Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Mountain News:

Telluride bumping up schedule of direct flights

Compiled by Allen Best

TELLURIDE, Colo. — Telluride is expanding its network of direct flights next winter by about 10 per cent, including new daily flights of 50-passenger jets from Los Angeles.

That gives Telluride direct connections to six major cities outside Colorado as well as shuttles from Denver. All flights go to Montrose, about 55 miles from Durango.

A new 2 per cent tax on lodging and restaurants in Telluride and Mountain Village covers approximately half of the annual cost of the program of direct flights. The balance of the risk posed by guaranteeing revenues to airlines is posted by Montrose, the Telluride Ski and Golf Co., and individual businesses.

Canmore upgrades for World Cup

CANMORE, Alberta — Canmore got a major boost toward its goal of once again hosting international Nordic events with a pledge from the provincial government of $16.5 million in funding.

The Nordic Centre there was built in the mid-1980s to host events at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. It has not, however, had a World Cup ski or cycling event since the mid-1990s. Now, boosters express confidence they can host the World Cup in 2007 and 2009, perhaps even next year.

The money will be used to widen trails, erect lights and upgrade scoreboards, among other things. Snowmaking will allow the season, currently at 120 days a winter, to expand to 165 days a winter, reports the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Wyoming chases Chinese tourists

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Several people from Jackson Hole are among a delegation from Wyoming visiting the Shanxi province of China to talk about clean energy and tourism.

Wyoming and Shanxi have much in common, as both are regions where a great deal of coal is mined. That’s a problem no matter where you are on the planet, because coal, when it is burned, is a major contributor to carbon dioxide, one of the key greenhouse gases that is causing global warming. But Shanxi is responsible for a fifth of the world’s total emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas with 27 times the potency of carbon dioxide.

In addition, says the Jackson Hole News & Guide, the delegation will look at opportunities to help China develop tourism. The visit is the outcome of a conference hosted last winter by Jackson Hole’s new Center for Global Affairs.

Cheap stuff in Aspen

ASPEN, Colo. — Not much in Aspen is cheap, but electricity and water are. Aspen’s electrical rates are eighth lowest among the 51 utilities in Colorado. Water is nearly as cheap.

The city government provides both, and its electric rates have gone unchanged for 12 years, and its water rates 17 years, reports The Aspen Times. City officials think it’s time to adjust the rates. They’re looking at a two-tiered rate structure for electricity that encourages big users, such as hotels, to adjust their demands to avoid times of peak demand, when the city has to pay for more expensive power produced at coal-fired power plants.

Currently, 43 per cent of the city’s power comes from coal, while 57 percent comes from either wind or hydro.

Winter Park seeks water

WINTER PARK, Colo. — Winter Park continues to look for water buckets, as reservoirs are often called.

Despite being in one of Colorado’s wettest corners, there is little available water, as most of it is diverted to metropolitan Denver. The resort squeaked through the drought two years ago, but a great deal of development is now being contemplated, requiring even more storage of the runoff from spring snowmelt.

The latest idea is a relatively small impoundment of 660 acre-feet, or about enough to supply 2,500 people, not far from the base of the Winter Park ski area. But one of the first studies will be by a wetlands expert to see if the reservoir would inundate a type of wetlands called a fen.

Fens cannot be replaced or mitigated, which is why the previous best idea, a 20,000 acre-foot reservoir on Ranch Creek has been virtually ruled out. Fens were found at the location. Yet another possibility is a 3,000 to 8,000-acre-foot reservoir on Vasquez Creek, but the site belongs to the U.S. Forest Service. Two years ago, the agency said maybe – but only as a last resort.

Vail wants bigger homes

VAIL, Colo. — The steady push across the United States has been toward ever-bigger houses. That push is evident in mountain towns as well.

A broader-ranging discussion is occurring in Vail, where a complex formula governs how much building can occupy a given lot. The latest argument is that the town should allow creation of basements in houses without those homes going over their specified size limits. The argument is that the public doesn’t see the basements, so this doesn’t create bulkier buildings.

But then what is a basement? It seems like a straight-forward proposition, but some council members insist upon vigilance to avoid opening up loopholes inadvertently. Jim Lamont, who directs the Vail Village Homeowners Association, explained why it matters. In a town where every square foot of building land is worth so much, he said, changing the rules governing home sizes is an issue with millions of dollars at stake.

John Nilson, a 30-year real estate agent, argued for the need for larger homes. "The type of product people now demand has changed," he said. He explained that buyers of vacation homes are looking for storage space, media rooms, wine rooms, and other amenities.

Meanwhile, in Breckenridge, big homes are also at issue. The town council recently got an earful after a decision to allow a 7,500-square-foot duplex, which is too much for the lot in question, said neighbours.

Home’s size, style at issue

KETCHUM, Idaho — The size, and perhaps the style, of a home being planned in the Sawtooth Valley, 40 miles north of Ketchum and Sun Valley, is at issue.

Jon Christianson, a businessman based in China, wants to build an 8,500-square-foot home of logs on private land within the federal government’s Sawtooth Recreation Area. His right to build is not questioned, but the style and size is, as the Forest Service has an easement on the property that controls the type of construction.

The easements governing the property, valued at $3.5 million, specify ranch-type character that is "a low profile, rambling, well-proportioned, rustic appearing, rough-sawn wood or wood and stone structure or group of structures harmoniously situated within a natural environment."

The Idaho Mountain Express explains that the visibility of the home from the adjoining highway is partly at the crux of the dispute.

Down-valley growth continues

EAGLE, Colo. — The population boom continues in the down-valley towns in Eagle County, which during the 1990s was the 10 th fastest growing county in the United States.

New Census Bureau figures show that Avon, located at the foot of the Beaver Creek ski area, is the sixth fastest growing town in Colorado, with an 11 per cent gain even during the real estate slump of 2002-03. Down-valley, the town of Eagle continued its fast-paced ways, with a 4.22 per cent growth.

Also in the top 20 cities for population growth was New Castle, gaining at a 8.68 per cent clip. The town is among the bedroom communities for Aspen/Snowmass, about 55 miles away.

No ban on offices

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Crested Butte has walked away from the idea of banning offices used by doctors, lawyers, and real estate salesman from the ground-floor level of Elk Avenue, the town’s main street.

Several council members seemed to like the idea, going where Vail went 30 years ago and where Aspen seems to be headed. But, in the end, council members decided there is no real need to ban offices, as there isn’t really enough business for the existing shops, reported the Crested Butte News. The council may review the idea, but not soon.

New Durango-Moab trail opens

DURANGO, Colo. — A new hut system between Durango and Moab catering to mountain bike riders opened at summer’s start.

The 215-mile route uses existing roads and primitive paths and is studded by six small portable huts stocked with food, water, and sleeping bags.

The owner, Joe Ryan, already operates a mountain bike route between Telluride and Moab. He told the Durango Telegraph that compared to the older route, this new trail is more remote and also more visually stunning. While the riding is technically easy, the overall length makes it more physically demanding. As well, it will challenge the route-finding abilities of riders, he said.

Ryan was annoyed with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for not moving as fast as he had wanted. It took the agencies 14 months to process his proposal and conclude the impacts were acceptable. There was no environmental opposition.

Huge flag causes flap

AVON, Colo. — A flag as large as a double-wide trailer is being hoisted at a new commercial district in Avon. But not all neighbours are saluting the red, white, and blue.

The association representing the 1,400 homeowners in the adjoining Eagle-Vail subdivision has formally protested, as have assorted other individuals. They say the 20- by 38-foot flag – that’s more square footage than the one-bedroom housing units in the nearby employee – is just too much.

One specific charge is that the flag, which is being placed atop a 150-foot tower, uses patriotism to further commercialism. It is, said one critic, nothing more than a billboard, to draw customers from nearby Interstate 70. The developer of the complex placed the flag in the parking lot for a Wal-Mart Supercenter and The Home Depot. The flag pole would have been built even higher, 200 feet, except that the Federal Aviation Administration would have then required a light atop it.

The monster flag has defenders, too. One Avon architect, a Vietnam War veteran, said he saw a "kid in Vietnam who lost his legs for that flag." Others, carrying tiny American flags, showed up at a recent meeting of the Avon Town Council to support the giant flag. One spoke about the excitement of the upcoming flag-dedicating ceremony, with hot dogs and John Philips Sousa marches.

Because Avon has no restrictions governing height of flagpoles, it cannot order that the patriotism or commercials – whatever it is – be down-sized. It could pass a resolution, but chose not to at a recent meeting. The developer, who made his money in hotels in Stockholm, Sweden, and as the owner of several commercial freighters that plied international waters, said he would mull over his choices.

Writing in the Vail Daily, managing editor Don Rogers suggested that patriotism was being defined shoddily by the outsized flag, which is believed to be among the largest in Colorado.

"No more of those postage stamp banners mounted on toothpicks outside post offices, schools, and governments," he wrote. "Why, they’re positively un-American in their present puny stature. Can’t have that. If aircraft can’t hit ’em, then, they’re just too small. The bar has been raised."

Bulldozer could be scrapped

GRANBY, Colo. — No decision has been made about what will be done with the bulldozer driven by Marvin Heemeyer when he plowed into 13 buildings on June 4, but it probably won’t end up in a museum or erected in the town park.

Both those latter ideas have been widely circulated, and there is precedent, of sorts. Many parks have tanks and missiles, and museums have the old rifles used by bad men and good men. The district attorney’s office in Grand County, where Granby is located, is trying to obtain the bulldozer, and the Sky-Hi News reports talk of dismembering the machinery for its value in scrap metal.

The bulldozer was manufactured by Komatsu, but is roughly the equivalent of a D-9 Caterpillar.

Meanwhile, there continues to be a discussion about whether Heemeyer got a bum deal justifying his wrath. Patrick Brower, the editor of the Sky-Hi News, whose building was gutted by Heemeyer, says absolutely not.

"Some people assume that ‘government’ somehow kicked a ‘good’ man and overextended its power. From where I was sitting (at all but one of the meetings in question), the opposite was true."

‘Pig fat’ used to quell dust

HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS, Colo. — Grand County is full of gravel roads. To quell the dust, each summer the county road and bridge department applies magnesium chloride.

But this year, reports the Sky-Hi News, road crews have applied a new road stabilizer. The chemical was not identified, but road crews refer to it unaffectionately as "pig fat," as it is partially made from animal waste products. The question is whether the chemical causes less damage to roadside vegetation than mag chloride, which is highly corrosive.

Grand County is compiling a comprehensive report in conjunction with several other counties in Colorado about use of magnesium chloride as a dust queller. Another study is being done by the state transportation department about its effects on trees adjacent to highways, as many conifers are dying, although not just along roads where mag chloride is used.

Truck spills 20 tons of eggs

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — A truck carrying food on Interstate 70 went "ova easy," dumping candy bars, pinto beans, beer – and 40,000 pounds of eggs.

The Summit Daily News reported that the driver, who was hauling the grub from Iowa to California, had lost his brakes. He was ticketed for careless driving. It took crews 21 hours to clear the highway griddle of the omelettes, which were deposited in the landfill.

A dandy question

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Spray or spade? It sounds like a veterinarian procedure. In fact, it’s the basic debate in Crested Butte involving dandelions – spray them with chemicals or dig them out with a shovel or some other tool?

The town has been at this juncture at least once before. After a profusion of dandelions in 2000 turned the soccer and other fields yellow, town officials elected to go inorganic. But when an applicator showed up wearing a suit of white, many residents were appalled. That caused the town staff to seek out an alternative organic weed killer, a derivative of beet juiced known as Weed Killer 7-0-5.

But town manager Frank Bell says beet juice isn’t an option now. "It was expensive and it doesn’t work," he said. How about community dandelion dig days? That is another idea, but not everybody digs it – because digging is only a temporary answer.

The town council, reports the Crested Butte News, positioned itself firmly on the fence, appointing Bell to figure out the solution, preferably non-chemical, but chemical if that must be the case.

Paving of pass panned

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Not surprisingly, the people who turned out for a public hearing in June want nothing to do with paving the west side of Cottonwood Pass.

The road links Crested Butte with Buena Vista and ultimately the heavily populated Front Range of Colorado. The east side is already paved, and tourist traffic has increased steadily. Paving the remainder would presumably encourage more drivers yet to take the shorter route, avoiding the longer drive across Monarch Pass. The 12,126-foot pass is not plowed open in winter.

One of the rationales for paving is that it would actually decrease the maintenance costs for the county government. However, the federal government instigated the idea, for reasons unknown. Whatever the reason, there’s no evidence yet suggesting broader public support than in 1998, when Gunnison County vetoed the paving plan. Still, the Crested Butte News says no decision has been made.

Keep your head up

WOOD RIVER VALLEY, Idaho — What do you do when your town’s main street is also a state highway?

Plenty of towns have that problem, and one consequence in the Wood River Valley has been a rash of accidents. One woman walking across the street in Hailey was struck and killed. Two children have been hit, but have survived. Ketchum is also daunting to the self-propelled.

The Idaho Mountain Express, in an editorial titled "Bowling for Pedestrians," acknowledges that there’s no easy answer. Safety islands for pedestrians would help, but they’re expensive to build and maintain, says the paper.

Getting the lead out

PARK CITY, Utah — In a way, Park City is trying to sweep its mining history under the rug.

Oh, it’s not that the city is ashamed of its origins in silver mining, which continued until shortly before the first ski area there opened in the 1960s. But the lead – a by-product of the silver mining – is found in the soil in many areas. When ingested, as can happen when children eat dirt, it can cause significant medical problems.

Now, if property owners will cover their lots with fresh topsoil to a depth of about six inches and then revegetate it, the city will offer $450 to defray the typical cost of $5,000 to $6,000. Altogether, the city has budgeted $50,000 for the project, reports The Park Record. For those who refuse to cap their lots, blood tests are mandatory, says the newspaper.

City officials hope that this program will help persuade the Environmental Protect Agency to discontinue its 21-year oversight of Park City’s mining residue. "The EPA cloud that we have been under has affected the whole town," said Sally Elliott, a resident of a contaminated area. How this EPA oversight is a dark cloud for Park City neither she nor the newspaper explained.

First women teles Grand Teton

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The firsts continue on Grand Teton, that lovely but challenging peak. Recently, the first commercial client skied the mountain. Now, the first women on free-heel skis telemarked down the peak.

"Basically, that’s all I use in the backcountry," said A.J. Cargill of her free-heel skis. "I prefer a lighter set-up. It wasn’t scary, but it was intense and demanding."

Contractor sues developer

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The developer of the $225 million Four Seasons hotel at the base of the Jackson Hole ski area continues to be assaulted by lawsuits. Six months after the 367,500-square-foot hotel opened at Teton Village, a subcontractor became the latest construction firm to litigate against the Four Seasons Jackson Hole Development Co. The firm is legally separate from the hotel operator. The lawsuit filed by the construction subcontractor claims the developer owes it $1 million.