Outdoor notes

BASS WINS AWARD

Dick Bass, owner and chairman of Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, was awarded the 19th Sheldon Coleman Great Outdoors Award, the recreation community's most prestigious award in Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes an individual whose personal efforts have contributed to enhancing outdoor experiences in America. Bass was honored for a career in the ski industry that began in 1962 in Colorado. He opened Snowbird in the winter of 1971 and dedicated it to the enhancement of body, mind and spirit.

SKIING Magazine has ranked Snowbird, along with Little Cottonwood Canyon neighbor Alta, the No. 1 ski resort in the United States for five years running. Snowbird and Alta offer connected skiing opportunities.

In April 1985, at age 55, Bass became the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest and the first to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents. His adventures are chronicled in the book he authored, "Seven Summits."

Winners of the Coleman Award are selected by a national panel of recreation and conservation leaders from both the private and public sectors. Past recipients include former President George H.W. Bush and National Geographic Society Chairman Gil Grosvenor.

SUMMER SOLSTICE EVENT

The Parowan Heritage Foundation, Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City, Brian Head Tourism Bureau and Paiute Indian Tribe will sponsor an opportunity to watch the summer solstice from Parowan Gap on Saturday.

The gap is 12 miles north of Parowan. It is a natural mountain passage that contains thousands of petroglyphics, including a rare calendaring system based on the movements of the sun and moon.

Researcher and solar engineer Nal Morris will explain these findings during a program at 7:30 p.m. This will include the interpretation of the solar calendar petroglyph, commonly referred to as the Zipper Glyph.

Arthur Richards, an elder from the Paiute Indian tribe of Utah, will talk about the human perspective of the gap, including stories of the Paiutes and their ancestors' relationship to the Gap.

For more information contact the Parowan Visitors Center at 435-477-8190.

COTTONWOOD CANYON HIKES

The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation has added more than 20 summer hikes, tours and walks to its newly expanded Web site — www.cottonwoodcanyons.org.