Felicity Long
Politics aside, you probably won’t find a lot of climate change deniers at mountain resorts.
After all, it makes sense that people who make their living depending on the vagaries of Mother Nature would be sensitive to unsettling patterns of change in climate. On the other hand, resort owners often want to expand skiable terrain, often into pristine wilderness, upgrade snowmaking and add new accommodations, all of which use natural resources and, in turn, affect the environment, and in some cases, endanger wildlife.
Felicity Long
The yin and yang of these twin realities plays out fairly regularly at mountain resorts around the country, as owner/operators work with and sometimes clash with local conservation boards in the process.
Sometimes situations boil over, as in the case of the Blue Sky Basin expansion at Vail Ski Resort, which resulted in the 1998 arson of $12 million worth of facilities at Vail by a group of eco-terrorists. Blue Sky Basin went on to open in 2000, and the arsonists were eventually apprehended.
Less controversial so far is the buzz that Taos Ski Valley will pump $350 million in improvements into the four-season resort over the next decade. The calm reception to this news is probably due to the fact that the new billionaire owner, Louis Bacon, is an outspoken conservationist. Bacon purchased Taos in 2013 from the Blake family, which had owned the resort for generations, and while Taos is a class act, most would probably agree that it’s tired and could use some hefty capital improvements.
Of course, balancing sustainability and growth aren’t the only challenges mountain resorts face. Just managing their day-to-day operations can also present environmental challenges even to those committed to staying green. To that end the National Ski Area Association (NSAA) created a voluntary Climate Challenge program to help ski areas reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet their other conservation goals.
At Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR), for example, a founding member of the NSAA Climate Challenge, the resort exceeded its environmental goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions resort-wide by more than 10% this past season.
“These goals demonstrate that we are able to more efficiently use energy resources as our business continues to develop,” stated JHMR president Jerry Blann. “We are doing our part to mitigate the risks associated with climate change that affect ski resorts world-wide,” he said.
Whistler is also joining the conversation by adding a GO Green segment to this month’s Great Outdoors Fest, along with sports clinics, musical and artistic events.
“We want to bring people into nature to really engage in conversations about environmental issues,” said Tina Symko, environmental coordinator, Resort Municipality of Whistler. "It’s easier to connect with a concept when you can actually see how a glacier is receding, stand in the forest we want to protect or see the pools in the river where the salmon spawn. Everyone can do something to make a positive difference for our planet. We hope these environmental adventures will inspire positive action,” she said.
On the East Coast, Ski Vermont holds Green Mountain Awards in May every year to resorts that meet their environmental goals. Categories will include Greenest Overall Resort in Vermont for 2015, Most Improved since 2013-14 season and the Best Green Up Day initiative.