A backcountry skier employed by a guide service was killed in a slide in Clear Creek County on Thursday amid “historic” avalanche conditions across Colorado so extreme that authorities were advising people on what to do if their vehicles are struck by a wall of snow. The avalanche on Jones Pass killed 48-year-old Hans Berg, of […]
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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, […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Telluride-area slide claims sixth Colorado avalanche death this season
An avalanche Sunday near Telluride buried a backcountry skier under some 3 feet of snow, marking the sixth slide death in Colorado this season and the second in San Miguel County in about two weeks. The skier, who authorities said was a local man, was with his dog when the slide happened. He was reported […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
Vail’s new Epic day pass lowers pre-purchased lift tickets to as low as $89
Vail Resorts on Tuesday dropped a new product that the resort conglomerate hopes will end the persistent argument that skiing is too expensive. The “Epic for Everyone” offers pre-purchased lift tickets for as low as $89 a day, extending to infrequent skiers the same discounts delivered to Epic Pass buyers who paid as much as […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News, Outdoors
Women-only Colorado Classic picks up big sponsor, giving the race financial stability and long-term viability
VF Corp hasn’t officially moved to town, but the giant outdoor gear company has signed on as a title sponsor of the women-only Colorado Classic bike race, signaling its commitment to playing a key role in its new community. The two-year deal announced Wednesday also puts the race on firmer financial footing than its predecessor, […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Backcountry skier killed in “especially tragic” slide near Telluride, becoming Colorado’s 5th avalanche death of season
A 47-year-old man was killed Tuesday in a large avalanche near Telluride triggered by snowboarders on a slope above him, authorities say, becoming Colorado’s fifth snow-slide death of the 2018-19 season. Salvador Garcia-Atance, who was backcountry skiing on a well-traveled trail above Telluride, was the third man killed in a four-day period following heavy snowfall […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News, Outdoors
What really led A-Basin to quit the Epic Pass cash cow? “Parking is our pinch point.”
The deluge of weekend Epic Pass skiers has forced Arapahoe Basin to abandon its decade-long partnership with Vail Resorts. “We are pretty darn full on weekends and we don’t need any more people on weekends. If anything, we could probably whittle those numbers down a little bit,” Arapahoe Basin’s longtime leader Alan Henceroth said Monday, […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Aspen-area men killed in avalanche near Crested Butte, bringing Colorado’s 2018-2019 avalanche death toll to 4
Colorado authorities say two men died in an avalanche near Crested Butte this weekend, bringing the state’s avalanche fatality tally this season to four. The Mt. Crested Butte Police Department tells the Aspen Times that 27-year-old Owen Green, of Aspen, and 37-year-old Michael Goerne, of Carbondale, were reported missing Saturday night. A police statement says tracks were […]