Tim Sprinkle

Slippery Slopes: Climate change threatens region’s ski areas

AMC Outdoors magazine
March 2004

Over the past 50 years, the ski slopes of northern New England and New York have been transformed from well-kept secrets to some of the most popular recreation destinations in the nation. Downhill skiers and snowboarders now bring an estimated $2.5 billion a year into the Northeast economy and employ 50,000 people, according to state snow sports associations.

But how would the ski industry fare if weather in the Northeast started to resemble that of Virginia? That's the forecast, according to a December 2003 report on global climate change published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). After studying a century's worth of trends and forecasts, the UNEP concluded that temperatures could rise as much as six degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. The University of Zurich-led study, entitled "Climate Change and Winter Sports: Environmental and Economic Threats," suggests that, within the next century, snow sports in low-lying areas-those at elevations less than 4,300 feet above sea level, like much of the eastern United States-will all but disappear, as winters melt away and snowfall grows fitful at best.

"It's certainly something we've got our eye on, even if it is still a little down the road," says Geraldine Link with the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), a group that represents 326 alpine resorts nationwide. "The good news is that, in many ways, US resorts have already adapted to climate change." She points to new snowmaking technologies, off-season activities, and low-snow options like snow tubing as examples of the industry's response. But it will be the skiers themselves, she says, that will ultimately be the difference.

"Our users tend to be opinion leaders, they're educated, and they often think of themselves as environmentalists; the kind of people who would be receptive to messages about global warming and be willing to take action. (See ConservationWorks, p. XX, for suggestions.) Although the report is the most recent to link winter sports to global climate change, the warming trend is not news, regional climate scientists say. "This is something we've been watching for a long time," says Dr. Barry Rock, associate professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire, "I'd like very much to be wrong about it, but the scientific evidence right now is too conclusive." In the realm of outdoor recreation, Rock predicts longer fall and spring seasons for hiking and biking, as in the Mid-Atlantic states today, and a shift away from snow-intensive sports like skiing and snowshoeing. Without current levels of snowmelt, he adds, waterways would shrink, and water sports along with them.

But despite the evidence, some are still unconvinced; a fact that two consecutive years of heavy snowfall have done little to change. "I don't think the weather patterns we've been seeing around here really point to global warming," says Bill Swaim, spokesperson for Sugarloaf resort in western Maine, an area that averages 20 feet of snow per year. "I've heard both sides: reports like this and meteorologists saying that the science on global warming might not be all there. We honestly just don't know yet."

The American Skiing Company, which operates six resorts in the region including Sugarloaf, agrees with the "wait and see" approach. "Clearly, we're interested in anything that impacts our business in a negative way," says spokesperson Erik Preusse, "but we haven't yet seen anything to lead our thinking one way or the other."

For scientists with the UNEP, however, the results are clear: our planet is getting warmer, and mountain areas will be the first to see the impact. In order to weather these changes, they say, winter sports operators need to find alternatives to ski tourism, develop higher altitude terrain, and focus on improved snowmaking; the only wrong course is "business as usual." The report is available from the UNEP on their web site, unep.org.