Rebirth of Snowcat Skiing at Irwin Lodge -- Hopefully

Once the largest snowcat skiing venue in the US, Irwin Lodge might come out of mothballs

From 1986 to 2002, the Irwin Lodge off the Kebler Pass Road 23 miles from Crested Butte was the country biggest and best-known backcountry skiing operations. A 24-room lodge (below) located in a former mining camp accommodated overnight guests in rustic comfort and great congeniality. Sublime skiing on 600 to 700 inches of snow per year within a permit area of 1,600 acres with a vertical of up to 2,100 feet per run made for memorable experiences. When the previous operator pulled out of the backcountry business in 2002, the lodge was put on the market for $3.95 million. No sale. Now, a glimmer of resurrection is on the horizon.

Alan Bernholtz, Town Council member of six years, mayor of Crested Butte, founder of and senior guide for Crested Butte Mountain Guides, co-founder of the Crested Butte Avalanche Center, activist and indefatigable organizer of and volunteer at community events, has established Irwin Backcountry Guides LLC in the hopes of starting operation for the winter 2009-10 for extremely limited guided snowcat day skiing and snowboarding. You can read the USFS letter inviting comments to this proposal by click here. Bernoltz has already made some modifications to his original applications to comply with initial US Forest Service requests and is awaiting approval for to set up service for the coming winter. From a distance, the lodge (below) appears in good shape.

As solid as the lodge looks from a distance, bringing it back into operating condition after seven winters at 10,700 feet in the Colorado Rockies is daunting. The good news is that the roof appears largely intact, in in the great scheme of things, it probably is. However, a closeup reveals the toll that seven winters have taken on the cedar siding, doors and windows. "No trespassing" signs abound, and pink plastic tape surrounds the property, so a micro-inspection is not possible. Locals have told me that all or most of the furnishings are gone, and that the inside would need a lot of work to make it habitable.

Irwin Backcountry Guides has reportedly rehabilitated a cabin on the property to use as a warming hut and perhaps lunch spot for day visitors. I think the cabin below with its spiffy adjacent outhouse must be it. This cabin nestles a couple of hundred feet below the main lodge.

The initial permit application is for just 10 skiers or riders per day, but the buzz in town swirls around the possibility of eventual heli-skiing operations at the Irwin Lodge site. I see two results if that is approved: the lodge would have to be massively rehabilitated and a lot of townsfolk who treasure open backcountry access will be massively pissed, especially if the operation is aimed at attracting the kind of deep-pocketed clientele that can afford heli-skiing.

Meanwhile, there is not yet dedicated contact information for Irwin Backcountry Guides, but you can certainly reach them via Crested Butte Mountain Guides, P.O, Box 1718, Crested Butte, Colorado 81224; 970-349-5430.

Flight Attendant's Tips for Dealing with Baggage Hassles

Airlines' second bag fee causes flyers to rethink what they take and how they pack

Yesterday, in considering traveling to places that are dangerous or have policies travels might find abhorrent, I rhetorically asked, "to go or not to go?" James Wysong, whose day job is flying for a living, now asks, "check your luggage -- or not?" in "Check it Out! 10 Clever Luggage Tips from a Flight Attendant" on Tripso.com.

Wysong observes, "Many travel experts suggest carrying on all baggage versus checking. As a flight attendant, I may seem like the last person to be impartial, but since I am also often a passenger, I see both sides." He adds, "Anyone with a lick of sense will tell you that once airlines charge for a second bag, more and more passengers will start carrying them on board, adding to the sea of already overcrowded storage space. This will mean more hassles at the gate, delays, and those of you who only bring on a small bag will many times have to store it in the cramped space under the seat in front of you. My only explanation for the lunacy is that the airlines have plans for charging for extra carry-on bags next."

As a passenger who frequently travels with ski gear, occasionally with scuba gear but never with golf clubs (but it's the same situation), I hasten to add that those "travel experts" probably don't ski, dive or golf -- or they have adequate travel budgets so that sports gear at $25 per item each way doesn't make a noticeable dent in their wallets. Here is Wysong's take on the merits and disadvantages of various tactics for dealing with luggage (reused here with permission of James Wysong):

Pros for checking bags in:
1. You will have a lot less hassle at security and throughout the airport.
2. You don’t have to cram your gels and liquids into three-ounce bottles and you can buy duty free abroad as you can check larger bottles that you can’t carry on board.
3. You don’t have to worry or hustle for overhead bin space once you board the aircraft.
4. You aren’t forced to pack light and wear the same outfit day after day, or purchase clothing abroad.
5. If you have minimal time between connecting flights you are much more mobile if you must run for your next flight.
6. You avoid the evil glare that the flight attendant gives you.

Pros for carrying on:
1. There is no danger of the airline losing or damaging your bags.
2. You don’t have to wait for your bags at the baggage carousel.
3. You can access the contents of your bags at all times.
4. You can use the computer check-in function more freely.
5. You get the flight attendant to give you an evil glare as opposed to the painted-on
smile.

Here are some quick carry-on tips:
1. Size matters. Get a roller-board suitcase that fits into the overhead with the wheels or handle first. Many times the ones that have to go in sideways take up too much room and are difficult to find space for.
2. Shut it. Make sure the overhead bin shuts because even though you might have been there first, a protruding bag will be the first one yanked.
3. Try to be a softie. Use a soft exterior bag with some give to it. Many times hard cases just don’t fit regardless of how much you shove.
4. Water works. The liquids and gel ban is still in effect. At security checkpoints, travelers are permitted to carry travel-size toiletries (three ounces or less) that fit comfortably in one quart-size, clear plastic, zip-top bag.
5. Weight it out. The golden carry-on rule is if you bring it on board you need to be able to lift it and store it. Most flight attendants are not covered by their insurance if they injure their backs with your luggage.
6. Close by. Try to use an overhead bin in your immediate area for safety and security reasons. It doesn’t have to be directly overhead, but you should be
able to see it from your seat. When opening an overhead bin, always put your
hand up, ready to catch anything that might drop out.
7. Give it up. If your bag is selected to be checked at the gate due to space limitations, don’t worry, as it is pretty much guaranteed to be on that flight and will probably be the first one out at baggage claim.
8. It’s not personal. If you have something in your bag that you do not wish the security personnel to see, put it in your checked luggage. Trust me on this one.
9. Lend a hand. Help out those in need, especially mothers. Don’t get too mad at those who abuse the carry-on policy, be amused instead, but be sure to duck and be prepared if they are utilizing the overhead directly above you.
10. Utilize common sense. Recognize when your bag is too big to be considered carry-on and check it in.

Tour de France Travel Guide

Illustrated guidebook to the Tour's routes, climbs and towns

Every July, my husband and I are gripped by the human drama, athletic competition and sheer scenic splendor of the Tour de France, now cheerintelecast daily in the US by Versus. Especially that it's now in high definition, we watch the crowds in achingly charming cities and towns, the scenic rural roads past farms and vineyards, the cheering fans that choke down the mountain climbs and the fast descents from the alpine zones into the greenery. Every year, we talk about how fine it would be to follow the Tour in person, and every year I enter the online contest on the longest of shots that we'll win a trip for the following year.

We probably will never get there, but now there's a vicarious way to get the inside info. Graham Watson’s recently published Tour de France Travel Guide provides insider’s access based on 31 years of following and photographing the race. According to the publisher, VeloPress, "Watson has mastered the Tour’s daily challenges—where to eat, where to sleep, how to get around, how to see and photograph the race, and most of all, how to enjoy the greatest show on two wheels."

This beautifully illustrated guidebook features hundreds of Graham’s stunning photographs, full-color maps, travel tips, checklists and travel resources, plus such special features as clever menu decoder, tips on how to meet the riders, a glossary of French cycling terms, some history historical on each region of France visited by the Tour and even a chapter on how to photograph the Tour like a pro. I guess my trusty little digital camera won't cut it. Again according to the publisher, "this book presents a fresh and unique strategy for getting around the Tour’s many daily obstacles to find a front-row seat for all the action."

The price is $24.95, which is a lot less than actually being there.

To Travel or Not to Travel? That is the Question

Do tourists help or hinder reforms in dictatorial states or impact on human rights abuses?

The Society of American Travel Writers' 2009 convention is scheduled for Beijing, setting off a debate on whether SATW's presence is de facto support of a regime whose human rights abuses in general and policies toward Tibet in particular many members find abhorrent. For a specific take on China, a recent essay in Newsweek's international edition called "Tibet Through Chinese Eyes" merits reading. Not only SATW, but many travelers in general, often wrestle with these questions when a place they want to see, like China, conflicts with their principles.

Susan Hack wrote a Concierge.com piece called "Should You Stay or Should You Go?" weighing the pros and cons of such travel. She wrote:

"Picture this: You excitedly tell your friends you're heading to China for
the Olympics, and they start lecturing you about Darfur, human rights, and the Dalai Lama.

"'But what about Shanghai, and the terra cotta warriors, and all those cool
new stadiums?' Stony silence. There goes your summer vacation.

"To some people, boycotting the Games — and China as a whole — is a way of protesting its government's policies.

"But does that mean those who visit condone repression — and even help
underwrite it? Must travelers body-swerve countries with flagrant human-rights
abuses altogether?"

For my part, I say: Go! Whatever reforms occurred behind what was once called the Bamboo Curtain happened after Nixon "opened" China, trade and talks started, and American and other Western tourists began to visit. Countries that were once locked behind the Iron Curtain are now not only on the tourist trail ("Gladys, I can't wait to see the Kremlin!"), and former Soviet satellites are booming, some now as part of the economically powerful euro zone. Americans visit Vietnam, where some 55,000 US servicemen perished in a previous undeclared war. While China and Viernam are still Communist, so is Cuba, where a decades-long embargo on American travel certainly did not to close the long-running Fidel Castro show. Only age and infirmity caused him to hand power over to his brother Raul, and perhaps normalization won't be too far off, and American visitors will easily be able to join Canadians, Eruopeans and Mexicans who travel without difficulty to the nation that lies just 90 miles from Key West.

Hack tackled the questions of visiting a baker's dozen places where all is not roses and lollipops: China, Syria, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Tunisia, Myanmar (Burma), Israel and the Occupied Territories, Russia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Iran, Venezuela. Some are currently such hotspots that only for the likes of Robert Young Pelton, author of travel books about "the world's most dangerous places" and whose website is called Come Back Alive. Others don't really want outsiders at all. Consider Myanmar, which is shutting out most relief workers who want to help the country's cyclone victims. Others only reluctantly let in any outsiders. In a recent CNN special, Christiane Amanpour reported on the New York Philharmonic to Pyongyang's (hopefully) ice-breaking concert last February. It was the first-ever performance by an American orchestra in the secretive People's Republic of Korea.

I haven't been to any hot war zones, nor do I have desire to do so, but years ago, I did visit East Berlin in the days of Checkpoint Charlie and spent time in Budapest when the Soviet shadow covered eastern Europe. I once crossed the former Czechoslovakia by train and had to get a visa in advance, even though I was not getting off the train, which surprised me, because in western Europe, it was easy to travel from country to country. And yes, I have been to China. Three times. And I want to go again.

Perhaps I am being naive, but in my opinion, travelers with open minds, open eyes and yes, open wallets are, on balance, a good thing. And I do wonder what happens when the proverbial shoe is on the other foot. For many visitors from overseas, the US is currently a travel bargain. Yet we photograph and fingerprint our foreign "guests" at our airports like suspects taken to jail. I wonder how many foreign visitors don't want to come here and be treated like crooks -- or who don't want to spend their money in a country responsible for Gantanamo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition or state-sanctioned torture to interrogate prisoners in our undeclared and ongoing "war on terrorism."

So read Susan Hack's piece and decide for yourself what's on your to-visit list and what isn't. For now.

Mileage Plus Tightens Credits

Wave bye-bye to 500-mile minimum credit for segments flown on United

Those short commuter hops on United, Ted or regional affiliates will no longer deposit 500 miles into your Mileage Plus account. Here's the latest salvo from the self-proclaimed "Friendly Skies" airline:

"To ensure that Mileage Plus miles earned toward elite status and award
travel on United are aligned with actual miles flown, we are revising our base
accrual policy. Beginning July 1, 2008, for flights of less than 500 miles,
passengers will earn redeemable miles equal to the actual miles flown. Elite
Qualifying Miles (EQM) will also be awarded based on actual miles. Elite
Qualifying Segments (EQS) are not affected.

"This new mileage accrual structure will apply to travel on or after July
1, 2008, regardless of when the travel was ticketed. Flights of less than 500
miles flown on or before June 30, 2008, will accrue Mileage Plus miles under the
previous policy of a minimum mileage accrual per individual segment flown."

Should you want "complete details," you can read them here. Interestingly, while United launched the policy of charging most passengers $25 extra for a second checked bag, US Airways was the first to tighten its frequent flyer mileage credits for short flights.

Straphangers in the Sky

Will "vertical seating" at Ryanair, the pioneering low-fare airline's latest wild idea, fly?

Ryanair, a brash super-discount airline based in Ireland, is always coming up with innovative and even outrageous ideas about packing as many bodies as possible into airplanes or deriving revenue from something other than the air fare itself. Ryanair recently conducted a two-week poll of passengers about "vertical seating."

Reportedly already available on some Asian airlines, passengers would lean back in their "seats" and would be buckled up, unlike straphangers on buses or subways. Ryanair wondered whether its passengers would be willing to fly that way if it meant free or super-super-cheap tickets.

The Ireland-based airline released the results of 88,000 passengers who participated in the poll:

Q. If it meant your flight was free, would you stand on a one-hour flight?

A. Yes 66 percent; No 34 percent

Q. If it meant your flight was half that of a seated passenger, would you stand on a one-hour flight?

A. Yes 42 percent; No 58 percent

Q. Do you think passengers should have a choice of sitting or standing as they do on buses, trains and underground transport?

A. Yes 60 percent; No 40 percent

Other than the oxymoronic nature of "vertical seating" itself, I have a few questions. How do you place a carryon under the seat in front of you if there is no seat in front of you? And how can the equate the choice between standing, or rather sitting vertically, on a plane with the ground transportation their poll mentioned. People who choose to stand while commuting generally have no choice. They do so because all the seats are taken -- and there is no fare differential between those who sit and those who stand.

Austrian "Prison House" on Horror Highway

Voyeuristic visitors flock to see where the latest twisted family tragedy took place

Some people travel to look at places where bad things happened -- some large-scale and public, and others once private: Pearl Harbor and the watery grave of the battleship 'Arizona,' the site of the World Trade Center in New York that became known as Ground Zero, concentration camps in Germany and Poland, New Orleans' still-devastated lower Ninth Ward, the Federal Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza in Dallas where JFK was assassinated, plus assorted decommissioned prisons, jails and dungeons all over the globe all come to mind, as do the creepiest, bloodiest displays in wax museums. The latest tourist stop on the horror highway showing man's inhumanity is the house (left) in Amstetten, Austria, where Josef Fritzl imprisoned his daughter in a cellar and kept her as an incestuous sex slave for nearly a quarter of a century.

"Two weeks ago the small town of Amstetten, with a population of 23,000,
was a tranquil place where little of note ever happened," the Telegraph reported.

"But the town, formerly known only for its apple wine production, has been
suddenly put into the spotlight after it was revealed that one of its respected
citizens, the retired engineer and property developer Josef Fritzl, 73, had
imprisoned his own daughter Elisabeth, in 1984 and kept her as a sex slave,
producing seven children with her.

"Two weeks after the story broke, residents are now complaining about the
"ghoulish tourism" that is developing around the Fritzl family house in 40
Ybbstrasse. People are travelling from neighbouring countries such as Germany
and Hungary to visit the street and have their picture taken in front of the
house. According to reports, the three-storey house facing one of Amstetten’s
main roads has also been put on the route of a sightseeing bus tour which now
routinely stops in front of it.

"'It is bad enough that journalists and TV crews have beleaguered our town,
but now there is this ghoulish tourism with people coming to Amstetten just to
see the house in Ybbstrasse. It is appalling, we just want to be left in
peace,'" said one Amstetten resident.

"The house is guarded by police around the clock as over 40 forensic
experts are investigating its interior. One of the officers on duty outside the
house said: 'People are coming especially to have their picture taken in front
of the house. It has become a sort of pilgrimage site.'"

The idealistic side of me would like to think that people come to pay their respect and to memorialize victims of horror and tragedy, but the realist in me knows that, sadly, much of it is prurient interest at best and titillation at worst.