The voices protesting Snodgrass aren't as loud as they were back during the Carter administration. According to the Forest Service, reactions to the expansion proposal are split pretty evenly today. And a spring 2008 survey conducted by the Crested Butte/Mount Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce showed that 60 percent of 135 businesses supported the expansion.

Michael Kraatz, vice president of planning and development at CBMR, says the resort's job now is to "convince (opponents) that we have a project whose positives outweigh the negatives. "Does the economy help us? Yeah, maybe a little bit. Since mining left, the economy relies on tourism, and the ski resort plays a big role in bringing people into this area. To the extent that the resort is doing well, that has an impact."

Yet, as far as the Friends of Snodgrass are concerned, little has changed. Cunningham says people will continue to come to Crested Butte for the same reasons she did 34 years ago: the area's unique, alluring landscape. If they stay, she says, it won't be for the real estate. It will be for the people.

"I love my community so much, and I love my backyard," says Cunningham. "But I don't buy into the fear factor thing. People will come to Crested Butte just like they always have. Go ahead and develop the land at the base of Snodgrass. But, for once and for all, leave Snodgrass alone."