Would Ralston have rather lost his leg?
BISHOP, Calif. – In the way of youngsters, some of the 1,000 students in the Inyoa County schools who heard former Aspen resident Aaron Ralston talk about his woebegone adventure in 2003 had perplexing and interesting questions.

For example, would he have rather lost his leg than his arm, one student wanted to know.

Depending upon the activity, both are needed, replied Ralston, who lost his arm when it got wedged between boulders during a solo tour in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park.

“Hell isn’t hot and crowded,” he said in recalling his situation. “It’s cold and lonely at the bottom of a canyon. I was standing in my own grave.”

Ralston’s book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was chosen for the Community Reads program in the Bishop-Mammoth Lakes community this year. It recounts his adventuring life and the circumstances and aftermath of his desperate decision to cut off his own arm in order to survive.
“May the challenges in your life bring out what’s extraordinary in you,” he told the students.

High-end real estate continues recovery
CANMORE, Alberta – Real estate sales seem to be picking up in ski towns.

In Canada, developers of a new resort called “Three Sisters Living” report stronger buyer interest, according to the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
“We probably had more traffic than in the last three years. Things are picking up in the industry,” said Mike Butt, general manager of one of the four contractors involved in building the 200 units.

In Colorado, the Vail area had a strong January – with the most sales since January 2008. As before, the high end is propping up the average sale price to $1.2 million. Trevor Theelke, of Land Title Guarantee, reported several top-shelf sales prices: one house in Vail sold for $13 million, and another at Beaver Creek sold for $11 million. But sales activity has also been vigorous in the down-valley communities, home to the carpenters and electricians that build the mansions.

Vail Resorts, the ski and real estate company, also reported improving markets for luxury real estate at Vail and Breckenridge.

“The feel is pretty good in both markets,” said Jeff Jones, the co-president of Vail Resorts, in the Vail Daily. “That speaks well to the luxury component coming back.”

Still, the company is in no hurry to pour footers for its next big project, the $1 billion Ever Vail, in the works for the last decade. It is still seeking entitlements from town authorities but with no sense of urgency.
 
Snowy torrents claim experts, novices
SQUAMISH, B.C. – The most recent spate of avalanche deaths have left more than a few scratching their heads in disbelief.

“Today, Mother Nature gave every indication – a very early indication – that she was not going to be favorable to high-risk sports,” said Brad Sills, manager of Whistler Search and Rescue, after the body of a 44-year-old local man had been recovered. “People need to be able to read the signs. They were absolutely evident to anyone who has an understanding of avalanche phenomena.”

The victim and a companion were snowmobile high-marking in the backcountry on Powder Mountain when they triggered the slide. The victim was found 20 minutes later under 3 feet of snow, with neither breath nor pulse, reported Pique Newsmagazine.

Elsewhere in British Columbia, a skier died in an avalanche near Kaslo. He was among a group of 10 skiers and two guides from Selkirk Wilderness Skiing, the cat-skiing operation. Group members were skiing down the slope, one at a time, and the victim was the second in the group, reported the Revelstoke Times Review.

And then from Wyoming comes news of two backcountry skiers, both extremely experienced, who got caught while climbing a mountain in the Tetons. “Both were expert skiers but were undertaking an excursion into extreme terrain,” reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide. Blunt force trauma killed both men.

Mammoth Mountain lays off 75 people
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. – Some 75 people have been laid off and other employees at Mammoth Mountain ski area have had their pay cut as a result of this winter’s subpar snow conditions.

Half of the ski company’s $150 million in projected annual revenue is paid out in wages, reports The Sheet.

Rusty Gregory, the chief executive at Mammoth Mountain, told town officials that the ski company’s revenues would be off 30 percent. This is despite ramped-up efforts to make more snow. But the added water and electricity were costly, he said.

As always, the 6-foot-4 Gregory was good for a memorable quote. “We fared better than our peers,” he said, speaking of snow conditions, “which makes me the tallest man at a midget contest.”

Despite drought, Vail Resorts doing fine
BROOMFIELD – Vail Resorts, operator of four ski areas in Colorado and now three in California, survived the early season drought reasonably well – at least for now.

For the early portion of winter through February, skier visits dropped about 5 percent in Colorado but more than 30 percent at Vail’s Tahoe area resorts.

And with the drought came increased expenses: snowmaking alone cost the company $2.2 million more this season than the previous winter, according to company officials.

But season passes had sold briskly before ski season began. And the average daily rate at lodges owned by Vail Resorts has increased nearly 14 percent, according to Rob Katz, the chief executive. He said that revenue from food operations is up nearly 10 percent. And he also said that the number of international visitors has increased.

Altogether, the glad tidings from corporate headquarters mean a dividend of 18.75 cents per share.

The company recently added California’s Kirkwood to its ski area holdings. Katz has been open – if not specific – about his interest in adding yet more resort properties to the corporate fold. While Vail Resort officials have visited China, industry insiders suspect the company’s international move may be in the Alps, reports Mountain Town News.

Bears already rifling through trash
ASPEN – Bears have already been rifling through trash cans in Aspen. Wildlife biologists tell the Aspen Daily News that it’s a little early. The first report came March 5, whereas in other years the first reports of pillaging bears came somewhere between March 17 - April 1. Aspen police say that while it may still be winter, homeowners are legally obligated to lock up their trash in bear-resistant containers.

Lift lapse leads to loopy legal briefs
ASPEN – A year ago, a man and his companions were waiting in line for a lift at Aspen Highlands. Tending to a barbecue grille, a lift attendant had a momentary lapse, failing to warn the riders that a jake table – a removable metal rig used to transport injured skiers – was still attached to a chair.
His two companions ducked, but Ryan Bradley got whacked. He shrugged it off, and accepted a voucher for lunch. But later, after a diagnosis of a tear in his shoulder and surgery, he sued the Aspen Skiing Co. for $100,000.

The Aspen Daily News points out that a judge must now weigh countering arguments about liability and the contractual agreement involved in a season ski pass. The injured man’s lawyer says that the ski industry is a “public service of great importance.” But the legal beagles for the Aspen Skiing Co. argue that their company operates a business that is not “practically necessary.”

That may be true, but it’s not an argument you normally hear a ski company make.


Park City on sideline of game-changer deal
PARK CITY, Utah – For the time being, municipal officials in Park City have chosen not to take a position on connecting ski resorts along the spine of the Wasatch Range.

For decades, there has been talk about linking two or more of the seven resorts. But this year, legislation has been introduced in Congress that would direct the sale of Forest Service land to help effect a link across the range. The most immediate prospect is of a gondola connecting Canyons, located in the Park City area, and Solitude, which is a relative few miles away, but on the west side of the range, near Alta and Snowbird.

By an overwhelming margin, Utah legislators recently adopted a resolution in support of the concept. The result, according to the resolution, “would create a skiing experience unavailable anywhere else in North America and reposition Utah’s ski and snowboard experience to be even more competitive and attractive relative to other states.

While this talk of connecting the siblings along the Wasatch continues, relationships between two of the existing resorts operating in the Park City area have frayed. Park City Mountain Resort leases land from Talisker, operator of the Canyons. The two had been negotiating for three years about terms of the lease, but talks have apparently not gone well.

Park City Mountain Resorts has now filed a lawsuit accusing Talisker of trying to shut it down. Talisker denies the charge and accuses Park City of trying to use legislation to better its negotiating stance, reports The Park Record.

Short-term rentals a problem for some
TELLURIDE – At least in some eyes, the practice of short-term rentals in single-family homes is getting to be a problem in unincorporated areas around Telluride.

The San Miguel County Planning Department has recommended an amendment to the land-use code to prohibit short-term rentals. Mike Rozycki, the county planning director, said that if the commissioners adopt the amendment, county officials won’t be tracking websites to see who’s trying to rent out their house. “We’ll enforce only when we get a complaint on a rental that changes the character of the neighborhood,” he told the Daily Planet.

– Allen Best