One of the last things I need is a heated gondola... the only thing I hate worse is a heated tram. I still have nightmares of being packed into one of those things at Snowbird, Jackson Hole, and Lech with a hundred other people -- many of whom hadn't practiced much in the way of hygiene. Given the choice, I'd take the uptown 4 train at rush hour, which is a pretty daring thing to say.
Social Security is certainly a socialist program and a pretty tough thing to defend given the ongoing allegations that our generation will never see a penny of what we've put in.
I try to put myself in the shoes of Hunter, Plattekill, and Windham, which have to compete against a ski area that doesn't need to balance its revenues and expenses. But it seems disingenuous that they never said a word about Belleayre all the years it was on the chopping block during the 80s and early 90s... in fact, they joined the campaign to support it. What really annoys me is that all of those ski areas have very distinct niches, and as mentioned in the SJ thread, I really don't believe Belleayre is stealing Hunter and WIndham's clientele by offering tickets a few shekels cheaper. The only person who has a legitimate gripe IMHO is Laszlo at Plattekill. People have to drive 20 minutes past Belleayre to go there, and he doesn't have the snowmaking to compete most of the season.
Also, Belleayre was there a couple decades before the others... kind of like the cliche about moving next to a swamp and complaining about mosquitoes. OTOH, Gore was developed AFTER places like Harvey Mt, right?
Oh well, I'm going to the NYS Ski Area Media Reception on Weds, so I'll report back about anything I hear.
