The Forest Service review is the result of the latest gray area: lap maps. Installed on chairlift safety bars at recently opened Aspen, the Map Link trail guides, free for resorts, are accompanied by ads for Amstel, Tylenol, Altoids and other companies. Aspen’s clientele–among the wealthiest in the country–are just who marketers want to reach. But the mountain’s also an environmental leader in the industry. Aspen officials say that the maps mean less litter–and they don’t mar the landscape. If the Forest Service agrees, other resorts, like Telluride, may install them. Jim Stark, the Forest Service’s winter-sports administrator for Aspen, says: “Our fear is to open the floodgates for commercial advertising.”
