Global Warming and The Ski Industry

   

Source: www.static01.nyt.com

Global warming is not just another theory presented by scientists, it’s real.   Many of us have dismissed the idea  of climate change and global warming, but skiers and businesses have seen the effect of it in recent years.  Skiers have seen it on the slope and businesses such as ski resorts, hotels, restaurants, etc. have seen it in profits and number of customers during the season.  In an article that was published in 2015,  As Climate Change Imperils Winter, the Ski Industry Frets by  KATHERINE BAGLEY, she argues about how the skiing industry has been impacted by global warming/climate change because of the decrease in length of winter and how business have been affected by it.

    Well weather has been getting warmer, and our winters have been getting milder.  This could be due to the el Nino that was in 2015, or just global warming and the CO2 in the atmosphere that has significantly increased in recent years.  In the northeast area, mountains that were once covered in snow are not covered.  Out west, areas that previously had droughts are now covered in snow.  In the article it said that,  “Winter has become increasingly unpredictable in recent decades due to climate change, scientists and ski industry experts say”.  Ski resorts on the other hand, had to close trails due to insufficient snow.  For example “Killington Ski Resort in central Vermont has 24 of its 155 trails open. Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine has 19 of its 160 trails open. “ according to the article.  

    Global Warming isn’t just affecting the weather, it’s affecting the skiing industry as well.  With unpredictable winter weather, businesses and ski resorts had to rethink how they will continue to do business and how to adapt to this change.  Ski resorts could fight the insufficient snow level with snowmaking, but it’s expensive.  In the article it mentions that “Snowmaking can help some mountains overcome the inconsistency of winter, but it comes at a steep cost—an average $500,000 annually.”, and only the big ski resorts will be able to afford that.  This means that the smaller ski resorts have to figure out a way to survive, or will be forced to close, which can get devastating effects on the economy of those towns.  “‘The rate at which winter is warming has accelerated in recent decades,’ said Crouch. ‘Every indication in the data shows this long term warming trend is going to continue... For communities that completely revolve around the ski industry, even one or two seasons with below average snowfall can really harm local economies.’”  Global warming can and will harm some economies and towns, which will be devastating.  With more than a million square miles of spring snowpack lost in the past decade within the U.S.,  it cost resorts about 1 billion dollars of income lost.

Future Question: How does the skiing industry adapt to this and how are they addressing the issue?