The proposed road through public land weaves up the mountain to thickets of aspens where Florida developers want to build trophy homes. The bureaucratic path to approval, more than a decade in the making, is even more serpentine, as a chorus of wildlife advocates and conservationists fight the plan. “It’s quite obvious that most people, […]
Vail Valley
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Environment, Transportation
New plans for rail traffic over Colorado’s Tennessee Pass spark protest from grain-hauling competitor
The Rio Grande Pacific Corp., based in Fort Worth, Texas, has the lease to run trains on the long-dormant lines between Cañon City and Dotsero. But it will be many years before passenger cars and tankers filled with the freight-mover’s crude oil traverse Tennessee Pass — and not just because costs to fix the line […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
Forest Service OKs access road to Eagle County community surrounded by public land. But not the one developers wanted.
EDWARDS — The path up from the interstate is steep and muddy. In the winter, it’s closed to all visitors so elk and deer can hunker unbothered. At the end of the path lies an oasis where Florida investors Petr Lukes and Jana Sobotova want to build a luxury community. The developers have spent the […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider, Politics and Government
George Gore’s bloody legacy could soon be erased from Colorado’s mountains, replaced with a nod to the Utes
Few people have good things to say about George Gore. But the Irish aristocrat who left a bloody trail of thousands of animals shot for sport and left to rot across the West during a three-year campaign left his mark in Colorado, with his name adorning one of Colorado’s most pristine mountain ranges as well […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Growth, News, Outsider
“The great urban exodus:” Colorado resort towns see flood of second-home buyers, burst in school enrollment
Urbanites fleeing cities for homes in the hills are pulling mountain resort real estate out of a pandemic slump. Inventories are dwindling, prices are soaring and resort-town schools are seeing enrollment climb as second-home owners and newcomers settle in places like Steamboat Springs, Vail, Crested Butte, Telluride and Aspen. “I think a lot of people […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
A busy summer is pulling Colorado’s resort communities out of the coronavirus downturn. But will it last?
High-country resort communities that rely on spending from visitors are seeing a rebound in sales tax collections in June and July, but it’s not likely the crowds will be enough to erase losses in March and April. The declines in March and April were devastating, with most ski-resort anchored communities enduring 50% drops in sales […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, News, Politics and Government
Eagle County rolls out welcome mat, says “summer of the part-time resident” will aid coronavirus recovery
GYPSUM — Carlos Gomez stepped off the jet and took a breath while admiring the view of snow-capped peaks in the distance. The Miami resident was only a short drive from his vacation home in Pitkin County. “It’s good to be back home,” he said on Memorial Day, minutes after arriving on an American Airlines […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Culture, Food and Restaurants, News
How the closure of two Vail restaurants shows coronavirus’ domino effect on the food-service economy
EDWARDS — The cows are calving, and of course they come during a surprise blizzard. “That one there about froze to the ground last night,” says Mike Eaton, pointing to a calf huddling in the mud beneath his mother’s hooves as the morning sun melts spring snow. Eaton is dumping fresh hay on a trailer […]
Posted inEnvironment, Outdoors
A Colorado avalanche instructor’s survey of backcountry skiers’ preparedness had “shocking” results
Imagine you are pushing your raft into whitewater at the start of a remote river trip and you turn to the person next to you and ask them a question about basic river safety, says Vail backcountry ski guide and avalanche safety instructor Kelli Rohrig. “And you find out that person doesn’t know how to […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News
Does selling a high-priced Colorado mountain home on the big name of its former owner actually work?
VAIL — The manse on the banks of Black Gore Creek is beautiful. Tucked into East Vail, the 7,042 square-foot spread among the easternmost homes in the Vail Valley is far from the hustle of the ski village down the road. It has all the trimmings of a Vail palace: stone and timber, double-sided fireplace, […]