Hitting the plastic slopes: Climate change pushes ski resorts to 'weatherproof'

Ski and snowboarding resort operators in Canada and around the world are increasingly focused on "weatherproofing" their businesses as climate change threatens their supply of fresh powder.

"It's become a common topic in many resort destinations, not only here, but in Europe, the United States," said Peter Williams, director of Simon Fraser University's Centre for Tourism Policy and Research.

The term "weatherproofing" refers to efforts by resorts to offer alternativeactivities to skiingand snowboardingso they don't lose customers as climate change makeswinter snowfallless reliable.

Thedepth of these efforts receivedrenewed attention earlier this year when renowned British Columbia resortWhistlerBlackcomb announced a$345-million plan to become "weather independent,"but the industry started hearing "early warnings" of serious climate change implications at least a decade ago,Williams said.

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Ski resorts can take two approaches to deal with the toll climate change is taking on the slopes,he said.They can adapttheiroperations to maximize what snow they have, and/or they can add other adventure or cultural activities that require less or no snow, such asmountain biking orIronMan competitions,ecological tours andfestivals.

For many resorts, the latter has"proven to be pretty successful in not only filling empty rooms that would be there during the snow season, but also in expanding the season," Williams said.

WhistlerBlackcomb's"renaissance project" includes plans for a year-round "indoor adventure centre"featuring waterslides, wave and surf simulators, rope swings and caves.

"A focus on bringing the outdoors under cover ... means guests won't have to stop playing when Mother Nature doesn't co-operate," the resort's website says.

It's not clear whether thefriendly takeover of Whistler BlackcombbyU.S.-based Vail Resortsannounced last Monday will affect the weatherproofing plans, but Vail CEORob Katz has said he's committed to expanding the all-season resort.

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Resorts that try to weatherproof by changing their operations to maximize availablesnow often look for moreefficient snowmaking equipment, Williams said. They can also target where theyplace their snowtoguarantee certain runs remain open.

'Dry slopes'

In Australia and parts of Europe including Britain,some mountainresorts are going even further to "try to hold on to skiing," he said.

"They're making equipment that ... you can slide on different surfaces with or without snow" for activities such asroller skiing, sand skiing and grass skiing, he said.

Some resorts useartificial material to create "dry slopes" that don't require snow.

Dry slopes are usually made of carpet-like textures or plastic, Williams said.

The Midlothian Snowsports Centre nearEdinburgh, Scotland, offers year-round dryslope skiing and snowboarding.

"Don't worry about the snow conditions," the tourism siteVisitScotland.com boasts. "Seven days a week, 50weeks a year, Midlothian Snowsports Centre offers the exhilaration you would expect from Europe's longest and most challenging artificial ski slope."

Higher is better

Although the effect of climate change on snowfall is a concern throughout the ski and snowboard industry, some Canadian resorts are affected more than others.

Many mountain resorts in Western Canada have the potentialto extend their operations higher up, where there tends to be more snow, Williams said. But resorts in other parts of the country, includingOntario,don't have that kind of altitude.

Dan Markham, spokesman for Lake Louise Ski Resort near Banff, Alta.,said the topic of weatherproofing has "been a discussion for many years," but his resort is "a little less susceptible" to dwindling snowfalls than others.

"We're further inland, the temperatures are a lot cooler and we're much higher," hesaid. "So that certainly helps an awful lot."

But unseasonablywarmtemperatures in other parts of the province where many of the resort's clients live can still have a detrimental effect onbusiness,he said.

"You can have 25 C in Calgary and it can be snowing at Lake Louise," Markham said."[But] if it's 25 C and people are golfing in Calgary in March, people have a tough time getting excited to go out skiing."

The resort runs non-skiing activities, including asightseeing gondola. He said the intent behind themwasn't necessarily to weatherproof, but toattractvisitors who don't ski or snowboard.

Resorts cutting emissions

Overall, ski resort operators are adapting to the "challenges" presented by climate change, said Geraldine Link, director of public policy at the National Ski Areas Association. Most of the Colorado-based association's members are American.

"We have made significant investments in efficient snowmaking and grooming technologies in order to offer skiers and snowboarders reliable, high-quality snow surfaces both early season, and in low snow years," Link said in an email to CBC News.

She said many resorts are also trying to reduce their own environmental impact through the association's Sustainable Slopes program, which encourages operators to cut down direct carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and vehicles, as well as indirect emissions such as electricity consumption.

According tothe most recent report available, 30resorts participated in the program in 2014 and reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by a combined1,700 tonnes.

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