*PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

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markf
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by markf »

Ski resorts aren't known for being cheap to visit, and it's just possible that they're trying to drive people onto the shuttle, instead of making money off the parking lot. I would guess that the residents of Blue River and the commuters from Alma & FairPlay would be just as happy to see traffic levels on Hoosier Pass reduced.
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Tim A
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by Tim A »

There will need to be a battery of tow trucks ready at the trailhead to tow all the (now) illegally parked vehicles. Seeing as nobody was enforcing the illegal parking on hwy9 to this point, I’ll be surprised if enforcement is anything other than haphazard.

After 10/31 the program ends, so perhaps the peak will still be available as a winter conditioning hike without the hassle?
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by barnsy12 »

Does the parking reservation apply to Blue Lakes TH as well? That doesn’t seem so clear…
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by justiner »

barnsy12 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:54 pm Does the parking reservation apply to Blue Lakes TH as well? That doesn’t seem so clear…
I don’t believe it does although I can see it’ll put more pressure on that th as well as nearby ones. The scary question is, will this drive more people to do the west ridge route who aren’t ready for it? This is a route of many rescues.
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by gb »

Colorado whack-a-mole.
Don't park here. Fine, we'll park there.
Don't park there. Fine, we'll park there there.
Don't park there there. Fine, we'll camp here
Don't camp here. Fine, we'll camp there.
Don't camp there. Fine, we'll camp over there now.

It will never stop
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by JQDivide »

I think this will turn into a SAR nightmare on the West Ridge.
People will see the free parking at Blue Lakes and think the West Ridge is a viable option and get in over their heads.
Or people will rush to get up and down in their "parking reservation" time and have an accident.

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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by barnsy12 »

I'm planning to hike Quandary's West Ridge on Friday (on purpose), but the information isn't clear how Blue Lakes TH will work. The map on parkquandary.com (link below) shows that Blue Lakes is part of the overall reservation system, but there's no detail on it. Does anyone have any clarity?

https://a7a897f4-1af5-4251-a033-7fb81b4 ... a81761.pdf
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by letitbeirie »

justiner wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:31 pm
barnsy12 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:54 pm Does the parking reservation apply to Blue Lakes TH as well? That doesn’t seem so clear…
I don’t believe it does although I can see it’ll put more pressure on that th as well as nearby ones. The scary question is, will this drive more people to do the west ridge route who aren’t ready for it? This is a route of many rescues.
That crappy, eroded trail up the left side of Cristo will probably become the source of even more regrets than it already has.
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by justiner »

I'd love to know if they put a bike lock area at the "improved" parking lot. I'd also love to know if bike racks are available on the shuttle buses (like they are for all the Summit Stage buses). I flipped through the PDF they put on the county site, and they referenced "bicycles" not-a-once. Either way, I'll update my page on Quandary.
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by madbuck »

justiner wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 10:59 am I'd love to know if they put a bike lock area at the "improved" parking lot. I'd also love to know if bike racks are available on the shuttle buses (like they are for all the Summit Stage buses). I flipped through the PDF they put on the county site, and they referenced "bicycles" not-a-once. Either way, I'll update my page on Quandary.
Good questions.
For the long-tourer and Euro-style visitor that's already possibly taking a bus out to Frisco -- other options are a bus to Breck Airport PnR and then the bus to the TH, yeah?

I'm seeing a lot of consternation about the parking and prices -- somewhat rightfully, as it's quite a price hike and it's unfortunate if only the wealthiest have easy access. (An ideal would be free or severely reduced for carpooling, but that'll require even more overhead for a hike in the woods). At the same time, this is based on the fact that we "lost" something that isn't necessarily sustainable, in terms of having a close-by parking lot near everything we want to do. So, we "lost" free and close-by access, but it's nice to have the free shuttle access, isn't it? Assuming they address the proper capacity with enough buses, you can plan your time in the morning and know that you'll get there instead of monkey-business looking for a spot or racing to get there super early. For me (and others), that means I can go with the family and not stress out about missing a parking spot by 10 minutes in the super-early morning; or can go for a run later in the morning and know exactly when you'll get to start. And we'll all be good in the snow.

We're also really addressing a problem of a whole bunch of people going one direction to one place in the morning -- for free! -- and then nearly all of them going a different same place in the late morning/afternoon. Our environmental/climate change threads are a bit hypocritical if we're also complaining about free buses.
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by justiner »

I personally don't have any problem with (free!) public transportation. The last time I was in Summit County, I got there by bus. The Bustang is a total game-changer for someone like me. And hurray for people who make a ton of cash who also now are "forced" to take a form of public transportation. Maybe they won't vote against funding for such things in their own cities once back from vacay.

My evil agenda has been quite clear - more butts on bikes and my devious reasoning is also transparent - it's fun!. It just so happens to fall in line with the problems Summit County is saying they're having: congestion, traffic, and parking issues caused by cars. I get that Summit County, in the report prepared on their behalf, isn't even thinking about cyclists, as the county is dealing with tourists that are willing to drop a grand/day just skiing. But a problem can have many, different solutions that can work with each other. I'm def. not saying "boo!" to buses, but we've already have stipulated: maybe a bus isn't going to work for everyone time-wise.

And as solutions go, it's just so easy to start with just a bike lock up area at a popular trailhead. The TH is right on a country-long bicycle route system that's been used for 50 years - so it's not like no one is cycling CO-9 for recreational purposes already. And it's also not a unique idea for Summit County - you can find a bicycle lock up area for TH's for Mt. Royal, and Summit County's dedicated bicycle path is incredible. Tons of stuff to already leverage. Build out that system and you have yet another recreational attraction to advertise to out-of-towners and another revenue stream for all the shops that provide bike rentals. What if you could take your eMTB up to McCullough Gulch and hike around the lakes? Sounds like a cool day out there. Or use the shuttle to literally shuttle you to the south end of the Burro trail, and blunder your way back to Breck. Lots of ideas!
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Re: *PSA* Reservation/Shuttles for Quandary Starting 7/30/21

Post by madbuck »

justiner wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:51 pm I personally don't have any problem with (free!) public transportation.
....
My evil agenda has been quite clear - more butts on bikes and my devious reasoning is also transparent - it's fun!

Oh, yeah, I *definitely* wasn't saying anything about you being critical of the buses -- I was aware of your usage and description of how to use buses even in Colorado.
In the last couple pages on this forum, I literally thought that the bus might be "free" but *all* the parking was expensive, so I hadn't seen anyone yet at least pleased that there's a bus, and that PnR parking is free.

Totally agree about bike racks at TH's and on the buses themselves and encourage you to give that feedback. Any major transportation policy or solution should reasonably address bikes and peds. (On a *much* smaller scale, my kids have a popular gymnastics place and a music lesson place within a mile of our house, surrounded by other houses, and neither of them have bike racks, which blows my mind. I've brought it up but the drive-the-car-and-dump-off-the-kids pattern is quite inset).

And, it would be great to see safer/more accessible bike access from Breckenridge. Again, tourism, e-bikes, etc.
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