On this week's podcast, Bob talks with Skyler Rorabaugh, the manager of Pikes Peak - America's Mountain. While the mountain is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, the Pikes Peak Highway and amenities from the bottom to the 14,115' summit are operated by the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department as an enterprise, the only one of its kind in the world. They discuss the challenges of keeping the highway open year round, managing a $70 million, state of the art visitors center at the summit of Pikes Peak, also the only one of it's kind in the world. Rorabaugh tells of the additional challenge of finding people to work at the thin oxygen environment on the mountain, the special skills needed to maintain the highway, the other recreation opportunities on the mountain, but not on the highway, and future plans to expand the visitors experience. Whether or not you've ever visited Pikes Peak, you'll find this podcast fascinating. Pikes Peak- Americas Mountain website: https://coloradosprings.gov/drivepikespeak Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/hikingbob for more information Hiking Bob website: https://www.HikingBob.com Wild Westendorf website: https://wildwestendorf.com/ Where to listen, download and subscribe to this podcast: https://pod.link/outdoorswithhikingbob
