Stan Frymann has donated “about the most beautiful place you could find” to Ouray County. Frymann donated the six-acre Tip Top Mine, and eventually the county hopes to swap the property with the U.S. Forest Service for one acre under two of the Idarado Houses on Highway 550 on Red Mountain Pass. County commissioners were happy to accept the donation at their May 6 meeting, saying they will send a thank-you letter to Frymann for his generous gift. Commissioner Lynn Padgett said she wanted the letter to emphasize that his contribution will enable the coun- ty to preserve the Idarado Houses, “and that’s amazing.”
She also suggested that the county, along with the Trust for Land Restoration, recognize the donation with a commemorative plaque at the Idarado Houses because the donation was the instrument that allowed the county to own the houses and the land under them.
Frymann, who lived in Ouray part-time from 1990 until a few years ago, got the bug to buy the property in 2000. He doesn’t remember the exact price for the mining claim, estimating he paid between $3,000 and $4,000. He now lives in California full-time and said he is happy to donate the land, which will remain open space whether it’s county or U.S. Forest Service property.
Pat Willits, Trust for Land Restoration executive director, told commissioners in April the mining claim was evaluated by the state, which found there are “remnants of some mining exploration in the past, but there are no gigantic red flags.” The parcel is at about 12,000 feet in elevation, almost to the top of San Sophia Ridge. A vehicle can be driven to within a half mile of it, and it’s a tricky walk to get to the property. The state’s assessment of the property shows mining activity was only exploratory with no evidence ore was extracted, Steve Boyle, a trust board member, told commissioners in April. Finding Ouray and the mining claim Frymann, originally from California, said a friend suggested in early 1990 that he and his wife should drive from Durango to Ouray while on vacation. “We were blown away by the beauty,” Frymann said.
“We wanted to see it again, so we drove back to Sil- verton at night with slush freezing in the wheel wells looking for a place to stay. The place was closed, so we drove back over the pass, barely able to steer. We were Californians. What did we know?” The Frymanns returned later in the spring, and their dogs loved the area even more than they did, he said. So they purchased a home in Ouray. Frymann had two motivations to purchase the claim: to own “a little piece of what to me is one of the most beautiful places in the world” and to spread his ashes when he dies.
“Some people might buy a painting,” he said. “They think a painting is beautiful and sometimes it doesn’t even end up on a wall. … I thought, ‘I’d like to have (the property).’” Frymann and he and his golden retrievers hiked to the property regularly to soak in its beauty, plus he enjoyed learning about the mining claim’s history and even wrote a series of history articles for the Plaindealer years ago.
He wanted to place a historical marker on the mining claim to commemorate an incident in the 1800s in which a miner was badly injured in the wintertime, and miners at the surrounding mines organized a rescue. Several died in an avalanche while trying to bring him down the mountain, Frymann said.
Frymann is glad the property will be available for others to enjoy for years to come.“ Anybody who can be out there and enjoy that area is very lucky,” he said.
By Deb Hurley Brobst
Special to the Plaindealer
Deb Hurley Brobst is a longtime, award-winning journalist. She can be reached at deb.hurley.brobst@gmail.com.