“If you’re not having fun, it’s your own damn fault,” was one of Dave “Bigfoot” Felkley’s favorite sayings. For more than 20 years, he was the Pied Piper for recreational snowshoeing in the mountains west of Boulder, first operating a small, commercial snowshoe guiding business called Bigfoot Snowshoe Tours, then preferring to share his enthusiasm and knowledge as a volunteer. Until failing health made it unwise to take responsibility for others, he led youngsters from the Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center and seniors from the Nederland Community Center on snowshoe treks through the snowy woods. He passed away on November 15, 2014, at the age of 75.
Raised on Catalina Island, he and his family moved to the Rocky Mountain West, becoming district sales manager first for Nissan and later for Mercedes Benz. After years of driving the highways of New Mexico and Colorado, he moved to the little mountain town of Nederland in 1991, where he got rid of four wheels for good. He preferred his own two feet, his trusty scooter or, for trips down to Boulder, the RTD bus. Instead of a high-pressure job in the auto world, he strung together sales jobs in local outdoor sports stores and even at a local bakery, and when Social Security kicked in, he spent his time on local trails, summer and winter, “under the big blue dome.”
Bigfoot was a distance runner (think Pikes Peak Marathon), cross-country ski racer and as the years went on, increasingly a snowshoeing enthusiast. For a time, he operated Bigfoot Snowshoe Tours, but there was little call for commercial tours, so he started volunteering and introduced countless locals to the joys of the winter backcountry. He shared his knowledge of and enthusiasm with infectious enthusiasm and humor. He also revised two editions of Gene Pater’s seminal Snowshoeing: From Novice to Master. He called himself the “editing author.”
He never met a microphone he didn’t like. For years he was the start line announced for the Bolder Boulder, an iconic 10K footrace, as well as such Nederland events as the grand opening of the Carousel of Happines, the annual Neder Nederland race, Miners’ Days, the 4th of July parade and Frozen Dead Guy Days, an eccentric winter festival. He also appeared as Santa at the local community center and as he was battling the cancer that would take his life, at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Boulder. After he survived heart surgery, Nederland celebrated Dave Felkley Day on February 11, 2011, to a full house at the Community Center.
He is survived by his son Doug and wife Jean, his daughter Terri, his sister Deb and husband Rich, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and his long-time ladyfriend Nancy Kavanaugh. He lived his favorite saying and had fun until the end. His was a life to be celebrated at the Nederland Community Center on December 14, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
To read Bigfoot’s article from Snowshoe Magazine’s one-and-only print edition, click here.
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