Outdoors
Colorado rafting outfitters had record traffic, revenue in 2021. Will it be enough to keep them afloat this summer?
Colorado outfitters hosted a record 620,000 rafters last summer. But a decimated snowpack promises low flows and fewer crowds in 2022. Still, the rafting industry is optimistic.
Hanging Lake trail set to reopen earlier than expected; Blue Mesa marinas will be closed for the summer
Crews plan to build a more sustainable trail to the famous waterfall in Glenwood Canyon that can stand up to the “whims of Mother Nature,” a public affairs officer with the Forest Service said.
Wright Collegiate Challenge enlists Colorado students to solve outdoor business challenges
Colorado students from Western, Mesa and CMC forge plan with mountainFLOW to purge forever-chemical ski waxes
World Cup schedule adds Alpine ski races at 2 more U.S. sites, including Aspen
Men's super-G and downhill events will be held March 3-5 in Aspen
PHOTOS: Summit County torches 400 acres of beetle-kill ahead of wildfire season
Last of the burning piles were ignited ahead of warmer, dryer months in Colorado
Record number of skier days at American resorts this year despite so-so snowfall
U.S. ski areas report 61 million visits in 2021-22, marking an all-time high despite unremarkable snow
A Colorado camp connecting deaf students to the outdoors is reemerging from the brink of collapse
Aspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has faced tens of thousands of dollars of debt, staff turnover, a lawsuit, a flooded lodge and a pandemic. In three years, it’s regained stability and is branching out to educate more kids.
Vail Resorts promises to fight Town of Vail after council condemns parcel planned for affordable housing
Vail council blasted Vail Resorts for “dismal” negotiations as town pushed to relocate workforce housing away from a local bighorn sheep herd
Colorado’s mountain resorts cut back their summer offerings as labor crisis persists
Labor crisis in Colorado high country forces outdoor companies like Vail Resorts to adjust labor-intensive offerings like ziplining
Colorado takes first step to strengthen search and rescue teams as they’re overwhelmed by a dramatic increase in calls
Legislation moves the Colorado Search and Rescue Fund from DOLA to Colorado Parks and Wildlife as part of a larger plan to better support that state’s 50 rescue teams
Colorado to strengthen plan to protect views at Rocky Mountain National Park, sidestepping Sierra Club lawsuit
Required update to cutting air pollution at national parks is late, but environmental groups say they have won some victories in the revisions.
67 wild horses die at federal facility in Cañon City from mysterious illness
The federal Bureau of Land Management says many of the horses are from the West Douglas range, in Rio Blanco County.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife director suspended after alleged “back of the bus” comment about Black employee
Department of Natural Resources puts Dan Prenzlow on paid leave while investigating comments at a Vail conference where the employee said she was traumatized by racism.
Colorado finds “forever chemicals” PFAS in 100% of fish sampled in three big counties
In another alarming report about the spread of the toxic waterproofing chemicals, the state says all fish sampled in El Paso, Adams and Jefferson counties were contaminated. Is any level of human consumption safe?
500,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Flaming Gorge reservoir in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell
Blue Mesa near Gunnison is for the moment safe from letting more water go, but Colorado River Drought Operations Plan says that could change
Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in the shadow of dueling, consolidating resort giants
Arapahoe Basin, Echo Mountain, Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Granby, Silverton Mountain and Wolf Creek all report record visits, revenues in last two seasons
Colorado’s attorney general wades into murky river dispute that could upend access to rivers, streams
Attorney General Phil Weiser wants the Colorado Supreme Court to intervene in a river access case, warning of “monumental consequences.”
Record high calls for help are stressing Colorado’s mountain firefighters, emergency responders
Fire chiefs in 15 resort-region fire protection districts report record call volume in 2021 and 2022 as they struggle to hire firefighters, recruit volunteers due to high cost of living and housing prices
Colorado’s geographic renaming board begins process of scrubbing Native American slur from 28 sites
The flurry of approvals marked a rare moment of rapid decision making. The state board had officially recommended changing just two features since it began meeting in the fall of 2020
Glenwood Springs granted right to build whitewater parks after 9 years in water court
Approvals for in-river recreational water diversions have slowed to a trickle as conservationists call to reform the whole process
