{"id":271098,"date":"2010-02-03T12:37:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-03T17:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenrightnow.com\/?p=8670"},"modified":"2010-02-03T12:37:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-03T17:37:00","slug":"global-warming-threatens-ski-industry-with-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/271098","title":{"rendered":"Global warming threatens ski industry with meltdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bill Sullivan<\/a><\/strong>
\nGreen Right Now<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ski<\/p>\n

Ski resorts face tough choices and an uncertain future. (Photo: Bill Sullivan)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Anyone who has ever traveled to a big-time ski resort knows that conquering the mountain is a daunting task \u2013 and an expensive one, too.<\/p>\n

For the 2009-10 season, a one-day lift ticket at Vail (Colorado) is $97 for an adult. Over at Aspen\/Snowmass, a two-day advance purchase pass will set you back $191.<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u2019s just the beginning. If you\u2019re a flatlander or a relative novice, you\u2019ll probably have to rent equipment. (Plan on $40 a day and up.) If you\u2019ve never skied at all, you\u2019ll want to get a few pointers before climbing onto that lift: At Vail, a one day beginner lesson at Golden Peak Ski and Snowboard School is $165.<\/p>\n

Planning to stay close to the slopes? The Vail Plaza Hotel & Club can keep you near all the action. For a mid-March visit, a standard room with two queen beds runs about $539 a night. If you\u2019re bringing a crowd, a three-bedroom condo averages $2,475 each evening you put head to pillow.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are less tony accommodations at not quite so chic locales, and rates vary by time of season (Christmas and Spring Break are the most expensive bookings), but you get the point. The ski trade is Big Business backed by even Bigger Businesses, and enormous investments are subject to conditions that can change\u2026 like the weather.<\/p>\n

But what happens when the weather itself<\/em> actually changes? Global warming is a concept that sends chills down the spine of owners and operators at otherwise remote outposts in Colorado, Utah and California, not to mention Canada and Europe. \u00a0A steady snowfall from before Thanksgiving through early April is essential to keeping companies afloat and locals gainfully employed.<\/p>\n

Those good times and big payoffs are threatened as the Earth heats up.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the industry are definitely paying attention,\u201d says Mark Williams<\/a>, University of Colorado geography professor and a fellow at CU-Boulder\u2019s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research<\/a>. \u201cA small change of climate that changes snow to rain changes the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re quite aware of what could potentially happen with climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little over a year ago, Williams and Brian Lazar of Stratus Consulting Inc. of Boulder released a study<\/a> that combined temperature and precipitation data with general climate circulation models, focusing on Aspen Mountain in Colorado and Park City Mountain in Utah, resorts who combined to sponsor the research.<\/p>\n

The study produced some startling conclusions:<\/p>\n