Skiing’s future hangs in the balance

AVON – 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 in Colorado, theVail 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 of global warming,” said Ted Ligety, the reigning Olympic combined gold medalist. He told theDaily 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 its 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.

Aspen laments loss of Red Onion

ASPEN – 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 withThe 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.

Truckee debates Utah power plant

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 beginning in January that 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 inTruckee’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, the cost of the coal-produced electricity will again be much higher than it is now.

A similar debate is currently under way in Colorado, where the largest wholesale supplier, Tri-State Generation & Transmission, proposes to invest in two or three additional coal-fired power plants.

Diversity questioned in Ketchum

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 to 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 becoming 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, theIdaho 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.

Coop volunteers to up renewables

TELLURIDE – Two years ago Colorado voters passed a measure called Amendment 37 that mandates that 10 percent 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 nonprofit 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 theTelluride Daily Planet.

Currently, nearly 100 percent 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 percent 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.

Foreign skiers return to U.S. resorts

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 percent 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 percent of ticket sales, nearly double the figure of several years ago. Sources tell theJackson 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.

– compiled by Allen Best