Lipsher feels right at home in Denver Posts mountain bureau

Steve Lipsher in Afghanistan (read related story)

Denver Post reporter Steve Lipsher (’89) says the most difficult part of his job is remembering to get dressed in the morning.

“Since I work out of my home, I often wander upstairs to the office with my cup of coffee and a copy of the paper, sign on to the computer and then, before I know it, it’s 3 p.m. and I’m still in my PJs,” he said. “I really enjoy the autonomy that my job offers. For the most part, I pick my own stories and cover a wide territory in the central mountains, which never bores me.”

Lipsher’s career path to the most casual of work attire started in the basement of Macky Auditorium.

“I worked my way up through the Campus Press, then participated in an internship at the Post during my senior year and hustled my way into a temporary job and then a permanent one,” he said, noting that at the same time, his friend Mike Mehle was doing the same thing at the Rocky Mountain News.

“In fact, I skipped graduation ceremonies to work a weekend shift at the Post. Unbeknownst to me, at one point during my internship, the union filed a grievance against me because I was perceived as writing stories that staffers should have been doing.”

Lipsher credits the School’s Don Ridgway for getting him headed in the right direction.

“He was the adviser of the Campus Press and the single most important teacher-motivator-inspiration I encountered,” Lipsher said. “He could be a ruthless critic, but he never failed to prod me to do better and to learn. Plus, he was a heck of a great guy who obviously cared. Writing for the Campus Press and for the Post were by far my most valuable educational experiences.”

After graduation, he became, in order, a night general-assignment reporter, police reporter, special projects reporter and state legislative reporter. He was assigned to write for the Post’s now-defunct Sunday Empire Magazine before establishing the newspaper’s mountain bureau in Summit County three years ago.

During that time, he said there was always someone in the office on Mondays with which to rehash the weekend’s Buffalo football game.

“Jim Kirksey (‘70), the night cops reporter at the Post, is a true professional and a wonderful friend. He has taught me a lot, mostly through his humor and deft writing touch,” Lipsher said. “Michelle Fulcher (‘78), now an editor, was a reporter whose tutelage early on inspired me. Fred Brown was my editor at the Capitol and is a giant in the field who has never failed to handle things with kindness and grace. CU alums Renate Robey (‘85) and Dave Curtin (‘78) are among my colleagues whose work I have always admired.” He was a member of the team of Post journalists that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Columbine High School shootings three years ago.

Appropriately, the Post’s mountain bureau reporter is an avid mountaineer, last spring reaching the summit of Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-tallest peak. He has also climbed Mount McKinley, Mount Rainier and Kilimanjaro. “Most importantly, I am the best friend of Scout the dog. I also live with the Gray Gatsby, a cat.” he said. SLipsher@denverpost.com