to Patagonia Seattle for their support and for hosting this event.

Links:


BOEALPS