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Show . i •r Tues/Wed/Thurs, December 28-30, 2004 The Park Record A-22 . Ski resort legacies live on *!>•». THE MINERS CLUB AT THE CANYONS THE WARMING HUT COMPLIMENTARY * CAPPUCCINO,• COFEEE * TEA * CIDER • «*u,,n.t . . • , By JOHN MEYER MediaNews Group Wire On the east side of the highway is an ugly scar where a mountainside has been blasted away. On the west side is a desolate tailing pond that used to be a lovely alpine meadow and a mountain that used to be a pretty fine ski area. There, at 11,400 feet on Fremont Pass near Leadville, the town of Climax once was a bustling mining community of about 500 homes filled with the families of miners who worked in the molybdenum mine there. The town is long gone. Dave Gorsuch, who went from practicing slalom around willow branches he cut from the nearby Arkansas River valley in his boyhood to competing in the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, says Climax was a "magical place" for a child, especially at Christmas when all the intersections were hung with colorful lights. He fondly remembers participating in the Christmas torchlight parade at the modest ski area his father built as a company amenity for the miners and their families. "We got these railroad flares, you went up to the top, and everybody kind of did a snake dance coming down the hill," Gorsuch said. "Mother would always scold me if 1 held that thing too close, because it would burn holes in your parka." Dozens of lost ski areas flared, flickered and fizzled in Colorado, but not before burning images in the memories of those who skied them. Some were doomed from the start because of unreliable snowfall. Others hung on until they were overtaken by the trend toward vast "mega resorts," lavish "guest services" and corporate ownership. Many were located in unlikely places, such as the Heritage Square area at the foot of Lookout Mountain in Golden (Magic Mountain) and Chautauqua Mesa on the west side of Boulder. A few were important destinations in their heyday. Genesee Mountain was a regular stop on the national ski jumping circuit in the 1920s, hosting national championships in 1921 and 1927 on a jump built by the Colorado those days. "When you saw a car with a ski rack on it, you'd both stop and ask each other how are yjiT" doing, what's your name, whfcre have you skied." Gorsuch said. "It was sort of a secret pleasure that those few who enjoyed it realiy wanted to share." The Gorsuch family was skiing on Dec. 7, 1941, when it heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Molybdenum is a metallic element used to harden steel, and the American war buildup would require lots of it. Soon after, Climax was operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the war. The ski slopes were lighted three nights a week so the miners could have some recreation. Tenth Mountain Division ski troops training at nearby Camp Hale for warfare in the Alps would come over to race at Climax. Several who would go on to do great things in ski racing and the Colorado ski indusClimax A project started by a miner try - such as Pete Seibcrt. Steve in the 1930s became a post- Knowlton, Gordy Wren, Barney McLean - competed at Climax World War II hot spot. Gorsuch's father, Jack, was while stationed at Camp Hale. the driving force behind skiing "Those were my heroes," at Climax. Gorsuch said. A T-bar was installed in 1947 Gorsuch began clearing runs on the east-facing slopes of and for a time. Climax was one Chalk Mountain in the mid- of the best-known ski areas in 19305. Workers strung lights bor- the state. But in the early 1960s rowed from the mining opera- the employee housing structures tion, and the ski area opened in were moved, most to Leadville, January 1937 without a lift or and the ski area closed. rope tow. In 1941, Gorsuch organized the construction of a Hidden Valley rope tow using timbers from the Trail Ridge Road paved themine - an ore bucket was used way for the creation of a ski area as a counterweight - and the full of extremes. Continental Ski Club was On the east side of Rocky formed. Mountain National Park at the "It was great," Dave Gorsuch foot of Trail Ridge Road, reminisced. "There were some Hidden Valley was built at the very steep pitches up at the top. site of an old logging operation We used to have slab avalanches that supplied limber for conthat would kick off every now struction of the Stanley Hotel in and then. It was a good training Estcs Park. From 1929-31, the hill. You could get a lot of runs site was used as a base of operations for the construction of in." Gorsuch said his father, an Trail Ridge Road. employee of the mine, had a Starting in 1936 the eastern great passion for skiing. end of the road was kept open "It was something the whole during the winter so skiers could family did," said Gorsuch, 66, reach Hidden Valley. By the late who had an older brother and 1930s it was considered one of sister. "Dad or Mother would go the top winter recreation areas over and operate the ski lift. I in the West. would get my homework done The Denver Post quoted a and ski at night." Skiers were a small clique in Mountain Club in 1919. Hidden Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park hosted the alpine national championships in 1934 with a downhill course so nasty it was dubbed the "Suicide Trail." The most stubborn, Berthoud Pass, opened with a rope tow in 1937 and finally sputtered into oblivion in 2003, It remains a popular destination for expert backcountry skiers and snowboarders because of its abundant snow and challenging runs. One lost area may be reborn. Squaw Pass, a small area above Idaho Springs that operated from 1961-74, might be redeveloped as a terrain park. The old lift still is visible on the road between Bergen Park and Echo Lake. The Colorado Ski Museum has identified nearly 140 lost areas. Here is a closer look at four, with recollections from skiers who knew them well: Please see Scores,A-23 *JJ ^ Details of Participation: This is an offer sponsored by ARC, "fhe Miners Club, LLC as part of an advertising plan for its Vacation Ownership Program. Annual income of $75,000 or more, a minimum age of 25 years & ownership of a primary residence is required. Couples must attend together a 90 minute tour & sales presentation about The Miners Club. Confirmed reservations for a specific date & time required. Gifts will be issued upon completion of the sales presentation. Excluded from this offer are previous participants in a Miners Club promotion in the past 18 mdnths. Offer subject to change without notice. One offer per family or group. ARC The Miners Club, LLC is an equal opportunity credit lender. This offer is not valid in I any state in which registration requirements have not been met. Offer expires April 13, 2005. |