Campus to open amphitheater in spring
This article was first printed in the Summit Daily News. By Janice Kurbjun.
There’s a new sight to see along Highway 9 heading into Breckenridge: A chairlift tower standing singularly outside of the Colorado Mountain College campus.
The tower is phase one of a project to create an outdoor classroom at the school, CMC spokeswoman Debbie Crawford said.
“It’s visible from Highway 9, more than a flagpole, that represents the importance of skiing to the community,” she said, adding that the tower is symbolic — not meant for use in a class.
The outdoor classroom will be available to students and teachers for classes, and the college is contemplating opening it to the community for some uses, as well. It won’t be complete until the spring, though, when builders install benches made from beetle-kill wood.
“We’re working a little at a time as we raise money to build it,” Crawford said.
The outdoor amphitheater classroom is being built in memory of Gene Baker, a former drafting instructor and more recently, managing partner for Bhh Partners, the design firm that planned the outdoor classroom in its current location.
“It was a really great opportunity to do something much nicer out there,” said Phyllis Martinez, CMC’s regional development officer for Summit and Lake counties.
Designing the project began before Baker died suddenly in April 2009 at the age of 59, so family and friends decided they’d continue the project after his death, in his honor. His business partner, Marc Hogan, and Baker’s son, John, have been primarily behind the design, Crawford said.
The outdoor classroom was designed as part of the Breckenridge campus, which opened in August 2009, but was excluded from the value-engineering process because college officials felt they couldn’t incur the additional expense at the time, Martinez said.
When Bhh Partners became involved, the idea to create a space that reflected the community was born, and fundraising began. It’s been completely privately funded, Martinez said.
“We wanted to have something that’s a landmark for people from Highway 9 to see it — something that celebrated the heritage and outdoor nature of Breckenridge,” Martinez said. “The ski tower idea came up because it’s such an important part of Summit County’s heritage.”
With $30,000 from community and local business donations and plenty of in-kind work, the classroom can be complete in time for a formal dedication in summer, Martinez said. There will be two boulders with plaques — one to remember Gene Baker and another to recognize those people who donated to the project.
Though the basic design can be completed as planned, the planning and fundraising group is still looking for additional money to install two more lift towers that were donated from Arapahoe Basin’s former Exhibition Lift. Chief operating officer Alan Henceroth donated the towers on behalf of the ski and snowboard area in the summer of 2010, when the lift was being replaced, Martinez said.
“We made the decision to keep the other towers for one more year. If we can raise the additional money to put them up, we will,” Martinez said, adding that it takes nearly $5,000 to install a single tower.