Big Air Barb

From 1989 - 1991, I lived in a little mountain town in Colorado called Crested Butte. I ended up there so very randomly, essentially running away from a difficult past in Ohio and looking to find a place where I felt accepted. Arriving in a town with fewer than 500 residents year round and getting a job almost immediately while in line at the local bank (which was in a trailer after our bank exploded due to a gas leak) as the Postmaster of Mt. Crested Butte (which included a grocery store and a LIQUOR STORE at the Three Seasons Resort), had a few benefits. First, working the post office meant that you met every person with a home on the mountain, because there was no mail delivery at that time, only PO Boxes. Second, easy access to the mountain and parking that was walking distance to the Doobie Queen lift. And third, a key to the liquor store with a tab (this benefit ultimately resulted in my termination from said job). At any rate…

One of the first “locals” I met was this crazy woman named Barb Peters. She howled at the moon. She jumped off BIG freakin cliffs. She worked like, a million jobs. And she was always cooking and sharing food with everyone. As a broke ski bum, I appreciated everything she had to offer. Her warm welcoming smile, her crazy sense of humor, her fearless charge at life.

In 1992, Crested Butte hosted the second annual Extreme Skiing Championships. That year, a local legend named Barb Peters earned the nickname “Big Air Barb” as she literally soared to victory in that competition. “In one of the most memorable moments of that competition that still exists today, Barb dislodged a huge car-sized chunk of snow which tumbled down the slope behind her towards the spectators at the bottom of the “Big Hourglass” venue.” She would continue competing for a decade rising to World Tour Champ in points in 1999.

She left CB briefly, returning after the birth of her son, Hawk, making her love for cooking her main focus. While she isn’t in the extreme skiing championships anymore, she is still a true mountain woman, being a leader in the Mountain Man Rendevouz events in the area and beyond.

I am so proud to call Barb my friend and to have essentially gone from children to adults, watching her soar. I know it hasn’t always been easy for her and our injuries more than catch up with us as we age, but she has continued to persevere, like the warrior that she embodies.

My next piece is entitled, “Big Air Barb.” It was created in the colors of the native medicine wheel and contains an actual Red Tail Hawk juvenile feather that I found while hiking in the Bay Area hills, to represent her son. Overlaid on the feather, is a piece of fabric that reads, “You have the ability to sense and know a higher truth.” Her face has pressed flowers in the colors of the medicine wheel, star and moon glitter in the same colors and the words, “Mother is another name for love.” Finally, she is wearing a fabric shirt with galaxies printed on it to represent her infinite spirit in the universe.

Love you so much Barb, and the warrior you represent inside of all of us. ❤️

To read more about Barb’s story, there is a great article here: https://crestedbuttenews.com/2019/03/profile-barb-peters/