Free Republic

Skiing, local real estate likely to suffer scientists say VAIL, Colorado — If greenhouse gas emissions aren’t curtailed, climate change will reduce Eagle County’s snowpack by 57 percent by 2085, according to a new report. “The state’s most popular tourist activity is at risk from climate change,” said the report, published Wednesday by the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland. The report, “Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Colorado,” does not paint a pretty picture for skiing — and the attendant industry of real estate — over the next century. The “snow season” could become 30...

Stuck, lost and hobbled in the German Alps, a quick-thinking Colorado Springs woman hooked her bra to a mountainside supply line, which alerted rescuers to her whereabouts just as they were giving up the search. "We're going to have a party for her every June 19, and give her some new bras," Elana Bruinsma, said Monday morning of her sister, Jessica Bruinsma, 24. The white sports bra has become the talk of the Berchtesgaden area of Germany near the Austria border.

Aspen Mountain will be open to skiers and snowboarders this weekend, according to Jeff Hanle, spokesman for the Aspen Skiing Co. “Yes, we are going skiing,” Hanle said, though he could not confirm the details. The Skico previously indicated it would consider opening the mountain this weekend, which coincides with the Aspen Food & Wine Magazine Classic. It's unusual but not unprecedented to have skiing on Ajax mountain this late in the season, after Independence Pass already has opened for the summer. But highway crews only last week re-opened the 12,093-foot pass after a particularly snowy winter. Arapahoe Basin, which...

Amid increasing concerns about the warming of the planet, ski resorts across the Northeast are reporting some of the best snowfall levels in recorded history. Waterville Valley in New Hampshire had a top-five year in terms of snow accumulation, with 192 inches having fallen to the slopes so far. A recent snowstorm on Mt. Mansfield, the home of Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, boosted the season snow total to 367 inches, making this ski season the snowiest in the last 10 years. For those who reject the popular consensus that the world is on the brink of a global warming...

Dozens of homes have been evacuated and a 5-mile stretch of Colorado 82 in western Colorado has been closed due to heavy smoke from a brush fire. The 100-acre brush fire is burning at 1265 County Road 100, and is threatening several homes and a school, said Tanny McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. She said a horse farm and a private school have been evacuated. Two buildings have been damaged and one person has been transported with injuries... Firefighters from Carbondale, Basalt and Glenwood are at the scene.

A 50-vehicle pileup has closed I-70 in both directions at mile marker 195 on Vail Pass. The initial accident occurred on the westbound side of I-70 at mile marker 189 in Eagle County. The eastbound lane has also been closed at this time to allow emergency vehicles to access the scene. According to dispatch, there are numerous injuries and several possible amputations. There has been a mutual aid request for backup and many patients are being transported to St. Anthony's Summit Medical Center for treatment. "So far we have one patient in critical condition and two more patients just arrived...

Leads continue to trickle in more than a month after Bergen Catholic graduate Alphonse "Mike" Barbiere went missing during a Colorado ski trip. But there is still no sign of him. "It still just remains a mystery," said Assistant Chief Greg Morrison of the Breckenridge Police Department. Six members of a search and rescue group spent Thursday searching along the Blue River. "A lead came in and we followed up on it," Morrison said. "But we did not find anything." The 5- to 7-foot snow drifts have been melting over the past week, but a storm Thursday into Friday was...

Former ABC News correspondent John McWethy was killed when he skied into a tree at Keystone Resort Wednesday, the Summit County Coroner confirmed. McWethy, 61, was skiing on an intermediate trail when the accident occurred. Witnesses said he missed a turn and slid chest-first into the tree shortly after 10 a.m

To many college students, a perfect weekend in Colorado is found on the snow-covered slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Whether you ski or snowboard, the only things you need are a jacket and a ride to the mountain. However, if some Colorado lawmakers have their way, the drive to the ski resorts could become more costly. Anyone who has been to the slopes, especially on the weekends, knows that the worst part of the day is the traffic along I-70. From the large trucks to the vans full of out-of-state tourists who don't know how to drive on snow, the...

(01-28) 12:52 PST LAKE TAHOE -- The president of a San Francisco green technology company was killed while skiing at the Homewood Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, authorities said today. Tyler A. Palmer, 37, was found unresponsive at the base of a tree about 1:52 p.m. Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff's Department said. Skiers found Palmer on the Hobbit Land ski run, head-first in the well of a tree. Hobbit Land is a black diamond run, signifying it is for advanced skiers, according to the resort's Web site. Medics tried to revive Palmer, without success, and he was pronounced dead...

Michigan lawmakers push helmet requirement for skiers, snowboarders by CLAY TAYLOR | Capital News Service Saturday January 26, 2008, 9:34 AM LANSING - Downhill skiers and snowboarders without head protection may find a hefty fine waiting for them at the bottom of the slope. A new bill by Rep. Bob Constan calling for mandatory helmets comes fast on the heels of a fatal skiing accident in December. Clare Dougherty, 13, of Canton Township died from a head injury on Shanty Creek Resort's Schuss Mountain in Bellaire. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Kalkaska Memorial Health Center on Christmas Day....

MEXICAN HAT, Utah—A chartered bus ran off a wet road and rolled 41 feet down an embankment in far southeastern Utah, killing eight passengers who were returning home from a ski trip, authorities said Monday. About 20 others were injured. The Arrow Stage Lines bus was southbound on State Route 163 when it failed to negotiate a curve, went off the road and rolled over several times at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, said Trooper Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol. "When the vehicle was overturning, the roof of the bus split open and multiple occupants of the vehicle were ejected,"...

People upset over a man who sued an 8-year-old boy and his father over a Colorado ski collision have subjected him and his wife to "an electronic tar and feathering," their lawyer said. David Pfahler and Marlene Ambrogio left their Allentown, Pa., home for the holidays because angry people tied up their phone lines with repeated, automated calls since news reports of the lawsuit, attorney Jim Chalat said Monday. Some sent angry e-mails and calls to Chalat's Denver law firm, while others called Reader's Digest, where Pfahler works, and demanded he be fired, the Rocky Mountain News reported. The couple...

ST. ANTON AM ARLBERG, Austria — American skier Lindsey Vonn won't be able to fly home for Christmas because of the World Cup schedule. But the way things are going, why would she want to leave Europe? Vonn won a super-combi Saturday for her second consecutive victory, sending her to the top of the overall standings. And for the second consecutive race, Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., finished third. Stacey Cook of Mammoth Mountain, Calif., finished 13th. According to U.S. team officials, Vonn is the first American woman to win alpine World Cup races on back-to-back days since Tamara...

Boy, 8, sued in Beaver Creek ski collision Man, 60, says he was injured in crash on catwalk at Beaver Creek’s Arrowhead area Scott Swimm, 8, is being sued for a ski collision his father describes as a tap. A Pennsylvania man said tore a tendon in his shoulder in the crash. Steve Lynn Vail, CO Colorado December 20, 2007 EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado — Eight-year-old Scott Swimm spreads his arms wide when he describes the crash he was in with another skier at Arrowhead Mountain in January. “We were literally about this far away,” said Scott, an Eagle-Vail resident and third-grader...

TELLURIDE — A backlash quickly emerged after the Telluride Town Council adopted a resolution last week calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. “It’s huge, unbelievable,” said Telluride Mayor John Pryor. “Ski groups are canceling for the winter. Hundreds of people are bailing. The (town) Web site is flooded with people saying they’re canceling their vacations here.” Pryor called it a “silly initiative.” The council, he told The Telluride Watch, is too busy to weigh in on national global politics. If this was a silly initiative, why did he vote for it? The...

FRANCONIA, N.H. — A cousin of skiing star Bode Miller fatally shot and ran over a police officer, then was killed by a passer-by who grabbed the officer's gun. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said Liko Kenney shot Cpl. Bruce McKay four times, then ran over him with his car after a traffic stop Friday night.

Astronauts heading to the Moon should learn the art of cross-country skiing, a scientist who flew on the last lunar Apollo mission claims. Harrison Schmitt, part of the 1972 Apollo 17 crew, said it would allow them to explore faster and more easily. Addressing scientists in San Francisco, he said his knowledge of Nordic skiing had allowed him to glide effortlessly across the dusty lunar surface. The US space agency (Nasa) will send manned missions to the moon by 2020. "When you're cross-country skiing, once you get a rhythm going, you propel yourself with a toe push as you slide...

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) - The two dozen FBI agents who swarmed Park City Mountain Resort weren't busting anybody Friday. They weren't even armed - unless you count the sharp ends of ski poles. With the temperature near zero, agents hit the slopes - some on challenging runs, others on bunny hills - in an unusual drive to publicize the FBI and perhaps attract a few recruits. Many skiers and Park City regulars were perplexed or even a bit unnerved. Some thought the whole effort was nutty. Jokes were flying about agents skiing on the public dime, but nobody seemed...

Want low-cost skiing? Try Poland Winter Sports Travel Insurance - Click Here for a Quote A staple complaint amongst skiers and snowboarders is that good resorts, such as the ones in France and Switzerland, have become inordinately expensive and crowded. While eastern Europe might not immediately spring to mind as a skiing mecca, for those sick of the glitzy, expensive and almost always crammed full resorts of western Europe, it may be worth a try. And the Zakopane resort in Poland is one of the jewels in the crown of eastern European skiing. Nestled in a mid-mountain valley in the...