Ethan Greene’s team at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center on Friday capped a week of warnings detailing an increasingly touchy snowpack with three dire social media blasts pointing to spiking avalanche danger across the state. The story of a buried skier rescued by his friend on Berthoud Pass included an urgent plea to ski with […]
red mountain pass
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Growth, News, Transportation
Durango’s ridiculed Bridge to Nowhere suddenly has clear road ahead
A decade ago, it was snickered at as “the Bridge to Nowhere.” It was a concrete overpass curling over a highway in a then mostly undeveloped section of Durango. The span had a cow pasture on one side and dead-ended in a scrubby hillside on the other. It truly did not go anywhere. Now, that […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Culture, Environment, News, Outdoors
Southern Colorado is learning a tough lesson: Too much snow is a headache for the summer economy
SILVERTON — The exceptionally snowy winter has created dangerous backcountry conditions that persist as southwest Colorado heads into its busy summer season. Remote mountain towns, including Silverton, are grappling to find a balance between supporting a booming summer economy, built on people exploring the high country on foot, bikes and off-road vehicles, and keeping all […]
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 […]