Silverton Guides, a helicopter skiing business owned by Aaron Brill of Silverton Mountain fame, proposed to expand its heli-skiing territory near Silverton in January 2015. This after acquiring most of its heli-skiing territory from Helitrax of Telluride back in 2009.
Now Silverton Guides wants to exchange 5,566 acres for 16,252 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands to operate in.
These new BLM lands are east of Silverton Mountain where the helicopters depart from, and include such areas as Arastra Gulch and Minnie and Maggie Gulch just off County Road 2 north of Silverton. Additionally, it wants terrain that is below tree-line for windy days and for diverse terrain (most of their terrain is north of Silverton Mountain just west of Animas Forks.
Here’s a list of the concerns that the BLM and the public have about this proposal: human environment, noise, social and economic resources, land use wilderness and wilderness study areas, and physical and biological resources.
Currently, Silverton Guides is allotted 600 user days in a 120-day season. That means in four months, it can fly four clients, a guide and pilot from Silverton Mountain to its BLM-permitted area a total of 150 times (flights). But this assumes the helicopter is full. If there are two clients, then the number doubles to 300 flights. And within one user day, the helicopter can take-off and land in the area being used roughly six times. That’s a lot of helicopter traffic!
In addition to the helicopter flights, Silverton Guides proposed to use explosives to “mitigate” the avalanche danger in the permitted areas. Needless to say, if you look at all of the concerns the public and BLM have for this proposal, and the possible impacts of full implementation of its BLM-permitted heli-ski areas, there is a lot to be concerned about.
If you care to comment by Dec. 12 on this proposal, email: blm_co_gfo_nepa_comments@blm.gov (attention: Silverton Guides EA).
Tim Thomas
Durango
