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Show Volume XXVIII Issue VII The Ogden Valley News Page 3 February 15, 2021 Guest Commentary Cottonwood Canyon Gondola Would Be an Expensive Boondoggle By Carl Fisher It doesn’t have to be either/or. Utahns could enjoy tax cuts, fund education and solve many other problems too. Problem is, Utah’s governor and Legislature want to spend $500 million to $1 billion on a transportation system to benefit two private businesses: Snowbird and Alta. The governor has already proposed a $50 million down payment on a gondola, a gondola that will still have underneath it a road that is failing and jammed with cars because there is no valley transit increase to help our varying communities (only tourists) to these amazing canyons without paving them to park more cars. This will necessitate building thousands, if not tens of thousand, parking stalls, more condos and restaurants and the general desecration of our peaks and creeks. They’ve yet to think about year-round transit improvements to Big Cottonwood Canyon, costing us all even more. Meanwhile, crushing visitation is leaving land and water managers fighting over pennies, while the state can only think about what treasured Utah ecosystem will succumb to their next “Mighty 5” campaign, driving more revenues to their developer donors bookending our canyons. GondolaWorks, SkiLink, OneWasatch, Lift Ogden. All are rebrands on a dangerous ploy, benefitting former politicians and financially well-off, exploiting the commons and the public trust, for private gain. Let’s call it what it is — the great gondola grift. If we are so budgetarily bloated, I recommend here, a few priorities that should move ahead of this swindle du jour: • We still have underfunded schools robbing opportunity and futures for our youth. • We need criminal and social justice reforms. • We still have a housing crisis and homeless populations in need of support. • We have algal blooms destroying our precious lakes and rivers. • We have staggering wealth inequality in the midst of a global pandemic, unfathomable losses of life, livelihoods and dreams. • We have land and water managers who can’t keep pace with tourism and climate pressures. • We need better access to transit from our communities to canyons, cities and businesses. (Fund UTA not UDOT.) We all suffer, while a ski industry, comprising less than 1% of the state GDP, is looking at a $500 million to $1 billion public subsidy to build contraptions to lure tourists and attract the next Olympics. Resort patrons will be swiftly delivered to lavish resorts, while working families with no or poor access to transit are stuck in traffic. If resorts charging $200 per day to ski need a bailout, cut them a check and spare carving our canyons, only increasing the burden on future generations from whom we’ve already taken too much. Our local elected officials are entertaining funding these smarmy deals, converting climbing cracks into tracks, gardens of flowers into gondola towers. This, while their constituents consistently say they want “about the same (41%)” “less than already exists (52%)” or “more (7%)” urban development in their watersheds. Further, 82% want more public funding to protect local waters, with only 9% opposing. (Source: Watershed Public Opinion Survey, Jan. 2015). Public spending is incongruous with public values and priorities. They’re now bashing a better bus systems cost, citing it will create too many new jobs. What we see in the Wasatch is no different from what’s happening with the Inland Port, the Bear River diversion, the Lake Powell Pipeline, Uinta Basin Railway, coal ports in California and frivolous lawsuits to take public lands from the public. The only thing that trickles down in our canyons is our water, assuming a changing climate doesn’t further jostle the jet stream and exacerbate evapotranspiration. It’s beyond time to protect the Wasatch from the exploits of UDOT and well-connected developer-politician types angling to put the conservation of our canyons in check. We need leadership to invest in proactive, protective policies not grotesque gambits. Carl Fisher is executive director of Save Our Canyons, which seeks to protect the wildness and beauty of the majestic Wasatch Mountains. Note: This article, first ran in “The Salt Lake Tribune” February 4, 2021, and is being reprinted by permission of “The Salt Lake Tribune.” Inspirational Thought “Be dauntless in your pursuit of truth and resist all demands for unthinking conformity. No one would have you become mere tape recorders of other people’s thoughts. Be modest and teachable and seek to know the truth by study and also by faith. There have been times when progress was halted by thought control. Tolerance and truth demand that all be heard and that competing ideas be tested against each other so that the best, which might not always be your own, can prevail. Knowledge is most complete and dependable when all points of view are heard.” - Hugh B. Brown Final Clearance 75% OFF All Remaining Christmas Merchandise 50% OFF all Sidewalk Sale Items MOUTH OF OGDEN CANYON OPEN Mon - Thurs 10-8 | Fri - Sat 10-9 | Sun 11-7 801-621-1606 ~ www.rainbowgardens.com Free Online Avalanche Awareness Program Offered: Know Before You Go Know Before You Go is a a slab avalanche exists. Most natural slab avafree avalanche awareness program. Not much science, no warnings to stay out of the mountains, no formulas to memorize; however, the online course can save lives by teaching you what you need to know before you go out into avalanche country. To take the course online, visit kbyg.org and sign up. Avalanches - Snow avalanches are a common feature of Utah’s mountain landscape. The combination of heavy annual snowfalls and steep slopes results in potential instabilities in the layered mountain snowpack. On average, Utah mountains receive between 22 and 25 inches of precipitation annually—most falling in the winter as snow. This amounts to between 200 and 600 inches of annual snow at elevations above 7,000 feet. At these elevations, it is not unusual to receive 1 to 4 feet of snow in a single storm cycle. There are several types of avalanches, including loose snow, cornice falls, ice, and slab avalanches. The mountain snowpack is ever changing, subject to additional snowfall and erosion by wind and sun, resulting in a characteristic layered pattern. Slab avalanches are possible when a cohesive layer (the slab) is separated by a weak layer from a bed surface below. When the stress on a slab exceeds the strength that holds it in place, the potential for lanches occur during, or shortly after, significant loading by additional new snow or wind redeposited snow or rain. If natural avalanches do not occur within this period, the snow pack will adjust to the new load. Encounters between humans and avalanches have increased in recent years in Utah and in North America in general. One obvious reason for this is the increase in the number of people engaged in backcountry winter use. Another reason is the technological advances in skis, snowboards, snowshoes, and snow machines that have enabled users to more easily access dangerous avalanche terrain. Most avalanche accidents occur when the victim, or a member of the victim’s party, triggers a slab avalanche. Avalanche awareness, route selection, stability evaluation, and hazard assessment are essential in preventing backcountry avalanche incidents. If you enjoy the out-of-doors this time of year, please plan on educating yourself by taking the Know Before You Go avalanche awareness training at <kbyg.org> The website also offers other great information, such as five concepts you can put into action before you go, such as getting the right gear, training, forecast, picture, and how to stay out of harm’s way. Remember, when it comes to avalanches, what you don’t know can kill you. Know Before You Go…. Snowbasin Ski Education Foundation (SSEF) Seeks Volunteers Many of you have been loyal volunteers at the Snowbasin Ski Education Foundation (SSEF) Snowbasin-hosted races, and we are very appreciative of your dedication to the sport and support of the SSEF team! This year has been interesting due to COVID; however, SSEF is confirmed to host the upcoming Jr. IMC IMD U14 SG’s February 18 thru February 21, 2021 event at Snowbasin Resort. We are building our race crew teams now and for future events and we need you! If you have the ability to be a “Slipper” or be a “course crew” worker, or would like to assist in other areas, please join our crew. For workers on the course, you must be an intermediate to advanced skier. Snowbasin vouchers will be available in exchange for your help. During this event, we will be following strict COVID precautions and policies set out by US Ski & Snowboard competition guidelines and Snowbasin Resort (visit Snowbasin Resort’s website for more details). We will send you more information regarding procedures after you sign up. We hope to see you as a volunteer soon. It’s a nice way to get outside and volunteer for our youth programs. If you would like to help, please email Tami Strong at <tami@snowbasinskiteam.org> About Snowbasin Sports Education Foundation Competition Programs The Snowbasin Sports Education Foundation (SSEF) is a nonprofit organization that offers competitive ski racing programs for skiers ages 8 through 20, and Freeride (Big Mountain) programs for youth ages 10 thru 18. The Alpine Ski Racing program follows the U.S. Ski & Snowboard pipeline for athlete development. Athletes compete in U.S. Ski & Snowboard events through national, regional, and divisional race developmental series. The Freeride/ Big Mountain program competes in IFSA (International’s Freeskiers Association) events. SSEF is a podium member of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. All programs include a team jacket. Please note that all programs have US Ski & Snowboard professionally-licensed coaches. Our Mission - SSEF strives to create an environment and pathways for the youth of Utah to be able to reach their individual potential as athletes, students, and contributing members of the greater community through winter sports participation. ENJOY THREE DAYS DAYS!! |