The thing is, being at Schweitzer is special. I've skied for 54 years and it has been, since the very beginning, my #1 passion. No matter what conditions I had to deal with financially or otherwise, I always prioritized skiing over almost everything else. I even remember telling my GF at the time (now wife of 41 years) that if she didn't ski, we had no future.
We used to make trips to UT, CO, Tahoe, other places for a week+ skiing in the winter. Ultimately, after Schweitzer did some major upgrades around 1988-1990, we decided that committing to Schweitzer and forgoing the travel trips made financial sense and the skiing was just about as good there as anywhere else we had been. So, we bought in with a condo and 31 years of season's passes and live there about half the winter. It's a very special place and feeds my passion. My fear is that the Ikon pass and the associated hordes of people will ruin what makes Schweitzer special. to a point where it is no longer special This could go a long way toward killing my passion.
For those that say, if you don't like the crowds, quit skiing and it's one less person there, that's not seeing the issue. You might as well cut off my legs as suggest I quit skiing. There literally is nothing in my life that has been as important to me as skiing over the past 54 years. Being at Schweitzer has cemented that passion for most of my life. That other people will discover it that have that same passion, I get that I don't 'own' it and they have their right to be there. But that doesn't negate the sadness it causes if the place is ruined for me as a result of over-selling and overcrowding. Skiing isn't just an activity I participate in, it's a way of life. If that's taken away, I don't know how that plays out and it's a bit frightening.