Guest opinion: Natasha Marcoux: The ski industry faces a slippery slope in climate crisis - Boulder Daily Camera

The ski industry faces a slippery slope in climate crisis

By Natasha Marcoux

Picture this: You are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, desperately waiting to reach your favorite ski mountain. Your coffee has long since lost its warmth and your toes are numb from the cramped position you’ve been sitting in for almost two hours. You and your friends settle in for the long haul. Your car is burning the same fossil fuels that enhance the climate crisis which leads to less snow and thus, less skiing altogether and more runoff not making it to essential agricultural and avian waterways … it hurts to even think about it, right?

Colorado is known for its majestic, natural treasures but legislation around it has been long overdue to seriously account for the impending impacts of climate change. Global warming has the potential to devastate not only those riches but the jobs, communities and economies that rely on the superintendence of said treasures. Climate anxiety is also focusing attention on the business model of many resorts, which have increasingly relied on a more luxury clientele who often emit more fossil fuels in their forms of travel. The ski industry itself contributes a tiny fraction of overall greenhouse gas emissions which causes climate change, but arguably has an outsized influence on business and popular culture.

The temperature has risen by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in the Colorado Rockies since 1980, having shortened our potential ski seasons by about a month. As the seasonal extremes warp over time, the calamitous destruction of wildfires in the Western U.S. have resulted in damage to property and natural resources, the closures of resort operations and more. Consistent flooding causes severe structural and erosion damage at ski resorts, including on Loveland Pass and Glenwood Canyon during landslides. The influx of businesses with operations relying on the natural environment need policymakers to act on aggressive legislation to address climate change, today and every day thereafter.

Some resorts have begun leveraging their influence to shift public opinion and advocate for climate legislation. Arapahoe Basin is a favored ski area in Colorado, leading such efforts in the United States. About a decade ago, the ski resort began funding staff positions focused on reducing on-site emissions. They are dedicated to upholding their efforts on their end, while also asking their guests to respect and abide by their requests.

Ski resorts and neighboring areas are predominant employers in the thirty-one destinations Colorado offers. These regions contribute nearly $4.8 billion in annual economic output and $1.9 billion in annual labor. Threats to resort operations impact their ability to hire and employ hundreds of seasonal and year-round workers, the lifeblood of any mountain community. With that said, however, climate anxiety has already collided with the worsening affordable housing crisis. A lacking presence of local workforces causes businesses to close their doors, skiers and tourists have more chaotic, unpleasant experiences, and the foundations of the rural and mountainous economy to start to fall apart. Although many of them are found in “purple” districts, calling for action to protect both local environments and economies should never be political, it is only palpable.

Climate change will only magnify its threatening impact on ski resorts, the entire ski industry and all of the mountain communities that rely predominantly on ski tourism. With the unfortunate reality of huge corporate conglomerates now monopolizing skiing with a Wall Street business model, the level of destruction has reached a more massive scale. While the ultra-rich are able to go someplace else when snow no longer kisses the Rockies, many of us are locals that will be left to panic about the future of our community, culture and beloved sport.

It is imperative to acknowledge the crossroads we are quickly approaching. How soon are we willing to enact essential changes and how much are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect the environments that we receive such luxuries from? It is time we say enough to the status quo. Our ski resorts and their benefits are dwindling from reach and only we have the power to change an outcome we shouldn’t have pushed in the first place.

Natasha Marcoux lives in Boulder.