EPISODE 1, SCENE 5 Jordan Thorne, real estate developer extraordinaire, was at that moment miles away from the crash site, addressing a meeting of the Telluride Town Council. He was here to make public the commencement of his dream project. "This morning", Jordan announced, "the Forest Service cleared final permits to allow construction on Clifftop to go forward. I plan to start immediately." What was good news for him was greeted by hostile stares from many of the Council members, especially longtime local Ethan Rice. But Jordan expected that. The Clifftop Hotel, to be located at the top of the Coonskin chairlift, had been controversial from day one. The treehuggers in town were appalled by the vision of a two hundred room hotel defacing the natural beauty of their mountain. "Clifftop will create jobs for locals", Jordan continued. "It has been designed to blend in with the mountain environment. It won't become the eyesore feared by some of the people in this room. I've been in Telluride since 1978, and I'm just as dedicated to the integrity and preservation of this community as you are". Ethan grumbled from across the table. "I've been here as long as you have, Thorne, and I've heard that line of bullshit from you developers over and over again, and I see where it's gotten us - looking more like Aspen every day." Jordan shrugged. He knew he wasn't going to sway Ethan, but he didn't need to. The Forest Service had given the okay, and Clifftop was about to become a reality. Besides, he liked Aspen.