Swank hotel to open in Telluride
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE, Colo. -- If sometimes described as the poor man's Aspen, Telluride is certainly no slouch when it comes to high-end real estate. Now entering that constellation is a new hotel, called the Capella Telluride.
"There aren't enough stars in heaven" to describe the hotel, says Seth Cagin, publisher of The Telluride Watch. It is scheduled to open in February in Mountain Village, the slope-side town near Telluride. The Capella will be operated by Capella Hotels & Resorts, a chain created by Horst Schulze.
Schulze achieved considerable success with his role in the 1983 founding and subsequent expansion of another high-end hotel brand, the Ritz-Carlton chain.
Aspen expects skier decline this year
ASPEN, Colo. -- The Aspen Skiing Co. is expecting business volume to drop 5 to 15 percent at its four ski areas this winter, but it is hiring just as many people—3,500 at peak season—as usual.
David Perry, the company's senior vice president, mountain division, said the circumstances are unprecedented. "It's really difficult to look historically at the business ups and downs and say, "Oh, it's just like '91 or it's just like after September 11. It's not. This is different. It's global, it's deep, and there's still big turmoil."
But with employees easier to find, and housing for them also easier to come by, the company believes it should put its best service foot forward. "We have our opportunity to shine," said Perry.
Beetle attacks inspire fire theories
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. -- As is the case with the lodgepole pine in Colorado, the whitebark pine of more northerly latitudes is having problems. Some 20 percent of the trees in Yellowstone National Park and adjacent regions are infected with blister rust, which can make them vulnerable to mountain pine beetles.
The warming climate is also making them more vulnerable, researchers said at a recent conference attended by the Jackson Hole News&Guide. Bob Keane, a Forest Service research ecologist, said he believes the stands of whitebark pine can be restored, but wildfires must be allowed more often.
"We're going to have to let some of these controversial fires burn if they're going to save whitebark pine," he said. "If we did nothing, whitebark pine would disappear off the landscape."
Wolf Creek real estate review on hold
WOLF CREEK PASS, Colo. -- U.S. Forest Service review of plans to build a major real estate development next to the Wolf Creek ski area is on hold.
The Rio Grande National Forest officials told the Associated Press they hadn't received a new or amended application from the developer, Texas billionaire Billy Joe "Red" McCombs. The plans have called for housing that theoretically could accommodate 10,500 people.
Currently, there is no residential real estate at the site, which is surrounded by national forest.
Dating's the pits in Mammoth
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. -- The ratio of men to women is imbalanced in most ski towns, but some are worse than others. Mammoth claims to be the worst. It is, says The Sheet, a place where a Roseanne Barr could scoff at a Brad Pitt.
The newspaper polled a variety of the local younger folks, who offered the usual complaints about one another. Women, say the men, are haughty. The women say that given their choices, they have good reason to be haughty.
"Most of the guys here think they are slick and smooth, but in reality they are just creepers," said Melissa Wigs, 19, using a modern term for an age-old lament.
Matt Gushka, who is 25, says if you're lucky enough to find a girl you dig, you'd better stick with her. "But you know there's four other dudes droolin' on your girl," he adds.
Whole Foods puts Basalt on hold
BASALT, Colo. -- Lack of financing has idled construction of a Whole Foods Market at Basalt.
The shell of the 44,000-square-foot building had been scheduled for June. Crews had excavated an underground parking garage and poured the concrete foundation before the project came to what The Aspen Times described as an abrupt halt. The newspaper said Whole Foods, a purveyor of organic food, has scrapped plans for eight stores, downsized stores sizes in some cases, but continues work on several others.
The chain, however, is believed to be in relatively good shape, with a $425 million investment by a private equity firm further brightening prospects.
Whistler needs room for Olympics
WHISTLER, B.C. -- With the deadline fast approaching, Whistler is scrambling a bit to find enough bedrooms to host all the workers, reporters, and others expected to swarm there for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
So far, 3,000 bedrooms in Whistler have been secured, compared to the 4,000 that the Vancouver Organizing Committee says will be needed for essential workers, volunteers, and media.
To help bridge the gap, Whistler is planning to allow homeowners to rent rooms, normally a violation of zoning ordinances banning short-term rentals, so long as the rentals do not displace local workers, reports Pique Newsmagazine.
