Idaho Mountain Express: Up the down-hill

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Up the down-hill

    The decision by the U.S. Forest Service and Sun Valley Resort to restrict the hours when uphill trekkers can ascend Bald Mountain is reasonable. However, instead of leading to an outright ban, it should become the beginning of a search to find ways to welcome a broader spectrum of winter enthusiasts to the mountain.
   As backcountry gear that enables rec-reationists to climb up and ski or board down has gotten better and better, the number of people ascending Baldy on their own steam has grown. With increasing numbers, the potential dangers of colli-sions and conflicts with downhill skiers, boarders and machinery has grown, too.
   The risks are worse early every winter season when uphill traffic is concentrated on a handful of runs because the best available snow anywhere is the manmade stuff laid down by the resort.
   No doubt, the decision to restrict uphill access when the chairlifts and gondola are operating will spark criticism and grum-bling from uphill trekkers.
   However, grumbling aside, when a property owner rents or leases property to a tenant, as the U.S. government has leased Bald Mountain to Sun Valley Re-sort, the tenant gains the right to use and enjoy the property. Owners don’t retain the right, for example, to sleep on the couch in an apartment or condo they lease to someone else or to grab a snack from the refrigerator at odd hours. Just the op-posite is true.
   The situation on Baldy is similar. Even so, over the long run the best way to deal with all the love Baldy attracts would be to work out a safe and conflict-free winter route for uphill users. If the route requires manmade snow and resort maintenance, the resort could charge uphill trekkers a reasonable fee. An added benefit for the resort would be the many trekkers who will need refreshments and a good meal at its Lookout or Roundhouse lodges after the demanding 2,000- to 3,000-foot climb.
   Open minds and creative thinking could avert user conflicts and create more ways to enjoy winter on Baldy. Everyone would win.
viagra kaufen
comprar viagra
comprare viagra

About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged: