Comments Hillbilly Goat Says Baa has made

Sundance Channel, "The Green"

This is going to break the nut of some folks wide open; congratulations to the folks at Sundance for taking this on.
Now, if only Sundance ski hill was to be more open to snowboarders...  

"My cats' breath smells like rat poo."

Skihill greenwashing

I think it's important to note that there are grassroots movements both within and exterior to the ski industry that would have resorts, municipalities, even manufacturers observe a higher green standard.  Ultimately, though, it has to be a movement of skiers and snowboarders themselves if resorts/developers are to change.
A few items worth checking out are:
http://www.thegreenlife.org/dontbefooled.html
In its 2005 "Worst Greenwashers" report, The Green Life takes a look at the National Ski Areas Association and its toothless "Sustainable Slopes" program.  One item I found especially amusing within the NSAA is the fact that at their annual meet and greet in Scottsdale AZ last year, not a single workshop was dedicated to Sustainable Slopes or the environment.  It was all about how to maximize profits in the cafeteria and similarly corporate agendas.  Seems to me, with all the freedom fries they're flinging at big bucks, the oil could be utilized in an SVO system for groomers at the least.
Also of interest (and I can't recall right now whether it was in the article) is www.skiareacitizens.com.  They do a report card for ski areas in the west, and grade them on moves to improve their on and offhill operations.
So far as other advents within the snowsports industry, with the rejection of many resorts as bloated corporate troughs, many skiers are heading for the backcountry.  This unfortunately entails snowmobiling.  The noise and emissions pollution with snowmobiles, is, well, way worse than keeping the masses in a more controlled environment.  There have been instances of yahoos chasing down calving mountain goats, dumping, etc.  As a way in which to at least ameliorate this, (www.rasertech.com) Raser out of Provo Utah has developed a system to hybridize and run snowmobiles almost silent.  Cuts emissions HUGELY, and means less motor-bike noise pollution in the BC.  However, will the industry adopt such technologies on a large scale? Doubtful without consumer pressure.  Bombardier (Skidoo) wouldn't even incorporate a catalytic converter into their design because it would add ten or twelve bucks to their end cost.
Meanwhile, efforts are being made to come up with alternative materials to fiber glass, plastics and other harsh materials used for ski and board manufacture.  Stein Fossum developed an 80% renewable board in Vancouver last year, and advents continue to be made.  A return to wooden skis (coupled with current technology) looks promising.
For my part (not to pimp my brand too much), my little company makes enviornmnetally friendly ski and board waxes.  We don't use Teflon/PTFE (see www.ewg.org to know why), fluorocarbons, PFCs, fluorotelomers, paraffin, or microcrystalline stuff, rather, we use naturally sourced and/or biodegradable materials.  Safer for you doing your tuning, safer for the water and the air.
At any rate, I think it's unfair to brand skiing as the bad guy (as imgear does), rather, it is the participants that need to adopt a can-do attitude in changing how business within the industry gets done.  Good luck with the IOC, though.  Consider how much toxic crap is getting put in the snow of Torino right now!
Anyhow, hopefully by the time Vancouver Whistler host the 2010 games, we'll have made some ground.  As it is, many resorts are simply conducting their business as a build-and-sell model; with the looming fear of little to no snow in coming decades, you can bet they're scrambling to sell off condos and developments in base areas the world over.  We've seen it here in Whistler, and presumably it's elsewhere, too.
Anyhow, that's my two cents for now.  Check out www.hilltrip.com if you want to see what a small group of committed citizens can do to at least raise awareness in the ski community.
Tyler Bradley
WAXORCIST
HILLBILLY WAX-WORKS/eTHICA eNVIRO WAXOn As snowy peaks get warmer, ski industry tries to stave off extinction posted 3 years, 9 months ago 5 Responses