The Uncorked Mountain Wine Festival at Keystone, Colo features delicious wines, award winning jazz, and a juried fine art show in River Run.
Photo credit: reid.neureiter on Best Running / CC BY-NC-SA
Mountain Operations: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly and which includes lift ticket, ski & snowboard school, dining, retail and rental businesses
Photo credit: reid.neureiter on Best Running / CC BY-NC-SA
Nor Am Cup Giant Slalom Season
GIANT SLALOM.Colorado. Keystone Travis Ganong wrote the following column Nov. 25 while waiting for his delayed flight to Colorado for the opening race of the Nor Am Cup season – a giant slalom at Keystone Resort on Monday.
Tree Hugging Know Your Limits
Collision ABC Correspondent John McWethy
TREE COLLISION.Colorado. Keystone. A coroner says the skier who died after hitting a tree at Keystone Ski ResortWednesday morning was former ABC correspondent John McWethy.
Vail Resorts Redevelopment Proposals
Redevelopment Of The Mountain House Base Area
Photo credit: reid.neureiter on Best Running / CC BY-NC-SA
If you’re not moving forward, you’re going backwards” Building heights, employee housing and parking were listed as key issues during a recent review of a Vail Resorts proposal to redevelop the Mountain House base area at Keystone.
State-of-the-Art Amenities
World-Class Motorcycling Destinations
Located approximately 90 minutes west of Denver, Keystone’s state-of-the-art amenities and infrastructure, as well as its proximity to world-class motorcycling destinations within Colorado’s Rocky Mountain …
Spring 2008
Sustainable Commitments
100% Certified Organic Starbucks Coffee And Fair-Trade Espresso
MOUNTAINS. Colorado. Vail. Vail Resorts is expanding that commitment, by pledging to only serve 100 percent Certified Organic Starbucks coffee and Fair-Trade espresso and to eliminate the use of all artificial Trans Fat at its 90 dining facilities at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, eight RockResort properties and at the Company’s other restaurants beginning with the 2008-2009 ski season.
Fire Threat Removals
Photo credit: elgringospain on Best Running / CC BY-NC-ND
Western Slope Beetle-Killed Trees Removal
Gov. Bill Ritter signed a half-dozen forest-health bills into law at Keystone Wednesday to help communities on the Western Slope remove beetle-killed trees that pose a fire threat to neighborhoods, water ..
Keystone Leadership Conference
Annual Leadership Conference
GOALS Move the annual Leadership Conference from February back to August, to more
Summer 2008
35-acre Fishhook Parcel
Scenic Access Snake River near Summit Cove
Hikers and anglers will have access to a scenic section of the Snake River near Summit Cove under a new management plan for the 35-acre Fishhook parcel.
Photo: Visual Hunt
Jazz, Art and Tastings
The Uncorked Mountain Wine Festival
The Uncorked Mountain Wine Festival at Keystone, Colo is August 22-24 and features delicious wines, award winning jazz, and a juried fine art show in River Run.
Annual Sign-Ons
SingleSign-On and The OpenSSO Team
The OpenSSO team are in Keystone, CO this week for the first annual SingleSign-On Summit.
Leader and Speaker Series
Emerging Summit County Leaders
Photo: Visual Hunt
Leadership Summit is a nine-month adult-leadership training program offered through The Keystone Center that equips emerging Summit County leaders with the skills and relationships necessary to lead …
Mountain Speaker Series
The Keystone Science School is starting a mountain speaker series in benefit of the Student Scholarship Fund.
Fall 2008
Vail Resorts in Colorado and California
The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition. Vail Resorts. Colorado. California.
Average Resort Score: 50.4%
1 Heavenly Mountain Resort 51.3% (C)
2 Beaver Creek Resort 58.7% (C)
3 Breckenridge Ski Resort 36.1% (F)
4 Keystone Ski Resort 53.3% (C)
5 Vail Ski Resort 52.7% (C)
Vail Resorts
Photo credit: Thad Roan – Bridgepix on Best Running / CC BY
is a vertically integrated operation that controls many of the companies that service resort visitors in their respective markets. Its 3 primary operational units are the Mountain unit which owns and operates
Mountain Unit: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly
Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly and which includes lift ticket, ski & snowboard school, dining, retail and rental businesses;
Vail Resorts Hospitality and Vail Resorts Development Company
Vail Resorts Hospitality which owns and/or manages a portfolio of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand (which consists of 8 properties located in both ski and beach destinations and an additional 6 properties currently being developed, 7 hotels and condominiums located in proximity to the company’s ski resorts, 3 resorts at Grand Teton National Park and 6 golf courses); and Vail Resorts Development Company
Time to see for ourselves.
Soak up what the mountain resorts have to offer.
Relax.
And, get answers to our questions.
What’s been going on?
Steps:
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
28) Which lifestyles profiled in the western resort towns during 2008 – 2009 remained five years later in 2013-2014? Which disappeared entirely? Why? Which new lifestyles emerged, grew or moved in to shift the neighborhood mix? Have longtime locals been forced out by escalating property
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.
5-Year Time Frames — 2003 – 2008
What about Frisco and Copper Mountain Resort?
Comparing lifestyle changes over the next five year period, what happened?
Shouldn’t you expect a similar abrupt change in community neighborhoods?
Source: Google Maps
First of all the Dillon Reservoir separates Dillon and Frisco by 6 miles and the route takes under 15 minutes to drive.
But the distance between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain resorts, 21 miles by car on 1-70 and CO 9, may take 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic and road conditions.
Getting there takes time, but if you could travel as a crow flies, you’d soon discover their ski runs share opposite sides of mountain peaksfairly close together.
I-70 delivers you within minutes of Copper’s entrance.
Will that fact make a difference over the ensuing five years?
Not only that, unlike Breckenridge, two community neighbors with four core lifestyles did not change.
Why?
Or why not?
Did the Great Recession treat the mountain communities differently?
Highlights and Headlines.
Winter 2007 – 2008
Arresting Development Copper Style
Photo: Visual Hunt
Snowball Trial
SNOWBALL. FIGHT. ARREST.Colorado. Copper Mountain. A seasonal worker from Australia is scheduled to go on trial Thursday for allegedly injuring an acquaintance when he launched a snowball at her last season at Copper Mountain.
High Alpine Bowls, Not Enough?
Backside Of The Mountain Preserved For Wildlife
MOUNTAINS.WILDLIFE.Colorado.Copper Mountain Resort has begun to open portions of their high alpine bowls on the backside of the mountain preserved for wildlife.
Environmental Report Card vs. Development
Photo: Pixabay
Copper and Breck on Bottom of Environmental Report
Top 10 ski resort scores, by score 1. Aspen Mountain Ski Resort – Colo. A 88.9 2. Buttermilk Mountain Ski Resort – Colo.
IntraWest owns Whistler, Copper and Steamboat.
MOUNTAINS. VAIL RESORTS. INTRAWEST. Colorado. Vail.Bill Jensen, the top executive at Vail Mountain and president of its mountain division, is leaving Vail Resorts to work for rival ski company Intrawest that owns Whistler, Copper and Steamboat.
Base Area Redevelopment Plan
Density, parking and transportation will be some of the key topics as the Board of County Commissioners starts to scrutinize Copper Mountain Resort’s latest base area redevelopment plan at a 1:30 p.m. work …
10-Story Hotel
Copper Mountain’s proposal to concentrate density in the core of the resort includes preliminary plans for a 10-story hotel on the site of the existing Chapel parking …
Leadville to Minturn
Photo: Visual Hunt
Interstate 70 Is Closed At MM 195
Westbound Interstate 70 is closed at MM 195 due to multiple accidents. An alternate route is to use Highway 91 from Copper Mountain to Leadville and then take Highway 24 to Minturn.
Leapers and Super Pipes
Photo: Visual Hunt
Main Vein Super Pipe
Copper Mountain’s Main Vein Super pipe will be closed Monday, Feb. 25, re-opening Friday, Feb.
Leap Day Take The Day Off And Ski And Ride Day
Today, leap day, Copper Mountain Resort is holding their first annual National take the day off and ski and ride day or N.T.T.D.O.A.S.A.R.D. Leapers get to ski for free, while everyone else just gets to play
Summit County Community
Summit High School Alpine Team
Coach Tory Hauser was pleased with the Summit High School alpine team’s performance in Friday’s giant slalom at Copper Mountain, even though the Tigers were unable to top the podium.
Fundraising For Summit Community Care Clinic
Summit Community Care Clinic will be holding its first ever major fundraising event on March 8 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Copper Mountain Conference Center.
Spring 2008
Season Passes Lowest Possible Prices
Season passes for three of Colorado’s favorite resorts –
” Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Steamboat, all of which have enjoyed incredible snow this season – ” are available for the lowest possible prices …
Not counting bicycling accidents, snowboarding injuries accounted for a quarter of all emergency-room visits related to outdoor sports injuries in 2005-2005, according to a new federal report.
What’s Right Around the Corner?
Summer Music Acts, Cycling, And Running Events
Copper’s Summer schedule features national music acts, cycling, and running events.
Summer 2008
Run the Rockies
Colorado. Copper Mountain.Frisco.
Photo: Visual Hunt
Johannes Rudolph celebrated his 43rd anniversary of being alive by winning Run the Rockies Saturday in Frisco with a time of 1 …
Half-Marathon Is 75 Percent Downhill
COLORADO. MOUNTAINS. SKI-TOWNS.Colorado. Copper Mountain. The half-marathon is 75 percent downhill and the Tenmile Creek is 100 percent downhill.
Just Like That
Surprise Road Closure
Denver Water closed our road without communicating with anyone in Summit County, the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Montezuma and the Keystone community.
Cross Promotion Beery Good
Promotional Use Of The Resorts’ Logos By MillerCoors
MillerCoors LLC has reached a joint marketing deal with Colorado’s Copper Mountain and Winter Park ski resorts that includes event sponsorship and promotional use of the resorts’ logos by the brewer.
Master Plan Development
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Copper Mountain’s Development Proposal
Tenmile Planning Commission hearings on Copper Mountain’s development proposal When: Wednesday and Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Where: Ptarmigan Room, Copper Mountain Conference Center.
Master Plan With 600 New Residential Units
The Tenmile Planning Commission gave Copper Mountain Resort the green light to build nearly 600 new residential units under a reconfigured master plan.
Fall 2008
What About Jobs?
Local Job Fair
The Frisco Workforce Center and the Town of Silverthorne will host a free job fair this Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. ‘We had a steady group of …
Reduce and Realign
Photo: Visual Hunt
Intrawest Will ‘Reduce And Realign’ Its Workforce
MOUNTAINS.Colorado. Copper Mountain. Intrawest announced Wednesday that it will ‘reduce and realign’ its workforce, but the Canadian-based resort company did not specify if any of the cuts would be felt at Copper Mountain.
Intrawest – Think Global, Act Local
10 Ski Resorts In Canada And The United States
Intrawest owns or manages 10 ski resorts in Canada and the United States, 16 resorts and “villages” in Canada, the United States and France and both Canadian Mountain Holidays Heli Skiing and Whistler Heli Skiing.
Solitude, Squaw Valley, Mammoth Keystone, Copper and Winter Park
Intrawest is best known as the developer of mountain villages in Whistler BC, Panorama BC, Blue Mountain ON, Mt. Tremblant QC, Stratton VT, Mountain Creek NJ, Snowshoe WV, Solitude UT, Squaw Valley CA, Mammoth Lakes CA, Keystone CO, Copper Mountain CO, Winter Park CO and Arc 1950 France.
Developing Or Re-Developing “Villages” June Lake And Steamboat Springs
Intrawest is also currently developing or re-developing “villages” at June Lake CA, Steamboat Springs CO
Mountain Resorts By The Numbers
The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition Rates 53 Of The 83 Resorts
MOUNTAINS.SUSTAINABILITY SCORECARD.Colorado. Utah. The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition says that region-wide, 53 of the 83 resorts it reviewed this year boosted their scores, but seven received failing grades.
Colorado Copper Mountain’s “F,” Expansion And Real Estate Development
The resort with the lowest score was Colorado’s Copper Mountain, which ranked at 31.9 points for an “F,” the coalition said. Copper Mountain’s score was almost entirely due to an expansion of terrain and real estate development, coalition research director Hunter Sykes said.
Colorado’s “A” Aspen Mountain to “F” Copper Mountain
# Name Grade
1 (A) Aspen Mountain Ski Resort 85.7%
20 (F) Copper Mountain Ski Resort 31.9%
The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition. Intrawest Ski Areas
# Criteria Maximum Points Awarded Points
10 ski areas totaling 21,913 acres of skiable terrain.
# Name Grade
1 Copper Mountain Ski Resort 31.9% (F)
2 Steamboat Ski & Resort 61.1% (C)
3 Winter Park Resort 48.9% (D)
Winter 2008 – 2009
Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Business Could Drop Between 5 And 15% This Season
The leadership of the Aspen Skiing Co. anticipates business could drop between 5 and 15 percent this season.
Practice, Practice, Practice
U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix
MOUNTAINS.SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX.Colorado. Copper Mountain. Halfpipe superstars from across the globe have descended upon Copper Mountain this week in preparation for the season’s first U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix coming up …
Part Three:
Steps:
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
28) Which lifestyles profiled in the western resort towns during 2008 – 2009 remained five years later in 2013-2014? Which disappeared entirely? Why? Which new lifestyles emerged, grew or moved in to shift the neighborhood mix? Have longtime locals been forced out by escalating property
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
It verified the drip, drip, of snow melting and sliding off brown wood shingles would not turn into ice cycles any time soon.
Winter Road Trip in the Easter Sierras
But one year, the highway patrol flagged you down at a blinking yellow light to check out your chains with one of those abnormally long flashlights they always carry.
An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.
By the fall of 2010, with the help of local business owners, the Village had seen a resurgence of new restaurants and stores.
But, if you and the Swall Meadows family had Googled “Mammoth Real Estate Market” in 2011, you would have come across links to realtor blogs discussing foreclosures and distressed properties.
In August Jeff Warwick reported on the sales of bank-owned (REOs), foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and short sales.
Of all those closed 2011 sales, 89 of them were distressed (REO’s or Short Sale) transactions.
43.4% of all 2011 fell into the distressed real estate category.
He pointed out that only 5% of the listings are distressed, but 43% of closed sales are distressed.
And nearly 1/3 of all closed sales were cash buyers — a market indicator that the investor-buyer accounted for a stronger component.
Wikipedia picks up the story thread:
The California Court of Appeal, Third District, affirmed the judgment in December 2010, and the California Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal on March 23, 2011.
On Monday July 2, 2012, Mammoth Lakes filed for bankruptcy in the face of the judgement.
Later the same year, the bankruptcy was dismissed as a result of a settlement between the town and their largest creditor.
Having guessed right all those years, maybe we were due for a Thanksgiving-like winter in February of 2012.
Bad news for the rest of the family, but not so bad for me because I hadn’t fully recovered from my skiing accident surgery.
Sure, I’m easy with solitude, but even I can catch cabin fever.
Upstairs there’s a loft between the third bedroom and second bathroom.
Where the bunk beds accommodate the younger and single family members
Usually you can look directly out through the top window across from the bunk beds to see snow laden fir trees giving way to streams of snow blowing off the mountain peak.
Only this year, not so much.
Yes, lots of snow packed the upper third of the mountain.
But in town not so much.
Even the black pavement, often treacherous at night with black ice patches, dried to gray.
There’s a huge round thermometer in the glassed in porch overlooking the hot tub where we dip into a winters supply of firewood,.
It verified the drip, drip, of snow melting and sliding off brown wood shingles would not turn into ice cycles any time soon.
You couldn’t grab the green disc or red plastic sled out of the closet to slide in the deep snow on the two stage slope along the side of the condo complex.
Well you could, but you wouldn’t make much progress.
Unless you slid a foot, hopped up and ran to the next patch sat with your feet and knees pulled up for the next two feet, and so on and so on.
But the lack of deep snow meant one thing.
Another off road adventure exploring the area on the opposite side of the turnoff to Mammoth Lakes.
We backtracked on Meridian Blvd to where it dumped into CA 203 (or Main Street in town) turned right and drove to US 395 intersection.
Winter Road Trip in the Easter Sierras
In years past we collectively held our breath, arriving near or past midnight in our SUV at that intersection.
During a normal snow season roadside signs told you you needed to put on your chains before you could climb the final hill into the town and your condo.
We wanted to take our chances each time.
But one year, the highway patrol flagged you down at a blinking yellow light to check out your chains with one of those abnormally long flashlights they always carry.
Reluctantly I flipped open the hatchback.
Grabbed some gloves and a flashlight.
Pulled out the rear tire chains and fumbled for 45 minutes fastening them.
Not noticing that the blinking yellow check point closed.
Oh well.
Other years, having learned from my ordeal, we’d shell out the going rate to locals for installing our chains, while we stayed warm inside listening to the final songs on our road trip playlist.
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
28) Which lifestyles profiled in the western resort towns during 2008 – 2009 remained five years later in 2013-2014? Which disappeared entirely? Why? Which new lifestyles emerged, grew or moved in to shift the neighborhood mix? Have longtime locals been forced out by escalating property
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
To top it all off for the winter 1976 – 1977 ski season Mother Nature decided to dump only 94 inches making the disaster the worst in Mammoth’s history.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was sold to Starwood Capital Group in a deal that valued Mammoth at $365 million- a far cry from the $135,000 he borrowed in 1953 to build the first lift.
An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.
If the Swall Valley family needed to relocate, either temporarily or permanently, after the Round Valley Fire, and they chose Mammoth then their commute to the school district would be closer and less expensive.
Like the Swall Valley community the Mammoth Mountain Ski area and town of Mammoth Lakes, since the 1940s, suffered their share of economic, prolonged climate and seasonal weather-related setbacks too.
From Mammoth Mountain Resort – History
Establishing Mammoth Mountain as a growing ski area wasn’t easy for Dave McCoy when he switched from McGee Mountain in 1941.
At the end of the 1950s his entrepreneurial burning desire was almost snuffed out by a drought.
Roughly a dozen years later the Southern California economy almost collapsed with a spike in gas prices triggered by the 1973 oil crisis.
Drivers who had to fill up at much higher fuel prices, but only on odd or even days of the week, weren’t about to risk getting stuck somewhere along US 395.
To top it all off for the winter 1976 – 1977 ski season Mother Nature decided to dump only 94 inches making the disaster the worst in Mammoth’s history.
Mammoth Yosemite Airport from Wikipedia
But, in the ‘90s Alpha Airlines flew resorters from LA to the small Mammoth Airport you drive past on US 395.
In the mid- to late- ‘90s investors wanted a piece of McCoy’s dream.
Here’s how Wikipedia described the time
In January 1996, Intrawest Corporation and Mammoth Mountain Ski area announced that Intrawest Corporation had purchased 33% of Mammoth and June Mountain ski operations, as well as all of the developable real estate owned by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
In 1998, Intrawest increased their partnership interest to 58%.
5-Year Time Frame 2003-2008
When the new millennium began in the Eastern Sierra’s times were better.
Horizon Airlines offered service round trip between Mammoth and Los Angeles and the Bay Area and Reno.
Not just for winter holidays, but for all four seasons too.
The Malibu fire hadn’t forced Scott Palamar from the mountains to Owens Valley yet.
The Great Recession hadn’t dashed the hopes of millions yet.
With Intrawest’s investment, McCoy realized a significant portion of his dream.
The development of three new village areas: The Village at Mammoth, Sierra Star, and Juniper Springs, has brought new developments to the resort.
The Village at Mammoth, a European-style and pedestrian-only complex, was built in a style similar to other Intrawest properties, such as Whistler or Keystone.
The Village opened in 2003 with various stores, restaurants, galleries and 166 luxury condominiums.
The 15-passenger Village Gondola, which departs from the Village, transports skiers and snowboarders directly to the Canyon Lodge base.
By 2005 McCoy had designed, build and run the ski area for almost 70 years.
So, he decided to sell his stake in Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and announced it during the winter ski season in 2005.
Maybe he just wanted to enjoy skiing for a few more years without all the headaches and responsibilities he had shouldered for 68 years.
Or maybe his knee began bothering him.
Three years later he had a knee replacement.
Or maybe he wanted to take more time to enjoy his family.
As of 2008, he and Roma’s family numbered 6 children, 16 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren according to Wikipedia.
At any rate, in the first week of October, 2005 Barry Sternlicht of the real estate private equity fund, Starwood Capital Group, bought McCoy’s ownership stake.
Wikipedia reported the details
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was sold to Starwood Capital Group in a deal that valued Mammoth at $365 million- a far cry from the $135,000 he borrowed in 1953 to build the first lift.
Timing is everything.
Because of a poor economy in California, beginning in 2007, many of the stores and restaurants in The Village closed.
As the recession hit, the Town of Mammoth Lakes owed tens of millions of dollars for a deal that fell through.
Wikipedia says
In 2008, after a jury trial, the Mono County Superior Court entered a $43 million judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes for breach of a development agreement.
Part Two:
Steps:
24) Determine which maker or breaker community issues you will find across all resort communities vs. those unique only to the quality-of-life towns at the top of your best places list.
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on Topix.com.
No music festivals, no dance, no theater, no art galleries, no children’s programs, no singing, no film festivals, no sculpture, no debates in the newspaper about differing …
Winter 2009 – 2010
While other Colorado towns (Vail) lined up for economic stimulus money…
Winter Snow Scenes
Pierre Mion taught his popular Winter Watercolor Workshop featuring Pagosa area snow scenes, one of which was featured on the December page of the 2009 Pagosa Country Calendar.
Winter 2013 – 2014
Overlooked Family Bargains in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming –
Wolf Creek, Pagosa Springs, Colorado, most snow in Colorado.
Pagosa Springs
$58 adult lift tickets, no lift lines. great food at the ski lodge. Great accommodations. Lots to do besides great skiing & great snowboarding. Hike, cross-country ski, snow shoe. horseback ride, sleigh ride, enjoy Pagosa Hot Springs, right downtown Pagosa. indoor heated olympic pool. Great restaurants, tequila, Bear Creek, JT’s, Chatos. Awesome grocery – City Market. miss ski season by 5 months for secret spot fly fishing, ride the Cumbres Toltec narrow gauge railroad, Red Ryder Rodeo every thursday night.
For regional coverage we’ve relied on Topix.com in the past.
“Local news for (fill in a town on your bucket list, or in your itinerary) continually updated from thousands of sources on the web.”
To test it out, search for your current hometown.
Notice and how current and complete the local items in the news are in your search results.
We set up RSS feeds for Topix towns, but soon discovered a major problem.
Like almost every other news outlet, local online papers rely on world and state news to fill their editions (that weren’t relevant).
AND, the vast majority of local stories centered on crime.
So we set up a variety of filters to screen out “jail,” “robbery,”” burglary,” and all the variations of those terms.
As a back up, you might want to try The Paperboy.com which claims they’ve got lists of 12,064 Online Newspapers & ePapers.
And, finally if you’re serious about Pagosa Springs (or Whitefish so far), or about any other town on your growing bucket list, you’ll want to investigate the most comprehensive resource we’ve found – city-data.com.
In Depth Data for Cities and Towns Across the U.S.
Their detailed, statistical data often provide more information than you know what to do with.
They aggregate public records open and available to the public at large and periodically update their information based on the records that these agencies release.
The ratio of number of residents in Pagosa Springs to the number of sex offenders is 71 to 1.
Steps:
25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
“Does anyone out there remember when the city of Whitefish had culture? Reminisce beer barters in the streets? Can you recall dancing to music in the parks? Chili cook-offs? Is there any recollection of those …?”
Community Chili Cook-off
Natural beauty or high-end development: Piano Creek Ranch, Wolf Creek Village, the Yellowstone Club and Tamarack Resort.
An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.
Like Rafael, not everybody living in a pristine resort at the innovation stage looks forward to development.
Natural Wilderness Beauty
They fear that someone, usually from outside of their community, state or country will be tempted by the raw natural beauty and try to develop it into an exclusive, high-end resort destination.
Rolling Hills and Rural Landscape
“Wealthy Influentials” sense the breakout point possible in real estate from their own prior investment experiences.
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Like the consortium behind the Piano Creek Ranch attempt near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, who hatched development plans between 1999 and 2000.
Wolf Creek Temptations
Or like Red McCombs in 2008, with his Wolf Creek Village surrounded by the Rio Grand National Forest in Colorado.
Downtown Minturn
Or, like Bobby Ginn beginning to develop a private resort near Minturn, Colorado in 2004– aptly named Battle Mountain Resort — in Eagle County, home to Vail and Beaver Creek destination resorts.
Places in the pristine mountains of Montana, Utah and Idaho like the Yellowstone Club and Tamarack Resort from which the Bank of America reclaimed their ski lifts.
Beauty of Basalt, Colorado
In Colorado, development weighed heavily on small innovation towns like Basalt.
Their town council in 2007 and 2008 crafted a land-use master plan with five scenarios unfolding over a decade.
“Does anyone out there remember when the city of Whitefish had culture? Reminisce beer barters in the streets? Can you recall dancing to music in the parks? Chili cook-offs? Is there any recollection of those …?”
Ah, the good old days.
The good old ways.
Some urban and suburban consumers may question inhumane food practices in the processing of chickens, pigs and calves purchased in our local markets for our kitchen table.
Newport Beach Neighborhood
Neighbors may protest and city councils may ban chickens as pets in California’s “Wealthy Influential” Newport Beach, but not so much in other parts of California or Montana.
In the winter of 2008 the City Council thumbed their noses at the complaining newcomers by passing an ordinance that allowed hens as pets by a margin of 5-1.
During the summer of 2010 residents in Eastern Sierra town of Bishop, California tried to follow suit.
Bishop, California
And, the heated arguments voiced in face-to-face town meetings boiled over to the Internet.
“It is obvious that you are a young, smart-a– who probably moved from LA to Mammoth, couldn’t afford to live there and ended up here.”
“I was born here. You’re obviously a hypocrite.”
“Go back to Metropolis, where superman protects you from all the big, scary and stinky farm animals.
Bishop will be ok without one more flatlander type.”
Steps:
(29) Investigate each community’s local attitude towards development. Is there a fear that someone, usually from outside of their community, state or country will be tempted by the raw natural beauty and try to develop it into an exclusive, high-end resort destination?
Sure, I’m easy with solitude, but even I can catch cabin fever.
Even the black pavement, often treacherous at night with black ice patches, dried to gray.
Not noticing that the blinking yellow check point closed.
If the 
The development of three new village areas: The Village at Mammoth, Sierra Star, and Juniper Springs, has brought new developments to the resort.
As of 2008, he and Roma’s family numbered 6 children, 16 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren according to Wikipedia.
Because of a poor economy in California, beginning in 2007, many of the stores and restaurants in The Village closed.
