Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 10/22/15

Northwest:

--Soldier Mountain Ski Area, situated 53 miles southwest of Sun Valley Resort, announced their current financial status does not allow for the ski area to open this year via Facebook on Wednesday. “After much deliberation we have decided to sell. Help us to find a buyer that can open up this ski season,” the statement read. The non-profit ski area is on the market for $149,000, the amount owed to the bank for the past three years of improvements and operations. After purchasing the ski hill in the late 90s, “Die Hard” star Bruce Willis donated the mountain to the recently formed 501[c]3 Soldier Mountain Ski Area, Inc in 2012. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The 13th annual “Mountain Gear Presents: Red Rock Rendezvous" rock climbing festival will return to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Friday through Sunday, April 1-3, 2016. Mountain Gear is offering early registration packages that start at $119 for the weekend clinics with world-class athletes and the nation’s top climbing guides. For more information on registration options or to register, visit www.RedRockRendezvous.com.

Colorado:

--A California start-up with $10 million in venture capital funding has partnered with Copper Mountain and Winter Park ski areas to offer drone video services this season. Cape Productions on Tuesday announced nine resorts — including Copper and Winter Park — as partners in the company's plan to deliver drone-captured video to ski resort visitors. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--U.S. Navy veteran Scott Mace was napping under a bunya pine in San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park when a huge cone fell from the tree and hit him on the head, rendering him unconscious and bleeding. The 16-pound seed pod caused permanent brain damage, required multiple surgeries, and left the 51-year-old with a four-inch dent in his skull. Now he’s suing the park, the National Park Service, and the Department of the Interior for $5 million in damages. To read more, click here.

-Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed two important measures that will help move California’s world-class state park system and its steward, the Department of Parks and Recreation, forward in the 21st century. To read more, click here.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article38234100.html#storylink=cpy