CONIFER/ Evergreen — A titanic battle of Colorado values and priorities is brewing over a proposed mountain bike park on a 9,000-foot mountain overlooking the quiet foothills community 40 minutes from Denver.
On one side are the thousands of cyclists who take to the state’s roads and trails every day, seeking the thrill and challenge of rolling across world-class terrain amid jaw-dropping settings. On the other are long-time mountain residents, adamant about keeping Colorado’s relentless growth at bay while protecting a peacefulness and quietude that is increasingly under strain.
The battle lines in this faceoff are drawn on a heavily wooded 250-acre parcel along Shadow Mountain Drive just west of Conifer, where a plan to build Colorado’s first dedicated lift-access mountain bike park — with 16 miles of trails and an 830-foot vertical drop spanned by a chairlift has resulted in dueling campaigns for and against it. We will hear from those who oppose this initiative, and in two weeks, we’ll hear from the proponents.
This week is our board meeting. It will start at 5PM…. All members are welcome.
We are two weeks away from the end of the selling season for ice melt. Let’s finish off with a flurry. If you have not yet volunteered to sell tickets…….. now would be a good time. We are now selling at a couple of bars to avoid the competition with the girl scouts.
To those of you who were anticipating the meeting with Ted Ning, don’t worry, he will be rescheduled. He is an amazing person.
I made multiple mistakes last week managing our snow. First, I pressured Mount Vernon not to close as I thought the snow was over early. Next, I assured our speaker that we would be there. Then, I picked the worst part of the day to travel to Mount Vernon and had a very bad experience on the way in near zero visibility. Judi Q came over to rescue me, which I greatly appreciated. By then, the weather had changed, making her trip unnecessary. Well, our speaker plus T.J. and three members made it. Five others jumped on zoom, but it was not operable. Other than these several mistakes, I handled things perfectly. Hopefully, this week will not feature Wednesday snow. If it does, I will not try to arm-wrestle Mother Nature.
Hoping to see you all Wednesday. Please volunteer to sell tickets……….. those who have sold every week are getting tired.