Nick Martin takes in the view from atop Silverton Mountain on the last day of the season. The owners of Silverton Mountain are looking to exchange some of the terrain pods they use in their heli-skiing operation, Silverton Guides, for some lower elevation spots./Photo by Joy Martin­­­

Trading places

Silverton Mountain’s heli-skiing operation ask feds for land swap

by Tracy Chamberlin

 

Silverton Mountain is looking for a change of venue. The owners of the mountain and its accompanying heli-skiing operations, Silverton Guides, recently asked the Bureau of Land Management to consider a swap of terrain on the peaks surrounding Silverton.

Under the special use permit they currently have with the BLM, all of their available terrain pods are above treeline. According to Aaron Brill, who co-owns Silverton Mountain with his wife, Jen, such terrain comes with higher risks.

“Since we have very little moderate terrain available to ski, it makes our operations unnecessarily dangerous,” Brill said in an email. “Having some lower-elevation, lower-hazard and less wind-exposed slopes is something Silverton Guides needs.”

Although the company hasn’t had any safety issues over the past 10 years, the recent run of poor snow seasons has led to more dangerous and avalanche-prone conditions, he said.

With that in mind, he asked the BLM for access to areas below treeline. It would be an exchange, not an addition, Brill said.

“We have proposed to return back to the BLM several of our northern terrain pods, in exchange for a few adjacent pods that hold safer terrain,” he explained.

The bulk of the newly requested pods are southeast of Howardsville, along County Road 2. They encompass Minnie and Maggie gulches, and Cunningham and Arrastra creeks. Three other pods are located north of Silverton, along Highway 110. The one closest to town lies near Hancock Gulch; another sits near the boundaries of Silverton Mountain in Prospect Gulch, while the northernmost pod is by Minnehaha Creek.

The ones near Prospect and Minnehaha are the most controversial. Being the easiest to access from Highway 110, which typically stays open year-round, these two areas are popular backcountry spots for local skiers and snowboarders.

“That’s where we take people who are just starting out,” explained Keith Roush, a part-time Silverton resident with decades of backcountry experience.

Those two areas aren’t as steep as the ones to the southeast, Roush said, and are also ­suitable when avalanche conditions are particularly dangerous.

“It should be clarified,” Brill said, “that we have not asked for any Prospect Gulch terrain, nor any terrain in Minnehaha … We purposely left those regions out.”

But those areas are under consideration.

When regs get in the way When Silverton Mountain and Silverton Guides got their original special use permit, giving them access to high-alpine terrain for heli-skiing operations last season, they also got something else – monitoring requirements. As a caveat to the first two years of the permit, the Bureau of Land Management was supposed to observe the effects the helicopter had on local wildlife and plants, like willows and fens. The final three years of the five-year permit would be conditional on what they find. However, the BLM hasn’t been able to see the helicopter in action. Under federal regulations, federal employees, like those working for the BLM, are not allowed to ride in helicopters without first jumping through some hefty federal hurdles. These regulations have no bearing on the safety of the chopper but make it almost impossible for BLM officials to ride along with Silverton Guides for the purpose of monitoring. Matt Dayer, snow ranger for the BLM’s Tres Rios Field Office, has been working with the owners of Silverton Mountain and Silverton Guides for the past six years. He said they’re using other means of monitoring, like snowmobiles and skis, to get the job done. The BLM is also planning to bring a biologist up to the areas where the choppers landed to ensure the monitoring is completed. Some locals, though, would like to see the monitoring protocols in place and working effectively before any changes are made to the current permit. “That’s the concern we have,” said Jimbo Buickerood, public lands coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “Have their operations been meeting the stipulations that are in the current assessment?” – Tracy Chamberlin

Jeff Christenson, outdoor recreation planner for the BLM’s Tres Rios Field Office, confirmed that not all the terrain pods the BLM is looking at are ones Brill requested. The reason those areas are being considered, he said, is that they were also considered under the original 2008 Environmental Assessment the BLM did for Helitrax, a Telluride-based heli-skiing company that Silverton Mountain bought part of in 2009.

When Silverton Mountain bought Helitrax, it also got the 2008 permit and the assessment that came with it.

The Brills request to exchange the pods they’re operating on now with the ones sitting below treeline would be an update to that 2008 Environmental Assessment. Therefore, the BLM is looking at all the pods that were a part of it.

Christenson said it’s about being consistent.

With the official federal process still under way, though, Christenson can’t say for certain whether or not the terrain pods at Prospect and Minnehaha could be approved for use by Silverton Guides.

“I can’t envision a scenario in which we would say, ‘Here, you can use an area you didn’t ask for,’” he added. “I don’t know why that scenario would come up.”

When Brill was asked if he would use those areas if they were in fact approved, he stated, “I would be unable to comment on the possibilities of Prospect … Minnehaha, etc., without knowing the full parameters of their potential decision.

“However, if we can obtain the other pods we are requesting, that would meet our safety needs. So we would not need or use Prospect … or Minnehaha.”

Regardless of which terrain pods the Brills are allowed to access, the permit is a multi-use one. This means they would not be exclusive to Silverton Guides or heli skiing. The public is still allowed to use those areas.

Silverton Guides is required to fly over the terrain pods, whether for recreational use or avalanche control purposes, and check for other users or wildlife before landing.

“We have asked for this terrain exchange for safety reasons,” Brill explained. “There is no increase in user days proposed and the terrain in question will continue to be multi-use.”

Brill said they’ll be answering any additional questions at an upcoming public commissioners meeting.

The San Juan County Board of Commissioners plans to discuss the issue, allow for public comment and possibly take a position during its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wed., July 22, at the commissioner’s office, 1557 Greene St. in Silverton.

The original scoping period was from July 1 - 17. However, it was extended Aug. 17 at the request of the San Juan Citizens Alliance, which argued that the public was not given adequate time to comment.

“When you have an issue like this – obviously a controversial issue – a two-week scoping notice is completely inappropriate,” said Jimbo Buickerood, public lands coordinator for the alliance.

Anyone looking to get involved, though, needs to do so now. Only those who enter the discussion during the scoping period will be allowed to comment as the process unfolds.

With many more steps to take, it’s uncertain if Silverton Guides will get a decision before the first flakes fall on the 2015/16 season, by which time they’d like to be using the new pods.

To view the scoping letter or map of the terrain pods, visit https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/projectSummary.do?methodName=renderDefaultProjectSummary&projectId=48993. To comment on the proposed exchange, contact Jeff Christenson at jchristenson@blm.gov or call 970-882-6811.