Spring skiing is beautiful, with the exception of dodging rocks, avoiding stumps, and trudging through the muddy melted slop at the bottom of the run. What the skiing industry fears most is spring skiing all winter long due to global warming. So what are they doing about it?
I started skiing when I was five at a little area called Stevens Pass, 90 minutes east of Seattle in the Cascades. Now, living in Phoenix, my home slope is eight hours away in Telluride. I was curious what ski resorts are doing about global warming.
The Aspen Skiing Company appears to have the most aggressive sustainability initiative in the industry, which they began in 1999.
You got to appreciate the honesty in their report. Although ASC has a worldwide reputation for being “green,” its president and CEO, Mike Kaplan, freely shares the skico’s disappointment with their progress.
“…if you look at the only metric that matters – our carbon footprint – we’re not moving as fast as we’d like, or as the planet needs us to. In our case, our carbon footprint is only creeping downward.”
ASC reports that it produced 28,321 tons of carbon emissions in 2006 and 27,847 tons the following year for a tiny reduction of 1.6 percent. I still wish these sustainability reports would do a better job of quantifying what 28,321 tons of carbon emissions really means in the grand scope of things. Yet, I love their tenacity.
“You might think this information is discouraging to us, but you would be wrong. We are fundamentally skiers, and the greater the challenge, the more likely we are to go for it.”
ASC has two broad goals related to climate change. The first is to reduce its energy consumption by 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2012, and 25 percent below the baseline by 2020. The second goal is to offset the carbon emissions from its remaining energy consumption through “legitimate” steps such as using alternative energy exclusively. ASC is exploring placement of three wind turbines at the top of Snowmass Ski Area’s Big Burn. They could provide three-fourths of ASC’s current energy consumption. In addition, the company is studying if it can add micro-hydroelectric projects. One project is already producing power at Snowmass. They may actually end up with more power than they need, which could always be directed toward the resort community.
One of the charming elements in their sustainability report are the snafu sections, where they demonstrate in a very human way that the company isn’t perfect, but at least they’re trying.
Overall, a well produced report that reflects the company’s commitment to reducing their impact. Check out the Aspen Skiing Company’s sustainable report.
Created by Braziilian artist Nele Azevedo, who originally conjured up the active exhibit as a critical view of official historical monuments, the “Melting Men” attraction has been adopted by environmentalists and staged around the world as climate change art.
