Aspen Hall-of-Famer and award-winning journalist Paul Andersen has spent a lifetime loving and learning from the outdoors — then sharing that experience with others, through his Huts for Vets nonprofit, wilderness programs for the Aspen Institute, and extensive writing on the natural world. In this keynote speech at Aspen Public Radio’s third annual Backcountry Symposium at TACAW, Paul reflected on what it means to advocate for our environment and appreciate our surroundings.

Avalanches. Injuries. Unexpected medical events. After a disaster in the backcountry, we tend to focus on what happened and what went wrong. But in the hours, weeks and months that follow, survivors and responders still have to heal. At Aspen Public Radio’s third annual Backcountry Symposium at TACAW, Aspen Hope Center Chief Clinical Officer Lily Larkin, LCSW, Aspen Expeditions guide Chris “Sunshine” Edwards, Colorado Avalanche Information Center Deputy Director Brian Lazar, and Mountain Rescue Aspen team member Jordie Karlinski reflect on how we can care for our community in the aftermath of trauma — and how outdoor leaders can balance “lessons learned” with sensitivity to victims and survivors, moderated by freelance journalist Kaya Williams.

Maybe you’ve seen the Super El Niño hats — and stickers, and t-shirts and hoodies and headlines. But what does this change in global weather patterns really mean for our winter in the valley? At Aspen Public Radio’s third annual Backcountry Symposium at TACAW, Open Snow Chief Operating Officer and meteorologist Sam Collentine gets into the forecast for Aspen Snowmass in the 2026-27 ski season and shares tricks to find powder this winter.

At Aspen Public Radio’s third annual Backcountry Symposium at TACAW, Aspen Valley Health’s trauma medical director Dr. Christopher Roseberry offered a primer on field trauma evaluations.

Listen to complete audio from the 2026 Regional Candidate Forum recorded live at the Ute Theater in Rifle on Monday, September 28. Co-hosted by the Colorado River Valley Chamber and the Glenwood Springs Chamber, the event provided Western Slope voters an opportunity to hear directly from candidates seeking office in Garfield County, State House District 8 and State Senate District 57 ahead of the November election.

Alleged to have produced “90% of the world’s LSD,” academic, author, and advocate William Leonard Pickard has a lifetime of stories to share. In this intimate storytime session, he will share reflections from his extraordinary life, including encounters with mystics, scientists, outlaws, and seekers across generations of psychedelic culture.

The Natural Medicine Health Act allows for supervised and unsupervised use of psychedelics by Coloradans aged 21and over. What does the shifting paradigm of psychedelic healing mean for youth understanding of drug use? What can we do to promote comprehensive understanding of the risks of psychedelic exploration among youth? What are we seeing here in Aspen that may need to be addressed?

Ripples Alliance weaves psychedelics, peacebuilding, science, art, and rituals to foster a movement of peace and liberation – in Palestine and Israel, and beyond. It is the continuation of seven years of research. Working with a cohort of Palestinian and Israeli researchers, peacemakers, and artists, several successful sessions resulted in deep personal & collective healing and visionary future building.

With ibogaine policy rapidly evolving in Colorado and Gabon, Josh Kappel and Georges Gassita discuss the importance of collaboration across international psychedelic stakeholders. What does it mean to have reciprocity? How can we improve communication channels to allow for robust discussions about collaboration? How can Gabon and Colorado support each other as interest in ibogaine grows?

In this talk, clinical neuropharmacologist Stephanie Karzon Abrams makes the case that psychedelics are uniquely suited to the female experience — and that hormonal state and life stage are not background variables but central clinical determinants that the field can no longer afford to ignore. From puberty to postpartum to menopause and beyond, she will explore why a psychedelic-informed lens now belongs at the center of women’s care.