© 2024 Aspen Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Loose rocks still a danger on Ute Trail

Courtesy of Pitkin County

Pitkin County commissioners are moving forward with a plan to remove loose rocks from the Ute Trail.

 

 

A lightning strike knocked about 15 cubic yards of rock off the Ute Trail overlook in late August. The rock slide left debris along the trail and all the way to Ute Avenue. No one was injured.

The county still needs to mitigate about 3.5 yards of loose rock from the overlook to prevent another fall. This could mean removing loose boulders or using a net to stabilize the area. At a meeting Wednesday, Commissioner Patty Clapper said timely action is important.

 

“There’s an apparent danger that we want to make sure to mitigate,” Clapper said.

The work is expected to cost $35,000. Commissioners will consider final approval of that funding at a meeting at the end of the month. The trail remains closed.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.