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New ski hut opens in the San Juans Bob Kingsley, the owner and developer, says the name Opus is an acronym for Ophir Pass Ultimate Ski. He believes he offers something that a small but ardent group of skiers wants: a hut that is readily accessible but with more challenging ski terrain. It’s ideally situated, he says, for above-timberline ski tours on 13,661-foot Lookout Peak and the companion South Lookout Peak. The hut is just 90 minutes from Highway 550, between Silverton and Ouray, or two hours from Ophir. The avalanche danger on the two routes is about equal, he says, although it looks much more severe from the Ophir side. Kingsley began thinking about backcountry huts in the 1980s, soon after he moved to Steamboat Springs. He worked as a ski touring guide at the Home Ranch, located about 20 miles north of Steamboat. Later, he worked for a decade as a guide on the 10th Mountain Trail, in the Aspen-Vail-Breckenridge area. At some point, he began thinking about building his own hut. He went to courthouses around Colorado to study land records. Moving to the Telluride area, he began scouting old mining parcels. The site he chose, an old mining claim on Mineral Creek, met his every expectation. But despite his many years in thin air, he found that building a hut at 11,765 feet – a little higher than most huts and just a whisk below treeline – was a much more difficult proposition than he expected. “You think you know the mountains. It’s different when you’re building things. It hits you in the face. You constantly have to do damage control,” says Kingsley. “There’s so much you have to learn about yourself. I really learned to appreciate the endeavors of those miners, their endurance. It has changed my whole outlook, and I have spent plenty of time in mountains all over the world.” The 1,800-square-foot hut sleeps 13 people and will be equipped with blankets and pillows, as in European huts, so visitors need only take sheets and covers. It is heated with solar thermal and electrified with photovoltaic panels. Meanwhile, Yoho National Park in Canada is exploring the potential for erecting 10-metre wind turbines near some backcountry huts to see whether alternative energy can replace wood-burning and propane. The Rocky Mountain Outlook notes the national parks have 17 backcountry huts. “Both of those have pros and cons, and our overall objective is to make it more ecologically sensitive by looking at alternative energy for the huts,” said Brad Romaniuk, wilderness co-coordinator for Parks Canada. Breckenridge arranged the deal with a company called RSB Funds, taking advantage of now reduced rebates offered by electrical provider Xcel Energy and third-party financing. “This plan includes an innovative financing arrangement, environmental and other benefits, as well as novel structure designs for solar in our high alpine environment,” said Mayor John Warner. “I am immensely proud of my community in pioneering this project.” The Summit Daily News reports that Breckenridge is likely to invest more heavily in solar. Both projects would involve solar gardens, an idea gaining momentum in Colorado and many other states. In one case, Breckenridge will buy into a 500-kilowatt solar garden planned for a three-acre parcel near the Summit County Landfill. The municipality has also committed to be the anchor tenant in a community solar garden within Breckenridge. Community members could buy into the garden, instead of going to the trouble of installing photovoltaic panels on their own roofs. The idea is seen as ideal for condominium dwellers. The dating shows human habitation 10,100 years ago, roughly the same as that found in mountain valleys of Colorado. Scientists have been able to confirm human presence in the Americas only at about 14,000 years ago, although some think people had arrived thousands of years earlier, even before the last ice age. The archaeological site also yielded evidence of year-round habitation 5,000 - 7,000 years ago. Summers were warmer and wetter then, producing more forage for wild animals. Winters were colder, but less snowy. That meant the animals could browse more easily. The result, a highway archaeologist told the Jackson Hole News, was more food sources for people – and probably more people. International business has been strong, and there are “good trends” in international bookings already for next winter, said Katz, according to a Vail Daily report. Business from the United Kingdom has declined dramatically, he said, but has been more than offset by growth from Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Vail Resorts operates four major ski areas in Colorado, two in California, plus a lodge in Wyoming. “Barring a real decline in economic confidence, we should see continued (growth),” he said. “From a company standpoint, it’s about helping create a healthy community for our employees and our guests and everyone else in this valley,” chief executive Mike Kaplan told the Aspen Daily News. “It all ties together. A healthy school system is at the center of that.” Other community leaders are also standing up for the two tax increases, including hotelier Warren Klug, chair of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, County Commissioner Rachael Richards, and Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland. “We are one of the wealthiest communities in the world, and I think we have a responsibility to help our neighbors,” Ireland said. “All of these things are centered around neurobiology,” she said. “Everything that a child may think or do or feel has a neurological correlate. It kind of puts the child in the driver’s seat; it gives them information they need to navigate.” – Allen Best |