The challenge of owning Silverton Mountain

I just got off the phone with Jenn and Aaron Brill, who own Silverton Mountain. They are in the midst of getting ready to open the mountain to unguided skiing March 29.
But right now, they have a more pressing problem. One of their resident lodge dogs that lie around by the wood stove recently got a blockage in his intestine and almost died. The vet said it may be caused by stress.
Since the Brills noticed the dog trembles at the sound of avalanche blasting, they figured the blasting might be causing the blockage. Unfortunately, there's no shortage of blasting, both at Silverton Mountain, and around the town of Silverton, so the dog is wreck.
The Brill's solution? Whenever blasting is about to start, turn up the volume on the radio to drown it out.
This morning, while on the phone, I could hear the satellite radio hip hop station blasting.
Apparently, the dog finds the beats quite soothing.
Word is bond.

"Just prairie"

The Gazette business section reported today that a 1,200-acre swath of city-owned land south of the airport will soon be transformed into a business park that will bring "4,000 to 5,000 new jobs" to an area that is now "just prairie."

The story details the kinds of businesses moving in, when work will start, and what the business park means to the local economy.

But have we, as a community, examined what we'll lose?

While some people see the area as "just prairie," others have been fighting to protect this land. The dispute has pitted city residents, and even city departments, against the city-owned airport over the best way to use public land.

What's at issue? The land holds a rare concentration of native short and tall prairie grasses including blue stem, blue grama and buffalo grass. Some have said it is the highest quality swath of prairie east of Colorado Springs. It has almost no invasive species, and the diversity of local grasses, forbes and wildflowers is impressive.

According to the Trails and Open Space Coalition:
In 2002, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program released a report describing unique conservation areas in Colorado Springs. Regarding the airport prairie, it states "Very few large patches of tallgrass prairie remain in Colorado. The Colorado Springs Airport encompasses the largest known occurrence of a big bluestem - prairie sandreed tallgrass prairie in Colorado. The community is most extensive within about two square miles south of the airport between Drennan and Powers roads and occurs in small patches within surrounding areas. The TOPS Working Committee resolution passed a resolution in 2001 stating that the airport prairie "provides majestic views of the front range, Pikes Peak, and the Spanish Peaks, affording a unique sensation of spaciousness and solitude despite its proximity to its urban and airport surroundings."

The richness of the area is not lost on the local inhabitants. A herd of perhaps 20 antelope, along with foxes, badgers, coyotes, jackrabbits, hawks, falcons and other prairie creatures thrive on this patch of land, which is adjacent to the city's Bluestem Open Space.

For about 10 years a group called The Airport Open Space Advocates has been trying to convince Colorado Springs Airport officials to protect a part of the biggest open space parcel in the city of Colorado Springs. It was all part of a grand plan to make a 6,000-acre wildlife/park corridor joining the airport open space, the Bluestem Open Space across the road, Fountain Valley School's large fields, and Fountain Creek Regional Park.

What do you think is the best use for this land? Airport business park or open space and wildlife corridor?

To learn more about the open space effort, click here.

Wolf is howling

I drove over Wolf Creek Pass this afternoon on my way to Mesa Verde, and was amazed by the crowds. Drive past Wolf Creek Ski Area on any given Monday, and you might see a half-full parking lot and wide-open trails. But the Wolf just had one of its best snowfall weeks of the season, and today the parking lot was full and both overflow lots on the east side of the pass were full. It was snowing seriously (are there ever just flurries on that pass?), and the locals and spring breakers were taking full advantage of the conditions. Down here in the Four Corners area, there's a blanket of new snow on the ground, but not enough to mask the features of the Sleeping Ute Mountain.

Crowded slopes

If you've been noticing the slopes are a bit more crowded this year, you're not alone. In fact, you're not anywhere close to alone.

The lastest numbers just came up from Colorado Ski Country USA. Here's what they said: In total, Colorado resorts hosted more than 5.2 million skiers and snowboarders from Jan. 1, through Feb. 28, 2006, an increase of more than 5 percent, over the same time period last season and more than 230,000 visits ahead of its previous best period (during the 2003-04 winter season).

No more blue bus!

Breckenridge is building a new gondola (or gon-DOLE-a, for you Texans out there) that links the mountain with downtown.

According to the Rocky Mountain News: Breckenridge Ski Resort and the Town of Breckenridge announced that construction of a gondola from the town to the resort will start this spring.
The new gondola will start from the Breckenridge Transportation Center located in the parking lot right off historic Main Street and have terminals at both Peak 7 and Peak 8, providing an integral link for skiers, riders and visitors from town to the ski resort base areas.
It will allow the ski resort and the Town to upgrade the skier experience and improve the overall experience by reducing the number of people that need to be bussed to the mountain. In addition to stops at the base areas, the new gondola will include a mid-station at Shock Hill. Setting the stage for the planned developments on Peak 7 and 8, the 8-passenger gondola is expected to be completed by Christmas 2006.

OK, now the San Juans are starting to rub it in....

Silverton Mountain got about 40 inches of snow in this last storm. The area still has reservations open for next weekend. Click here to snap them up.

Does falling on your face count as a jump?

OK, if you've read the ski mags
you've seen or heard about the
larger and larger cliff jumps that
guys have been doing in the last
few years.
On the left, Jaime Pierre (red circle) is
dropping a 255-foot cliff.
He landed head-first, in a 6-foot-
deep crater.
Now here's the question: If you can't
ski away, does it count as a successful
cliff drop, or is it just falling?
Andrew Wineke, the Gazette's media
reporter and resident crank says, no way,
it doesn't count. You have to ski away. I say: The criteria for a successful cliff drop is no hospitalization.
Anyone?

It could only happen on Wolf Creek Pass

The forecast Saturday on Wolf Creek Pass called for "heavy, blowing snow. One to two feet accumulation. Three feet in places."

And the next morning when I checked the ski reports, the wolf had been hit with 30 inches. 30 inches! Unless you regularly ski the Sierra Nevada, you've probably never seen 30 inches fall in one day in your life. Not only that, but in the last four days, Wolf Creek has clocked 84 inches. That mean you could drop Shaquille O'Neal in the powder and not even see the top of his bald head.

What is it like to ski in that much snow?
Like this:

My advice: bring a snorkel.

Lost on Longs

Here are words we never like to hear: "When the two men reached this junction area, they separated." And guess what - one of them got lost. In a release from Rocky Mountain National Park sent Saturday, the news was good: "Overdue hiker found."
The release said: "A 32-year-old male from Denver was contacted by rangers at 6:50 p.m. on the east slope of Mount Lady Washington. Prior to this he was last seen near Battle Mountain Junction in the Longs Peak area this morning,... at 5:30 a.m. He and his hiking partner were planning to ice climb near Chasm Lake. When the two men reached this junction area they separated. One traveled back to the Longs Peak parking area and the other planned to continue to Chasm Lake. Their plan was to meet back at the parking lot by 8:30 a.m.

The man who went to Chasm Lake had not been seen since 5:30 a.m. Battle Mountain Junction is 2.8 miles from the Longs Peak Trailhead and is located at 10,900 feet. Chasm Lake is 4.2 miles from the Longs Peak Trailhead and is located at 11,760 feet. Rocky Mountain National Park was contacted by the hiking partner at 11 a.m. notifying park staff of the situation but not asking for assistance. The partner, who was hiking back up the trail, asked another person hiking down the trail to call the park and ask for assistance later in the morning. This call was made at 12:45. Rangers left the trailhead at 3:15 p.m. The weather conditions during the day continued to deteriorate with heavy snowfall throughout the area and white-out conditions reported above tree line (11,500 feet).

The search efforts were in the process of winding down, due to darkness, when the rangers saw a headlamp moving down Mount Lady Washington. They contacted him at 6:50 p.m. at approximately 12,000 feet. The man was in good condition. Rangers gave him water and food and are currently traveling down the trail with him and are estimated to be at the Longs Peak Trailhead at 8:30 p.m."

Headlamp: good. Food, water and proper clothing: Good. No snowshoes in an area with heavy snowfall: not so good. Separating from your hiking partner: not so good. A friend of mine took an avalanche class recently on Hoosier Pass. He was wearing snowshoes, and another guy in the class was on telemark skis. At one point, the guy nearly disappeared, after skiing over a particularly deep snow well. The snow might be dwindling in the mountains, but one visit to the high country is all it takes to remind you that there's a huge base to melt through.

Skiing tomorrow? Here's the powder breakdown:

The big snow hit the San Juans. Durango Mountain? Silverton? Telluride? All huge -- about a foot.
Summit County? Five inches in the last 24 hours, but it's still snowing. Conditions could be very good this weekend.
Vail and Monarch both have four inches, but the storms are still swirling.
Check the most recent data at www.coloradoski.com.
And happy skiing!

In the owls' nest: more on-line bird watching

Two barn owls in California have a Webcam in their nest box (what would their parents think?). It's pretty cool to check in on them from time to time. Right now the female is on the nest, which means owlets soon.
To view the latest owl cam pictures, click here.

Born to run

When I read about this year's Iditarod, taking place now in Alaska, I can remember the sounds of another sled-dog race in Alaska. I traveled there in January 2001, to cover a race that a Colorado Springs musher had entered. The Copper Basin 300 is a qualifier for the Iditarod, so most of the Iditarod racing superstars were there. But none were more memorable than the dogs themselves (shown here). In the dim light of a January morning, the dogs wanted but one thing: to run. They sang and yelped, a chorus of ear-piercing notes. They pulled at their harnesses, the straps slapping against the frozen ground. They jumped and danced, their claws kicking up little snowballs from the ground. They panted, their breath a hiss in the subzero air. But when they finally were allowed to leave the starting line and skim the trail, they were silent. Then, the only sounds were their panting and the musher's commands. Their need to run and their desire to obey were palpable. The relationship between them and their owner was obvious. That's why I wasn't surprised to read that a veteran musher nearly cried when he talked about one of his dogs who died after becoming sick on the trail Tuesday. Noah Burmeister told the Anchorage Daily News that his dog Yellowknife collapsed along the trail. The dog was hospitalized, but died later. "It's the hardest part about what we do,'' race director Mark Nordman told the ADN. "These guys spend all their time training their pups for this event, and then something like this happens. It's hard on everybody. We're racing across Alaska in a dog race. It's not a people race. Without them, none us would be here.''

Hawks on Central Park East

For those of you who have followed the saga of Pale Male, a red-tail hawk that lives on a window ledge above central park in New York City, there is news: Pale Male and his latest mate Lola (at first birders called her Lolita, because she was young, but changed her name to be more respectful.) now have a clutch of eggs. They should hatch in about six weeks, according to the New York Times

I know, I know, Colorado has lots of hawks, why do we need to talk about New York's? I briefly lived in New York, and covered Lolita's arrival after Pale Male's other mate died. And they have a special place in my heart. Besides that, they are internet celebrities with plenty of online photos and gossip that are perfect for blogging.

Out There Extra: our day on Loveland Pass

To start what I hope will be a series of "story behind the story" features on Out There's blog, here are some extra photos from shooter Christian Murdock. Below, read a bit about the scene we found on the pass.

When Chirstian and I pulled up to the top of the pass at about 10:30 on a Sunday, there wasn't a single parking spot. I had to knock on the window of a battered old Transport minivan full of snowboarders, and after the smoke cleared, get them to repark so I could squeeze in on the right. That's pretty typical for Loveland Pass. You shouldn't expect to get a parking spot. Later in the day, a regular explained that it's better to park at the bottom of the pass and hitchhike up for runs, rather than the other way around. That way, he said, you're never stuck after the last run of the day, waiting for a ride. That's pretty much what happened to us, but more on that later.

So we got to the pass and I whipped out my notebook and a freeze-proof pen (experienced snow journalist at work here) and started talking to folks as they ferried in and out of cars. Four distinct types emerged:

1: the camera tourist: a group of underdressed white people (OK, actually everyone we saw that day was white) who doublepark and briefly get out to take a snapshot in front of the sign that says "Loveland Pass," then drive away.

2. the park-and-riders: skiers and snowboarders who park and ski directly from the pass. This is easy, but not particularly good skiing, since it gets hit so often. It requires minimal effort, but offers minimal reward. These skiers tend to be either hungover, or on their way back from a full day of skiing.

3. the ambitious amateur: these are good skiers who set out for a 15-, 20-minute walk to reach some of the more spicy runs. They're from Colorado and have been to Loveland before, but aren't regular backcountry skiers. They don't carry avalanche safety gear. Surprisingly, to my knowledge, there has never been an avi fatality in this area. But with all these guys, it may only be a matter of time.

4. the backcountry local: this is a focused, skilled skier, usually 20-40 years old, with permanent raccoon eyes and and upturned nose from many seasons of looking down at the tourists. This is a ski purist who is willing to expend all kinds of energy to get the fresh turns and subsequent bragging rights of reaching distant slopes. These guys wear avalanche gear and generally hike beyond the crowds, often with their dogs, to hidden runs such as Hippy Trees and The Professor.

So anyway, we talked and shot photos for a while until we couldn't fight the urge to ski anymore. Then we hiked west up the ridge to one of the main runs and dropped in. The snow was bad - really, really bad. Wind had scoured it into a junkyard of choppy fins and dips and boilerplate faces. But that's the pass for you: no grooming.

Down below the windy area, the snow was much better, and we ran into a cool group of kids who had built an enormous jump and were pitching themselves into the air. We stopped to talk and, of course, not wanting to seem like dweebs, we had to hit the jump too. You'll notice there is no picture of me here going off the jump. That tells you how good I made it look. (crashed and burned) But we had a lot of fun.

Anyway, finally, we ended up at the bottom with about 30 other people, all waiting for a ride. And all the traffic was going the other way, since it was now late in the afternoon and the crowds were heading back to Denver. So we waited, and waited. And watched a dog run out into the highway because his dumb hippie owner had too much bong resin in his head to realize you might want to keep an animal on a leash in such a situation. And the dog got hit by a car. And the next pickup to come by took the dog and several snowboarders to the vet. And we waited. And finally a guy with a Jeep Liberty pulled up and he said, "Hey, it's a rental. Pack 'em in," and about 10 people piled in.

I have to say, I love the pass on a good snow day. If I'm driving over, it's almost impossible for me not to stop for just one run. Hopefully, we Coloradans will continue to take good care of this place, so we can continue to dash down through the powder.

Slopeside or Ringside?

A judge has criticized as too lenient the sentence suggested Wednesday in the case of Randell Berg, 52, was who arrested for allegedly punching a 16-year-old girl on the slopes at Steamboat Springs in January.

Berg pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree assault. Under terms of the plea bargain Berg would get one year of unsupervised probation, take anger management classes, perform 80 hours of community service and serve a two-day jail sentence.

"This is a very bizarre occurrence. No one should ever be assaulted on a ski slope. It’s outrageous a grown man would attack a woman. It’s even more outrageous for that woman to be a young girl,” Judge James Garrecht said after tentatively approving the deal.

According to the AP, Garrecht said he thought Berg’s punishment should be harsher and postponed sentencing for six weeks for a pre-sentencing investigation to obtain additional insight into the case.

Berg allegedly punched the teen snowboarder after she collided with his 8-year-old daughter on the mountain. Neither girl was seriously injured.

The deputy district attorney says the girl and her family OK'd the plea. Berg's attorney said Berg "has no hesitation admitting that what he did was wrong.”

Is this proposed sentence sufficient? Too harsh? When, if ever, did you come close to "losing it" over another's action on the slopes (or trail or river or pool)?

(I'm trying to live by Jefferson's words: "When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred." I'm searching to see if he had a guideline for outright punching.)

- Dena (adding to Deb and Dave's blog from the newsroom)

What ski resort is winning the snow race?

Silverton, right now, is tops, reporting 18 inches and it's still snowing there.
Loveland is second with 13 inches.
Monarch and Wolf Creek are third with 10 inches.
But there could be much more to come.

Here's the winter weather advisory for the central mountains:

Snow will gradually increase in intensity across the mountains this evening and then continue through Friday. A few snow showers may be heavy Friday with snowfall rates in excess of 1 inch per hour. Total accumulations of 5 to 10 inches can be expected by late Friday afternoon.

The same advisory is calling for 8 to 10 in the San Juans.
If that much does fall, skiing could be great Saturday. Make plans. This could be the last hoorah of the season. (Not likely, but it could be. Seize the day!)

Bill Frees the Fourteener Four (and their lesser-known friends)

Gov. Owens signed House Bill 1049 Wednesday, exempting high-altitude landowners from liablility when climbers scale a 14,000-foot peak. The bill is an attempt to smooth access issues on fourteeners with privately-owned summits.
This summer four high-profile fourteeners (Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bross, Mt. Cameron, and Mt. Democrat) were declared off limits by a group of people who own old mining claims on their slopes. Access to Wilson Peak near Telluride was already curtailed.
(For really, really cool 360-degree panoramas from the summits, click here.)
The owners' fear was that a hiker with a broken leg could easily sue them for thousands of dollars.
So they closed the peaks. Or at least, some reporters who never left the newsroom said they closed the peaks.
In fact, as I found out last summer, the peaks were open. There were "no trespassing" signs. And none of the hundreds of climbers there had been ticketed for trespassing. One of the owners, when contacted, said he had no intention of stopping hikers, but was making noise to gain himself some protection. Read the story here.

Long story short: it worked. The mine owners now have some protection. But according to The Gazette this morning, owners don't want to let hikers up on the slopes until signs about the risks of climbing mountains are posted at trailheads and trails are more clearly marked.

Once again, I would assume these demands are meaningless. People continue to climb these peaks.
Is it right to climb them without permission? You tell me.

Race across Alaska

It's day four of the Iditarod, the famous sled-dog race that covers 1,150 miles of Alaska wilderness, and Coloradans are showing strong.
- Lachlan Clarke, from Buena Vista, just moved up from 56th place to 54th, leaving Nikolai, 365 miles in (where it's 1 degree F right now). (Check it out on the map at Iditarod.com).
- Glenwood Springs musher Bill Pinkham is in 36th place, stopping at McGrath, 413 miles in.
There are 79 teams left in the race; four have already scratched. The Anchorage Daily News reported today that mushers have struggled through the tougher parts of the trail, but were rewarded Monday night with a show of neon-green Northern Lights.

Vail Mountain surpassed its 43-year historical snowfall average of 346 inches at the top of the mountain on Wednesday. It didn't take much, the mountain only got five inches last night, and (one would guess) the mountain surpasses its average about half of the time. But still, this has been a good year. Give Vail a pat on the back. In response, the mountain has decided to keep more terrain open into April. Should be great spring skiing, followed by a great spring party (see post on pond skimming below)
By the way, most of Colorado got a good dump of snow yesterday. The winners in the high country were Loveland and Monarch. Both have 10 inches. More is on the way today.

A Summit County Sick Day isn't looking good

Snow that is hammering the southern mountains has not made it up to the resorts closest to Colorado Springs yet. As of 3 p.m. the Summit and Eagle County resorts were reporting somewhere between an inch and two inches. On top of the crusty ice they have, that should make for dreadful skiing.
Maybe not worth skipping work tomorrow. But more snow is on the way for the mountains.