Warm Winters Are Breaking the Ski Industry — and Artificial Snow Isn’t Enough
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Skift Take
The ski industry is racing to fight the impacts of climate change mainly with snowmaking. But the irony is hard to ignore: the very systems keeping many slopes open also burn energy and emit greenhouse gases.
Aspen One, among the few U.S. ski companies with resorts that opened on time this winter, says snowmaking and glacier covers are only temporary defenses against years of record low snowfall.
The real challenge, the company argues, is the climate crisis itself.
Rapid global warming and higher temperatures are eroding the foundations of winter tourism, shortening ski seasons, reducing snow and making it less predictable.
"Snowmaking isn’t the core issue; the energy being used is," said Chris Miller, senior vice president of sustainability at Aspen One. "We’re focused on tackling the root causes of climate change, not just adapting within resort boundaries."
https://youtube.com/shorts/Vmzz-i0IoU4?feature=shareAspen One has invested heavily in electrification and local clean energy partnerships. Its latest property, Limelight Mammoth in the Mammoth mountain ski area in California, is a fully electric hotel. Heat pumps warm the bui
