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Recession forces Marble Closure, Skiing access shut down | UNITED STATES, COLORADO | 01/28/2010, by powderjunky
The road, which is county owned, will shut down officially on Friday, January 29, 2010. Kimberly Perrin, administrative manger for Colorado Stone Quarries, said the operating costs were too high during this time of economic downfall. "It's not just maintaining the roads, it's heating the quarry, only having one work crew, water pipes freezing, and having an expensive special ventilation system, all adds to the costs of mining in the winter," Perrin said.
Skinning on Mount Justice
The county, will not help Colorado Stone Quarries It is an official unmaintained road and the county is unwilling to cooperate.
The road will be closed at the gate by the bridge, but winter recreationalists are welcome to travel on foot or machine beyond the closure at their own risk. The road follows many avalanche paths and with all the recent snowfall will likely be un-drivable very soon. The best options for future access to this backcountry mecca is by snowmobile, leg power, buying a big ass truck and plowing it yourself, or buying lots of marble to support the mining operation.
While this good thing has had to come to an end, the local backcountry skiing community is grateful for the years of easy access to such an amazing place.
That's Our Opinion. What's Yours?
grip n rip wrote on 01/29/10 at 1:14:00 pm pst:
A big thanks to the quarry folks for giving us such incredible access for so long! You guys are great!
Bob wrote on 01/31/10 at 8:29:25 pm pst:
It is a bummer for ease of access...however, for many of us that are lucky enough to ski this area regularly find this recent road shut down a bit of a blessing in some ways....powder to the local people!!!
Epic Eric wrote on 02/21/10 at 12:07:05 am pst:
Set a skin track 1200ft up the Carbonate runs (obvious run above the town of Marble). We nearly missed being barried by a 2000ft avalanche. The debris ran for a 1/4 mile once it stopped. We skinned/postholed up the trees left of the chute that slid. The recent snow fall has added 2-3ft of snow. Bring your avalung!
powderjunky wrote on 02/22/10 at 5:35:26 pm pst:
Holy Cow, Any photos? Glad you are okay!!!
