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Mountain News: Steamboat airport better, busier

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Steamboat this winter is having its most extensive flight program ever, and it is also taking delight in the upgrades underway at Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Steamboat this winter is having its most extensive flight program ever, and it is also taking delight in the upgrades underway at Yampa Valley Regional Airport. The airport, notes Steamboat Pilot & Today, is crucial to Steamboat’s high-flying tourism economy.

A second-rate facility just a few years ago, says the newspaper, the terminal has been expanded and other improvements at the airport effected, at a cost of nearly $17 million.

A survey commissioned by Intrawest, the ski area operator, found that 26 per cent of passengers had an annual household income of $250,000 or more. Some 58 per cent of passengers rated the availability of direct flights to the airport, located 25 miles west of Steamboat, as “extremely important” to their decision to visit Steamboat.

Meanwhile, off-season air service to Steamboat is increasing by one-third.

United Airlines has agreed to beef up the spring, summer, and fall air service from Denver by 33 per cent. The new schedule calls for jets, instead of turboprops, and also two or three trips daily, reports the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

“This is really a significant effort toward improving Steamboat’s accessibility,” said Andy Wirth, the executive vice president of sales and market for the Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp.

“Make no mistake, this service will benefit everyone in the Yampa Valley, and will help support our diverse economy,” Wirth said.

The newspaper indicated that United Airlines will be given money, but said officials were not disclosing the financial arrangement.

The ski company negotiated the agreement, but it was supported by a taxing district, called the local Marketing District, which levies a 2 per cent lodging tax in Steamboat Springs. The money is used to support commercial air service into the Yampa Valley.

On the newspaper’s website, one blogger saw the news as a mixed bag. “More tourists flying into town and enjoying the natural splendor of the Yampa Valley is exactly what we need,” said the blogger, identified only as “prayforsnow”. “Too bad it also has to bring in the wealthy and second-home owning elite, who do little else than to escalate property values, rents, and provide a few short-term jobs.”

But another blogger, who flies regularly to the outside world for work, seemed to think that an expanded flight schedule would be swell.

Real estate prices in Steamboat have been screaming upward, with values doubling since 2004. Redevelopment is continuing briskly both in the old downtown and at the base of the ski area.

 

Lots of room, parking

PARK CITY, Utah – Last year the Park Record interviewed a local architect who said that clients were finally starting to ask for smaller, not bigger, houses. That architect obviously does not work for Tony Thompson.

Thompson recently completed a 33,000-square-foot house adjacent to The Canyons ski area. Unique to Park City, it has a two-story glass wall of British-made Pilkington glass that looks out onto the ski runs.

The house also has 14 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, and room for 3,500 bottles in the wine cellar, plus a 28-car heated garage.

The asking price is $28 million, although it is also being marketed as an opportunity for fractional ownership.

 

Boy survives slide

PARK CITY, Utah – In-bounds avalanches are unusual, and ones causing fatalities rare. But the improbable occurred just before Christmas at The Canyons Resort. This is despite the 170 pounds of explosives thrown out onto the slope the day before, and also despite the fact that the slope had been skied heavily prior to the avalanche.

The slide killed a 30-year-old Colorado man when it threw him into a tree. It also buried an 11-year-old boy, who did not regain consciousness until the next day. The boy, Max Zilvitis, was under the snow for about 39 minutes.

The boy’s father, Brian Zilvitis, who was skiing nearby, was buried to his waist in avalanche-compacted snow. Unsure of where his son was in the snow, he instead used a cell phone to call for help. “I would not want to listen to how I sounded on that 911 call because I’m sure it was disastrous. It was the worst feeling in my life,” Brian told The Park Record.

After distributing probes at the bottom of the slide, ski patrollers set up a line for a methodical probe-line search.

Max was administered CPR and then flown by helicopter to a hospital. His body temperature had dropped significantly, so doctors did not allow his body temperature to return to normal for 24 hours, to prevent his brain from swelling.

When the boy awoke, the Record reports, his first question was, “What happened to me?” He had seen the snow coming, and recalls being covered by snow, but then lost consciousness.

For the father, the time was one of torment. “All I could think about were all the hundreds of conversations that we’re in the middle of that we might not get to finish.”

 

Gear not always greener

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. – Ski and other manufacturers and retailers are exploring how they can make their products and operations more “green,” reports the Summit Daily News.

In a program that in some ways mirrors Sustainable Slopes, the program sponsored by the National Ski Areas Association, the retailers and manufacturers are working on such things as recycling old skis and snowboards. David Ingemie, president of the Snowsports Industries of American, told the newspaper it’s not as easy as recycling newspapers.

The various materials must be separated, and the plastic can be shredded for reuse in materials like flooring. But doing this is not the easiest thing, said Ingemie. “They’re engineered to stay together, not to come apart,” he said.

The group is also pondering whether recycling efforts might, in fact, produce a greater carbon footprint than landfilling the old items.

 

Rapid bus system could cost $100 million

ASPEN, Colo. – Transportation officials in the Roaring Fork Valley continue to plot a future of faster buses and even perhaps light rail from Aspen down-valley through Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs.

Despite a four-lane highway to Aspen, the traffic jams morning and night are legendary. In response, the Roaring Fork Transit Authority is methodically assembling a bus-rapid transit system that is expected to eventually cost more than $100 million, reports The Aspen Times.

Bus rapid transit, as the name implies, stresses speed for buses, making it as fast or faster than commuting in cars. Already, buses are being given some priority in the flow of traffic at Aspen’s entrance during morning and evening commuting times, shaving off 15 to 20 minutes of time.

The plan is to create buses with fewer stops, but also nice and well-sheltered places for people to wait for buses. As well, park-and-ride locations are being purchased.

The bus agency estimates that bus-rapid transit will eventually handle more than 10 per cent of total trips in the valley.

Mass transit is the only thing that makes sense, given the greater cost for highway construction, says Ralph Trapani, an engineer who supervised the four-laning of the valley’s highway, as well as creation of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon.

Trapani now sits on the board of directors of New Century Transportation Foundation, an organization promoting mass transit, and he says he believes that the commitment to bus rapid transit will put the Aspen area toward the front of the line for federal assistance.

“We’re way ahead of other rural resort communities,” he told the newspaper.

But he said he also believes that light rail, although rejected by voters in the 1990s, will ultimately be needed to handle the Roaring Fork Valley’s transportation challenges. Those things such as park-and-ride lots can then be used for light rail, he said.

 

Paparazzi too much for some

ASPEN, Colo. – The paparazzi were knotting sidewalks in Aspen during Christmas week so frequently that police were getting six or seven calls per day, mostly from the locals, reports The Aspen Times.

“They just restrict the free flow of people from place to place,” police officer Chip Seamans told The Aspen Times. Police, he added, planned to more aggressively enforce the law governing such examples.

Among the locally aggrieved is Tim Lankins, a construction worker, who found it difficult to cross a street through a crowd of shutterbugs vying for the perfect shot of supermodel Heidi Klum coming out of a store. The photographers, he said, got aggressive, and one confronted him. Lankins told him where to stuff his camera.

 

TV snow banks have to go

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. – Town officials in Crested Butte are having a spirited conversation about whether the banks of snow lining the town’s main street, Elk Avenue, should be removed.

The 8-foot-tall banks were left up in mid-December when Crested Butte hosted a television show called Good Morning America. And the mayor, Alan Bernholtz, rather likes the looks of snow banks in main street.

But the town staff, reports the Crested Butte News, is adamant that the snow must go — for safety reasons. “It’s a matter of public safety, and the argument of ascetics over safety is not acceptable anymore,” said Susan Parker, the town manager.

Town officials worry that a pedestrian emerging from behind a snowbank will get clobbered by a car in the narrow street. As well, the snowbanks are causing snow to tumble in front of businesses, creating icy sidewalks.

 

Curl up in a comfy town

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. – If your town were a piece of furniture, what kind would it be?

That was the question posed to 100 people in Crested Butte — local residents and business owners, plus visitors — as part of a branding study being conducted by the ski area operator. The general opinion was that Crested Butte is a hardwood-and-iron bench, same as Telluride.

As for Aspen, those surveyed see it as a fancy, futuristic, over-the-top chair. Steamboat is an average sofa.

The Crested Butte News also notes that those polled asked what they wanted Crested Butte to become. The majority answer was a middle-level Casio watch, rugged, with stainless steel, but not too expensive.

 

Jackson a match for Walgreens

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – Walgreens is considering installation of a drug store in Jackson. A Walgreens spokeswoman told the Jackson Hole News & Guide that when selecting communities for new stores, it seeks areas that are popular with retirees, have significant tourism, and have hospitals. Jackson Hole fits the bill on all three counts.

 

It’s raining and snowing mercury

SILVERTON, Colo. – Various lakes and reservoirs in the San Juan Mountains have elevated levels of mercury. People are advised to limit how many fish they eat from Vallecito, McPhee and other lakes and reservoirs because of the high mercury levels.

The question is where the mercury is coming from. Sometimes mercury is found naturally in the environment. Then again, it is also found in the emissions of power plants. Specifically suspect, but lacking any specific fingerprints, is the nearby Four Corners power plant.

Preliminary results of samples taken at Molas Divide, located between Silverton and Durango, indicate high concentrations of mercury in snow and rain. The samples were taken from April to November by the Mountain Studies Institute.

The samples showed 3 to 29 nanograms. Concentrations of less than 6 are considered low, and levels above around 12 are high.

These findings, says the institute, are consistent with elevated concentrations often recorded at Mesa Verde National Park since monitoring began in 2002.

Does this mean that the mercury is resulting from emissions by the Four Corners coal-fired power plant or other power plants? A newsletter issued by the institute for December offers no theories.

 

Carbon-offset program set up

TELLURIDE, Colo. – A voluntary carbon offset program has been set up for the Telluride community. Called the Green Fund, it allows people to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide they are contributing to the atmosphere as the result of their travels, and to then make contributions according.

The collected money will then be used for projects that reduce the community’s carbon footprint. For example, the first project is expected to be solar photovoltaic panels at the combined middle and high school. The eight panels, says The Telluride Watch, will produce enough electricity to power about six desktop computers for eight hours a day. The project is expected to cost $20,000.

Chris Myers, a Telluride-based energy consultant, had asked for such a program.

“Ultimately, I think we each need to create as little carbon as possible,” he said. “But when I do travel I want to be able to offset the impact of that.”

Myers noted that on-line carbon-offset programs are available, but not knowing where his money was going, he distrusts them. “Now I can say I helped put the solar panels on the roof.”

 

Lighting retrofit is a start

HAILEY, Idaho – The Hailey City Council has authorized a $40,000 lighting retrofit as part of its pledge to put a lid on the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

The cost is expected to be reimbursed within 18 months by lower energy costs.

Hailey — located down-valley from Ketchum and Sun Valley — signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in February. So far, 754 mayors from across the country have signed the agreement, which pledges efforts similar to those specified by the Kyoto Protocol to reduce demand for carbon-based energy that causes greenhouse gases.

“This is something I am fairly proud of,” said Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant. “We are getting our own house in order so we can be an example for others.”

Recommendations of a climate protection committee call for the public to be nudged, not shoved, into less energy consumption. For example, the town wants to promote EnergyStar and LEED programs for appliances and building construction. McBryant said that the goal will be to make these certifications as markers of quality.

Council members recalled that until 2006, there was no water metering in Hailey. There was resistance to that, but the metering program has saved nearly 40 million gallons of water.

 

Life in Leadville ducky

LEADVILLE, Colo. – For some towns, having a big box store is a sign of homogenization, a repulsive emblem of Anywhere USA (or Canada).

Not so Leadville. After years of seeing everybody spending their money at Wal-Mart and Target stores in Frisco, Silverthorne, Avon, and Salida, the town will soon have its own bigger box variety store, an Alco.

At 20,000 square feet, it’s less than half the size of most big boxes. It’s operated by Duckwalls, the company that used to have variety stores located on small-town main streets across the land.

For Leadville, Alco is a plum, as town officials hope it will generate the sales taxes that are the basis for most municipal operations in Colorado. Currently, Leadville residents tend to spend their money at the big-box stores of Avon, Frisco, and Silverthorne, or down-valley at Salida.

 

Centralizing Four Corners

DURANGO, Colo. – The Durango Herald, in an editorial, makes the case that air service should be consolidated at the airport south of Durango. Currently, it is fragmented, with some flights going to Farmington, N.M., located about 40 miles south, and Cortez, about 40 miles west. “As competitive pressures mount for the airlines (and Congress), the trend will be to consolidate smaller markets to provide regional service,” says the paper. “For the Four Corners area that can only mean centralizing service in Durango and better air service all around.”

 

Jackson unsure about growing up

JACKSON, Wyo. – A major story of 2007 in Jackson — as it has been for several years — was the town conversation about redevelopment. Developers want to build taller and denser projects in the downtown area, and town authorities are agreeable — to a point.

But the general public seems to be less certain, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide.

One such redevelopment plan would raze the Painted Buffalo Inn to make way for a 144-room luxury hotel. The development representative, S.R. Mills, told planning commissioners that the intent is to create a four-storey hotel, replicating what has been done at Teton Village, at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

“Instead of people staying out at Teton Village and coming into town to shop or recreate, we want to reverse that, and really have town as the home base,” he said.

At issue, at least in part, are the dimensions of the building; 46 feet tall, and four storeys. But the architect, John Carney, has designed the building so that the top two floors are moved in from the edge, so that the building doesn’t seem so tall from the street.

This is not the first such proposal in Jackson. Something similar has already been approved under new regulations. Councilors, says the newspaper, have at times praised the regulation as a way to encourage urban-style housing development while revitalizing the downtown area. But others say the projects are too large and out of character with their surroundings.

Pushback is also reported. A new group called Save Historic Jackson Hole is asking for a prohibition on four-storey buildings. The firm was contracted for a survey of 400 people, and about half said that two-storey buildings best represented the desired character of downtown. Many also disagree with the idea of creating more affordable housing by increasing density.

 

Granby retains expert

GRANBY, Colo. – Evidence of the bulldozer spree in downtown Granby from June 2004 is now gone. Buildings gutted by Marvin Heemeyer, who had been angered by perceived slights, have largely been replaced and the damaged buildings repair.

But the downtown still has problems. Although assuredly not a high-end shopping district such as is found in resort towns, neither is it the place where you buy clothes, books, or shoes.

To fix this “leakage,” Granby is hiring Chuck D’Aprix, founder of the non-profit Downtown Entrepreneurial Project, which is based in Washington D.C. He was an in-house consultant of the City of Boston, and later helped revitalize three commercial districts in Quincy, Mass.

He is scheduled to be in Granby in early January to conduct a full-scale analysis of how the town can bolster retail, reports the Sky-Hi Daily News,