Mt. Adams ski resort?

This is the best idea I've heard in a long time, besides the Crystal Mt expansion. This is what Washington needs. A true destination ski resort. Bring it on. Someone needs to compete with Whistler/Blackcomb!

As I expected there would be a lot of "knee jerk" reactions to this proposal. The southern climbing route on Mt Adams lies outside the Yakima Indian Reservation. I hike, mountain climb, backpack, am an avid downhill skier, and am of Native American ancestry. I have longed envisioned a ski area on Mt. Adams with a tram climbing to the upper reaches of the mountain reminiscent of the Klein Matterhorn tram at Zermatt, Switzerland. Being father east than Mt. Hood, or Mt. Bachelor; Mt. Adams would have drier snow than other Cascade ski areas. the ski resort would incorporate the Yakima culture in all aspects of the resort. I agree with the Yakima Nation that it be "the most environmentally sensitive development in the history of resorts." with this in mind those behind bringing a ski area have to Mt. Adams have every intention of doing exactly this. I wish Dave Riley and all others involved this proposal Godspeed.

<br><br>I couldn't have said it any better. Why shouldn't the Yakima Indians be able to develope their land as they see fit? They are a separate, sovreign nation, so they can pretty much do what they want. Go for it!!<br>

Believe it or not, there are people intellectually capable of opposing this project and supporting native rights. No one in this thread has implied that the Yakamas don't or shouldn't have the right to develop their land how they see fit (though there has been some of this on other sites). Saying a project like this sucks on a message board, writing a letter to the editor or even protesting in front of a tribal office DOES NOT infringe on native rights. Inferring otherwise is, at best, lazy thinking and at worst, race-baiting.<br>If opponents get lawyers/legislators involved and try to impose things of the Yakamas, that would be different, but that isn't what's going on here.<br>That it is their land to do with what they wish is an indisputable fact, so please move on.<br>This isn't a response to Gaper's initial mention of this issue, which was a fair, open-ended question, IMHO.

Hello there. I am a teen yakama tribe member who lives in White Salmon WA. I think that the development of the MHM resort should take place. I am neither a skiier nor a snowboarder. However I believe that with the world we are coming into and are already living in today that Yakama Tribe needs to consider what our tribe will need. How much pride can we have in our tribe and beliefs if our tribe can not surivive economically. With inflation and the economy in the state that it is in we need to prepare plans to ensure support for the tribe and its members. With the finacial income from the resort we can put that forth to create other items to assist the tribe. such as taking that money and putting it into scholoarships to help natives go to college and better themselves. College costs are going up and Yakama tribe can provide financial help for native kids who have dreams of going to college. There are also other things that could be provided for the tribe from the income. such as financial aid for the suffering. we are a tribe and we need to help one another. this is a window of opportunity. the Creator sent it here to help us and to provide for the tribe so it can provide for its members. We are also being assured that the resort will eco friendly. As for the cultural worries, we will always have our culture as long as we have our faith. faith is something no one else can take away. if we stand tall and keep our beliefs strong then there should be no worries for this project. We need to let our worries fade with the sunset of today and look to the opportunities with the coming sunrise.

Native, being as you're not a skier or snowboarder, how did you find this website?

I am a skier, BC and resort, I ski Meadows a lot, much to my chagrin some days. When I heard about this proposal my heart sank. I truly beleive this issue transcends the idea of land rights. Land rights are an issue contructed by humans, and do not exist outside of our society. This proposal is much bigger than that. For anyone who has been in a ski area during the summer, you can see the extent of the damage done to the environment. Justifying the spoiling of such an area of wilderness beauty and needed wildlife habitat with the idea of an eco resort is just putting on the blinders. Just check on Meadow's "eco" history. They regularly score a C or lower on the Ski Resort Environmental Score card. They are far from good stewards of the land. They close early in April because they violated their operating liscence by using salt and have been punished by the forest service. Meadows can't be trusted. This area of Adams is the most amazing place in the NW. At night there is hardly a light to be seen, not a clear cut around,and I never fail to see mountain goats only a few feet away. <br>The amount of infrastructure just to get to the resort in Winter is mind boggling and so depressing. Let's hope this idea ends up in the dusty filing cabinet where it belongs.