A Downhill Battle

Warmer winters have ski areas in New England fighting back.

In December, Nashoba Valley Ski Area saw few takers for its man-made snow. (Globe Staff Photo / David L. Ryan)

On January 6, 2007, the mercury hit a record 68 degrees Fahrenheit in New Hampshire's Upper Valley. Coming in the muddy wake of a November and December where snow was rare, many ski trails were reduced to rock-littered slicks better suited to mountain biking. The white, fluffy flakes finally arrived in February, when skiers and ski resorts alike tried to salvage a mediocre season.

Cameron Wake, research professor at the University of New Hampshire's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, says that this extreme weather wasn't an anomaly. He argues, in fact, that the region is in a decades-long winter warming trend. "Since the mid-'70s, average winter temperatures have risen more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and annual snowfall has dropped 30 inches across New England," Wake says.

Don't think that the ski industry hasn't noticed. And who better to take the green baton than the resorts themselves, where the bottom line depends on a cold climate? Sure, they've been known to eradicate chunks of forest to make room for lodges and runs, and they've brought traffic jams and greenhouse gases to what otherwise would be pristine wilderness. And, yes, they also use loads of fuel for heat, snow making, and lifts. But they have been trying to change their ways. In 2000, the National Ski Areas Association, partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council, started encouraging resorts to use renewable energy. Now 28 ski resorts around the country use wind turbines to create all of their energy, including Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire; Shawnee Peak, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River in Maine; and Middlebury Ski Bowl, Okemo, and Stratton Mountain in Vermont.

In 2003, New Hampshire's Cranmore Mountain converted all of its snowplows and ski lifts to run on biodiesel. It also installed far more energy-efficient snow-making machines, and this season will start an anti-idling program for both staff and guests, asking drivers to turn off their engines as they drop off passengers or wait in line to reach a parking spot.

Those initiatives were the two issues presented by New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services in a seminar to ski-resort managers in July. "We have an EPA grant to work with ski slopes to reduce their waste and energy," says Sarah Johnson, pollution prevention program manager at DES. "Next year, we'll be providing energy audits and focusing on water conservation," she adds. Ski resorts are also sensitive to client cares about global warming, if the rising tide of announcements about eco-friendly practices is any indication. But be wary of "greenwashing."

"Some of them might be throwing a little bit of biodiesel in the tank and calling it good," says Portland, Maine-based Michael Stoddard, deputy director of Environment Northeast, a non-profit advocacy and research organization. "It's important to look at their entire footprint."

Which calls to mind an even lower-impact option, though one that still requires more than a dusting of powder. Snowshoeing, anyone?