Mountain Town News

By Allen Best

Don’t count Americans out yet

WHISTLER, B.C. – There has been much speculation that American dominance of the world economy and affairs is about to end, presumably to be replaced by the sheer numbers of Chinese.

Not so fast, said speakers at a major economic conference held in Whistler. The United States still accounts for 26 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, they pointed out, while China has no more than 10 percent of the world’s GDP and is unlikely to surpass the United States in the foreseeable future.

Mark Andrew, who is regional vice president of the Pacific Northwest Fairmont Hotels Resorts, said too much focus too early on the Asian market could lead to problems in resort communities.

“The Chinese market will be part of our success but I wouldn’t put all my eggs in that one basket,” he said. “We have a great amount of business in Eastern Canada we need to take good care of, and the Americans aren’t done.

Andrew also cautioned that the Chinese might not glom onto Canada’s core attractions, which he identified as “moose, mountains, Mounties and maple leafs.”

“When I’m in Beijing and I’m selling to an operator looking to bring a group to Canada, they get very excited about the mountains, but they get a lot more excited about Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Hermes, because that’s what they’re really interested in.”

Can nature replace real estate?

JACKSON, Wyo. – With the real estate bubble still pricked, and carpenters and other craftsmen under-employed, leaders in Jackson and Teton County continue to ponder the economic outlook. The construction trades provided for a middle class in a valley otherwise noted for its extreme wealth and those people just scraping by.

But what can replace the middle class incomes of the construction contractors and tradesman? Jonathan Schechter, an economic analyst, continues to make the case — which he was making even before the recession — that Jackson Hole’s future lies in preservation of its natural assets.

“With every new person born on earth, what we have here becomes that much more scarce,” said Schechter, according to an account in the Jackson Hole News & Guide. He called on Jackson Hole residents to become the “oligarchs of nature.”

Tahoe shoots for uniqueness

TRUCKEE, Calif. – A push continues in the Lake Tahoe area to foster what is called geotourism, which is defined as an effort to identify and promote those things that make a region different from other areas.

“In general, what we’re looking to highlight are places that have a quality unique to the area,” said Jonathan Tourtellot, founding director of the National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destination.

Whether geotourism is anything new, or more of a refined marketing tool, is open to argument. The Sierra Sun seems to think it is a new kind of tourism. As examples of geotourism attractions, it cites a museum, locally owned restaurants with character, and a natural foods store with a local flavor as examples.

The newspaper cites a study by the travel industry of America, which says geotourists value clean, unpolluted environments, outstanding scenery, and opportunities to learn about the culture and history of areas they visit.

Bank says no Dank for pot shop

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. – Alpine Bank has been around for decades operating primarily in mountain towns of Colorado’s Western Slope, from Vail to Telluride. Alpine Dank was created a few years ago to sell medical marijuana. Is the name coincidental?

Regardless, Bank has told Dank to cease and desist.

Dank, explained Jeffrey Lessard, founder of the pot shop, is a word that describes the quality of produce, whether it’s marijuana or the products associated with it. “Alpine,” of course, is used by numerous businesses.

The parallels go further, though. The logos were nearly identical, with the tree used by Alpine Bank replaced by a cannabis leaf for Alpine Dank. The Aspen Times says the lawsuit filed by the bank was dismissed after the pot purveyor agreed to drop its name.

No more bottled water

VAIL, Colo. – For sheer silliness and wanton environmental waste, perhaps nothing comes close to bottled water. Repeated tests have shown that water bottled hundreds or thousands of miles away is rarely, if ever, better than the local stuff than comes out of the tap. Plus, it’s expensive – usually more expensive than petroleum shipped from Venezuela, Libya or refined from the tar sands north of Edmonton.

In Vail, which sits at the headwaters, its waters as pure as the driven snow, that’s doubly the case. It’s good water, then further purified by the local water agency.

Yet, for years, bottled water was given out at the Teva Games, the big festival of kayaking, climbing and other outdoor pursuits held at Vail and nearby Minturn.

This year, at long last, organizers have announced sanity. Instead of bottled water, they will have three “hydration stations” that use reverse osmosis cleaning technology to further clean what is already excellent water.