Silverton: Jim Jackson is an ass.
January 23, 2005
Legal storm lurks on peak
By Dominic Weilminster
Herald Staff Writer
San Juan County commissioners are considering buying or condemning land owned by Aspen-based speed skiing promoter Jim Jackson near Silverton if he doesn't drop his complaint about the county's avalanche-control efforts negatively affecting his property.
Jim Jackson is in a legal dispute with Silverton Mountain Ski Area owner Aaron Brill over avalanche control efforts that Jackson says negatively affect his property. Jackson's land in this December 2004 photo is behind the chairlift, which is located on Brill's property. San Juan County is considering buying or condemning the land owned by Jackson.
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San Juan County commissioners are considering buying or condemning land owned by Aspen-based speed skiing promoter Jim Jackson near Silverton if he doesn't drop his complaint about the county's avalanche-control efforts. The land is located on Silverton Mountain, pictured, the highest point of which is Storm Peak.
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Jackson is the same man who has butted heads with Silverton Mountain Ski Area owner Aaron Brill over use of Storm Peak, where both their properties lie.
Condemnation is being looked at as a last resort and would require some legal research, said Paul Sunderland, San Juan County attorney.
"The question for us has to do with road safety," Sunderland said. "(Jackson) is saying that the county can't do avalanche work on any county roads that will affect his property."
In doing so, Jackson would force the county to close County Road 110, which goes north of Silverton to an old mining town called Gladstone, when snowslides pose a risk.
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If county officials must resort to condemnation, they will look to a legal precedent actually set by Jackson. In the 1980s, Jackson convinced officials in San Juan County to temporarily close parts of his neighbor's land to accommodate speed skiing on nearby Velocity Peak.
Jackson did not return a phone call seeking comment.
In spring 2004, Jackson's attorney sent the county a letter claiming that Jackson's rights as a property owner allow him to curtail avalanche work near his property, Sunderland said. The county responded by saying it planned to keep the road safe and passable.
"We thought that ended it, but about a month ago Jackson filed a lawsuit against Aaron Brill where he specifically stated that avalanche-control work was being done that was adversely affecting his property," Sunderland said. "Then the issue came back to the forefront."
Since 1999, Brill and Jackson have been neighbors competing over the use of their lands on Silverton Mountain. Both had plans to turn parts of the mountain into outdoor recreation areas, but after Jackson missed the Bureau of Land Management deadline to turn in a master plan for his idea to build an aerial tramway and ski area on the mountain, Brill moved on unopposed with his plan for a guided extreme-skiing area.
After Brill's Silverton Mountain Ski Area - formerly Silverton Outdoor Learning and Recreation Center - got off the ground, he garnered support from multiple Silverton residents for making the area economically viable in winter months.
"I think the whole community has seen a remarkable boost in business since Silverton Mountain opened. I've seen a 200 to 300 percent increase," said Bill MacDougall, owner of the Triangle Motel and Gas Station in Silverton.
Jackson has remained in opposition to Brill, bringing his lawsuit last month claiming Brill was guiding skiers on his land and littering it with avalanche-control debris.
San Juan County officials, Sunderland said, fear that since there is no way of proving whose avalanche control materials are on Jackson's land, the county could also become a target for litigation.
"We don't know if the avalanche debris is really on his land from Brill's work, from our work or from natural slides," Sunderland said. The county sometimes contracts avalanche-control work to Brill and his team, complicating the matter further, he said.
Brill said he was concerned that a halt in avalanche-control work could affect safety of people traveling the road that leads to his business.
"It's really just about public safety," Brill said. "There are just so many more people using the road now. If (Jackson) really wants what's best for everyone, he will work with the county on this."
Todd Hennis of Silverplume owns several hundred acres of land near Gladstone at the end of County Road 110. Besides not being able to access his own land in the wintertime should the road be closed, he said Jackson was "operating as a wrecker."
"Mr. Jackson was touting the possibility of a ski area here for a number of years, but he never followed through on it in any meaningful form. Now Mr. Brill has come in and become a meaningful part of the community," Hennis said. "Mr. Jackson is operating as a wrecker and the San Juan County winter economy is being held hostage."
Silverton Mtn may be assholes too!
Hey guys, sounds like what's needed is a real sharp attorney, not a beating. If the facts are as stated, Silverton has to step up to the plate. Nailing someone with their own legal precidant is especially rewarding.
Now, what do you think of this:
I called Silverton Mtn this week, two weeks before my reservation. I tore my MCL on 11-29-06, and have been in rehab for two months. I have a pass at Steamboat and the Colorado Pass.
In consulting with my Orthopedic surgeon, I asked over and over, should I cancell my passes or my trip to Silverton. No, he said, you will probably be ok, lets see what happens. If you're hurt and can't ski both Steamboat and the Colorado Pass refund your money minus any time showing on your pass. I know there is a no refund policy so I am concerned about communicating with Silverton as soon as I know my staus.
So, I got the ok to try out my knee this week and I'm doing ok, but no way I can ski Silverton in my present out of shape and mentally intimidated condition. I am not even skiing blacks in Stmbt and come on...I saw the pictures you guys posted. I would get hurt and worked hard to get better. I can't ski Silverton.
So I call, explain my situation. They tell me too bad. We're booked go sell them online. So. here I am, being computer slow, two hours later trying to post my tickets. They were real nice in giving me a list of 4 sites I can try to sell them. That ought to take me all day just to hopefully register at each site, post them in the correct forun, or thread or whatever......
It is impossible for me to ski, but no refund. Oh yeah, and about the no refund policy, there is a legal theory in contract law called the Theory of Impossibility. If it becomes impossible for one of the contracting parties to fulfill the terms of the contract, the court holds the contract void.
I can't ski, get it?????? $130x4=$520 is alot for me to write off, especially when I called as soon as I knew I could not ski the mtn.
Anyhow, I don't have the time to travel to Silverton to go to Small claims court over the $520. The hotel and spa had no trouble cancelling my reservationns under the circumstances. I even offered to send my Doctor's opinion. They didn't want to hear it. I think that sucked and I'll bet you would too.
So for Silverton Mtn's legal woes, I don't have much sympathy. Maybe they can hire a lawyer for $520. Maybe someone will buy my tickets.
Thks for listening, maybe I'm wrong, but bet you'd be pissed too.
