First off, please come to our LAUNCH PARTY on Thursday (11/10) @ 7:30pm at Denver Beer Co. Support a good cause, drink beer, win prizes. Pretty awesome.

And now for the main event. This excellent NY Times article outlines some of the difficulties facing the ski industry, especially for the small, local hills.

At downtown businesses like Teton Mountaineering, an outdoor clothing shop, the debate over Snow King, prompted by a reporter’s question, turned from economics to community to what Kathleen A. Crowley, a buyer for the store, described as “family coziness.”

“Nothing against the big ski areas, because I spend a lot of time there,” Ms. Crowley said, “but there’s just that homey kind of safe feel about Snow King.”

Chuck Schaap, the store’s owner, struck a practical note. “If it has such value,” he said, “why is it economically a failure?”

The whole article is worth a read. Any thoughts on this? Is there a problem? Is this just a natural progression toward bigger? Should anything change?