🏔️ V17 sends and Breckenridge legends!

Good morning, Stoke Crew. I'll tell you what! The longer days have been so nice. Getting off work and still having time to bike, climb, and explore? Can't beat it. I'm sure we can all agree. Hope y'all had a good weekend of adventuring, whether you were at the crag, on the bike, or still chasing ski lines. Last weekend was a good one to be outside with friends. I did a little bike, climb, tennis combo... no complaints. Alright, I'll quit rambling. Let's get into it. Here's the report.

In today's report

• ⛷️ Remembering Breckenridge co-founder Trygve Berge
• 🧗 Japan's Makoto Yamauchi gets the sixth ascent of Burden of Dreams V17
• 🚲 Colorado's Revel Bikes hired a new sales leader
• 🚲 Ibis is building carbon frames in a solar-powered California factory
• 🏔️ One Crater Lake trail to close

MOUNTAIN BRIEFING

❄️ Remembering a legend

⛷️ Trygve Berge (pictured above, breck 1962) co-founder of Breckenridge Ski Resort, died April 2 after a brief illness at 93. Berge founded the resort in 1961 with Sigurd Rockne and Bill Rounds, laying out and naming all of Breckenridge's original runs and serving as the first director of the ski school.

• Born in Voss, Norway in 1932, Berge survived the Nazi occupation as a child, became the Norwegian downhill champion in 1954, and competed for Norway at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy. His gymnastics-inspired flips and carving style were featured in films, postcards, and billboards across Colorado in the early 1960s.
• Berge moved to the U.S. following his idol Stein Eriksen and taught at Eriksen's ski school at Aspen Highlands before co-founding Breckenridge. Peak 8 opened December 16, 1961, with one double chair, a T-bar, and a handful of runs. Trygve's, a green run on Peak 8, is named after him.
• He was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame in 1999 and co-founded Ullr Fest, the 50+ year tradition honoring the Norse snow god. In Norwegian, "Trygve" means "trust" and "Berge" derives from "mountain."

Why It Matters: Before Breckenridge was one of the most visited ski resorts in the world, it was a near-ghost town with rock piles from old mining operations and three gas stations. Trygve Berge looked at Peak 8 and saw a ski area. That vision, born from a Norwegian farm boy who survived Nazi occupation and became an Olympic racer, shaped the trajectory of Summit County and Colorado skiing.

Climbing

🏔️ V17 & Ice Climbing sends!!

🧗 Japanese climber Makoto Yamauchi made the sixth ascent of Burden of Dreams V17 in Lappnor, Finland on April 4, his first of the grade. Yamauchi livestreamed the send, sharing the moment with viewers in real time. "The best day of my life," he said. "I don't have anything else to say."

• Burden of Dreams, established by Nalle Hukkataival in 2016, is the world's first V17 and arguably still the hardest boulder problem on the planet. A five-move crimp line on a 45-degree overhanging face with small, awkwardly oriented holds and poor footholds demanding extreme body tension.
• Yamauchi trained on a 3D-printed replica before visiting Finland in October 2025, where he got heartbreakingly close but was shut down by numbed-out feet. He returned six months later for the send.
• Previous ascensionists: Hukkataival (2016), Will Bosi (April 2023), Simon Lorenzi (December 2023), Elias Iagnemma (March 2024), Sungsu Lee (May 2025). Yamauchi was relatively unknown internationally before beginning his Burden project.

Why It Matters: Burden of Dreams went from one ascent in seven years to six ascents in three. The 3D-replica training method (pioneered by Bosi, now used by Yamauchi) is changing how climbers project remote problems. The hardest routes in the world are no longer reserved for those who can camp out nearby for months.

🧊 Kimber Cross completed the first documented female adaptive ascent of Bridal Veil Falls in Telluride on March 16, topping the 365-foot WI5/6 line with a custom prosthetic ice tool. Cross was born with terminal transverse limb deficiency (no right hand) and is also the first person to send the route with an upper-limb prosthetic.

• Cross's prosthetic consists of a Petzl Nomic with a carbon fiber mold and titanium attachment, custom to her arm. She cannot switch tools between hands, which fundamentally changes how she moves through technical terrain.
• Bridal Veil Falls is one of Colorado's most iconic ice lines. Jeff Lowe called it the hardest technical ice climb he'd ever done at the time of his first ascent in 1974. Cross climbed with partner Elias De Andres Martos.
• Cross is a kindergarten teacher from Washington state and an Arc'teryx-sponsored athlete. Her framework: "Can't. Will. Did."

Why It Matters: Bridal Veil Falls is a serious route by any standard. Sending it with one ice tool that can't be switched between hands redefines what's possible in adaptive climbing. Cross isn't asking for a different category. She's climbing the same routes as everyone else, with different tools and a different approach to problem-solving!

Business

🚲 Biking Industry

☀️ Ibis Cycles is producing carbon bike frames in-house at a solar-powered factory in Pajaro, California, about 30 minutes from its Santa Cruz headquarters. The facility, originally built as an undersea fiber-optic cable terminal that was never used, was acquired for roughly 10% of its original construction cost. Ibis stripped 32,000 pounds of copper wire from the building and sold a locomotive-sized backup generator before converting to solar.

• Ibis's in-house carbon process takes approximately 30% of the time compared to Asian factories, helping offset higher U.S. labor costs. The company is currently producing the new Ripley SL (the successor to its U.S.-made Exie) at the facility.
• The in house Carbon project started in 2014 as a feasibility study. By 2021, Ibis launched the Exie with frames handmade in the USA. Founder Scot Nicol and engineer Colin Hughes lead the production.
• The Ripley SL, with a claimed frame/shock weight of 5 pounds, 117mm rear travel and 130mm fork, bridges XC and trail categories. Framesets start at $4,499.

Why It Matters: With tariff uncertainty and supply chain concerns pushing more brands to consider domestic production, Ibis's Pajaro factory is proof of concept. They've been doing this for years, refining the process, and the Ripley SL is the latest result. U.S.-made, solar-powered, and competitive on weight and price. That's a hard combination to argue with!

🚲 Golden, Colorado-based Revel Bikes has hired Levi Olsen as Sales and Site Leader, bringing on an industry veteran to manage retail relationships, production pipeline, and day-to-day site operations. Olsen comes from previous roles at Spot Bikes, CeramicSpeed, and Challenge Tires, with experience spanning specialty retail, distribution, and direct-to-consumer channels.

• Revel, founded by Adam Miller, is known for its carbon fiber and titanium mountain bikes. The company recently relocated from Carbondale to Golden.
• The hire reflects Revel's hands-on, all-hands approach to growth as it scales from a small brand to a recognized industry player. The Rascal won Pinkbike's 2026 Trail Bike of the Year.

Why It Matters: In a bike industry still shaking off post-pandemic overcorrection, small brands like Revel are hiring and expanding while larger companies restructure. A Colorado-born mountain bike company relocating within the state and adding key staff is a quiet bet on the specialty market.

Environment

⛰️ A Crater Lake trail will close until 2029

🏔️ The Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only legal access to Crater Lake's shoreline, will close after this summer's season for a multi-year rehabilitation project. Construction begins in 2026, and the trail won't reopen until summer 2029 at the earliest. No swimming, boat tours, or lake access will be available during the closure.

• The steep, 1.1-mile trail drops 700 feet to the shore of America's deepest lake and is the most heavily used pathway in the park, serving over 500,000 visitors annually.
• The park itself remains open. Rim Drive, overlooks, campgrounds, and Crater Lake Lodge will all operate normally. But all access to the water is cut off until the project is complete.

Why It Matters: The infrastructure at our national parks wasn't built for the visitation levels they see today. Cleetwood Cove's failing marina and deteriorating trail are symptoms of a system-wide deferred maintenance backlog across the NPS. The three-year timeline is frustrating, but the alternative, overuse on a fragile environment is worse!

📚 Trailhead Trivia

Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest lake in America. How deep is it?

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Answer!

1,943 feet deep! It was formed when a massive volcano erupted and then caved in on itself, leaving a giant caldera that filled with rainwater and snowmelt over thousands of years!