Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) has lodged a planning application to repair the beleaguered funicular railway.
The funicular has been out of service since September 2018 after being closed due to structural issues.
HIE, owner of Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, says it will cost in the region of £10m to repair, whereas it would cost some £13m to demolish.
But campaigners Save the Ciste say throwing £10 million at repairs will not solve the resort’s problems, with skiers disappearing steadily since the closure of two chair lifts and three surface lifts between 2002 and 2007, after the funicular opened.
Two cafes were also closed in 2002, and in 2008 the business had to be taken into public ownership by HIE.
Save the Ciste spokesman Alan Brattey said: “Fundamentally, the funicular has failed commercially and is not the economy driver that HIE believes it to be.
“We have surveyed 40 local businesses, something HIE has not done, and found that the closure of the funicular has negatively affected a minority of businesses in spring, summer and autumn, with 23 business reporting a negative impact in winter, and 17 saying it hadn’t impacted their business at all.”
Mr Brattey said repairing the funicular would do nothing to turn around the centre’s fortunes but end up “kicking the can down the road”.
He said: “They will spend £10m repairing it, but another £10m will be needed for another chairlift which I suspect might appear in the master plan, and there is no other £10m.
“What would be far better would be to install a gondola system, at possibly £12m, that has worked so well in Nevis Range.
“How it can cost £13m to demolish beats me. I could find dozens of people with sledge hammers round here happy to do it for nothing.”
Works requiring consent are excavation around pier bases and foundations, application of concrete and installation of supporting props to affected piers.
Carroll Buxton, interim chief executive at HIE, said preparation of the application had been a very complex process, requiring detailed design and methodology considerations before environmental impact could be assessed.
She said: “We have always said we are keen to restore the funicular to normal operations, subject to approval of the final businesses case and availability of funding.
“However, we need to have all necessary consents in place before any works can begin, which is why we have applied for planning consent now.
“The next stage is putting the works out to tender to get accurate costs and timescale, and this information will inform the full business case.”
Work on the funicular structure which doesn’t require planning consent includes strengthening of beams and replacement of sliding bearings.
