West Elk Wilderness

Real estate developer Tom Chapman says that, contrary to local opinion, he is not holding a prized wilderness area in the nearby mountains for ransom. But you would be hard put to find anyone in this small fruit-growing and coal-mining town to defend him. The native-born Chapman specializes in converting rural land into million-dollar wilderness hideaways.

Real estate developer Tom Chapman says that, contrary to local opinion, he is not holding a prized wilderness area in the nearby mountains for ransom. But you would be hard put to find anyone in this small fruit-growing and coal-mining town to defend him. The native-born Chapman specializes in converting rural land into million-dollar wilderness hideaways.

The slick real estate brochure ballyhoos remote mountaintop retreats amid hundreds of acres of wilderness, offering the ultimate in privacy and great views. One deal even throws in a helicopter. What sounds like a dream getaway for a billionaire financier or celebrity tired of the crowds in Aspen and Telluride is a nightmare to others.

Looking down at the world from a 13,000-foot mountaintop, life really does appear to be peaceful. You can see a field of yellow, pink and white wildflowers, and the sky is a royal Colorado blue, streaked with cotton-ball clouds. My 6-year-old son and I had researched for a summer trip we could take together.