We picked up a stray chap from NYC at the Appalachia lot this weekend. He had attempted to hike the Presis using public transport. He took a train to Boston and an Uber to Randolph and was happy to hitch a ride with us back to Boston.
We may snicker at the use of an Uber, but Balsams suffers the same core, underlying problem that our beloved hiking does... Both endeavors as we currently conceive of them are premised on a car based transportation infrastructure as it relates to larger population centers.
I'm all for state backed funding and investments so long as the state is making those decisions in response to democratic control by the people in the state (as opposed to corporate funders of campaigns). It would be nice if the state controlled real investment monies (collected, yes, by taxes) that could be directed to development projects as decided upon by the local people who would be working in and living with the new projects.
If I were living and working in New Hampshire or Vermont and was interested in tourism industries like hiking and skiing, I would be advocating for state investments in more public transportation infrastructure (trains, buses and shuttles) and for more concentrated tourisms centers like we had in the 20s and 30s such as Waterville Valley and Randolph of old (see: Forest & Crag by Waterman).
We should also note that the Balsams, like the Mt. Washington Hotel, grew out of America's first gilded age and was successful by catering to the very rich who could afford to travel to exotica locations and stay in those places for extended periods. Post WW2, the Balsams survived in thanks to massive national investment in roadway development and a growing middle class that had cars and leisure time. In today's new gilded age, there are significant downward pressures on the middle class and the very rich have access to different exotic locations thanks to cheap air travel. As an example, when air travel and gas prices went up in the 00's, Loon Ski Resort jacked up their prices on the (correct) assumption that rich Bostonians and New Yorkers would be more interested in skiing in NH and less inclined to travel to Colorado and Utah. Loon correctly understood that they could raise prices and be attractive to the upper income market.
Hard for me to cry about Balsams as it's currently conceived.
We may snicker at the use of an Uber, but Balsams suffers the same core, underlying problem that our beloved hiking does... Both endeavors as we currently conceive of them are premised on a car based transportation infrastructure as it relates to larger population centers.
I'm all for state backed funding and investments so long as the state is making those decisions in response to democratic control by the people in the state (as opposed to corporate funders of campaigns). It would be nice if the state controlled real investment monies (collected, yes, by taxes) that could be directed to development projects as decided upon by the local people who would be working in and living with the new projects.
If I were living and working in New Hampshire or Vermont and was interested in tourism industries like hiking and skiing, I would be advocating for state investments in more public transportation infrastructure (trains, buses and shuttles) and for more concentrated tourisms centers like we had in the 20s and 30s such as Waterville Valley and Randolph of old (see: Forest & Crag by Waterman).
We should also note that the Balsams, like the Mt. Washington Hotel, grew out of America's first gilded age and was successful by catering to the very rich who could afford to travel to exotica locations and stay in those places for extended periods. Post WW2, the Balsams survived in thanks to massive national investment in roadway development and a growing middle class that had cars and leisure time. In today's new gilded age, there are significant downward pressures on the middle class and the very rich have access to different exotic locations thanks to cheap air travel. As an example, when air travel and gas prices went up in the 00's, Loon Ski Resort jacked up their prices on the (correct) assumption that rich Bostonians and New Yorkers would be more interested in skiing in NH and less inclined to travel to Colorado and Utah. Loon correctly understood that they could raise prices and be attractive to the upper income market.
Hard for me to cry about Balsams as it's currently conceived.
