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?
I prefer my mountain towns rough and desperate
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.