Thursday, March 17, 2022

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 3/17/2022

Northwest:

--News Channel 21 is reporting that, "A 71-year-old skier at Mt. Ashland died Friday after being reported missing and found by searchers outside the resort’s boundary ropes, officials said Saturday. The man, whose name has not been released, was reported missing Friday afternoon by his skiing partner, the resort said in a Facebook posting. A search was begun by Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol, assisted by Jackson County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and a helicopter." To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that, "Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones has been accused of deleting text messages he sent and received prior to a key vote in 2019 that effectively delayed a controversial proposed housing project overlooking Red Rock Canyon. The texts were sought as evidence by lawyers for developer Gypsum Resources LLC, as part of the company’s federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and ongoing lawsuit against the county and commissioners, whom the developer has blamed for project delays over the years that it said fueled much of its financial predicament." To read more, click here.

Morning in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

--The Las Vegas Review-Journal is also reporting that, "Once home to mock gunfights and a petting zoo, the former Bonnie Springs Ranch is set to take shape as a luxury housing enclave. Developers of The Reserve at Red Rock Canyon, as the property is now known, held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for the desert outpost west of Las Vegas. It is slated to feature 16 homesites ranging from 2 to 4 acres each." To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--Snow Brains is reporting that, "two unprepared women were lucky to be rescued after getting stranded for ten hours off Big Baldy, UT, on Friday. The pair were discovered wearing light jackets and low-cut shoes with either low-cut socks or no socks at all in waist-deep snow by two trail runners." To read more, click here.

--Snow Brains is reporting that, "a skier was buried for up to 23 minutes after being caught in an avalanche just outside Solitude Mountain Resort, UT, on Saturday, Utah rescuers said. A guided group of eight skiers planned to ski through Silver Fork on Saturday, March 12, when one of the skiers in the group triggered an avalanche that swept through a gully, reports the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team." To read more, click here.

--Unofficial Networks has a cool video with this: "Really cool story out of Colorado where Leadville legend Tom Szwedko has been working on an unbelievable ski streak for the past 42 years. The 74 year old retired computer programmer has skied at least one day a month since October 1979. That’s over 500 months spanning five decades." To see the video, click here.

--They are not screwing around in Vail. Police will put people in jail for up to 180 days for borrowing a season pass. From SnowBrains: "The Vail Police Department is warning skiers and riders to avoid the temptation of borrowing a ski pass to save on the cost of a lift ticket. To date, police have seen an increase in the number of ski pass fraud investigations this season. Thirty-one people have been cited for deceptive use as of March 8, compared to 27 total citations for the entire previous ski season." To read more, click here.

--The Colorado Sun is reporting that, "Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday approved a $29 price for the new Keep Colorado Wild Pass. The pass, which will be part of every vehicle registration in the state unless drivers choose to opt out, could generate more than $54 million a year for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s 43 state parks." To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--The National Parks Traveler is reporting that, "a strong majority of Americans believe climate change is harming the National Park System, according to a poll conducted for the National Parks Conservation Association. The poll found that nearly nine in 10 of those surveyed said climate change is negatively impacting national parks. And most Americans, regardless of political party, would be more likely to support a representative who supported a bill that was designed to reduce the impact of climate change on national parks, the park advocacy group said." To read more, click here.

Seattle Bouldering Project

--The Climbing Business Journal is reporting that, "It was recently announced that the Bouldering Project—which operates six facilities across Minneapolis, Seattle and Austin (and a seventh on the way in Salt Lake City)—has acquired three additional facilities that previously operated as Brooklyn Boulders gyms. These three newly acquired properties are located in Brooklyn, Boston and Washington D.C., and were sought and acquired by the Bouldering Project for the purpose of 'growing with new people in new places.'" To read more, click here.


--Snowbrains is reporting some big news on the Vail fiasco front: "Vail Resorts’ new CEO, Kirsten Lynch, announced a $20 per hour minimum wage for all 37 of its North America resorts, effective for the 2022-23 ski and ride season. Entry-level ski patrollers and maintenance team members will start at $21 per hour. To ensure career and leadership wage differentials, Vail Resorts is also increasing wages for non-entry level hourly team members." To read more, click here.

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