While snowmaking creates the elusive fresh powder that many skiers in New England desire, the process has a heavy impact on the local environment due to an increase in the amount of energy used by ski resorts.
At Killington Ski Resort, in Killington, Vt., for instance, the amount of energy used by the snowmaking system is greater than the combined energy used in all other resort operations, according to the resort's communication director, Tom Horrocks.
But the recent push towards sustainability has reached ski areas all over Vermont and New Hampshire -- including the Dartmouth Skiway -- and many resorts are taking steps to decrease their environmental footprint. Killington, for instance, has invested $5.5 million in improving the efficiency of its snowmaking system.
"Our biggest focus here at Killington has been reducing our carbon footprint," Horrocks said.
Ski areas make snow by using compressed air to separate water into droplets. In cold temperatures, these droplets freeze before they hit the ground, producing snow. The need for a large amount of compressed air drives up the resorts' energy usage.
Okemo Mountain , in Ludlow, Vt., has switched to snowmaking guns that require a smaller amount of compressed air to produce snow to lower its energy usage, Bonnie MacPherson, director of media relations at Okemo, said.
The Skiway also uses the newest technology in its snowmaking equipment, Doug Holler, the general manager of the Skiway, said.
"I feel like the reason [responsible environmental practices are] growing so much is that the ski areas can't ignore climate change," Kendall Reiley '09, a member of the Dartmouth Ski Patrol, said.
Kari Cholnoky '10, a member of the Ski Patrol and the campus environmental group ECO, said that she hoped ski resorts would set an example for other industries regarding wasteful practices.
"What society needs is someone to step forward and bite the bullet and start making changes," she said.
Ski resorts have not limited their environmental efforts to snowmaking. They have also switched to biodiesel fuel for heating and snow-grooming equipment and have implemented recycling programs.
Holler said that the Skiway sent several tons of metal out to be recycled this fall and is using biodiesel in some of its equipment. He said that there had been some difficulty, however, in implementing a general recycling program.
"We tried general recycling a few years ago and it was very disappointing," he said. "We were unable to get people to buy into it. We weren't able to make it work."
Okemo has a recycling program and has used recycled material to insulate several new buildings. It has also built a water storage pond to avoid drawing from and contaminating river water. Okemo amd Mount Sunapee, in Newbury, N.H., have an agreement to offset 100 percent of their electricity with renewable energy credits for wind energy.
Adam Platz '08 , a member of Ski Patrol, said that he felt ski resorts should be just as responsible as any other industry for having sound environmental practices but added that having an adequate amount of snow on the slopes could outweigh environmental concerns for skiers.
"From a consumers perspective, I can honestly say that if there's two feet of powder on a mountain, I'm not going to care [about their environmental practices]," he said. "But if I have the choice between two mountains with all other things held equal, without question I'd choose the more sustainable of the two."
