Snowmass balks at nordic plan adoption

SNOWMASS VILLAGE ” Asked to pass a valleywide nordic master plan, the Snowmass Town Council on Monday delayed approval until it could hear from local trail users.

Skiers, hikers and residents expressed concern about everything from unruly, unleashed dogs and dog excrement, to the limited terrain for walking without post-holing in deep snow.

The council will wait for the findings of the ad hoc Snowmass Trail Council about more multiuse trail options before revisiting the proposed nordic plan.

“There’s a lot of trail need,” said Howie Mallory, a member of the Aspen/Snowmass Nordic Council, asking for approval of the plan that already has been adopted by officials from Basalt and Pitkin County. “We ought to have a world-class ski platform and a world-class trail platform.”

One stumbling block, however, is many Snowmass area trails are on the Snowmass Club golf course, which limits trails to existing cart paths and bars any multiuse trail expansion.

Continued meetings and discussion, Mallory said, will invite more input and involvement from the community, and is an opportunity to find ways to share heavily-used local trails.