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Aspen Highlands Ski Area. Draft Enyironmelllallmpact Stale",.1ll significantly affect the quality of the human environment. In addition to these improvements, there are several facilities both within and outside of the permit area which pre-date and are separate from the approved proposal but which serve the sid area and are complimffi'eO by the 1994 approved developments. The existing conditions and the approved developments that have so far been implemented are described in the Aspen Skiing Company's (ASC) development proposal (ASe 1995a). The approved developments and other existing facilities within the sid area special use permit (SUP) boundary together constitute the No Action Alternative for this Draft E1S. The approved developments and existing facilities are summarized in Table 2.1. and are described in detail below. '(:tliie2~1. . <<;ompooeritS9ftheNo AdionAlterWltiveapprovedii11994;<" Comoonent! Action I Action Initiated I Action Comoleted Phase I upgrades. approved for 1994 Remove Nugget Ski Lift t994 t994 Replace Exhibition I and Loge Peak ski lifts t994 1994 Glade between ttails and widen T -wy-7 Catwalk 1994 1994 Reloeate mid-way fuel storage and maintenance facility 1994 - ConslIUct utility corridor from Aspen Highlands base to Loge Peak - - Phase IT upgrades - approved for 1995+ Remove Grand Prix Ski Lift 1995 1995 Remove Olympic Ski Lift - - Reolace Exhibition IT and Cloud Nine ski lifts - - ExiSTING FACILITIES ExTERNAL TO 1994 ApPROVED UPGRADES Existing facilities associated with the Aspen Highlands Ski Area but not part of the upgrades approved in 1994 occur both within the pennit area and on private land north of the permit area (Figure 2.1). In the permit area these include the Golden Horn 2,6J2-foot-long poma lift (630 pph capacity); the ski pall'ol headquarters at the top of the Cloud Nine Lift; and the Merry-Go-Round Restaurant midway up the existing area. which has a footprint of 17,623 square feet and a seating capacity of700. In addition, the Red Onion/Exhibition maintenance road, which zig-zags up the north face of Aspen Highlands from 9,350 to 10,000 feet, was targeted for removal and revegetation in the ASC's 1994 summer operations plan (ASC 1994) approved by the Forest Service. The Thunderbowl double chair lift (2,850 feet long, 900 pph capacity) and snowmaking facilities, covering 76 acres of terrain. are located on private land north of the permit area. The base area also contains the Aspen Highlands base lodge (seating capacity of 400); the Aspen Highlands Ski Shop, with 14,334 square feet of maintenance/storage facilities; 1,970 square feet of skier services; and the Highlands parking lot (742 vehicles). In addition to the on-site parking facilities, access to the sid area is currently facilitated by the Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA) sider shuttle savice from Aspen (374 pph capacity) and SnoWIDass (44 pph capacity) and the city bus service (27 pph capacity) from Aspen. Current summer recreation activities on NFS lands at Aspen Highlands are primarily hiking and limited mountain biking. Motorized access to NFS land is restricted due to gating on private lands at the base of. Aspen Highlands Ski Area. It is estimated that 2 to 4 hikers or bikers access NFS land daily (Stark 1995). 2-2 Alt~nUJlive A . No Action Existing Facilities Exlernal to 1994 Approved Upgrades