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Mountain News: The new normal for mountain resorts

KETCHUM, Idaho - In the old days, cash registers rang.

KETCHUM, Idaho - In the old days, cash registers rang. Not anymore, of course, but were their computerized equivalents kept busy this past week in ski towns?

It's still too early for reports, but reservations seem to have picked up through December in most locations.

"Reservations in the last 10 days have really picked up," said Sun Valley spokesman Jack Sibbach, speaking just before Christmas. "Every time it snows, we get 30 per cent more calls."

But bookings for the duration of ski season were up and down, he told the Idaho Mountain Express . Some weeks surpass last year's figures, but others lag.

Going into winter, the Aspen Skiing Co. projected flat skier visits this year, starting out more slowly than last winter but finishing strong. In contrast, last winter ended with a thud.

In December, the Mountain Travel Research Program reported rising occupancies at hotels but dropping rates. "Consumers and resorts seem to be settling into a new normal - a situation where consumers have fewer discretionary dollars, but recognize that this is a buyer's market and have shifted their spending from conspicuous consumption to cautious consumption," said Ralf Garrison, the director.

"Consumers can be enticed to book reservations and take trips, but the resorts are having to compete with offers that represent their best values," he added.

 

Cemetery defines locals

CANMORE, Alberta - Canmore officials have decided that when it comes to being eligible for interment in the community cemetery, a person needs to have lived in the town for at least 15 consecutive years to be buried at the locals' rate of $1,985. The rate for non-residents, notes the Rocky Mountain Outlook , is $4,168. That said, town officials report no rush of people wanting to die in Canmore.

 

Beetles survive cold

BANFF, Alberta - The cold snaps of October and again in early December were fit for neither man nor beast, reports the Rocky Mountain Outlook . Bark beetles, however, seemed to survive well enough.

Temperatures dipped to 51 below in northern Alberta, but didn't stay there, but instead rose to daytime highs of 22 below, too warm to kill many of the bugs. In Banff, the lowest temperature was only -28 degrees.

 

Record demand for power

SUN VALLEY, Idaho - Cold temperatures in December also caused Idaho Power to produce more electricity than ever before. Temperatures in the Sun Valley/Ketchum area remained below zero for days at a time. The utility has tiered rates, charging more money per kilowatt hour to consumers who use larger quantities. That, in turn, encourages consumers to adopt energy efficiency measures.

In Park City, Utah, a forum was held to discuss what steps could be taken to lessen the community's environmental footprint. A repair shop, for fixing appliances, was one idea, but somebody also wished for more pricing incentives to encourage energy conservation, as the Idaho utility already has adopted.

 

Which Gore to glorify?

KREMMLING, Colo. - As has long been noted, Lord George Gore lived up to his name. An Irish baronet, he traveled in the American West during 1854-55, led by the legendary mountain man Jim Bridger. With a huge entourage to attend to his whims, Lord Gore leisurely killed deer, elk, and bear, plus antelope, moose and whatever else crossed his path. He had a cadre of assistants to drive the animals in front of him.

For this gluttony, Gore was remembered with a mountain range that sprawls from Steamboat Springs to Leadville. This same range is riven by a major canyon cut by the Colorado River, notched by a pass, and drained by a creek that flows through Vail. All are named Gore.

And that, argues Jeffry B. Mitton, a professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, constitutes an injustice. Writing a column originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera , he argues that the name should be retained - but the namesake changed. He would propose that the namesake be changed to honour Al Gore, the former U.S. vice-president.

Gore, the hunter, "killed for personal aggrandizement, for bragging rights," says Mitton. Gore, the politician, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

Is this likely to happen? Probably not, as the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which has authority over such matters, does not allow names of living persons. And, it is likely that there are no rules for changing the namesake of a geographic feature.

 

Vail welcomes gay skiers

VAIL, Colo. - Vail has joined the resorts with dedicated efforts to attract gay skiers. The Vail Gay Ski Week will be held Jan. 27-31, immediately after Aspen hosts its 33 rd annual Gay Ski Week. Telluride hosts a similar affair in February, and Whistler also has long had a gathering of gay skiers.

Aspen's affair attracted 1,500 to 2,000 people last year, mostly from out of state. Vail's event aims for 500 to 1,000, mostly from Denver and other Front Range communities. Organizers for both events tell the Aspen Times that they see no particular competition.

 

November temps rise

ASPEN, Colo. - Novembers continue to warm in Aspen. City officials say that the high temperature this year was about 7 degrees warmer than the average since temperature-recording began in 1976 at the water-treatment plant. Average daily high temperatures have been steadily increasing, as have been the low temperatures.

 

No easy alternatives to Tahoes

JACKSON, Wyo. - Two years ago, Teton County and the town of Jackson combined efforts with the stated goal of reducing their use of carbon fuels 10 per cent by 2010. But the sheriff's department has increased fuel use 6 per cent.

What can be done? In the short term, maybe very little. Sheriff's deputies currently use Chevrolet Tahoes, which get 14 to 17 miles per gallon, and all other potential vehicles have some sort of drawback. Electric hybrids get better mileage, but their batteries may not be beefy enough to handle the multiple light systems, radios, and other electrical needs of deputies.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that officials are investigating the potential to use a 10 per cent component of ethanol in the fuel used in the Tahoes. Larry Pardee, Jackson's public works director, says the fuel should not reduce the ability of deputies to giddy-up in cases of emergencies.

 

Energy plan focuses on buildings

MT. CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. - An energy action plan has been adopted by the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council, joining two other towns and Gunnison County that have previously adopted similar plans. The document lays out a specific set of action items that establishes the groundwork for reducing energy use. Funding for implementation remains unknown, but will key on buildings, which are responsible for nearly 90 per cent of emissions in the town, which is located at the base of the Crested Butte ski area and about two miles from the old mining town of a similar name.

 

Built Green credentials awarded

CANMORE, Alberta - A new 60-unit affordable housing project in Canmore called The Hector in Palliser Village has a variety of ways to use less energy, including high-efficiency water heaters, heat-recovery ventilators, and a solar-powered domestic hot-water system. All of this and more allows the project to attain gold-level certification under the Built Green program, the third highest of four level. The program is similar to the better-known LEED certification program.

 

Revelstoke reducing water demand

REVELSTOKE, B.C. - Add Revelstoke to the list of communities looking at reducing water consumption. Water meters have been proven to achieve that, especially if costs are then tied to increased use. In Revelstoke, installing water meters would cost $2.5 million, reports the Revelstoke Times Review .

The city government also has been considering whether to hire an environmental consultant. "We have all these great ideas and demands to do work related to the environment, but we don't have the resources on staff to get after it," said Alan Mason, the city's director of economic development. Mayor David Raven said it's important to have specific goals and deliverables if somebody is hired.

 

Eagle stewing over big project

EAGLE, Colo. - Christmas was hardly a time of serenity in Eagle, where residents are arguing the merits of a major shopping centre and housing complex called Eagle River Station. Residents will go to the polls on Jan. 5 to decide the outcome of the proposal, which would feature a Target, an organic food store, plus dozens of other shops at a location along Interstate 70. This is about 30 miles west of Vail.

Even in the late 1990s cattle were trailed through the town on the annual drive to and from the summer grazing grounds on nearby Castle Peak. Now, herds of SUVs crowd the streets morning and night, evidence of the population growth that made Eagle the second-fastest growing town in Colorado in 2008.

Town officials say they expect to need $100 million in infrastructure improvements, primarily roads and bridges, during the next 20 years. This is regardless of whether the shopping complex gets built. The complex, however, likely will provide a huge boost in tax revenues.

Writing in the Vail Daily, editor Don Rogers argues that the project will improve the quality of life and describes the developer, Redd Development, which has done projects in Arizona, Missouri and other states, as "among the tops in the business... they have a track record of doing what they say they will do."

Another voice in support comes from life-long resident Herb Eaton. Writing in the Eagle Valley Enterprise, he argues that the launch of Vail in 1962 made it impossible for Eagle to remain the agricultural town of his youth. "Development does change lifestyle," he agrees, but asks critics: "Would any of us be here without development? I almost guarantee with certainty, none of you came here with the intentions of tending to a flock of sheep."

But another letter-writer, Liz Spetnagel, contends that Eagle River Station is not the answer to what ails the town. The shopping complex, she contends, is a "dying 1990's retail construct that will only disperse our existing sales tax revenues while continuing to damage the best thing Eagle has, its small-town charm."

A Costco store had originally been envisioned for the site, but Eagle voters several years ago rejected it. Instead, the adjacent town of Gypsum took in the store and most of its tax revenues. But most people still drive to the store by going through Eagle.

 

Agriculture past recalled

BASALT, Colo. - The Aspen Times reports on the passing of Almeda Duroux at the age of 85. Born in 1924, long after Aspen was a thriving mining town and long before it became a resort, she grew up on farms down-valley in a lifestyle that has now vanished.

She and her husband bought a ranch in the Woody Creek area, near where the writer Hunter S. Thompson later lived, in the mid-1940s. There, they grew potatoes, grains, hay and alfalfa.

"She always had a huge garden, so she canned everything," including meat, chicken and vegetables, her son, Leroy, told the newspaper. "Basically, the only things they bought at the grocery store were flour and sugar."

As did other farmers, they grew potatoes, which was a big part of their income in the 1940s and 1950s.

 

Crested Butte continues debate

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. - The U.S. Forest Service has reversed course and decided that a decision regarding a potential expansion of the Crested Butte ski area can be appealed to the regional forester.

Supporters of the expansion were indignant after Charlie Richmond, a forest supervisor, announced in early November that he would not accept the proposal for consideration. He said that part of his decision was because the Crested Butte community remained divided about whether the expansion onto Snodgrass Mountain should occur.

But Crested Butte itself seems to remain much divided. The matter is of such perceived significance that a recent meeting of the town council drew 250 people. The Crested Butte News reports that people spoke for and against, but the council members came to no resolution about what their stance will be regarding the process, let alone whether the council supports the expansion.

Not so Colorado Ski Country USA. The trade organization adopted a position urging the Forest Service review the process under the strictures of the National Environmental Policy Act, warning that the failure to do so would sent a chilling message to other ski area operators in Colorado.