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By Tom Boyd
Headline RSS FeedFire mitigation and better skiing - a match lit in heaven
October 23, 2007 — It occurs to me, as I look out my window to see a cool-looking helicopter flying back and forth over my house, that I have a long-standing childhood desire to fly a helicopter.
Hmmmm, perhaps if I were given control of one of those babies I could solve Vail’s beetle-kill issue in one fell swoop!
(See related news and sports stories by clicking either of the following links: “Could California-style wildfires happen here?” or “More glade skiing on Vail Mountain?” .
Here’s the plan: give me a couple dual-rotor helicopters, a huge crew of loggers on the ground, and a multi-billion dollar budget and I’d take care of all those trees in a jiffy. If I were king of the world (which, in my own mind, I already am), I’d cut ‘em down, create more glade skiing, fly the wood to the lumbermill, and reduce fire danger all in a few year’s time.
Seriously, though, isn’t that an option to be considered? The lumber sales would offset the costs of undertaking the project, Vail Resorts could chip in a hefty amount (since they would be upping their skiing acreage), the town would feel safe, and our surrounding environment would be back on track, right?
As always, it’s not that simple. The Forest Service rangers are taking a close look at the terrain on Vail Mountain to determine just what’s right for the health of the forests in that area, and since ski runs already exist, it seems more trees – not fewer – are what’s needed on Vail’s Front Side. Since skiers and snowboarders often kill (or maim) little saplings as they ski over the top of them, especially early and late in the season, the Forest Service seems hesitant to prescribe the kind of cutting and hauling which is currently ongoing in West Vail.
Ah well, that’s the way it goes. But perhaps, at least, I could get a ride-a-long in one of those helicopters?
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Baseball news snowballs in Boston
October 22, 2007 — Baseball coverage has never been better for skiing.
Here in Boston all the news all day has been about the Boston Red Sox's victory last night in the ALCS, which puts them in the World Series against the Rockeis. And whenever the Rockies are mentioned, Colorado's recent snowstorm has been mentioned.
From the Boston Herald to the local Fox Affiliate, and even on to ESPN and Fox Sports, image after image of a snow-covered Coors Field has been proliferated around Bean Town today.
So what does that mean?
It's only a prediction, but I'm betting that quite a few New Englanders will be heading out to Colorado this winter rather than up to Vermont or New Hampshire. And once they've skied our fluffy powder, they'll never want to go back.
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ROCKS VS SOCKS!
ROCKS VS SOCKS!
October 22, 2007 — BOSTON - My live coverage from Boston continues with mayhem in the streets as a massive miasma of Nation fans spills out onto the streets outside of Fenway Park, where the Rockies will strut onto the national stage Wednesday night to face the Sox in the World Series.
All my photos are blurry and dark but for the shot of the Sox shirt you see at right, but let these words paint the picture for you: After winning the American League and advancing to the World Series, Boston is in absolute hysterics. Cops in riot gear are everywhere outside Fenway, but no bad news yet from the midst of the chaos.
Make no mistake, this is a Vail website with Vail roots, and outdoor non-ball sports are usually our game. But when Rockies fever hits, it hits hard and it has swept us up faster than the Rox swept away the Diamondbacks and Phillies. RealVail is happy to report from Boston tonight (Sunday, Oct. 21) that our city is continuing to get high praise from Sox fans, Sox players, and the national media (which long ignored us, to its detriment.) Boston is now bracing for major disruptions, and its strategy to repel a dangerous riot akin to the one that met the 2004 ALCS victory is to pepper the streets with cops in helmets and bullet-proof vests, showing more force than (we hope) would ever be necessary in peaceful D-town.
And don’t forget the Broncos – Jason Elam hit his third game-winning field goal of the year to help the Donks recover from a humiliating loss to San Diego at home two weeks ago. Rockies magic is everywhere – here, there, and certainly at Mile High, where the Rockies played their first-ever game in 1993.
Local Boston newscasters have referred several times to the “Red Hot Rockies,” and to the fact that we took 2 of 3 games from them in Fenway during the regular season. Snow seems to be their main concern, as Boston fans are getting a heavy, heavy dose of what our weather conditions are like – my prediction: more than a few Sox fans will decide to book their winter vacation in Vail this year after seeing shots of our recent snowfall on TV.
I’m hoping for a Rockies W.S. victory in Game 5 – that way the Rockies can beat the Sox just as the Broncos beat Green Bay on Monday Night Football. It’s time the nation knows just how good we are out in the Rocky Mountain West, not just in Denver, but in Vail, Aspen, Summit County, and all over the Rockies from Montana down to New Mexico, from Utah to Kansas, we may not have a 100-year-old tradition, but we’re building one and it feels fantastic! Go Broncs! Go Rocks!
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ROCKS VS SOCKS!"
By Tom Boyd
Representing the Rockies
October 20, 2007 — Live from Boston, I’m here tonight near Fenway (not IN Fenway, unfortunately), making sure Bean Towners know that not only are the Rockies for real, but so are their fans.
I’ve already talked to many people who have been to Vail and are, we hope, planning to visit us again this winter.
I have to say that, having been here a few times this year, and having talked it up with all kinds of different fans here, that the Boston crowd is very cool about the Rockies, very supportive, not dismissive at all about our novel nature, and most are fired up about baseball finding a new, loyal home in the mountains.
I'm pulling for a Sox win in Game 7 because I've met good people here, and because I think a Rockies v Sox series is far more intriguing than a Rockies v Inidans series.
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