Local boy goes big
Longtime locals may recognize a familiar face in the latest issue of Powder magazine. That’s Durango’s own Dan Goddard, smiling in ski-patrol garb for a full-page Helly Hansen ad. Goddard, who grew up in Durango and lives in Carbondale, is a paramedic for the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol.

Goddard and fellow patroller Jules Campbell beat out 144 other competitors to take first in Helly Hansen’s “Battle of the Bowls” last spring. The “big-mountain” course challenged two-person teams to ski, hike and navigate the Highlands’ vast terrain.

“I’ve always said this is the best event in the Roaring Fork Valley,” Goddard reportedly said upon winning.

With a time of 3:21:59, Highlands Patrol took home $2,000 in HH gear, as well as schwag from sponsors Thule, Dakine and Powder, which presumably included some free press.

Welcome to the Mile-High jungle
The great bandanna-ed one is coming to Denver. No, not Willy Nelson – the other red-headed stranger, Axl Rose. Although there is no mention of a Denver stopover on the official Guns ’N’ Roses web site, the 1stBank Center in Broomfield has announced the show for Dec. 11. Tickets range from $49.50-$79.50, and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via www.tickethorse.com.

Other cities slated for the first U.S. tour in six years, include Nashville, Houston, Indianpolis and Omaha.

Rose, the notoriously evasive man-diva who is known to storm off stage after 45 minutes of playing and inciting riots, will most likely be traveling without any of his original “Appetite for Destruction” crew. And anyone holding out hope for a Slash/Rose group hug can forget it. According to a story in Rolling Stone, Rose referred to the mop-headed ex-lead guitarist as “a cancer.”

However, the band has added new grist in recent years, most notably guitarist DJ Ashba in 2009. Punk legend Tommy Stinson, of Replacements fame, took on bassist duties for GNR in 1998.

No word yet on the songlist. The last GNR release, “Chinese Democracy” came out in 2008, after 10 years in the making.