Retailing in a Winter Wonderland

I walked into my mom's shop in Crested Butte this evening, to find my mom and sister waiting on a young couple. The girls jubilantly told me that the couple are getting married tomorrow at the base area of Mt. CB, and they were just purchasing the bride's outfit. At my mom's little shop! The couple just up and decided to get married while they are in town, and she knew she wanted to take the plunge on Christmas day. So, they got a local wedding planner and hit up all the shops in town to find a ring (oh, what a ring) and wedding clothes. For the life of them, they couldn't find a suitable outfit (despite their extra casual approach), and were just about to give up, when at the last minute they stumbled on Four Eighteen. They found an outfit and jewelry, and we sent the very happy, adorable couple on their way. The couple, in turn, invited us to the wedding. It's such a great Christmas fairy tale, and on Christmas day we'll head up to the mountain to attend this couple's wedding, along with all the other locals they have met along the journey of throwing their nuptials together.

Merry Christmas!

Going, going,

GONE. I'm not sure if I'm one of those people that fears change, or if it's just some kinds of change that bother me. I've always been fine moving from place to place, but when my hometown changes dramatically, it makes me feel all funny.

Crested Butte is a fabulous, wonderful, even magical place. But it changes a lot. That's normal in the ski/tourist industry, especially when you're somewhat behind the whole fancy-all-looks-the-same ski resort trend, but most of us hope that CB will retain some of its charm. After all, it is known to locals and those abroad alike as "crusty butt." How much more charming can you get?

The sad/scary-change part is that the resort sold again. Last time it sold, it sold to a very small "corporation" (basically a couple and their adult son--the Muellers), so it was actually a good thing. They started pouring money in, and people were generally happy (just don't mention the word "Snodgrass," and you won't get hurt). This week, though my happy place was sold to a giant corporation, the mean ugly hateful kind. CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. bought the place, and while they're going to lease it back to the Muellers to run it, it's the nasty corporation that owns the place and therefore calls the shots.

Perhaps it will be ok--maybe I've always wanted to live in a cookie-cutter corporate community and never knew it? And who doesn't love the idea of living in a place designed by the same people as the Dallas Market Center?

The Butte

Crested Butte has just set a new all-time record for snowfall. Four hundred eighteen inches. More is on the way. This is crazyness! There is such a thing as too much snow, and this is it. My mother has started trying to melt it with a space heater outside. The motivation is partly to protect the building, but partly because she is ready to hibernate till it's all gone. And that's not practical.

John Wheeler, a friend I miss already. RIP.

A friend that I have known for more than 10 years (more like 15) died on Monday night, January 7. His name was John Claude Wheeler, and he was a truly great individual. It appears that he fell down in the shower and hit his head. Though not a close friend of mine, John was a friend to many around him, from his time as a high school student in the Butte, to checking groceries at Clark's, to impressing the hell out of me (and many others I'm sure) by opening the Forest Queen with his brother and sister. Not only did they do a great job setting up the Forest Queen Sports Bar (and boy, was John good at Karaoke!), but thanks to John, the hotel got up and running for the first time in years. Every time I talked to him, he made me proud of a local kid with stories of his business acumen and with his great and boundless enthusiasm. John was truly one of a kind, and I will surely miss him. And I know many others will too. 

John, I hope you are in a better place. Your passing has made me truly sad, but has also reminded me to appreciate all that I am so lucky to have.

Crested Butte NY Times Mention

The New York Times said the following about Crested Butte in a travel article:

"A Victorian-era oldie but goldie, Crested Butte (800-810-7669; www.skicb.com), far from the Aspen glitz in Colorado's outback southwest of Denver, is redefining itself as a family resort. The centerpiece of its $200 million renovation is the new Lodge at Mountaineer Square, a large condominium complex steps from the ski lift. The resort's moldy gothic building has been torn down and will be replaced by a 92-room luxury studio and retail complex called the Cimarron. And a former Club Med has been turned into a slopeside luxury hotel with spa."

I'm posting this only because I'm obsessed with my hometown, and love to see it mentioned! Also, the Gothic building was worse than moldy, and needed to go, so maybe those who associate such places with CB will take notice.

Obama, Hillary, and Red Lady

So, after much deliberation, I have decided that I am a Hillary supporter for '08. What's wrong with Obama, you ask? He does not support the repealing of the 1872 mining laws, which is a MAJOR problem. These laws allow large corporations to buy public lands for $5 an acre (yes, that's right, even today), and then mine the hell out of them. They are seriously outdated laws, and Obama has publicly stated that he does not support the repeal of them. Hillary would likely do so. That, for me, was the deciding factor.

Why do the 1872 mining laws matter to me? I am from Crested Butte, in which our Mt. Emmons (aka Red Lady) had one of the richest molybdenum deposits known in the world. Kobex Corporation wants to mine the moly, and has begun the permitting process to do so. Why now, you ask? Well, a few years back, they bought the property for $5/acre. From the public. And Bush supports this law. So does Obama. Obama = Bush when it comes to my home town, and a mountain that I saw looking out my bedroom window as a child. Which would subside if mined. That is NOT cool. Plus, it would ruin Crested Butte, which would revert to a mining town, and the tourism economy would likely tank.