Austerity is a word that doesn’t seem much used in upscale ski resorts. In this small filthy rich prosperous enclave of Beaver Creek, one would never know the Dow lost 101 points yesterday, or that one in ten Americans is jobless. I am blessed to have beloved friends who offered me the second bedroom of the mountainside penthouse condo they were given for two days. As I, a flat-lander with increasingly minimalist leanings, take in the experience, I wonder if this is reality or illusion. Oh, the terrain is certainly real, and in an epic way. The pretend world that has been built up around it, however, leaves me shaking my head. I’m a fish out of water. The quaint village shops offer me a things like a pair of jeans for $236, or a special purse for $525. Skiing is $98 per day for a lift ticket. Time to go find a national park. (Entrance fee: $10/week.)
Leave a comment: What is the worst sticker shock you’ve had? And, how can the uber-privileged and the Zen minimalists co-exist joyfully?
Ranger Kathryn's Arches 