‘Brokeback Mountain’ hits Jackson

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – The matinee premier of “Brokeback Mountain” in Jackson Hole, which coincided with releases in New York City and Los Angeles, had seats begging. But the evening show was another matter.

“Flamboyant Jackson partygoers dressed to the hilt in fake fur, animal prints and high heels, while others appeared in traditional Western garb,” reported theJackson Hole News & Guide. “A group of men sporting kerchiefs and cowboy hats swigged beer in the frigid evening air before doors opened for the screening.”

Once the curtain fell, the movie about two cowboys who fall in love with one another – but cannot admit it entirely to themselves, much less the outside world – was received by fervent clapping and cowboy whoops. Audience members were then treated to a question-and-answer session with Ang Lee, the director.

Lee said he was drawn to the film not to make a statement about gay rights, but because of the story’s central focus on love. “What is love? There’s no answer for it. You can only grope for it, and you can only try to communicate that to an audience.

He noted the expression “falling in love” has connotations of danger. “It can destroy you, and are you willing to take that chance?” he said.

The newspaper believes Jackson’s hosting of the premiere raised the town’s standing as a culture venue. A previous film by Lee, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” won an Academy Award in 2001, and “Brokeback Mountain” is widely regarded as an Oscar contender in 2006.

For some Jackson residents, however, the film was very personal. Jackson native Brad Frey, 23, told the newspaper that the way Jackson “clings” to the cowboy culture hinders gay people from coming out.Although the movie was set in 1963, he called it a “very accurate portrayal of Wyoming in general: the culture, the social climate.”

Meanwhile,The New York Times wondered how the film was received in Wyoming’s geographic and commercial center, the city of Casper. There, in the middle of cowboyland, the 27-year-old mayor, Guy Padgett, is openly gay. Some see his sexual orientation as Casper’s dark side.

Padgett told the newspaper that Wyoming’s libertarian streak can be read two ways. Although people are less likely to judge, sometimes that also means they are turning away.

“It’s live and let live,” he said. “Sometimes that equates to acceptance, and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes live and let live just means distance.”

Telluride filmmaker passes away

TELLURIDE – Part-time Telluride resident Robert F. Newmyer, who produced the movie “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” has died of the age of 49. His death was caused by a heart attack provoked by asthma. His other movies included “Training Day” and “The Santa Clause.”

Newmyer was a student at Pennsylvania’s Swarthmore College when he vacationed at Telluride. He vowed a quick returned, and immediately upon graduation in 1978 did so.

The Telluride Watch reports that he had recently mortgaged his homes in both Telluride and Los Angeles in order to finance the independent film “Phat Girlz,” a romantic comedy about an overweight woman. It is to be released next year.

Newmyer was also working on a feature film about young Sudanese refugees of genocide called “The Lost Boys of the Sudan.” The cause, said friends, had become very nearly an obsession with him. He had personally been involved in bringing many of the Sudanese refugees to the United States and re-uniting them, in some cases using his own home.

One long-time friend described him as “maybe the most passionate and generous person I’ve ever known.” Added the friend, college classmate Neal Marlens, “He was a guy you wanted on your side, and once he was there, he was there forever.”

Banff adapts to global warming

BANFF, Alberta – Nobody in Banff seems to doubt that climate change is occurring. And the prevailing attitude seems to be that the emissions of greenhouse gases that are at least partly responsible for the change must be curbed.

But the broader message now being heard in the Banff tourism community is the need to adapt to global warming.

“Climate change represents both risk and opportunity,” Daniel Scott, a professor of geography at the University of Waterloo, recently told community leaders. “There will be winners and there will be losers.”

He thinks Banff can gain. While ski season will be shorter, Banff will have fewer competitors. The three ski areas inside Banff National Park are all at about 5,000 feet in elevation (1,600 meters).

Although he sees negligible impacts until midway through the 21st century, he urges investment in snowmaking equipment and other adaptations. He also sees higher temperatures forcing ski areas and golf courses to import more water.

National park administrators strictly restrict how much water can be withdrawn from creeks for use in snowmaking. However, federal environmental officials are looking at development criteria for potentially greater withdrawals. Ian Syme, chief of resources conservation for Parks Canada, which administers Banff, said he foresees 20 years in which good science must be developed for determining how much water can be withdrawn without damaging riparian areas.

Yosemite animals gain elevation

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – The creatures of Yosemite National Park have been going for extra elevation lately. Scientists tell theSeattle Times, they suspect the upward flight is a response to global warming.

Among the most provocative discoveries is that of pikas. Once found as low as 7,800 feet, the pika now cannot be found below 9,500 in Yosemite.

James Patton, curator at the University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, told the newspaper that a team of scientists from the museum were retracing the research of Joseph Grinnell, a biologist who 90 years ago catalogued the mammals, birds and reptiles of the park. In retracing his steps during the last three summers, they found an environment that has seen a remarkable shift.

The Yosemite Valley, they said, has had a 50 percent turnover in types of birds it harbors. And several species of rodents have shifted their range by as much as 3,000 feet. For example, the rare Inyo shrew, once found no higher than 8,000 feet, now ranges as high as 10,000 feet.

While some species have merely expanded their range uphill, others have moved uphill. Such is the case with pikas.

Green home imported from Europe

VAIL – Lots of consumer goods in the United States are imported, but not many houses. Now, a Vail man is importing a house from Switzerland, where he grew up.

The reason, explained Balz Arrigoni, is that he wanted an energy-efficient home. “America is not so energy efficient yet,” he said. Adam Harris, an architect in nearby Avon, told theVail Dailythat the imported home has a ventilation system built into the walls, making the 4,200-square-foot structure more functional. Arrigoni estimates the house can be heated as cheaply as a conventional two-bedroom condo. And while a pre-fab house, reports theVail Daily, it fits right in with the other McMansions on the slopes of Vail.

Mammoth embraces traffic jams

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. – With first Intrawest and now Starwood developing real estate, Mammoth Lakes is aiming to become one of the major destination resorts of the West.

While there are naysayers to this trend, Warren B. Harrell is not among them. Those carping about increased traffic from all these new people are missing the larger point, he maintains in a letter published inThe Sheet. “Remember, traffic is a good thing, because it means a successful and thriving economy,” he says. “Isn’t that what we all want, success?” Besides, he says, most visitors to Mammoth will not be discouraged by the traffic. Most have it much worse where they come from.

Crested Butte posts cold record

CRESTED BUTTE – Crested Butte recorded a dubious superlative on Dec. 8. The temperature that night dropped to 39 below, officially the lowest reading in the nation.

“We haven’t had that much serious cold for about 20 years,” said Larry Adams, the town utilities manager.

And it’s fair to speculate that plumbers haven’t worked on as many frozen pipes in 20 years. “Do you want to be a plumber?” asked Ron Chlipala, owner of Timberline Mechanical Contracting. “We’ve been very busy,” he told theCrested Butte News.

– compiled by Allen Best