The Mountain Monopoly

No one should own nature

Growing up in Central New York, home to the nation’s snowiest city, winter sports were a way of life. It felt like everyone in my hometown skied or snowboarded on the weekends. Kids at rural schools further north are known to ride their snowmobiles to school on occasion. Even Silicon Valley’s favorite car is no match for lake effect snow.

I was not much of a skier. My parents took me to the bunny hills a few times as a little kid, but the exorbitant cost of gear and lift tickets, the bitter cold, and the scheduling challenges of raising four kids amounted to slopes we just couldn’t shred. Once basketball and winter track practices began to eat into my winter weekends, I waved goodbye to downhill winter sports.

The few memories I have of skiing are from Toggenburg Mountain Ski Resort. Known by locals simply as Tog, single-day lift passes were sold for $62, and were discounted all the way down to $38 for the area’s many college students. No one is mistaking $62 for pocket change, but comp…