Climate change terrifies the ski industry. Here's what could happen in a warming world.
The USA's multibillion-dollar ski industry isn't taking climate change lightly: According to the National Ski Areas Association, climate change is "the number one threat to the snowsports industry."
Snow, as it has for decades, remains "white gold" for skiers and the entire U.S. ski industry, which is valued at up to $58 billion annually, according to the Ski Areas Association.
But as the globe warms, snow, overall, is decreasing. In fact, between 1972 and 2020, the average portion of North America covered by snow decreased at a rate of about 1,870 square miles per year, an area roughly the size of Delaware, according to the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab.
And that trend is expected to continue, scientists say, potentially dealing a harsh blow to the ski industry over the next few decades.
'An existential threat'
"Climate change is an existential threat" to the industry, Adrienne Saia Isaac, spokesperson for the Ski Areas Association, told USA TODAY. "It's way beyond skiing and riding."
She said that the snowsports industry is weather-dependent and the key is snow. "While we're used to the inherent uncertainty of our business, climate change exacerbates this challenge in different ways across the 37 states and six regions in which ski areas operate," she said.
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Overall, scientists say that climate change represents "a substantial risk to the profitability and sustainability of ski tourism because of reduced and more variable natural snow, and increased snowmaking requirements and costs," according to a 2021 research study published in the journal Tourism Management Perspectives.
Snow declines across the country
As the ski industry is well aware, climate change is already impacting the amount of snow that falls across the country. In several of the key ways that snow is measured – snowfall, snow cover, and snowpack – recent significant declines have been reported:
◾ Total snowfall has decreased in many parts of the U.S. since widespread observations became available in 1930, with 57% of stations showing a decline, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Among all of the stations, the average change is a decrease of 0.19% per year.
◾ From 1972 to 2013, the U.S. snow cover season became shorter by nearly two weeks, on average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.
◾ And from 1982 to 2021, the snowpack season became shorter at about 86% of the sites where snowpack was measured, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports. Across all sites, the length of the snowpack season decreased by about 18 days, on average.
Are ski seasons shrinking because of climate change?
As the Earth continues to warm, it's natural to assume that ski seasons would be getting shorter due to the lack of snow. But until recently, this wasn't the case.
"Ski seasons across the U.S. were actually getting longer in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, despite warming average temperatures and in some regions less and more variable natural snow," Daniel Scott, a geography professor at the University of Waterloo, said. "The massive investment in snowmaking made this possible."
"However, in the 2010s we saw that trend stop and now average ski seasons have stabilized or have declined slightly," he added. "This tells us snowmaking can no longer offset warming and as temperatures continue to rise, we’re now past the era of peak ski seasons in the U.S."
How seriously is the ski industry taking the threat of climate change?
Experts agree that the industry is paying attention to the impact of climate change: "It's clear that the resorts, brands and community are taking climate change seriously. They're speaking with policymakers, investing in green technology, and advocating for reduced greenhouse gas emissions," said Elizabeth Burakowski, a climate scientist at the University of New Hampshire.
Are US skiers already seeing the impacts of climate change?
According to the U.S. ski industry, that's partly a yes and a no answer.
No in that, "despite the threat and current impacts of climate change, the U.S. ski industry is more popular than ever with record skier visits and a record number of unique domestic participants," Isaac said.
Yes in the way that extreme weather events are impacting ski areas, she said.
Can't the ski areas just make snow?
Yes, but there are technical limits to snowmaking, Scott said. "As temperatures approach the freezing threshold, snowmaking becomes less and less efficient and eventually not possible because you need air temperatures below freezing to turn water into snow."
"As temperatures rise, the windows of opportunity to make snow get shorter, while the need for snowmaking gets larger. Automated and efficient snowmaking systems will be a key factor in which ski areas can remain operational in a warmer world, and who will remain competitive and gain market share," Scott said.
The ski industry said that snowmaking has allowed for a relatively consistent length of season over time, especially as the equipment has gotten more efficient at making snow in a short window. "This part of our operation allows us to be resilient, but it is not a climate solution," Isaac said.
Will there still be a ski industry in the US in 2100?
One expert answers the question this way: "There are two very different futures for the ski industry," Scott told USA TODAY. He said that under a low-emission future consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the U.S. ski industry does not look too much different than it does now.
"We’ll lose some ski areas and have somewhat shorter seasons, but there will be skiing in all the major U.S. regional markets."
"However, if we continue on the higher emission path we’re on, the U.S. ski industry will be unrecognizable. Après-ski will take on a very different meaning in a high-emission world."
