Rising Temperatures, Drought, and Wildfires Threaten Colorado's Ski Industry

By Vicky Collins -

During the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Breckenridge, Colorado ski area in early December, thousands of people crowded Main Street under blue skies.

The event was preceded by a dog parade involving hundreds of Bernese cattle dogs and a foot race with runners dressed as Santa Claus and elves.

When the sun finally set, the countdown began, as a huge evergreen tree in the square bathed in golden light.

The festive scene contrasted with what could happen in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains: a greatly reduced ski season in 2050, with the final closure of some areas at the end of the century.

Few industries in Colorado are experiencing the effects of climate change more than the once robust ski industry, which experts say could fall victim to rising temperatures, extreme drought and massive wildfires in the coming decades. 

Glenn Cain and Mary Taylor, after skiing in Summit County, Colorado, on December 3. Jason Connolly / AFP - Getty Images

Home to some of the most iconic names in world-class alpine skiing - including Vail, Aspen and Snowmass - Colorado raises $ 5 billion a year in revenue from the outdoor sport.

But many wonder if the industry can withstand its biggest challenge.  

Denver, which is located at the foot of the Rockies, broke records this year when no measurable snow fell until December 10, which was 232 days in a row without snow. Pitkin County, where Aspen and Snowmass are located, has had 30 more frost-free days this year than in 1980. And warming temperatures, even at night, prevent early snowfall, which is essential for a profitable holiday season.

A typical alpine ski season in the Rockies begins in early November and ends in early April, but a 2017 study published in the journal Global Environmental Change found that virtually every winter recreation area in the United States could see the The length of their seasons will be reduced by 50% by 2050, and by 80% in 2090 for some alpine ski areas.

Planet Earth: 17 million people in Latin America in danger from the climate crisis

Nov. 21, 202101: 29

The authors calculated that changes in the length of seasons in extreme emissions conditions could mean a loss of more than 2 billion dollars for alpine skiing in the United States.

Ideas vary among managers at Colorado's top 32 ski resorts on how to combat the crisis, but most acknowledge that what they are doing now is not working.

"We are failing terribly," said Auden Schendler, senior vice president of sustainability for Aspen Skiing Company and a 30-year resident of the mountain, who is alarmed by the increasing delay in the arrival of snow and its early departure, what he called the "March thaw."

Schendler said he was especially concerned when the Grizzly Creek fire ripped through 33,000 acres near Aspen in 2020. It threatened the city and triggered landslides along Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, temporarily cutting off access to Aspen.

Disappointment, regrets and underwater leaders: 5 moments from the Glasgow climate summit

Nov. 16, 202102: 38

“My concern at first was that the industry would be left out due to the heat and lack of snow.

But in the last four years, we've had two huge, catastrophic fires that basically shut down the city, ”he said, referring to Grizzly Creek and the Lake Christine fire in 2018.

Greg Hanson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder, said Colorado is experiencing shorter winter seasons - the first snows came late and the last ones fell earlier.

"We need sub-zero temperatures to get that snowfall, and with rising temperatures, that's what shortens the winter season," he said.

Melanie Mills, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade group, said the snow is increasingly unpredictable.

"Companies don't like unpredictability," he said.

"It is a major existential problem for the ski industry."

Skiing is Western Colorado's largest economic engine, fueling its second-largest income generator, tourism, according to Colorado Ski Country USA.

Ski resorts have worked hard to switch to renewable energy to generate electricity, conducting energy audits to monitor their progress and using water more wisely, since most of Colorado's water comes from snow in the mountains.

Planet Earth: This sanctuary works to save donkeys from extinction in Mexico

Dec. 23, 202102: 23

Despite efforts by ski resorts to achieve zero emissions, zero waste, and zero net operational impacts, Mills said that is not enough.

"We can all be carbon-free, and we still won't make a dent in the problem," he said.

As a result, the sector is shifting its focus to advocacy, putting pressure on policy makers to do more to combat climate change.

"This is not a problem that we are going to solve locally," Mills said.

“And it is not a problem that the ski industry is going to solve.

We want to be part of the solution, but we need actions at the national and international level ”.

Schendler hoped that President Joe Biden's near-doomed social spending plan would succeed because it included some $ 550 billion in climate-related programs that would have put the American economy on a zero-emissions path by 2050.

Scientists say that without such measures at the global level, nations will not be able to limit climate change to 2.7ºF, or 1.5ºC, and avoid its most catastrophic effects.

Lisa Whitaker, who lives in Summit County and is part of the Copper Mountain Volunteer Safety Patrol, worries that the late start to the season will put too many people on too small a lot, increasing the risk of accidents. .

"I would be saddened if I couldn't go skiing again," he confessed.

“I would feel devastated if an entire community were annihilated.

But when I think about the hundreds of thousands of hectares that are burned and the loss of wildlife, that is much sadder than not being able to ski. "

Schendler said a national effort will be needed to save not just skiing, but other outdoor industries that depend on the weather to survive.

"We have to make noise," said Schendler, "and the bulk of the business community in the United States is not doing what is necessary on a problem that costs more to leave alone to solve," he settled.