Landfill’s Life Might Get an Extension

Pitkin County is working on a plan to extend the life expectancy of the landfill by an estimated 70 years, but it won’t be quick or cheap, the Aspen Daily News reported. County staff is hoping to expand the territory to dump and bury garbage to the south and west of the current burial grounds, but if no action is taken, the dump will be filled in about six years.

If approved, infrastructure would be relocated in 2026, at a cost of $9 million. It would include building a new scale house in a different location and reconfiguring the dump road after it climbs into the landfill grounds. The south expansion would allow trash to be buried where the existing scale house and access road are located. The expansion would be undertaken in 2027 at a cost of $6.25 million. The work would add an estimated 25 years to the life of the landfill. The west expansion is further down the road, slated for 2050. It would add 45 years to the landfill at a price estimated in today’s dollars at $4.1 million.

who contend the project should be denied, including Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop and the Colorado Chapter of the Sierra Club. Their entry into the debate is important because they have the experience and background of filing sophisticated objections that the Forest Service will be forced to answer. They contend that the Forest Service is taking a business-as-usual approach despite clear evidence that increased recreation is taking a toll on wildlife and the environment.

SkiCo Names New CEO

Aspen Skiing Co. lured away a top executive from Vail Resorts Inc.’s Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, to become its new CEO, the Aspen Times reported. Geoff Buchheister has been named the new CEO to run its mountain operations, following a search that began after Mike Kaplan announced his retirement in March 2022. Buchheister adds another piece to the structural changes that have been taking place at Skico, which included establishing its Aspen Hospitality division, led by CEO Alinio Azevedo, and AspenX, led by COO Darcy Loeb.

Major Enviro Groups Oppose Trail

The challenges have piled up in the U.S. Forest Service review process against the proposed trail between Redstone and the McClure Pass summit, the Aspen Daily News reported. A total of 31 formal objections were filed against a White River National Forest draft decision for approval of the 7-mile trail. About threefourths of the objections were by opponents

Buchheister, 48, had been chief operating officer at the 8,100-acre Whistler Blackcomb since November 2019. He gained most of his professional experience at Park City, Utah, where he worked in various leadership roles, Skico said. He began working for Vail Resorts when the company bought Park City Mountain Resort in 2014.