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Bighorn sheep make comeback in Zirkel

Steamboat Springs — The opportunity to hunt bighorn sheep in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness hasn't been rare throughout the years; it's been nonexistent.

That will change in 2009, but hopeful hunters should keep their fingers crossed. Only two tags will be awarded for the season.

"Bighorn sheep units don't always support a large number of licenses because the herds do not get very large," Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton said. "License numbers are set annually, so we'll monitor the population that's there. It might go down to one next year, we might suspend it for a season, or there might be an increase."

That there are any bighorn sheep in the area at all is a sign of the success of an ambitious 2005 project that reintroduced the species to the area. The original transplanted herd of 40 sheep has grown to 55.

Bighorn licenses have long been available to hunters in other parts of the state, namely around Georgetown, where about a dozen are to be had. This marks the first year they've been made available in the Zirkel area. Still, bighorn sheep tags are among the most sought after and competition for the two area licenses should be tight.

The $251 tags will be dealt out via lottery. The deadline to enter is April 7.

Steamboat telemarkers score big at World Cup

Steamboat skiers scored high in the FIS Telemark World Cup in Kobla, Slovenia.

Steamboat's Lorin Paley notched the U.S. team's highest finish in the women's sprint event, finishing in sixth place with a two-run time of 2 minutes, 33.87 seconds.

Fellow Steamboat skier Erica Walters was 21st in the race, finishing with a time of 3:02.53. Walters was 23rd in the giant slalom finals.

Steamboat's Ken Recker was 30th in the Men's GS, ahead of locals Ben Paley, who finished 33rd, and Jeffery Gay, in 37th. Ben Paley was 42nd in the men's sprint event while Gay finished 45th.

Junior Olympics Qualifying starts for J3s at Buttermilk

This past weekend marked the start of the J3 Junior Olympics Qualifying Series at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen. On the first day of competition, Tyler Theis placed third, Alex Barounos finished 21st, Murphy Roberts finished 30th, Erik Halsnes finished 35th, Andreas Folk finished 38th, and Asher Rohde finished 43rd.

On the second day, Theis finished fifth. Roberts came in 25th and Rohde finished 42nd. Keegan Millard, who recently moved to Steamboat from Iowa, finished 31st on the second day.

On the women's side, Katie Hostetler had two solid days, with fifth- and third-place finishes. Julia Cooper finished third on the first day while Lexie Baden had 16th- and 11th-place finishes. Suzanne Lyon finished in 20th place and 15th place, while Kate Cooper finished 19th and 29th. Katie Arnis finished in 20th place on the second day, improving from a 39th place the day before. Olivia Rudolph also proved to be a strong competitor with 33rd- and 23rd-place finishes. Megan Rosa had 47th- and 38th-place finishes, while Hunter Gansmann was right behind her both days, in 52nd and 42nd. Miranda Salky competed in her first super-G race as a J3 and finished in 59th place and 49th place. Rachel Grubbs finished in 37th place on the second day.

The next JO Qualifying Series will be held in mid-February at Winter Park.