Lightning, Grizzlies, & Grit: A Chelan Life Built on Family & Outdoors | Mark Lippincott

This weeks episode of Small Towns Unscripted we are honored to have Mark Lippincott be our guest. Some people live in a place… and some people are woven into it.Today’s guest is one of those people.Mark Lippincott was raised right here in the Lake Chelan Valley, back when childhood meant crawling across the underside of the old bridge on a single wood plank, paying fifty cents to watch a movie at the Ruby, and watching a D8 Cat reshape the land when the golf course was built. These are the kinds of memories that don’t come from nostalgia—they come from being there.A graduate of Chelan High School in 1980 and Eastern Washington University, Mark went on to build a life rooted in both service and adventure. He’s the owner of Alpine Dental and Lake Chelan Adventures, but titles only scratch the surface.Mark’s story includes getting struck by lightning while fishing alone on the west side, surviving a motorcycle crash, being tracked by a grizzly bear after a successful elk hunt—and still choosing to head back outside. He believes you get one lap in life, and he plans to finish with bald tires.Family runs deep in Mark’s story. He attended elementary school at the historic Lakeside School, grew up tight with his grandfather—who migrated west as a teenager during the Great Depression and found his way into apple and pear farming near Cashmere. Summers were spent in orchards, on dirt bikes, and on the infamous yellow Honda Trail 50. Mark’s father, a WWII Navy veteran and former Washington State football scholarship athlete, later became one of Mark’s own teachers—making it hard to get away with much. His mom, now 92, is still racing around with a new hip and volunteering with the Chamber of Commerce.Mark and his wife Shelly have been married since 1988, raised two kids in Chelan, and for nearly 30 years Mark—alongside Rick Hanson—has helped teach firearm safety classes in our community. His uncle George served as Chelan’s Chief of Police in the late 1960s. And yes, there are plenty of stories from old goats, crash pads at EWU, and growing up in the Valley in the 60s and 70s.This is one of those conversations that could easily go for hours—and honestly, we may need to have Mark back for a second episode.So sit back and enjoy this one.