Avid hikers have a chance to test their mettle by joining the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign on Saturday as they hike three peaks over 13,800 feet on the Tenmile Crest and pass by Colorado’s highest lake.
The hike begins in Mayflower Gulch on the Copper Mountain side of the Tenmile Range, and ascends through the wildflower-laden meadows before cresting the ridge at Crystal Peak (13,852 feet). It then follows the ridge south over Pacific Peak (13,950 feet) and an unnamed thirteener some refer to as “Atlantic” Peak. Here the route passes Pacific Tarn, which sits close to the ridge at over 13,400 feet and is surrounded by rose crown.
The hike is strenuous and is designed for fit hikers with experience at high altitude. It is part of a larger series of hikes of all levels of difficulty led by the Hidden Gems into proposed wilderness areas in Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties. To view the hikes schedule and sign up, or to learn more about the Hidden Gems Wlderness Pr

BRECKENRIDGE – Building plans for a lot along Highway 9 north of Breckenridge have run into hard times, and town officials are giving the potential developers one last chance before abandoning the parcel’s annexation.
The roughly 4 acre lot – across County Road 450 from 7-Eleven – on county land was approved several years ago for mini-storage and commercial space.
But the site’s high visibility led to negotiations between developers and the town for annexation: The developers wanted access to town water and town leaders wanted input on the aesthetics of what’s been called the “gateway” to Breckenridge.
A year ago, it appeared the two parties had reached a compromise for development separating commercial space, affordable housing and mini-storage units into thirds. The town would develop the 1.6 acres in the middle for housing.
Today the Entrada property, purchased in 2006 for $2.5 million, is under foreclosure with a Sept. 3 sale

BRECKENRIDGE – A Breckenridge massage therapist accused of sexual assault attended court for a pretrial conference Thursday, but problems with translation delayed a hearing until the day the trial begins.
Wang Kho, a Tibetan refugee whose primary language is an Amdo dialect, is accused of a felony and two misdemeanors stemming from a Dec. 5 incident with an 18-year-old client. He was 29 at the time.
Bruce Brown, Kho’s attorney, moved to have a witness excluded from the trial as part of other pretrial motions addressed earlier this month.
Jean McAllister, an expert witness on sexual assaults and the behavior of people involved in such incidents, was available to testify at Thursday’s hearing. But the interpreter from a previous hearing was unavailable, and the one on hand was unable to properly translate the legal discussions.
The trial is scheduled from Aug. 16-25. The hearing on Brown’s motion is set for Aug. 16 at about 9:30 a.m. Special questionnaires

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – An energy company received federal approval Thursday to take natural gas from a largely untouched, picturesque region of Utah by agreeing to use new technology to drill under wild areas instead of on top of them.

The Bureau of Land Management’s approval of Bill Barrett Corp.’s multi-billion-dollar project reflects a deal the drilling company made with environmental groups to pull back from wild areas and limit well pads off the high rim of the Green River’s Desolation Canyon.

That canyon, a National Historic Landmark inside one of the Lower 48’s largest roadless areas, has seen little change since explorer John Wesley Powell remarked on “a region of wildest desolation” while boating the river in 1896. The area is populated by elk, deer and bighorn sheep, and bear maulings of river runners are not uncommon.

Along the river’s western ramparts, Bill Barrett plans to use 120 well pads instead of the 538 it originally proposed, and it will drill directio

WASHINGTON (AP) – House investigators accused veteran New York Rep. Charles Rangel of 13 violations of congressional ethics standards on Thursday, throwing a cloud over his four-decade political career and raising worries for fellow Democrats about the fall elections.

The allegations include failure to report rental income from vacation property in the Dominican Republic and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income and assets on his financial disclosure statements.

Other charges focused on Rangel’s use of congressional staff and stationery to raise money for a college center in New York named after him; accepting favors and benefits from the donors that may have influenced his congressional actions; use of a subsidized New York apartment as a campaign office instead of a residence; and misuse of the congressional free mail privilege.

“Even though they are serious charges, I’m prepared to prove that the only thing I’ve ever had in my 50 years of public servic

FRISCO – State Attorney General John Suthers made a campaign stop in Frisco Wednesday in an effort to gather voter support for his re-election bid. Before a small gathering at Tuscato Ristorante, Suthers touted his resume as a top reason voters should select him for another term.
Suthers, a Republican, has served as the El Paso County district attorney, U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado and head of the Colorado Department of Corrections. The Colorado Springs native has occupied the state attorney general’s office for six years.
Suthers faces Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, a Democrat, in the November election.
On immigration, Suthers said he wasn’t surprised a federal judge blocked major elements of Arizona’s new immigration law this week. From a legal perspective, he said Arizona overstepped its authority in creating state crimes to deal with a federal issue. Regardless, Suthers said problems with immigration demand policy solutions.
“We really

SUMMIT COUNTY – Summit County Rescue Group carried an injured hiker out of the wilderness at the north end of the county Thursday afternoon, concluding an overnight effort involving about 20 group members.
The 78-year-old hiker was with his 45-year-old son on their annual trip to a lake in the Gore Range (in the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area), about 5 miles south of Elliot Ridge, said SCRG spokesman Jim Koegel.
“In the area of the lake, the older gentleman slipped on a log and cut himself on a branch to the point where he couldn’t walk,” Koegel said.
Rescuers were dispatched at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before departing on all-terrain vehicles from the Spring Creek Trailhead at about 8:30 p.m. Once they reached the wilderness area, group members hiked about 4 miles.
Koegel said the son was able to communicate with Grand County dispatch through his cell phone, but rescuers were unable to contact him directly. This made it difficult to find the father and son.
Con

KEYSTONE – With parts of America’s health care system seemingly on life support or awash in uncertainty, it made for a rapt audience this week at the 29th annual Colorado Health Symposium being held at the Keystone Conference Center. Participants piled into the main conference room well before 8 a.m. Thursday – those without chairs had to stand against the walls. Laptops were open, eyes were glued on the speakers as participants appeared serious about learning all they can to improve America’s somewhat broken health care system.
Colorado Health Foundation spokesman Chuck Reyman said Wednesday attendees were just as dedicated. They participated in the symposium from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and for many there was only standing room.

An important year for health care
With numerous questions about how health care reform will be enacted, such as – how will it affect consumers, businesses and care providers, how will it be financed and who determines how succ

KALISPELL, Mont. – Flathead County officials have released the name of a Colorado man who died in a parachuting accident during an annual skydiving festival in northwestern Montana.
Sheriff’s officials say 57-year-old Garl “Mike” Newby of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Wednesday afternoon near Marion after his main parachute became entangled with another man’s chute and he was unable to deploy is reserve parachute in time.
Officials say the surviving jumper was able to remove his main chute and deploy his reserve parachute.
Skydive Lost Prairie owner Fred Sand called Newby a “very, very experienced skydiver” who had been coming to Lost Prairie for around a decade.
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Information from: Flathead Beacon, http://www.flatheadbeacon.com

BROOMFIELD – After less than a year at the helm at Keystone Resort, general manager Doug Lovell is leaving to take the top spot at Beaver Creek.
Vail Resorts announced the move as part of an executive shuffle Thursday. In addition to Lovell’s move back to Beaver Creek, John Buhler, director of skier services at Breckenridge, will move into the GM slot at Keystone. Meanwhile, Vail Mountain’s ski and snowboard school director Pet Sonntag will move to the GM position at Vail Resorts’ Heavenly Mountain Resort in California.
The change comes after Beaver Creek’s former chief operating officer John Garnsey was given greater responsibilities within the company. Garnsey gave up the position of chief operating officer but still oversees Vail and Beaver Creek as co-president of the Mountain Division.
Lovell has been vice president and chief operating officer of Keystone Resort since October 2009, when former GM Pat Campbell moved to Breckenridge following the departure of Lucy Kay. Prio