🛶 Colorado's right to float debate

Good afternoon, Stoke Crew. Figured I'd mix it up today and send this one around lunch. No witty opening....just some cool news from the outdoor world. Let's get into it! :)

In today's report

• 🏔️ Remembering Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest
• 🛶 Colorado's right-to-float fight stalled again in the legislature
• ⛷️ Vail Mountain named a new COO

Climbing

🇺🇸 In memoriam: first American to summit Mt. Everest

🏔️ Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, died April 7 at his home in Port Townsend, Washington. He was 97. Whittaker reached the summit on May 1, 1963, alongside Sherpa Nawang Gombu, a nephew of Tenzing Norgay, ten years after Hillary and Norgay's pioneering ascent.

• Whittaker was REI's first full-time employee (hired 1955 by co-founder Lloyd Anderson) and later served as president and CEO from 1971-1979, growing membership from 250,000 to over 900,000. His Everest climb generated so much publicity that REI's gross income topped $1 million for the first time the following year.
• His congressional testimony helped establish North Cascades National Park, the Pasayten Wilderness, and Redwood National Park. He became close friends with Robert F. Kennedy, guiding him up the newly named Mount Kennedy in 1965 and serving as his Washington state campaign chairman in 1968.
• In 1990, he led the Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb, bringing together American, Soviet, and Chinese climbers to summit Everest while hauling off trash left by previous expeditions. He summited Mount Rainier more than 100 times.

Why It Matters: Whittaker didn't just climb Everest. He helped build the American outdoor industry. From REI's first employee to its CEO, from Everest to the halls of Congress where he fought for national parks, his career traced the arc of outdoor recreation becoming a mainstream American pursuit!

Environment

💧 All about the water

🛶 Colorado's decades-old fight over river access through private land is stalled again. Halfway through the legislative session, no bill has been introduced to clarify the state's murky rules around recreational floating through private property. A river access advocacy group is splintered, landowners are organized, and lawmakers appear unwilling to wade into the fight. In Colorado, you can legally float on water flowing through private property, but you cannot touch the riverbed or banks.

• The legal framework dates to the 1979 Colorado Supreme Court ruling in People v. Emmert, which held that the public does not have a right to float a "non-navigable" stream through private land. Rafters were convicted of trespass after floating under a barbed wire fence across the Colorado River near Parshall. For decades, landowners along rivers like the Taylor have strung cables across the water to block passage.
• Three groups are competing for influence: the Responsible River Recreation Alliance (paddlers pushing for a limited right to float through private property without leaving the craft), the Colorado Water Conservation Alliance (landowners defending the status quo), and wade-fishing advocates who want broader stream access.
• The new documentary "Common Waters" screened in Crested Butte in March, drawing attention to the issue. Attorney Amy Beatie told the crowd: "I think there is a way to respect private property rights and protect the right to float."
• The timing is particularly relevant as a short, dry rafting season takes shape after Colorado's worst snowpack on record.

Why It Matters: This isn't just about paddlers vs. landowners. Colorado's $50-60 million rafting economy runs on rivers that pass through private land, and the legal ambiguity creates risk for outfitters, guides, and the communities that depend on them. In a drought year with less water to go around, the access question gets sharper.

💧 Denver Water declared its first Stage 1 drought since 2013, seeking a 20% cut in water use for 1.5 million customers. Snowpack is the lowest in 40+ years, reservoirs are below average, and recovery would require the snowiest April ever by a wide margin. Lawn watering is limited to two days per week through April 2027. Aurora, Arvada, Thornton, and Erie have also enacted restrictions.

Business

❄️ Ski Industry

⛷️ Vail Mountain appointed Shaydar Edelmann as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, replacing Beth Howard, who is retiring after a 41-year career with Vail Resorts. Edelmann brings 25+ years in the snow sports industry and most recently served as VP and GM of Heavenly Mountain Resort, where he oversaw the 70th anniversary season, expanded year-round childcare, and grew summer operations.

• Prior to Heavenly, Edelmann was VP of Mountain Operations at Park City Mountain, where he helped guide the resort through COVID and back-to-back historic snow seasons. He also contributed to chairlift optimization across Vail Resorts' portfolio.
• Originally from Kaikōura, New Zealand, Edelmann was a member of the New Zealand Junior Surf Team before building his career in the mountains. His early career included roles at Alpine Meadows and Boreal Mountain Resort, where he helped establish California's first recycled water snowmaking system.
• Howard will lead Vail Mountain through the remainder of the current season, support the transition, and serve in an advisory capacity until her retirement in mid-October 2026.

Why It Matters: Vail Mountain is the flagship of the largest ski resort company in the world, and it just had one of its worst snow years on record. Edelmann inherits a resort that needs to deliver on the guest experience during a period when the product (snow) is increasingly unreliable. His track record growing summer operations at Heavenly signals where the focus may shift.

🎿 Powder Mountain will bundle up to two free youth passes (12 and under) with every adult season pass ($1,499) for 2026-27, outpacing Epic and Ikon family programs. The Netflix co-founder-owned resort is also adding 1,000 acres of advanced terrain and a competitive freeride program. Teen passes are reduced up to $300.

⚖️ Croatian authorities arrested Vedran Pavlek, longtime director of the Croatian Alpine Ski Team, as part of a €30 million corruption investigation into the Croatian Ski Association. The scheme allegedly ran from 2014-2026, involving embezzlement, shell companies in Switzerland and Monaco, and €10 million transferred to personal accounts. Pavlek, who oversaw the Kostelić era, fled to Istanbul before being detained.

What else is going on

• National Park Service faces massive staffing cuts with Trump's 2027 budget proposing $736 million reduction and realignment to "visitor-facing roles," threatening scientists and conservation staff.
• Medano Creek may not reach Great Sand Dunes National Park this year due to historic low snowpack, threatening Colorado's "best beach" seasonal attraction.
• Castle Peak avalanche official report reveals 13 buried, 9 killed on February 17 when soft slab released during extreme Sierra storm with undeployed airbags.
• Indy Pass sells out in record 37 minutes during public sale, reflecting skier demand for affordable access to 300+ independent resorts over mega-pass crowds.

📚 Trailhead Trivia

What is the name of the world's deepest canyon — hint: it's NOT the Grand Canyon?

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Answer!

The world's deepest canyon is the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (or Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon) in Tibet, China. It reaches a maximum depth of approximately 6,009 meters (19,714 feet) and stretches 314 miles long, cutting between the Himalayan mountains Namcha Barwa and Gyala Peri.