Grand Junction Outdoor News

I'm hardly a hard-core backcountry skier. In fact, my tours barely qualify as backcountry lite, but the el-cheapo adjustable poles I was using for such outings turned out to be even wussier than I am.A pair of Black Diamond adjustable poles was a welcome gift and I've reached for them regularly this winter. The model is called the Boundary, and the manufacturer touts them as affordable, adjustable polls that "get the job done without breaking your bank." They're listed for $79.95 at blackdiamondequipment.com.My pair can be adjusted from 90 centimeters to 140 centimeters (about 35 to 55...

KEYSTONE, Colo. - A Zamboni slipped through the cracks at the Keystone Lake Tuesday night.Crews were smoothing the surface of the popular skating spot around 6 p.m., when the machine fell part-way through the ice. Workers successfully extricated the Zamboni from the lake the same night and closed the ice to skating.No one was injured during the incident, and the Zamboni "fired right back up" once it was retrieved, according to Keystone spokesperson Ryan Whaley.Skating is now done for the season, since temperatures will likely be too warm by the time the hole in the ice is repaired. The ice is...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The newly established criterium series is set to begin March 31 with five additional races to follow on April 7, 14, 21, 28 and May 5. This USA Cycling-sanctioned road race begins with Group B at 5:30 p.m. each race day at the Rocky Mountain Orthopaedic Associates building, 25 1⁄2 Road and Fracture Lane. Criterium participants may sign up at www.livetrainrace.com or just before the race at the Rocky Mountain Orthopaedic Associates building. However, fields are limited to 100 riders, so registering early is suggested. There are two group races. Group B - Category...

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort has taken out an $8.85 million loan to refinance debt and make improvements on the ski mountain.La Plata County records show the resort and The First National Bank of Durango recorded a deed of trust on the loan Feb. 11. The length of the loan and interest rate weren't disclosed. The loan is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program.The resort is planning to create a dirt base for its terrain park so the park won't need as much snow to open, and it is considering adding trails and unspecified summer...

CREEDE, Colo. (AP) - A snowboarder has been found alive and well after surviving a three-day storm in the southern Colorado backcountry with only a single energy bar to eat.A helicopter search team found 42-year-old Wayne Alexander Brown on Tuesday near a cabin where he had spent the last two nights.Mineral County spokesman Charles Downing says Brown spent the first night in a snow cave he carved out under a tree.Brown, of Alamosa, lost his way Saturday at the Wolf Creek Ski Area when a heavy storm closed in. The storm eventually dropped 41 inches of snow and kept the search helicopter...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - A man from Sullivan, Ind., has died of an apparent heart attack while hiking at 6,600 feet west of Fort Collins.Fifty-two-year-old Tommy Ray Harrison and his daughter were hiking Saturday near Horsetooth Rock trials when Harrison complained of back pain, and then chest pain and collapsed. His daughter dialed 911 and performed CPR for nearly an hour before Harrison was pronounced dead.Deputy Larimer County Coroner Greg Fairman said the altitude may have contributed to Harrison's death, with strenuous activities seriously affecting those from lower elevations who are...

Each week the Free Press profiles a Grand Valley citizen for its "Meet Your Neighbor" series. Look for a new "Neighbor" each Monday in the Free Press.Tom Ela set off to see more of the world after he graduated from high school.Ela left his native Colorado for 15 years, collecting a variety of job experiences - working in restaurants, as an orderly in a state mental hospital, and as a furniture mover with a band of musicians. He spent eight years in Boston enjoying the cultural amenities of a big city. Ela first graduated from Pomona College in southern California with a degree in English.

DENVER (AP) - Three U.S. climbers - two from Colorado, one from Minnesota - hoped to document an unprecedented ascent up the east face of China's remote Mount Edgar this spring.Friends say they were retrieving their gear from base camp when they were swept away by an avalanche. All three died.On Friday, the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder is showing a film based on footage taken during the expedition."First Ascent: Point of No Return" honors Boulder's Jonny Copp, who founded the festival and was one of those killed. The others were his Boulder-based climbing partner, Micah Dash, and...

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Authorities have suspended their search for a 19-year-old Arvada man who hasn't been seen since going camping in the Nederland area about two weeks ago.The Boulder County sheriff's office says Justin Pleiss is a "survivalist" camper who took a minimal amount of food and supplies with him in a large red backpack Oct. 25. That was two days before a snow storm moved in and eventually dropped more than two feet of snow in the area.His family believes he was camping in the West Magnolia Recreation Area south of Nederland.About 50 relatives, deputies and rangers searched for...

Climb to the top of North America's highest peak with one of Mesa State's most adventurous alums, Ben Raevsky.Come hear the firsthand account of what it takes to scale a mammoth mountain in the middle of Alaska. As one of the fabled seven summits and the highest peak in North America, a few climbers each spring attempt to scale Denali's 20,320 feet, but only half reach the summit.As a former Mesa State College Outdoor Program student, Ben had planned some of the greatest spring break rafting trips ever, endured some of the most epic backcountry ski routes and climbed many of Colorado's 14ers.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Ice fishing in Colorado is off to a good start this season.The ice fishing season is just getting started in the Colorado mountains, and fishermen say their catches are looking nice so far.At Stagecoach State Park in Routt County, a reservoir was stocked with 50,000 trout last month. Rangers say they're hearing good reports this season.Rangers say the ice is plenty thick for ice fishing, but that anglers should always wear life jackets just in case.

ALLENSPARK, Colo. (AP) - An Allenspark man accused of poaching black bear with a bow and arrow is epxpected to plead guilty to wildlife charges next week.Police say 55-year-old Craig S. Archer killed a black bear and a deer without a license. A neighbor called authorities in September after spotting a trail of blood by Archer's house.Wildlife officers later found frozen bear meat in Archer's home.According to court records, Archer had purchased archery hunting licenses for deer, elk or antelope several times in the last 13 years but not this season. Authorities say they may seek a lifetime...

DENVER (AP) - An Oregon-based environmental group is suing to gain federal protection for the Colorado River cutthroat trout, found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., by the Center for Biological Diversity challenges a 2007 decision that kept the fish off the endangered species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision said there was evidence of an increased number of populations of the fish.But Noah Greenwald of the Portland-based Center for Biological Diversity says the trout is gone from 87 percent of its historic range, which...

DENVER (AP) - Colorado wildlife officials say an unusually wet spring and summer in the Eastern Plains has helped improve nesting habitat for pheasants, boosting their number to the highest in years.Division of Wildlife small game manager Ed Gorman says that should translate into an exceptional year for hunters.According to population surveys, hunters will find the greatest number of pheasants in Yuma, Kit Carson, Phillips, Sedgwick counties and eastern Logan County. There also should be improved numbers in Prowers, Baca and Cheyenne counties.Hunters in Morgan, Weld and Washington counties...

HESPERUS, Colo. (AP) - An elk reserve on state-owned property in southwest Colorado is getting criticism from people who say the Elk Research Institute is more concerned with attracting wealthy hunters than saving elk from chronic wasting disease.The nonprofit research center on about 1,500 acres in Hesperus in La Plata County has a mission of breeding elk resistant to chronic wasting disease. The breeding research center also sells hunting trips. Hunters can pay thousands to kill mature bulls, many with enormous racks that have grown because of nutritional supplements.The land belongs to...

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - A southwestern Colorado water district is developing a plan for recreation facilities at the new Lake Nighthorse reservoir.An Animas La Plata Water Conservancy District subcommittee is negotiating with a consultant for a preliminary plan.Water began flowing into the reservoir in March. Officials say it will take 18 months to three years to fill.The conservancy district took on the recreation planning after state and local officials said they had no money for it.Colorado State Parks estimated it would cost about $25 million to build recreational facilities. It's not clear...

My first pet (that wasn't imaginary) was a cat. When I was about 7 years old, friends of the family brought over a new litter of kittens in search of a good home. They were frisky and fuzzy, and with their little claws of needles, they scurried up our living room drapes. Unable to reverse that maneuver, we had to peel each kitten off like Velcro, which only enhanced their cuteness.From the display on the curtains, my sister and I picked our favorite, much the same as picking a lobster out of a tank. We named her Smokey for her different shades of gray, dressed her in a tiny collar, and...

To cultivate my inner musician, my mom arranged for weekly piano lessons after school. She was a terrific piano player, and I was excited to learn so we could sit side-by-side on the piano bench and play show tunes together. I thought I was pretty good already, so the lessons would be a cinch: I could knock out the popular five notes of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" over and over again with varying tempo and volume that no doubt made my parents wish a UFO really would hover over our house and take me away.I knew nothing about the piano other than you could always find a plastic egg in...

One of the keys to a successful training schedule is flexibility. By allowing yourself the freedom to switch, move, substitute, or cancel a scheduled workout eases the mental load of an otherwise rigid routine. Being overloaded at work or just plain overcommitted can result in less "you" time, and exercise can be the first to go.I keep a bottle of Wite-Out close to my training schedule for that specific purpose: to adjust and alter my workout routine to better accommodate my weekly work and/or social schedule. I get out the little bottle with the spongy-tipped stick and make frequent...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will dedicate a new national conservation area and wilderness area in western Colorado.The ceremony will be Wednesday near Grand Junction.Salazar, a U.S. senator from Colorado until he became interior secretary, will dedicate the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area.President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Grand Junction Saturday as part of a Western trip with his family.

KEYSTONE, Colo. - A Zamboni slipped through the cracks at the Keystone Lake Tuesday night.Crews were smoothing the surface of the popular skating spot around 6 p.m., when the machine fell part-way through the ice. Workers successfully extricated the Zamboni from the lake the same night and closed the ice to skating.No one was injured during the incident, and the Zamboni "fired right back up" once it was retrieved, according to Keystone spokesperson Ryan Whaley.Skating is now done for the season, since temperatures will likely be too warm by the time the hole in the ice is repaired. The ice is...

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort has taken out an $8.85 million loan to refinance debt and make improvements on the ski mountain.La Plata County records show the resort and The First National Bank of Durango recorded a deed of trust on the loan Feb. 11. The length of the loan and interest rate weren't disclosed. The loan is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program.The resort is planning to create a dirt base for its terrain park so the park won't need as much snow to open, and it is considering adding trails and unspecified summer...

CREEDE, Colo. (AP) - Search and rescue teams are looking for a snowboarder who was last seen Saturday at the Wolf Creek Ski Area in southern Colorado.Mineral County sheriff's deputies say crews searched Sunday and Monday for 42-year-old Wayne Alexander Brown of Alamosa.Another search is planned for Tuesday.Workers at the ski area alerted sheriff's deputies on Sunday when they noticed a car had been left in the parking lot overnight. Authorities believe Brown was snowboarding alone.Sheriff's spokesman Charles Downing says the weather has been bad, with 41 inches of snow falling at the ski area...

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - Six backcountry snowriders survived two separate avalanches, including a skier with a fractured leg who spent the night in the mountains northwest of Aspen.Pitkin County rescue crews Monday were trying to reach the skier who was injured when he was swept into some trees. His condition was not immediately know.Officials say the man is part of a group of four skiers who survived an avalanche Sunday on Mount Yeckel near Aspen.About 75 miles north, two snowboarders escaped injury after triggering an avalanche Sunday near 11,990-foot Loveland Pass.Summit County sheriff's...

VAIL, Colo. - When skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during a training run at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, Vail surgeon Bill Sterett rushed to her side."She was in a lot of pain," recalled Sterett, who skied over to Vonn, stabilized her and helped her onto a toboggan.Sterett rode in a helicopter with Vonn to a Torino hospital, where he communicated with the staff about treatment for her injuries."At the Olympics, so much of it is being a patient advocate," Sterett said. "We were in the Torino and there wasn't a single person or nurse who spoke English. She was in a lot of pain from her pelvic...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The newly established criterium series is set to begin March 31 with five additional races to follow on April 7, 14, 21, 28 and May 5. This USA Cycling-sanctioned road race begins with Group B at 5:30 p.m. each race day at the Rocky Mountain Orthopaedic Associates building, 25 1⁄2 Road and Fracture Lane. Criterium participants may sign up at www.livetrainrace.com or just before the race at the Rocky Mountain Orthopaedic Associates building. However, fields are limited to 100 riders, so registering early is suggested. There are two group races. Group B - Category...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Who knows? We'll see come Sunday, Feb. 21, when the Free Press and several local bike shops put on the 2010 "Worst Day of the Year" bike ride.It could be cold. It could be raining. It could be windy. It could be cloudy with a chance of meatballs - it's an unpredictable time of year here in the valley and that's what makes this ride so inviting. It's one giant gamble, but we'll all be in it together, toughing it out in the elements, riding with our family and friends.Modeled after (read: stolen) the popular Portland, Ore., event, which caps registration at 3,500 riders,...

The Denver Post Ride The Rockies is to begin June 13 in Grand Junction with a 46-mile loop that includes a trip up to the Colorado National Monument.The second day of the tour features a 90-mile ride from Grand Junction to Delta, with a climb up the Grand Mesa.The Monument sits at an elevation of 8,755 feet while the Grand Mesa stands at 10,839 feet.The third day of the weeklong tour is a 67-mile trip from Delta to Ouray, followed by a 70-mile trip from Ouray to Durango.The fifth day of the tour features an 85-mile ride from Durango to Pagosa Springs. That is followed by a 90-mile ride from...

For his 60th birthday last year Bob Jensen, a Grand Junction physician, rode the Colorado Peace Ride - a 238-mile loop around the San Juan Skyway - on a tandem bicycle.His sister, Paula Cuneo of Evergreen, bought Jensen the tour for his birthday and rode with him.Jensen is a regular bike rider. He pedals 100 to 150 miles a week during most of the year, and rides a stationary bike in the winter three or four times a week. "It was a challenge," Jensen said. "It's pretty rewarding when you get to your destination for the day - especially on a tandem."But even more impressive were three...

My first bicycle, after graduating from teetering on training wheels post-Big Wheel, was a red bike with flat handlebars and a red and white seat. I rode it up and down our dirt road as fast as I could, because the greater the speed, the more abrupt the stop, and the bigger cloud of dust.There was very little tutorial required with my red bike: If you wanted to go forward, you pedaled forward; if you wanted to stop, you pedaled in reverse. If you were done riding, you lay it down anywhere. Mom will get it.I rode my red bike in the 4th of July bicentennial parade. I covered it with red, white,...