Rising ocean will impact decisions in Whistler bedroom town

SQUAMISH, B.C. — Squamish, located down-valley from Whistler, is being warned by the British Columbia government to begin planning for a rising sea level during the 21st Century.

“Decisions regarding land-use, economic development and major long-term infrastructure projects must consider local sea-level change to effectively manage risks and reduce vulnerability,” warns a report from the provincial government.

The report speaks of predicted rises in sea levels, but also of even higher surges caused by storms.

To get to Whistler, most people pass through Squamish on their way from Vancouver. Much of the existing downtown is located below sea level, says Whistler’s Pique Newsmagazine. Whistler is 34 miles (56 kilometres) upvalley and 2,000 feet above Squamish.

The risk of additional development along the ocean within Squamish had long been disputed.

Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner told the newspaper that he finds the report’s findings interesting.

“Certainly, we will consider the information in the report,” he said.

Barry Penner, the environment minister of the province, said the report highlights why greenhouse-gas emissions must be reduced.

John Buchanan, a conservationist in Squamish, told the newspaper he believes Canada has been all talk and no action when it comes to the environment.

“People are now very quick to drop catchy eco-phrases in the hopes of sounding proactive, but the reality is that Canadians have their heads in a rose pile while their environment continues to degrade around them.”

Proposed subdivision aims for lower carbon footprint

CRESTED BUTTE — Crested Butte officials are reviewing a proposal for a new subdivision of 234 units that has the significant and difficult goal of being carbon neutral.

Just how the developers, Ken Hill and Cliff Gross, hope to achieve that isn’t entirely clear.

Still, the plans clearly represent a different type of housing project than what is commonly seen in ski towns or, for that matter, just about anywhere.

For advice, the developers have turned to Dan Richardson, a former city councilman in Glenwood Springs, who later gained broader recognition as the first director of the Canary Initiative, Aspen’s municipal greenhouse gas-reducing program. He is now an energy consultant in the private sector.

Homes in the development are to be closer together, similar to the arrangement of mining towns that preceded many of the ski areas.

Revelstoke now leads continent in vertical

REVELESTOKE, B.C. — Revelstoke Mountain Resort now has bragging rights for the most lift-serviced vertical rise of any ski area in North America.

The resort has 5,620 feet of drop. A website, verticalfeet.com, lists the other top 15 as follows. Not included is the vertical that requires hiking. Not all vertical, however, is continuous.

5,133 feet, Blackcomb, B.C.

4,978 feet, Whistler, B.C.

4,406, Snowmass (includes a rope tow used only a few weeks per season).

4,180 feet, Big Sky, Mont. (3,400 vertical in one continuous run)

4,139 feet, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyo.

4,131 feet, Kicking Horse, B.C.

4,040 feet, Beaver Creek (3,400 continuous vertical)

3,845 feet, Telluride

3,820 feet, Panorama, B.C.

3,635 feet, Aspen Highlands

3,580 Timberline on Mt. Hood, Ore.

3,514 feet, Sunshine, Alberta

3,500 feet, Heavenly, Calif. and Nev.

3,484 feet, Steamboat

Revelstoke has two new lifts this year, the resort’s second season, giving skiers access to 3,031 acres, reports the Revelstoke Times Review. That’s a hair less than Snowmass, which has 3,132 acres. Jackson Hole has 2,500 acres. Vail Mountain is the king of this hill, with 5,289 skiable acres.

She did it all wrong but survived anyway

CANMORE, B.C. — A woman out walking her dog on a trail on the edge of Canmore had the fright of her life. Wildlife officers suggested it was only good luck that allowed her to walk away.

The dog was running off leash, sniffing up the adjacent forest, when it came streaking past her, a cougar bounding close behind. The cougar stopped 10 feet from the woman, who shrieked and ran off.

Bad decisions all around, a wildlife expert tells the Rocky Mountain Outlook. Kim Titchener said when encountering a cougar, it’s best to always maintain eye contact, look big by spreading a jacket, for example, and speak in a commanding voice, all the while backing away slowly. Running could trigger an attack, she said.

Guys doing what guys do best: butting heads

EAGLE — You’ve heard the cliché about “locked horns.” Cindy Cohagen had a rare opportunity to observe the phenomenon while walking her dog recently in the countryside near Eagle.

Two deer bucks were smashing their antlered heads together across a fence. Then the smashing stopped — they had locked horns.

“It was absolutely one of the most incredible spectacles of my entire life,” Cohagen told the Eagle Valley Enterprise.

Tranquilizers are sometimes used, but it was too cold. Instead, state wildlife officer Bill Andree lassoed one side of the entangled antlers, and with the aid of assistants, wrestled the deer to the ground. He then sawed off one of the antlers. That did the trick. The bucks, freed of one another, bounded off into the hills.

Andree said he has never had to physically untangle deer, even if bucks often lock antlers.

“Usually they get apart before officers can get there. Once in a while, they die,” he said.

The antler-bashing routine is part of what bucks do during mating season.