If you are on the email list or you scrolled down a bit on our homepage, you may have already caught a glimpse of our issue 4 cover. While this cover may be a bit more traditional—the big arcing powder turn—it is by no means ordinary. Jason Hummel snapped the photo. Stratton Matteson was the subject.
Many folks know of Stratton as the bike-to-board guy—which he was. Literally and figuratively, for years, Stratton pedaled for his turns. In winter, if you want to slide on snow around Bend, Oregon, the most likely gateway for gravity-assist or human-powered turns is up Cascade Lakes Highway. So with all the pedaling, even during the heaviest snowfall, if you got an early enough start on the rising sun, or a late enough return to the parking lot—over a season—you undoubtedly caught a glimpse of Stratton heading up or down.
Stratton literally rode his bike for years to find turns. He also lived by his core values, which, in this day and age of performative politics and advocacy, were genuine.
Stratton was killed last February in an avalanche while riding with a partner on the Anniversary Glacier in BC.
WhileThe High Route journal as provincial—the idea of a print entity had its roots in Bend—it felt right to honor Stratton. Inside issue 4, you’ll find an editor’s note dedicated to Stratton along with a fine photo essay inspired by Hummel’s images, Stratton’s energy, and his friend’s words.
We’d also like to thank Stratton’s dad, George Wuerthner, for keeping an eye on the photo essay these last few weeks.
So there you have it: a cover with a flow-state gravity assist featuring a person we’ll all miss this season.
We sent the issue off to the printer today. If you haven’t subscribed to The High Route journal, now is a great time to support the endeavor.
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