Cut off again, Big Sur a copter trip away
Landslide blocks highway, but posh resort will fly you in — for up to $13,500
Just like last winter, Big Sur is once again isolated from the rest of California and the world — accessible to tourists only by helicopter.
Southern access via Highway 1 was cut off on Saturday night by a startling late-spring landslide, with no reopening date in sight. On the north, construction of a new bridge has closed the route from the Bay Area until late September.
All the chaos, however, is transforming the old counterculture paradise into a place affordable only to well-to-do visitors.
For prices ranging from $4,300 to $13,500, the posh Post Ranch Inn will carry you and a friend to the resort by helicopter from the Del Monte Aviation’s tarmac at Monterey Regional Airport for a two- to fournight stay — meals and yoga included. The package is called “Escape Through The Skies.”
“It’s an incredible ride, and the only way to get here,” said Big Sur native Kirk Gafill, president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a unique opportunity to come during this quiet time.”
Caltrans said Tuesday it’s unclear how long Highway 1 in southern Big Sur will remain closed after the landslide sent millions of cubic yards of dirt and rock down the hillside at Mud Creek around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The slide measures 1,500 feet long and 30 to 45 feet deep. It will require a prolonged digout, to say nothing of the time it will take to repair the road.
But that won’t stop affluent guests. About 200 people per week, on average, are flying to Big Sur from other parts of California, but also from Texas, New York, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and parts of South America and Asia, according to Kelsey Gummow, a spokeswoman for the Post Ranch Inn.
Once there, how do you get around? Easy: Borrow one of the inn’s complimentary Lexuses.
While most of Big Sur’s trails and parks are closed, trails near the resort are open, as well as world-famous Nepenthe, the Hawthorne Gallery and the Tap House. Ventana Inn & Spa is hoping to open its campground in July. Without traffic, it’s possible to walk down Highway 1 in serenity.
At night, locals offer evening festivities. Celebrating Big Sur’s isolated “island” life, Nepenthe will host Island Fever Luau Night with grass skirts, mai tais, punch and pulled pork specials on June 3. Its historic pingpong table, a favorite of poet Henry Miller and other celebrities, was the center of a festive tournament on “Game Night” last weekend.
Big Sur’s southern route near Mud Creek has repeatedly opened and closed since the fierce winter storms, allowing only intermittent one-lane access from places like Cambria, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
The new landslide is “deep-seated,” caused by saturated soil after prolonged above-average rainfall. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, such landslides typically occur toward the end of the winter season — in March, April and May — because of the time it takes for seasonal rainfall to reach the bottom, a slippery layer of soil. Often, deep-seated landslides lie dormant for lengthy periods of time.
According to Caltrans spokeswoman Susana Cruz, there are five active landslides in the area, which is about 9 miles north of the southern Monterey County border.
It’s believed four of the slides came down together Saturday night.
Big Sur’s broken link to the north — the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, damaged by winter storms — won’t be open until late September. The new bridge will span across the canyon, rather than resting on columns as the previous bridge did.
A steep and narrow half-mile footpath through Pfeiffer Canyon is open for locals only.
Locals are also driving Nacimiento-Fergusson Road as a cut over to Highway 101, a slow and dangerous route with many whiteknuckle switchbacks and sheer cliffs.
Money no object? A 20minute copter flight leaves every hour between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
A glass of champagne awaits you.