{"id":14030,"date":"2016-11-04T17:59:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mud-skiing-vails-race-to-save-its-winter-sports-business\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:59:29","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:59:29","slug":"mud-skiing-vails-race-to-save-its-winter-sports-business","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mud-skiing-vails-race-to-save-its-winter-sports-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Mud Skiing: Vail\u2019s Race to save its Winter Sports Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Global climate change threatens to destroy the ski industry\u2019s most \u201cflakey\u201d asset \u2013 snow. As average global surface temperatures continue to rise, ski resorts in the traditionally snow heavy regions of the northern United States are not only experiencing warmer winter months but also more variable snowfall.[1]<\/a> Between 1999 and 2010, the US winter tourism industry lost approximately $1 billion in revenue due to below average snowfalls.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

To overcome these natural snowfall deficits and attract customers, ski resorts must increase their energy usage largely through snow making, which can account for up to 50% of a resort\u2019s energy costs.[3]<\/a> How then does a ski resort reduce its carbon footprint when its increased dependency on energy is a direct result of climate change? Vail provides an example of how one ski resort company is attempting to overcome diminishing snowfall while increasing its sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n

Snowball Effect <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

At current carbon dioxide concentration growth levels, global temperatures are expected to rise by 6.7 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.[4]<\/a> At these temperatures, snow depths would decline at least 25 percent (and potentially up to 100) in the western United States.[5]<\/a> Unfortunately, while overall snowfall levels are declining, warmer air allows for increased evaporation levels in the atmosphere, resulting in changing rainfall patterns across the world.[6]<\/a> For example, California experienced its driest year in 2015, while New York had record snowfall.[7]<\/a> \u00a0These fluctuating snowfalls make it more difficult to overcome the tragedy of the commons inherent in climate change since not all resorts feel reoccurring pain of little snow. In 2010, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) surveyed national ski areas, which highlighted that only 10% of respondents had completed a study of their own carbon footprint although 80% wanted to address climate change.[8]<\/a> Nevertheless, Vail Resorts has promised its shareholders to focus on sustainability through reduced energy consumption targets, starting with a 10 percent reduction between 2008 and 2011 and \u201cThe Next Ten\u201d by 2020.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Battling the Storm <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vail\u2019s \u201cThe Next Ten\u201d campaign to further reduce its energy usage by an additional ten percent, focuses on two of the three main drivers to reduce carbon emissions: energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization.[10]<\/a> At Vail Mountain (Vail Resorts owns nine other ski areas across the US), the company has invested $3 million in the last five years across the following sustainability efforts:[11]<\/a><\/p>\n