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ASPEN — Will the so-called “marina” at the top of Aspen Mountain soon be a thing of the past, forcing snowmobiling powder-poachers to find other spots to park their machines in between runs?
Is the marina an environmental cleanup problem just waiting to be formally recognized and dealt with?
Those possibilities recently were brought to the Pitkin County commissioners, when the elected officials were talking things over with Irene Davidson, Aspen District ranger for the White River National Forest.
Davidson brought up the use of the Richmond Ridge area located off the back of Aspen Mountain — which is a mixed bag of public and private lands that, broadly speaking, is leased to the Aspen Mountain Powder Tours group, an offshoot of the Aspen Skiing Co.
As part of a broader discussion about the use of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles on county roads and public lands (see related article), Davidson said that the McFarlane Gulch area, which is prized by powder junkies, is now open to use by the public and is getting some heavy snowmobile traffic. But poaching of other Richmond Ridge slopes is still going on.
She said the Skico has been granting permission to individuals to park between 20 and 40 of the machines in a designated area on top of Aspen Mountain known as “the marina,” and as spring temperatures melt the snowpack these machines start to tilt, tip and topple.
Typically, she said, by late spring “it looks like a junkyard” and poses a potential for environmental hazards such as spilled fuel.
Davidson said she has asked the Skico to review the informal parking arrangement, noting that while it is within the company’s U.S. Forest Service permit area, it is located on private land.
But even if the Skico decides to close down the marina, she said, that might simply force the snowmobiles onto public lands along the Little Annie Road, which is a county road.
A recent Forest Service proposal to open up the entire area to public use has drawn criticism from private landowners in the area and from the Powder Tour promoters and managers.
Powder Tours manager Bob Perlmutter told a reporter in March that, if forced to choose, he would rather see no motorized access to Richmond Ridge at all, rather than unrestricted access, because he worried that too much traffic would trash the area.
Pitkin County Commissioner Dorothea Farris suggested the Forest Service conduct a “carrying capacity” study of the area, to determine how much use it can withstand before deterioration sets in.
“The carrying capacity is what could determine the limits on use,” Farris said, explaining that if the study reveals that the numbers of those who now use the ridge are the maximum the area can handle without problems, then “that’s it” and there should be no expansion of use.
Mike Sladdin, founder of Powder To The People, an informal group that has pushed for increased public access to the Richmond Ridge area, urged further discussion of the matter.
“In an ideal world,” he told the commissioners, “we’d like to keep that as a ski area,” and he said his organization might be able to help with the maintenance of the area.
“I’m expecting the plug to be pulled,” he said of the future of the “marina.” He told the commissioners that he is looking for alternatives, and would welcome an opportunity to talk about the underlying issues at a future work session.
Most of the commissioners appeared to be leaning away from opening Richmond Ridge up to the general public, and toward permits or some other management system.
jcolson@aspentimes.com
Is the marina an environmental cleanup problem just waiting to be formally recognized and dealt with?
Those possibilities recently were brought to the Pitkin County commissioners, when the elected officials were talking things over with Irene Davidson, Aspen District ranger for the White River National Forest.
Davidson brought up the use of the Richmond Ridge area located off the back of Aspen Mountain — which is a mixed bag of public and private lands that, broadly speaking, is leased to the Aspen Mountain Powder Tours group, an offshoot of the Aspen Skiing Co.
As part of a broader discussion about the use of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles on county roads and public lands (see related article), Davidson said that the McFarlane Gulch area, which is prized by powder junkies, is now open to use by the public and is getting some heavy snowmobile traffic. But poaching of other Richmond Ridge slopes is still going on.
She said the Skico has been granting permission to individuals to park between 20 and 40 of the machines in a designated area on top of Aspen Mountain known as “the marina,” and as spring temperatures melt the snowpack these machines start to tilt, tip and topple.
Typically, she said, by late spring “it looks like a junkyard” and poses a potential for environmental hazards such as spilled fuel.
Davidson said she has asked the Skico to review the informal parking arrangement, noting that while it is within the company’s U.S. Forest Service permit area, it is located on private land.
But even if the Skico decides to close down the marina, she said, that might simply force the snowmobiles onto public lands along the Little Annie Road, which is a county road.
A recent Forest Service proposal to open up the entire area to public use has drawn criticism from private landowners in the area and from the Powder Tour promoters and managers.
Powder Tours manager Bob Perlmutter told a reporter in March that, if forced to choose, he would rather see no motorized access to Richmond Ridge at all, rather than unrestricted access, because he worried that too much traffic would trash the area.
Pitkin County Commissioner Dorothea Farris suggested the Forest Service conduct a “carrying capacity” study of the area, to determine how much use it can withstand before deterioration sets in.
“The carrying capacity is what could determine the limits on use,” Farris said, explaining that if the study reveals that the numbers of those who now use the ridge are the maximum the area can handle without problems, then “that’s it” and there should be no expansion of use.
Mike Sladdin, founder of Powder To The People, an informal group that has pushed for increased public access to the Richmond Ridge area, urged further discussion of the matter.
“In an ideal world,” he told the commissioners, “we’d like to keep that as a ski area,” and he said his organization might be able to help with the maintenance of the area.
“I’m expecting the plug to be pulled,” he said of the future of the “marina.” He told the commissioners that he is looking for alternatives, and would welcome an opportunity to talk about the underlying issues at a future work session.
Most of the commissioners appeared to be leaning away from opening Richmond Ridge up to the general public, and toward permits or some other management system.
jcolson@aspentimes.com
