The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“You gotta fight, for your right, to Snodgrass!”
The Friends of Lifts on Snodgrass rally at 6 p.m. on Monday, December 7 had all the makings of a Crested Butte winter parade. Kids in snowsuits were frolicking in piles of powder; dogs weaved in between peoples’ legs and snarled at other dogs; young and old were bundled up in faux and fancy fur. The only things missing were libations packaged in brown paper bags, airborne candy, and Mardi Gras beads. Rightfully so, because this wasn’t a celebration, but a community protest against the Forest Service’s decision to keep Snodgrass from entering the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
When it was time to march behind a truck-towed gondola car filled with protesters and dogs, a couple of hundred people departed from the Chamber of Commerce office at the Four-way Stop. They hoisted signs that read “The Disenfranchised Majority” and “Charlie Richmond You Lie!” among others.
The rally leaders sounded the battle cry, using bullhorns to project their voices through the heavy snowfall. And then the march up Elk Avenue began.
“What do we want?!”
“NEE-PA!”
“When do we want it?!”
“Now!”
You could hear the stomping feet echo in near military cadence. More slogans carried into the night: “Ski Snodgrass Now! Due Process Now!” As they approached the Eldo, the din grew louder and louder, and someone up on the deck yelled, “Lifts are power! Snodgrass is worth $150 million!”
The Eldo revelers were met with a riff from a Beastie Boys song: “You gotta fight, for your right, to Snodgrass!” The march continued down Elk and returned for another pass. The Eldo deck was empty and the protesters quieted down somewhat until they started to approach Town Hall, where a Town Council meeting was scheduled.
“Let’s make it really loud!” a voice bellowed through a bullhorn. “Bring your signs up to the windows! Due process now! Ski Snodgrass Now!” the crowd reprised, as some poured into Town Hall and others pumped and rattled their signs against the windows. You would have thought Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond himself was waiting inside.
Things mellowed out as the protesters filtered into the Town Council meeting to request that a letter be sent on the town’s behalf requesting that Snodgrass enter the NEPA process. The council added discussion of the letter to its agenda for the next meeting scheduled December 21.
