Word: vail
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...were in Europe, a place like Vail, Colo., would fit the exalted category of "ski circus," a place so sprawling and opulent as to be almost a sovereignty unto itself. But last week that rather complacent empire was startled by a message from a tiny band. Early Monday morning someone set Vail Mountain ablaze. Seven fires spread along a mile-long ridge overlooking the tony ski village, demolishing a restaurant, a patrol building and a picnic shelter and impairing several lifts. No one was hurt, but the damage totaled $12 million...
...nice of the terrorists to worry about skier "convenience," but the "safety" part drew Washington's concern: about 70 FBI and other federal agents descended on Vail to pursue the culprits and stop any future terrorist acts. The investigators were racing against time: winter comes early at 11,000 ft. They cautioned that they had no clear suspects, though they were sure the fires weren't accidental...
...this case, the corporation is Vail Resorts, which operates eight hotels, 82 restaurants and many other businesses in Vail and nearby communities. Just before the fires, the company won a bitter court battle to begin Category III, an Orwellian-sounding ski development on what is now 885 virgin acres of mountain forest. Environmentalists oppose the expansion because they think it will chase away the few remaining lynxes believed to be on the land, one of the species' last known habitats. Workers had begun clearing trees for Category III just days before the fires...
...score one for tree huggers turned fire bombers: the lynx is no longer a forgotten feline. But aside from that meager p.r. coup, the group committed as much an act of self-destructive futility as of terrorism; the fires didn't halt Category III, which Vail Resorts said would proceed more or less on schedule. The blazes won't even delay the start of the ski season...
Additionally, the fires healed, at least temporarily, a festering rift between town and company. Many townspeople are concerned that Vail Resorts, one of the largest U.S. ski operators, is seeking to singlehandedly control the area's economic life. The firm has expanded its real estate ventures and has branched into the kind of non-ski businesses that were traditionally run by ski-town locals, including retail shops and a controversial entertainment complex called Adventure Ridge. "It's drawing people away," as many as 1,200 a night, says Jonathan Staufer, owner of a local cookware store. But most such complaints...