If Poltergeist taught us anything, it's that you shouldn't build a house on a Native American burial ground. Obviously the owners of Flagstaff's Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort have never seen that movie because they're literally about to shit all over one, by expanding onto 74 acres of sacred land in the San Francisco Peaks and manufacturing 100 percent of its snow from sewage.


If you plan on skiing at the Snowbowl this season, there are two things you should know. First, its snow is going to be made entirely from repurposed poop. Second, it's got more bad karma than it does black diamonds. Thirteen Native American tribes fought against these plans for more than a decade, but in February, the resort got approval from a federal appeals court to make snow from poop and cut down acres upon acres of trees. In all fairness, the U.S. Forest Service says the crap water is just fine, grading its quality just below that of drinking water. If you thought yellow snow was bad...

The Native Americans who still pray and hold ceremonies on the mountains feel that not only is the resort disrespecting their traditions, but also harming the environment and polluting aquifers. Meanwhile, groups like the Forest Service, the Flagstaff Utilities Department, and the Chamber of Commerce are all talking at once, assuring the Native Americans that it's all fine and nothing could ever go wrong. Sounds like a familiar plot. Navajo ghosts, feel free to intervene at any time. [New York Times]


Image credit: Kate Thompson/National Geographic