Sports and Recreation

Match Made in Pedalin' Finding Meaning in the Forever Bike

The bicycle I ride most often is my father’s old mountain bike: a Bridgestone Trailblazer MB-4. He bought it new some thirty-odd years ago and has let me ride it for the past 10. It’s a steel bike—rusty in places but with solid bones—and admired by cycling buffs around town for its place in mountain bike history. Last spring, I took it to The Hub Community Bike Shop in Bellingham, Washington for a tune-up and some modest upgrades. The...

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At 17 years old, Angus Kellems is an accomplished bladesmith. At his workshop in Hood River, he uses his late father’s anvil to sculpt his creations.
Arts and Culture

Precious Metals Angus Kellems Forges His Own Path as a Bladesmith

Traces of his work are still embedded across the Columbia River Gorge. Forged in fire, they now glisten in the sun at private homes and popular haunts around Hood River, Oregon and White Salmon, Washington. A circular medallion that adorns the oven at Solstice Wood Fire Pizza. A footrail at Double Mountain Brewery. The door handle at Feast Market and Delicatessen, formerly Everybody’s Brewing. A chandelier made of mica and steel. Numerous...

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Photo: Caleb Smith
Coffee and Cuisine

Community by the Cone Alice and Brohm Ice Cream Brings a Taste of New Zealand to Squamish

Growing up in the coastal city of Auckland, New Zealand, Matty Harris frothed to be outdoors and on his bike. The terrain was minimal—a mere 30 meters of elevation separates town from its surrounding sandy-dirt forests—but it was enough to catch the bug for riding.

Big descents were nowhere to be found for Harris and his buddies, so instead they practiced corners by drifting sideways through slippery pine needles. Before long, his...

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After joining the Northshore Gnarwhals youth mountain biking team in 2021, Elyse found solace in surrounding herself with peers who shared a love for biking and being outside.
Arts and Culture

Trails and Tribulations How Mountain Biking Saved Me from the Covid Blues

I was raised on the sound of spinning tires and the smell of evergreen. From a very young age, I learned that coming home covered in mud was the sign of a good day, that a few bumps and bruises are just “adventure marks,” and, sometimes, you fall seven times but get up eight. While mountain biking makes up some of my earliest memories, it wasn’t until years later that I fully experienced what this sport could bring me.

Seven years...

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Spirits and Fermentation

Brewing Community: Emily Mallos Emily Mallos on an Ambitious Year Ahead for Kulshan Brewing

In March 2020, Emily Mallos stepped into a new role at Kulshan Brewing and was tasked with overseeing numerous events the Bellingham brewery had planned. Just a few weeks later, the world mostly shut down. Now, having weathered the pandemic and expanded into three unique locations, Kulshan is rolling into one of its busiest years yet. Read on for a conversation between Emily and Craft MTN.

This interview has been edited for...

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LATEST ISSUE Craft MTN 6.1

Our Summer 2023 issue of Craft MTN is here! Brimming with stories to excite, inspire and educate, this free zine dedicated to Northwest culture is distributed as far south as Hood River and Portland, Oregon and as far north as Whistler and Pemberton, British Columbia. Grab a copy at your local bike shop, outdoor store, coffee house or brewery.

Craft 6.1 / Summer 2023

Issue 5.1 / Spring 2022

Issue 4.2 / Summer 2021

Issue 4.1 / Spring 2021