Is there any aspect of ski-town living that corporations can’t touch? Not that they couldn’t, if they wanted to, that’s not really worth debating. I think that major companies have the clout to pursue just about any project they want, with no worries about whether us normies might care. What I mean is, is there a threshold that a corporation might cross - acquiring your local resort (that’s a big one), building a new development at the base of the hill, or signing a deal to become the sole food and beverage distributor - that would affect your personal experience with skiing?

Take for example Anheuser-Busch’s recent acquisition of Breckenridge Brewery. If you take the brewery’s story to heart: that they’re by ski bums, for skiers, then the corporate acquisition has to bum you out a little, right? That’s not to say that, at the ground level, things are likely to change drastically in Breck. Life will probably go on as it was. Except that the local spot (or, well, the affiliated brewery) is now owned by a company with $50 billion in equity. It doesn't belong to you in quite the same way.

The root of what I’m saying here is this: the experience of living in a ski town and, by extension, dedicating yourself to a life that is in itself dedicated to skiing, might rely on being separated from the corporate aspects that dominate a more conventional life. And if that's true, then where do you draw the line between ho-hum takeover and intrusion into your lifestyle? The problem bumps up against the fact that skiing is always influenced by corporations, from brands to sponsors and so on to infinity. As a result, getting bent out of shape about another big company encroaching on skier-held territory always feels a little hypocritical. But when major trends start to grab hold of the things that make living in a ski town so awesome, I wonder if they drain the place of its charm.

More colours, less corporations

Maybe I just need to move off the grid. Or start my own home-brew and never sell out, maaan!