Adam L. Reiner – Splitboarding, mountaineering, and lifestyle in the Colorado Rockies

The following is a review I wrote on Amazon.com about the book, “Undaunted Courage”, by Stephen E. Ambrose.

While the main purpose of this book is a biography of Meriwether Lewis, the author includes all of the influential characters, events, and setting of the early 19th century United States, starting with the third President, Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson’s vision of America is a country stretching from sea-to-sea.  It is as if Jefferson had an almost divine image of America.  This is a special land, entirely different from the Old World in Europe, which is precisely why it was so important for the United States to lay claim to the continent, and effectively remove the presence of British, French, or Spanish military forces.

If Jefferson were alive today, I think he would not be pleased with the United States’ military presence in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.  Jefferson’s Republicans would likely have held an isolationist view of our sovereign nation even up to today.  Americans do not belong in the Middle East today any more than British and French forces belonged in North America in 1903.

I was surprised to learn that Jefferson had originally thought that American Indians could be “civilized”, and become active citizens of the United States, whereas African Americans could never fully “assimilate” in Jefferson’s views.  Throughout the journeys of the Corps of Discovery, Lewis and Clark presented each tribe with a special speech, to inform them that they “have a new father”, and invited their chiefs to visit Washington and meet Jefferson.

This story predates the Trail of Tears and other stories of American genocide against Indians.  However, one quote from the book puts an interesting perspective on the attitude of Americans’: “How can an Indian tribe lay claim to thousands of acres of land that they ride across twice per year?”  Although Jefferson intended confine American settlers to the land east of the Mississippi, and allow the Indians to keep all land west of it, history has shown that no executive power was able to stop the progress of American Pioneers.

The stories of Lewis’s activities had a familiar feeling to me.  For example, while preparing for the expedition, Lewis contracted a boat builder to construct a large “keelboat” to travel up the Missouri river.  The contractor was very slow, constantly drunk, and failed to show up many mornings.  It reminded me of contractors that I’ve dealt with in my business, who have no sense of the urgency required by the customer.

As an outdoorsman, I was captivated by the adventures encounted by the party in the wilderness, all documented with great detail and passion by the author.  I have traveled through the rugged rocky mountains, armed with the most sophisticated technology of the 21st century.  Even now, it is no easy endeavor.  However, this party of soldiers made their way up the rockies, navigating by compass and sextant, hunting with muzzleloader, camping without shelter, and sewing clothing from buffalo hides.  Lewis was in his late 20′s, the same age as I am now, and he was co-captain to a group of 30 or so army privates, and navigator in a wilderness that no white man had ever been in before.  These feats alone are truly amazing!

In addition, the author makes sure to mention the importance of Sacajawea during the trip.  The majority of the party was made up of young adult men: American soldiers trained in hunting and survival.  However, in the group was this teenage Indian girl, who spoke no English whatsoever, and had her baby with her the entire journey!  How did she feel to have traveled for two years with this expedition?

I strongly recommend this book to readers who have a thirst for history of early United States, and also for those who have a keen interest in wilderness exploration and survival.  Many of the hunting and survival skills practiced by Lewis’s hired hunter, George Drouillard, can still be applied by today’s big game hunter and survivalist.

This amazing book has turned me onto further reading about the politics of Jefferson and James Madison, and how the “original Republican party” was meant to shape this country’s future.  I look forward to learning more.

Some big changes have happened to me in the past week.  My last day of work was last Friday the 19th.  This is the first time I’ve ever been “laid off”, but I had been expecting it for some time now.  Our project had been drawing towards a close, and with no new work starting up, the “last on, first off” rule applies…to me.  Fortunately, I am ready for it.  I am burnt out of the commercial construction industry, at least for now.  The hours are brutal, and as I look around at many of the other people here who have sacrificed family time for an unrewarding job, I said to myself “not me!”

I will be moving back to Denver shortly, to be with Vanessa.  The past year has put a strain on our relationship, but it has survived.  Something that special cannot be lost.

But first thing is first: snowboarding!  I’ve already logged four legit powder days at Keystone, Steamboat, Aspen Highlands, and Vail in the month of December alone.  I’ve got all my equipment and ski passes ready to go, and plan to get in as many more with my time off.

What else to do?  Well, obviously construction jobs will be hard to come by, even if I wanted one.  I think I may look for something in writing or journalism.  In the mean time, maybe write a book about my travels in the Colorful State.

In January, I may head out with the truck on a “Southwest Road Trip”.  I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon.  In addition, visit some friends in Vegas, Huntington Beach, and Tijuana.

In February, Vanessa and I are planning on a “Ski vacation” to the San Juan Mountains, staying for a few nights in Telluride.  I am really excited just to plan it out!

I’d like to share an arcticle written about my current job site yesterday.  It has been a very difficult project with long hours and complex problems all year long, but after a final surge of personnel in November, we were able to pass city inspections and acquire a Conditional Certificate of Occupancy on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  EVERYONE involved deserves a pat on the back for this endeavor.  If you ever visit Aspen, take a walk down Dean Street and you will see for yourself this magnificent achievement.

From The Aspen Daily News

ASPEN — An Aspen luxury condominium project received a conditional certificate of occupancy, or CO, Sunday just before a deadline that could have led to legal trouble with buyers.

The city of Aspen building department issued approval for occupancy of 26 fractional ownership units at the Residences at The Little Nell, according to Mike Metheny, managing building inspector for the department. The developers must meet numerous conditions before the fractional units can be used, including clearing the main entrance and other public ingress and egress points of construction materials, Metheny said.

The Residences at The Little Nell are located at the base of Aspen Mountain, where the Tippler nightclub and Tipple Inn were located, just west of the lower terminal of the Silver Queen Gondola. The condo project will be one of the most opulent in Aspen or Snowmass Village. It will be managed and operated by The Little Nell hotel, the Aspen’s Skiing Co.’s five-star, five-diamond property.

The building from the outside doesn’t have the appearance of being completed. Landscaping crews planted trees during last weekend’s snowstorm, and patches of exterior trim were missing. Port-a-potties lined the area around the main entrance.

But inside, the interiors of the condos are finished and furnished, said Brooke Peterson, a representative of the company that is the managing member of Residences at Little Nell Development LLC. “They are all completely occupiable,” Peterson said.

The conditional certificate of occupancy applies to the condos, not to the 5,000-square-foot restaurant or 5,000 square feet of retail space or eight luxury hotel rooms in the building. Those areas aren’t completed yet.

The issuance of a certificate of occupancy on a holiday weekend isn’t unusual at this time of year, according to Metheny. The building department makes inspectors available for weekend work in November and December because there is a often a rush to get residential and commercial space completed and opened for the holidays, he said. The building department’s website says developers can request inspection times outside of normal business hours — as long as they are willing to pay an additional fee.

Peterson credited the city building department with being cooperative without showing favoritism.

 

Big final push

The development firm mounted a construction surge to complete the condos and trigger a string of related events. A substantial amount of work needed to be finished this fall to pass an inspection and obtain the conditional certificate of occupancy.

Once that CO was issued Sunday, the development firm notified buyers it was ready to close their contracts, starting in 30 days.

The timing was essential. The contracts called for the closing of deals by Dec. 31. If that deadline isn’t met, buyers had the right to terminate the contracts and get refunds of their earnest money.

It isn’t cheap to buy into the posh project. Six-week interests in the three-bedroom condos started at $1 million and climbed to $1.9 million. Six-week interests in the four-bedroom condos ended up selling for $3 million. Buyers had to put down more than $200,000 in earnest money for each interest purchased.

The 208 fractional ownership shares were about 97 percent sold out. Only a handful of shares in the three-bedroom units remain, according to R.J. Gallagher, a marketing consultant for the developer.

Construction delays threatened the completion of the project by the deadline. A massive retaining wall needed to be constructed in 2005 to stabilize the lower slopes of Aspen Mountain. That threw the project off schedule. The development firm notified buyers in September that the deadline for closing on sales might not be met. It claimed it had a right under a “casualty” provision of the contract to extend the deadline by 90 days, or to March 31, 2009. The unstable soils and need for a retaining wall constituted a “casualty,” the development firm contended.

Four buyers of seven fractional interests already are challenging the developers’ interpretation of the contracts in court. They claim the casualty notification in September allowed them to nullify their contracts and get their deposits back.

Peterson wouldn’t address the lawsuits, although he said the developer still believes it had the legal right through the contract to extend the closings until the end of March. It strived to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for closings to eliminate any potential issues that would make buyers unhappy, he said.

 

National meltdown helped project

Ironically, the national economic meltdown that has stalled several developments in the Roaring Fork Valley actually helped the Residences at The Little Nell. Gallagher said the skilled craftsmen needed for work on the luxury project were difficult to find until about 60 to 90 days ago. As workers got laid off of other projects, they learned about the jobs in Aspen.

That extra manpower allowed the construction crews to make up lost time, according to Gallagher.

Peterson said the developers secured their financing before the credit crunch hit. “It’s never been an issue, and we had great cooperation from our lenders,” he said.

Residences at Little Nell Development will give buyers the option of closing their purchases in January, if they prefer to avoid the deals during the holidays. The first owners likely will occupy the Residences in February, Peterson said. Construction on the remaining parts of the building won’t interfere with the guest experiences, he said.

The Residences could be the last fractional ownership project built in a long time.

One source intimately knowledgeable with the Aspen-area development industry said financing for those types of projects was the first to disappear, for both developers and buyers of fractional interests. Some people buy fractional units with the idea of flipping them at an appreciated price. Some of those buyers might not be able to secure financing anymore, the source said, and the developer might have trouble selling units if buyers default.