Word: aspenization
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Each fall, thousands of sightseers flock to Colorado's national forests to witness a spectacular display. As the days become colder, the small, oval leaves of the trembling aspen tree (Populus tremuloides) turn from green to bright gold, and stands of foliage glow in the mountains like mounds of Spanish doubloons. This spring, however, other, less aesthetically inclined aspen lovers have their eyes on the forests -- and their minds on real gold...
Forest rangers estimate that about 40 separate teams of treenapers are operating a $15 million-a-year black market in Colorado's renowned aspens. After the winter's last snowfall, but while the aspens are still dormant, the bandits uproot them and sell them to nurseries and landscapers for between $10 and $15 apiece, or door to door for up to $45. An industrious team can harvest as many as 30,000 saplings in a season. Who wants them? Says Forest Service Spokesman Hank Deutsch: "I guess a clump of aspen is a desirable attraction for people's yards...
Kelley opposed the plan, arguing that it would destroy tourism and agriculture and would "decimate the wildlife population," she explains. With two major ski resorts in her district, Aspen and Vail, the public shared her fears about the plan's effects on the skiing industry...
...Accommodations range from the rustic to the comfortable, complete with cocktails and elaborate meals. Though hut-to-hut skiing can be found throughout the northern U.S., it is most popular in the West. "The huts are really in vogue," says Dick Jackson, head of a ski-tour company in Aspen, Colo. "You get the tough uphill climb and then the downhill reward, plus a comfortable place to stay...
Jackson should know, since he leads trips along one of the busiest routes in the country. Named after a U.S. Army ski troop that trained in Colorado during World War II, the Tenth Mountain Division Trail stretches 40 miles from Aspen toward Vail. Begun in 1982, the path winds past three high-altitude huts (the largest sleeps 20), with another six on the way if the U.S. Forest Service approves extending the course the full 79 miles to Vail. Stoves, cooking gear and mattresses are provided in the huts, but skiers must lug their own food and sleeping bags...