Madeline Pierce won the 2021 Colorado Ski Country USA Double Diamond Award for Snowmaker of the Year. Photo from Copper Mountain Resort

CMC alumna wins Snowmaker of the Year award

By Antonio Olivero, Summit Daily News

Despite her youth, Madeline Pierce’s passion and dedication for snowmaking helped the 22-year-old Copper Mountain Resort snowmaker win the 2021 Colorado Ski Country Double Diamond Snowmaker of the Year award.

“I’m honored, and I’m really excited, and I think it’s very special because as snowmakers, being behind the scenes, we don’t receive a lot of recognition,” Pierce said.

A native of the tiny town of Piseco in the heart of New York’s Adirondack State Park, Pierce has been drawn to snowmaking since, at the age of 11, she saw the craft for the first time at Oak Mountain Ski Center in Speculator, New York.

It was at Oak Mountain’s family-friendly, 650-vertical drop ski hill where Pierce learned how to ski before working her first volunteer job as a pre-teen helping children put on their ski boots. Just a few years later, she was a part of the ski area’s snowmaking team running and operating snow guns on a property Pierce said was a fiftieth the size of Copper Mountain. But it was a start.

On the recommendation of Oak Mountain owners Matt and Laura O’Brien, Pierce made the move out to Copper to study ski area management and operations at Colorado Mountain College Leadville. Pierce didn’t expect to be signed on to work as a snowmaker at Copper at 18, but she was, thanks in part to her unique snowmaking experience at Oak Mountain. Read more

Wright Collegiate Challenge honors CMC team for outdoor industry collaboration

This press release was distributed collaboratively by Colorado Mountain College and The Wright.

CMC Leadville's Team Astraios and their faculty advisors. Photo by Andy Colwell

A team of Colorado Mountain College Leadville outdoor education and leadership students captured top honors with its Best-in-Class award for a 12-week light pollution project and collaboration with San Luis Valley Great Outdoors (SLVGO).

Now in its third year, The Wright Collegiate Challenge culminated with a virtual event on April 19. Ten teams from three Colorado colleges partnered with leading businesses and nonprofit organizations to address current-day challenges within the outdoor recreation industry.

CMC’s team, dubbed Team Astraios (the Greek Titan god of the stars and planets), centered on one of SLVGO’s goals – to create the world’s largest dark-sky reserve right in the San Luis Valley. The dark-sky movement is a worldwide campaign focused on reducing light pollution.

CMC’s team – composed of Ruben Hansen, Christian Bueng, Maggie Patch, Colin Appleby, Grady Whitson and faculty advisor Liz Walker – analyzed existing dark-sky reserves in locations from Scotland to Utah and learned to measure and mitigate types of light pollution and how that light affects others. The student’s work will contribute to SLVGO’s efforts in garnering official dark-sky reserve designation.

“The Wright Challenge has been a unique opportunity for us as students to help provide Colorado’s outdoor industry with sustainable growth and equitable access through complex problem solving and critical thinking,” said team member Appleby, a CMC Leadville outdoor recreation leadership student. “This experience pushed us to work as a team in order to create an innovative solution for the modern world.”

"Colorado Mountain College has a long and extensive history of educating future outdoor industry leaders," said CMC President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. “Our participation in The Wright Challenge makes a direct connection between our students and industry leaders such as San Luis Valley Great Outdoors. I'm thrilled our team did so well with their dark-sky project and look forward to continued collaborations with the outdoor industry."

In addition to CMC’s team, Colorado Mesa University’s outdoor industry studies program, and Western Colorado University’s outdoor industry MBA program competed for Best in Class, People’s Choice and Most Engaged Team awards.

The Wright Challenge students who receive awards receive prize packages from their participating challenge partners. CMC Leadville’s team members are also eligible for $1,000 scholarships to Western Colorado University’s outdoor MBA program.

“For these students, competing in The Wright Collegiate Challenge meant jumping into the deep end and figuring it out,” said Chuck Sullivan, the organization’s executive director. “These students got their hands dirty and innovated. In these outdoor industry entrepreneurs, we are seeing the industry’s next generation workforce. The future looks bright.”

“Our office is a proud partner in The Wright Collegiate Challenge,” said Nathan Fey, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office executive director. “One of our main areas of focus is advancing education and workforce development opportunities, and this challenge highlights the real work our academic partners dedicate toward shaping the skill sets of those entering into the outdoor recreation workforce.”

Colorado Mountain College offers certificates and degrees in a variety of outdoor study programs at its campuses in Leadville, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs and Vail Valley at Edwards.

Rachel Pokrandt, campus vice president for Colorado Mountain College in Leadville and Salida, has accepted the role of president at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Her last day with CMC will be June 18th.

CMC Leadville and Salida campus leader accepts college president role in Oregon

After nearly ten years with Colorado Mountain College, Rachel Pokrandt, vice president and campus dean of the Leadville and Salida campuses, has accepted the role of President at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

“This is a bittersweet moment for me because I absolutely love the Leadville and Salida communities and our amazing, dedicated faculty, staff and students,” Pokrandt said. “We have the most innovative and dedicated people at both campuses and I look forward to following their successes in the years to come. They all have students and community at the heart of everything they do and I see a bright future ahead.”

Pokrandt has been vice president and campus dean of the CMC Leadville Campus since 2016. During her tenure in Leadville, she created teams that stabilized campus finances, created partnerships in the community and raised enrollment and graduation rates. Prior to her time in Leadville, Pokrandt served CMC as the campus dean in Rifle and as an assistant dean of instruction in Edwards.

Pokrandt facilitated the college’s efforts to build partnerships in the communities of Salida and Poncha Springs, which led to citizens voting overwhelmingly to join the CMC special taxing district in 2019. The opening of the Salida Campus was historic for CMC. The college hadn’t opened a new campus in nearly 40 years.

“We are grateful for Rachel’s tireless efforts serving the communities of Salida and Poncha Springs,” said Salida resident David Armstrong, who serves as a liaison to the CMC Board of Trustees. “Thanks to Rachel’s hard work establishing CMC’s team and campus, our local high school students are now able to earn college credit through CMC, and next month we’ll celebrate our first graduating class of college students from CMC Salida. Rachel’s leadership has accelerated the impact and success of CMC in the Salida and Poncha Springs area.”

“Colorado Mountain College is the only local higher education choice for people in our mountain communities, and the college’s presence in Leadville and Salida is healthy and growing thanks to Rachel’s leadership,” said Bob Hartzell, who represents Lake County on the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees. “We are grateful for her hard work, and confident that she’s leaving our local campus in good hands.”

Pokrandt’s last day with CMC will be June 18th. Before launching the search for Pokrandt’s replacement, CMC President & CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser will meet with faculty and staff as well as key community stakeholders in Leadville and Salida to hear their thoughts and priorities.

“I’m tremendously optimistic about the future of the Leadville and Salida campuses thanks to the stable foundation that Rachel has helped build at both locations,” Hauser offered. “Given her many successes at CMC, it should be no surprise that she’s been recruited to lead another college. We’re happy for Rachel and we wish her the best in this new adventure.”

CMC Leadville selects Kathleen Law as assistant dean of instruction

Colorado Mountain College Leadville has hired Kathleen Law as the campus’ new assistant dean of instruction.

Kathleen Law is CMC Leadville's new assistant dean of instruction.

In her role, Law will hire, support, supervise and evaluate faculty members. She will also work on strategic programming and course scheduling to maximize enrollment and achieve optimal degree outcomes.

“I’m excited to be part of CMC’s commitment to providing inclusive, accessible, excellent education,” Law said.

Law received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Wesleyan University, and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University. She brings 13 years of experience as an educator, teaching English, literature and outdoor education.

Most recently, Law was an English faculty member at Colorado Academy in Lakewood, Colorado, and spearheaded the school’s Writing Center.

Complementing her work as an outdoor educator, Law has her Wilderness First Responder certification, and has completed AIARE 1 and 2 avalanche training.

Law moves to Leadville with her husband Morgan and two sons, Huckleberry and Axel.

Eagles compete on ‘grand’ scale

Seven men and two women from Colorado Mountain College’s

CMC second-year runner Jason Macaluso of Vail, in blue, gets encouragement from Eagles cross-country coach Darren Brungardt.

cross-country running team competed at the Colorado Mesa University XC Invitational on Oct. 10 at Lincoln Park in Grand Junction.

As the only National Junior College Athletic Association school at the meet, CMC joined a highly competitive field, which included 145 top runners from a total of seven Colorado universities and colleges.

Amid stiff competition, Jason Macaluso of Vail was CMC’s overall top finisher in the men’s 8K. In a field of 87 competitors, Macaluso ran a season best time of 28:21, coming in 63^rd place. Four out of seven CMC Eagles ran their personal bests: Luke Plummer in 74^th (29:04), Autry Lomahongva in 76^th(29:25), Reese Fledderjohn in 82^nd (30:37) and Adam Garcia in 85^th (30:58).

Rounding out the team was Skyler Winter in 84^th place (30:56) (a personal record) and Dylan Dunbar in 87^th (33:24). Top finisher Taylor Stack of Western Colorado University crossed the finish line in 24:19. Also competing was CMC alum and former CMC team member Chris Rolf of Summit County, who’s now running for Fort Lewis College. He ran a 29:40 and finished in 77^th place.

Kya Jackson and Madisen Johnson from Colorado Mountain College represented the college’s women’s team in the 5K against a field of 58 women. Jackson turned in a 24:08 and Johnson ran a 24:14.

The team plans to compete at the Region 9 Championships in Alamosa on Oct. 31.

CMC's Madisen Johnson of Windsor, Colorado, turned in a 27:42 in the 5K at the CMC Eagle Open at the college’s Leadville campus.

CMC team hosts ‘highest cross-country meet in the solar system’

Eagle runners at home for race Sept. 26

The Colorado Mountain College cross-country running team hosted the CMC Eagle Open on Sept. 26 at the college’s Leadville campus. Joining the CMC Eagles, runners from Central Wyoming College competed in the men’s 8K and women’s 5K while Leadville’s own unattached Black Cloud Racing Team had a strong showing in the men’s race.

Black Cloud’s Ryan Phebus took first place and set a new course record in the 8K with a 29:25, and Scarlett Sisemore of Central Wyoming College came in first in the 5K with a 26:51.

The CMC men took college team honors, beating the CWC Rustlers by one point. The women’s college teams did not have enough members competing to officially score as a team.

CMC’s Jason Macaluso of Vail (31:50) was the overall top college finisher on the men’s side, followed by CMC’s next top men’s finisher, Autry Lomahongva of Kayenta, Arizona (32:35).

On the CMC women’s team, Kya Jackson of Cody, Wyoming, took second place in the 5K with a 27:08, followed by Madisen Johnson of Windsor, Colorado, finishing with a 27:42.

“Our home meet is the highest cross-country meet in the solar system and the most beautiful,” said Darren Brungardt, the Eagles’ head coach and an associate mathematics professor at CMC Leadville. “Our runners thrived in the thin air.”