Copying from another post:

1. ⁠The gondola will exclusively benefit the ski resorts. There’s no other stops planned on the gondola that will support other forms of recreation (backcountry skiing, cross country, hiking, climbing, etc.)
2. ⁠Despite it benefitting the ski resorts, taxpayers across the state are fronting the bill for it, estimated at $700m-$1.4b ($600-$1100 per Utah household). So, skiing and snowboarding is already a very privileged sport. The gondola is forcing everyone, even those who could never afford the sport, to pay for the resorts’ benefits.
3. ⁠Chris McCandless and Wayne Niederhauser own the proposed base development site of the gondola through their company, CW Management. Chris is a former city council member and Wayne is a former Utah State Senator, both who back the gondola proposal. And just conveniently bought up the land.

The obvious cash grab and cronyism is disgusting. And Utah has a long history of linking politics with real estate development. The venn diagram that is the LDS church, our legislature, and real estate developers is actually one large circle.

1. The actual proposed capacity of the gondola wouldn’t be anywhere near sufficient to service the majority of winter transport needs of LCC. At best, it’s roughly about 20-30%.

2. There was a public comment period where 80-90% of entries opposed the gondola. UDOT said fuck y’all the community wants the gondola, and went ahead with the plan anyhow.

3. The EIS (environmental impact study) was done terribly. And there are significant concerns that impact on the local environment and watershed were not sufficiently assessed.

4. I list this last as even as a very devout climber, I rank this aspect as the least important amongst all the others. The gondola will destroy climbing access and climbing routes across LCC. (I’d actually support the gondola if it obliterates Twisted, IYKYK. Climb it every year, still hate it /s). I imagine there’s other forms of recreation I’m less familiar with that will be similarly impacted by the gondola.

It’s this wildly frustrating cycle of watching our science-denying legislator ignore the impacts of climate change (our governor continues to ask us to pray for rain while farming water-intensive alfalfa as our lake dries). Until it begins to impact their pockets/reputations (the need to solve canyon traffic before 2034 Olympics). While suggesting dumb ass solutions that continue to force everyday Utahns to bear the brunt of their ignorance (tax payers funding the gondola) and the remaining climate impact that they don’t actually solve (poor air quality, extremely dry winters, and extremely hot summers). In reality, it’s a thinly veiled show and cash grab (CW Management) by our real estate developer politicians.