United S tates Department of Agriculture Planning Forest S ervice Rocky C onsiderations Mountain Region for Winter Sports Resort Development - - •' ...-,?• PLANNING C ONSIDERATIONS FOR W INTER SPORTS RESORT DEVELOPMENT By:. H Peter Wingle ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The a uthor acknowledges the helpful comments and advice from many people. Candid thoughts about the development issues at various ski resorts give this publication real case examples which may help future planners to work their way through the labyrinth of issues and situations that are a challenge in developing viable resort areas and associated facilities. USDA F orest Service - Dave Anderson, Dennis Bschor, Gary Cargill, Steve Deitemeyer, Pam DeVore, Elizabeth Estill, Jim Hackett, Dennis Haddow, Mike Hammer, John Hoagland, Dennis Johnson, John Korb, Ken Kowynia, Erik Martin, Larry Mullen, Ted Mullen, Ed Ryberg, Dave Stark, Bruce Ungari, Irma Wolf; Lois Witte, USDA Office of General Counsel, USDA Cooperators - T im Beck, SnoEngineering; Ed Byrne, Colorado Ski Country USA; Tim Casey, Summit Huts Assn.; John Fry, Snow Country magazine; Phil Gravink, Attitash Ski Area; Mike Larsen, Vail Associates, Inc.; Chuck Lewis, Eldora Ski Area and LWP Services; Larry Lichliter, Vail; Peter Looram, 10th Mountain Division Hut Assn.; Gary McGraw, Bob Woodberry, Winter Park; Jon Reveal, Aspen Skiing Company; Pete Seibert, Vail; Harris Sherman, Arnold and Porter; Fred Smith, Aspen Skiing Co.; John Stevens, Telluride Company; Ted Sutton, Loon Mountain Ski Area; Knox Williams, Colorado Avalanche Center; Jane Wingle, Editor. Industry photographs: Keystone Resort, SnowEngineering, Clyde Wiessner, Winter Park Resort When t his publication was being written, the author was the Director for Recreation, Wilderness, Cultural Resources and Landscape Management for the Rocky Mountain Region, Forest Service, USDA. All p hotographs are by the author unless otherwise indicated. Wingle,. H Peter 1994. P lanning Considerations for Winter Sports Resort Development. Forest Service, USDA, 108 p. The m ajority of the large ski areas in the United States are located all, in part, on National Forest lands. The Forest Service, USDA, administers the National Forest System and has the legislated authority to issue permits for periods up to 40 years to the private sector to plan, develop and operate ski resorts. Before development is authorized, decisions must be made in the individual National Forest plans. Extensive environmental, economic, technical and other planning and analysis is required for new and expanding developments. Other Federal, State and local government agencies may also have jurisdiction and permitting authorities as well. Planning o f ski areas is complex, with each area having its unique characteristics and needs. The skiing and resort industries, the consulting firms and the Forest Service all have expertise in ski area planning, hut it is the permit holder's responsibility to perform Master Development Plans within the parameters set forth by the Forest Service. This publication identifies shows photographs, charts, principles, and supporting rationale that should be considered when ski resorts are being planned. It is not a policy source. Laws and policies governing the planning and permitting processes are subject to change over time. The principles and planning considerations identified were developed by a group of ski area planners, executives and consultants, and Forest Service specialists and administrators. Keywords: F orest Service, National Forests, avalanches, planning, skiing, ski area, ski resorts UNIVERSITY O F MINNESOTA LIBRARY 2 t 1 995 Chapter P age Tablef o Contents 4. W ater, Soil, Air and Minerals (Cont.) Chapter P age Determine w ater runoff patterns 40 \. P lanning New or Expanded Areas 1 Meeting w ater quality standards 41 Site i nventory 2 Resolve i ssues early 42 Quality r ating and inventory chart 3 Geologic l and mass stability 43 Inventory a nd analysis 4 Soil p rotection 44 Lookt a long range expansion potential. 5 Photography/Photogrammetry 4 5 Other g oods and services 6 Mining c laims, patents and land- ownership a djustments 46 2. M aster Development Planning and Mining a nd mineral withdrawals 47 Construction. 7 Planning r esponsibility 9 5. F orest Health 48 Market r esearch - the customer 10 Plan l ong term, set priorities 49 Plan f or optimum development 11 Effectf o roads on ski trails, skiing quality Mapping t he critical elements 12 safety a nd forest health 50 Study, e xperiment and preplan Habitat m anagement 51 before b uilding 13 Timber v alue 52 Getting s kiers off the mountain 14 Timber d isposal or sale at ski areas 53 Roads - t he old days 15 Biological d iversity 54 Roads - l ooking ahead 16 Protecting v egetation that is hard to Air q uality standards 17 regenerate 5 5 Sun, e levation and wind 18 Reforesting c leared areas to improve Effectn o animals and plans 19 skiing a nd trails 56 Connecting t he skiing pods to the base Replacing t he existing forests when they area w ith ski trails 20 lose v igor 57 Moving p eople at resorts 21 Lift c onstruction ways to protect soil, Mixing h ome sites, roads, ski trails and vegetation, w ater and scenic values.. 58 utility s ystems 22 Project m anagement 59 Separating p eople with different abilities 23 Mountain r estaurants 24 6. A ccess, Highway and Transportation Facilities f or the disabled 25 Family z ones 26 Common c arrier transportation 60 Tree-skiing 2 7 Highway a ccess 61 The v isual appearance of resorts 28 Highway a nd ski area coordination 62 Scenery m anagement principles 29 Skiing f rom roads 63 Computer g raphics as a design tool, can Roads a nd avalanche paths 64 help p lanners visualize change and enhance p roposals 31 7. S nowmaking Ski p atrol and emergency care 32 Snowmaking 6 5 Utility s ystems 33 Snowmaking e quipment configuration ... 66 Historic a nd cultural resources 34 Small a rea viability 35 8. W inter Activities Activities f or the disabled 67 3. E conomics, Finance and Pricing New s ports devices 68 A p hilosophy and principles for Ski c hools 69 development o f mountain resorts Recreational r acing 70 using N ational Forest lands 36 Cross c ountry ski touring centers 71 Financial c apability 37 Competitive e vents 72 Competitive p ricing of services 38 Night l ighting of ski runs 73 Programs f or young children 74 4. W ater, Soil, Air and Minerals Ski g uide services 75 Wetland v alues 39 Chapter P age 9. S cenery, Publicity and Signing Media c overage 76 People d riving for pleasure make good r esort customers 77 Implications w ith adjacent wildernesses .. 78 Direction a nd information signing 79 Sponsor i dentification 80 10. A valanches Recognize a valanche hazards 81 Plan a nd act to protect the public from avalanches 8 2 Military w eapons and ammunition 83 Gas e xploders for avalanche release 84 Avalanche r opeways 85 Protect r esort and residential areas 86 11. S ummer Activities Education 8 7 Base a rea activities 88 Summer e vents 89 Interpretive p artnerships 90 12. R esort Villages and Housing State a nd county responsibilities 91 "Old V ail" ambiance 92 Base p lans, change them when necessary . 93 Integrate d ay skiers into the resorts 95 Nearby s upport village developments. ... 96 Snow s torage and removal 97 Employee h ousing 98 Landownership a djustments 99 13. B ackcountry Skiing Guided a nd unguided activities 100 Helicopter s kiing 101 Powder s kiing - over snow machines .... 102 Backcountry s kiing restrictions 103 Skiing o ut, and back in to ski areas 104 Coordination 1 05 Ski t ouring huts 106 14. I nnovation, Service, Technology Technology a nd Services 107 Keep c urrent about domestic and foreign equipment, i t might be useful 108 ill PREFACE Ski a reas have been built on National Forest available. L ong range planning is essential. lands because the public and the Forest Service have considered them good and Basic l and use decisions must be made by appropriate uses. Skiing and other forms of the Forest Service before development is winter sports have molded the growth and authorized. the economy of many rural areas. When associated with mountain resort towns, This p ublication deals with broad principles winter sports resorts create a strong all involving resort development. It discusses season recreation base and allow public use details which should be considered in plan and access. Many rural economies have development. Plans should be dynamic, become dependent upon ski area viability leaving opportunities for alternative actions and recreation in general. Many resort as customer preferences, economics, towns have since grown to be strong environmental needs and technology economic centers no longer dependent upon changes. It deals primarily with planning on skiing for their economic viability. the mountain but relates to the needs of the facilitating communities. It is not a text Large s egments of private land have been describing how to develop resorts, but one and are being developed; some with, and that identifies what should be considered. It some without the benefit of professional shows actual cases where both good and planning. It is important that these resorts poor practices have occurred at major ski be properly conceived and developed so resorts. It is expected that application of the communities remain healthy and that the principles described here will vary widely visitors are properly served. Distant from one area to another. communities have often become the homes for service workers as living costs in the Plans d eveloped by the permit holders and resorts themselves become unaffordable for submitted to the Forest Service should show many who wish to live and work there.