41.   But in an effort to strike back, other ski areas are doing some celestial thinking of their own.

42.   But in skiing scores alone, Lake Placid ranks as only average when compared to the lineup of ski areas just across the Champlain Valley in Vermont.

43.   But in the heart of the Catskills, the focus has been on a ski area.

44.   But Killington, by far the largest ski area in New England, will not cooperate, he says.

45.   But now tubing is taking off at downhill ski areas.

46.   But no, the folks at Eastover graciously offered us transportation to the nearby Bousquet ski area in Pittsfield, which has snowmaking equipment.

47.   But several ski areas in New York never opened this year, and many others will end their seasons in the next two weeks.

48.   But ski areas large and small will endure.

49.   But the great snow winter is both good and bad for established ski areas.

50.   But the end of the long, often bitter battle between the ski area and the Park Service is nothing but good news for a most deserving mountain.