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 […]
Jason Blevins
The Colorado Sun — jason@coloradosun.com
Email: jason@coloradosun.com Twitter: @jasonblevins
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 […]
Posted inOutsider
Parents of young skiers push for Colorado chairlift safety as lawmakers renew tramway board
A growing chorus of parents with skiing kids are urging Colorado lawmakers to add teeth to the legislation renewing the Colorado Passenger Tramway Board into 2030, asking that the panel be given broader leeway to safeguard the state’s chairlifts. With the recent injury of a 6-year-old girl who fell from a chairlift at Eldora […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, News
Telluride isn’t immune to Colorado’s high country housing problem. But it’s finding a solution in diversification
TELLURIDE — Lance McDonald walks onto the sprawling new deck overlooking his town. “Look at this view,” he says, arms wide as he takes in the pink glow bouncing off the snowy peaks in the box canyon. “How nice would this have been when I first got here?” McDonald moved to Telluride in the late […]
Posted inColoradans, Outdoors
Crawling around Colorado’s mountains, personal snowcats are becoming so ubiquitous they even have a jamboree
VAIL PASS — Aaron Tucker is strapping plastic bins atop his rumbling 2009 Prinoth Trooper snowcat “This is why I started all this,” he says, cinching down the totes packed with tiny snowboard boots, jackets, diapers, blankets and camping supplies. “My wife and I love to backcountry snowmobile. When we had kids, we worried we […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, News, Outdoors
While others grumble over hordes of newcomers, Telluride embraces Epic Pass skiers
TELLURIDE — Local skiers are wailing in Big Sky. Sobbing in Jackson Hole. Whining in Aspen. The source of the angst: the “Ikoneers,” aka the new visitors using the Ikon Pass. But while the weeping is likely misguided — the surge in visitation this season seems to be largely homegrown, with skiing locals in growing […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors
Telluride’s avalanche-battling arsenal: WWII cannons, 3D mapping and discipline
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE — Taj Simon is charging up the narrow, windswept ridge. “Come on dad. Let’s go!” he yells to his father, Garrett, who is carrying the 7-year-old’s skis. The valley locals are atop Black Iron Bowl, a steep basin below Telluride’s Palmyra Peak, a good 20-minute hike up from the top of the Prospect […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Luis Benitez leaving outdoor recreation office he built to work for outdoor juggernaut VF Corp
Luis Benitez is leaving the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office after almost four years directing the country’s second-ever office of its kind and establishing the state as the epicenter of the outdoor industry. The mountaineer and former Town of Eagle trustee who united Colorado’s diverse outdoor community, helped land the Outdoor Retailer trade shows, lured […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Transportation
Colorado’s weekend snowstorm prompted avalanches in areas that hadn’t slid in decades. Here’s why.
Dramatic dashboard recordings over the weekend of avalanches along Interstate 70 between Frisco and Copper Mountain have stoked anxiety among Coloradans about the safety of the state’s high country roadways sitting beneath avalanche chutes. But experts say the slides are the result of historic conditions that have been lining up for the entire snow season, […]