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Mountain News:

Actor Bruce Willis offers land for airport

Compiled by Allen best

HAILEY, Idaho — The actor Bruce Willis is offering to donate land for a new airport to service the Ketchum-Sun Valley area, but perhaps not incidentally the airport would also serve to boost business at a small ski area called Soldier Mountain that he operates.

The 1,000 acres Willis apparently is offering is located near the small town of Fairfield, a 45-minute or less drive to Ketchum. The existing airport, located in Hailey, is much closer to the ski slopes of Mt. Baldy, but it cannot be expanded without taking out residential acres, and a newer and heavier generation of private airplanes cannot use it. As such, the Federal Aviation Administration has basically ordered the community to find a new airport site.

After studying many sites, the task force has reduced the list to five, including one generally in the area where Willis is offering his land. The Idaho Mountain Express reports that Willis was at the meeting, wearing a grey knit ski cap pulled tightly down on his head. Rising from a seat in the last row in the room, he introduced himself: "I’m Bruce Willis, part-time actor and father of three children."

The mayor of the nearby town, David Hanks, said local residents were in a "mixed mood" about the possibility of a large airport next door. The town does not seem remotely prepared for an economic boomlet that may be coming.

Several people interviewed by the Idaho Mountain Express say that Willis seems committed to developing the Soldier Mountain ski operation, whose biggest year occurred 30 years ago. Since Willis got the ski area permit six years ago, the largest use was last year, with 10,932 visits. However, a season pass costs only $350 compared to $1,850 at Sun Valley.

Can railroads deliver?

GRANBY, Colo. — By train, it’s about two hours from Denver to Granby and Winter Park, one of Colorado’s newest boom areas for vacation homes. And when Interstate 70 gets congested, it can take even longer to drive the highway.

Now there’s a new effort afoot by land developers in Granby, whose major market is people in metropolitan Denver, to promote use of the train. Jerry Jones, a former ski industry executive who worked variously at Sun Valley, Keystone, and Snowmass, is now developing vacation homes at Granby. Improved use of the railroad is an obvious but underutilized asset, he says. Jones believes the day is rapidly approaching when the critical mass will exist to warrant special trains from Denver, just as many resort areas now subsidize plane flights from distant cities.

Amtrak currently services the area, but its schedule is erratic. A ski train runs seasonally to Winter Park, and this year will run four days per week.

However, other developers and ski area promoters for decades have tried to take advantage of the tracks to Denver, but with no success. Railroads are busy with freight trains, and would rather not be bothered with people. And people, says Winter Park Resort spokeswoman Joan Christiansen, for the most part don’t find I-70 all that bad, yet.

Record real estate sales

ASPEN, Colo. — A new record for real estate sales was set in Pitkin County. With two months to go, $1.36 billion in sales were recorded. That eclipses the previous record of $1.27 billion set four years ago. The Aspen Times reports that $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion in total sales are expected by the year’s end.

Real estate prices up 16%

VAIL, Colo. — Real estate prices during the last year have jumped 16 per cent in Eagle County, and sales this year are expected to top out at more than $2 billion, reports the Vail Daily.

The biggest price jumps have been in areas closest to the ski lifts, at Vail Village and Beaver Creek, where average prices have jumped 65 and 52 per cent respectively.

However, the most activity has been at the bottom of the market, defined there as $500,000 and below. The number of properties listed for sale has dropped by 40 per cent as inventory is absorbed.

This reduced inventory of properties, combined with higher prices, is setting the stage for both redevelopment in Vail, where $1 billion is expected to be spent in the next several years in tearing down and building new hotels and condominium projects, and new development in outlying areas.

New rink in Telluride

TELLURIDE, Colo. — After eight years of putting together the pieces, Telluride now has a 26,000-square-foot indoor ice rink. Pushing the size of the rink to National Hockey League standards increased the costs of construction to $3 million. Local governments paid part of the cost, but non-profits were also tapped, and ice enthusiasts themselves passed the hat. Still to come, as money becomes available, are housing for the Zamboni, and restrooms, reports the Telluride Watch.

Park City planning upgrades

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City is wading into several major municipal projects, including an upgrade of its original downtown area, called Old Town. There, where concerts and other events are commonly held that have attracted 5,000 people, a public plaza is being built as well as a parking garage. Costs are estimated at $11 million.

Meanwhile, reports The Park Record, another $10.5 million recreational complex is being planned, with three fields for soccer, lacrosse and rugby as well as two softball diamonds. The centrepiece for the complex will be an Olympic-sized ice rink enclosed in a 47,000-square-foot building. It will have seating for 351 people. Cost of the rink is estimated at $4 million.

Green Party gains

BANFF, Alberta — The Green Party is gaining ground in the resort towns of the Bow River Valley. Chris Foote, a cab driver who ran for office in both regional and national elections, got 31 per cent of the vote in Lake Louise, 19 per cent in Banff, and 17 per cent in Canmore. He said in future bids he would tap in to the growing movement toward environmental sustainability in Canmore. However, he did not do nearly as well in the more traditionally conservative towns in the region, notes the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Uphill culture going to dogs

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — What the Summit Daily News calls "uphill culture" is causing some problems at the Breckenridge ski area. Every morning before the lifts turn, dozens of people – often with their dogs – can be found going uphill on skis or snowshoes, either for exercise or to get first crack at the freshly corduroyed or powder-covered slopes.

The ski area, operating under a permit form the U.S. Forest Service, does not have to allow such uphill traffic but it does. But the ski area officials are saying changes must be made. People must pick up the dog-doo left by their dogs, and the dogs must be on leashes or under voice command. Moreover, dogs must be gone by 8:30 a.m. As well, people are asked to wear reflecting clothing so snow groomers can see them.

Who speaks for semi-locals?

ASPEN, Colo. — Second-home owners have become a major part of Aspen and many other resort towns. But are they tourists? Or, as many of them prefer to think of themselves, are they semi-locals? Or something else entirely?

In Aspen, there’s confusion about just what role the Aspen Chamber Resort Association should have with its second-home owners. Various administrators and board members have tried for about a decade to create representation for second-home owners, but without success. "They don’t want to be special. They want to be one of us," explained Mike Taets, a board member.

But again, that’s not necessarily true either. While businesses might want to fill restaurants with tourists, second-home owners might prefer a quieter town. Tourist-dependent businesses might want an expanded airport, but part-time residents might not.

A report in The Aspen Times suggests that while second-home owners should be better integrated into local discussions about such things as parking, the resort chamber won’t offer to be their political advocate.

New colours for Summit County

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Not that many years ago you couldn’t find a stop light in a ski town of Colorado. Now, they seem to be everywhere – with more all the time.

Breckenridge is adding two more stop lights, as well as a roundabout, reports the Summit Daily News. Motorists driving the 10 miles through Breckenridge and Frisco will now face 16 stoplights before hitting Interstate 70.

What ski towns don’t have stop lights? Crested Butte and Telluride, for starters, as well as Mountain Village, the town most directly adjacent to Telluride’s ski slopes. As well, Vail has no stop lights, nor does Snowmass Village

More roundabouts

EDWARDS, Colo. — Yet more roundabouts are planned in the fast-urbanizing Eagle Valley, where the modern roundabout mania began 10 years ago in Vail. Three roundabouts are planned at Edwards, where the existing 17,000 trips per day on the spur road from Interstate 70 is expected to double within 20 years. With a population of 40,000 people, the Eagle Valley has 10 stoplights but 10 roundabouts.

Too many tales on trails

KETCHUM, Idaho — As in many mountain towns, the trails from Ketchum and Sun Valley are getting a bit thick with canine feces. To that end, a group called the Environmental Resource Center has recently installed a dog waste bin at one trailhead in Ketchum, and there are also plastic bags available at many trailheads. The issue is partly one of aesthetics, the group’s Ben Mckay told the Idaho Mountain Express, but dog waste can also have E-coli and parasites that pollute streams and rivers.

Backcountry skiers cry foul

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Even in Jackson Hole, untracked powder snow is at a premium, especially in the area adjacent to the highway that crosses Teton Pass. Each year more and more backcountry skiers, snowmobilers, and snowshoers are found in the backcountry there, leaving less quiet and less untracked powder.

There are also seems to be a potential for more people willing to pay guides to take them to what remains of the stashes of untracked powder. The ski area operator, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, has a permit from the U.S Forest Service to take guided groups into the backcountry at Teton Pass. The company seems to get little business, but wants change in its permit that would allow it to use terrain with more vertical drop and also to shuttle clients back to the top.

Locals are hopping mad that their best powder stashes will be invaded by commercial skiing, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide. Led by C. Stearney Stearns, who has skied for more than 50 years in Jackson Hole, 17 backcountry skiers called Powder to the People are attempting to overturn the Forest Service decision allowing the changed permit.

In considering the changed permit for the ski area operator, the Forest Service was required to conduct a review of environmental and social impacts. The ski area contracted with Park City-based SE Group for the study. The backcountry skiers allege that the consultant promised to deliver a favorable conclusion of no significant impact, in effect prejudging the evidence before it was fully evaluated.

A centrepiece of this argument is a letter from the consultant to the ski area that Powder to the People says illustrates a too-cozy relationship. "We believe our approach to completing the requisite NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process will prove very effective for (the resort) in securing approvals for this exciting project."

Clarity an issue

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. — The famous clarity of Lake Tahoe has been receding for years. At one time, people could peer 97 feet into the lake. Now, it’s only 66 feet on average.

What is causing the loss? Formerly, the general theory was that algae growth fuelled by nitrogen and phosphorous was primarily to blame. However, reports the Tahoe Daily Tribune, new data indicate half the problem or more is due to fine particulate matter. The particulates disperse sunlight reducing the illumination.

And why are the particulates a new problem? Because of activities on land, says the Tahoe Research Group. The Lake Tahoe Basin has lost 75 per cent of its marshes, 50 per cent of its meadows, and 35 per cent of its stream-zone habitat, which rapped sediments and nutrients.

In response to this degradation of environmental quality, Congress created a bi-state agency called the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which has the authority to restrict development. The more that local governments do to reduce environmental impacts, the more building permits allowed in each jurisdiction. But those governments seem to be slacking, as the planning agency is only allowing 208 new homes to be built in the basin next year, 17 fewer than were allowed in 2004. In one of the jurisdictions, South Lake Tahoe, the wait for an allocation is now at eight years.

While the lake is getting more opaque, it is also getting warmer. The temperature increase has been 0.8 degrees so far. As global warming becomes pronounced, this is also likely to reduce the clarity. Instead of the lake sediments settling on the bottom, warmer water will cause the sediments to remain suspended for longer periods of time, according to a study led by Robert Coats, a scientist affiliated with the University of California-Davis.

Discrimination outlawed

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — An ordinance that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, i.e. bisexuality or homosexuality, is being adopted by the Breckenridge Town Council.

"We shouldn’t be discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation, plain and simple," said Councilman Jim Lamb. "It’s just the right thing to do," another council member, Jeffrey Bergeron, told the Summit Daily News.

While opponents have said it would put the town at financial risk, council members think that argument is overstated. Just the same, their ordinances cap any liability at $200,000 plus attorney fees.

One community opponent, a retired physician, said that civil rights protections should be reserved for the truly disadvantaged, and that homosexuals are not victims of widespread oppression or discrimination, as defined by courts.

Silverton feud continues

SILVERTON, Colo. — Silverton Mountain Ski Area has been in the news on two different accounts lately. The ski area got into the news from Durango to Denver when 200 people turned out for some old-fashioned boot-stomping, to help get the snow to adhere to the ground and hence reduce the ever-present threat of avalanches.

But also in the news across Colorado was first the complaint, and then the lawsuit filed by Jim Jackson. Jackson, who seems to split his time between Aspen and Silverton, gained fame in the early 1980s when he held the international speed-skiing championships at Silverton. He owns property adjoining the Silverton Mountain Ski Area and also some mining claims within the ski area.

In his lawsuit, Jackson charges that Silverton Mountain employees and customers have knowingly trespassed his property, and he also complains that Silverton Mountain has set off avalanches that have trespassed onto this property. Aron Brill, the developer of Silverton Mountain, responds that Jackson’s concept of snow trespass in active avalanche paths is absurd. If landowners could prevent avalanche control work, avalanche control work done to keep highways open might not occur.

This feud goes back several years, notes the Silverton Standard. "Jackson had for years talked of building a major ski resort in the Cement Creek drainage but never formally proposed the concept. When Brill arrived on the scene in 1999 and quickly acted upon his own dream of a lift-accessed backcountry area, Jackson immediately went on the defense. Since then, Jackson’s attorneys have been some of the most vocal opponents of Brill’s proposal in BLM scoping sessions."

Incidentally, this same area was examined by Pete Seibert in the early 1950s as a prospective ski area site. He passed on it, deeming the terrain too difficult and remote. Several years later he began to create Vail.

Another avalanche hits condo

MT. CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Another avalanche hit a condominium in Mt. Crested Butte, this time knocking out a sliding glass door but injuring nobody. The town has been struggling with the issue of avalanches since 1989, when a slide in the same area killed a child. However, avalanches have been frequent, hitting buildings as recently as last January.

After that avalanche last January, town officials asked voters to increase taxes in order to buy the land where the avalanches originate and otherwise mitigate the threat. They refused, arguing that the cost of the property was too much. Because of Colorado laws, the matter may not go to voters gain until April 2006, reports the Crested Butte News.