CBMR makes monumental shift in plans for Snodgrass

Time for new ideas

The debate over Snodgrass as it’s been framed the last couple of decades appears to be over. Both Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the Forest Service have concluded and agreed that a “traditional” ski resort will not be permitted on the mountain. That’s not to say the ski area won’t be allowed to have some sort of resort skiing on Snodgrass, but what form it ultimately takes is unknown.

CBMR officials met with forest supervisor Charlie Richmond Monday in Gunnison for two hours to discuss the ski resort expansion situation. Last fall, Richmond rejected CBMR’s Snodgrass expansion proposal that asked for three chairlifts and 276 acres of ski runs on the mountain. Richmond’s decision was appealed through the Forest Service hierarchy to forest chief Tom Tidwell, who ultimately upheld Richmond’s decision. The appeal process brought with it a sometimes-acrimonious split in the local community, between those wanting lift-served skiing on Snodgrass and those opposed to any lifts on the mountain.
CBMR officials came away from Monday’s meeting with an admittedly new attitude, and an understanding and acceptance that the resort will not be allowed to pursue a “traditional” lift-served ski resort on the mountain.
“A good, frank discussion took place,” said CBMR chief operating officer Ken Stone. “The Forest Service made it clear they don’t foresee traditional skiing on Snodgrass, but in the end they are open to looking at new options with us.”
“We had a good, honest discussion about things,” said Richmond. “We got beyond this debate about traditional, lift-served skiing and we all agreed to explore non-traditional approaches that could benefit the resort and the community.”
Stone said CBMR still wants to utilize Snodgrass for skiing and now is the time to look at new ideas. “A traditional ski operation on Snodgrass is not in the future,” said Stone. “It is time to take a fresh look at things from a non-traditional viewpoint. We have started some planning for alternatives and we want input from the community. We want ideas. We see year-round opportunities over there, especially with how gravity-fed mountain biking has increased the last couple of years on the mountain.”
So, are all lifts banned forever from the mountain? “I can’t speculate about that,” said Richmond. “We will let the dialogue over Snodgrass happen and we will go forward with open, honest discussions. I don’t know what form the discussions will take but we both want to engage the community. It is way too early to speculate about specific ideas.”
“We are all looking for new options,” said Stone.
He indicated some of those options could include a snowcat skiing operation or some sort of expanded backcountry skiing. “There is already backcountry skiing there and we groom the road so we need to see if there is a business aspect that might make sense to expand that,” Stone said. “We don’t know what that could be yet but no one wants to be short-sighted. We all need to have a new mindset on this.
“The world has changed a lot in the last few years,” Stone continued. “We are going to look at this through a new set of goggles. We want to separate ourselves from other ski resorts.”
Richmond agreed that the skiing industry is changing, but he made it clear the Forest Service wants to be a productive partner with CBMR. “We are in partnership with them even if during the last year it hasn’t appeared that way,” Richmond said. “We have a vital interest to see them succeed. I’m optimistic and I’m hopeful we can come up with a new non-traditional way to have skiing or year-round amenities over there. We are moving on from the idea of a traditional ski resort and exploring new ideas.”
So now the resort has a blank slate on which to draw up new ideas. Stone said stakeholders and community groups would be consulted for ideas. “The need and purpose in the past was all winter,” he said. “A new plan has to focus on a balanced year-round plan. Summer opportunities have more relevance now.
“We can do some short-term things on our private land that could boost winter even this year,” Stone continued. “We might explore some Nordic trails at the base of Snodgrass that connect to the main mountain. Longer-term alpine touring is a growing part of the ski market and we can bring that in more. We do think there are still ways to get intermediate skiers over on Snodgrass. There is a lot of intermediate terrain over there.”
But it’s not just over on Snodgrass. Stone said his crew has been hiking the main mountain all summer in search of new intermediate terrain. “We addressed the idea of expanding our current ski area boundaries on the main mountain and the Forest Service was open to the idea,” he said. “There is intermediate terrain not currently in our boundary and if we can figure out how to get people out of there, it might make sense to expand the current boundaries. That is something else to examine. We really want to look at all our options and we are excited to move in a non-traditional direction. We want to differentiate ourselves from the other ski resorts out there.”
CBMR vice president of resort planning and development Michael Kraatz agrees with that attitude. “Having an open mind and looking at different alternatives is good for both the Forest Service and us,” he said. “The next step is that we all agreed to get back with the Forest Service in early December to explore more alternatives. In the meantime, we will be looking at alternatives and we are open to ideas from the community.”