A Message From Red Lady #45

Julie Nania poses in her Red Lady dress in the backyard of her home in Crested Butte, Colorado on March 5, 2023. (Dean Krakel, The Colorado Sun)

At midnight on April 1, my soul sister and race partner Laura Yale and I will depart to Aspen in the regalia of the Red Ladies as we ski in this year’s Elk Mountains Grand Traverse. Mother nature permitting, we will ski 40 miles through the night and climb 6,800 vertical feet over the Continental Divide. We’ll battle weather, blisters, and our own physical limits.

But most importantly, we are skiing to protect Mt. Emmons - also known as Red Lady - in our home town of Crested Butte - from an ongoing threat of being developed into a molybdenum mine.

Our goal is to raise $5,000 for the Save Red Lady Fund.

I’m Julie Nania, Red Lady Director at High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA). For over four decades HCCA has worked to prevent the destruction of these public lands - from Red Lady in Crested Butte all the way to Thompson Divide outside of Carbondale. The battle is almost over, but we still need to work on some extremely important final details to make these protections permanent.

Every day at HCCA I work to protect the waters of the Upper Gunnison basin, be it through collaborative processes to better manage and conserve our water resources or by pushing back on activities that degrade our watersheds. Preventing mining on Red Lady is a crucial piece of the puzzle we must finalize to ensure healthy headwaters in the Gunnison Valley.

“Red Lady means so many things to me.”

First, one of the great honors of my life was to be crowned the 46th Red Lady at last year’s Red Lady Ball. It’s amazing to officially join the crew of remarkable, rowdy, and inspiring women and community activists recognized as Red Ladies.

When my husband and I decided to get married during Covid, we skied up into the Red Lady Bowl and eloped. We couldn’t think of a more inspiring place to commit to one another. I’ve had so many joyous experiences recreating on Red Lady with friends - in both ski boots and hiking boots! I’m humbled when I gaze up at her - the reassuring sentinel that watches over our community. And this year, I’ve spent a little extra time on her while training for the Grand Traverse.

The Grand Traverse is one of the most famous ski races in the country! I’m utilizing this platform to inform our communities in Gunnison County all the way to our neighbors in Garfield County about the role that the CORE Act could play in securing protections against mining in our headwaters. The CORE Act is a legislative tool that can permanently protect Red Lady.

For over four decades we’ve battled to protect this mountain. While it’s easy to object to mining to protect our wildlife, our waters, our inspiring views, it’s about far more than that. It’s about protecting a part of the soul of this landscape and community.

Our goal is to raise $5,000 for the Red Lady effort. Help us reach the Finish Line as we keep working towards a Red Lady - Mine Free Forever!