Hopefully, by the time you read this, the strike up at Telluride Ski Resort is over, ski patrollers are again joyfully sliding down mountains and getting paid for it, and tourists are once again being overcharged for… well, everything.

But there are some lessons buried in this story of ski bums going all Norma Rae on Big Ski’s backside. Forget Big Pharma — Big Ski runs mountains. And that’s real power. How much power do you wield to run a friggin mountain?

Colorado has arguably the finest skiing on the planet. I say “arguably” because I haven’t skied in years — not since my children robbed me of my money, my free time and my functional knees. Back then, you didn’t have to sell plasma to buy a lift ticket. You could sneak up to Eldora for a half day for about 20 bucks and still afford gas.

Today? A one-day lift ticket at Telluride will set you back a casual $286. Holidays? Try $326. A beer costs 10 bucks. Overnight parking runs $40 to $50 — which is a bargain assuming you sleep in your car. A hotel or condo will be $500 a night, assuming you demand basic indoor plumbing.

The point is, Telluride isn’t just wildly expensive for the people who work there. It’s wildly expensive for the people who pay to keep the place afloat, customers. The town needs them too.

Now, I sympathize with ski patrollers wanting more money in an overpriced town. Who doesn’t want more money? That part’s human. But there’s a disconnect if you want the patrollers to get a huge 30% raise while you also complain about the cost of skiing.

Labor is the single biggest cost in any service industry, skiing included. You can’t have your moguls and eat them too.

What employees get paid is only a fraction of what employees’ cost. Employers also cover payroll taxes, workers’ comp, unemployment insurance, and in Colorado now, paid family leave. Considering ski patrollers spend their days flying downhill between trees at 40 miles-an-hour, I’d wager their workers’ comp premiums rival those of coal miners.

Then there’s the lifestyle factor.

Let’s talk about some lifestyle choices. Deadheads would live on grilled cheese sandwiches to follow around the Grateful Dead, get stoned and dance like an epileptic octopus. It’s a lifestyle choice with great meaning for them.

Harley riders have their odd lifestyle. I know of surfers who must live within running distance of the beach and will leave their wife in labor if the waves are good.

But nothing compares to the monastic life of a ski bum. Nature or nurture? I don’t know. You can force ski bums into conversion therapy, but they’ll just scream they were born this way. I think they have their own pride flag.

I celebrate them. Hell, I even support ski bum marriage despite what the Moral Majority says.

If you were raised in Colorado, you’ve known these people personally. Ski bums are wonderful. They are part of the magic of ski towns. The old Warren Miller films were basically anthropological documentaries about their subculture.

But “ski bum on strike” is an oxymoron. They’re already on strike; they opted out of normal life. That’s the point. Most eventually grow up, sadly get real jobs, and tell stories about the seasons they lived on ramen and chairlift coffee. They wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Big Ski should value them, and I think they do. They are the best ambassadors for the industry. Thus, the generous 13% raise offer. But the patrollers turned it down, demanding 20% to 30%. That’s crazy given another crop of ski bums will be ready to fill their ski boots. Damn that free market. It applies to ski bums too.

But why shut the whole town down over a strike from a small handful of people? Well, if Big Ski was ever to send a message they will stand up to union intimidation, now is the time to do it.

Our ridiculously dry winter has left almost no snow on their mountain; and the man-made stuff doesn’t cover much. People weren’t going skiing anyway — the perfect time to stare down the union.

If you enjoy skiing without raiding your kid’s college fund, hope Big Ski holds firm.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts “The Devil’s Advocate with Jon Caldara” on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.