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Mountain News: Fourth of July skiing?

Skiing could be incorporated into Independence Day activities

GRANBY, Colo. -- The creeks and rivers this year across much of Colorado are a sight to behold. For much of the last month they've been crowding their banks, with high runoff expected to continue yet for several more weeks. Usually, the show lasts no more than about three weeks.

Much snow remains up high. The Loveland ski area, located along the Continental Divide above the tunnels that accommodate the passage of Interstate 70, last weekend looked as though it could resume operations with nary a missed beat.

On the other side of the tunnels, residents of Breckenridge had six inches of snow early last week, before the weather turned hot.

Still, the blast of cold had given lingering backcountry skiers good cause to ruminate on extended skiing forays. After a chilly weekend foray to nearby Rabbit Ears Pass, 30-plus year Steamboat Pilot veteran Tom Ross reported confidence of incorporating skiing into Steamboat's Fourth of July celebration.

"Why would anyone go skiing on as summer day meant for picnics, ball games, parades and concerts?" he added. "Because we can!" He even conjectured that there could be enough snow to recreate the Winter Carnival on Steamboat's main street, Lincoln Avenue.

In Vail, kayakers on Sunday were studying the thrashing Gore Creek, calculating whether they could squeeze under bridges and studying their angles through the obstacles found in the rushing torrents.

Anglers of the fishing type were rejoicing at all the water - not because it delivers good fishing now. Very much the opposite. There's no wading into these waters. But the rushing waters are scouring the interstitials, as the spaces between the river-bottom rocks are called, where small invertebrates live and which are crucial for the good health of fish.

Even at the headwaters of the Colorado River, these strong, flushing flows have become rare. So much water is detained by dams and diverted by tunnels for use on farms of eastern Colorado and the cities that lie at the foot of the mountains.

At Granby Reservoir, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park, 1,400 cubic feet per second of water was spilling from the dam in what the Sky-Hi News described as a "fantastic, arching display." This is the first time in 14 years.

A section of river below the dam had flows of 1,800 cfs. Quoting a local government document the newspaper reported flow greater than 1,000 cfs just 11 times in the past 45 years.

Because of relatively cool weather, flooding has been minor. Even so, the diversions and dams have made this year's sort of flooding relatively rare. The Aspen Times , citing a report from a 2008 report from a group called the Roaring Fork Conservancy, said the river of that same name had small flooding four out of every 10 years before the large-scale diversions began. Now it's three out of every 20 years.

Marijuana shop still going

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. - The Crested Butte Town Council has extended the licenses for dispensaries of medical marijuana, but not without some pushback from town residents, according to the Crested Butte News .

"Allowing dispensaries sends the message that it is okay to smoke marijuana. It is still illegal," said Beth Buehler. "I'm tired of being on the ski slopes or on a chairlift or walking by a house in this town and seeing or smelling people smoking marijuana and then having to explain it to my kids."

Also calling for a curbing of the dispensaries was Steve Ryan, who owns a property management firm. But he said he opposed the extension of permits because of his capacity as the father of a 15-year-old. "There is a serious issue with drug use amongst the children of this town. So why allow a drug that is illegal under federal standards to be distributed?"

But Mike Ingle, of the Crested Butte Wellness Center, argued that it is the duty to teach children "the right ways and uses of medical marijuana.

"Marijuana was here before the dispensaries, and it is probably more accessible to teenagers than alcohol. The best way to keep medical marijuana properly is to keep it in an atmosphere that is appropriate, and that is through the dispensary system."

Most council members have concluded the current dispensary method is working. Phoebe Wilson, a bar owner on the council, said the businesses have not violated town requirements. "There is no reason to pull the rug out from them now. I feel strongly that we need a new approach to substance abuse in general. A level of awareness, care and responsibility is also there with the dispensary model."

And Jim Schmidt, who is in his late 50s, said marijuana is indeed used as a medicine. "Being older, I've seen friends in this town suffer, and MMJ is truly useful as a medicine."

Farmers' markets a rousing success

VAIL, Colo. - On a real, real busy day, North America's largest ski area attracts 20,000 skiers and snowboarders. At the base of Vail Mountain, the farmers' market held in recent years is a lesser attraction, but it still draws 9,000 to 12,000 people each Sunday through the summer, according to organizers.

What a success when you consider it's just a few years old. "Anecdotally, we hear that people drive up from Denver for (the Vail Farmers' Market)," Sybill Navas, the special-events coordinator for the municipality of Vail, told the Vail Daily .

The market is believed to be the largest in Colorado.

Several years older than Vail's market is the Minturn Farmers' Market, which continues. Community leaders in Minturn, a much older town located a few miles from Vail, saw the market as a way to infuse vitality into the town, which has been treading water for years with a very thin business sector. But not so on Saturday mornings. Yet a third market is held in the area, at Edwards, about 10 miles west of Vail.

Minturn's market tends to offer the more unusual items, such as Tibetan jewelry and homemade jams. The Edwards' market focuses on semi-local produce. The Vail market has everything from live music to art to fresh produce.

Do local merchants benefit from the throngs? With a restaurant located in the thick of the throngs, Tom Ricci sees no direct benefit, although he tells the Vail Daily that it's great for Minturn.

In Vail, Navas sees direct benefit to the businesses located nearby, but less so to the merchants located farther away.

Meadow Drive Partnership, the group that puts on the Vail market, estimates that customers spend $40 per week, yielding $240,000 in sales tax revenues for the municipality during summer.

 

Potato truck flips

JACKSON, Wyo. - A truck hauling a load of Idaho potatoes to St. Louis overturned at the foot of Teton Pass, in the hamlet of Wilson, causing some local residents to call for an end to the 18-wheelers, more officially called tractor semi-trailers.

Diane Benefiel, who lives a half-block from the crash site, told the Jackson Hole News&Guide that she had seen more than 20 runaway truck crashes in the last 30 years, some of them coming alarmingly close to hitting the gas pumps at an Exxon Mobile station. At least four people have died as the result of runaways coming off the pass, which has one of the steepest inclines in the West.

In this case, the driver was uninjured but has been charged with various infractions. The truck had nearly 80,000 pounds, about 25 per cent over the weight limit on Teton Pass. The driver had two runaway truck ramps to use, but chose not to use the second one - which earned him another ticket.

The driver could have avoided the steep incline, but it would have taken an extra 30 miles.

 

From putt-putt to high-brow

ASPEN, Colo. - Whether high-brow or schmaltzy, Aspen has it.

The Aspen Times reports of opening of a putt-putt miniature golf course in space used during winter for an ice rink. "I've been wanting to do this for so long," said the owner, Craig Cordts-Pearce, who has a small burger joint next door.

More venerable is the Aspen Music Festival, now in its 63 rd year, which this year is drawing 637 students, 140 faculty and 100 seasonal staff - plus a lot of people to listen.

Organizers believe that 25 per cent are locals, 24 per cent are second-home owners, and 50 per cent are visitors. And festival directors believe that the one-third of all summer visitors to Aspen who attend some of the classical music concerts spends more than the average tourist.

"They are coming here for a purpose," said Alan Fletcher, chief executive, at a recent business luncheon covered by The Aspen Times . "They are the highest category of visitor. They know what they're here for, they want to be here, and they are typically not just passing through."

He also said that anecdotal evidence suggests that the classical music concerts are the deal-clincher in many decisions to purchase vacation homes.

But putting on such a festival is more difficult than recruiting a football team, he said.

"We want, for example, 12 oboe students. We don't have a junior varsity. We want 12 absolutely sensational, the best, oboe students in the world."

Getting 13 doesn't work, because somebody has to sit in the audience, and 11 aren't enough. And what's true for oboe is also true for flute, clarinet, the bass trombone, the B-flat trumpet, the C-trumpet and many other instruments.

 

More real estate sales, but only at right price

TELURIDE, Colo. - Is it over yet, is it over yet?

That's the question in ski towns, as well as elsewhere, in regard to the Great Recession. And the answer, of course, is: "not quite yet," especially for real estate sales.

But neither is it all gloom, as was the case two years ago. There are lots of sales, even if prices have tended to lag below those of last year.

"It's good for sellers who price their property to the current real estate market and not the market of two or three or four years ago," said George Havey, a real estate broker in Telluride.

 

Flooding in Telluride?

TELLURIDE, Colo. - Cornet Creek draws from a basin in the San Juan Mountains north of Telluride, slicing through the middle of the town. Twice in the last century - in 1914 and again in 1969 - it flooded badly. Then again in 2007, following what is sometimes called a "frog-strangler" of a rainstorm, the creek surged out of its banks.

What should be done? Telluride town officials have done work to remove debris from the channel, so it can carry more water, reports The Telluride Watch .

But although officials have concluded that flooding will forever remain a possibility, there is only so much work they can do to warn people who live along the creek.

Reverse 911 works only if people answer the phone. And the other option would be use of the town siren, although that then requires periodic testing - something not popular in Telluride.