Climbing mountains by rail generates economic benefits but negatively affects hiking experience

Park visitors ride the Pikes Peak cog railway near Colorado Springs.

Visitors who climb a mountain by rail or automobile generate greater local economic benefits than those who scale the peak on foot, reports a recent Colorado State University study. But roads and mechanized railways on mountaintops diminish the perceived value of the experience for hikers, the study found, an important consideration for policymakers who must balance economic and conservation concerns.

The study, conducted by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU, found that mechanized means of transportation such as cog railways generate a greater perceived benefit to the user than hiking the same mountain. Cog railway riders, automobile users, and hikers report they value these benefits at $98, $54, and $31 respectively per day-trip – a value in addition to what they already spent on the trip.

Unique peak view

The researchers used a travel-cost model to estimate the recreational demand for both traditional and novel means of ascending Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. The results indicate cog railways provided non-hikers a rare opportunity they couldn’t get by other means: a unique mountain-peak view.

While the study touted the economic advantages mechanized mountain ascents offers parks, it also noted potential drawbacks, such as visitor crowding. With an influx of more sedentary visitors, hikers might spend their money elsewhere scaling less-crowded mountains, the study noted. Hikers might also react negatively to proposals to add trams or roads for mountain-peak access.

Mountaintop trade-offs

"Cog railways and automobile ascents open the door for many recreationists to enjoy the beauty and exhilaration of high mountain peaks," says CSU researcher Catherine Keske. "On the other hand, these unique modes of transportation clearly affect the value of the hiking experience." These are two trade-offs that should be considered by policymakers, she notes.

Currently, of Colorado's 54 mountains that exceed 14,000 feet above sea level, only Pikes Peak and Mount Evans can be accessed by a motor vehicle. Pikes Peak is the only mountain that can be visited by cog rail.

Nitrogen affects ecosystem of Rocky Mountain National Park

Nitrogen, in moderation an important fertilizer and nutrient in the environment, is adversely affecting the ecosystem in Rocky Mountain National Park, say scientists. Too much nitrogen can change an ecosystem, resulting in spruce trees more vulnerable to drought and insects, fewer wildflowers in the tundra, and the proliferation of grasses, researchers note.

The state, the National Park Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency agreed something must be done and commissioned Colorado State University scientists to study the impact of nitrogen on the park.

Eastern origins

Jeff Collett and Sonia Kreidenweis, CSU professors of atmospheric science, evaluated airborne particles and trace gases in the park in 2006. The highest concentrations of trace nitrogen affecting the ecology in Rocky Mountain National Park originated from the winds east of the Continental Divide, they discovered.

The scientists measured ammonia and nitric acid gases and ammonium and nitrate in aerosol particles – byproducts from agriculture and combustion processes such as power plants, wildfires, and automobiles. Large storms with heavy snowfall can push the particles and trace gases against the mountains, where they are collected by rain or snow and deposited into the park ecosystem.

Further study

Kreidenweis notes that the park’s excess nitrogen didn’t come entirely from the west. "Storms can take pollutants from the east and bring them into the park," she says. "What we don't know ... is whether the pollutants originated as mostly Colorado emissions or ... from farther east."

Much has been done to reduce emissions from automobiles and power plants, Collett notes. Now CSU scientists are researching how to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture and fertilizer use. "These things cost money. Hopefully, some of those actions can be done in a voluntary way once people are aware of the problem."

Air pollution could contribute to emergency room visits

Measuring pollution levels at seven sites in Colorado every hour for three years will help determine the relationship between daily pollution spikes and emergency room visits for asthma, heart attacks, respiratory conditions, and low-weight births, say Colorado State University researchers. Coarse particulate matter could be connected to such conditions as asthma attacks in children and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults

Common in the environment, coarse particulate matter can penetrate the thoracic region of the lungs when inhaled, says Jennifer Peel, epidemiologist and assistant professor of environmental and radiological health at CSU. "Construction, feedlots, agricultural activities, mining, and even driving on a road and kicking up dust are sources of this pollution."

Coarse connection

In a study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers will compare ambient air pollution data to health data, measuring pollution levels for coarse particulate matter from four sites in Denver and three sites in Greeley every hour for three years. They will assess levels of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, nitrogen, organic carbon, elemental carbon, carbohydrates, protein, endotoxin, and metals.

The study will compare birth data and hourly measurements of particulate matter with emergency room visits for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. In addition, researchers will examine data from patients with internal defibrillators and compare their recorded heart arrhythmias with air pollution levels.

The study is a partnership of Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Colorado School of Mines.