Quandary Peak parking/FEE

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12ersRule
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by 12ersRule »

Plenty of parking at Blue Lake or along the road to it. Why would you possibly need a shuttle?
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by two lunches »

some interesting discourse in this thread, but is it really that improbable that fees, permits, and shuttling systems are being implemented to protect places like IPW, RMNP, Hanging Lake, Quandary (with next-up contenders: Ice Lake Basin, Blue Lakes Wilderness, American Basin, etc.) from the masses? there are T H O U S A N D S of peaks to climb and millions of acres of wilderness to explore in this state, but a select few of them have been in the spotlight for the last several years and are rapidly being destroyed. the SAR concerns are CERTAINLY valid in places like McCullough and Bakerville. so go ahead and permit the over-crowded ones. things will sort themselves out- people will figure out how to recreate for free... this is just a nudge in that direction, IMO
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by dan0rama »

It’s funny to think that we are making it harder for people to exercise and be in touch with nature. Such activities generate tremendous positive externalities for society. The red tape will certainly discourage a lot of people from doing these activities, or at least not doing as much. The summer conga line at Quandary is ridiculous, but for the good of society, is preferable to have those people out there, than drinking, taking drugs, getting into crime, being depressed, being unhealthy, etc… from a socioeconomics perspective, the government should be paying people to go hiking every weekend and charging them for going out drinking every weekend
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by oldschool »

stephakett wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 12:53 pm some interesting discourse in this thread, but is it really that improbable that fees, permits, and shuttling systems are being implemented to protect places like IPW, RMNP, Hanging Lake, Quandary (with next-up contenders: Ice Lake Basin, Blue Lakes Wilderness, American Basin, etc.) from the masses? there are T H O U S A N D S of peaks to climb and millions of acres of wilderness to explore in this state, but a select few of them have been in the spotlight for the last several years and are rapidly being destroyed. the SAR concerns are CERTAINLY valid in places like McCullough and Bakerville. so go ahead and permit the over-crowded ones. things will sort themselves out- people will figure out how to recreate for free... this is just a nudge in that direction, IMO
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by Monte Meals »

^ "from a socioeconomics perspective, the government should be ... charging them for going out drinking every weekend"

Thank goodness that you are NOT suggesting that the government should be charging us for SEX [strike]DRUGS[/strike] and ROCK N ROLL !
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by bosnian2014 »

12ersRule wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:03 am Plenty of parking at Blue Lake or along the road to it. Why would you possibly need a shuttle?
So is parking at Blue Lake plentiful and free? Google says it is almost 1 hr walk to the main trailhead along the road. I think this might become a vey popular option for many.
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by Ptglhs »

stephakett wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 12:53 pm some interesting discourse in this thread, but is it really that improbable that fees, permits, and shuttling systems are being implemented to protect places like IPW, RMNP, Hanging Lake, Quandary (with next-up contenders: Ice Lake Basin, Blue Lakes Wilderness, American Basin, etc.) from the masses? there are T H O U S A N D S of peaks to climb and millions of acres of wilderness to explore in this state, but a select few of them have been in the spotlight for the last several years and are rapidly being destroyed. the SAR concerns are CERTAINLY valid in places like McCullough and Bakerville. so go ahead and permit the over-crowded ones. things will sort themselves out- people will figure out how to recreate for free... this is just a nudge in that direction, IMO
I would prefer violence against those who try to enforce the cordoning off of nature, and against those who recreate without cleaning up after themselves. The permitting system just keeps people feeling like unwanted outsiders, which is paradoxical because we go outside to escape the feeling of being unwanted by society. Let people enjoy what nature remains. It will be destroyed by draught, fire, and pestilence soon enough.
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by griddles »

dan0rama wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 6:44 pm The summer conga line at Quandary is ridiculous, but for the good of society, is preferable to have those people out there, than drinking, taking drugs, getting into crime, being depressed, being unhealthy, etc…
Hey now! I don't need you telling me how I can or can't enjoy my hikes. :mrgreen:
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by kwhit24 »

Many times I will make "slippery slope" arguments but this is one I just can't buy into. Like it was mentioned before we are only talking about a select few amount of over crowded spots. Personally I think that the over use of an area leading to the degradation/trashing of the area or potential closure and the issue of rescue to effectively service the areas, are bigger concerns than the few people who will be turned away from these areas because of fees.

For many of my friends the crowdedness of a TH or even I-70 during ski season is a bigger reason keeping people away from recreating. Yes accessibility is very important but safety and protecting these places should be higher in my opinion
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by letitbeirie »

bosnian2014 wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:30 pm
12ersRule wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:03 am Plenty of parking at Blue Lake or along the road to it. Why would you possibly need a shuttle?
So is parking at Blue Lake plentiful and free? Google says it is almost 1 hr walk to the main trailhead along the road. I think this might become a vey popular option for many.
I wonder how many people are going to try their luck with Cristo instead of walking the hour downhill just go get to the trailhead.
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by 12ersRule »

bosnian2014 wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:30 pm
12ersRule wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:03 am Plenty of parking at Blue Lake or along the road to it. Why would you possibly need a shuttle?
So is parking at Blue Lake plentiful and free? Google says it is almost 1 hr walk to the main trailhead along the road. I think this might become a vey popular option for many.
I wouldn't say plentiful, but it's free. I'm just going by memory, but I think there is probably room for at least 30 cars at Blue Lake. Not many pullouts on the way to Blue Lake, but there are a couple of roads that cross the outlet of blue lake with some parking, and lead to a nice waterfall hike that is somewhat close to the dam of Blue Lake.

I'd check out satellite imagery of that area to get a better idea of the potential parking situation in that area.

My post was kind of sarcastic in that, they eliminated the possibility of having an easy parking lot near a main road, and people are going to seep into the Blue Lakes area more and more to access Quandary. They're also going to try the West Ridge route (class 3) which is off of the road that leads to the Blue Lakes, but that route will exceed their route finding skills most likely, leading to more SAR activity.


EDIT: Actually you could probably get a lot more than 30 vehicles there. People are very creative on parking at 14er trailheads (see Stevens Gulch - Greys and Torreys). Halfway down the road, it looks like another parking area I overlooked - https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=39.3878 ... gery&a=sma
ProbablyMoreThan30.PNG
ProbablyMoreThan30.PNG (687.32 KiB) Viewed 951 times
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Re: Quandary Peak parking/FEE

Post by cougar »

In short time they will restrict or fee Blue Lakes too. CO Springs owns the dam and end of road parking, but other spots could be closed off.

The whole situation is just a money grab. Public lands were sold off to be exploited for profit. Whether that's a private company, big corporations, or municipality (in this case collusion between Breck and parking/shuttle business), the result and intent is the same. Also the skimming of reservation fees by 3rd parties. CFI should sue. Breck businesses are looking to make summer revenue off this when the resort is closed.

If it was just about crowd control, or SAR, the forest service could just issue permits themselves, as they do in other areas. Instead they have created a situation where people will try more dangerous routes, and create social trails from alternative routes like Cristo.

It's inevitable this will happen in more and more areas, or at least lead to more overcrowding on Bierstadt and Grays by locals, where permit plans are underway (probably cheaper). Maybe the Breck tourists will shell out for Quandary, but I suspect locals will head to the others, given a choice
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