Tim Cahill: The Godfather of Travel Writing
Tim Cahill Canyoning in New Zealand
When I asked renowned travel writer Tim Cahill how he came to be a writer specializing in travel during a recent Travel Fun interview, he answered with all the modesty of a hippo in the bush. “I invented the job,” he said with a glint in his eye. And indeed he did. As one of the founders of Outside magazine, Tim Cahill changed the way a person could read about the great outdoors and adventure travel.
He had worked two years at Rolling Stone in the mid Seventies when the editor approached him with the idea of creating a literate outdoor magazine. “It was a simple concept,” Tim said. But in those days outdoor magazines were more about hunting and fishing, slaying a ferocious wildebeest or how to prime your canoe for the upcoming season. It was generally believed that avid readers of fine prose did not spend much time outdoors.
“We were made fun of by the journalism pundits,” Tim said. “But we did the magazine that we wanted to read.” And not long after their launch, the founders of Outside were proven right, especially after having received top awards in the publishing world many years in a row.
“Outside really gave me my start,” Tim explained. The folks at the magazine realized early on that getting the best ice climber to write a story didn’t produce the results they wanted. Instead it was much better to have someone who could write well team up with the best ice climber and that person became Tim Cahill. (Prior to Outside, Tim was one of those guys that would head out for a weekend of backpacking, but he was no big adventurer.) “I was the inept rookie in the wilderness the first ten years,” Tim chuckled.
Tim’s spiral notebooks grew and it soon became clear that many of his magazine stories were destined to become books. He told me he has written nine in all (but I found way more on Amazon and hence listed ten below). And on their pages you can read some of the most descriptive and poignant tales of adventure travel ever written. “An adventure story does not have to be a lot of gratuitous chest pounding,” Tim said. “If you’re diving and you see a shark, there’s some wonder behind it.” Tim wouldn’t conclude that story with a wielding pen knife and spewing blood and guts. His work is much more refined; he’s in the business of telling compelling stories with finesse.
Tim and I traded tales about the writer’s life and the publishing world as we shared the microphone. We were experiencing a classic KOTO happening, yet another improvisational moment in community radio since all of the extra mikes in the studio had been removed for a special event. We had to get so close that we sidled up to each other like two lovers on a park bench. That definitely helped to break the ice! Tim Cahill no longer seemed like the untouchable travel writer God I had met several years ago at the Travel Writer’s Conference at Book Passage in California. (He was surrounded by so many people that I was barely able to say hello to him then!)
Funnily enough when I asked Tim about his beginnings he told me that when he was young he thought “writers were somehow unattainable Gods”. We both joked about how we found out that that was far from the truth.
He was one of those kids that stayed up reading by flashlight late into the night. Reading is always the best primer for a writer. Tim graciously shared many other tips with me and I’m sure that as I attempt to implement them, I’ll be thinking about him and his dedication to the written word. He did after all invent the travel writer job, you know.
Tim Surveying the External Landscape
Travel Writer Tips from Tim Cahill
-Take contemporaneous notes.
-Write about the external landscape (what you see) and the internal landscape (what’s happening to you when you see it).
-Bring home your notes and then try to write out complete sentences.
-Try to grab the reader around the first paragraph. “I then give the best descriptions about why I was there and I tell stories that I hope will lead the reader to the same conclusion I came to when I was there,” Tim explained.
Tim regularly conducts writer’s workshops for the Yellowstone Association, 307-344-2293, www.yellowstoneassociation.org.
The Book Passage Travel Writer’s Conference takes place annually mid August at the main Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, California; 800-999-7909, ext. 233, www.bookpassage.com.
Book Picks: Tim Cahill’s books, some of which are listed below.
“Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer”
“Jaguars Ripped My Flesh”
“A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg”
“Road Fever”
“Pecked to Death by Ducks”
“Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Remembered”
“Dolphins”
“Hold the Enlightenment”
“Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park”
“The Best American Travel Writing”
Colorado Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies: Colorado Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
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Fall in Telluride: Riding the Gondola
Me Sightseeing on the Gondola
Boy, am I glad to be back! I’ve survived my technical difficulties and will try to catch up with my blog postings this week. (Give me a plume and a few sheets of parchment any day!)
If you think I appear somewhat like a Bond girl in the photo on the left, it’s because I’m riding the gondola that connects Telluride to Mountain Village. Yeah, I thought I’d go for more of a slick Europhile look here since a lot of people conjure up hair-raising scenes from a 007 flick when they first ride our gondola. Two systems builders, one from Salt Lake City, the other from Switzerland (not surprisingly!) collaborated to create this fine example of modern technology, a veritable air-born shuttle that spans three miles as it sails above the slopes at treetop height. A super green transportation choice that operates the better part of the year on wind-powered electricity, the gondola has greatly minimized the amount of air and noise pollution in Telluride while keeping vehicular traffic at a minimum. It always promises an exciting ride as well as safe delivery to the next station. Visions of heart-racing adventures become dashed when you learn that in the twelve years of its existence, only one evacuation was required and that was on the intercept gondola, the four-minute spit that goes between the core of Mountain Village to the parking area. (Rescuers do, however, regularly train for such missions, just in case.)
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride Travel: Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride Travel
by maribeth
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Telluride Ski Resort is Tantamount to Fun
Lowering the Goods
Not long after I returned home from my month of travels back east, I tuned in to the constant comings and goings of a helicopter whirring in the skies near my little slopeside apartment. There was so much activity, in fact, that I said a prayer for the people involved since choppers in the mountains typically mean a search and rescue mission. My concern swelled until someone enlightened me, informing me that the copter operation concerned the ski area; these workhorses of the sky had been engaged to deliver lift shacks, towers and other materials to an elevation of over 12,000 feet for the installation of the new Revelation Lift. Oh, of course, I thought to myself and my mood quickly changed from one of dread to elation.
I chatted about Revelation Lift and more with Dave Riley, CEO of Telluride Ski and Golf, during a recent Travel Fun interview. Entering his second year on the job, Dave has a lot to be proud of at Telluride Ski Resort. He has been instrumental in opening up a bunch of new terrain including Palmyra Peak, Black Iron Bowl, Gold Hill Chutes 6-10 and now Revelation Bowl which will be ready to go with the start of this new ski season.
Veteran Ski Patrolman Surveys the Terrain
“I have to give the ski patrol a lot of credit for most of these openings,” Dave said during our interview. Much avalanche control work was required to pave the way for the public and ski patrol did double time with this last winter, particularly since it was a banner snow year. It seems that almost as a reward to them, Dave went ahead and leased some fancy Howitzers from the U.S. Army; these 105 mm artillery weapons certainly pack enough punch to trigger slides far out on the peaks and couloirs. New snowcats have also been acquired, high-performing mountain monsters that will be winched up on at least a couple of the trails off of the Revelation Lift to guarantee some nice corduroy for those of us looking to take a break from the bumps.
I was thrilled to learn that most of the runs off of Revelation—the highest lift on the mountain which also happens to be above tree line—are single black diamonds. (Oh, what did you think I was hardcore?) “It’s like a high alpine, European bowl,” Dave says. “It’s a great snow catcher and the views are extraordinary.”
Virgin Revelation Bowl
The scenery here is probably what best sets Telluride apart from most other mountain resorts in the country. “We have the largest concentration of 13,000 to 14,000-foot peaks here,” Dave points out. “It’s like the Swiss Alps of America.” We both agree, too, that the combination of the old mining town of Telluride (a National Historic District) with Mountain Village, a more recent European-styled assortment of buildings and homes works well together to suit the needs of both residents and visitors. Both are connected by a gondola, providing free transportation and outstanding views to all that ride it from the wee hours of the morning until midnight.
Dave Riley Atop Palmyra Peak
Dave, an incredibly passionate skier that has worked in many top destinations throughout the West, travels to four to six different ski areas a season. Sure, he’s a little biased but I can tell he’s sincere when he talks about how Telluride offers an unparalleled ski experience in North America. “Telluride is consistently good,” he emphasizes. “There are no lift lines here, there’s good sunny weather and the snow is great.”
At this point, I tap into the ski instructor within me and mention that we enjoy great teaching terrain in Telluride as well. “There’s a good balance for beginner, intermediate, expert and even extreme skiers and boarders,” I add.
“Our Ski and Snowboard School is unmatched,” Dave volleys back. “The instructors provide great instruction with a real personalized touch.”
Fabuleux! I scored one for the home team. I almost added that we all try really hard as well but I didn’t want to blur the line too much between radio interviewer/travel writer and ski instructor, especially with my boss. One thing’s for sure: We all share an immense enthusiasm for the mountain and that passion is conveyed to every person we encounter. Dave exudes it as well which is probably partly why he’s been able to improve so much on an already darn good thing.
Telluride Ski Resort, 970-728-6900, www.tellurideskiresort.com; be sure to check out Dave’s blog at that site.
Dave’s Book Pick
“Ski the 14ers: A Visual Tribute to Colorado’s 14,000-foot Peaks from the Eyes of a Ski Mountaineer,” by Chris Davenport. Ski mountaineering is one of Dave Riley’s personal passions.
Now Warm Up that Baby---Ski Season is Almost Here!
Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies: Mountain Living Telluride The Rockies
by maribeth
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The Perils of Mountain Living
They're So Cute!
Last week was Bear Awareness Week here in Telluride. A number of events such as a parade, a kid’s movie and seminars were held to help people become more aware of this mountain community’s bear activity and more importantly, how to respond to it. I didn’t attend a single one, mostly because I’ve been chained to my desk. Also I guess I felt like I didn’t need to raise my bear awareness any more: It was already on high alert. I’ve been increasingly coyote conscious as well, especially since I have two kitties that love to play outside where the bears and coyotes roam. (What can I say? They get fat and depressed if I sequester them in my little apartment.)
Even the Little Ones Know How to Dumpster Dive for Dinner
I remarked to myself how odd it looked in New York City on my recent visit when I saw basic trash bags and cans lined up along the street awaiting the next morning’s pick up. That seemed so foreign to me since I had become accustomed to seeing all forms of garbage in full lockdown mode since I moved to Colorado well over six years ago. (I was partly wondering why the garbage wasn’t hidden from NYC’s rodent population, I guess.) A bear could make many tasty meals off of our garbage, so we lock off everything from street-side trash receptacles to big waste bins outside of homes and buildings. Still, though, the bears know they can find more to feast on in Telluride and the outlying area than in the woods. (There’s, of course, always a tourist that stupidly plops out a bag of garbage, a virtual ursine offering that greatly comprises all of our community efforts.) It’s true, you’re more likely to encounter a bear lumbering through the alleyways of T-ride at 3 a.m. than on a camping expedition along the Continental Divide.
It’s easy for me to stay clear of the backstreets, but walks home at night have recently been riddled with fear. (I rarely drive here since the gondola is my primary form of transportation and I live about a ten-minute walk from the station. More on the gondola later.) I’ve seen many bears since I’ve been out here and each sighting has been thrilling, mostly in the happy sense because I’ve been at a safe enough distance from them not to feel any threat. I’m just a little concerned about coming up against one and having us both—errrrrrrrr—surprise each other. I read in a Living with Wildlife in Bear Country pamphlet that it’s best to run downhill. Well, that’s not always an option. Plus I’d hate to count on me outrunning a bear. It’s recommended to sing. So I’ve taken to singing if I come home at dark. Since I’m such an awful singer, my vocalizations frittered into more of a la-dee-dah-dee-dah. Then they transgressed into whistling, which I’m thinking might be a little too ear piercing for the bear. God only knows, maybe my bizarre sounds would throw a bear into some kind of a crazed state.
To make matters worse, I have to walk past this upturned tree stump on my way home. It never fails. Its dark, craggy roots look like a big black bear on its hind legs about to lunge for me. I shudder and cringe as I scurry by this silhouette and not surprisingly my whistling at this point sounds more like a cockatoo on the verge of hyperventilation. That darn thing gets me every time.
Maybe I’ve become too hypersensitive all around. I’ve also taken to sniffing the air. You don’t have to possess an acute olfactory awareness to smell bear. I’ve smelled bear before and it was at a distance of at least one hundred feet. It’s strong! The problem with this mode is that if you happen to get a whiff of let’s say some doggy do, it’s apt to send you into a tailspin. This very thing happened to me the other day when I was hiking, but I’m still thinking that I was picking up the scent of a bear.
O.K., Maybe He's a Little Young for Me
Bears are most active now since they’re preparing for hibernation. The females bed down toward the end of October; the males early November. Lately I’ve been thinking maybe this is not a good time of year to be single. I’ve envisioned myself walking arm and arm with a handsome man until that dreaded moment when he’s required to fend off our Ursus americanus. We encounter the beast crouched before us, flashing incisors, paw raised and ready to tear us to shreds. Then ever so valiantly, my lover forces the bear to cower with nothing but a fierce shout and the bear skulks off into the underbrush. Oh, my great protector, my ever-so brave, prince charming.
I’m fine once I enter my humble abode. That is unless one of my kitties is still out. That one is typically Clara and I’ve had to sneak out many nights and call her, forever fearful that there might be a bear hiding in the shadows. It was midnight the other night and she still hadn’t come home. I was worried sick and even after two Tylenol PM, I only half slept. Then at two-thirty a.m. I was awakened by the howls of coyotes. Those blood curdling yelps that sound half human, half beast. I bolted out of bed, desperately searching for my pajamas and glasses and then was finally able to fly out the door. I quietly and pleadingly called, “Claraaaa, Claraaaa,” so as not to awake the neighbors. The whole while my heart raced wildly—so much so, in fact, that I was sure I could chase off both a bear and a coyote if such a situation presented itself to me. Clarie was nowhere to be found. The coyotes’ wretched sounds finally abated and only the trickling of the nearby ravine could be heard.
My Nemesis
I returned home not knowing if my little cat was dead or alive. Five minutes later I heard her cry at the door. She strolled in like she had just spent the afternoon in the park.
I read the following in our local paper the other day under the COP SHOP: MEMO TO MOUNTAIN VILLAGE RESIDENTS: You live in a place called Mountain Village. It’s a village in the mountains. This is why bears and coyotes come near where people live. (Or, better said, some people build houses near where bears and coyotes live.) There’s no need to call the cops on every bear, raccoon or coyote you see, is there?
Calling the police about the wildlife would be the last thing I’d do. In fact, even if a bear entered my Mountain Village apartment (which is possible since the entrance door is on the ground level), I’d do my best to find a way not to call the police. I’d be afraid the poor thing would be shot.
But that doesn’t mean I’m any less fearful of bumping into one. Maybe I do need that big strapping guy in my life after all.
Colorado Division of Wildlife, 303-297-1192, www.wildlife.state.co.us; you’ll find lots of information here about how to live with wildlife.
P.S. Just days after I initially wrote this, Clara spent an entire night out, I’m convinced I saw a bobcat chase Leo, my other kitty, and my neighbor told me a mountain lion was recently spotted in the vicinity. Maybe the perils of the concrete jungle are more manageable. I can’t wait until the cold weather sets in so that most of the critters—especially my own—tuck themselves into their dens for many snow-blanketed days of slumber.
King of the Mountain
Being Green Shopping Telluride Travel: Being Green Shopping Telluride Travel
by maribeth
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Daryl Hannah on Green Living
Daryl on the Mesa Outside of T-ride
The breakdown of Daryl’s biodiesel car left her nearly stranded in Montrose, the largest city in the region situated about an hour and a half from Telluride. Clearly she was not going to make it to the KOTO studios in time to do a Travel Fun interview with me, so we chatted on the phone together instead. (Daryl was actually holed up inside one of the teepees at the Ute Indian Museum, an interesting place that I have yet to visit.)
A few technical difficulties challenged me back at the studio. I was pulling together a live program—a rarity in the almost five years I’ve been doing radio—and my button pushing faltered somewhat, particularly at one point when I forgot to turn off the DJ mike during the musical break. Half of my phone conversation with another caller was broadcasted on the airwaves. Fortunately I wasn’t chatting about anything too private! I continued with more music from the “Kill Bill,” soundtrack for the second musical break, overlooking a cut that requires keen censorship. A few F-words later, I said a big “ooops” and hoped that the FCC wasn’t tuned in. Daryl was more than gracious throughout the whole interview, particularly during my assorted goof ups. Thankfully, she clearly has a tender attachment to KOTO, Telluride’s own community radio station.
In addition to her memorable performances in the original “Blade Runner,” “Splash,” “Wall Street,” and more recently the “Kill Bill” series, Daryl has been busy championing causes and spreading the word about green living. She is a keen environmentalist. And this is not so new because Daryl has been a vegetarian since the age of eleven.
Actually Daryl is turned off by the green word. Just like with organic and sustainable, she thinks those words are overused. “They really don’t take into account the social connectedness of things,” Daryl emphasizes. “You need to consider the social aspect of everything.”
Daryl practices what she preaches when she can. “I’m trying to get off of fossil fuels and the grid as much as possible,” she says. In addition to zipping around the mountains in her not-so new—but souped up—biodiesel car, Daryl lives in a one-bedroom home out here on a mesa, a simple house built from an old barn that was going to be torn down. “It’s solar powered, nontoxic and as sustainable as possible,” she says. Many organic elements have been incorporated into the interior and exterior design including a “couch” made from locally gathered, moss-covered rocks. “I just pull off the cushions and spray wash it down every once in a while,” Daryl chuckles.
Blonde Beauty Modeling a Chain Mail Purse Made from Soda Pop Pull Tab Tops by a Womens' Artisan Co-Op in Brazil
I imagine Daryl’s Telluride home to be fairly minimalist. “I subscribe to the church of stop shopping,” she revealed. She thinks people are better off wearing old clothes and making them cool by stenciling them. She’s also an advocate of consignment stores. “Growing cotton for one T-shirt requires much too much water for that to be a sustainable product,” she explains. I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to tell her that I believe in buying quality products that you treasure forever. That’s the French way. Buying in quantity is more of an American addiction.
Daryl Chillin' with DHLoveLife.com
Daryl’s Web site is a good place to go to inform yourself about living less conspicuously on this planet. It’s also fun and the best way to get to know the real Daryl Hannah. You can shop there for some of her hand-chosen products such as an aluminum water bottle and a travel essential bag filled with most of her favorite travel must-haves including a safe sunscreen (most are carcinogenic), arnica (good for sore muscles), Super Salve, an ultra-rich balm that’s great for lubricating nostrils and such before, during and after airplane travel and more along with other terrific products. (Daryl also likes to bring sage from the mesa with her on her travels, but you’ll have to round up some of that on your own.)
Ecotourism is a term that Daryl feels is getting overused as well. She encourages people to look closely at places that promise to be green. For her, it’s important that ecoresorts exhibit a real connectedness with the local community. Hotelito Desconocido in Mexico and Al Karm and Babata, two ecolodges in Egypt, all destinations that Daryl features on her video blogs, are resorts committed to fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with their environs.
Daryl also encourages people to go to our National Parks more “cause nobody uses them.” She cited the Channel Islands, off the coast of California, as an example of a rare site little known to people. Her “Natural Wonder” video blog on her Web site documents this unique place and its habitat.
She’s also done a number of video blogs on people that have inspired her, people that she considers to be her heroes. In one of the video blogs, Daryl visits with Richard Branson, a well-known English business magnate, but also one of the world’s leading investors in renewable energy and resource efficiency technology.
At this year’s Telluride Film Festival, Daryl met Paul Watson, a tireless environmentalist dedicated to the protection of animal rights. He was here showing his film, “Pirates of the Sea.” Daryl plans to join up with Paul soon on his ship, and from the way she talked, I suspect he’ll soon be featured as one of her “heroes,” too.
For now, however, Daryl is in London filming “Blind Man’s Bluff” with the English actor Tom Conti.
Ute Indian Museum, Montrose, Colorado, 970-249-3098, www.coloradohistory.org/hist_sites/UteIndian/Ute_indian
Daryl’s Web site is www.dhlovelife.com
Al Karm Ecolodge, Mount Sinai, Egypt, www.awayaway-sinai.net/main/st.%20katherine_sub/al_karm
Babata Ecolodge; I’m working on finding a link!
Hotelito Desconocido, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 800-013-1313, www.hotelito.com
National Park Service, Channel Islands, www.nps.gov/chis
Daryl’s Book Picks
Anything by Michael Pollan. “I think they should be mandatory reading for everyone,” Daryl says. She particularly recommends “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” and his recent book, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.”
Daryl also enjoys reading books that tell the story of the people and the place she’s visiting. “Love in the Time of Cholera,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, for example, is her suggestion for travels to South America.
Art & Culture Colorado Telluride Telluride Festivals: Art & Culture Colorado Telluride Telluride Festivals
by maribeth
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Telluride Film Festival: A Moviegoer’s Lovefest
Alpenglow Over Telluride During Filmfest
We have one little movie theatre here in Telluride, a one-screen wonder called The Nugget. It’s a rare gem housed in an historic building of the same name and it keeps Telluride moviegoers content year-round. (The Nugget Building once boasted a bank, the very place where Butch Cassidy pulled off his first heist.)
For one long weekend of the year, however, we become Cinephile Central. This has been occurring every Labor Day Weekend for the past thirty-five years. This is when the Telluride Film Festival takes over our mountain town and transforms it into a center for the appreciation of the motion picture arts. More than six hundred people—volunteers and paid staff—work before, during and after the festival to make Telluride the film capital of the world this first weekend of September. Nine very different movie screening venues are created so that film lovers from Sweden to West Africa to Hollywood can come and watch movies for over three days in optimal conditions—that’s to say in spaces where the sound and picture are nothing less than fantastic.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies Travel: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Redstone Restaurants The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Redstone Rendez-Vous
Redstone Inn: One of Colorado’s Best-Kept Secrets
After having been away a month, I couldn’t wait to get back to Telluride. I just wanted to sleep in my own bed with my two kitties and bury myself into the quiet of my little mountain nest. The drive from Denver to T-ride is about seven hours and since I’m not much of a car person, I like to break it up with a stop at my brother David’s house. He and his wife, Geri, live in Redstone, Colorado, a charming little town very much at the halfway point of my Denver/Telluride journey. Normally I would stay overnight, giving us plenty of time to catch up; but the three of us were rather pressed for time, so they suggested we lunch at the Redstone Inn instead.
Art & Culture Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel: Art & Culture Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel
by maribeth
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More LoDo Love
Larimer Square (photo courtesy of DMCVB)
My late-August jaunt was such a flash trip to Denver that I didn’t have time to hit my favorite haunts, most of which are located in LoDo, Denver’s historic Lower Downtown, a 26-block area between the main part of downtown and Union Station. This section is fun to explore by foot so that you can best take in its abundance of high western Victorian buildings, many of which house interesting stores, art galleries, restaurants, bars and hotels.
