According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on February 11th, March 3rd, and March 4th, defendant Pitcher hired a commercial helicopter service to transport himself and his Wolf Creek Ski Area employees on to the Rio Grande National Forest for the purpose of engaging in avalanche training and search and rescue training. On all three occasions, Pitcher did not have a permit to conduct such work activities nor did he have the necessary authorization of the Forest Service to conduct such work activities.
Attorney John Walsh. That activity is inherently dangerous, thus amplifying the need for a permit. Thanks to the investigative work of the U. Forest Service, Mr. Pitcher was held accountable for failing to obtain the necessary authorization before conducting the activities. The midrange pass will be more affordable and the weekday pass — with some blackout dates during spring break — will be cheaper than anything he sold last season. Purchasers of day tickets — available only online — also will be able to lock in their spot.
Read more of this story at The Colorado Sun. The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Policy. Summary: No precipitation throughout the week. Log In. By Jason Blevins.
Unlike Vail Resorts, which last week announced a reservation system that requires pass holders to book high-season ski days well in advance, Wolf Creek is adjusting its pricing. A powerful storm just dumped several inches of rain on the southern California coast, and, if I have read the weather reports correctly, that same storm should be arriving at Wolf Creek Pass just a few hours before we do. I step on the gas and reach forward to crank the Sabbath a little louder. Located nearly equidistant between Denver and Albuquerque at about miles, the pass straddles the Continental Divide and tops out at 10, feet.
The weather pattern is simple: when the jet stream favors the southern Rockies, the pass gets buried. He became acutely aware of how deep the snow could get in this secluded corner of the Rockies.
So when the existing ski area, financed by a handful of Dallas Cowboy football players, filed for bankruptcy, Pitcher jumped on it. Ever since, Wolf Creek has been fiercely independent despite facing myriad challenges. For more than a decade, the pass has been the site of a contentious legal battle over a proposed development that would bring thousands of high-brow clientele to a remote and still relatively pristine area.
Though Wolf Creek Ski Area has not engaged in the fight—which has ensnared multiple federal agencies, environmental groups, and a well-funded legal team of the plaintiff, the Texas billionaire named Red McCombs—observers believe an approval of the 10,unit development would inevitably detract from the downhome character of the ski area. Also on the horizon is the rapid takeover of small-to-medium-sized resorts by two conglomerates: Alterra and Vail Resorts.
Combined, these two Colorado-based corporations own or provide access to—via multi-resort season passes—a staggering ski resorts. Meanwhile, a few hours away at Vail and Breckenridge, both on the Epic Pass, skier visits are headed toward 2 million per year.
The ski area tallies an average of inches annually, the most in Colorado. Its terrain is a mix of short, steep benches with gentle beginner and intermediate slopes. It is popular among powder hounds, families from the Four Corners area, and church groups from Texas and Oklahoma. My father always talked about the idea of public use and enjoyment of National Forest land. You have to imagine what someone has to go through to drive up the road and buy a ticket, you have to be empathetic toward the customer.
In fact, it was much worse. Local ire got so intense due to long lift lines that the general managers at Jackson Hole, Big Sky, and Aspen—all of which joined the Ikon Pass before the season—penned op-eds in their local papers in an attempt to de-escalate tensions. They claimed that the crowding was due to healthy snowfall and those same locals, not visitors.
No matter who was to blame, the atmosphere was toxic.
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