Big Brouhaha Brewing in Telluride

Several private landholdings in Telluride's Bear Creek drainage have not only halted Telluride Ski Company's fledgling backcountry guiding program, but have also prompted the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to close backcountry access gates from the ski area leading into the canyon. The three access points from the Gold Hill area at Telluride ski area into Bear Creek will be removed, USFS officials confirmed this week in an action predicted earlier this month by Telluride Ski and Golf Co. (Telski) CEO Dave Riley. “We want to be good neighbors and discourage trespass,” Judy Schutza, Norwood District Ranger for the USFS, explained this week in a prepared statement. Shortly after Telski's guiding service kicked off last April, land dealer Thomas Chapman, of Montrose, Colo., purchased a thin strip of mining claims that extends from one wall of Upper Bear Creek to the other, and indicated that he would pursue trespass charges against hikers or skiers crossing his newly acquired land. According to Chapman this cut off access to Upper Bear Creek from Telluride Ski Resort, including the majority of the runs in that drainage such as Deep & Dangerous and Ophir to Telluride. Ski runs that drained into Bear Creek below Chapman's land holding, including E-Ticket and Nellie, remained accessible but other landholders voiced opposition as well...more