06/29/2023
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥 & 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞.
During a recent photography trip to the Mill, I had the fortune of being at the right place at the right time. I was able to speak with Chris Cox, the president of Treasure Mountain Resorts - which owns the Mill, Cabins & land Crystal resides on.
𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝.
The road to Crystal is still open, and the mill can be seen from this overlook - however, the 50ft access trail to the river which provided the best views is destroyed.
The general store is now locked tight, and the riverside access trail has been destroyed. Chris was kind enough to speak with me for a few hours and provide me with the answers to the questions you all no doubt have. We will start with the most important, why is this happening.
In short, the problem is twofold. The most problematic, is vandalism and trespassing. The Mill in recent years has seen a large uptick in graffiti and vandalism, to include people crossing the river to carve their names into the wooden beams and building itself. This has caused a need for constant policing and employee presence. The Mill was able to maintain employees through the General store, where summer employees would live in the nearby cabins. However, vandalism has worsened to the point Chris feels a need for drastic intervention.
Secondly, due to safety concerns and zoning issues from Gunnison county - many of the cabins need to have their foundations replaced. This is no simple act, on nearly 200-year-old historic landmark buildings. The buildings will need structural integrity checks performed, lifted off of their stone foundations while demolition and a repour of cement takes place.
Between the need for this maintenance and the increased need for security, Chris made the difficult decision to restrict access and permanently close the general store until further notice. While Chris is heartbroken at having to close, he is very excited about the future of Crystal. His plans involve creating a foundation for the historic town to help in funding the necessary upgrades and potentially a permanent employee position to ensure vandalism is stopped. This won't be happening soon, though. The entire restoration process will likely take years, even once the work has been green lit.
𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝.
𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 "𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬" 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭.
Additionally, it does not look like Schofield pass will open this year. The snowfield is aproximately 100 yards long near the Devils punchbowl, with a fresh (massive) boulder in the middle of the trail yet again. Currently, Leadking Basin is not yet clear either - however a large group was heading in today to work on snow drifts.
Crystal River Jeep Tours is still operational, and will continue running all of their available tours. I strongly encourage you to check them out.
