BRECKENRIDGE — A proposal to carve ski trails from out-of-bounds glades known as a “locals’ stash” is sparking a battle over ski-area expansion and competing ideals of skiing.
Breckenridge resort officials have asked the U.S. Forest Service to open 450 acres of terrain on Peak 6, north of the resort’s existing boundary, to help disperse skiers at the busiest ski area in the country.
A league of hard-core backcountry skiers and environmentalists have, however, taken a stand against the plan — arguing that expansion is unwarranted and would erode an untrammeled natural area.
“Having something that’s untouched is pretty important,” said Ellen Hollinshead, a local leader of the Backcountry Skiers’ Alliance.
The Breckenridge Town Council also sent a letter last week asking the Forest Service to analyze whether the proposals would address the skier congestion at the resort or end up attracting bigger crowds.
The council expressed concern about the ecological impacts of cutting fir and spruce trees on the slope.
Trudging uphill last week through pristine powder along the proposed lift line, Hollinshead pointed out the healthy forest of spruce and fir lower on the slopes and the gently sloping terrain rising above tree line.
“Peak 6 has nice, mellow terrain, and there’s just not a lot of that in the backcountry in Colorado,” Hollinshead said.
That also makes it appealing to resort officials, who see it as the kind of intermediate terrain sought by most visitors.
“About 60 percent of our users are beginner-intermediate,” said Rick Sramek, the resort’s vice president for operations. “We believe there’s a demonstrated need and justification to have that terrain in our inventory.”
While ski-area visits nationally have been flat over the past two decades, resorts in Colorado’s central mountains were granted opportunities to expand under the 2002 White River National Forest management plan because of the state’s rapidly growing population.
Breckenridge opened new intermediate terrain at Peak 7 in 2002 and at the same time announced a big new real-estate project on private land at the base.
The resort also built the highest ski lift in the country in 2005 to provide access to 450 additional acres of bowl skiing.
The Peak 6 expansion is the “last piece of the puzzle,” Sramek said.
Hollinshead said that while the terrain is prized by those few hearty souls inclined to “earn their turns” without the aid of a ski lift, it has a value even to those who will never visit the backcountry.
“This area has never seen the impact of humans. We need places like this,” Hollinshead said.
The Peak 6 plan faces public comment, and the Forest Service will conduct an environmental impact study.
Still, opponents say they are worried that their concerns won’t be factored in.
The Forest Service district ranger, Rick Newton, who is being transferred to Oregon, told a Town Council meeting that the expansion was all but certain to be approved.
Members of the conservation organization Colorado Wild have termed resort expansions an “arms race” intended to boost visits by siphoning off skiers from other resorts through the marketing of new terrain.
Breckenridge chief operating officer Lucy Kay replies that the crowds have come first and the terrain to accommodate them followed, as the resort has grown from early runs on Peak 8 and Peak 9 to expansions in the past 20 years on Peak 10 and Peak 7.
“We develop in response to the people who are already here,” Sramek said, adding that the resort would tout the expansion, noting that new terrain does attract interest.
“Look, it’s not our goal to be the best- kept secret in the industry,” Sramek said.
Breckenridge development
1961 — Resort opens with one chairlift on Peak 8, sees 17,000 skiers in first season.
1971 — Peak 9 opens, skier visits at 221,000.
1985 — Peak 10 opens with about 160 acres, and resort approaches 1 million visitors.
2002 — Peak 7 opens 165 acres of intermediate terrain, attracts 1.4 million skiers.
2005 — Imperial Express chairlift opens 400 acres of advanced and expert terrain; draws 1.6 million.
2007 — Snow White opens 150 acres of extreme terrain accessed off the Imperial Express. Resort logs more than 1.65 million skiers and snowboarders.
Sources: Breckenridge Resort; Town of Breckenridge
