Read about local buzz sweeping the Valley
Courtesy of Jack Affleck/Vail Resorts
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Bode Miller rejoined the U.S. Team in the fall after two seasons racing on his own following a disastrous run at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, that estranged him from Ski Team management.
The bad boy of American ski racing was out of racing shape, but said he hoped to be back in top form by Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey races December 4-6 — a venue where he’s won three of his American record 31 World Cup races — and then carry that success over into the 2010 Winter Olympic in Vancouver in February.
Miller won’t have to contend with rival Hermann “Herminator” Maier, who owns seven wins on the treacherous Birds of Prey track but announced his retirement in October.
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The Vail Valley continues to go green to counteract its rather large carbon footprint (i.e., Learjets, McMansions, escalators to the ski lifts and heated sidewalks).
In September, the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa on the banks of the Eagle River won silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, becoming the first Colorado resort hotel to land such a designation. (The Westin also has the distinction of recently being named one of the “10 Best Snow Resorts for Families” by Parents magazine.) Officials throughout the Vail Valley at virtually every level of government continue to pursue clean-energy power projects that would put the resort towns at the forefront of the state’s “New Energy Economy.”
For example, Avon is working on a heat-exchange program that would use heat from the town’s wastewater treatment facility to heat the recreation center pool and other facilities.
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Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, now an Aspen resident, had a busy summer.
First he finished a surprising third in his comeback bid to win an unprecedented eighth Tour title, then won the grueling Leadville 100 mountain bike race, and later had lunch with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to discuss reviving a Coors Classic-style stage race in the state.
Wildly popular in the 1970s and 80s, the Coors Classic included stages in Vail still remembered fondly in cycling circles.
Vail Valley Foundation president Ceil Folz, who once worked for the Coors Classic, said her organization would be very interested in being part of any such revival. Armstrong and Ritter, an avid cyclist, are targeting 2011.
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A handful of somewhat stunned passengers were greeted by a great deal of fanfare in early September when the Eagle County Regional Airport reopened after being closed most of the summer for runway expansion.
The new, longer runway will allow Boeing 757s — and now even some smaller 737s — to take off with more passengers and fuel on board. Previously, during the warmer spring, summer and fall months, the thin air and warmer temperatures required too much power and lift for the length of the runway.
The move could ultimately lead to direct international flights, although that will require an expensive terminal remodel to accommodate international customs.
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Formerly dubbed “Ginn-turn” because of its chief developer, Bobby Ginn, and its proposed annexation into the Town of Minturn, the proposed Battle Mountain project won a key public vote in May of 2008 but has languished due to the global recession ever since.
Now Ginn, troubled by bankruptcies at his Florida golf resorts and shaky Credit Suisse loans, turned the reins over to Crave Real Estate, which is partly owned by Ginn Company backer Lubert Adler of Philadelphia.
Adler also owns a piece of the development company behind the local golf resort community of Cordillera, which in July sent a letter to homeowners saying it was in talks to take over Battle Mountain and rename it Cordillera Mountain, which has a much better ring than “Crave-turn,” or “Lubert-turn.”
It remains to be seen how aggressively the new developers will pursue the private ski and golf resort off the backside of Vail Mountain, which was originally proposed for 1,700 homes, an 18-hole golf course and gondola. Or what will become of the nearly $180 million in public benefits promised to Minturn voters in 2008.
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In 2000, Colorado voters gave the nod of approval to medical marijuana, and mountain communities from Telluride to Aspen struggled with the law this past summer. In the Vail Valley, from Gypsum to Vail, towns debated where dispensaries should be allowed and what rules should govern their operation.
In Vail, town staff recommended restricting the dispensaries to certain commercial cores, almost all of which are away from heavily trafficked tourist areas.
But just before press time, the town council opted to shelve the entire issue for the time being.
Of course, some tourists might view the dispensary operations as a plus. The catch, however, is you have to have certain debilitating medical conditions and carry a state registration card in order to utilize a dispensary. Sore knees on a powder day don’t count.
