It was a tough election with many mini opponents and strong campaign promises, but Micah Erickson came out ahead as Sunlight Mountain Resort’s first male mayor in almost a decade. 

Erickson, a student at Glenwood Springs Elementary School, ran his campaign on the promise of making the mountain more accessible for beginner riders like his little sisters. 

“I want to add in a magic carpet because beginners mostly go there,” he said. “Even though other mountains have a magic carpet, most beginners go to Sunlight.”

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He has no plans to ride a magic carpet himself, because he’s no beginner when it comes to carving turns. 

A skier since he was 2 years old, Erickson is about to start his second year on the Buddy Werner ski racing team, aiming to win more than just political races for the season. 

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The day after celebrating his victory, Erickson showed true strength and endurance through his ability to climb across the big playground at his elementary school without ever touching the ground, and he did it with no gloves on. 

After taking a quick break to warm his hands with his breath on the cold November evening, he proceeded to show his ability to climb the really high monkey bars, explaining that he could also climb on top of them but would wait for another day to show off those abilities. 

Erickson also proves to be a very family-orientated politician by always finding time to look out for his little sisters and awaiting his favorite ski partner to visit him from Wisconsin, his grandpa.

A true fan of the mountain riding lifestyle, Erickson keeps maps of some of his favorite ski mountains posted on his bedroom wall, and spent his younger years walking around the house with his full skis and boots on constantly. 

The floors in his house might not have been too grateful, but his mom, Sara Erickson, said she saw it as a factor of his ambition.

His favorite aspects of the mountain are shredding hard and fast, zipping through the trees, catching air and warming up at the end of the day with a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows on top. He already has his favorite tree lines mapped with his dad on Sunlight, and his mom knows exactly where to wait for him to pop out. 

“On the mountain, there’s a lodge,” he said. “I always get (hot cocoa) there with marshmallows on top.”

A good politician knows you can’t forget the marshmallows. 

His mom said he sometimes even stores extra hot cocoa on the cozy drive back down the mountain after a long day on the slopes. 

Erickson is an advocate for sharing, admitting that he already has a pass to Sunlight for this season. He will be sharing the pass with friends and family to give them more access to ride on his mountain with him. 

He is most excited to celebrate with his grandpa and get him up to his domain to show him all of the best spots. 

“We’re adding our first mini-senator from Maryland, and our first foreign ambassador representing Argentina,” said Troy Hawks, the marketing and sales director at Sunlight. “He’s from Buenos Aires, and we’re are excited to expand our mini-congress.”

This year’s election featured two representatives from out of state. They were chosen as the first members of the newly established mini-congress, Juan Martin Giura and Andrew Jarrell.

“We can’t wait to meet them,” Hawks said. “Usually, the election happens and then we normally set up our first meeting at the bottom and they share their ideas with us. We haven’t actually met Micah yet, but we’re certainly happy to meet him. We can’t wait to hear what ideas he may have.”

Post Independent reporter Cassandra Ballard can be reached at cballard@postindependent.com or 970-384-9131.