decaying, depressing, desperate for the tourist dollar vibe
Unfortunately, Leadville has since turned that old tired look around in a remarkable way. Most working class people can't even afford to live there anymore because the housing and rental markets have exploded. You're lucky to find a piece of shit studio for $1000/month. Half the town is second homeowners and Airbnbs now. There are fucking Teslas driving around town, you certainly didn't see that 10 years ago. Leadville was awesome when I first moved there, but now its appeal is drastically reduced for me because it's turning into just another ski town for the wealthy. I prefer my mountain towns rough and desperate, and Leadville isn't like that anymore.
I've never run the Leadville 100 myself but I've paced other runners overnight several times throughout the years. It's an iconic race for sure but I think it's way overpriced and a bit too full of itself for me to be interested. Only way I'd ever run it would be if they comped me in which is never gonna happen.
the 'company town' thing
What's that?
I was passing through in 2017, it didn't seem like it had quite made it to that point yet but it was damn sure trying. Another Boulder with even less oxygen?
Sounds like the Appalachians are your kind of place. I used to make more working as a server in Louisville than the median household income back where I grew up. Plenty of poverty, meth, and jesus but not much else. It's just down the road from Red River Gorge and they're trying to similar shit to get tourist money but they're not having much luck as of yet.
I run into a European couple at a hostel in Silverthorne that were getting ready to compete in it. Fuck running at that altitude...
I haven't spent much time in the Appalachians but they are certainly pretty. I guess I'm more drawn to higher, younger mountain ranges where I can get way above treeline and the terrain is sharper. Appalachian towns themselves though, those sound pretty nice.