saw this article this morning:
Breck proposes Peak 8 lift
BRECKENRIDGE - What many consider to be some of the best advanced terrain the Breckenridge Ski Resort has to offer - Imperial Bowl, the Lake Chutes and Peak 7 Bowl - has been available only to those willing to earn their turns by hiking.
That could change soon.
Bringing to life a desire on its wish list since the late 1990s, the resort in October will formally propose to the U.S. Forest Service a new chairlift to run from the top of Chair 6 up the spine of Imperial Bowl.
Should it be approved, the detachable quad could be ready for operation as early as the 2005-2006 winter, depending on how fast construction goes.
The Breckenridge "Summit Lift," as the resort is calling it, would be relatively low capacity (600 passengers per hour, compared to the 2,800 per hour that Breck's Colorado Super Chair transports), and would separate its chairs by up to 300 feet, to give the entire structure a minimal wind resistance.
It would unload at 12,840 feet, about 60 feet from the summit of Peak 8, and would be the highest lift in North America - surpassing Loveland's Chair 9, which peaks at 12,700 feet.
It also would be fast, rising 940 vertical feet in 2.7 minutes, and would directly access both the south- and north-facing Peak 8 bowls as well as the Lake Chutes and Peak 7 Bowl, with a short traverse in either direction.
In a sense, it would transform a ski area that has often been labeled a beginner's mountain.
"This would probably change the perception of Breckenridge," said director of mountain operations Rick Sramek, who is leading the resort's push to get the lift approved. "It would certainly change the way advanced skiers skied the mountain."
The lift-building process
The lift approval process to this point has been relatively informal, one the resort has used to feel out the potential of the project. It began last fall with a general, here's-what-we'd-like-to-do briefing of the U.S. Forest Service.
In that meeting, Sramek outlined what the resort had done to investigate the impact the lift would have on the environment, both biologically and botanically. It would have little impact, the resort said.
After creating topographical images to represent what the lift would look like and exactly where it would be located, Sramek and lift director Jon Mauch held a "courtesy meeting" along with Dillon Ranger District Ranger Rick Newton and winter sports administrator Joe Foreman to alert the Breckenridge Town Council and Summit County commissioners of the project last week.
Both Breckenridge Mayor Ernie Blake and Commissioner Bob French - who deals with Breck issues - gave the project a thumbs up.
Sramek said the resort will present its formal proposal to Newton - who will ultimately decide whether or not the lift goes in - in mid-October.
According to Newton, the two primary cons the Forest Service will consider are the following: boundary issues - will this encourage people to use the ski area more to access the backcountry? - and visuals - how intrusive, if at all, would the lift be to those looking up from the town?
Newton, who is in his first year as DRD ranger, said that because there is no timber in the proposed impact area, "wildlife issues and ground-impact issues are pretty benign."
He also said that although public input would be something he'll consider, he's unlikely to be swayed in either direction by letter volume. "It's not a voting game," he said.
On that note, Mauch said, "I'm confident it'll get approved, personally."
Dividing the riders
The Forest Service's concerns aside, a go-ahead by Newton will likely divide a local population of skiers and snowboarders who can be at odds over what's best for Summit County's most visited ski area.
On one hand, although the lift wouldn't affect the resort's overall capacity of 14,500, it would certainly increase the number of people that frequent the exclusive, above-treeline terrain. Many see this as a negative.
"It's just going to open up too much terrain for people who shouldn't be on it," said Breckenridge local Monica Minogue, an avid Imperial Bowl hiker who has skied the mountain for 21 years. "It's too easy access with a lift - not to mention an eyesore.
"They (the resort) see it one way, we see it another way. They're a business, that's what they see it as. We've been skiing it for a long time, and we like it the way it is. There's enough other terrain to use, that I know they have access to. Why do they have to bring a lift to the top of Peak 8?"
On the other hand, the summit lift could help ease congestion on the two-person T-Bar, which often becomes crowded and frustrates those who yearn for a more efficient option.
The lift also would cut a 30-minute trip to the top of Imperial into one that takes less than three minutes.
"I hike up there all the time," said Scott Yapkowitz, a Breck local of nine years. "I get enough exercise; I wanna go ski some good terrain. It'll turn Breck into a better mountain. And it makes it easier on the patrollers, too - then you can go up there and ski the waist-deep days without worrying about slides."
Sramek, who has worked at the resort since 1973 and was ski patrol director for 12 years, called the proposed lift a "guest-experience thing," aimed at improving the options available to advanced skiers and snowboarders.
He said that were the lift to be approved, the resort would likely begin construction next spring.
Cost would be around the $3 million range, but that shouldn't be a problem, according to Sramek. "This is one of those projects that has quite a bit of internal support," he said.
After the resort presents its proposal to Newton, there will be a 30-day public comment period followed by another of equal length once the USFS has created an environmental assessment.
From there, Newton said he'll make a final decision "within a few weeks" - or right around Jan. 1, 2005.
article is found here.
Dude
