Skiing’s Prickliest Problem: Housing

The housing crisis in this Western ski town had reached the tipping point. “Locals” realized they would forever commute 25 to 100 miles every day on a narrow, twisting, snow-clogged road. Old miner’s cottages that once housed workers were being bought up for millions and razed for another vacant trophy home. Tents and campers parked on Forest Service land, open space, or just the end of a dirt road became highly sought-after accommodations. In the municipal election, half the city council was rejected and replaced by fervent housing advocates who prioritized locals over attracting more visitors.

Sound like today’s housing crisis? The year was 1989, the place was Aspen, and in my role as editor of the local newspaper, I had a front-row seat for the spectacle. This is all to say, at least for major Western ski towns, we’ve been here before.