AMBASSADOR ALEX!

Crested Butte, CO for 14 years

I grew up in Southwestern PA in the Laurel Highland Mountains. 

What are your hobbies and sports?
Mountain biking, road cycling, backcountry skiing, competitive freeride skiing, nordic skiing, yoga, gardening, dog walking- and providing mentorship to youth in my community. 

What would your ideal day look like?
My ideal day would be filled with the people and things I love the most, and definitely a dual sport day! We’d wake up with strong coffee for the dog walk, and a yummy breakfast (my favorite meal of the day!). Of course, it snowed 2 feet of fresh cold powder in the mountains so we’d head out on snowmobiles to access steep and deep ski terrain! My lovely badass lady friends and I would take turns breaking the skin track and shredding exciting lines! After our fill of powder faceshots, we’d snowmobile back to town and swap the snow ponies for mountain bikes! It didn’t snow down valley on this perfect day, so we’d head out for a ride on flowy wildflower lined singletrack! We would ride until sunset and take in the gorgeous view with our 4-legged companions! The day would be filled with laughter and smiles with my best friends! 

If you could change one thing about the world for the better, what would it be?
I wish that no child would ever face food or housing insecurity. 

Tell me about a time you had a success and what you learned from it?Community involvement: 
One of ways I serve my community is by volunteering for Crested Butte Mountain Rescue. With a plethora of recreational opportunities in our surrounding mountains and valleys, we are bound to have people in need of help for accidents, sickness, or lost individuals. I feel that volunteering with CB Mountain Rescue is a way to pay it forward in a karmic sense- and an invaluable way increase my knowledge and skills necessary to safely execute rescue missions the team or personal adventure projects with my partners. Not only have my 11 years on CB Mountain Rescue served our community, but it’s given me a sense of community within our team. I’ve made amazing friends and have had the good fortune to receive mountain mentorship from a very talented, and diverse group of people. 

I met Alix, the creator of ABD Jewelry, on a chairlift in Taos Ski Valley, NM heading up for a freeskiing competition we were both in. Can you say it was “love at first sight” for one of your best friends? Well, it was. We continued to adventure together and develop our personal passions. I received one of the first pair of feathered bike tube earrings Alix created with an x-acto knife! ABD Jewelry was born in a small studio on the same street in Crested Butte that I presently reside on! (Let’s be honest, the studio was a desk in the corner of Alix’s loft- she’s come so far!!) 

How do you relate to your ABD jewelry?
My favorite part about ABD Jewelry is that I can wear it for everything and anything: mountain biking long days, dinner dates, skiing hot laps, and to work life as a Coach for the Crested Butte Nordic Team and Mission Coordinator for Crested Butte Mountain Rescue!  Alix’s patterns are inspired by the things we love in life and nature- and the environmentally conscious design and use of materials is noteworthy.