SALIDA — The Arkansas River, Colorado’s most popular river for whitewater rafting, had high water for much of the past summer, the best in 20-some years.

Ironically, the whitewater boating industry had a sharp decline in business, 9 percent less than the previous year.

There is no sure way to know what caused the decline, but speculation on the streets of Salida, the headquarters for many boating companies, is that high gasoline prices discouraged visits.

Five river-related deaths also may have discouraged visits.

In response to the river deaths, reports Salida’s Mountain Mail, representatives from boating companies, Colorado State Parks, and law-enforcement agencies are working on new guidelines for commercial companies to screen out customers who shouldn’t be on the river.

Whistler goes from big high to a very low low

WHISTLER, B.C. — One week Whistler was at a literal and metaphoric high when it launched its Peak-2-Peak Gondola, which established a world record for the expanse to the ground below.

The next week was a different story.

A tower broke on a different system, the Excalibur Gondola, a primary access for the Blackcomb ski area.

The accident injured 12 people and trapped 53 riders for up to two and a half hours.

Fire trucks were used to rescue most people, as the affected cars were close to the base area, but rescue of several passengers required use of ropes and rappels.

Most of the injuries were minor, with some skiers soon returning to the slopes, although at least one broken finger was reported and another individual suffered a broken vertebra.

The injuries were sustained when two gondola cars dropped about 30 feet. One hit the pavement before bouncing up again, while the other car hit a bus stop shelter.

Freezing water within the gondola tower was blamed for the break. Pique Newsmagazine explains that the process is similar to when pipes freeze and break. Just how the water got into the gondola tower, ski-area operator Intrawest is not sure.

A similar accident occurred in 2006 at Idaho’s Silver Mountain, located at Kellogg. When the water inside a tower freezes, it swells, and in the case at Whistler broke the flanges that connect the different segments of the tower. The technical term is tubular failure.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide says that in the wake of the accident in Whistler, ski-industry representatives warned ski areas to re-check their gondola towers. The manufacturer of the gondola, Doppelmayr CTEC, has installed 1,400 lifts around the world.

For Whistler, the accident comes at a difficult time, just before winter, but also at a time when excitement was building in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics, which are now little more than a year away.

While the accident is a costly one for Whistler, there are also the broader repercussions.

Pique Newsmagazine found immediate evidence that the accident will dampen enthusiasm for the new high-flying Peak-2-Peak Gondola.

“We’ll ski, but there’s no way were going to go on the Peak-2-Peak after the Blackcomb gondola breaks like this,” said one snowboarder from California identified only as Dallas.

Doug Forseth, the general manager of the Blackcomb and Whistler ski areas, conceded worries about the broader impacts.

“Of course. You are always concerned about what the public perception is,” he said. “My worry always is that people make their own stories up without knowing the facts, so we need to get the facts out and so we can talk about it on that basis.”

New air charter link possible to Whistler

PEMBERTON, B.C. — Merlin Air is getting close to having a charter line to fly into Pemberton, which offers the nearest airport to Whistler.

Although the Sea-to-Sky highway between Vancouver and Whistler has been improved, many Whistler boosters have long identified a direct air link as crucial to improving the resort town’s business.

Canmore hosts second wellness-based festival

CANMORE, B.C. — Canmore has hosted an event called Lifefest for the second time. It brings together chiropractors, reiki therapists and other health-care professionals from both the traditional and alternative realms.

The event, says Teresa Mullen, executive director of the Canmore Economic Development Association, is part of the community’s effort to diversify its economy.

“If it’s just tourism, we can’t just rely on that,” she told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

But then, it hasn’t been just tourism for a long time in Canmore. As has been noted in the newspaper, an amenity-based real-estate development has become the major driver of the former mining town’s economy.