By Allen Best
AVON, Colo. – World Cup downhill races at Beaver Creek
last week were postponed because of snow heavy enough to cause avalanche
danger. But despite that abundance of snow, the Vail Daily found deep concern
among ski racers and World Cup officials about the changing climate.
“At this point, I don’t think there’s many people who can deny
there are effects to global warming,” said Ted Ligety, the reigning Olympic
combined gold medalist. He told the Daily that he is worried that greenhouse
gas emissions will eventually eliminate skiing altogether.
Guenther Hujara, director of the men’s World Cup, had similar
concerns: “When we look at the glaciers back in the ’70s and now, we cannot say
this is just a short-term phenomenon or a question of fickle weather,” he said.
Utah native Steven Nyman, an Olympic downhiller, said many
racers on the U.S. Ski Team are worried about global warming’s effect on
skiing. But he said ski racers are “probably the worst” offenders in their
contribution of greenhouse gases.
“We’re staying in hotel rooms, changing the linen, we’re flying
here and there and we’re driving everywhere. We are using amazing amounts of
fuel and resources,” Nyman said. “So, it’s tough for us to talk as skiers
traveling the world.”
Ligety said he believes the sport is especially endangered in
Europe, where resorts are mostly at lower elevations.
Major work at Revelstoke?
REVELSTOKE, B.C. – Up to $100 million in new work may be
done next year at Mount MacKenzie, the major new ski mountain being planned at
Revelstoke. Only a small ski area exists there now, but as contemplated, the
resort will have the most substantial vertical drop of any resort in North
America, some 6,000 feet. The Revelstoke Times Review reports most of the work
now is being done behind closed doors, in negotiations between the development
company and town officials.
Opposition should extend to Jumbo
RADIUM HOT SPRINGS, B.C. – Town officials in Radium Hot
Springs have joined Whistler in opposing a request by provincial officials for
plans to develop resorts and lodges in provincial parks. But a letter-writer in
the Invermere Valley Echo says that for Radium Hot Springs to be consistent, it
should reverse its support for the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort.
Jumbo, says the letter-writer, Cameron Clarkson, “Is a massive
sprawl into the wilderness and is the epitome of exactly what Whistler is
declaring should not happen. You can split hairs and say that the Jumbo Resort
is not proposed for a provincial park. Nonetheless, the principle of the matter
is indeed the same whether it is in the boundaries of a park or beyond in a
wilderness that is distinct, valued and cherished by more and more people every
year.”
Foreigners 12% of skier days
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – The number of skiers from foreign
countries at U.S. resorts plummeted in the late 1990s, but has been rising
rapidly again during the last three years.
At Aspen, the international business is 20 per cent of the
ski-hill business, with Australians leading the charge. Presumably the number
of foreign skiers at Vail is close behind.
At Jackson Hole, foreigners now account for 12 per cent of
ticket sales, nearly double the figure of several years ago. Sources tell the
Jackson Hole News & Guide that more direct flights, the addition of a swank
Four Seasons Resort, and the weakened dollar are among the reasons for the
growth. The ski area operator specifically targets the United Kingdom and
Australia, but has recently launched a sales effort in Brazil.
White faces define ‘us’
KETCHUM, Idaho – The Idaho Mountain Express at
Thanksgiving profiled a variety of locals in a section titled “All About Us.”
Two Ketchum residents submitted a letter to the paper that noted a theme: all
the faces were white. That, they said, was a slap in the face of those who are
doing the heavy lifting in the local economy.
“I wonder what it feels like to be invisible,” wrote Eric
Toshalis and Sarah Sentilles. “I wonder what it feels like to work in
construction, landscape maintenance, food service… or any of the other
multitude of jobs that keep the valley’s economy going, and have that work go
unnoticed and unappreciated.”
Elsewhere in the Wood River Valley, local government leaders
continue to prepare for the continued immigration of affluent retirees and
entrepreneurs not dependent upon the local economy. With even down-valley towns
increasingly upscale, a development team proposes to build a new town yet
farther down-valley. Some workers now commute from as far as 80 miles away.
In a summit of local officials, Sun Valley Mayor Jon Thorson
pined about “the loss of the middle class, coupled with the affordable housing
crisis.”
Meanwhile, the Idaho Mountain Express called attention to the
relative absence of Gen Xers in the local economy. “What’s needed is a
concerted, well-planned community effort to market the area’s appeal to young
entrepreneurs to create or relocate businesses here and provide desirable
high-salaried jobs.”
One strategy to achieving that economic foundation, says the
newspaper, is improved air travel connections. One such connection could be on
Frontier’s new empire of discounted flights from its Denver hub.
Walking/biking a big issue
PARK CITY, Utah – Walking and bicycling has become one of
the top issues in Park City. The Park Record reports residents have lodged many
complaints about what they see as obstacles to walking in the county, including
a lack of sidewalks, too few trails, and crosswalks that scare people. Even
city council members report they are dissatisfied with what exists. The road to
Deer Valley, for example, has no sidewalk. “I think it’s terrifying as it is,”
said Marianne Cone, a city council member.
Red Onion about to perish
ASPEN, Colo. – Aspen’s venerated Red Onion bar and restaurant
is to close at the end of ski season. No precise plans have been announced for
the space, although the owner of the restaurant says the building owners are
contemplating retail use.
The space has been used as a bar and restaurant since 1892. It
gained its current name after World War II when 10
th
Mountain
Division veteran Johnny Litchfield operated the business, giving it the name
that locals had long applied to the building, because of its architecture.
The current business operator, Dave “Wabs” Walbert and his
wife, Eileen, have had it for 20 years — and with sub-market rent. “For
almost 20 years they’ve had the cheapest rent in town,” said former owner
Charles Israel in a 2003 interview with The Aspen Times. New owners have given
him shorter, extended leases, but according to Walbert, plan to triple or
quadruple the rent.
In the days following the announcement, The Aspen Times was
rife with letters bemoaning the loss. “Money is clearly stealing the soul of
Aspen,” wrote Andy Hanson, who told about walking into the bar as a college
student in 1959 and witnessing the nature of “beer gulch.”
A former resident from Tennessee wondered whether city
officials might want to step in to preserve the Red Onion as a historic legacy,
much as they have helped with preserving the Isis movie theater. Town officials
have also been asked to intervene financially to help keep the local Explore
Bookstore in place.
Grow up or grow out?
BASALT, Colo. – Like many smallish mountain towns, Basalt
is trying to decide whether to grow up or grow out. In other words, should
there be more density in the existing town. Or should development on the edges,
often called sprawl, be allowed?
The town council of Basalt, located 18 miles down-valley from
Aspen, favors the higher-density infill, which in theory will be achieved by
drawing a rigid line around the town. The alternative, which is favored by the
town’s planning commissioners, is a more flexible growth boundary, to
accommodate projects where developers have upped the ante with increased
community benefits like more affordable housing and dedicated open space. But
then that encourages greater use of cars and trucks with their many unsavory
impacts, notes The Aspen Times.
One council member said he would oppose four- and five-storey-tall
buildings, but would favor increased density of the “right type in the right
place.” But that’s the catch, according to the town’s planning director, Susan
Philips. Town officials often choke when faced with opposition from citizens
affected by high-density development who say “we’re killing Basalt.”
It is often said that Americans hate
both
density and sprawl, but the conundrum is that with a
growth rate of about 6 per cent, Basalt will have to accept one or the other,
and perhaps both.
Another rape in Jackson
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – Another rape has been reported in
Jackson, this time of a teenaged girl. This latest assault comes after two
assaults — one a rape — in the summer of 2005. In addition, police
arrested three men and charged them with bringing a young girl from Mexico and
forcing her into prostitution to pay off her “debt” for bringing her across the
border.
The incidents have led some to wonder if Jackson is as safe as
it was just a few years ago, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide. But police
say there may be no difference. “I think people are more inclined to report
these crimes now,” said Todd Smith, an investigator with the Jackson Police
Department.
Ultimately, the question of whether residents should feel as
safe as they once did is complicated, because many residents had an idealized
view of Jackson as a small town beyond the reach of violent crime, said Sharel
Love, executive director of the Community Safety Network.
Truckee debates coal plan
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Residents of the Sierra Nevada town of
Truckee continue to debate whether to commit to a 50-year contract that would
help pay for a new coal-burning power plant in Utah.
The fundamental issue is similar to that being debated in other
mountain towns of the West: Can growth in energy demands realistically be met
by alternative energy, and if so, at what cost? Complicating the story in
California is a state law that comes into effect in January and will limit such
contracts to five years.
Proponents of the contract say that with a commitment to the
new power plant, prices can be locked in at $35 to $40 per megawatt hour.
Buying electrical power on the spot market is far more uncertain, with
estimates running to $70 per megawatt hour.
“… there is not enough green power to fulfill our needs in
Truckee at anything like the price we are prepared to pay,” said Colin Taylor,
in a letter published in Truckee’s Sierra Sun.
But an alternative view is that Truckee — and the rest of
the world — cannot possibly afford elevated greenhouse gas emissions
caused by burning more coal. “Global warming is the greatest threat to the
survival of future generations,” declares Scott Terrell.
Many people expect a carbon tax to be imposed as a way of
recognizing the fundamental cost of burning fossil fuels. If that happens, says
Neal Mock, also writing in the Sierra Sun, the cost of the coal-produced
electricity will again be much higher than it is now.
A similar debate is currently underway in Colorado, where the
largest wholesale supplier, Tri-State Generation & Transmission, proposes
to invest in two or three additional coal-fired power plants. Crested Butte
town officials have now voiced their displeasure, although commissioners in
Gunnison County, where Crested Butte is located, have not taken a stance.
Renewable mix to be upped
TELURIDE, Colo. – Two years ago Colorado voters passed a
measure, called Amendment 37, that mandates that 10 per cent of the electricity
sold by larger electrical utilities come from wind, solar and other renewable
sources by the year 2015. Exempted were smaller rural electrical co-operatives
— including San Miguel Power Association. The association serves the
region around Telluride, Silverton, and Ouray.
But at the prodding of a local non-profit called Atlas
Arkology, the rural co-op will voluntarily boost its portfolio of electricity
made from renewable sources to the same benchmark required by Amendment 37,
reports the Telluride Daily Planet.
Currently, nearly 100 per cent of power provided by San Miguel
Power comes from the burning of coal and natural gas. Moving to renewables will
come at a cost, according to general manager Bobby Bair.
Atlas Arkology won the argument, partly by pointing out that in
Telluride, Amendment 37 had been approved by 79 per cent of voters. “Because there’s
such enthusiasm for green power and because the San Juan Mountains will bear
the brunt of global warming… we really need to be on the forefront of green
power,” said Atlas’s Eric Jacobsen.
Real estate still strapping
ASPEN, Colo. – The real estate market in Aspen and Pitkin
County continued to surge during October. The dollar volume of sales was up 35
per cent from the same month last year.
That puts Pitkin County at $2.16 billion through October,
compared to last year’s $2.24 billion Sales in down-valley Garfield County also
continue to be well ahead of last year.
The doctor is in, maybe
SILVERTON, Colo. – Silverton
now has two ski areas, a film festival, a free-form radio station, plus a host
of non-profit organizations. But it still has no full-time doctor. However, the
Silverton Standard reports interest by Abe Tomco in setting up a family
practice after he completes his residency in Salt Lake City. Grants will help
get the clinic going, he told Silverton trustees, but ultimately the community
must buy in to the clinic to make it sustainable.