Open space not going to local growing
TELLURIDE – It seems everyone wants a piece of a 6.65-acre parcel of land on Telluride’s western edge. It’s flat, sunny and easily accessible. With that in mind, hang gliders and members of the Telluride Air Force like to use it for a landing zone. Youth sports advocates see athletic fields.
And now comes a pair of activists, full of fire in the belly after conversations at Mountainfilm at Telluride, with the idea of using aquaponics to grow pesticide-free vegetables and mercury-free fish.

“This can set an example that will be emulated,” said Steve Cieciuch, co-founder of a group called Telluride Grown. Locally produced food will counteract the carbon footprint of food from California, he said.

But while the Telluride Town Council is sympathetic, the proposal got lackluster support. An “amazing concept,” said Mayor Stu Fraser, but this isn’t the parcel for it.

GoPro fills Teva Games void in Vail
VAIL – It was a splish-splash weekend in Vail, which hosted what used to be called the Teva Mountain Games.

Teva left, and GoPro picked the prime sponsorship for the festival, which bills itself as the “country’s largest celebration of adventure sports, art and music.”

The festival this year included competition in steep, freestyle, sprint and full-contact kayaking, as well as rafting, mountain biking, World Cup bouldering, flyfishing and … well, you get the idea. There was $100,000 in prize money posted.

Now in its 13th year, the festival was designed to kick-start summer during a time when not much was happening. It is also something of a response to Aspen’s snowy X Games.

The numbers do seem to be strong enough that the Vail Valley Foundation, the primary organizers, makes the case for keeping on. A survey by Intercept Insight found that 63 percent of Mountain Games’ spectators returned year after year, and 20 percent have attended for five or more years.

Just as bars like repeat customers, so do ski towns – especially if the visitors rent rooms. And in 2012, according to that same survey, those visitors spent more than $2.1 million.

Earlier this year, there was doubt about just how much water would be in local creeks by June. Because of all the snow in April and May, runoff is actually decent, reports the Vail Daily. Water officials report that the upper Colorado River Basin is 108 percent of average.

$41 million paid for Aspen property
ASPEN – Although not a record, two properties on what locally is called the backside of Aspen have sold for a combined $41 million.

The Aspen Daily News says the two parcels together have 77 acres and two larger houses, of 12,000 and 5,700 square feet, along with some smaller guest houses and such. The various houses altogether have 12 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, plus a $49,000 home theater and a $29,000 jacuzzi, reports the Daily News, citing county assessor records.

Two larger real estate sales have occurred in the Aspen area. One was the $46 million sale of a property called Mandalay Ranch, and the other, for the same price, was the sale last year of the Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan’s megamansion to hedge-fund magnate John Paulson.

Smartphones to guide errant travelers
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS – For several years, the most common story was that search and rescue teams were being dispatched with greater frequency because some poor guy got lost at dusk and had the means to call for help.

In the good old days, according to this narrative, the poor guy probably could have figured his way out with the light of a new day, surviving well enough if not comfortably so in the interim.

Now comes a report that cellular technology is allowing rescuers to do their job remotely. Chad Bowdre, president of the board of directors for Routt County Search and Rescue, says missions have declined during the last 10 years owing to cell phones and global-positioning system (GPS).

“We are being called out on fewer missions, and our missions are faster in timeframe, because we’re getting calls (from concerned friends and loved ones about people who are overdue) at about 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.,” he tells the Steamboat Today.

Bowdre or his colleagues now can guide people remotely just by talking them out of their wilderness confusion. The local communications network allows searchers to use triangulation to locate the position of the caller.

“I might get a call from some lost hunters who can’t find the trail,” Bowdre explained. “I say, ‘OK, see that large mount ahead of you? That’s Hahn’s Peak. Put that at your left shoulder and begin walking, then call me in 20 minutes.’ Sometimes they call back in 10 minutes and say they’ve hit the trail. I tell them to make a right turn.”

Mama moose, calf killed after incident
GRAND LAKE – Recently, The Denver Post published a story about the surge in moose numbers in Colorado, a species that has prospered since the first of several reintroductions in 1978. One concern is that the moose might become more of a danger.

And sure enough, almost as in a stage play, a cow moose injured a 60-year-old woman as she walked her dog in Grand Lake, at the west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the same town where a moose killed a former mayor several years ago.

The woman’s injuries did not seem to be life-threatening, according to the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, quoting a wildlife manager.
But as is so often the case, the circumstances seem to suggest that the dog-walker showed poor judgment. Citing an unnamed witness, the CDPW press release says the woman and her dog were as close as 10 feet to the cow and its calf before the moose charged her and knocked her down.

Citing an “abundance of caution,” wildlife officials euthanized the cow and calf.

Moose do not differentiate dogs from wolves – their natural predator – and will instinctually attempt to stomp them in self defense, said the agency. If the dog runs back to its owner for safety, it can bring an angry, thousand-pound moose with it.

Grand Lake made headlines recently after several national news organizations reported on a local bull moose’s seemingly amorous attention to a large statue of a bull moose located within city limits.

Numbers up despite lack of snowfall
WHISTLER, B.C. – Snowpack was light, but all the other stars were aligned in Whistler this year to produce a strong winter economy. The room rental nights were 10 percent above the 10-year average, just slightly behind those of the previous year, when Whistler had wonderful snow and Colorado, Utah and California had terrible conditions.

“Recovering global economies, travel demand, favorable weather conditions, excellent snow, a robust year-round events calendar, and strong marketing campaigns have helped to stimulate bookings from all of our key markets,” said Louise Walker, vice president of marketing strategy at Tourism Whistler.

Whistler’s momentum isn’t limited to winter, notes Pique Newsmagazine. Summer 2012 was Whistler’s busiest on record, with room nights gaining 4 percent over the previous summer. This summer looks to be strong, and perhaps stronger, with Tough Mudder, a longboard festival and various other events to punch up bookings.

Helmets mandatory for ski employees
WHISTLER, B.C. – Ski areas in British Columbia will be required to adopt helmets for all positions in which there is a danger to head injury from “falling, flying or thrown objections or harmful contracts.”

Pique Newsmagazine says that the ski industry fought the mandate, although it’s not clear why. WorkSafe B.C., the government agency, says workers in the ski industry during the last five years have filed 120 head injury claims.

Building green is going mainstream
WHISTLER, B.C. – The price of electricity, the primary means of heating homes in Whistler, has been rapidly rising. In 2007, the base residential price was 5.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Now, it’s 6.9 cents per kWh, but 10.34 cents for larger-volume residential users.

It’s hoped the increased cost will be an incentive to build homes that are better insulated and use less energy. However, Chris Addario, president of the Sea to Sky chapter of the Canadian Home Builders Association points to a shift toward greener homes beginning 10 years ago. The construction of several energy-efficient demonstration homes for the 2010 Winter Olympics accelerated the shift.

Now, use of those more sophisticated building practices and materials has spread into the more general building sector, reports Whistler’s Pique.
Part of this new understanding comes from Europe, where fossil fuels are more precious than in North America. “I always talk to plumbers and heating guys from Europe, and they always ask me why nobody does solar heating here,” says Richard Haywood at Canada Home Energy. “They have fewer solar hours in places like Ireland, but they’re producing more heating from it than we are. Ireland is cloudy a lot of the time, but it still makes economic sense to use a solar hot water heater.”

However, to get all the benefits of green technologies, residents of green homes must put more thought into their energy use. If you have a solar hot water system, for example, you need to do your laundry during the day, when the water is hot.

Building codes have been steadily ratcheted up to require greater energy efficiency, but some builders say they’re out in front of the building codes. Rob Nadeau, the managing partner of Innovation Building Group, has been involved in more than 400 builds in Whistler. He says most of the stuff involved in energy savings is not overly expensive or difficult.

“As a company, we’ve already decided that this is what we’re doing, even if our customers aren’t aware of it. It’s all about energy performance, comfort and health. That’s what building green does for you.”

Old lodges to be razed, Banff to get new hotel
BANFF, Alberta – Three old lodges and two houses are to be dismantled to make way for a new 172-room hotel next year.

Gordon Lozeman, president of Banff Caribou Properties, said the 104,180-square-foot hotel will have an indoor swimming pool on the third floor and two more outdoor pools will be on the roof, “all with incredible views,” Lozeman told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

Dreadful skeeters may be terrorists this year
JASPER, Alberta – Mosquitoes were dreadful last year in Jasper. What’s the outlook for this year?

The Fitzhugh newspaper consulted Edmonton biological technician Mike Jenkins, who has tracked mosquito populations for years. He says there are about 30 species of mosquitoes in Alberta, perhaps a few less in Jasper, because of the fluctuating temperatures and more severe terrain of the mountains.

Obviously, mosquitoes can overwinter, and in fact, some mosquito eggs can remain dormant for up to 10 years. “The eggs are amazingly resilient. Even extremely frigid temperatures will have little effect on their survival,” he tells the Fitzhugh.

Based on weather trends and the number of eggs likely in swampy areas, it’s reasonable to assume a fair number of mosquitoes will be buzzing around Jasper this summer.

Good for dragonflies, and also good for birds. But not so good for humans. “Get a good mesh tent, haul out your mosquito jackets, and get ready to start slapping,” advises the Fitzhugh.

– Allen Best www.mountaintownnews.net