OCTOBER 2005

Breckenridge, GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Local snowboarder Chad Otterstrom was picked as TransWorld Snowboarding magazine’s male rider of the year. Chad won the Gravity Games slopeside competition at Copper Mountain, the Rail Jam in Frisco and led his team, Academy Snowboards, to the team championships at the TransWorld Challenge. Chad also won best trick and highest air at the Abominable Snowjam at Mt. Hood in June. At 29 he is already a senior citizen in the sport but he says his goal is to stay injury free, he already achieved everything else last year.

Breckenridge resident Jill Walker will be competing this month in the Hawaii Ironman competition. She missed last year’s competition by one spot. That made her more motivated and she shaved 45 minutes off her time in the qualifier. The Kailua-Kona is the pinnacle of the sport and involves a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.

More good info can be found at: http://www.BestoftheRockies.com.

WHY I LIVE HERE…

A biennial report from the Potential Gas Committee showed the gas potential in the Rocky Mountain region increased 9.3% over the past two years while other regions in the U.S. were flat or recorded decline. The report shows that proven reserves of natural gas and estimated long-term resources totaled 1,308 trillion cubic feet, enough, if all could be recovered, to supply the U.S. for about 60 years. Ten applications from eight companies have been received by the Colorado office of the Bureau of Land Management for leases on 160-acre tracts of land in Rio Blanco County to test oil-shale extraction technology, The massive energy boom in The Rockies is creating some new alliances. Environmentalists, hunters, anglers and ranchers are coming together in an attempt to bring smart growth to the west. Hunting and fishing bring in over $4 billion annually and could do so indefinitely, unlike a decade or two of gas and oil production. Wildlife watching brings in billions of dollars more. Everyone recognizes the importance of energy production but these groups are united when it comes to preserving the traditions of the west. The current energy push will change the face of The Rocky Mountains more so than any other event in our history and once it’s gone it’s gone forever.

The Colorado Conservation Trust announced Monday that the combination of cities, counties, government agencies and nonprofit groups preserved 1.6 million acres of Colorado in the past 25 years, about 2.4% of the state’s 66 million acres.

Stored water supplies across Colorado continue to rise, thanks to conservation efforts and near-average precipitation this year, with reservoir capacity statewide at 94% of average.

The Vail Valley Foundation gave Bruce Eaton a $12 million check Tuesday to buy 72 acres in Edwards, which will now be known as the Eagle River Preserve.

SCHOOL NEWS…

The recently launched “Safe Home” parent pledge program has brought an overwhelming response in the county. Over 250 people have signed up for the pledge, which states “I will not serve nor allow youth to consume alcohol or use illegal drugs in my home or on our property.” Principle Jim Hesse of Summit High and the Summit Prevention Alliance sent out a call and the parents answered. The idea is that parents will have a list of safe homes where their kids can party sober. Everyone hopes that this will launch a sustained substance abuse prevention alliance.

Summit High Athletics are off to a great start this season. The football team started 3-1 with a huge come from behind victory over Battle Mountain 21-14.  After losing their starting quarterback the first week of the season, Freshman Talon Roggasch has really stepped up to help his team. The boys’ soccer team had an exciting win against league rival Englewood 3-0 to boost their confidence. While the girls’ volleyball team beat Alameda 3-0 and is now 7-4 and 1-1 in league. They are hoping for a favorable seed in this year’s playoffs.

More school information at: Summit Schools.

The freestyle contingent of Team Summit is sending eight skiers and four coaches to Zermatt, Switzerland for training on the glacial snow. The advantage, besides the jump on the season, is the hard snow is very similar to the runs they will be competing on. Additionally, there will be Olympic teams from around the world training there and much can be learned while watching the best. Former Team Breckenridge member Luke Westerman and former Team Summiter Toby Dawson will be train with the US Ski Team in Zermatt. The 2006 Olympics have put a spotlight on everyone as they gear up for the season.

Team Summit is also adding a Telemark program to its repertoire this season. Tory Hauser, the head alpine ski team coach at the high school and long time participant in Telemark national championships, will head the program. His son Drew Hauser was just named to the National Telemark “B” team.

Loveland ski area began its snowmaking on September 23 rd . A-Basin began blowing snow on September 26 th . Who will be the first to open? Loveland has been the winner the last five years. This is the fourth season for snow making at The Basin and they think they have got it down pat now. They are shooting for an October 21 st opening, Loveland hasn’t set a date yet. A-Basin’s snowmaking system has been upgraded this year and now will cover eleven runs served by 5 chairlifts.

Big news all around The Summit this autumn as a list of improvements are slated. Breckenridge is on schedule to open the new Imperial Express lift this season. It will be the highest lift on the continent serving some of the most radical bowls in the state. The US Snowboard Grand Prix will return to kick off the season December 13-17. The contest is a qualifier for the Olympics. Breckenridge opens November 11 th . Keystone will open with its second annual 36 hours of Keystone. On November 18 th Keystone will open for 36 hours straight with the help of its lights. Last year was a huge surprise as 15,000 people showed up at various times for the event. Also back for an encore performance is the Sports Illustrated for Kids Next Snow Search. Kids 9-13 will audition for a spot on the show, which will be aired during NBC’s Olympic coverage. The Basin will be opening its new base area rental/repair shop in January. They are also adding the High Divide beginner terrain park. Copper Mountain will be adding a new superpipe at the base area between the Eagle and the Flyer lifts. They are expanding the snowcat services on Tucker Mountain to cut down on the hike time to the amazing expert terrain. And in a long overdue move the resort is adding a retail center to the gas station at I-70 and Hwy 91 featuring a Quizno’s and a Starbucks.

Think snow!

TRAVEL TIPS… COLORS COME AND COLORS GO…

The newest approach to attracting tourists that came out of the Governor’s Tourism Conference this year was to target multiple special interests. Rather than the old way of letting our natural beauty bring the visitors the state we will now diversify our marketing. Travelers will be given options such as history, culture and cuisine as a focus for their visits.

-For instance if culture is your thing Colorado already has a variety of festivals including art, music, dance and performing arts. In the summer Breckenridge has two symphonies and three art fairs, Vail has its classical music and ballet festivals, Keystone has a variety of cultural weekends, Beaver Creek and Steamboat have rodeos.

-History buffs will find plenty to do in Colorado. Mesa Verde have some of the oldest standing man made structures in the country, Leadville and Durango have their narrow gauge trains, Breckenridge and most other mining towns have history museums and tours. In March Denver hosts a large Pow Wow for the Rocky Mountain region Native American tribes. All over the area are ghost towns and historic forts.

-With the increasing popularity of bird watching the Division of Wildlife is building a birding trail from Lamar that will follow the Arkansas River all the way to Leadville.

-Agritourism has traditionally been focused around the dude ranch and cattle drive theme. Growing in popularity now are vacations actually doing everyday ranch chores, harvesting crops or picking and crushing wine grapes.

-Culinary tourism includes visits to Colorado wineries for local cuisine or food festivals that feature the local products. Grand River Vineyards in Palisade has a concert series and wine classes. http://www.grandriverwines.com/grvabout.htm .

Contact Me if you need further tips on where to stay, eat or play.