MOUNTAIN CULTURE ««
‘Ski with a Ranger Day’ highlights ski area, National Forest relationship By Jeffrey V. Smith GEORGETOWN The US Forest Service and Loveland Ski Area have teamed up again this year to host Ski with a Ranger Day twice each month throughout winter. This fun, free program is an effort to educate the public about the relationship between ski areas and the Forest Service. “The Ski with a Ranger program is basically an interpretive program on skies or a snowboard. It was created to provide more of a Forest Service presence in the public’s eye, emphasize the partnership between us and Loveland Ski Area and promote the natural, cultural and spiritual qualities of National Forest Land,” Clear Creek Ranger District Mount Evans Lead Interpreter Jeremiah Hyslop said. The program started last year and there was an average of eight participants, from children to older adults, in each program.
Nancy McNab (Volunteer Snow Ranger) gathers participants of Ski with a Ranger Day at Ptarmigan Roost Warming Hut.
“The type of people that tend to go are in some ways the type of folks that go to Loveland Ski Area,” Hyslop said. “Many of the ski area users are locals. People who live in the area tend to be interested in spending time with a forest ranger and
Treasure Trunk like on-air flea market By George Watson IDAHO SPRINGS Treasure Trunk, a new show on Idaho Springs’ KYGT radio, helps listeners buy, sell, trade, donate or bargain for anything, Wednesdays, from 7-9 p.m. Host Tracy Stokes has designed the program to be like an on-air flea market. “I had this idea that a show just like Treasure Trunk would be perfect for this amazing community radio station here in our picturesque mountain town,” Stokes said. “I also believed it could catch on quickly with our worldwide livestream listenership base.” The show features lively banter, an onair “Yak Attack” with special guests from around the country and the occasional cohost. Anyone who enjoys using Ebay and Craigslist, will find the show useful as it is a great opportunity to list just about anything that can be picked up or shipped. “This show is going to be great fun for everyone – you know what they say, one man’s ‘junk’ is certainly another man’s treasure,” Stokes said. The KYGT Treasure Trunk debuted in October and recent shows have included live interviews with python wrestlers, music producers and an old friend from England who played with the Beatles for two weeks but told Paul McCartney he didnʼt want to continue playing three-chord music. The Treasure Trunk is looking for everything from musical instruments to furniture, household items to bicycles and appliances. All items are given a number, placed on the KYGT Treasure Trunk website the next day and remain for sale from the online show archives. Join in for the fun - you ever know who is going to call in and what treasure might turn up. To participate, call in after 7:30 p.m. You will be asked how you heard about the Treasure Trunk, provide contact information
and, if you want, a frequent caller ID that can be used over and over again and passed on to friends and family. Frequent callers are entered into drawings for prizes after three call-ins over three separate shows Call in if you are selling, trading, donating. If you’re looking for a particular item you can describe it; size, dimension, color and other descriptive info is helpful, or you can e-mail a photo of the item and it will be added to that particular show archive next to your item’s number. For more information e-mail kygt treasuretrunk@gmail.com or visit the website at www.kygttreasuretrunk.com.
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learning about their environment.” The hour-long program starts at the Ptarmigan Roost Warming Hut and ends at the base of Tango Road. The theme of the program is “Loveland Ski Area is an example of interrelationships.” There are four stops along the way, including the start of the program at Ptarmigan Roost. Topics include alpine ecology, winter ecology, local history and the partnership between the Forest Service and Loveland Ski Area. According to Hyslop, most people have no idea of how the Forest Service and a ski area work together. “My sense is that most people are unaware that the majority of ski areas in Colorado and the country are on USFS land,” he said. “Even more are unaware that these ski areas operate under a special use permit from the USFS.” The Clear Creek rangers attempt to set their program apart from others like it by following the teachings of the National Association for Interpretation on how to develop and deliver an interpretive program. “We feel this is paying off because we’ve gotten positive feedback from both Loveland Ski Area and Forest Service employees who have been on the program, Hyslop said. “Both have said that they’ve learned things that they didn’t know.” The Clear Creek office also staffs a
JANUARY 2014
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Conradt Fredell talks to Ski with a Ranger Day participants about the Eisenhower Tunnel.
booth during National Ski Safety week and facilitates a Junior Snow Ranger event with the ski school. To take part, simply meet at Ptarmigan Roost Cabin at the top of Chair 2 for a run with the Snow Ranger. The Ski With a Ranger Program takes place twice a month until the end of the season. Ski With a Ranger Dates include Jan. 8 and 25, Feb. 12 and 22, March 12 and 29, April 9 and 26. Wednesday events take place at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday events are held at both 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. It is recommended to get to the meeting area 15 minutes early. Visit www.skiloveland.com or www. fs.usda.gov for more information.
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