Everest Schipper '24
Skiing, one of the most beloved and popular sports in the world, is being threatened by current events. Skiing has gained 400 million global participants, with 59 million people skiing in the US alone. The sport has become knit into the inner workings of the winter season and has grown to a 20 billion dollar industry. Despite its sheer enormity today, skiing didn't become popular overnight. The sport has been developing since 6000 BCE in Russia, where the earliest examples of the sport were discovered by archeologists from remnants of a pair of skis. Skis then were used as a means of transportation similar to snowshoes. They served this intended purpose up until 1760 when the first ski competition was held in Oslo by the Norwegian government. The skiing in these competitions was cross-country oriented with very little downhill. Competitions similar to these were held up until 1924 when cross country skiing was introduced in the first winter Olympics. However, growing alongside cross country skiing from the 1880s on was downhill skiing, which started gaining popularity because it was thought of as being more fun. The first Olympic games did not include downhill skiing, but as the sport developed further it was added to the 1936 Olympics. After downhill skiing was added to the Olympic games technological advancements were made in the sport, such as the first chair lift being installed in Sun Valley Idaho in 1936, metal skis in the 1950s, and plastic boots in the 1960s. Through more improvements, skiing has continued to grow to this aforementioned 20 billion dollar figure in 2022. However, due to outside forces such as a pandemic, wildfires, and climate change the industry may be forced to change.
The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected the ski industry because of the loss of customers and revenue. Going into the 2019/2020 ski season, the NSAA (National Ski Area Association) predicted that it was going to be the best ski season in history. However, in March of 2020 ski resorts shut down as the pandemic started to show its head. This shutdown caused the 2019/2020 ski season to underperform the previous season by almost 14%. The NSAA found that resorts were open for an average of 99 days as compared to 121 days in the previous season which caused this drastic fall. Vail Resorts, which owns 40 resorts across the world and has 7,100 employees, reported a 47.8% decline in income for the third quarter of their fiscal year (February-March). Alterra, which owns 15 ski resorts, did not even release data about skiers or revenue to the public. As the 2019/2020 season drew to a close, 2 billion dollars were lost and there was a lot left unknown for the future. The NSAA predicted that the 2020/2021 ski season would result in a 5 billion dollar loss. The NSAA hasn’t released official data for the 2020/2021 season, but the industry was actually up compared to the 2019/2020 season, with the season ranked the 5th best season in history. Many ski resorts were able to operate at close to full capacity with minor modifications such as no singles line, limited capacity on chair lifts and gondolas, and no/limited indoor dining. Even though Forbes magazine called the rebound modest, it still left people with a bright outlook for the 2021/2022 season. Much of this season is still yet to come, but the beginning has underperformed due to another surge of Covid. The resorts have been affected and are struggling to recover; if the resorts continue to struggle, they may not be able to reinvest into the infrastructure and operation of the mountain, leaving lasting effects on the entire ski industry.
Secondly, all across the world wildfires have been ripping through with no discretion as to what is getting burned, greatly harming the skin industry. Starting in early 2020, the Australian Bush Fires raged through the country burning 46 million acres of forests, towns, and countless other ecosystems. Some of the ecosystems that were destroyed were ski resorts; Selwyn Snowfields, Perisher, and Mt Hotham are all resorts that were severely affected by the fires, and countless others faced similar fates. Closer to home we have seen massive fires threaten ski resorts in the Tahoe area. Sierra-at-Tahoe was burned by the Caldor fire, and the resort has not been able to open completely this year. This will have lasting effects because the resort will lose some of its income, and it will have to pay for the damages done to the mountain. The surrounding area was also severely damaged with countless homes burning leaving limited lodging in the surrounding area. Kirkwood Mountain, a large resort close to Sierra-at-Tahoe was threatened by the Caldor fire but was saved by changing winds and Firefighters. At Heavenly resort just minutes from South Lake Tahoe firefighters established bases to fight the Caldor Fire. The resorts utilized the snow canyons to spray water at the encroaching flames. Heavenly was saved but may be attacked again. Moving to Colorado we have seen both Larimer County and Eagle County, home to some of the most popular ski resorts in the world, burned through by wildfires. The Kruger fire in Larimer county forced evacuations and burned homes. In addition to the Sylvan fire threatening key power infrastructure. Another fire labeled the Marshall fire is the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The fire did over 500 million dollars in damage and burned more than one-thousand homes. This fire burned close to Boulder Colorado, one of the main towns that people commute to ski resorts from. Wildfires have burned countless ski resorts and surrounding areas, and they will continue to do so if the climate continues to change.
Climate change is a pressing issue that is threatening ski resorts as snowfall and the length of ski seasons seem to be ever decreasing. Daniel Scott, a climate professor, found that the average length of the ski season is Shrinking for the first time in history, and by 2050 “ New England can expect a season that’s 13 to 22 percent shorter than average”. In Alpine, Ecosystems spring is coming two to five days earlier each decade. This plays into why Denver broke records when snow didn’t fall until Dec. 10, going 232 straight days with no snow. Snowfall and cold temperatures are crucial to the ski industry. Many ski resorts rely on snowfall to open the entire mountain, and even if snow doesn’t fall, cold temperatures are required to make snow. With a lack of snow comes overcrowding, lack of interest in the sport, loss of income, and closing of resorts. We saw that the five winters with the least snow between 2001 and 2016 lost an estimated $1 billion and more than 17,000 jobs. The ski resorts that are at lower elevations and already have sub-par snowfall are the resorts that are going to be affected first, and some have already shut down. Willamette Pass, Hoodoo Ski Area, and Timberline Resort all have had to close because there was more rainfall than snowfall. However, other resorts are being affected as well such as resorts that sit on melting glaciers. Abondance and Chacaltaya fell victim to the melting glaciers and were forced to close. Many ski resorts are turning to clean energy and are doing their part to help stop climate change. Some examples of this are the NSAA created guidance and initiatives to help ski areas become more sustainable which has reduced emission by 100,000 metric tons. Palisades Tahoe has eliminated single-use plastics. Banff in Canada has found a way to trap snow using 82,000 feet of fencing. However, this is more symbolic than anything else because the real change needs to come from legislation and larger companies. In 2012, 80 to 100 ski resorts sent letters to Congress supporting clean-energy legislation. Countless people are fighting to protect our environment which will help our ski resorts
If climate change keeps marching forward and making these irreversible steps, skiing as we know it will fundamentally change. As someone who has grown up skiing with my family, it has become interwoven into my life as well as many others. It is sad and devastating that the sport is being threatened, but the industry is finding ways to adapt and overcome the onslaught of issues. We must recognize the effect that these events are having and add them to the ever-growing list of causes that we need to help.
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