A plan to add several hundred acres of cat-served and hike-to ski terrain at Keystone Resort is progressing, just not as quickly as expected.
Keystone officials applied for a permit from the U.S. Forest Service in December that would allow the Summit County ski area to expand its current 577-acre cat-skiing operations in the Bergman and Erickson bowls with the addition of nearly 280 acres of adjacent land on Bear Mountain and 12,614-foot Independence Mountain, just to the east. The area falls within Keystone’s original permit boundary.
After initially examining the project as a more streamlined “categorical exclusion,” the Forest Service decided this year that the plan merited a closer examination and opportunity for public involvement. The latest version of the plan is outlined in a draft environmental analysis (EA) that is open to public comment until June 12. A final decision on the project is expected by early September.
“I don’t think we’re going to see too much resistance to it,” said winter sports administrator Joe Foreman of the Dillon Ranger District. “Some people have some concerns with backcountry access in that area and we have to disclose everything through the EA, but the area is certainly allocated for this type of use in the forest plan.”
Copies of the EA are available for public review by contacting Foreman or Jessica Pettee at 970-468-5400. Written comments, postmarked by June 12, are invited on the draft EA. Address comments to: Maribeth Gustafson, Forest Supervisor, c/o Joe Foreman, Dillon Ranger District, P.O. Box 620, Silverthorne, CO 80498. Fax to: 970-468-7735.
E-mailed comments may be submitted to: comments-rocky-mountain- white-river-eastzone@fs.fed.us.
EXTREME DIVING
Denver diver gets third world mark
It was, he says, “the best dive of my life.”
Denver belly-flop master Darren Taylor clinched his third world record May 18 in Madrid, Spain, when he leaped from a 35-foot platform into 12 inches of water.
“I was a little worried the night before because I looked at the tower without the pool. I didn’t sleep too well that night,” the career high diver said. “All I got was a few bruises. The water just exploded. I threw water like 45 feet in the air.”
With a brand new flame-retardant body suit in hand, Taylor is on to his next adventure: high dives while engulfed in flames.
WINTER SPORTS
Snowmass opening Velvet Falls camp
Snowmass is taking a page from the Intrawest playbook and opening a mini-terrain park and skiing/snowboarding training camp next month on its Velvet Falls run. Aspen Skiing Co. moved any available snow to its old terrain park and will open the patch of frozen fun for three consecutive weekends, beginning June 10. Ride up the Burlingame lift and spend a couple of hours lapping the short shot of beginner to intermediate funboxes and rails. Lift tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for children. The Camp Aspen/Snowmass Riding Series runs from June 5-22, providing daily and weeklong instruction in the terrain park, as well as skateboarding, mountainboarding and paintball.
The camp is open for children ages 6-14. The cost for one day of lessons for two activities is $120; a half day and one activity is $65; five days of lessons are $500. Make a reservation or get info at 1-877-282-7736.
