The Town of Vail’s looming condemnation of a parcel where Vail Resorts wants to build affordable housing sets the stage for a protracted battle. Eminent domain in Colorado typically involves governments, taxing districts or transportation departments claiming properties for a public good, like a wider road, a new firehouse or even urban renewal, with bigger […]
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Colorado’s mountain resorts cut back their summer offerings as labor crisis persists
Vail Resorts announced its summer plans at its major resorts last week and one thing was conspicuously absent. Ziplining and canopy tours, once the foundation of an industry-wide expansion of summer amenities, have been dropped from the resort operator’s offerings at Vail and Breckenridge, apparently a victim of the labor crisis strangling ski areas. Company […]
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Colorado takes first step to strengthen search and rescue teams as they’re overwhelmed by a dramatic increase in calls
Jordan White, the head of Mountain Rescue Aspen, sent 17 of his rescuers. Aspen Highlands ski patrol sent another 20 patrollers. They called a Colorado National Guard helicopter too. The rescuers, working in dangerous snow conditions on that Thursday in March, spent more than 10 hours setting up a rope system to haul the 23-year-old […]
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Colorado’s independent ski areas are thriving in the shadow of dueling, consolidating resort giants
In the shadow of battling behemoths, smaller, independent ski areas are thriving. “It’s not just that the big areas are crowded and skiers want to escape crowds,” said Bob Nicolls, the owner of Monarch ski area, which saw record visitation in 2021-22, with income for the ski area climbing 20% above the previous season. “I […]
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Colorado’s attorney general wades into murky river dispute that could upend access to rivers, streams
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser wants the Colorado Supreme Court to wade into a murky river-access fight. Weiser this week filed a lengthy brief asking the state’s high court to intervene before a lower court takes up a case involving a fisherman who says he has a right to wade on a stretch of the […]
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Record high calls for help are stressing Colorado’s mountain firefighters, emergency responders
There are more people living in their vacation homes in Colorado’s resort communities. There are more people visiting and staying in short-term rental homes. “But it’s a challenge to quantify any of this,” said Jake Andersen, deputy chief of operations for the Aspen Fire Protection District. Fire chiefs like Andersen can gauge one impact of […]
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Colorado mountain towns can now use tourism tax revenue to deal with visitor hordes, housing shortage
Voters in mountain towns could soon redirect lodging taxes traditionally collected to lure visitors toward housing and recreational infrastructure. Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1117, the bipartisan legislation allowing that option, into law Thursday in Edwards. Since 2002, voters in 29 Colorado counties have approved a lodging tax for tourism marketing. The new legislation […]
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30,000 expected at Rainbow Gathering’s 50th anniversary in Colorado, sparking wildfire concerns
The Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes plans to return to Colorado this summer to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The weeks-long confab that draws tens of thousands of hippie campers to public lands announced this week that the national gathering of possibly 30,000 would be returning to Colorado. The group’s national bacchanal was last in Colorado […]
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The source of Colorado’s high country housing crisis: a doubling of home prices and sales
The rules are changing in the high country. As the labor crisis lingers, community leaders are beginning to address the root cause of the challenges that are strangling mountain valleys. They are cracking down on short-term rentals. Redirecting the flow of tax dollars toward affordable housing. Adjusting economies anchored in tourism to focus on residents, […]
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“It changed everything”: How Crested Butte’s first-ever extreme skiing contests 30 years ago birthed the freeskiing movement
MOUNT CRESTED BUTTE — “This place brings back some memories,” says Wendy Fisher, gazing up at the near vertical walls of snow and rock she just skied. “Doesn’t it though,” says Rex Wehrman, pointing to rocky patches of snow with names like Body Bag Glades, Dead Bob’s Chute, Disgusting Trees and Sock It To Me. […]