Gay Ski Week stirs dispute in Telluride

Rocky Mountain News ^ | January 13, 2005 | Joanne Kelley

[presidio9]

Telluride's Mountain Village will host Gay Ski Week next month, an event that has stirred debate among residents of the posh ski -resort and the funky Victorian town a few miles away.

In a community that prides itself on diversity, a controversy erupted last month when a resident of Mountain Village wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, questioning why the ski village would promote the gay ski event, which takes place Feb. 26 to March 6.

The letter struck a nerve in the community.

"It was definitely vociferous. It's to be expected," said Suzanne Cheavens, editor of the Telluride Daily Planet. "We're a progressive, liberal sort of place."

Many residents, and even former residents, wrote to voice their support for the village's sponsorship of the ski week, which coincides with the Telluride AIDS Benefit.

"This community is so accepting of absolutely anything," said Ron Gilmer, a letter writer and AIDS activist who spoke by phone Wednesday from Telluride, where he has lived for 13 years.

After the flurry of letters was published, a Web site that publishes an online guide to Telluride, posted a warning to alert families considering a ski vacation about the Gay Ski Week event.

"We weren't trying to be judgmental. The issue isn't having a gay ski week," said Al Heirich, a longtime local resident who operates the site. "Anybody has a right to informatively let folks know what's going to be going on in a small town."

Heirich says he posted the alert after visitors to his site had inquired about the controversy they had seen on the local paper's Web site.

Now he's in a dispute with the ski area.

Telluride ski resort has asked the site to remove links to its Web site. Heirich says he has done so.

"It was unauthorized, and we felt he really didn't represent Telluride or the Telluride ski resort," said Maryhelyn Kirwan, ski resort spokeswoman.

Kirwan said the ski resort expects to host a variety of groups throughout the season, including many Christian and religious groups, college groups and youth groups.

Mountain Village spokeswoman Kerri Cardin said the resort's first gay-oriented ski week in 2004 attracted about 250-300 people, although the village was not a sponsor that year.

Aspen is among the ski resorts hosting gay ski weeks. This year's event runs Sunday to Jan. 23.

[PLK]

Well, you could substitute almost any group into your statement. Christians. Moslems. Disabled persons. Whatever. Such statements are flawed on their face, whether you like or dislike any group.

Maybe you have a point. However, group identification based on what happens behind closed doors is still a really weird thing. A "lifestyle" based on sex is pretty twisted and sad.

[so_real]

Here's the original posting by the woman in Telluride in the Daily Planet: Moral Crisis

She showed some real American spine speaking out in that town the way she did. Feel free to tell her so at the email address included in her post. The posts following hers amount to a verbal thrashing from the other side; I'm sure she feels a little beat-down at the moment.

[MineralMan]

Well, there are several different denominations of churches there. I guess that's diversity:

Churches in Telluride, Colorado


Alpine Chapel, Pastor "Tree" Cooper
Worship at High School 10am Sundays 970-728-3504
Mountain Top (near gondola) Sundays, 12:30pm
June thru Sept. & Dec thru March
www.telluridealpinechapel.com
Nursery during services, Bible Study, Children's Church
Youth Lunches, Mens Fellowship Breakfast, Young Life
Moms in Touch Prayer Lunch


Christ Presbyterian, Rev. Chuck Robison
434 West Columbia
Worship at 10am on Sunday Mornings
970-728-4536



St. Patrick Catholic Church, Rev. Michael Doehrman
301 North Spruce 970-728-3387
Winter is: 5:00pm Sat 9:00am Sunday 5:00pm Sunday
Summer is: 9:00pm Sunday 5:00pm Sunday



Telluride Christian Fellowship, Pastor Chuck Parry
100 East Columbia 970-728-4864
Sunday Worship 10:15am, Wed. Bible Study 7pm

[MiniCooperChick]

Disney also sponsors several "Night(s) of Joy" which feature Christian music groups. They are separately ticketed but many church groups and Christians attend.

I'm with Mineral Man, I don't particularly care if a ski resort, amusment park, etc...wants to sponsor Gay Days, just let people know so that if they don't want to be there at the time, they don't have to. The outrage directed against the guy who posted it on his site is what is alarming. It appears that the liberals in Telluride want to expose as many unsuspecting people to the gay lifestyle as they can. Sorry but that's just wrong.

[r9etb]

I don't suppose there will be gay sex on the slopes

I wouldn't bet on that, actually. Public sex is apparently one of the things that happens a lot at "Gay events".

[MineralMan]

"NAAWP - Nat'l Assoc. for the Advancement of White People

you'll never see it."

Try:

http://www.naawp.com

[Rebelbase]

Telluride is going downhill.

[Rebelbase]

Telluride is going downhill.

[Rebelbase]

weird.

[conserv13]

The one I saw an advertisement for was for gay women's rugby. Probably tougher than straight mens! Imagine the party afterwards...better yet, don't.

[elli1]

...

I never hung out in bars when I was skiing anyhow.

If Telluride is like other ski towns, most bars are restaurants and most restaurants are bars. If I'm planning a family vacation, I'd consider knowing that a gay event is on tap to be in the vein of a public service announcement. Doesn't necessarily me that I'd change my travel plans but that I would appreciate having 'fair warning', so to speak. Likewise if AARP is going to descend in mass at a site I'm planning to visit. Some of those old folks are unbelievably pushy in line. Three widows with linked arms could face down a Sherman tank. ;-)

[BluH2o]

I first visited Telluride back in the early '70's. Should have bought every ramshackle property in town I could get my hands on ... they were selling $12 to $16 thousand range back then. Today these properties are all in the $800 thousand to $1.5 million range, some even more. Timing is everything ... get there before it's 'discovered'.

[tahoeblue]

The same issue has come up in South Lake Tahoe as Heavenly Ski Resort is also sponsoring a "Gay Week".

It isn't an issue with me that the town is marketing to the gay community, but what is a big concern is the types of activities being sponsored. For instance, at Heavenly, they will be having things like "drag races" and the "blue ball ball". The area where these are to take place coincides with the primary base area of the resort, and the children's ski school. Because of that I do think it appropriate for individuals to express displeasure at having this lifestyle paraded in front of them and their kids, and to post warnings to others about the suitability of the resort for family activity.

Many locals have their kids enrolled in an all winter ski program - about 1000 kids in all. The enrollment period featured that benefits of Heavenly - the family friendly resort. Now that they have our money it seems to be safe to go after others - even it is conflicts with the original marketing. Day passes cost about $65 at Heavenly. I hope they stack that up against the half dozen season passes that I bought and the several thousand dollars invested in the ski program and weight which they would rather loose.

So, before you head to the beautiful resort of Heavenly this winter - where we just received about 20 feet of snow - be sure to check the activities scheduled if you don't want to enter the drag races or attend the ball.

-tb

[so_real]

I really should BUMP everyone to the Daily Planet posting that started it all. See post #42.

[aShepard]

.....Do gays ski differently than straight people?



....

Yeah! They gotta bend over a bit more when carving turns:

Don't want to hurt "Brownie" the gerbil!

[presidio9]

But not me, so its a lame argument on your part. Additionally, Disney markets itself as a family entertainment product, so a youth Christian night would make some sense, while a gay day (presumably for addult homosexuals) makes none. However, that's beside the point because Disney does not in fact HAVE a gay day. Gays take it upon themselves to descend en mass.

[Rebelbase]

The concerned townfolk could send a "you're not welcome" message by buying up every tube of lubricant and jar of vasoline in telluride the day the event started.

That would make for a rough time in the gay skier crowd.

[jcb8199]

When will someone have the backbone to have a "Straight Pride" week? The argument can be made that "straights" can have that every week of the year, but it has never had that nomenclature--plus, gays can go skiing any time they want, too. No one cares.

[presidio9]

From a marketing point of view, Christians, as a group, are not distinct enough to be targetted. How do you put together a marketing plan that will attract both evangelicals and Catholics, for example?

Because you and I both know the truth, but you don't want to admit it so you waste both of our time nitpicking, I'll make it easy on you: There are approximately 100 times as many Catholics in this country as there are homosexuals. Why no CATHOLIC week?

[Hildy]

"This community is so accepting of absolutely anything," said Ron Gilmer, a letter writer and AIDS activist who spoke by phone Wednesday from Telluride, where he has lived for 13 years.

Maybe some Fundamentalist Christian group would like to have their next convention there. I'd like to see the reaction then.