Gretchen Powers

Gretchen Powers. If you know me from school, or stalk my facebook, there’s a good chance you know who she is. She’s pretty dope.

Spring of ’09, I posted on the UVM 2013 facebook group that I detested putting wooden-handled knives in the dishwasher, under the “pet-peeves” of a “roommate survey” on the discussion board. Don’t ask. She was entertained. This is where it all started.

Freshman year we went skiing together a few times. She thought I was nuts, but she was okay with it.

Sophomore year, she still talked to me during no-shave November (Why? I have no idea), and we became pretty close. We ate dinner together frequently.

When I came back from Spain, we went hiking in Vermont, running in the woods, and cooked parchment paper fish at her house in Middlebury. We went to Anna’s Tacqueria. She didn’t like it at all. NOT.

Before Junior Worlds, she made this:

http://vimeo.com/32113661

Truly special people exist out there. People that care. They’re people you’d do anything for.

This fall, we decided to make a film. It started out as 24 hours running, but we needed a theme. Freshman year I had written a whole dialogue about “chasing the person you want to become.” Tagline set.

Long story short, we almost killed each other making it, but it was totally worth it. Best user-video of the year on Flotrack, WHAT? 10,000 views on Flotrack, 4,600 on Vimeo? (1/11/12) Yeah. She’s a film genius, and I have really good running form. Modesty is a virtue. Here’s the link:

http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/6012-Highlighted-Video/video/524374-The-CHASE

Gretchen spent more time on this film than the gestation period of an elephant (yes, that was necessary). Filming lasted a few months…editing a few years.

Shot locations:

Colchester causeway in South Hero, VT
Spear St. Trails
Lincoln Woods
East woods
Red Rocks
UVM Track
Burlington Country Club golf course
Mt. Philo
Rolling fields and dirt roads in Charlotte

Music:

1. Dangerous, Pete and Mike Band
2. Scott Miller


Gretchen is going to Nepal this spring. She doesn’t know it yet, but when she comes back, she’ll be a Level IV badass. There are six levels. Ernest Shackleton, Mick Jagger, Ryan Lochte, Dean Potter, and Paula Radcliffe are at Level VI. She’ll probably find this and give me shit, but that’s okay.