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Stop the Potheads!

18K views 92 replies 52 participants last post by  ARSENALFAN 
#1 ·
seriously?


Forest Service Goes After 'Smoke Shacks' and Their Builders Within Crested Butte Ski Area
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Mt. Crested Butte, CO - U.S. Forest Service rangers in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests report that they continue to hunt down and destroy illegal marijuana "smoke shacks" within the boundaries of Colorado's Crested Butte ski area, and indicate that they will continue to prosecute the builders and maintainers of the structures.


The shacks constitute illegal structures built on Forest Service land, officials say. Those structures found are torn down and their builders and users prosecuted, for according to officials, even tightening a wire holding the structure together, or clearing a path to the structure is considered to be maintaining it.

In December, two Western State College students were fined $850 each for building an illegal structure within the ski area, and were banned from Crested Butte Mountain Resort as a result of their actions. Additional structures were later located in February. A similar sweep at Crested Butte in February 2008 also resulted in arrests.

The illegal structures are not confined to Crested Butte. Similar smoke shacks were located and destroyed at Snowmass Ski Area near Aspen, Colo. in 2007. Forest Service officials have indicated that such inspection operations are routine at ski areas operating on public land.

Forest Service Goes After 'Smoke Shacks' and Their Builders Within Crested Butte Ski Area :: First Tracks!! Online Ski Magazine :: The ski and snowboard world at your keyboard
 
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#2 ·
The forest service has been on a witch hunt on these things. The two kids who were arrested for building some of the structures must have been idiots. There are something like 30 huts around Winterpark, I know of maybe a dozen and I have no idea who built 'em. The Crested Butte sheriff equated the priority of busting the smoke shacks with getting cattle off of the road.

There are shacks located around some of the backcountry areas in the state too. Loveland and Berthoud Pass both have shacks at various spots of the mountains. Of course I doubt the Forest service is interested in tearing these down as they can't take a lift to get there.

Anyway, the shacks are not supposed to be there, so if they want to tear them down fine. The witch hunt that is going along with it, is uncalled for.
 
#3 ·
Yeah this will be a never ending battle and has been for some time! There will always be shacks and there will always be resorts that don't want them and tear them down. I have not spent much time finding them but that would be a fun mission! Milo and I ran into the 1 on Loveland pass a couple months a go. It looked pretty "established!!!" :)
 
#5 ·
You know, I've never been to the Loveland one. Berthoud has just one clandestine hut that I've found. I haven't been to it in a few years, then there are the huts that used to be more of a commercial operation and are abandoned. Peter Rabbit, 2nd Creek cabin, and 1st Creek cabin. I've never been to the 1st creek one because the terrain right around it is just not interesting for riding. I've looked at it from across the valley though, and it looks like it's the best one at Berthoud.
 
#6 ·
theres a bunch of spots at Loveland and on Love pass......one of the huts by lift 8 was broken down this year....wasn't sure if it just couldnt hold the heavy spring snow from the year before or maybe forest service broke it? Also some on the tree rails were broken this year. I was thinking bout going to do some rebuilding in summer.......they can keep going around and destroying them but they will just get rebuilt somewhere else.....
 
#8 ·
So medical marijuana is legal in CO right? Why are they going on a witch hunt for smoke shacks? Either way if someone wants to smoke, they will do it on the lift or just go OB a bit smoke and come back. I know I know pot is illegal, but Im sure the ones against have no problem going to slam a few beers in the lodge and then going back on the mountain.
 
#10 ·
I was wondering what these shacks look like. That pic from MPD cleared that up, looks like the same ones we got here in Canada. How it is a big enough deal to find the builders and prosecute is way beyond me.
Fuck America's shitty anti pot stance.
 
#15 ·
It's about time. I had a friend who got stoned and stabbed his family of five to death with a frozen summer sausage.

Someone needs to put an end to this epidemic. It's eroding the moral fabric of our society.

You potheads make me sick.

Especially you MPD.
 
#18 ·
Meh, like i've said in the past. I relate this to bmx dirt jumps.
When you build somthing and it's not on land YOU PERSONALLY OWN you cant have a problem when it gets torn down.

I can see where there comming from. Theres noway in them knowing how much snow these huts can take and the chance of the roof colapsing killing any number of people.

Could just be me, but the 5 minutes it takes to burn a doobie isnt worth the cuple of hours id take to build one of these.

I'm suprised they exist and is such abundance. I thought they would have been like hunting huts or somthing.
 
#24 ·
Could just be me, but the 5 minutes it takes to burn a doobie isnt worth the cuple of hours id take to build one of these.
That's what I was thinking. Besides that, if you were concerned about getting caught, wouldn't it make more sense to pick some random spot out in the woods rather than go to a designated meeting place?

I've never even heard of such a structure. We have warming huts on the nordic network out here, but I've never heard of any doobie shacks. I guess I hang out with the wrong crowd.
 
#30 ·
You'd think the gonjola would be a great place, but guess what? Police were arresting people for smoking on the gondola at Steamboat last season...


***Or maybe just handing out summons to appear in court, I forget. Needless to say it was a hassle for those involved...***
 
#39 ·
I would highly recommend NOT smoking in your car. I was at Waterville Valley yesterday and while me and my buddies were eating lunch, we saw this dude lurking in the parking lot. We knew he was up to something. He walked up to this Navigator with 2 dudes smoking in it and both ended up getting arrested. As we finished lunch we watched them getting driven away in the back of a cruiser.
 
#32 ·
Some of those Winter Park huts have been around since the '80's. Some guys I used to be friends with would load up snowmobiles on the 2nd or 3rd snow of the season and go stock up the Berthoud ones.

Rumor had it that Sancho (from the Sublime song) lived in one of those huts for a few years. Never met him but had some mutual friends.
 
#34 ·
I've seen a couple of shacks here and there. If anyone "important" is reading this, I've completely forgotten where any of them are. Awkward going by them with a gopro on your helmet though... :laugh:

I can definitely see it being a safety/legal issue. Most places have some pretty heavy disclaimers (backup up by state law), but all it takes is for one slick lawyer to find a loophole somewhere in there and sue the resort.
 
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