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How to Save a Ski Town

outsideonline.com

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Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#91

Post by mackmgg »

ragnot wrote: post #3

With seasons seemingly getting shorter and/or worse (due to what I assume to be global warming) and the lines just getting absolutely ridiculous [1], I think I've accepted the fact that skiing/snowboarding is going to be a different experience for my kids. That experience probably won't be at a traditional mountain like Killington, Vail, etc. The lines will be too long, too expensive, just overall it will suck. Hones…

Colorado has 32 ski resorts and Vermont 26. I don't think you need to go to the backcountry to avoid the crowds, just to a smaller lift serviced mountain.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#92

Post by buttercraft »

I was born and raised in a small ski town that was a "hidden gem" for a long time. This article covers the issues well.

In one year, it all changed. Housing prices and rent increased drastically -- sometimes by 2x or 3x. Half of my friends and acquaintances have had to move out of town and commute for work. What does it say when a city's essential workers cannot vote on city issues anymore?

The city is not legally allowed to regulate short term rentals, so AirBnB is taking up a significant portion of housing. The city tries to make developers restrict short term rentals on the units they develop instead but with limited success.

Any attempt at new housing is met with fierce resistance by a loud minority with expensive lawyers. Nobody wants the town to change. Everyone who moves here wants to prevent anyone else from following. Some of the people advocating for affordable housing are the same ones trying to jack up property values. So affordable housing is not actually affordable for anyone who needs it.

Businesses are struggling to find employees, and many have closed or limited their hours. At the same time, commercial rents are increasing.

It's a sad mess.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#94

Post by [deleted] »

zz865 wrote: post #5

I quite like the rules in the Tirol - you can only own property if you live there. No second homes, no big hotels, no renting out houses. Just small owner operated hotels and locals.

[deleted]

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#95

Post by rch »

zz865 wrote: post #5

I quite like the rules in the Tirol - you can only own property if you live there. No second homes, no big hotels, no renting out houses. Just small owner operated hotels and locals.

This really seems like the best solution by far.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#96

Post by vkou »

armenarmen wrote: post #14
vkou wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the market could build its way out of this, it already would have. There's not enough money in building and leasing units to rent to burger-flippers and dog-walkers, when there are millionaires lining up to make all-cash purchases. You either have to pay people enough to afford a mortgage in the area, or you watch all your manual laborers move to the big cities.

> If the market could build its way out of this, it already would have I believe the author mentions that there was a proposed large apartment building (250 ish units) that could, presumably, have alleviated some of the demand but that it was voted down by nimby types to avoid CB “becoming aurora” I’d think then that it’s less so the market preventing building than it is voters and activist home owners

The free market is precisely what gave this particular makeup of voters and activist home owners the keys to the kingdom. If you can't afford to pay to play in that municipality, you don't get to vote.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#97

Post by tayo42 »

i_love_music wrote: post #51
farnsworth wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait till you find out how overcrowded backcountry skiing has gotten too.

Agreed. It has been trending up for years with better equipment, but COVID opened up the floodgates. Now the NPs have to employee "ski rangers" to help assist the chaos that is bc skiing in popular spots. I don't like where this is headed. Serenity and solitude get removed from the outdoors more and more every season. Summer and winter. I am really torn. Part of me wants everyone to enjoy nature and outdoors, but the…

It wouldn't be so bad if these new outdoor people actually respected the outdoors. Yet they show up with blue tooth radios and leave trash around

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#98

Post by kernoble »

ghaff wrote: post #87
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #86

The problem is pretty simple; the stock of mountain resort towns has not kept up to satisfy demand. Imagine 15 or 20 years ago, a trip to a somewhat remote mountain town had a lot of inconveniences like bad internet, unpredictable weather/travel conditions, etc. In the current year, it's very easy to book an entire trip to Vail/Tahoe in 30 minutes. The amenities and infrastructure are decent making it a viable place…

>IMO I think the only solution is to create more mountain towns and ski resorts. Almost impossible given environmental constraints. (Whether one agrees or disagrees.) Even expanding existing resorts is tough. And it's not clear the economics are there given demographics even leaving aside any climate change factors. ADDED: More rural towns with very limited facilities may be possible given Starlink, etc. But they're…

I'm pretty sure

> the only solution is to create more mountain towns and ski resorts

was meant as a strawman.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#99

Post by prpl »

jeffbee wrote: post #85
mastax wrote: post #2

I imagine the Swiss have dealt with similar situations, I wonder what they would suggest? Pay employees way more is probably step one. I'm the "build more housing" guy, but it looks like the Swiss have chosen a different path?

In Switzerland I can walk out of my urban flat carrying my skis, get on a train, and get dumped at the base of a lift an hour or two later. One or two-transfer public transportation from city center to base lift. There's no reason you have to live at the ski areas.

You can do the same from many places in Salt Lake City. If you live close to the canyons it can be as little as 25 minutes via Bus - but if you live that close you might drive to make it 15.

Re: How to Save a Ski Town

#100

Post by geephroh »

barry-cotter wrote: post #69
souplesse wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you missed the point. There’s nothing wrong with Outside sharing nice places with world, but it’s ironic that they would also publish an article decrying the very popularization that they themselves often cause.

> The newspapers reported on the problem: it was so hard to find affordable housing in town that there weren’t enough people left to work in town. That's the problem. Lack of housing. Not popularisation. The article writer don't decry the popularisation in the article though geephroh does.

Lack of housing is, of course, a major part of the problem. And why might you suppose that previously affordable housing in what might have once been a relatively obscure locale is now in tremendous demand?

Knowing a number of folks personally who have been priced out of these places -- often the hometown where they hoped to spend their lives -- might give me a different sense of perspective than you seem to have.

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