Flares in protest against the Trump administration broke out last weekend in the most unexpected place: reporting snow.
The setting was the peak of powder packing at Sugar Bush Ski Resort in Green Mountain, Vermont. There, Vice President JD Vance retreated on Saturday skiing with his family. A lengthy post appeared on Sugarbush's website before Vance arrived.
After all, it was like a report of the current situation in our country, as resort “snow reporter” Lucy Welch realises.
“National forest lands and national parks are now being directly attacked by the current administration,” Welch wrote after celebrating the natural beauty of the place. “This administration has also neglected to deal with the dangers of climate change, or the greatest threat to the existence, and the future of the industry, and the skiing that we all enjoy here so much.”
Welch, 25, praised the diversity of people, including veterans, immigrants and members of the LBGTQ community, noting that staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been cut with “the resources they use every day to report snow.”
“All of these groups have been targeted, underrated and neglected by the current administration,” she wrote, adding, “We live in a truly scary and serious time.”
Finally, she suggested that she might lose her job to post her opinions, but she felt it was worth it.
“This whole Spier probably won't change much. I can only assume that I'll be fired,” she wrote.
The post, which was published at 6:49am and also provided a full summary of new snow, open trails and Gusty-like styles, was removed later that day. However, as President Trump's opponents are sometimes known, many cast Welch could cast as brave and brave members of resistance, so it was almost immediately shared online online. The “I Love Lucy” t-shirt was chuckled as she was shown to stand in the style of Tiananmen Square, a giant snowy slope groomer, as she portrayed on social media.
Others have posted messages such as “I Ski with Lucy Welch,” but author and climate activist Bill McKibben is called Welch.
“If a 25-year-old can speak her work in a polite and polite way, and if she can tell the truth to power, the rest of us will understand what we need to do as well,” McKibben wrote in The Sassar Post, which compares her to Ethan Allen, a revolutionary war rebel. “We need more people to play against King Donald. I'll chase Lucy Welch with the heartbeat.”
Vance's trip to Vermont, one of the most liberal states in the country, attracted a crowd of protesters on Saturday. The protesters lined up local roads, protested around Sugarbush, held signs calling Vance a traitor, and proposed “skiing in Russia.” Mr Vance's ski skills and potential outfits were also chuckled by some locals. (“Vance Ski in Jeans,” read one sign and highlights the main ski fake path, but we were unable to confirm Mr. Vance's use of jeans.)
Even before the Vice President arrived, Sugarbush officials tried to prepare staff for “famous guests” – they didn't name Mr Vance – and pointed out that his choice of slopes did not necessarily represent support. “In our view, everyone should feel that it is included in the celebration of the outdoors and the joy it offers,” the memo reads.
And despite Welch's fear that her snow report could lead to her shooting, Sugarbush spokesman John Bulle said Wednesday that she “continues to be a member of the team,” but he confirmed that her post was removed after it went up “a bit.”
“We respect the voices and opinions of all our employees,” Bulle said. “However, we decided that reporting snow was not an appropriate medium.”
On his part, Vance said in a post on X Tuesday that he and his family had a “great time” in Vermont and that “the protesters barely realized.”
“Almost everyone we met was kind and generous,” he added that after chitting online commenters as ridiculous, he challenged a New York Post report, he had to move to a “private location” due to security concerns.
Welch could not be reached for comment, but in a biography posted on the Sugar Blog, she described herself as a recent graduate of the University of Vermont. “When I'm on the hill, I'm the happiest and most vibrant self,” she wrote.
She said her job as a snow reporter consists of “waking up at 4:30am four days a week, waking up and seeing snow, thinking about snow, talking about snow, writing about snow, and of course skiing in the snow.”
Of course, on Saturday, her writing interests changed to more political terrain.
“So for our future shredders,” she concluded.
