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  1. Silence: Our True Home — An Interview with Sharon Landrith - February, 2011

    by Gussie Fauntleroy

    When I hear something that feels profoundly true, it resonates within me as if I’m an instrument tuned to the same key as that specific expression of truth. Someone else is tuned to a different key and rings with a different form of the same essential truth.

    Yet beneath the diverse outward sounds and forms of spiritual teachings, whether as part of an organized religion or the lessons of everyday life, the deepest fundamental resonance is one of stillness and inner quiet.

    Crestone resident Sharon Landrith is among a growing number of people today who are consciously opening to that dimension of silence and direct awareness of non-dual reality by spending time in the presence of others on the same path. Some, like Sharon, are “teachers,” although in reality those who give and those who receive spiritual teachings are often interchangeable.

    After a lifetime of moving toward what as a child she called union with God, some years ago Sharon was asked by well-known spiritual teacher Adyashanti to help spread the opportunity for awakening into our deeper nature. Sharon leads retreats and satsangs in Crestone, Boulder and elsewhere around the country. Literally meaning “association in truth,” satsang is a gathering in which our deeper nature is explored through meditation, inquiry and the power of the collective intention to open oneself to it.

    I invited Sharon to talk about the realm of deep silence over a cup of jasmine green tea one afternoon in January.

    Gussie: How might you describe the sense of quiet that is at the core of what you call wholeness?

    Sharon: Well from this view—silence is the word that I would use—it is the basis and the background of everything. And silence and stillness in meaning is quite precise. When that is opened to, the natural state, which is the first significant experience of our own nature, it is absolutely, totally, unfathomably still. That movement to want, or to grasp, or to push, or to conceptualize, in any way, is completely let go there, is completely free.

    G: We usually think of silence in terms of a lack of sound or noise or internal chatter, but when you’re speaking of silence it’s also stillness in terms of staying right here in this moment rather than reaching for things, pushing things away.

    S: That’s the hallmark, I would say, because that subtle movement to become, or to push away, doesn’t exist in silence. There is a complete sense of resting, or abiding—all those words begin to make sense: indwelling, a deep nourishment of the silent nature. So the fundamental ground—the essence of our own spirit, our own nature—is always recognized.

    G: And for you, is it something that came on gradually, a little bit at a time?

    S: The deep silence, yes. What was recognized, really since I was a child and it would just periodically reveal itself, was more of what I would call the unified consciousness—everything was connected. It’s what would be in the traditional teachings called the “luminous body.”

    G: You wouldn’t have described it that way as a child…

    S: No, except there was total trust, and “trust” is even too much—I just belonged to everything. When I was really small I called it God, because I didn’t know what else to call it. Of course, that was accurate. So it was just this love, the Sunday School words: “God is love,” you know, but unconditional love—whole, wellbeing. So that went on for a long, long time. I still thought that it was outside myself, something was out, coming in. And then just through meditation—I opened to meditation in Buddhism out of a sense of familiarity, but also that gave me the format, if you will, to sit down, and then there was the presence.

    G: Meditation gave the space for that.

    S: Yes, but again, there was a subtle idea that it was something that I needed to do and something that was outside, that if I got it right, something would come in.

    G: And maybe stay.

    S: And maybe stay. But it never did, of course. (laughs) And then, the idea of silence was the doorway, because it was silent meditation that opened it all up. That deep, stillness—various traditions call it different names: emptiness, the void; the Sufis call it the “dazzling dark”— just began to appear and it became deeper and deeper. And then there was a certain point, right around when I met Adya (Adyashanti), that there was an immersion. Before it was a sense of someone seeing something—there was still the separate “me.” But then there was this gradual but fully recognized shift and I realized that I was in it, and I was that. And then that deepened. But it was always the silence, and that was the hallmark: Everything. Stopped. So there was a sense of wholeness, completeness, a fullness. It’s the birth ground.

    In my own terms I often call it “the deep Mother,” because everything was contained within that. Many traditions and teachers do not talk about that deep, dark, silent nature. It’s “emptiness” in the Buddhist tradition, the void. But many traditions emphasize the light, the love, the arising, transcendence, and then sinking into it, sinking here (gestures downward and toward her body.) And I noticed in working with so many people that there’s very little intimate understanding or recognition of it. But it’s the whole. (gestures expansively)

    G: You talk about “embodiment” of this awareness. What does embodiment mean on a day-to-day basis?

    S: I can only give my own experience: It’s the recognition of this fundamental silent, unfathomably whole yet very nourishing ground. I’m not speaking of groundedness as we normally talk about that. It’s sense of wholeness, a sense of wellbeing, a sense of this body-mind rooted, or connected as this deep ground. Then a sense of stability, of the eternal, of something that’s constant—because everything changes, right? But this is the eternal, this is the deep rest, the deep nourishment, that which informs, that which guides.

    With embodiment, in my experience, the conditioned self, the one we call the “me” or the personal begins to be totally infused by this deep nature, and therefore the conditioning is illuminated from within and it naturally dissolves. The silence is as much in this cup (picks up a tea cup), as anything—it’s not separate. You know, we were taught for so long that once you opened up to this silent nature, then you went to your cave, or whatever, but my experience is that classic heart sutra: emptiness into form, form into emptiness, one thing. It’s the life or the illumination of all form, of everything. And by this deep resting as that silence, then one can move into chaos, great stress, great sorrow, or great beauty with equanimity, with a sense of ease and wellbeing.

    G: But you say it appeared to come and go…

    S: It did, it spontaneously revealed itself, mostly in silent retreats, and it seemed over a period of time that it did come and go. But then there was a certain moment when it no longer came and went. It was now prominent. The times when I thought that I was losing it was when there was conditioning that naturally is flushed out—because now it has all this space to arise—so this flushing or freeing or untying of the conditioned stream happens. And again, my teacher Adya, when I was first with him, explained exactly what was happening, and I no longer believed the illusion of coming and going. As the embodiment process intensified, the deep unconscious started to come to the surface. So it was not all light, beauty and wonder, but—there was never a moment that the silent nature wasn’t prominent, even though the stuff coming up was quite intense.

    Then, I would say—I think I’m a slow learner—but I would say maybe seven years after the essential shift and the silence became prominent, everything started to settle and to slow down and there was a really consistent sense of just ease and wellbeing. It’s an interesting paradox, really, because when that emptying out takes place, then it all becomes full. It’s full of awe and wonder and love. You can read about it and be told by the teachers, but it has to be seen for itself.

    G: There’s another paradox, for those of us who don’t yet feel like we’re immersed in the silence, and it’s the paradox of finding by not seeking. What’s your “101” advice about trying, but not trying too hard? (Both laugh.)

    S: It’s a question that is always confusing. Because in one way the seeking does bring you to the teachings and to what you need.

    G: To get onto the path.

    S: Exactly. Again, what my teacher really helped me to see, and I began to recognize, is that there’s a translucency in the body-mind structure, and the natural state actually is what is drawing you back to itself. You think it’s you as a person, that all of a sudden you’re really drawn—or maybe it’s always been there for you—but the actuality is awareness itself, silence itself is coming back for itself.

    G: So if I want to get more into that on a day-to-day continual basis, do you invite that?

    S: There are things to do. The body is the resonant field, the sensory instrument. So for me, as a teacher and in my own unfolding, I began to sense that this body resonated the natural state; the senses were quite open, global, instead of narrow and one-pointed. The way I began to perceive was totally changing. The mind would co-opt those experiences, and then it became two; it was separated out. But the body is direct, it can perceive its own nature; it’s a felt sense. I just started to drop my attention into the felt sense, that sensory, kinetic, body sense. People who have that sensory, kinetic, body sense—if those are pointed out, they go, “oh yeah,” and then that is the constant.

    G: That’s what we are.

    S: Right. That is what we are. So, there had been many, many glimpses, really all my life. And then there was a certain point where, again, it’s what all the teachers point to and it appears that it’s coming from the person, this separate person—but one of the metaphors is: “It wants to recognize its own nature more than a man who’s drowning wants air.” So there’s a tremendous focus at a certain point, that more than anything else you want to come back to your nature. Many teachers try to help that through “mindful” practice. And that’s helpful, but mostly it’s taken by the mind and can be very artificial (she mimes very slowly and deliberately picking up a teacup and bringing it toward her lips)—instead of just this natural being present with this cup of tea, the fullness of this moment. There’s natural spontaneous attention, because attention is awareness, just to this silence and its creation, which is the cup.

    G: For those of us who don’t have the time or money to go on longer retreats, to be in the presence for extended times with these wonderful teachers, what would you recommend for these people wanting to continue along the path in a steady way, deepening?

    S: Not to sound elitist, but the fact that we’re living in Crestone is a great grace, because the silence is so profound here, I mean without noise, and also that deep, deep silence. Both are here. So you can tune into that quality. For a while it’s important to shut off all outer need-to-do lists, sound, activity. It can be 10 or 15 minutes, three or four times a day. You just sit and drop, and there’s a quality, it’s almost like a gravitational pull—again, it’s that felt sense—our silent nature. It’s everywhere all at once, but that quality of it is a deepening, or a dropping, or a relaxing, a gravitational pull. So you sit and you just let go. If you have more time, wonderful. What’s important is this tuning in, on a constant basis. And it’s also helpful to ask: What if your attention was resting in your heart or in your belly, rather than here? (points to her head).

    G: It’s a physical shift.

    S: It’s a physical shift, and it works. Spend the entire day with the attention (for example) behind the neck. And it’ll come up here (points to her head) thousands of times, but just keep coming back. Because the actual brain, in the forehead—when the attention is there, it activates the thinking mind. So just the simple shift. You’re just breaking the habit: that I’m this person in the middle of this head. And when you open up, then spontaneously you start to sense the actuality of the silent nature. It’s quite underappreciated. It’s too simple, you know, most people want to sit down and read the heavy text.

    G: I think a lot of people want to take their brain to that part of the body, take the brain to the feet, instead of being in the feet. (both laugh)

    S: Exactly.

    G: Long, long conditioning to get over.

    S: Who knows how many thousands and thousands and thousands of years.

    G: Personally, I always wonder how the beginning of spoken language changed things—naming things and having concepts.

    S: We became one step removed, right. I think it’s just a grand experiment, the whole thing. (laughs) And now we’re coming back home again, collectively. I truly, truly see that. I don’t think it makes any difference where you’re from, what your background is, people are popping open. I don’t mean full embodiment, but I mean the shift from thinking I’m this separate person, driven and informed by my thoughts, to “I am that; that is interconnected.” I see it happening everywhere. I know it’s still a small percentage of people, but I see it over such a broad range of people and ages, and the young people are really remarkable. They’re just coming into it and saying, oh! I always knew this was true. And they may need just a little bit of guidance and then, that’s it.

    G: So in that sense it is the collective consciousness that they’re benefiting from, which is different from when we were growing up.

    S: It is. You know something I’ve also noticed about the young people, is that—with my generation, when this recognition began to come in, especially the real empty nature, before it became very full, we still had a tendency to kind of pull back and we didn’t know whether relationships were really where it was at. You know, you don’t go anywhere, you don’t get involved with anything, you don’t have entertainment, no relationships…

    G: A bunch of hermits!

    S: Yes, but I notice with the young people, they want to be in life, they want to be in relationship, they want to have children, they want to be involved with the world.

    G: Good! We need them! (laughing)

    S: Yes, we need them, and so I found that was just a very beautiful thing, and again, I’m seeing that everywhere. It’s more prominent in places like say, Boulder and Crestone, just because of the tendency of the parents. I met a young woman in Bend, Oregon and we were talking about his and she said, “Can you tell me, people of your generation, why you’re so attached to your pain?” (laughs heartily) I said well I guess we just had more to go through! And we did it for you! But it was a really good question, because there can be a kind of attachment [to pain] because of familiarity and identity, and a lot of young people just don’t have that.

    For a while I thought: well, the Earth is fine. She’ll shake us off if that’s what she needs to do. I actually saw that on a vision quest. I got to go into the spirit, the truth of the Earth. She’s fine. She’s making this transition. Whether we, as her creation, will make it with her, who knows? If we can’t be of benefit, if we can’t come into wholeness, why should we have this great privilege? But when I began to meet these young people, I thought: Ahh! maybe this will continue, this experiment. There is hope for the continuance of the human being. It was like entering into the silence of the Earth, of the Mother, and being able to sense the fullness and the wholeness and the potential.

    G: That’s what gave you the sense that it’s okay.

    S: Yeah. And it’s in our bones and it’s in our cells, that same silent nature, called the “bliss body.” That’s available. It’s very temporary, the body, but it is our constant companion, it’s the beloved expression, the silent expression.

    G: Over the years I’ve notice that all the teachers who’ve really inspired me—Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, these bigger names that I found out about first, before more regular people—every one that I’m drawn to really has a sense of humor.

    S: Absolutely. Adya has an incredible sense of humor. He says that awakening is the restoration of humor. But my sense is that it’s that lightness of being. You really see the brilliance and the mysterious and the unfathomable intelligence that’s at work. Life is taken much more lightly. And in a way—which is not laughing at, but laughing with—you see how we’re attempting to live our lives, instead of what actually is true. So I think humor must just naturally arise out of that. I would say that’s why the Buddha smiles. It’s like, wow! I thought there was someone there who had to accomplish something!

    G: And carry all this weight!

    S: And carry all this horror show, really! Instead of what I really am. (laughs). Everything does naturally just arise and reveal itself, and fall away. And there’s this ease and inclusion and sense of wellbeing. Some people call it a deconstruction, rather than an accomplishment. But there’s also great compassion. I know I was obsessed. I lived life fully, I played life fully, but all I really ever wanted was what I called the union with God. And then that started to drop away and it was the immersion of my own nature.

    G: And then you found you could do both, at the same time.

    S: Exactly. (laughs) That was the great surprise. It was so full, everything was there, according to your own individuality. For some it’s a little more ascetic, for some it’s more sensual, or more intellectual. You know, it isn’t like there’s an imitating. It’s that full unique flowering and expression. Unique personalities that are to be celebrated.

    I remember the Dalai Lama saying there is this idea that all of this is effortless. And he said, This is very true. But until that effortlessness reveals itself, there’s actually a great deal of effort. And that’s what he’s pointing to, you know: There has to be the willingness, from awareness—which is your attention—to look at what is not, and to be with actually what is. And then it all starts, on its own, to fall away, to reveal its true nature. There’s a tendency among spiritual seekers is to get very tight. There’s this efforting, which actually takes you away. Yet at the same time there’s a certain kind of attention and a certain kind of devotion.

    G: Intention.

    S: Intention, which brings you to that which finally can just all let go. But most of us have to be given glimpses, many glimpses for that to resonate and then you just go, oh! That’s who I am. It recognizes itself. No one needs to tell you that. Because it’s your home. It ceases to be a seeking and it ceases to be a discipline. It’s resting deeply in home.

    Another interview detailing Sharon’s spiritual journey to this point, and how it shapes her everyday life and relationships, can be found in an excellent book by Crestone resident Rita Marie Robinson. Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom: The Feminine Face of Awakening (2007, O Books, available at the Desert Sage) features personal and broad-ranging interviews with 12 contemporary women who are becoming known for sharing their wisdom on the path to our deepest nature.

    Learn more about Sharon and her schedule of events at sharonlandrith.com, or by contacting  HYPERLINK “mailto:sessionsforsharon@yahoo.com” sessionsforsharon@yahoo.com or (719) 256-4477.

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  2. Hwy. 50 near Cotopaxi blocked by rockslide - February, 2011

    A major slide of rocks & boulders onto Hwy 50 between Canon City and Salida has blocked both lanes of traffic. Before cleanup can begin, Colorado Dept. of Transportation will have to bring down additional rocks threatening to fall on the roadway. Highway officials say they don’t know when US 50 will reopen.

    No injuries have been reported.

    Traffic will have to detour through Hartsel to the north.

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  3. Environmental Assesment for Baca Wildlife Refuge released; US Fish & Wildlife gives ok to exploratory oil & gas drilling - February, 2011

    by Matie Belle Lakish

    A new Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of Lexam Explorations’ proposal to drill two exploratory wells to look for natural gas on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge was released by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on January 7, 2011. According to the Draft EA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed allowing two exploratory wells to be drilled sequentially on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge to search for oil or gas. The draft imposed 41 conditions that must be met, but concluded that the wells would not significantly affect or unreasonably degrade the 78,670-acre refuge. A final Record of Decision on the Environmental Assessment (EA), or a decision to go for a more stringent Environmental Impact Statement, must be pursued before drilling can actually begin.

    The deadline for comments on this Draft EA is Monday, February 7. A Public Hearing on the draft was held by US Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday, January 26, at Colorado College.   The public asked questions regarding a number of environmental concerns, especially possible impacts to water and wildlife and questioned if drilling operations would be in compliance with

    county noise regulations.  Citizens questioned the possibilty of having the mineral rights purchased, but USF&WL representatives said the the government did not have the money to do so at this time.  It was suggested that possibly private parties could do so.  USF&WL representatives answered questions regarding the new EA and encouraged the public to make “substantive” comments as part of the process, rather than opinions. A follow-up meeting to prepare public comments, called by San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council (SLVEC), took place on Friday, January 28.

    Due to the settlement agreement reached by SLVEC, WPC (Water Protection Coalition), US Fish and Wildlife and Lexam, stemming from a lawsuit filed in 2007, the timeframe for this next round of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) public process has been extremely short, and a final EA must be completed by US Fish and Wildlife by April 1, unless a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is decided upon. That lawsuit challenged the adequacy of the original EA, which did not include an analysis of an option for buying out the mineral rights. The new EA does address that option. The following is a portion of FWS’s announcement.

    “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of a draft environmental assessment of proposed exploration of potential oil and gas resources underlying the Baca National Wildlife Refuge.  This document is available for public review and comments will be accepted until February 7, 2011.

    “The document describes a project proposed by Lexam Explorations (U.S.A.) Inc. to conduct initial exploration of mineral interests under Baca National Wildlife Refuge.  The environmental assessment analyzes alternatives that seek to protect Refuge resources while honoring a mineral owner’s legally vested right to access and explore.”

    The September 2010 settlement agreement sought to rectify the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s compliance with NEPA.  NEPA is a United States environmental law passed in 1969 that requires all Federal governmental agencies to include public comment when they consider the environmental impacts of any proposed federal action and analyze reasonable alternatives to those actions.

    According to the FWS announcement, “The end product of this analysis will be either an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact or, if the federal action is determined to have a significant effect on the environment, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be conducted.

    “In 2006 Lexam proposed drilling two exploratory wells on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge to assess the potential for marketable quantities of natural gas or oil.  The current operating plan provided by Lexam for these exploration activities and the draft environmental assessment can be viewed at http://www.fws.gov/alamosa/bacaNWR.html.”

    “Comments can be sent via mail to David Lucas, Chief, Division of Refuge Planning, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuge Planning, P.O. Box 25484, Denver, CO 80225- 0486 or via email to: BacaDraftEAComments@fws.gov and must be received no later than February 7, 2011.

    “The draft environmental assessment and the Lexam operating plan can be viewed or downloaded via the Refuge’s website at http://www.fws.gov/alamosa/bacaNWR.html or obtained by contacting Mike Blenden, Project leader, at (719) 589-4021.”

    Christine Canaly, Director of San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, a local environmental organization, asks that citizens, “Request that an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared to fairly present the benefits of protecting the unique habitat and community of the San Luis Valley against the negative impacts caused by high risk wildcat drilling. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has just begun analysis on its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for the Baca Refuge. They estimate this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analysis will take approximately 2-3 years. Why not wait until this baseline analysis is complete before making a determination on the Lexam drilling proposal, when they will have a better understanding of what the baseline impacts might be?”

    Canaly continues, “Buying out and retiring the mineral rights presents significant benefits to the San Luis Valley, the nation, and migratory birds, like the 18,000-20,000 population of Greater Sandhill Cranes that people from throughout the U.S. flock to see each fall and spring. And let’s also not forget about the site specific Burrowing Owl, which has also been documented nesting in several locations in close proximity to the proposed drilling area.”

    Regarding the drilling process, she says, “It is unreasonable to drill a 14,000 foot deep hole through various aquifers that form the heart of the San Luis Valley, which contains the headwaters of the Rio Grande.  If the drilling fracture hemorrhages, there is little chance of preventing a catastrophic failure.  A spill into this unique groundwater system could travel as fast as a quarter mile in a single day, with permanent consequences for groundwater. Instead of pollution, significant benefits would be gained by avoiding a spill.

    “This drilling project will have a nearly 3-mile depth with extraordinary pressures anticipated, but there is no analysis of the consequences for the Valley should a blowout occur with equipment failures. Hard lessons from the Gulf spill are not recognized. The Department of Interior has not required Lexam to demonstrate it is technically and financially prepared to handle the significant risks posed by deep drilling into a fragile ecosystem.”

    Regarding the local community, Canaly says, “Drilling would have negative impacts on businesses and activities involving the unique agriculture, wildlife, and recreation, as well as citizens’ dedication to local sustainability in the San Luis Valley. Denying drilling through permanent mineral acquisition would have long term benefits of protecting the unique character of this magnificent area.”

    The deadline for Public Comments is Monday, February 7, and these can be emailed to the above address. For more information, Canaly recommends the SLVEC website, www.slvec.org.

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  4. Drought in the San Luis Valley? - February, 2011

    Record warm temps & very little snow
    by Keno

    Crestone, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the San Luis Valley (SLV) have been experiencing a drought so far this winter, even if it isn’t official yet.

    For Crestone, other than a cold spell that hit on New Year’s Eve and lasted for a couple of weeks, it hasn’t seemed too much like winter at all. December turned out to be the warmest on record, but that had nothing to do with record high temperatures during the day.  Although some above normal daytime temperatures were recorded, it was the very warm nights that gave us the record.  Overnight lows during the month ran 10° above normal, with six record high lows set, which

    shattered the old records by as much as 9°, with two of the nights recording above freezing readings, something that happened only twice before in the 28 years of record keeping in Crestone.

    The lack of snow is of course a bigger concern, as most residents can live with the warmer temps, which leads to lower wintertime heating bills.  But no snowpack can lead to water shortages this summer.  As of January 24, Crestone had only seen 11” of snow this season. With the scant 0.6” of snow that has fallen in January on course to break the lowest snowfall total for the month.

    Crestone and the SLV have seen little or no snowpack this season.  For Crestone, the last nine days of November, when our snowpack usually gets going and stays until spring, saw on average only one inch on the ground, which was down to a trace by December 2, with totally dry land by December 19.  For the first time in years there was no white Christmas.

    The snowpack in Crestone got started up again on December 30, when 4.2” fell.  But by mid-January the snowpack was down to only a trace.  Going by official records, we only have seen this happen in January twice, during the drought that took place in 2002, and this year. January 2003 also saw little snowfall, just 2”, the second smallest amount ever to fall in January, but it snowed at just the right times to keep an inch of snowpack around for the month that year.

    The snowpack for most of the SLV has been non-existent this year. In Alamosa at this writing, less than an inch of snow has been recorded for the entire snow season! The snowpack in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is also well below average, the only mountain range in the state to be below normal this season.

    Colorado’s northern mountains, along with most of the northeastern U.S., and even most of northern Europe, are seeing record high snowfall this season. Does this all have to do with global warning?  No question it does, according to scientists who study this. Only question is, what is causing global warming, is it a natural cycle of the earth, or caused by mankind?  That’s open to debate, but one thing for sure, the entire planet can expect more of this crazy weather in the next several years due to global warming.

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  5. Is the Tessera application going forward? - February, 2011

    by Matie Belle Lakish

    Uncertainty surrounds Tessera’s application to build a large-scale solar generating facility in Saguache County, as Saguache County Commissioners try to understand correspondence from Tessera. In a letter dated January 11, 2011, County Attorney Ben Gibbons served formal notice to Tessera that their application is suspended “until the terms of the escrow agreement are complied with by Tessera”.

    The agreement with Tessera includes the maintenance of a $15,000 escrow account to cover expenses incurred by the County to process the application. In order for their application to be considered, Tessera must pay for those expenses and maintain a positive balance in the escrow account. The company needs to replenish the account, as there are several outstanding expenses.

    On January 14, Howard Taylor from Tessera replied to Commissioner Sam Pace: “It is our expectation that we would bring our escrow account back to a zero balance prior to any vote on the project and we would plan to send those funds as soon as we are in agreement with the county on the actions to move forward. We would not expect to fund back to the $15k level, given it is our expectation that the reviews and work should be completed, unless we propose a change in technology.” They go on to say “we would expect the county to approve a SunCatcher based project that is in the size range of 50 to 100 MW, and would also include restrictions/requirements that if we desired to increase the project size back to its original size of 140 to 200 MW, we must amend the 1041 application to account for the new equipment layout and noise elimination through a technology change.” However, they also refer to amending the application to accommodate another technology, such as PV or CPV.

    This brings up several questions for both citizens and commissioners. Is Tessera trying to force the Commissioners’ hand by refusing to pay for any further studies or a completion of the public hearing? Do they plan to bring forward a proposal to use a different, perhaps lower-impact technology? Are they waiting for the Commissioners to refuse their application so they can do this?

    In a subsequent communication on January 19, Attorney Gibbons stated that the “County is willing” to set a date for the continued hearing “once an agreement is reached on Tessera providing, in advance, the costs associated with conducting that hearing”.  He than outlines expenses that the County has incurred that must be paid before the County could move forward. These include expenses to complete the Public Hearing. But there was no mention of replenishing the account to the agreed upon $15,000 required by their contract.

    Gibbons stated, “It is anticipated that Tessera will present the results of the latest sound study, as well as any additional responses to the issues which were raised at the December 6, 2010 public hearing”, then reminded Tessera that the Commissioners’ decision would be made on the application submitted with any amendments, and then pointedly asked if the board should consider the January 14, 2011 letter “a request to amend the application for approval of a maximum of 100 Megawatt sun-catcher facility?”

    The Gibbons letter seems to indicate the Commissioners would be willing to move forward with Tessera’s application if they were to reach an agreement on advanced costs. At the Commissioners’ meeting on January 18, the County’s Attorney, Ben Gibbons, and Commissioners discussed their options, and the meaning of Tessera’s communication, and decided to draft a letter to be sent by Certified Mail to request a clarification of Tessera’s intentions. Hopefully, by the meeting on February 1, when Tessera is again on the Land Use agenda, we’ll have some news on the resumption of the Public Hearing, a withdrawal of Tessera’s application, or a change to a new PV or CPV technology.

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  6. Avalanche avoidance basics - February, 2011

    by Thomas Cleary

    In a snow pit, snow columns can be assessed with a Shovel Shear test to provide a relative gage of stability. photo by the author

    Over the last 20 years, there has been an average of 6 avalanche deaths in Colorado and 22 nationally per year. Of those national deaths, forty percent were skiers and snowboarders in the backcountry or just outside of ski area boundaries (http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche). This winter a patroller at Wolf Creek was caught and killed. In the ‘90s, the avalanche forecaster for the La Sal mountains was killed in an avalanche in his home range, leaving behind a wife and 2 small children. I was the first to find his gear melting out of the debris that next spring. One summer I backpacked through an area of old growth timber piled like Pick Up Sticks® from an avalanche that had roared down one flank of a valley, across half a mile of flat bottomland and another half mile UP the other flank of the valley. And yet I continue to venture into the winter backcountry, because of the exceptional opportunities for solitude, beauty, and deep powder.

    The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is the local expert on avalanche, and the longest established center in the country. The CAIC website (listed above) is my number one source for regional mountain weather forecasting and the preeminent source for snowpack stability forecasting.

    This article summarizes the three natural components of the Avalanche Triad: Terrain, Weather, and Snowpack, as described in Avalanche Awareness, by John Moynier, and the human components such as recognizing hazards, collecting information, routefinding, and selecting safety gear. It will focus on avoidance rather than rescue. Avalanches travel at speeds over 100 mph and are impossible to outrun. Victims buried without a beacon (avalanche transceiver) have a mere 30% survival rate, and ANY victims buried for 35 minutes have only a 30% survival rate.

    Evidence of historical avalanches, such as these slide paths cutting through the trees near Independence Pass, help back country travelers make safer routefinding decisions. photo by the author

    The avalanche triad

    Ninety percent of avalanches happen on (or below) slopes between 30 and 45 degrees and 98% between 25 and 50 degrees. A slope meter (inclinometer) is your first and best tool to avoid avalanches. The second best tool is a compass. Slopes that face north and east tend to slide more often and bigger for most of the Colorado winter. In the warmth of spring, south and west facing slopes are more prone. The roughness of the terrain also affects the snow’s adherence to the slope but only if objects in the terrain protrude through all the snow layers and are close together.

    Wind, and the temperatures, rates, and amounts of snowfall are the primary weather factors that contribute to snow stability. I was once buried alive in a snow cave as wind transported a mere inch of snow covering a windward basin to the leeward location of my shelter, burying me several feet deep. Snow similarly deposited on a 35-degree slope is a deathtrap waiting to snap. Snow tends to bond better in warmer conditions (near freezing), but when cold snow falls on a cold base it bonds poorly, and is prone to slide. And when snow falls quickly, it doesn’t have time to settle. When new snow accumulates deeply, its weight destabilizes the slope.

    Colorado weather sets us up for unstable snowpacks, which is why Warren Miller and other extreme skiing/riding video producers rarely film here. A snowpack tends to stabilize when its internal temperatures are consistent throughout its depth. Deeper/thicker snowpacks can absorb larger temperature variances without destabilization. Ground temperatures tend to be near zero degrees Celsius, so when air temperatures hover near freezing, the snow pack becomes more stable. However, when we get our usual cold snaps during November and December, which is when our snowpack tends to be shallow, the snow crystals become large, poorly-bonded, sugary and unstable. When the bigger midwinter snows fall on top of this weak foundation, avalanches are produced. This explains why colder, north facing slopes are more prone to early season slides.

    Routefinding in avalanche terrain necessitates recognizing potential hazard including looking for signs of current instability (cracking, settling, and recent slides; checking out professional avalanche forecasts from http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche), and historical activity (avalanche paths, trees with broken off uphill branches, or debris piles). The most important travel consideration is to stay off of slopes steeper than 30 degrees (and don’t travel under them either). Travel on ridges or rock ribs that would shed avalanches off to either side. Watch out for terrain traps, areas where avalanche debris would accumulate (with you at the bottom), such as gullies or below funneling terrain. Treed areas will generally provide protection but a big slide can rage through old timber, and if the trees are open enough to ride they are open enough to slide.

    To assess snowpack stability directly, a snow study pit can be dug in a safe area that has similar conditions to the potentially dangerous terrain you want to travel through or ride down, such as slope angle, aspect (compass direction), and roughness factors (rocks, trees, etc). This shovel shear test and the Rutsch Block test are more thoroughly described in Avalanche Awareness, by John Moynier. When travelling in suspect terrain your group needs to work as a team, including travelling one at a time between safe points to minimize exposure.

    After a storm, snow is scoured from the windward side of a mountain and deposited on the leeward side, sometimes forming a ridgeline ribbon of snow called a cornice or a pillow of deposited snow just below; both are triggers for avalanches. photo by the Author

    The gear that I have mentioned throughout these 2 articles includes (in order of importance): inclinometer/slope meter, compass, and shovel. Additional items, and the knowledge of how to use them, could include: snow saw, snow study kit, probe poles, and avalanche transceiver/beacon. These items are available at most backpacking/snow sport stores.

    The author sitting on (old) avalanche debris. photo by Lawrence Reeves

    Please consider this article as the simplest of introductions. If you have even an inkling that you may be travelling near avalanche terrain, seek out a course and get proper training; start at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center listed above. Have fun, but be careful out there by knowing and avoiding the risks.

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