Powder Burn by Daniel Glick recounts the story of an arson at the Vail Ski Resort of Colorado and its impact, fallout, and effects on the community. The arson occurred in 1998 on the eve of a disputed expansion into terrain possibly containing a nearly endangered species of lynx. Glick writes in a “whodunit” style but the title takes off as the story sidetracks into unexpected directions. Vail Associates pissed off the entire community of residents dependent on the mountain for their livelihoods. Meanwhile, the culture of multi-millionaire second and third home jet setters sparks interesting research into the causes, effects, and ramifications of an über rich upper class culture taking over a working class ski bum town.

Daniel Glick probes all the possible suspects and gradually drives the book towards the conclusion that the as then unsolved crime was like perpetrated by pissed off locals with an ax to grind. Whereas I originally was hoping for a rich expose on eco-terrorism, Glick continues to drive the book away from that conclusion. Interestingly enough; however, four members of prime suspect number one, the “Earth Liberation Front,” were just recently convicted of doing millions of dollars in damage, including the Vail Arson. So much for concluding that the obvious and most likely candidate (that originally claimed responsibility via anonymous email within a week of the incident) was probably not at fault! Thankfully, the Author’s irresponsible conclusion and misreading of the mystery do not take away from the interesting story and its implications.

Powder Burn is written with lucid and lyrical prose with long run on sentences of great hyperbole and exaggeration. It is a written at the comprehension level of a town newspaper and reads like a newspaper reporters wet dream of a big break full of quotes that surely boarder on poor recollection at best and fiction at worst. With wide letter spacing, ultra short sprinting style chapters, and lots of wasted paper between selections and chapters, Powder Burn was a quick read. With judicious editing and less redundancy, the book could have been half as long. Powder Burn’s strong point surprisingly had nothing to do with the Arson or Vail Ski Resort nor the Vail Community or environmental issues, but rather the effects of what a mega posh and exclusive resort does to a resort community. The descriptions of slope side multi-million dollar condos owned by absentee owners from the coasts were stunning. A clear separation can surely be made between the rich and the needlessly rich. This title is best read in conjunction with Hal Clifford’s much better and more on point Downhill Slide.