Wow, this article seems very mean-spirited, but also pretty much accurate. This sort of conversation is pretty typical among undergraduates... but there's something in the experience of going out and having to struggle and work for a living that tends to burnish away that idealism. And most of the people who never go through that process end up looking stunted to the rest of us. The Summit guys are also
very California ("the food was 'not that progressive'"), and I, like much of the world, find their prattle grating. Although to be honest, I'm even more annoyed when I have to deal with similar sorts from Boston, New York, Texas, Chicago, Provo.... If I have to ski with the uber-rich, I prefer them to be insufferably idealistic at PowMow than insufferably egotistical like at some other resorts. Or clutching their pearls at the very idea of having to share their slopes with snowboarders.
"Burning Man" gets mentioned three times here, which I find somewhat perplexing. Summit, in my mind, is much closer to SXSW than Burning Man. But I guess this is playing to British preconceptions... what do the Brits think of Burning Man?
“None of the architecture should express taste..."
Yeah, that jumped out at me, too. As a case where the reporter carefully picked words that would look ridiculous outside the context of the very-California body language and inflection. I can hear it in my mind, and I get it... and a village with 500 somewhat subdued homes really does sound much better than the mansion sprawl seen elsewhere.
I think this is an interesting counterpoint to all the various Ikon/Alterra discussion. I've seen comments (probably exaggeration) off and on in recent years about how in Aspen, the billionaires have priced out the millionaires. And so a bunch of rich hedge fund types & investors brought Aspen Ski Co on board to advise and help "improve" Squalpine, Mammoth, Deer Valley, and Steamboat. I can't muster up too much sympathy for the poor millionaires who can't quite afford Aspen... but overall, this brand of elitism bugs me more than PowMow/Summit's brand of elitism.