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Thread: Berthoud Pass news
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08-05-2004, 04:36 PM #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.
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08-05-2004, 04:42 PM #2
HI PINNER WE LOVE YOU.
Sorry i couldn't make it on Satahday. Still too much shizzle goin down at casa de lemon"It is not the result that counts! It is not the result but the spirit! Not what - but how. Not what has been attained - but at what price.
- A. Solzhenitsyn
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