Palestine: Day 5, Part 2: Jericho and the Dead Sea

Jericho and the Dead Sea: Palestine's hot pocket

When it comes to records, an area of desert and water where the jurisdictions of the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Jordan meet, can lay claim to two impressive records. The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on earth, and Jericho claims to be the oldest city on the planet.

Jericho

Before this day, I had never heard of the Umayyad people, let alone of Caliph Hisham bin AbdulMalek, whose empire stretched from the Pyrenees to India some 14 centuries ago. His palace (actually, a hunting lodge) just north of Jericho was destroyed, not by a marching army like Jericho's city walls, but by an earthquake. Today, extensive palace ruins contain pillars, walls, mosaics and the stone frame of one lovely reassembled intricatedly carved hexagonal window that is said to have inspired rose windows in French cathedrals. A small museum holds artifacts unearthed at the site.

Jericho Resort Village, where we had lunch, is a luxury property by any standard -- at least judging from the immaculate lobby with.polished stone and gleaming woodwork. Simon Awad of the Environmental Education Centre gave a presentation about threats to wildlife in Palestine, where he said that 537 bird species, 110 mammals and 2,953 plant species have been recorded -- not really surprising  since it lies at the junction of Africa, Asia and Europe. It is a migration corridor for some 500 birds and habitat to indigenous species and winter visitors. Habitat is continually threatened by dwindling water flow in the Jordan River Valley and Israel's practice of burning bushes that provide food and protection for the birds in the name of security.

It is therefore not surprising that environmental awareness is not a Palestinian priority. EEC is seeking to correct that with awareness-raising among Palestinians, youth education, community activities and hopefully  a growth in eco-tourism. Symbolic of the political problems that impact the environment is that when Israel sought to designate the Palestine sunbird (Cinnyris osea) as its national bird, it had to be pointed out that it was already the official bird of Palestine.Both have issued stamps depicting this lovely little bird. It seems that Israel wants everything that would be Palestine's: as much of its land as it can pepper with settlements, control of its water, control of the Palestinian people to move about their land -- and now, their national bird.

Lunch was served in a large swimming-pool-view dining room, where a formal white-draped U-shaped table had been set up as if for a wedding party. The salads, as the regular array of dips, spreads and cold vegetables are called, were followed by two imposing pilafs, one with eggplant and one with cauliflower plus chicken or lamb.

In the afternoon, we toured the excavations of ancient Jericho (aka, Tell es-Sultan, below) located in a spring-fed oasis in the desert. Archeologists have found remains of 23 civilizations and date the original settlement to about 9,000 B.C., and the modern city has decided to celebrate its 10,000th anniversary this October -- specifically on 10/10/10. Plans are vague at best, but such calender symmetry won't come along for another century. Successive civilizations have inhabited this low-lying oasis 1,200 feet below sea level. Common references include the Biblical reference to its habitation by ancient Israelites after wandering around the desert for 40 years, Marc Antony gifting it to Cleopatra and modern Israel's capture of the city from Jordan during the Six-Day War of 1967. To the archeologically unschooled eye, the ruins don't tell much of a story, so the many interpretive signs are useful. I just wish I'd had time to read more of them -- despite the heat.

We went for a dip in the Dead Sea, stopping en route to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the winter of 1946-47 by two Bedouins. I can't tell you the name of the facility that we used for our dip into the saltiest, lowest-elevation lake on earth, but it included a shaded lawn, changing rooms, indoor and outdoor showers, snack bar and wooden pier leading out to the warm salty, mineral-laden water. It's a kick to just float in this remarkable sea, but I was mindful of the terrible degradation it has suffered.

With less Jordan River water to replenish it, the sea has shrunk. The water level has reportedly been dropping three feet  per year and also shrinking in surface area, causing sinkholes to appear along its banks. Mining and extractive uses, ssewage and effluent from fish farms further degrade the lake. While Dead Sea water and mud have therapeutic effects, there's nothing healthy about the crud now allowed to flow into it. Since it is located between Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian controlled land, there seem to be no immediate prospects for mitigating the environmental problems.
For dinner, we rode six-passenger gondola cars (here called a cable car) from a bottom station next to the old Jericho archaeological site to a stony shelf high on Mt. Temptation, where Jesus is said to have fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and been tempted by the Devil. We didn't fast but feasted on the terrace of a multi-level restaurant, cafe and row of small shops set into caves in the cliff. And did I mention the outstanding views of the valley below? A monastery also occupies the shelf, but it was not open when we arrived. We watched the sunset and the full or nearly-full moon rise.

 We overnighted at the InterContinental Jericho, the best hotel of the entire trip -- including the InterContinental Bethlehem where we stayed at the beginning. Stunning woodwork, attractive public spaces and really nice guest rooms made this a traveler's oasis in a geographic oasis. Oh, to have a half-day of down-time there!

Next stop: Jerusalem.

Great Barrier Reef Ship Grounding, Update

Efforts underway to contain reef damage

Travel Babel seems to have been the first travel blog to report on the Chinese-flagged coal carrier "Shen Neng 1" that went 9 miles off-course and plowed into the coral reefs of Keppler Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef. The resultant oil spill continues to threaten marine life in a maritime protection area that also happens to be one of the world's great scuba diving destinations. Since then, the disaster has caught some world attention, with television news and wire service reports updating the situation and the Australian government response. The photo at right was released by Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and you can see a SkyNews report on YouTube.

The threat to the reef remains worrisome. According to an Associated Press report released on Tuesday evening, local time, "A stranded Chinese coal ship leaking oil onto Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an environmental time bomb with the potential to devastate large protected areas of the reef, activists said on Monday." Reuters quoted Llewellyn, director of conservation for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Australia, who called the "was a "ticking environmental time bomb."
The reef, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, the ship carried some 300,000 gallons of heavy fuel to run its engines. Shipping companies like this (relatively) cheap, low-grade fuel, which is very viscous, and and must be heated before injected into engines. When it ends up in the ocean, this gooey, sludge-like oil coats birds, wildlife, corals, rocks and sandy beaches and is extremely difficult to clean up.

An Environmental Crisis Waiting to Happen -- and It Did

"We've always said the vessel is up in an area it shouldn't be in the first place," Marine Safety Queensland general manager Patrick Quirk  told the media. "How it got to that to that position will be the subject of a detailed investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Board." He added ships sometimes used a shortcut through the reef, a practice that will be reviewed by the federal government.  Six thousand ships a year travel the marine lanes between the east coast of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Numerous conservation groups have for years been concerned that bulk carriers are permitted to travel through the reef without a specialized marine pilot. The government has thus far said pilots are not necessary when ships pass protected areas because they are banned there -- until they stray off-course, nine miles off-course, in the case of the "Shen Neng 1." The government might now change its tune.

At last report, two powerful tugs were on the scene, attempting to stabilize the ship while salvage crews assessed the situation. A boom is in place around the stranded ship to contain the oil spill. Australian  officials say the "Shen Neng I" is owned by belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group, a subsidiary of China's state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (acronym, COSCO) -- the country's largest shipping company. COSCO could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars (US$920,000) -- a pittance in view of the damage.

COSCO's History of Oil Spills

This Australian incident is COSCO's third major foul-up in less than three years. In November 2007, the "Cosco Busan" hit one of San Francisco Bay Bridge supports and spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, contaminating beaches, killing wildlife and floating into the Pacific Ocean. Skipper John Cota received a 10-month jail sentence for negligence. I don't know whether COSCO was also fined, but cleanup reported cost $100 million.

On July 31, 2009,, "Full City," a Panamanian-flagged ship owned by COSCO, suffered engine failure, ran aground during a storm and spilled some 200 tons of oil that eventually spread 100 miles in an area of wildlife sanctuaries and popular beaches. Pollution effects could linger for a decade. According to a British report on the fiasco, "In the days following the disaster, one of Norway's worst, thousands of birds said to be part of the Lille Sastein bird sanctuary and which were covered in oil, were considered beyond saving and had to be shot. Hundreds more are being cleaned up by volunteers along the coastline." The captain, whose name and ultimate fate I don't know, was arrested for a failure to alert authorities that his ship was in trouble, but he was released without bail.

COSCO has been notably silent about this latest disaster, but on April 1, it issued the following press release, which seems to indicate that money and ROI and not responsbility are all that matter to this state-owned compay:

"COSCO Sustainable Development Report 2008, among the 44 sustainable reports, was praised as 'Notable' report, which was conveyed in the letter to Capt. Wei Jiafu, President and CEO of COSCO Group from Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director of UN Global Compact Office on March 3rd, 2010. COSCO Group is the only selected Chinese company this year and only Asian company whose sustainability report is deemed 'Notable' for four years in a roll [stet]. The report analysis was conducted by a coalition of global investors from 13 countries managing over US$ 2.1 trillion of assets, and they are all signatories to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative to help companies that under United Nations Global Compact better corporate reporting on environmental, social and corporate governance activities."

Chinese Coal Ship Aground on Great Barrier Reef

Marine park and top diving destination at risk

If I ruled the world, China would stop mining coal. The cost is too great: frequent fatal mine accidents (the latest just a few days ago), filthy and unhealthy air over much of China from antiquated coal-fired plants and now the "Shen Neng 1," a Chinese bulk-coal ship that strayed from designated shipping lanes on Saturday and slammed into Australia's Great Barrier reef at full speed and ran aground on this world wonder.

The reef is a fanastic 1,800-mile barrier reef 60-odd miles off Australia's northeast coast that is arguably the world's finest scuba destinations. Great Keppel Island, where the ship ran aground, is a dive destination that boasts "pristine waters. I checked dive blogs and specific Great Keppel Island dive operators and resorts, and astonishingly, none mentioned this incident or its possible effects.

There has not yet been a really major spill of the ship's 950 tons of oil, but oil patches several miles from the wreck have been spotted from the air. Chemical dispersants were sprayed on the oil on Sunday  The ship, which is about 800 feet long and carried about 65,000 tons of coal, will have to be towed into port.

The BBC reported: "Queensland officials say the 'Shen Neng 1' is badly damaged and the salvage operation could take weeks. Fears remain that it could break up, spilling hundreds of tonnes of oil.
Environmentalists are furious about the grounding on Douglas Shoals, well outside the authorised shipping channel. The Chinese-registered ship is balanced precariously off the east coast of Great Keppel Island.
A tug boat is at the scene to help prevent it from keeling over and to assist with any attempt at refloating the stricken vessel. Its Chinese crew have remained on board." According to a statement in a video that is part of the BBC report, ships are permitted to sail the calmer waters between the Mainland and Queensland without a pilot. Blomberg more recently reported that a second tug is on its way.

Deja Vue All Over Again

On March 11, 2009, the Hong Kong-flagged container ship "Pacific Adventurer" was responsible for a large oil spill that Moreton Island and Sunshine Coast beaches, north of Brisbane The  ship lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate that loose in Cyclose Hamish's rough seas. Some of the containers pierced the ship's hull, releasing some 270 tons of oil into the ocean. The captain was charged with violating marine-pollution laws but permitted to leave Australia.

In August 2009, the Australian and Queensland Governments and its owner, Swire Shipping, reached an  agreement, under which the transport company was to pay $25 million in damages. This far exceeds Swire's legal obligation of $17.5 million for compensation. The overage was to go to a trust specially established to help improve marine protection and maritime safety. The "Shen Neng 1" accident might put it to use. Who knows what will happen to the captain -- and whether China’s Cosco Group will pay a potential $921,500 fine -- far too little, IMHO.

Ironically, Cosco's website boasts that it is committed to the UN's Global Compact, whose cornerstones are "aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption." Environment. Slamming a ship into a marine park is a serious misalignment.

The Great Barrier Reef is a world wonder, home to some 400 coral species (the most in the world), 1,500 species of tropical fish, 4,000 types of mollusks, 200 types of birds, 20 types of reptiles. It is also the habitat for a number of threatened species such as the dugong ("sea cow") and large green turtle. Additionally, it is an important breeding area for humpback whales that migrate from Antarctica.

I have a special affection for the Great Barrier Reef. After snorkeling off Lady Musgrave Island, one of thousands of little land outcroppings, back in 1987, I decided to get my scuba certification, because I wanted to participate in underwater life, not simply to float on top as spectator. I'm now a certified diver but never managed to return to Australia. Since my visit, we've become aware that this reef, like all others on the planet, is under chronic assault from climate change, but a ship running aground and spilling oil or other harmless substances is acute trauma.

Inn at Lost Creek is a Bright Green Hotel

Back-of-the-house tour reveals Telluride hotel's commendable green initiatives

When I checked in after dark to the Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride's Mountain Village a week ago yesterday, I was appalled at the excess illumination in my room. As I wrote then, every single light in my little suite was blazing. I called housekeeping the next morning and asked for some electricity restraint, and as requested, only the foyer lights were turned on during subsequent evenings' turndown service.

But even better was the impact that even a enviro-rant like mine produced. The inn's sales and marketing manager, Karl Chase, told me that because of my alert, the inn would in the future add a question about additional energy conservation efforts in the pre-arrival questions that are asked of incoming guests. Perhaps both Lost Creek management and I got a big hit of good eco-karma from that one.

He also invited me on a back-of-the-house tour to show how green the hotel is -- and it seems to me to be "very green." When the hotel was built 11 years ago, it was tightly constructed with Pella low-E double-paned windows (obvious to any guest who looks), an energy-efficient, thermitic water heating system and other mechanicals that were state of the art for its time and have held up well.

Other green practices that this behind-the-scenes tour revealed:

• Restaurant 9545 uses eco-friendly compostable/recyclable containers, including sugarcane-based clamshell to-go boxes and utensils instead of plastic (top photo)


• No disposables used in the employee break room
  
• Linens that are no longer usable by a first-rate hotel donated for resale at the Second Chance Humane Society shop in nearby Ridgway


• Cleaning rags are stained or frayed restaurant napkins, dyed so they don't reappear in the restaurant


• As lightbulbs burn out, they are being replaced by CF bulbs; the "always-on" hallway lights are have been the first to be replaced; hotel is stockpiling CF replacement bulbs (center photo) but not discarding those incandescents that still have some life left in them


• Cleaning chemicals are green and also bought concentrated in bulk, mixed at the hotel and refilled into reusable spray bottles to keep excess packaging out of the waste stream (bottom photo)


• The executive boardroom, a small conference space, has outside windows so groups can opt for daylight rather than turning on all the lights all the time


• Low-flow toilets in all bathrooms


• Flex-fuel shuttle vans


• Trash separated and recycled

I appreciate Karl's taking the time to show me these green practices, and I urge environmentally concerned travelers anywhere to go beyond simply reusing linens to help the hotel business be as evironmentally-oriented as possible. Don't be shy about asking what a property's green practices and let hotel management know that these practices are important to you. You probably won't get the kind of tour that I did, but hotel managers will answer your questions and listen to your concerns. IMO, there is no more responsive a business than the hospitality industry -- especially at higher-end hotels. Repeat business and word of mouth are important to them.

With CNN in the background as I write this, reporting on the current crisis in the auto industry, I have to say that if only the Big Three had been as proactive and also paid as much attention to what the public wants as the hotel industry, execs wouldn't be begging Congress for a bailout right now.

Looking in on Huatulco

Quick trip to resort towns in southern Mexico yields favorable impression

You know those "36 Hours in...." pieces that are published in the New York Times and in Hemispheres. I experienced "36 Hours in Huatulco" -- about the time I spent in this resort development in the State of Oaxaca. Two days and three nights provided a tantalizing taste, and I'd love to return.

Officially called the Bahias de Huatulco, it is actually a string of resort developments and beaches tucked into a series of nine bays along a 35-mile-long stretch of south-facing coastline between the southern end of the Sierra Madre Range and the Pacific Ocean. Rather than one long beach, there are 36 small ones, which means there is no shoulder-to-shoulder, Cancun-style row of high-rise hotels. In fact, there are no high-rise hotels at all, because regulations prohibit anything higher than five stories, and nothing is built on the ridgetops either. (Below, Tangolunda Bay with Camino Real in foreground and Quinta Real, with its twin Moroccan-style domes, in the background.) Recycling, water purification and aggressive sewage treatment also have contributed to Huatulco's certification in 2006 as a Green Globe Community. In fact, it became the organization's first recognized tourist destination in the Americas.

Fonatour, the Mexican government development and tourism promotion agency, also designed Huatulco as the greenest of the country's five new resort areas and also transferred 30,000 acres to another agency for preservation as a national park. There is not yet any infrastructure, but the dense jungle, coral reefs, bays and beaches within park boundaries are protected. Biologists and wildlife experts have document 413 plant species, 130 species and subspecies of mammals, 291 species or birds, 72 species of reptiles and 15 amphibian species, as well as fish and shellfish that live in the sea. It is an astonishing accomplishment for a country that has had, at best, a checkered environmental and ecological record.

Located between the Coyula and Copalita Rivers that cascade down from the Sierra Madre, Huatulco offers river rafting as well as such more expected activities as sea kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing and golf. In the town of La Cruceita are a shady plaza, a church, small shops, restaurants, bars and small, budget hotels. The waterfront center of Santa Cruz is smaller with a second plaza, more shops and a cruise ship pier accommodating two vessels. The Boulevard Santa Cruz/Boulevard Benito Juarez parallels the coastline and connects Santa Cruz with the zone of larger beach hotels with swimming pools, restaurants, bars and other facilities (one of Las Brisas' several pools, below left; beach in front of Camino Real, right).

West of Huatulco is the small village of Ventanilla with its stunning, undeveloped beach fronting a mangrove-fringed lagoon (below left) and a small, palm-studded island (right) on which a crocodile preserve is situated. A boat ride through the mangroves is a magical experience, with dappled light, sounds of birds and the occasional glimpse of orange of a male iguana.

The beach at Ventanilla is one of several where sea-turtle eggs are removed from the sand to a protected enclosure until they hatch and make their way to the water. Close to the nearby beach community of Port Angel is the Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, a research and rehabilitation center that studies both sea and land turtles. It is also something of a turtle zoo, where visitors can see many species on land and in tanks (below).

Mexicana Airlines flies Mexico City-Huatulco several times a day year-round. Continental has nonstop service from Houston on a seasonally changing schedule. Hotels range from in-town bargains with rooms for as little as $25 a night to super-luxury resorts with room rates starting at more than $200 nightly. Several properties are all inclusive, meaning that all meals, entertainment (below) and on-site activities are included.

After a 36-hour taste of Huatulco, I look forward to returning for a whole feast.

Can Moses Save Venice?

Is the $7 billion project to save the coastal city from rising waters working?

Global warming, climate change or whatever you wish to call the syndrome that is causing polar ice to melt and sea levels to rise are of concern to the world's low-lying coastal cities. These concerns are particularly urgent in magnificent Venice every winter with its rains. MOSES (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) is a massive (and massively controversial) $7 billion engineering project begun in 2003 to construct 79 movable underwater gates designed to regulate the tidal flows in the city's lagoon (right) to prevent flooding and yet allow large cruise and container ships to pass through. Click here to see photos of floods in Venice in 2004.

Venice, founded in the fifth century, rose to be Europe's leading maritime power and center of Renaissance art and architecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tourist interests and architectural preservationists are pro-MOSES. Environmentalists continue to oppose it because they are concerned with with a closed system of stagnant water with prevented from flushing out the Venice lagoon. Several months ago, contractjournal.com reported that the mile-long rock and concrete system has caused a new coral reef to form and species previously unseen there to find habitat there. These include the endangered giant pen shell (Pinna Nobilis), an endangered bivalve that can grow to about a yard long and the Dustbin Lid jellyfish (Rhizostome Octopus), the largest in the Mediterranean.

Austin-Lehman Adventures Supports National Parks

Glacier National Park, celebrating centennial in 2010, is first beneficiary

“Preserve a Park” is a new conservation and educational initiative by Austin-Lehman Adveventures, an award-winning tour opeator. It will benefit a different national park each year via financial contributions to an organization that supports that park, while featuring an educational experience for guests who book one of the company’s “Preserve a Park” trips.

The first beneficiary is Glacier National Park, celebrating its centennial in 2010. This year, ALA will donate $100 per guest from each Glacier trip to the Glacier National Park Fund, a not-for-profit that supports the ongoing and future preservation of Glacier National Park’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Austin-Lehman Adventures is offering three six-day five-night trips to Glacier: August 1-6, August 8-13, and August 15-20; price per person is $2,498.

Coupled with adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, Glacier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the world's designated Peace Park. Glacier National Park was known to Native Americans as the “Backbone of the World.” Today, even though the namesake glaciers themselves are rapidly shrinking, the park preserves more than one million acres of stunning glacier-carved terrain that encompasses old growth forest, alpine lakes, rugged mountains and sweeping meadows of wildflowers. Highlights of park trips include biking, hiking and rafting both less traveled and most famous routes. These include the celebrated Going-to-the-Sun Road, one of North America’s most scenic roads and an 11-year building feat.
 
ALA has built an international reputation for small group active travel to destinations in North, Central and South America, Europe and southern Africa. The company specializes in adult and family multi-sport, hiking, biking vacations that emphasize history, culture, and geography’s natural beauty. Trips are limited to 12 guests (18 on family departures) and feature excellent regional dining, distinctive accommodations and all-inclusive rates and services.
 
I have visited Glacier National Park three times -- always in winter and always on cross-country skis. I've nibbled at the fringes of the huge park both from the west side of the park and from the Izaak Walton Inn on the south side, including traveling there to by train to Amtrak's last flag stop in West Essex, Montana. I've seen a bit of park that way and also not seen it at all, when the snow was swirling. Summer pictures are tantalizing, and I applaud the company for supporting the organization that supports the protection of Glacier and other parks in the future.

Skiing Utah: Sundance

Sundance: Robert Redford's ski mountain -- slopes amid a super-environmentally aware resort

Why would a Coloradan ski anyplace else?, friends ask when I go out of state (or out of the country) to make some turns. First (and really foremost), I travel so that I can write about ski resorts beyond the Centennial State's rectangle. But beyond that, I find that experiencing skiing and mountains and mountain resorts elsewhere refreshes my perspective on the Colorado Rockies. After all, when a person lives two hours from Vail and there are seven closer ski areas, it's easy to become jaded.

Why Sundance?

To reduce culture when leaving the People's Republic of Boulder, Sundance is a good place to start. In fact, if Boulder could design its own mountain resort, it would create Sundance. Just 450 acres of 6,000 that Robert Redford owns have been lightly developed for skiing. Sound environmental practices have gone into infrastructure and operations of the resort (an anti-resort, really). Smart building, conservation and recycling efforts have a high profile in the lodging and dining operations -- and it's Redford's founding philosophy, not just for show. For instance, the reusable shopping bag, right, contains a statistical reminder that unnecessary plastic bags are a major waste. The small print reads: "Use this bag twice a week for 2 years and each bag will SAVE 11 pounds of garbage, 832 plastic bags, enough petroleum to drive a car 60 miles."

Culture Under the Sundance Umbrella

Other Sundance efforts that are umbrella-ed under several intertwined entities. The Sundance Preserve, Utah's answer to the older Aspen Institute but with a lower-key public presence. The Sundance Preserve has hosted world leaders, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, Academy Award-winning actors and directors, innovative scientists and accomplished corporate leaders to discuss public policy, social issues, art and the environment. The non-profit Sundance Institute is dedicated to the discovering and nurturing independent artists and audiences. It supports and inspires independent film and theater word introduces American and global audiences to their new works. The Sundance Channel provides further outreach. This cable television network airs independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short film, and original programs, all are shown uncut and without commercials. It is interrelated with the Sundance Film Festival (January 21-31 this year), which is now so big that it has spread to Park City and even to Ogden for enough venues. Then there's Sundance Cinemas, the commercial and educational arm of the Sundance film presence.

Skiing at Sundance

But what about the skiing, you ask? Sundance Resort's lodgings and public buildings tucked among the trees lie at the foot of a mid-size ski area with 41 runs, three chairlifts and a respectable 2,150-foot vertical. that, from the bottom, looks smaller than it skis. The only visible lift, a quad named Ray's after the pre-Redford owner, ferries riders to a midway unload for those who want to ski or snowboard the lower mountain, continues to the front-mountain summit and another unloading area and then drops into a low spot from which the Arrowhead triple reaches the area's highest lift-served point. Looking south beyond the signs and the safety fence is a long view past the mountains to the flat and across to the next mountains.

Skier's right leads to Sundance's most challenging terrain -- a landscape of ridges, gulleys and glades. Skier's left features some short, steep shots, a bit of gladed terrain and wonderful cruising runs. It is possible to yo-yo on Arrowhead all day long, mixing and matching blue and black runs. Back to the lower mountain, its tamest beginner terrain is served by a short handle tow, but beyond that, novices and intermediates can get a lot of mileage on the long green and blue runs measuring to 1,325 vertical feet. Most of these runs are again lit for night skiing  after many dark years. A handful of terrain features built  into one short blue trail (Montoya, I think) attract boarders. Up the road is the Sundance Cross-Country Center, with 26 kilometers of daily groomed trails for skating and classic track skiing and also 10 kilometers of dedicated trails through the woods.

Skiing Better at Sundance

I'm going out on a limb when I write that if you want to learn to ski or overcome a plateau on which you've been stuck, there's no better place to do so than Sundance. It is the home hill of Jerry Warren. His titles are director of mountain operations and director of skiing, but his real renown comes in ski instructor circles. Jerry, one of the country's top ski technique gurus,  used to coach the Professional Ski Instructors of America elite demo team. Last June, he received PSIA's Lifetime Achievement Award, only the sixth person so honored in half a century. There's simply no one better to identify and fix skiing problems -- and I'm betting that he clinics his ski instructors to do so too. My pals and I spent a few very productive hours skiing with him and taking his counsel.We didn't go through Warren's entire three-day Ski Performance Lab program (including videoanalysis and seminars), but those few hours were enough to fine-tune my turns.

I just wonder why I didn't get around to taking a picture of Jerry too. I guess I was too busy concentrating on my technique and practicing what he preached -- gently and with humor, of course.

Sundance Info

Sundance Resort is up in Timpanogas Canyon above Provo at 8841 North Alpine Loop Road, Sundance, Utah 84604. Phones: 866-259-7468 (main number), 800-892-1600 (lodging reservations), 801-223-4110(snow report), 801-223-4140 (ski/snowboard school and Ski Performance Labs), 801-223-6000 (activities and events), 801-223-4170 (cross-country center). Click here to sign up for Sundance's newsletter.

Colorado Ski Resort News 2008-09

Tens of millions invested in lifts, base villages and terrain for 2008-09

It's been snowing above 10,000 feet (Copper Mountain shown at right on September 12), which is a visual cue that Colorado's ski season kicks off in less than seven weeks. The biggest recent investments have gone into Snowmass ($35 million) and Steamboat ($30 million), but season pass prices for resorts that attract both vacationers and locals remain shockingly low. Competition is good for customers.

Here's what is and isn't new in Colorado. Click on the resort or ski area name for more info, including season pass info) and my comments appear in italics.

Arapahoe Basin opens in October as snow permits, perhaps the first in the state

A-Basin adds 300 much-needed parking spaces and connects them to the base via a pedestrian tunnel under U.S. 6. A new south-facing deck made of recycled materials is added to the year-old Black Mountain Lodge. Snowmaking now serves Sundance beginner trail. Early to open, late to close and sensational all winter long.

Aspen Highlands opens December 13

Canopy Cruiser is a new name on the trail map for 18 additional acres between Hyde Park and Mushroom Chutes in the Deep Temerity section of the mountain. More steep. More deep.

Aspen Mountain opens November 27

Improvements to the plaza at the base of the Silver Queen gondola mean fewer steps to climb with ski boots. Hooray!

Beaver Creek opens November 26

The Ranch, a huge new on-mountain children's center, is next to the easy-access kid's gondola that was added last year to the beginner area. Snowmaking improvements at key areas on the mountain. The Osprey, a RockResort, is the new name for the older Inn at Beaver Creek, and the Westin Riverfront, with direct gondola access to Beaver Creek, in Avon below the resort. The Ranch makes the Beave even more appealing for well-heeled families.

Breckenridge opens November 7

Peak 7 base development, the first all-new area since Peak 9 opened in 1971, spotlights the new Crystal Peak Lodge, new skier services (ski school, ticket sales, rentals) and Sevens, a new sit-down restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner (Mediterranean-inspired menu), plus pizza bar and quick-service window. The BreckConnect gondola from town adds a stop at the Peak 7 provides more direct access to high terrain at Peak 7 and Peak 8. BreckConnect now enchanced as mass transit as well as a ski lift.

Buttermilk (Aspen) opens December 13

Four feet added to each wall of the Olympic halfpipe for a total of 22 feet. Awesome -- and ready for the Winter X-Games

Copper Mountain opens November 14

The Woodward at Copper, located in The Barn, is a new year-round indoor training facility for snowboarders and skiing tricksters. State-of-the-art facility for safe and serious training.

Crested Butte opens November 26

Camp CB is the totally redesigned and remodeled replacement for Kids World. Terrain expansion off the Headwall lift into Teocalli Bowl's Teo-2 and Teo-2.5 areas. The Treasury Center at the base adds Spellbound Pizza as the old ski and snowboard shop is relocated to slope-side. The nearby Outpost becomes a day lodge. User-friendly tweaks.

Echo Mountain Park (Idaho Springs) opens in December

Westwide Glades are expanded, the Magic Carpet learning area is redesigned and terrain features are improved, but the big deal is dollars. The $129 season pass price is right.

Eldora Mountain Resort (Nederland) opens on November 21

Best prices for Eldorables, Trek, Womens Days and Friday Afternoon Club lessons and season passes through October 12. An easy ride (drive or take the RTD bus #N) from Boulder.

Howelsen Hill (Steamboat) opens December 6

Tough little ski hill, owned by the city of Steamboat Springs, was the training ground for Ski Town USA's 64 Alpine and Nordic Olympians, 15 members of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame and six members of the National Ski Hall of fame. Legendary ski hill doesn't need to do anything new!

Keystone opens November 7

The River Run gondola has been lengthened and the loading area moved to the middle of River Run Village. A new mid-station enables users to load and unload at mid-mountain, and new big-windowed cabins improve the views. Third time's the charm for third version of this base-to-summit gondola.

Loveland opens in October, as snow permits, perhaps the first in the state

Season pass again includes three unrestricted days at Monarch Mountain. No news is no news at this close-to Denver ski area.

Monarch opens November 26

Two hundred acres added to snowcat-served terrain. New kids' terrain park called Tilt. Sleepy Hollow run widened. Children's ski school and rentals housed in new facility. How about that 200-acre snowcat expansion!

Powderhorn (Grand Mesa) opens December 11

New trails are supposedly being added, but no details are available. Why such secrecy?

Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort opens November 26

First phase of the $100 million Purgatory Lodge and village revitalization opens, including upgraded skier services, slopeside lodging and new Purgy's Day Lodge. Village development brings welcome evening activity to the mountain, but downtown Durango remains prime for evening.

Silverton opens November 29

Unguided season pass ($699) includes four free ski days at A-Basin and five at Monarch. Go guided or not in Colorado's capital of ungroomed super-steeps.

Ski Cooper (Leadville) opens November 27 (weekends) and December 19 (daily)

Season pass holders may purchase a $25 discounted “Buddy Ticket” valid Monday through Friday (except holidays) during the 2008-09 season. Friendly ski area makes it easy to bring a friend along.

Snowmass opens November 27

The Sheer Bliss lift is converted to a high-speed quad and lengthened by 155 feet. The Sam's Knob restaurant at the top of the Village sixpack express has been renewed with floor-to-ceiling windows, new table serve for 175, outdoor seating and a barbecue-style smokehouse menu. Base Village nearer completion with the new Hayden Peak and Capitol Peak Lodges. Ready to bid farewell to those construction cranes.

SolVista Basin (Granby) opens December 19

Base Camp Lodge completed (but perhaps that was last winter; the website isn't clear). Small, family-friendly resort continuing to develop lodging.

Steamboat opens November 26

Following $30 million in improvements last year, 4 million have gone into additional base area improvements, regrading, upgraded snowmaking and grooming equipment, and a new retail outlet in downtown Steamboat Springs. Champagne powder? Priceless.

Sunlight Mountain Resort (Glenwood Springs) opens December 5

News is in the future, as Sunlight tries to expand into a full four-season resort. For now, it's still a low-key ski area.

Telluride opens November 26

Revelation Bowl, a 400-acre expansion off the backside of Gold Hill and Chair 14, offers new European-style above-the-treeline open-bowl terrain served by a quad chairlift. New advanced and expert terrain.

Winter Park opens November 19

The Village Cabriolet is a new $5.8 million open-air transit gondola linking the free parking lot to the expanding base village featuring new restaurants, shops, real estate, parking garage and ice skating pond. Convenience for day skiers and more amenities for vacationers.

Wolf Creek opens November 7, or as conditions permit

For the third year, Wolf Creek is purchasing 100% of its power from a wind-power supplier, and is now adding a pilot ride-share program by linking to an AlternateRides, a free online carpool matching service. Cheers for the green and white.

Weirdest Air Travel Instructions Yet

"Present your picture ID and boarding pass."

"Place all liquids in a one-quart clear plastic zipbag."

"Remove your laptop from your carryon."

"Empty your pockets."

"Remove your shoes."

"Board only when your row is called."

"Do not leave your luggage unattended."

"Report any suspicious behavior to an airline employee or TSA representative."

"Fasten your seatbelt."

"Stow your carryons completely under the seat in front of you. or in the overhead compartment."

Now comes a new request of air travelers: "Use the restroom before boarding the aircraft." Huh? Is this like your mother telling you to "go potty" before getting into the car?

Actually, according to a CNN report, it is All Nippon's request that is part of its environmental stewardship policies. "We are making these items lighter -- and making the passengers lighter, a little bit," All Nippon's Megumi Tezuka said. The airline estimates that if 50 percent of passengers relieved themselves before boarding, it would reduce carbon dioxide by 4.2 tons a month. Flights will also show educational films on the environment, according to CNN.

What's next?

Go Fly A Kite in 35 Countries

International festival promotes peace and sustainability -- and is all sorts of fun


I found out about the One Sky, One World festival when researching free and inexpensive activities for Mile High on the Cheap. The inspiration was the historic 1985 summit meeting of Presidents Ronald Reagan of the U.S. and Mikhail Gorbachev of the U.S.S.R. that marked a significant step toward peace between the super-powers. The spirit of that meeting inspired One Sky One World (OSOW) founder and Colorado kite maker, Jane Parker-Ambrose to create a kite commemorating this new promise of global harmony, with the flags of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. joined on the face of the kite. Halley's Comet, which revisited the Earth in 1986 for the first time in 76 years, is shown as a portent of peace. On a people-to-people visit to Moscow in the 1985, Jane presented her kite and a letter of friendship signed by some 300 kitefliers from the US, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom to the Soviet Women's Peace Committee.

This gesture of global goodwill gave birth to the idea for One Sky One World, also known as World Kite Day and always held on the second Sunday of October. Since its inception in October 1986, hundreds of thousands of people have attended One Sky One World events in more than 30 nations. The 24th annual One Sky One World will take place on Sunday, October 11, 2009 -- and for the second time, Denver will be part with a full-day celebration at the Stapleton neighborhood's Central Park. Click here for the schedule of events. Denver joins such other cities as varied as Long Beach, Washington, Minneapolis, Montreal, Medellin and Berlin in flying kites and other kite-ly activities.

The OSOW's mission is to focus individuals and communities around the world on the needs for friendship and peace between all peoples and to protect the environment. The name of the organization expresses this theme and connotes the purpose metaphorically. One Sky One World's organizational purpose is to develop awareness of and respect for human and cultural diversity, nature and the environment at home and around the world. Details of the events in various cities differ, but they include public education in the technology of kites, art, history, and participation in age old practice of flying and building kites generates a greater sense of global community, enjoyment of nature and greater appreciation for all life on earth.

It will provide an opportunity, in these troubled times with wars, nuclear standoffs and natural disasters, for people to spend a few idealistic hours to think of a better, more peaceful world -- and to have a fun time flying kites.

Marinas or Mangroves?

Ambitious marina plan scaled back, and to those with environmental conserns, that's a good thing

My colleague, Jimm Budd, a Mexico City-based travel journalist who sends out daily reports about Mexican tourism, today reported that "Escalera Nautica today has 8 marinas open with seven more in planning stage according to Raul Lopez, manager at San Blas. Not exactly what had been dreamed of a decade ago, but still something. A decade ago, when the project was announced, goal was to open more than 30 marinas along both coasts of the Baja California peninsula as well as along the west coast of the mainland. The government would provide the basic infrastructure, and it was hoped that private investors would come in with the amenities. Lack of enthusiasm on the part of private investors had apparently almost killed the scheme, although Lopez said laws protecting mangroves on the coast were more to blame. Eventual idea is to attract boaters starved for marinas in their home states to come to Mexico."

A website called BajaQuest had other numbers but quoted an earlier report on the same concept:

"The plan calls for 22 full-service marinas, 10 of them new. Of the 12
existing, seven will be improved and five are judged as already adequate. The 10
new marinas will be located on sites with natural shelter, or bays, a feature
the peninsula has in abundance. Five of these are to be in Baja California,
three in Baja California Sur, and one each in Sonora and Sinaloa."

"Additionally, the plan calls for an 84-mile highway route for towing boats
from one side of the peninsula to the other. This feature will allow boat
travelers quick access to either body of water for those without time or
interest in sailing around the southernmost tip of Baja California Sur. Further,
the plan calls for improving the road between Mexicali and San Felipe to allow
bigger-boat towing rigs crossborder access to the Sea of Cortes."

The map (above right) was released in 2001, showing the ambitious scale of the project then. Some people probably still support it. Along the Sea of Cortes, tourism officials have been calling it "the mega-tourism project of the XXI century." That in itself is scary -- especially if you're a mangrove tree or a critter that lives in the mangroves. Environmental authorities call mangroves "the nursery of the seas." These miraculous trees survive and thrive in brackish coastal waters. Their complex root systems provide safe havens for hatchlings of all sorts, and birds nest in the dense foliage. Insects and everything above them in the food chain thrive in mangroves.

Miraculous Mangroves

Below is a mangrove swamp near Ventanilla in the state of Oaxaca. The top photo shows a shallow-draft boat taking tourists to an alligator sanctuary on an island amid the mangroves.

Below, a large turtle suns itself on a stump.


Below is a mangrove habitat, seemingly serene but full of life.


Researchers Speak

The early stages of the Escalara Nautica were not encouraging vis-a-vis environmental stewardship. Back in April 2003 (more than six years ago), the California-based Algalita Marine Research Foundation published its "Preliminary Coastal Analysis of Escalera Nautica at Bahia Santa Rosaliita." This first marina did not involve mangroves, but if the Mexican government and/or developers didn't begin pay more attention to what it was doing, it must be bad news for mangroves and everything else along the Escalera Nautica. According to the report,

"The new marina is located in the northwest somewhat sheltered corner of
Bahia Santa Rosaliita (also spelled Rosalillita, Rosalilita, Rosalia)....The new
marina is located in the northwest somewhat sheltered corner of Bahia Santa
Rosaliita (also spelled Rosalillita, Rosalilita, Rosalia)....

"A new concrete wall (less than one year old) was observed to be heavily
damaged, with extensive cracking, spalling, and exposed rebar. Likely reasons
for this rapid deterioration are poor materials and construction
methods.

"Due to the short jetty length and ample availability of sediment in the
area, it is expected to be difficult to maintain the entrance depth required for
a navigable entrance.... aves will likely break across the marina entrance
during high wave events. Continuous dredging will be required to maintain the
requisite entrance depth and sufficient basin depth.

"Currently, the east jetty extends landward to approximately 10 meters
landward of the vegetation line. It is reasonable to expect the beach east of
the marina to continue to recede landward, likely resulting in erosion behind
the landward end of the east jetty.

"Extensive downcoast erosion has been measured during the first year after
jetty construction. It is expected that some structures will be lost to the sea
within another year. The historic sandy beach that did exist on the east of the
marina has been replaced by a steep cobble and stone berm with some exposed
bedrock and vertical sandstone beach scarping. The downcoast erosion will likely
reach a dynamic equilibrium within a few years."

"The first marina of the Escalera Nautica system is deeply troubled.
The lack of planning and poor selection of location has resulted in a marina
that will be very expensive to maintain. If it is determined that the marina is
essential, we recommend some improvements that will make the marina useful some of the time....

Future Escalera Nautica projects should consult qualified consultants and
perform adequate studies prior to construction."

I sure hope the government and developers have been doing precisely that, but I'm not taking bets.

UNESCO to Inspect a Pair of National Parks

Mining is threatening International Peace Park; UN agency to look into the situation

When it comes to global warming, ice is the canary in the mine. The shore-fast ice along the north coast of Alaska and Canada has been thinner and breaking up earlier every spring. Huge chunks of the Ross Ice Shelf and other tracts of frozen water have been breaking off the Antarctic continent. And glaciers all over the world have been visibly shrinking -- not just measurably in scientific terms but visibly in this lifetime. Glacier National Park in northern Montana, with its shrinking and disappearing glaciers, has been a the poster child for climate change.

But there is another threat to Glacier and its neighbor to the north. Coal mining could be a greter problem for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, composed of contiguous Glacier National Park in northern Montana and Waterton National Park (above right) across the Canadian border. National Parks Traveler reported that UNESCO's World Heritage Committee voted unanimously to look into the "threat posed to the two parks by [coal] mining proposals for the headwaters of the Flathead River just to the north of Glacier and just west of Waterton Lakes." A dozen US and Canadian conservation and environmental organizations "asked the World Heritage Committee to declare the two parks a 'World Heritage Site In Danger' due to the mining possibilities that Canadian officials so far seem to have supported," according to National Parks Traveler.

"While U.S. politicians ranging from those in Montana counties all the way up to the U.S. secretary of state's office want Canada to block Cline Mining Corp. from scraping away mountaintops in the headwaters of the Flathead River to reach millions of tons of coal, Canadian officials so far have not been keen on the idea," National Parks Traveler had reported earlier.

The UNESCO report is supposed to be completed in 2010, but pardon me if I note that this issue has been around for several years. U.S. and Canadian officials were supposed to be dealing with the mining proposal since at least 2007. The North Fork Preservation Association has been keeping tabs on the situation, including the appearance of the North Fork of the Flathead on an increasing number of lists of endangered rivers, Check out Toronto-based Cline Mining's website to see images of the kinds of mining infrastructure most of us don't want to see in the backyard of our precious national parks or in pristine river valleys. The Cline map shows two coal projects in southeastern British Columbia, where the Flathead River originates: Sage Creek and Lodgepole. I'm not sure whether one or both are what UNESCO will be studying.

In any case, while the inspection team is in the neighborhood, perhaps they might take a look at the remaining glaciers too.