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  1. #1

    Berthoud Pass news

    http://www.grandcountynews.com/previ...rkmanifest.htm


    Berthoud building planned

    by Harry Williamson
    Winter Park Manifest


    With its fate now sealed, a plan to demolish the 54-year-old
    Berthoud Pass Lodge and restore the site is due this week from
    the building's current owner, Marise Cipriani.

    Daniel Lovato, ranger for the Clear Creek District, said Forest
    Service officials studied the lodge site last week with Charles
    Mayfield, a vice president at Cipriani's SolVista in Granby,
    which is listed as the owner.

    The cost of the removal and restoration has been estimated at
    $75,000.

    At the same time, the Forest Service, Colorado State Parks and
    the Continental Divide Trail Alliance are finalizing the next
    stage of a $2.5 million Great Outdoors Colorado grant that would
    include the construction of a 3,000-square- foot day lodge or
    "viewing plaza" at the site. The grant, which survived the first
    GOCO cut, would be part of a $4.7 million project to do
    improvements along 100 miles of the Continental Divide Trail,
    referred to in the grant request as "the king of trails."

    Under the plan, Berthoud Pass would become "a fully developed
    trailhead" for the trail, with the work there to include parking
    lot improvements, a relocation of the existing trail by one
    mile, and extensive interpretive signage. The total cost is
    projected at $2,364,000.

    In response to a meeting last week with Jim Bedwell, supervisor
    of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, and Sulphur District
    Ranger Craig Magwire, the Grand County Commissioners promised a
    letter of support to GOCO.

    In a phone interview, Magwire said it is "very important to the
    Forest Service to have an appropriate facility to meet the needs
    of the recreating public, one which blends into the site."

    He added that they are "seeking the support of other players" in
    the project, including Grand and Clear Creek counties. Magwire
    did not totally discount the possibility of some form of
    commercial operation at the new day lodge, but said the current
    plan is to have it operated by State Parks.

    In discussing the demolition, Lovato said Mayfield, who could
    not be reached for comment, indicated that discussions are under
    way with contractors to finalize the plan to raze the structure.
    He said it is hoped the demolition will be done in September,
    when the City of Northglenn is planning to replace approximately
    150-feet of water pipeline that extends through the existing
    lodge parking lot.

    "It would be best if we could do the two projects at
    approximately the same time," Lovato said.

    The pipeline, which had 75-feet replaced in 2002, takes water
    from the area of the headwaters of the Fraser River and moves it
    to the Front Range.

    Lovato said that it will not be possible to save and restore the
    lodge's sewage system as had been hoped, although the water
    wells and some electrical work will be retained.

    He said the Forest Service will continue to pay to have portable
    toilets at the site.

    "We will continue to have that (the toilets) even though it's
    quite expensive. We've made a commitment to doing that," Lovato
    said, adding that he is looking at other types of toilets that
    could survive the Berthoud weather.

    Following seven months of study, Bedwell earlier this year said
    it had been determined that operating a ski area from the lodge
    is not a viable option. In its 67 year history, the Berthoud
    Pass Ski Area has had eight owners, and the 14,000-square-foot
    lodge building has been unused for four of the past 11 years.

    As part of the decision, the designation of Berthoud Pass as a
    ski area has been removed.

    The Forest Service initiated the new assessment of the Berthoud
    Pass Ski Area after SolVista, announced last year that it was
    closing the snowcat skiing Powder Guide operation. Cipriani had
    purchased the ski area in 1999, operating the lifts for two
    years until she said the Front Range season- pass price wars
    forced her out of business. Last summer, following a Forest
    Service mandate, she sold the triple chair to
    Massachusetts-based Berkshire East and the quad to Snow Creek
    outside Kansas City, Missouri.

    The Forest Service's assessment recommends "a change in the
    management direction for the area (from ski resort to other
    management direction), which will require a Forest Plan
    amendment. The assessment was done to determine if the area
    should continue to be managed as a ski area since "SolVista is
    the fourth owner who failed to run a profitable ski operation at
    Berthoud Pass since 1987."

    Berthoud Pass Ski Area opened in 1937, and was the first resort
    in the state to have a lift. The original Inn at the Pass, built
    in the 1920s, was destroyed by fire in 1939. Another building
    burned in 1940, and the existing lodge was constructed in 1939.

    "A small ski area like Berthoud simply cannot provide this kind
    of experience, especially when confronted by competition from
    Winter Park and Summit County resorts., which are in a much
    better position to offer these kinds of services. Despite its
    earlier success and recent attempts by several entities to make
    the downhill ski area model successful, Berthoud Pass cannot and
    probably will not sustain a viable downhill ski business," the
    assessment states.

    It had been estimated it could cost at least $200,000 to repair
    the lodge's roof, interior condition, and the water and sewage
    systems.

    The Continental Trail "legacy" or large scale project proposal
    to GOCO made the first cut of 68 applications, and is now
    competing with 22 other requests, with final details due by Aug.
    6. The Forest Service has said it will provide $400,000 to the
    project, with $350,000 coming from Colorado State Parks. The
    trail association is providing $20,000 cash, and $260,000 in
    in-kind volunteer labor to the project.

    The GOCO request states that "failure to compete the CDT
    (Continental Divide Trail) would be a travesty for local
    communities, the environment and future generations of outdoor
    recreationists from around the world."

    The request states that "Berthoud Pass has great potential to
    serve as a prototype for a 'showcase' trailhead along the CDT.

    "This would include developed plazas highlighting the scenery
    and interpreting the area's history, the Continental Divide
    (historic marker exists on the site,) and the CDT itself.
    restrooms, a renovated parking area, and a day lodge to provide
    food, supplies and respite from the weather would support hiking
    and backpacking in summer and fall, snowshoeing, cross-country
    skiing, and snowplay in winter and spring. Storage of equipment
    to support volunteer activities would also be included.
    Relocation of the CDT, with a portion interpreted and
    universally accessible, would also occur on the pass. The
    identify and appreciation of the CDT as a national asset
    centered in Colorado would be enhanced with this proposal," the
    request states.

    www.saveberthoud.org
    "Preserving the legacy of public recreation at Berthoud Pass."

  2. #2
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    Sorry i couldn't make it on Satahday. Still too much shizzle goin down at casa de lemon
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