Escorted or Thrust into or onto a snowcat or snowmobile is just not going to happen. Maybe bring up a law enforcement officer, whose authority I will follow, but I will not follow directions of those following the directions of those imposing their unfounded authority.
Do you honestly believe that a enforcement officer is going to look kindly upon you after you've forced him or her to come all the way up the the mountain in winter to deal with your stubbornness? Forcing them to do so is a great way to get them to view you as being "uncooperative" right of the bat.
I am dumbfounded at the attitude expressed in posts in this thread, that would permit such authority to reign. I have hiked these mountains since I was a young boy. I bring my children up to these mountains to experience the wild, the backcountry and self-suffieciency that is needed in the mountains. I do not wish to purposefully disregard authority, but until there is a USFS dictate that states hikers are not permitted, I will do as I have done.
"Permit such an authority to reign" makes it sound like we're dealing with Darth Vader and the Empire, rather than a ski area.
The attitude is expressed because most of the people posting in this thread realize that taking an "I do what I want, and those with differing viewpoints can suck it" attitude is extremely unlikely to bring about a successful resolution that leaves everyone happy. If we approach this issue with the objective of having "winners" and "losers," well then who do you think is going to win? My money is on the large commercial operation that has significant funds to draw upon in their fight.
But maybe, just maybe, if we show a willingness to work with both the USFS and the ski area on this issue, we might see a willingness on their parts to do the same. By working together, it'd be a heck of a lot easier to come up with a solution that leaves everyone happy. And yes, that's going to mean cooperating with people who make decisions that you don't agree with.
Yes, you've spent a lot of time in the mountains, and it's allowed for you to build some great memories and experiences with people whom are important to you. But that doesn't entitle you to any more of a say in how these mountains are managed than anyone else. Other people value these mountains too, and they might not value them in the same way as you. I'm sure that there are people who have built memories with loved ones on the ski slopes at wildcat, memories that are for them just as important as your hiking memories are to you. I've never even climbed Wildcat, but I would like to some day, and for me, the anticipation of being able to do so is important to me. And there are millions of Americans who will never climb or ski at Wildcat, but it's important to them that as a nation, we preserve and conserve such areas so that both of those types of opportunities are available. As American citizens their opinions and views about how to manage our public spaces are just as important as yours and mine, even if they'll never even visit the Northeast.
We have these public spaces set aside for all of us, and that includes more than just hikers and mountaineers. While I'm sure that most of us (myself included) would love to live in a world where the entire White Mountain National Forest was one big wilderness area for hikers, but that just isn't going to happen. We need developed ski areas for the people who enjoy skiing on groomed trails, just like we need toll roads up mountains like Whiteface and Washington so that those who are unable to climb these peaks themselves can still experience what it's like to stand upon an alpine summit. We wouldn't want a road up every peak for sure, but it's like that saying goes- "All things in moderation."
User conflicts are a major aspect of recreation and natural resource management that resource managers have to deal with on a regular basis. In fact, some sort of dispute management is often a required component of many forestry and recreation management programs at colleges that offer them. And it's pretty much a given that if all sides are willing to work together on resolving those conflicts, those conflicts are going to be resolved a lot more quickly and much more to everyone's satisfaction.
