When I go here http://www.killington.com/winter/the_mountain/maps/interactive_trail_map/index.html and click on the interactive trail map, which uses Macromedia Flash, my computer’s CPU skyrockets to 60-65%. I’m using Chrome, but Firefox behaves in the same way. Why? This looks like a pretty simple task. Also, when this happens, I can hear a very loud “whirring” from my computer what is this sound? Something similar happens sometimes when I play streaming video.
My computer reacts like this too. Not the processor but the whirring. The loud whirring is the fan ramping up to cool off the processor.
I would suspect that your video card and processor are sharing a load, so that’s why video is so processor-intense for you.
It only does this when you choose to see the open lifts. Something in the script that runs the animation is taxing the CPU. Almost certainly a fault with the platform (Flash issue) or very sloppy/inefficient code maybe?
I would say sloppy/inefficient code. It is pretty neat though.
If this is the case, is there anything I can do fix it?
Short of having either the application (the trail map) or Shockwave rewritten, no.
If it’s the sound bothering you then you might be able to get a chassis with better insulation.
Are you asking if you can stop the fan from whirring so much when the processor ramps up? No - it’s not a bug it’s a feature 
I was referring to the possibility that the video card and processor may be sharing a load. Can this be altered? Does this question even make any sense?
I don’t see how the video card would be doing much of anything on that particular app. Maybe when streaming video, it’s possible your video card is working a bit harder to render it.
What are your system specs?
2 GB DDR2
150 GB avail memory
Athlon 64 X2 processor