ColoradoSkiHistory.com

[NoPainNoJane]

new update from the clear creek courant

[quote]By Ian Neligh

By Ian Neligh

Courant Editor

Plans for the controversial Eclipse Snow Park have been modified to make the area more “family-friendly” and to reduce local residents’ concerns about traffic and parking.

Eclipse representatives met with the community at St. Mary’s on Feb. 28 to unveil their new vision for the ski resort, which is awaiting final approval from the Clear Creek County commissioners. Michael Coors, president of Eclipse, said that if final approval comes in the next month, construction could begin in late spring.

Coors was on hand to present the project plans and to field comments from the community in a full room at the Alice School House.

The plans for the resort, initially proposed as a terrain park, have been modified to create a family-friendly ski area similar in design to the original St. Mary’s ski resort, which closed in 1988.

“As we’ve watched others and we’ve gotten to know the mountain a little better, the area a little better, we feel more like a family environment is what we wanted,” Coors said. “So it will be a place for my kids to come up and ski and hopefully you and your kids too, and we’re pretty excited about that.”

The proposal for the ski area has fueled community debate about the pros and cons, at times focusing on the amount of traffic congestion it could bring on Fall River Road.

The plans for the project now include a parking area that would accommodate only 63 spaces.

“We’re sensitive to the fact that the road is a huge issue, and for many of you especially living on lower Fall River Road it’s a big issue,” Coors said. “… In this plan, we want you to understand that 63 means 63 — on busy days, that means we’ll be turning people around at the bottom of Fall River Road.”

Coors said he understands residents don’t want an influx of traffic, with would-be skiers “running around” neighborhoods looking for parking.

The plans also include a lodge, one fixed-grip chairlift, a surface tow and two “magic carpets,” or conveyor lifts, for ski instruction. Winter ski operations are planned to take place from mid-November through mid-April.

Coors also stressed that the ski area wouldn’t have lights on the slopes for nighttime skiing, outdoor music or snow-making machines.

Coors said the operation anticipates hiring a staff of 30 to 40 for the park. The positions will primarily be snowboard instructors, lift operators, base area staff and employees for the restaurant/bar.

“As far as impacts on the community, we see this as probably being a handful of full-time employees and dozens of part-time — that is just kind of the nature of the ski industry,” Coors said.

The 3,100-square-foot, two-story lodge being planned will house a ski patrol, ski school, a ticket counter, limited retail and a restaurant/bar during the day.

“At nighttime I’d like to keep it open and make it a restaurant for the community,” Coors said. “A place where everybody can get together eat with family, come watch football games on the weekend — whatever you guys want to make of it.”

Coors originally purchased the original St. Mary’s ski area in 2005 for just under $2 million. Eclipse Snow Park has use rights to 293.3 acres.

Clear Creek County recently rezoned the area from commercial/tourism/recreation to the more restrictive commercial/outdoor recreational. The new zoning means the resort cannot build hotels or host motorized vehicle tours or racing.

Eclipse Snow Park is also pursuing a land exchange and permitting options with the U.S. Forest Service for potential future growth.

The attendees at the Feb. 28 meeting were asked to fill out a questionnaire that gauged their opinions of the revised plans. According to the Kenney Group, a communications and public relations company working with Coors, the results were about 56-5 in favor of the park.

[/quote]

My question is how do they expect to open in mid-November without snowmaking?

[stowe1961]

No snowmaking and only 63 parking spaces??? Maybe $10K per day in lift ticket revenue only if the snow is decent??? Times maybe 20 good weekend days per year and it will be a while before all of the planned improvements are paid for!!! But Alice and St. Mary's could use some jobs not to mention a lift in local home values too. And since land is pretty cheap in Alice maybe they wouldn't mind building a larger parking lot there and running a shuttle bus. Or maybe somewhere along lower Fall River Road a larger parking lot could be built to allay some of the concerns of the residents there about the road and the switchbacks.

I still think that Michael could make a lot more money by building a high-end club with onslope lodging and charging a limited number of guests top dollar for a 4-star experience. I mean, it almost worked at Arrowhead!!!

Or maybe Clear Creek County needs the jobs so badly that they would be willing to pony-up some of the operational losses to keep it going, not to mention some road improvements.

How about trying to resurrect Geneva Basin instead???

Mark

[trooper1556]

i just checked out the revised plan for eclipse, it will be entirely within the old ski area boundry, not the previously proposed USFS land swap size:
http://www.eclipsesnow.com/pdf/eclipse_development_plan1.pdf

[trooper1556]

From: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15354392

[brad]

I can't say I'm surprised by this decision. However, I wonder if they will bring a lawsuit against the county?
_________________
-Brad

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