Category Archives: Outdoor News

Park City Bear Caught

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park city bear

Franz the Bear courtesy Terence Faircloth

 

The Park City bear spotted wandering the streets near my home in Jeremy Ranch nearly three weeks ago has finally been captured. Bear sightings in Summit County aren’t unusual but because this particular bear liked to move around, the Division of Natural Resources had a hard time trapping him. They thought he would just continue to travel south and out of harm’s way.

But Monday, more phone calls came in about the bear. With the help of hounds, they tranquilized the bear and removed him from the Pinebrook area. Pooh was transported a safe distance from Park City but still in the same DWR Wildlife Management Units. “We release them as far away as we can get them (within the unit). We ear tag them, (and) we put a little bit of spray paint on them … so we know what bear it is,” Division of Wildlife Resources urban wildlife biologist Steve Gray said.

“The biggest thing we stress is that people put out their trash the morning of trash day, not the night before,” Gray said. “Especially in areas like Park City.”

Whistler Resort Bans Smoking

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I can’t believe that no one in Europe got the memo. Not only is smoking a disgusting habit but it can kill you. As I walked the streets of Paris, tooled around the tubes of London and rode the rides of Disneyland Park and Hollywood Studios, they were everywhere-nasty smokers and nasty cigarette butts; chainsmoking locals of all age without a single care about the pollution, the negative influences on nearby children, and the lungs they will tar. Not to mention the crushing blow to that breath of fresh air we all hope for.
Whistler knows.

May 31 is World No Tobacco Day. It’s also the day Whistler/Blackcomb Resort officially becomes smoke free. That’s a bold move for Canada and an even bolder move for a ski area. Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar did it back in 2012 to help prevent summer forest fires and no one should steal their bragging rights but California in general has super strict anti-smoking laws.

I’ve been championing for a ban here in Utah but the plea falls on deaf ears. Why? No idea. Deer Valley says they will pass my comments up the executive chain. Snowbird says they’ll do some research and get back to me. Vail Resorts, instead of answering a simple question about whether they would follow Whistler’s lead, wanted to know who I was writing for.  Maybe they’re afraid of losing advertising dollars from orgs that might possibly sponsor skiing events or of losing employees who would rather not work at all than give up a smoke break. Cowards the lot of them. J

The new Whistler policy bans smoking anywhere on Whistler Blackcomb property, including lift lines, chairlifts, gondolas, ski runs, hiking trails, valley base areas, parking lots, Whistler Mountain Bike Park trails and all Whistler Blackcomb bar and restaurant locations, including patios.


No more ganjola at Whistler

“We have made the decision to introduce a smoke-free policy at Whistler Blackcomb to preserve the pristine alpine environment our guests come here for,” says Dave Brownlie, President and CEO at Whistler Blackcomb. “We also recognize as a leader in the outdoor adventure and wellness industry and as the largest employer in the Whistler community, we have a responsibility to our guests and staff to provide a safe and healthy environment for work and play. We believe implementing this new policy aligns with this goal.” Not to mention the assist that gives to firecrews who might otherwise be summoned to action if some butthead tosses a butt on dry slopes this summer.

Whistler Blackcomb’s new smoke-free policy will apply to both guests and staff. While the policy will prohibit guests from smoking on Whistler Blackcomb property effective immediately on May 31, 2015, Whistler Blackcomb staff can still smoke in designated areas for one more year as they adjust to the company’s new policy. During that fade-out phase, Whistler Blackcomb will provide tools and resources to help their staff quit smoking. As of May 31, 2016, Whistler Blackcomb’s smoke-free policy will apply to everyone.

The resort has set up an information booth in Skier’s Plaza for the Sunday, May 31, launch. Whistler Blackcomb leaders will be on-site to answer any questions as well as representatives from Vancouver Coastal Health, who will have cessation resources and information about the health benefits of quitting smoking on-hand.

“By taking this important step, Whistler Blackcomb is demonstrating it is a strong ambassador for health. We know many young people ski and snowboard, and youth who haven’t started using tobacco by the time they are 26 years old will most likely never start,” says Vancouver Coastal Health Medical Health Officer, Dr. Paul Martiquet. “Eliminating smoking in public places, such as on our mountains, creates healthy role modeling so youth, and others, are less likely to even consider using tobacco.”

The decision to become a smoke-free recreation area and employer aligns with Whistler Blackcomb’s core values of Safety First and We Care, as well as the company’s goal to be health-oriented and family friendly.

‘Oil’ TV Series Comes To Utah

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TV Series


 

I’m almost afraid to talk about this as I don’t want to jinx it. At the same time, I’m so excited I could burst. Not since Everwood wrapped in 2006 has Utah had a major TV series. Granite Flats just got picked up by Netflix but that doesn’t count. It’s on KBYU and may or may not shoot more episodes. No, what I’m referring to is a pilot called “Boom” that was shot here in March; except now it’s called “Oil” and ABC just announced they want 13 episodes!

Often when this happens producers will move the whole series to Los Angeles but it’s looking like the beehive state will play home for the additional 12 episodes. The shows stars hunky Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl) who moves to North Dakota with his wife (Rebecca Rittenhouse) to get in on the biggest modern day oil rush in American history. Their lives soon get entangled with a cast of characters including an evil oil tycoon (Don Johnson).

“The Utah Film Commission is highly optimistic about our negotiations with ABC to shoot their new series “OIL” here.  A television series would bring more jobs for locals, a boost to the economy, and a lot of credibility to our state’s film industry. We had a great experience working with them on the pilot and we anticipate official confirmation of the series locations will come in early June.” said Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission.

The pilot episode was approved for a Utah motion picture incentive and filmed across the northern part of the state, including Ogden, Huntsville, Midvale and Oakley. The production also hired over 180 Utah cast and crew- but very few local female parts were cast here so hopefully that will changed.

The bonus- “Oil” will air just after the popular “Once Upon A Time” on Sunday nights which could mean it keeps it from getting cancelled before all 12 episodes are shot.

TV Series

New cast of Oil- courtesy ABC

Ogden Vies For #1 In This Year’s Best Towns Competition

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The heat is on but does Ogden really want to be number one? Just look want has happened to Park City since the historic Utah mining town showed up on several “best” lists. We have a Five Guys and Vail Resorts for s&*t sake. Still, an email arrived in my inbox begging to get the vote out for Outside Magazine’s Best Towns poll. It’s one thing to rave to your friends and family about how amazing your hometown is to live in- and Ogden is one killer draw. It’s another to be featured in “America’s preeminent active and adventure lifestyle” magazine as the “best town in America”. Once that starts happening, there’s no turning back. Companies like Salomon, Suunto, eBay, Del Taco and Best Buy arrive and suddenly life isn’t so quaint anymore. The reasons you relocated are muddied.

 

We love a vibrant mountain town- the kind of place with locally sourced (non-chain) restaurants, active farmers’ markets, where everyone knows your name and hiking and biking trails are steps from your doorstep.

The voting is now open for Outside’s favorite towns. It starts with a bracket made up of 60 towns selected by OUTSIDE editors and four Wild Card Entries. Readers picked the Wild Cards through a social media-driven voting process on Instagram which used the hashtag #BestTowns2015. Over 6,000 images were posted but Roanoke, VA; Port Angeles, WA; New York, NY and Saugatuck, MI came out on top

You have the next six weeks to vote once per round for each of the six rounds. The winners of each round advance until the final two towns face off for the Best Town of 2015.

OUTSIDE will feature the final 16 towns in its September 2015 issue if you don’t feel like doing your own Googling sooner.

Ogden is representing Utah but I BEG of you, please. Don’t vote for us. Ogden is the WORST town in America. Stay away! The air is clean, the crime is low, it’s at the foot of a gorgeous mountain range with world-class resort and backcountry skiing for miles; traffic, what traffic? You’d absolutely hate it here. You’re way better off in Glenwood Springs, Colo. Or Vegas.

Here are the 64 towns; grouped by region in seeded brackets.

EAST

Annapolis, MD; Bar Harbor, ME; Brattleboro, VT; Cold Spring, NY; East Stoudsburg, PA; Elmira, NY; Lake Placid, NY; Lebanon, NH; Middlebury, VT; New Haven, CT; Northampton, MA; Pittsburgh, PA; Portsmouth, NH; Providence, RI; Red Bank, NJ; New York, NY

 

SOUTH

Alpine, TX; Athens, GA; Beaufort, SC; Bentonville, AR; Birmingham, AL; Boone, NC; Charlottesville, VA; Chattanooga, TN; Fayetteville, WV; Houston, TX; Ocala, FL; Oxford, MS; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Savannah, GA; Tampa, FL; Roanoke, VA

 

MIDWEST

Bellaire, MI; Berea, KY; Columbus, OH; Detroit, MI; Eau Claire, WI; Ely, MN; Evanston, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Iowa City, IA; Kansas City, MO; Milwaukee, WI; Rapid City, SD; Rochester, MN; Spearfish, SD; Yellow Springs, OH; Saugatuck, MI

 

WEST

Ashland, OR; Bainbridge Island, WA; Flagstaff, AZ; FT. Bragg, CA; Glenwood Springs, CO; Hilo, HI; Juneau, AK; Las Vegas, NV; Ogden, UT; Pagosa Springs, CO; Santa Barbara, CA; Santa Fe, NM; Sheridan, WY; Victor, ID; Whitefish, MT; Port Angeles, WA

View the Best Towns bracket here.

 

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