Bravo to Sean Beckwith for his column on Pandora\u2019s and the Lift One Corridor (\u201cSkico needs to pick a side \u2014 and develop it,\u201d Sept. 4, The Aspen Times).<\/p>\n
Skico\u2019s disingenuous attempt at trying to grab control of Pandora\u2019s at virtually the same time that Gorsuch announced that they were seeking outside funding for the project they had sold to the city, the electorate and their partners was not Skico\u2019s finest hour.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s face it, the electorate was scammed when we were told we could only vote up or down for the whole enchilada. And we were scammed when Gorsuch positioned his proposed hotel as a homegrown venture conceived and executed by locals.<\/p>\n
The narrowly passed Lift One Corridor (winning by just 26 votes) only succeeded because of the great lure of a brand new lift. Much of the push-back occurred because some folks objected to the proposed zoning change; many others resented a large hotel in the center of the slope. Still other objected to lack of affordable housing as well as the traffic and environmental degradation that construction of two new hotels would cause. Still, the new lift was the big lure.<\/p>\n
Then, after the vote, Gorsuch revealed \u2014 surprise, surprise! \u2014 that his group had yet to secure funding. The deal started to look shaky. It fell apart when the Browns, reasonably enough, decided to revert to the certainty of pre-approved plans they\u2019d originally bought.<\/p>\n
Is that really a bad thing? I don\u2019t think so. Two hotels on slope was always one too many for a lot of us. However, a single new hotel, at the top of South Aspen Steet \u2014 but not in the middle of the slope \u2014 with a restaurant and a deck and apres ski amenities, would be a great, needed addition to the west side of the mountain.<\/p>\n
Beckwith is right: Skico should stop trying to gentrify skiing near Pandora\u2019s and in the process deforest the surroundings. But having Skico build a new lift on the west side, with a reopened, revitalized Ruthie\u2019s? That would be something to write home about! Who knows, it just might even lead to a return of big time racing!<\/p>\n
Alex Biel<\/p>\n
Aspen<\/p>\n