A proposal to build a luxury hotel a mile from the summit of New Hampshire's Mount Washington has environmentalists and hiking groups complaining it would damage the fragile alpine ecology and destroy scenic views.
The 25,000-square-foot hotel is being proposed by the owners of an historic cog railway that climbs up Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeastern U.S.
Located at an elevation of 5,600 feet on land abutting the railway, the 35-room hotel would be open from late April through November. It could be ready by July 3, 2019, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
Since the proposal was announced in December, opposition has grown steadily, with one petition against it gathering more than 8,000 signatures.
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