Laserfiche WebLink
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS <br /> A medium-size ski area development on portions of the Coal Basin <br /> area affected by the coal mining operations is a feasible and appropriate <br /> postmining use of the terrain, existing facilities and the land owned or <br /> controlled by Mid-Continent Resources, Inc. It is also an appropriate <br /> and recommended future use of the intermingled federal land (National <br /> Forest) as stated in the Draft Environmental Statement for the "Thompson <br /> Creek Land Use Plan" prepared by the U. S. Forest Service and submitted <br /> to the Council on Environmental Quality in August, 1976. <br /> The area, including the potential expansion segments on terrain not <br /> affected by the mining, is rated as "Good" as opposed to "Outstanding" <br /> ratings given to areas such as Snowmass and Vail. The ultimate "comfort- <br /> able capacity" of the useable terrain is estimated at 3,000 skiers per <br /> day and this conforms to the figure quoted in the environmental statement <br /> mentioned above. For comparison the maximum daily capacity at Vail <br /> with 17 lifts on fully-developed 7,000 acres has been set at 14,000 by <br /> the Forest Service (10,500 for a "comfortable" limit) and a few peak <br /> days have reached 14,000. Other peak day figures: Snowmass with 12 <br /> lifts on 7,100 acres (three-fifths developed) has approached 9,000; <br /> Sunlight with 2 lifts on 2,700 acres (one-third developed) approached <br /> 1,400; Copper Mountain with 10 lifts on 3,200 acres (mostly developed) <br /> went over 5,000; and Buttermilk Mountain with 5 lifts on 725 acres <br /> (fully developed) topped 4,000. <br /> Whether or not a ski area development will be economically feasible <br /> in ten or forty years is beyond the scope of this report and it depends <br /> on several things such as: <br /> -17- <br />