ASPEN — Aspen's usually robust retail and restaurant sector has plenty of empty storefronts this year, by some estimates 8 to 10 percent.

It is, according to commercial broker Karen Setterfield, the highest vacancy rate she's seen in 23 years.

“When you are 100 percent occupied and you all of a sudden see 7 percent vacancy, it all looks like it's vacant,” said Bill Small, a commercial real estate broker.

Retail stores seem harder hit than restaurants, but no sectors have been exempted. Architects and other offices have downscaled, with the result that office space, which once commanded $40 per square foot, now gets in the high $20's to mid-$30s.

Nobody seems to expect much to change this ski season, and perhaps not until 2011. But Marmot, the manufacturer of outdoor apparel and equipment, opened its first retail store in Colorado in Aspen, and The Aspen Times suggests that regional retailers might be the wave of the future in Aspen. The national retailers, it seems, have cold feet.

Landlords have been willing to negotiate with tenants in high-end venues over leases, but not prices. The commercial retail market still commands $75 to $150 a square foot.

Hallucinations began, but then came the air

REVELSTOKE, B.C. – Four snowmobilers sledding on wind-loaded slopes north of Revelstoke got unlucky – and then very lucky. All four survived, but it was a close one for Kerry Cooper. The drainage where they got hit was called Dead Man's Creek, and the name came close to foretelling their fate.

Cooper told the Revelstoke Times Review that after being buried under six feet of snow in a series of three avalanches, he was unable to move, even to wiggle a finger.

“I couldn't do anything – blink or move a finger or nothing,” he told the newspaper. “You're just struggling to breath, and then you really panic. I just thought to myself I had to get the breathing under control and breathe as slowly as possible, otherwise I'm going to expend everything right away. Then after awhile, even with the slow breathing, your lungs start to burn and that gets painful. Then that goes away because you're asphyxiated and you lack oxygen in the brain.”

One of Cooper's companions was buried within a few feet of him, and the two other snowmobilers were able to locate him because of transceiver signals. But when they had dug him partly out and turned off his beacon, they realized there was a still a signal. That's when they feverishly began digging for Cooper.

“You start to hallucinate, go in and out, and then it just goes to your mind, ‘Well, I'll just go to sleep. It will be OK.' You think in your head at that time it's going to be OK, but the reality is it's the worst possible time. You actually want to close your eyes and go to sleep.”

By then, he had been covered for 10 minutes. His companions saw a portion of balaclava, and dug down around his face. “He looked dead,” said companion Randy Kaup. “I mean, he was blue. There was zero response. His pupils were totally dilated as big as saucers.”

They kept digging, and saw his eyes blink a little. They removed snow from around his chest, and he finally took a small breath.

Whistler gets gold-medal snow for Olympic winter

WHISTLER, B.C. — It was an epic November in Whistler, with the most snowfall in the 30 years of ski area operations.

More than 18 feet (567 centemeters). fell, although down in the valley, some of that snow in recent days was rain, reports Pique Newsmagazine..

The storms also left two feet of rime ice on top of some lift towers, which had to be hammered off with plastic mallets. Resort officials also warned of seemingly bottomless tree wells, always a danger to skiers and sometimes a cause of fatalities. As well, the deep snow cloaked new crevasses that opened in the glacier areas during last summer's uncommonly hot weather.

Bear takes bullet between eyes — but returns for more

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – A 700-pound bear that has been roaming around Incline Village, a town along the shores of Lake Tahoe, has been gaining a reputation. It's not all good.

The bear has caused damage estimated to be worth $70,000 this year, the Sierra Sun reports. The most recent pillaging was during Thanksgiving in a church, where the bear dispensed with 22 jars of peanut butter but barely touched the corn flakes.

The newspaper reports that the pastor of the Village Church requested a prayer for the bear to be relocated – and not return to the church.

Last summer, a homeowner shot the bear in the face with a .44 magnum handgun, but the bullet bounced off the skull. The homeowner shot the bear again, this time causing extensive bleeding but no mortal wound. Within a few weeks, the bear was back to breaking and entering.

Animal-rights activists protest at Park City shops

PARK CITY, Utah – About 20 animal-rights activists took to the shopping district in Park City on the Friday after Thanksgiving to protest the selling of animal hides and furs at several stores.

“Fur is sin. Wear your own skin,” they chanted. And, “Forty dead animals, one fur coat.”

The Park Record spoke with Teresa Platt, executive director of the Fur Commission USA. She said products made from animals biodegrade, unlike synthetic materials, making them better.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals encourages such protests in the days after Thanksgiving each year.

Sun Valley considers how to cut water usev

SUN VALLEY, Idaho – The Sun Valley officials want to reduce the water use per capita, primarily by discouraging expensive lawns. Water use in the town ranges up to 8 million gallons per day in summer, compared to 1.5 to 2 million gallons per day during winter.

Compared to the national average, Sun Valley's per-capita water use is “pretty high,” said Pat McMahon, manager of the Sun Valley Water and Sewer District.

The district and city are considering a pricing schedule that rewards more conservative water use, reports the Idaho Mountain Express.