APRIL 2006

Breckenridge, GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Through the end of January Vail Resorts is having a record year. In its second fiscal quarter ending January 31 they had recorded an increase of 7.9% more skiers, and a revenue increase of 8.4% to a record $43 million for the quarter. All this money flowing in encouraged the company to announce $80 million will be spent in upkeep and new projects next year. Among those is Breckenridge Ski Area has begin construction of the long awaited gondola to take skiers from town to Peaks 7 & 8. Improvements to the snow making systems will also be made at all four Colorado resorts. Additionally the company will spend about $180 million on real estate capital improvements including Breckenridge with the development at Peaks 7 & 8 base areas and phase two of the Mountain Thunder Lodge. PS-Breckenridge sales tax collections were up nearly ten percent through the end of January also.

Speaking of Peak 7 some firm plans for the development were announced last month. Grand Timber will build a 96-unit condotel to be sold as time-shares that will anchor the Peak 7 base including 2300 square feet of commercial space and 6600 square feet of skier service facilities. Vail Resorts will compliment this by building a 45-unit lodge of whole ownership condos with 2500 square feet of skier services. Construction has already begun on roads and utilities; completion of the first units will be for Christmas of ’08.

Don’t quit thinking snow yet! April is a great time for one last ski fling. We have great rates on lodging, fantastic deals at the local restaurants, incredible snow, sunshine and a tremendous line up of events. It’s called the Spring Massive and it is. We have the bite of Breckenridge, the Shop Breckenridge, rail jams, celebrity ski races, the Imperial Challenge, concerts etc!
Go to: http://thealtitudenews.com/Schedule.html

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

WHY I LIVE HERE…

More than 1400 snowshoers showed up at the Frisco Nordic Center March 11th for the 4thAnnual Tubbs Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer. More than $50,000 was raised for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. What a nice way to make a stroll in the woods even more beneficial.

March 25th saw one hundred cross country skiers show up at the Breckenridge Nordic Center to raise money for the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. If you are not familiar the BOEC is one of our favorite local non-profits that trains handicapped people in outdoor skills; www.BOEC.org. The skiing event has been dubbed the Breckebeiner and they raised $26,000.

On March 30th Freda Neiters turned 75. Unlike many her age she was not only outdoors to celebrate but also skiing nonetheless. To top it off Freda skied 78,000 vertical feet in ten hours and raised $8000 for research into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Freda lost a grandson to SIDS and decided to take action. Freda is an original member of the Keystone ski school with thirty years under her belt. Five years ago she skied 70,000 feet for her 70th birthday to raise money for school scholarships. Both feats were records for her age group. Retirement, what’s that?

In the same vein there is a senior couple from Silverthorne competing against a bunch of kids in the current edition of CBS’s Amazing Race. Fran is 61 years old and Barry is 63 years old. They are high school sweethearts who have traveled to more than 45 countries together and hope their experience will give them an edge. It seems like every episode of Survivor has someone from Colorado on it too. What is it about this state; do people live in their higher self more here? We don’t retire here we take it to another level.

Governor Owens signed a bill into law last month that protects landowners from liability suits from people crossing their land to access some of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Landowners were closing off access to a half a dozen or so peaks because of fear of being sued. The new law allows the hikers to obtain a permit to cross in exchange for a waiver of liability if they hurt themselves.

The Summit Housing Authority, the organization that spearheads affordable housing in Summit County, has worked out a new partnership with a number of local Realtors to help them raise funds. The Realtors who obtain a listing on a deed restricted home will turn the listing over to the Housing Authority to sell for 45 days thus allowing the Authority to collect the commission. The SHA has been on the financial precipice for years and hopefully this will alleviate some of the pressure. Ironically locals consistently state in polls that affordable housing is the number one issue affecting our community yet they consistently oppose any sort of tax to support it. (?).

SCHOOL NEWS…

Construction will finally begin on two major projects put on the back burner last fall. An addition to the high school for a vocational training center and major renovations to the middle school will begin soon for completion in 2007. Two new learning centers and two new gymnasiums will be added to the middle school. Unfortunately the increasing costs of construction material means that some of the renovations will be postponed until more money is found. Similarly the high school has had to cut back from a 15,000 square foot addition to about 9400 square feet by eliminating a classroom and some offices. The new addition will hold culinary arts programs, medical prep and shops as well as a public use meeting room.

In a related story the Town of Frisco and the school district entered into an agreement to construct two soccer fields, a football field and a youth baseball field behind the middle school. Frisco will pick up the tab for the football and baseball fields while the school will construct the soccer pitches.

The Summit Nordic Club, consisting of mainly Summit High skiers sent nine members to the Junior Olympics this year. Three of those finished in the top 12 out of over 400 competitors. The club is headed by Breckenridge native and former Olympian Matt Dayton.

Intrawest, owners of Copper Mountain and several other ski resorts, has hit on a great new idea. They are investigating the possibility of building five major ski resorts in China of all places. In 2000 China had only 200,000 skier days, not even a small resort in Colorado. By 2005 that number had grown to 4,000,000. Additionally they won their first ever Gold Medal at the Torino Olympics this year so interest is definitely growing. Although China has over 200 ski resorts, most are single chairlifts by the side of the road serving beginner terrain. What’ll they see what Intrawest can build them!

Colorado got a new ski area last month. Echo Mountain just outside of Evergreen and a quick trip from Denver finally got things up and running with a single chair lift and about 35 acres of terrain. It is probably about the world’s smallest ski area. It is really more of a terrain park with a lift for snowboarders and freeskiers to perfect their tricks. There are even lights for some weekend night riding. The area’s owners hope it will be popular with the young crowd that wants to make a quick trip up to get their fix after work or after sleeping in. About nine people showed up for opening day so we shall see if it takes off.

In an effort to keep up Copper Mountain made two announcements that will up their image. First, Tucker Mountain, hundreds of acres of awesome expert terrain, accessible now by hiking and snowcat could have a lift by next season. This will open up some of the best terrain on an already fantastic ski mountain. Check back to see how the process is progressing. Secondly, a Hard Rock Hotel is being proposed for the Copper Village area. The idea fits in with the younger target Copper tries to attract and will give the resort some much-needed entertainment and after ski excitement it has always lacked.

One of the best things you can do for your equipment before putting it in storage is to get a tune up, no kidding. Why tune when I won’t see it, let alone ride it for six months? Well, filing the edges, filling the holes and putting on a fresh coat of wax removes the rust and protects the base from corrosion and drying which can make the Ptex brittle and thus more vulnerable to damage next season. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.

Think snow, always!

*TRAVEL TIPS…End of Reefs?

A new study just released indicates that Caribbean coral is dying at a previously unforeseen rate. A combination of warm waters and disease has killed about one-third of the coral in monitored areas. Many of these colonies have been around for a millennium and will not grow back in your great grandchildren’s lifetimes.

Did you know that just in fairly recent times twenty-five percent of the world’s coral reefs have died? Estimates are that by 2010 forty percent of the earth’s reefs will be gone. In some places, like the Indian Ocean, over eighty percent of the reefs have experienced problems and are in danger. At our current pace Equatorial reefs will be gone before you and I are done traveling. The process of global warming and the increase in El Nino currents are mostly to blame. Additionally, things like over fishing, dynamiting and siltation from deforestation are extracting a toll. In the Philippines siltation caused by deforestation has killed one-third of the coral. Over-growth of algae also chokes coral. Reduction of fish populations that feed on the algae and pollution, which stimulates algae growth, are the culprits here.

The balance that keeps reefs alive and growing is a delicate one to be sure. Coral polyps, the individual coral animals, live in harmony with one-celled partners, zooxanthellae. Living within the coral’s tissue, the colorful and plantlike zooxanthellae exchange food for shelter, they process sunlight to manufacture 95% of the energy the corals need to survive and build their white limestone skeletons. When ocean temperatures rise, even slightly, the zooxanthellae are expelled and the corals lose their color and their sunscreen. This phenomenon is called bleaching. Once ocean temperatures return to normal some bleached corals recover their zooxanthellae, their color and their health, others die. Many of the surviving corals will not breed for years after bleaching. Bleached corals also lose their resistance to diseases such as black band and white plague. Unstressed corals seem to be recovering nicely from the ’97 El Nino. Corals that have additional pressures like siltation and pollution are not. Since 1996 the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has lost more than one-third of its living coral cover.

Coral has been forming reefs around the world for 200,000,000 years. They provide an unbelievable array of biological diversity. An acre of reef in Southeast Asia may hold as many varieties of fish as there are North American bird species. Estimates say there are as many as 1 to 3 million marine species living in the world’s reefs, possibly more than the number of species in the tropical rain forests. The demise of coral triggers a domino effect as fish that feed or take shelter from the reefs also decline. Next go are the larger fish species, then the fishing and tourism economies. The Great Barrier Reef generates over $1 billion annually from tourism. One quarter of the fish people consume in developing nations come from reefs. Worldwide, reefs are estimated to generate $375 billion to the economy. This is probably a conservative estimate. Letting them slip into extinction would be very short sighted indeed.

On the plus side growing public awareness is translating into increased conservation efforts. With the recognition that the problem does not stop at national boarders the cooperative efforts are spreading worldwide. As US conservation programs increase, so does assistance to international programs. Local communities have shown a willingness to step up when given the information about the problems and the tools to deal with them. The cataloguing and sharing of data has also helped. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, releases bi-annual reports on the status and threats to the world’s reefs. The 2004 report focuses closely on the relationship between human activities and diseases affecting reefs. To view the 2004 report: The Status of Coral Reefs of The World, go to www.GCRMN.Org.

For those who wish to help stop the decline please check out Project Aware Foundation. They are doing their part to get the word out. Without greater public participation the fight is lost already. Go to their site: www.LivingReef.org to learn more and see how you can help. If you haven’t yet been to the tropics and snorkeled or SCUBA’ed on a reef we hope you will help so you will get the chance to witness the magnificence. If you have visited a reef I need say no more.

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