"There is just too much sage, daughter," said my father this morning as he returned from an attempt to skate ski out Lake Creek. One of my father's favorite spring activities is an early morning skate-ski across the firm snow crust that forms after an adequate thaw-and-freeze cycle. This typically happens in April or late March at the earliest, lasting a week, maybe two, before the snow melts too much and the sagebrush begins to create bumps that take away the perfect flat surface for skating. It's early February yet it already feels like early April.

 
Last weekend's precipitation left many locals shaking their heads at what should have been a big snowfall on the valley floor. Instead the snow level was around 7,500 feet. Unfortunately, this is not the first year we have seen a lack of cold temperatures bringing unseasonal rain in the middle of our Rocky Mountain winter. There is a hope that this change is temporary, or a drought, and not the calculated predictions of climate change.
 
As we experience these weather changes and read the scientific data supporting the reality of climate change, we must do what we can to adapt and prepare. The city of Ketchum is preparing for climate change by developing a strategy for water conservation, planning an energy strategy to reduce our carbon footprint while producing local jobs and rate security into the future, establishing sound green building codes for development, encouraging new tourism opportunities in mountain biking, wildlife viewing, music and cultural events and new sporting events unrelated to snow, and supporting local food production. We also are partnering with several local entities to educate residents on the impacts of climate change to our economy and culture.
 
On March 6, the city of Ketchum will join with the Wood River Land Trust, University of Idaho Extension, the city of Hailey and the Big Wood Canal Company as sponsors of the Climate and Water Conservation Seminar. The keynote presentation will be the results of a two-and-half-year climate study on the upper and lower Big Wood watershed. John Stevenson, a climatologist with the Climate Impact Research Consortium at Oregon State University, will discuss predicted changes to water supply, temperature and snow pack from Galena to the Snake River. The study includes modeling and the impacts associated with land management based on tourism, population growth or agriculture.

 
Having worked with the climate consortium on this study since 2012, I am eager to have these modeling tools to further support the policy work the council and I are doing on water and energy conservation and our planning for sustainable growth opportunities in a new environment.

The annual gathering of 150 people that began in 2013 already is getting rave reviews. Social media guru Shel Israel wrote in Forbes magazine, "The combination of people and events converged in such a way that new thoughts and relationships were shaped so easily, so often and so enjoyably.

 

"The people who participate at Dent get to have a lot of high-quality shared experience and a real opportunity to build the kind of relationships that help you put a dent in the universe. I haven't missed a year yet, and I won't in the future, either," said Robert Scoble, known for the blog Scobleizer that came to prominence during his tenure at Microsoft. Scoble also is an adviser to the conference.

 

We asked Broback to tell us about his relationship with Ketchum.

 

Q. Why did you select our community?

A. We and our board members spent a lot of time deciding between an urban location or a more remote, retreat-style locale. It became clear that in order to best foster community, it would be ideal to be in a more remote locale, preferably one with some natural beauty. My co-founder, Jason Preston, and I were very familiar with the Ketchum/Sun Valley area, and knew our target audience would enjoy it as well.

 

Q. What is your history in the area and why do you like it?

A. I am primarily a Seattle area resident, but have had a second home in Ketchum on Bird Drive since 2007. I first came to the area in the 1960s as a kid by train. In 1980 I took one quarter off from my studies at the University of Washington to be a ski bum. I lived at the Parkside Apartments, then known as the "Blue Tops." Nine years later my wife and I got engaged in the Duchin Room.

 

There are few places in the world where one can feel at home yet also on vacation at the same time. The Ketchum area has always been able to provide a feeling. Our only problem is that we are not here enough. I absolutely love the fact that almost anywhere you want to go is only five minutes away, and that you can park at pretty much any destination without orbiting the block 50 times and paying 20 bucks. I tell my friends that for me, urban amenities hosted in a rural environment is the definition of "the good life," and that is what Ketchum provides.   

 

Q. What do you see as the most important outcome of the conference?

A. We have several goals. One is for each attendee to leave the conference feeling energized and empowered to go out and make their "dent in the universe," as Steve Jobs once said. We also hope that attendees forge lasting relationships with fellow conference-goers.

 

Another important goal is to drive visibility to Ketchum, and to move the needle in terms of tourism as well as residency and business-building. We very much want to support these local businesses that work so hard to provide us all with a great experience.    

 

Q. Why is the Internet so important to towns like Ketchum?

A. I could go on all day about this one, but the first thing that comes to mind is the ability for businesses and people to relocate here and still feel like they are engaged in the world outside. The ability to communicate, direct and manage various affairs from a remote location makes places like Ketchum all the more attractive.     

 

Another technological platform that is essential to economic growth here (and elsewhere) is the mobile app space. We are seeing some very cool technologies being created and propagated from Ketchum. Just a couple days ago I had a great meeting with Ketchum resident Mark Gilbreath, who is the CEO and founder of VC-funded LiquidSpace. This is a very cool mobile app and ecosystem within the "sharing economy."

 

Q. Is it open to local residents?

While our little gathering is touted as being "invite only," we are very welcoming and encourage people to request an invitation. That can be easily done by visiting our website. Please mention that you are "local" in the space for notes. We very much want to see Blaine County residents participate, and we offer a 50 percent discount to full-time residents. It should also be noted that every year the conference has been held, we've had at least one "local" on stage talking about the work they do.

 

Q. Who 's coming?

A. This year's confirmed speakers and attendees include Redfin's Chief Economist Nela Richardson, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist David Horsey, Vox Media founder Markos Moulitsas, Lean Startup co-founder Sarah Milstein, Intellectual Ventures Chief Technologist Greg Kisor, and former Photoshop Chief Architect Mark Hamburg. I bet you can't tell who's speaking and who's attending without checking the site.