- Blue Sky Basin
One of the most debated and controversial ski area expansions in
Colorado history, Blue Sky Basin is the most recent expansion toVail Ski Resort .The parcel opened to skiers in 2000 despite controversy stemming from the question of whether the expansion would endanger the
lynx , a mountain cat re-introduced into the Colorado wilds.Authorities believe
William C. Rodgers and other environmental activists planned this country's largest eco-terrorist attack, the 1998 torching of multiple Vail facilities, a $12 million incident that included the complete destruction of Vail's on-mountain Two Elk restaurant.The FBI launched
Operation Backfire , which eventually led to convictions of the arsonists. The incident, interestingly, created sympathy for the resort, if not necessarily for Blue Sky Basin or the corporate owner,Vail Resorts .Blue Sky Basin opened in December 2000 with three high-speed quad chairlifts, an extra convert|525|acre|km2 to Vail's already enormous size-- over convert|5000|acre|km2.
Today, the Basin is known for offering a more natural than usual ski experience with mostly meadows and glades-- rather than wide, clear-cut runs-- over its convert|1900|ft|m|sing=on vertical drop.
External links
* [http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/co/blueskybasin.htm article on Blue Sky Basin]
* [http://vail.snow.com Vail.com]
* [http://www.vailresorts.com Vail Resorts corporate site]
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