The dormant Eclipse Snow Park at St. Mary’s Glacier is trying to get approval to open a ski training facility, a smaller iteration of the controversial ski resort it wanted to open in 2010 that was denied by the county.
Eclipse, which is owned by Michael Coors, has requested a one-year temporary-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. If the permit is granted, Eclipse then would bring its plans to Clear Creek County for approval.
If approved, the training camp would be open toward the end of the traditional ski season — from April to June — assuming snow lasted that late in the spring. The ski park’s planners hope initially to open the area during weekends and open it daily in June.
The U.S. Forest Service has sent letters to neighboring property owners to explain the proposal and get comments before deciding whether to grant the permit. It is requesting responses by Sept. 30.
Clear Creek County has not yet received an application from Eclipse Snow Park.
The U.S. Forest Service is involved in granting a permit because four small parcels of Forest Service land are needed to open the ski training facility.
According to Eclipse’s proposal, the facility would be capable of hosting 120 people per day. Ski teams would carpool to the area in vans and other high-occupancy vehicles rather than individual vehicles.
The park would include two portable surface lifts, plus maintenance and guest support facilities and parking.
“If we could have done this plan seven years ago when we started this whole thing, we would have pushed (this one) forward,” Coors said.
Coors said the park would contain areas focusing on both terrain and race training in a camp-like environment for younger users. No ski lodge is planned.
“We’re trying to be as low-key as we can,” Coors said.
Trying to address concerns
Coors says the proposal was crafted to address community and county concerns that led to the denial of the last request in 2010.
At that time, Eclipse proposed developing a 12-acre ski/snowboard park that could accommodate up to 301 guests and employees daily during the full ski season.
The plan was rejected on a 2-1 vote by the Clear Creek commissioners for safety reasons because of the difficulty that law enforcement and ambulance services would have reaching the site. St. Mary’s Glacier residents also were concerned about a high volume of traffic on roads not meant for that many cars.
“We looked for a project that we felt in scope and size would address the issues the county had at the last go-around and also deal with some of the community concerns that we heard at those meetings,” Coors said. “(We also wanted) a business that we could do that would take advantage of what we think are the best parts of that property.”
Mixed reaction from residents
The controversy two years ago prompted the Forest Service to send out a “scoping letter” that details the proposal to residents and seeks their comments, and so far the reaction has been decidedly mixed.
“Under normal circumstances, we don’t put out a scoping letter for comment, but the district ranger was interested in getting comments from and the sentiment from the St. Mary’s community,” said Elisha Kirby, a Forest Service spokeswoman.
Area homeowner Jan Ziman was vehemently opposed to the original project and said her sentiments are the same regarding this proposal.
“And I still am not (in favor of it), for the record,” Ziman said.
Ziman said she believes that, despite the proposal for a smaller operation, there still would be serious traffic and safety issues.
“I don’t know how (Coors is) going to get them up there. Our road in the summertime is already at capacity,” Ziman said. “I spent five years fighting this because it is a safety issue in the long run.”
Homeowner LuAn Beall said she favors the plan described in the scoping letter.
“I’m for it. I think it’ll be a great thing for the community,” Beall said.
Beall said she is disappointed that Coors’ proposal is scaled back from its original version.
“But I guess he’s got to do what he’s got to do,” Beall said.
In 2005, Coors purchased the St. Mary’s ski area, which had closed in 1988, for under $2 million. The project originally was presented as catering to young adults with, among other things, a half-pipe and music on the slopes.
In February 2009, Coors presented a scaled-down, more family-friendly version to reduce concerns about traffic and parking; that plan was ultimately denied in 2010.