Forest Service wants input on Green Mountain camping fees

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

The U.S. Forest Service has long been grappling with how to pay for maintenance and operations of recreation facilities at Green Mountain Reservoir.

Latest plan would drop day-use parking fees at Cataract Lake, hike campsite fees modestly around the reservoir

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service once again wants to change the fees for using campgrounds at Green Mountain Reservoir.

The current fee for camping is $5 per vehicle; under the proposed structure, the rate would be $13 per campsite for up to two vehicles, and $5 for each additional vehicle. A $65 pass would allow unlimited camping for the season.

“The proposed fees are comparable to those charged at Dillon Reservoir and the Arapaho National Recreation Area at Grand Lake,” said Ken Waugh, recreation staff officer for the Dillon Ranger District. Get more information on Green Mountain campgrounds here.

The proposed fee schedule would apply to Prairie Point, McDonald Flats, Cataract Creek, Elliot Creek, Willows, Cow Creek North, and Cow Creek South campgrounds. Combined, those sites see about 34,000 visitors during the May to October season, with the highest use during July and August.

The Forest Service also wants to do away with the parking and day-use fees at the Cataract Lake-area trail head. There also will be no fee for day use (fishing, picnicking, or boating) unless vehicles or persons are occupying a camping site. There will no longer be a fee to park at the McDonald Flats Boat Ramp.

The parking fees at Cataract Lake drew the most criticism from citizens over the years since they were enacted in 1997. A citizens advisory group that last year studied a proposed fee increase for the Green Mountain Reservoir area rejected the plan partially based on concerns about the parking and day-use fees. The latest proposal will also be subject to approval by the recreation advisory group. Read more »

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Feds offer cash for private-land sage grouse conservation

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Private landowners across 11 western states can tap into $16 million available for greater-sage grouse conservation efforts. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

Funds to be used to enhance conservation practices on western ranches and rangelands; it’s too soon to tell if incentive-based programs will stave off the decline

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — After deciding not to list greater sage-grouse as an endangered species, the federal government will pay up to $16 million to help private landowners with conservation efforts in 11 western states, including Colorado.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture will take bold steps to ensure the enhancement and preservation of sage-grouse habitat and the sustainability of working ranches and farms in the western United States,”  said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Our targeted approach will seek out projects that offer the highest potential for boosting sage-grouse populations and enhancing habitat quality.”

The money will flow through two established programs aimed at reducing threats to the birds from disease and invasive species. Applications for the first round of funding are due April 26. As an incentive, landowners who participate in the programs will be protected from increased regulation should the bird be listed under the Endangered Species Act in the future.

The funding could be used to expand conservation efforts already in place in Montana that have been cited as a model, said conservation biologist and sage grouse expert Ben Deeble.

“It’s related primarily to private ranches,” Deeble said, explaining that federal funds are often used to help ranchers develop plans for grazing and other land management tools that help protect or increase sage grouse habitat. About 60 percent of sage grouse habitat in the West is on public lands, but some of the key areas for breeding and mating are on private land, he said. Read more »

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Weatherblog: ‘Vorticity advection’ is weather-speak for snow

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

A storm winding up over the Pacific Northwest could bring some decent snows to Summit County starting late Thursday into the first part of the weekend.

Models showing a decent storm headed for the northern mountains late Thursday into Saturday

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — More sunny weather in the high country today as a big ridge of high pressure will allow temperatures to warm up into the 40s on the valley floors and into the mid to high 30s at higher elevations.

But according to the National Weather Service, it may be the calm before the storm, as a wintry storm is expected to dig into the area Thursday, with “models still pointing toward a significant winter storm for the latter part of the week.”

We’ve heard this kind of forecast many times this winter, but this time, the weather service says there is an area of  “vorticity advection’ associated with the weather system that will help intensify snowfall.

For now, all the computer models are in good agreement, showing the storm developing over northern Colorado Thursday evening and quickly spreading across the rest of the state, bringing widespread precipitation at least through Friday.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the avalanche danger is moderate, with pockets of considerable, danger on all slopes near and above treeline. There have been reports of both natural and human-triggered slides in the Vail-Summit area, mostly from the eastern side of the zone on east, northwest and west-facing slopes.

Get the full avalanche forecast here.

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Avalanche on Tenderfoot Mountain triggers search mission

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Twin avalanches pour down the face of the East Wall at Arapahoe Basin as ski patrollers blasted the area during routine avalanche control work.

Rescue officials urge backcountry users to report slides, even if nobody is caught or hurt

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A search and rescue team investigated an avalanche high on the slopes of Tenderfoot Mountain, across Highway 6 from Keystone Ski Area, discovering that nobody was buried in the slide.

Ski patrollers at Arapahoe Basin first reported the avalanche Monday morning. With a scope, they noticed a fracture line with several sets of snowmobile tracks going into the area and none coming out. The early reports suggested the slide was fairly recent, so the observation triggered a call to the rescue group.

Dan Burnett, an avalanche expert with the Summit County Rescue Group, flew over the avalanche aboard a Flight for Life helicopter to take a closer look at the area. Burnett said the slide ran on a west-facing slope, probably loaded with new snow from Sunday’s windy storm. Burnett said the slide was about 40 yards wide and ran down the slope about 150 yards, with snow in the deposition zone about a foot deep. Read more »

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Silverthorne: Group meets to discuss big-box plans

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Some local residents believe that a pair of big-box stores proposed for Silverthorne could negatively affect the town's character and exacerbate traffic woes around the I-70 interchange. They would like the town to enact a moratorium until CDOT completes a study of the busy junction.

Political strategy on the agenda for 7 p.m. meeting at Alpine Earth Center, 988 Blue River Parkway

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A group of local residents opposed to the development of big-box retailers in Silverthorne are meeting tonight to discuss their strategy, particularly as it relates to the upcoming town council election.

The meeting, 7 p.m. at Alpine Earth Center in Silverthorne, is open to anyone interested in the issue.

“It’s a group of people who are concerned about the character of Silverthorne and the way it will change if either or both of these projects go through,” said Summit Independent Business Alliance president Frank Lilly, referring to pending proposals for a Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Lilly said the business alliance is not the same as the group that has formed to oppose the big-box proposals, but he has been attending some of the meetings.

Lilly said the group needs to reach out to all the Silverthorne town council candidates to make them aware that there is a group of people who are concerned about the potential impacts those stores could have.

The group is specifically backing a pair of candidates who would bring a different outlook to the council, Lilly said.

As another goal, the group would like to convince the town council to put a moratorium on retail development over a certain size until the Colorado Department of Transportation has completed a study of Silverthorne’s I-70 interchange.

Lilly said concerns about the developments include traffic, retail signs and housing. The town needs to do a thorough analysis of the cumulative impacts of both projects before moving ahead, he added. The town needs to compare the impacts of the development to its master plan, which calls for a vibrant downtown area and a pedestrian-friendly environment, he said.

“I’d hate to see Silverthorne turn into Wadsworth Boulevard, where it’s just shopping after shopping  after shopping,” Lilly said.

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Mountain News: Telluride still Phish-ing for concert

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

An Aspen-area group says they're having success protecting smaller chunks of forest from pine beetles with selective logging and verbenone treatments.

This week’s mountain news roundup includes stories about a slightly controversial trail re-naming in Aspen, plans to rebuild a historic Telluride bakery and the long-running battle over a ski area expansion in Crested Butte

Telluride still Phish-ing for concerts

This week’s mountain news roundup starts in Telluride, where locals are still debating the potential impacts of some planned Phish concerts this summer, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 9 and 10.

The Telluride News looks back at a similar event — a pair of Grateful Dead concerts held in August 1987, that got mixed reviews from locals. Some shops reported selling out of supplies during the Dead shows, while other locals complained of aggressive panhandling. Read the Telluride News story here.

Real estate comeback?
Real estate sales in Telluride Mountain Village have bounced back from last year based on real estate transfer tax figures, according to a story in the Telluride News. The Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association reported that sales in the resort complex have generated about $1 million year-to-date, compared to $310,000 during the same period last year.

Since Dec. 1, 2009, seven non deed-restricted houses have sold in the Village, with a median price of $2.85 million. One home sold for $10.1 million, a million off its initial asking a price. Most of the sales are cash transactions. Read the full story  on recent news from the Telluride real estate market here.

Small win in beetle battle
A small-scale effort to reduce pine beetle impacts in Smuggler Mountain in Aspen is showing signs of success, according to a story in the Aspen Daily News. A report released last week suggest that removing brood trees and treating remaining lodgepoles with verbenone “significantly reduced the probability of lodgepole pine trees being attacked by mountain pine beetle.” The 250-acre project cost about $110,000 and shows there are ways to combat beetle-kill on a localized level. Read the full story here.

Re-baked in Telluride
The owner of a landmark Telluride bakery says he wants to rebuild on the same spot, if he can get the landowner’s permission. Baked in Telluride burned down about a month ago, and Jerry Greene’s plan is to try and construct a new building that would look like the original one, covered in corrugated red tin siding. The property is owned by the three children of Telluride ski area funder Joe Zoline. Read the story here.

Read more »

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Weatherblog: Big warmup, with temps into the 40s

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Expect perfect ski weather the next few days, with sunny skies and light winds.

Break out the sunscreen and warm-snow wax!

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A few days of classic spring weather on tap for the high country, with clear skies and temperatures in the valley floors climbing well above freezing. At higher elevations, skies should stay cool enough to preserve the snow on most aspects, although the sun will be strong enough to initiate a melt-freeze cycle on south-facing slopes. On the slopes, that means frozen snow early in the morning, softening up by mid-day and melting to slush by early afternoon — on south-facing slopes.

By Wednesday, the thermometer could climb into the mid-40s in Frisco, near-record territory, as a strong ridge of high pressure passes over Colorado. More snow will melt from the lower slopes, which are already quite bare for this time of year, shriveling a meager snowpack that is as low as it’s been since the historic drought of 2002. The current snowpack in the Colorado River Basin is at 80 percent of normal. Read more »

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Environment: Bringing back the bison?

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

A bison grazing in grasslands.

Restoration of wild herds could help restore grassland ecosystems

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — An international conservation group is suggesting that bison herds could once again roam the grasslands and forests of North America — but only if there is a significant shift in public attitude about the animals.

““The key is recognition that the bison is a wildlife species and to be conserved as wildlife, it needs land and supportive government policies,” said the University of Calgary’s Dr. Cormack Gates, who co-edited a recent report on North American bison and serves as co-chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s bison specialist group.

Restoring bison could be one of the most ambitious wildlife conservation projects ever attempted, considering the amount of rangeland they would need to thrive in the wild. Alaska wildlife biologists are considering a plan to restore wood bison, and there is a remnant bison herd in Yellowstone. But in other parts of North America — including Colorado — the animals are managed primarily as livestock.

Read more »

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Travel: Like fish in a barrel

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Warren Bridges holds his prized bonefish aboard a skiff in the Florida Keys.

Warren Bridges visits the Florida Keys and keeps his eyes on the prize – bonefish

By Warren Bridges

“So while it was freezing here in Frisco, you were goofing off in the Florida Keys with Jimmy Buffet and Ernest Hemingway?” the old man asked in that accusatory way – like I had committed some grave crime.

“Well,” I started, “you know Ernest is no longer with us.”

The old man didn’t break stride. “No matter. He was a horrible painter anyway.”

Good readers, the old man is a very old man. And while he is known for great pronouncements, as you will learn, I have acquired the important knowledge that any efforts to correct — or even clarify these great droplets of wisdom — are not just unheeded. They are, in fact, never heard.

“Yes,” I said. “A horrible painter indeed.”

Stalking the shallows for fresh fish.

As a newcomer to both paid vacations and the Florida Keys, I was eager to escape the February chill in Colorado for the warm waters of Islamorada, Marathon, and yes, Key West. What would a trip to the Keys be without a jaunt into the land of Parrotheads, conchs and the former endpoint of Henry Flagler’s great rail line from Miami to Key West?

I mean, in 1982, the mayor of Key West — feeling like the U.S. government was treating the Keys like a foreign country — first seceded from, then declared war on the United States, immediately surrendered, and demanded foreign aid. That was less than 30 years ago.

Read more »

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New $359 pass twins Keystone, Arapahoe Basin

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Lifting off the Nose at Arapahoe Basin. A new $359 pass for A-Basin and Keystone should be popular with snowboarders looking to alternate between Keystone's world-class terrain park and A-Basin's unmatched natural terrain. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.

Ski through 6 p.m. at Keystone with twilight  sessions on Monday, Tuesday; Summit Pass cracks $400

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Call it Epic Light, or maybe the Snake River Special, but skiers and boarders who favor the east side of Summit County will have a new option next winter with a $359 pass valid at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin ($199 for children ages five-12).

The two resorts have been twinned for many years and share a common history, as Snake River Valley ski pioneers Max and Edna Dercum helped start both ski areas.

Read a nice post on Max Dercum and the history of skiing in the Snake River Valley  by ski writer Peter Shelton here.

Keystone and A-Basin were owned by Ralston Resorts until the late 1990s. When Vail Resorts bought Ralston Resorts, the U.S. Department of Justice required A-Basin to be divested from the deal to meet anti-trust rules. Read the Justice Department anti-trust case here.

The two-mountain pass could help lure visitors back to Keystone, where skier numbers have slipped relative to nearby Breckenridge. The pass is priced competitively with the A-Basin-only pass and could be an attractive option for A-Basin loyalists looking to enjoy some night skiing every now and then.

Vail Resorts announced the new pass deal March 10, along with prices for next season’s Epic and Summit pass prices. The Epic Pass, valid at Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek, Heavenly Valley and A-Basin, will sell for $599, up $20 from this season (children five -12 pay $299). Read more »

Filed under: Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Colorado, Keystone, Ski Resorts, Summit County Colorado, Vail, ski industry, skiing | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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