During our last class we were discussing the impact of tourism on the Adirondack Park and used the castle, built from the granite excavated during road construction, on top of Whiteface as a prime example. I looked into it further and found this website:
http://www.whiteface.com/activities/memorial-highway . I was surprised and bit saddened to see that there is also a restaurant as well as a gift shop on top of the peak. I do recognize that at this point in time tourism is one of the most consistent aspects of the Adirondack's economy but these installations seemed a bit absurd. I have personally never climbed Whiteface so I decided to search online to see the view as compared to a relatively unpopular member of the 46 peaks, Marshall. As you can see in the photos below the heavily wooden summit of Marshall pales in comparison to the breath taking expanse visible from Whiteface. There are other differences between the two peaks, one being a large distance between Marshall and any maintained roads. But in my opinion it is undeniable that the view from Whiteface has cost it some of its natural beauty. It is clearly a view that people value and would be willing to pay to see. Interestingly enough, I will be leading a 46 peaks trip to Marshall this upcoming weekend but was originally supposed to lead a trip to Whiteface. The switch didn't bother me despite the view because I was looking for an adventure in the Adirondacks with some friends for a night or so. I feel that regardless of where you are in the park you can find beauty in the environment but unfortunately for Whiteface the apparent beauty of its vista has turned the mountain into a commodity of sorts. When I hopefully reach the summit of Marshall this weekend I will not be disappointed by the lack of a "view" because the value of reaching the end of a journey often comes from the travels that take you there and back again. I feel that those tourists, who have driven to the top of Whiteface, may not fully appreciate or recognize that fact due to the convenience of such a "beautiful" view. That being said the perception of beauty in nature and attempting to place a value on that beauty are definitely topics I would love to discuss going forward.
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| The Castle on top of Whiteface Mountain |
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| Marker at the top of Mount Marshall |
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| View from Whiteface Mountain |
The argument of what exactly ruins a view is one that is not unique to the Adirondack park. Many, including you and myself, agree that tourist shops do a great job of spoiling a view, but sometimes there is a fine line between what does and what doesn't accomplish that. For example, it reminds me of the controversy over windmills being installed in various parts of the world. Those who lived there complained of noise and the machines being aesthetically displeasing. Is it worth breaking up a view for alternative energy?
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