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Blue Sky Basin

2000 establishments in ColoradoBuildings and structures in Eagle County, ColoradoSki areas and resorts in ColoradoTourist attractions in Eagle County, ColoradoVail Resorts

Blue Sky Basin is the most recent expansion to Vail Ski Resort in Colorado in the United States. It is the most debated and controversial ski area expansion in Colorado history. It opened to skiers in 2000 despite conflict about whether the expansion would endanger the lynx, a mountain cat re-introduced into the Colorado wilds. In response, the largest eco-terrorist attack in the United States occurred at Vail in 1998 - a $12 million incident involving several Vail facilities, including the destruction of the Two Elk restaurant. Authorities believe it was planned by William C. Rodgers and other environmental activists. The FBI launched Operation Backfire, which eventually led to convictions of the arsonists. The incident created sympathy for the resort, if not necessarily for Blue Sky Basin or the corporate owner, Vail Resorts. The Basin opened on 6 January 2000 with three high-speed quad chairlifts, an extra 525 acres (2.12 km2) added to Vail's already enormous size — over 5,000 acres (20 km2). Blue Sky Basin offers a more natural ski experience down its 1,900-foot (580 m) vertical drop, with mostly meadows and glades, rather than wide, clear-cut runs.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Blue Sky Basin (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

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Latitude Longitude
N 39.596388888889 ° E -106.33083333333 °
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Eagle County (Eagle)



Colorado, United States
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Gilman, Colorado
Gilman, Colorado

Gilman is an abandoned mining town in southeastern Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The Gilman post office operated from November 3, 1886, until April 22, 1986. The U.S. Post Office at Minturn (ZIP Code 81645) now serves Gilman postal addresses.Founded in 1886 during the Colorado Silver Boom, the town later became a center of lead and zinc mining in Colorado, centered on the now-flooded Eagle Mine. It was abandoned in 1984 by order of the Environmental Protection Agency because of toxic pollutants, including contamination of the ground water, as well as unprofitability of the mines. It is currently a ghost town on private property and is strictly off limits to the public. At the time of the abandonment, the mining operations were owned by Gulf and Western Industries.In 2007, The Ginn Company had plans to build a private ski resort with private home sites across Battle Mountain --- including development at the Gilman townsite. On February 27, 2008, the Minturn Town Council unanimously approved annexation and development plans for 4,300 acres (6.7 sq mi; 17 km2) of Ginn Resorts’ 1,700-unit Battle Mountain residential ski and golf resort; Ginn's Battle Mountain development includes much of the old Gilman townsite. On May 20, 2008, the town of Minturn approved the annexation in a public referendum with 87% of the vote. As of September 9, 2009 the Ginn Company has backed out of development plans for the Battle Mountain Property. Crave Real Estate Ventures, who was the original finance to Ginn, took over day-to-day operations of the property.