EDWARDS — She was a few days past her 13th birthday when she took her life in February 2018. The shockwaves of the seventh-grader’s suicide reverberated across Eagle County, with counselors, therapists and mental health advocates scrambling to prevent the dreaded cluster that too often follows teen suicides. A year later, they are still scrambling, […]
Jason Blevins
The Colorado Sun — jason@coloradosun.com
Email: jason@coloradosun.com Twitter: @jasonblevins
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
The politically connected owner of a Glenwood Springs quarry wants a massive expansion. Residents are preparing for a fight.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — The beeping trucks and growling earth movers echo across the canyon overlooking the Colorado River. The Mid-Continent Quarry limestone miners blast cliff walls, crush and process debris into aggregate and truck it down into the valley, where a riverside tourist town bustles with shoppers, hot spring soakers and gondola riders. Glenwood […]
Posted inCulture, Environment, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
Cody Townsend is skiing North America’s 50 classic lines — and worries climate change makes some “last descents”
Cody Townsend was at the top of his game in 2014. His career as a pro skier was soaring. His talents were harvesting awards. And standing atop a plunging, high-consequence line in Alaska as the cameras rolled and the helicopter hovered, he pondered the 60-foot cliff way below his skis. “It was something I would […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government, Water
Congress OKs “pain-sharing agreement” to deal with Colorado River drought, starting water-use cuts across seven states
PHOENIX — The diverse, yet unified, politicians from seven states hailing this week’s swift passage of legislation supporting the installation of drought contingency plans to protect the Colorado River have taken the first step in what promises to be a long and painful process. Everyone in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Guides’ familiarity with terrain, underestimating danger possibly had role in fatal Jones Pass avalanche
Hans Berg was working as a backcountry ski guide and photographer when he was killed in a slide on Jones Pass during an avalanche cycle that ranks among the most destructive in Colorado history. A report issued Thursday by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center points to human factors and decision-making that increased risk on an […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Aspen stakes claim as the premier human-powered playground as skiers ditch lifts and traffic to walk uphill
“Alpine skiers are getting bored,” said Erik Lambert, a businessman searching for a mountain to anchor an all-uphill resort. “They are sick of crowds. They are sick of traffic. I think people are ready for a cultural shift.”
Posted inColoradans, News, Politics and Government
Sam Mamet, Colorado’s man for all municipalities and a fixture in state politics, says “So long!”
VAIL — Sam Mamet has been to every hall of power in every corner of Colorado, advising local leaders on how best to support their communities. And they’re always glad he came. Since 1979, Mamet has championed local governance for the Colorado Municipal League. As the executive director of the 96-year-old nonpartisan group representing Colorado’s […]
Posted inCulture, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Showers, catered meals, wine lists: Colorado’s newest backcountry ski huts are following Euro and Canadian model
RED MOUNTAIN PASS — Their moms were not pleased with the plan. Four 20-something pals from the Midwest were preparing to go backcountry skiing in the San Juans, around Red Mountain Pass. Their parents had read news reports of an avalanche — the first of the Colorado season — involving a student in an avalanche-education […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, Environment, News, Outdoors, Technology
Resorts, desperate to stem crushing traffic, bet on a new ridesharing app that splits lifts to the lifts
Utah’s Snowbird ski area typically boasts the best snow in the country. Yet, even with its new partnership with the wildly popular Ikon Pass, it’s one of the loneliest resorts, with a very low skier-per-acre tally. That’s because it has a long, snowy and often-crowded driveway winding up Little Cottonwood Canyon. “The comfortable carrying capacity […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
A ducked rope line. A massive avalanche: Detailed report on deadly Telluride slide comes as sheriff’s probe continues
In late December, San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters warned skiers and snowboarders about the region’s mounting avalanche dangers and said ducking boundary ropes and ignoring closures at Telluride ski area could result in criminal charges like reckless endangerment. “What people don’t realize is that they can trigger an avalanche that has life-threatening risks to […]