Can a Ski Resort be Sustainable?
View out from the Sea-to-Sky Highway
Following our time in the Yukon, we spent our second week in the world-famous ski resort of Whistler Blackcomb. The transfer from Vancouver airport took us along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, one of the most beautiful drives in the world according to our Lonely Planet guide. It certainly lived up to this expectation. The road was absolutely stunning. On your left as you’re driving you have the peaceful expanse of water that’s called Howe Sound, and on your right the pine trees and mountains that get gradually larger and more jaw dropping the further on you drive. The ribbon of tarmac took us through the adventure town of Squamish, and up into the Garibaldi ranges that make up the ski resort of Whistler Blackcomb.
We arrived at our accommodation and it’s safe to say we were a little surprised at the size and general feel of the place. I’m not quite sure where the definition between hostel and hotel is drawn - but our “hotel” in Whistler certainly toed the line carefully. We knew it would be small due to it being advertised as a Pod Hotel, but we were expecting a bit of space to put our things and change, as well as more privacy than a felt curtain. I practically spent the week sleeping inside my rucksack and banging my head every time I got into the bunk.
We came to Whistler as I love skiing. I’ve loved skiing since I was about 4 years old, and I’ve been extremely lucky to have skied in most of Europe, and America a couple of times, as well as doing a ski season in Val D’Isere in 2016. Because of this I was extremely excited to ski in Canada, I’d heard great things, and I couldn’t wait to get on the slopes and see what all the fuss was about.
On our first evening we went for a few drinks that turned into a bit of a raucous affair. After sampling the Gin and Tonics in 3 different bars we stumbled home ready to sleep after a long day. In my slightly inebriated state I decided to walk back to the hotel through a small wooded area that looked perfectly stable to my focused vision. Unfortunately I didn’t notice the vast web of icy roots that lay underfoot and went straight over on my ankle, rolling the joint and tearing my ligaments.
The following day was agony. I couldn’t put any weight on my right foot and was in pain every time I tried to move it. After struggling to put my trousers on in the 2 feet of room we had in our pod I decided to go to the Pharmacy and get it checked out. It turned out you could rent crutches for $10 a week, so seeing as I couldn’t physically walk, I thought it would be wise to rent a set. As I’m sure you can guess, skiing on a sprained ankle isn’t really recommended, nor was it an option at all as I couldn’t even stand on my right leg without crumbling.
The following day, after Luce went skiing and I had spent about an hour attempting to descend from our bunk in the Pod Hotel in one piece, I settled down with a coffee and considered a week in the renowned ski resort without being able to ski.
Staring out enviously at the crowds of people on the ski lifts and whizzing down the slopes got me thinking about the place I was in, how much I loved being in the mountains, and the urgent need to protect the natural environment from climate change for our future generations. I wondered to myself, can a ski resort be sustainable? Is skiing and snowboarding in itself a sustainable activity?
It turns out that it can be. Many ski resorts in the world are implementing incredible and innovative measures in order to protect the mountains, snow and snowsports for the future.
Of resorts I’ve actually visited in person, one in particular has always stood out to me as clean and sustainable. The Swiss town of Zermatt and its resort; the Matterhorn Paradise. Going back as far as 2002, environmental and planning agencies based in Zermatt have set working groups focused on achieving sustainability within the resort. The original concept was titled “Zermatt, A Sustainable Ski Resort”, with the aim of making the town and resort as sustainable as possible. To achieve this tall order over the years several measures have been introduced, including the implementation of photovoltaic (solar) panels to power new cable cars and restaurants, the use of solely electric vehicles around the town, and the utilisation of renewable electricity through hydro-power projects.
Zermatt & an electric resort taxi
The most noticeable initiative in person is the car-free nature of the resort. Originally this was because the road conditions up to the town were too poor for cars to get up there, and in the 1980s electric vehicles were introduced to transport tourists around. To this day there is no possibility to get to the resort by car. Nor is it possible to drive once you’re there. Visitors are driven around by a fleet of electric taxis, resulting in noticeably clean, fresh air with little contamination. This leads to better snow conditions, and longer lasting seasons. Transportation to the resort also plays a part, with train travel being strongly encouraged in place of car use. This low carbon way of getting to Zermatt is efficient and easy in Switzerland, and the environmental impact of travelling is reduced even further as Swiss Railways generate 90% of the electricity needed from renewable hydropower.
Since the initial objective set in 2002, solar power has also featured in Zermatt’s plans to become more sustainable. The resort has a number of photovoltaic systems, with the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise 3S lift base station accommodating 485 panels. The panels cover a surface area of 877m2 and are capable of generating 157,000 kWh of energy per annum. This amount of energy will supply 35 households and save 23.4 tonnes of Co2 every year. In addition to this system, the top station restaurant at Klein Matterhorn produces 35,000 kWh per annum from 108 panels. These panels, integrated into the building's facade, cover all the heating, ventilation and lighting requirements for the restaurant across the year.
Across the pond, huge leaps are being made in the New Mexican ski resort of Taos Ski Valley. At the time of writing it is the only ski resort in the world to hold B Corp status. This means its operations have met the high and rigorous environmental and social standards created by the non-profit B Lab. The newest hotel in Taos Ski Valley; The Blake, achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification, a green building program used worldwide that recognises the hotels’ sustainable components, from energy efficiency throughout the building, to applying a comprehensive recycling and reuse platform throughout.
Taos Ski Valley - © Murray Foubister / Flickr / CC-BY-SA-2.0
The motto of Taos is “Ski the Change”, which it lives up to through initiatives such as using waste oil from the snow cats, snowmobiles, and trucks to heat its vehicle maintenance building, installing a food waste dehydrator to convert waste into soil amendment, and donating used wine bottles to the Taos Earthship Institute to be made into energy efficient houses. One of the major initiatives is their Net Zero (carbon neutral) energy planning effort for 2030. They’re reaching towards this through the use of solar power, of which their local electric supplier will be 100% daytime solar this year, the electrification of systems and vehicles, and the removal of single-use plastics in their food outlets amongst a number of movements.
In Whistler Blackcomb the resort is extremely committed to environmental protection through climate advocacy, carpooling initiatives, waste management, and hydroelectric conservation projects to name but a few. On the advocacy side, they run a number of programs aimed at engaging visitors and staff. This includes wildlife tours in which people are educated about regional wildlife and their habitat, a regular educational speaker series, and a staff-led coalition called the Workplace Conservation Awareness committee that creates educational campaigns throughout the year. Since 2000, Whistler has reduced waste by more than 70%. They use a system based on the 4 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose), with a strong emphasis on recycling. In 2009, retrofits were made to major food and beverage outlets to improve sorting efficiency and the addition of a compostable stream. Although this has been successful in reducing the amount of waste Whistler produces, the resort recognises that there is still more that can be done to maximise the efficiency of recycling and waste management.
This is great progress and a strong step in the right direction, but the real jewel in Whistler’s crown is based on renewable energy. In 2011, a micro hydro renewable plant, situated in the middle of Whistler Blackcomb, under the Peak to Peak Gondola, started to generate power. The Fitzsimmons Creek Project harnesses energy by diverting water flows through an intake structure to a highly dense sluice, then to the generating equipment located in the powerhouse. The project, built with a partnership between BC Hydro and Innergex generates 33.5 gigawatt hours and returns to the grid the equivalent of Whistler Blackcomb’s annual demand. This is an unbelievable amount of energy, all of Whistler’s energy for the year created through the use of hydropower! An incredible example of the immense power we can gain from renewable energy sources.
The Fitzsimmons Creek Hydroelectric Project - © Ruth Hartnup / Flickr / CC-BY-SA-2.0
In recent years, sustainability, and all the initiatives that go with it, have gained huge and (in my opinion) necessary swathes of popularity and support. The outdoor community in particular have recognised the urgent need to protect natural spaces and the environment from climate change due to the time they spend immersed in these places. Even so, the majority of people today care about the carbon footprint they’re leaving, where their energy comes from, and how natural environments are affected by human activity. This behaviour is reflected throughout society and I’m glad to see it being recognised and acted upon by ski resorts across the world. The initiatives and movements I’ve read about have inspired and encouraged me, and although not completely perfect yet, have answered my question with a resounding yes. With a bit more work, and environmental consideration when visiting, living and getting to ski resorts, the act of skiing can become a sustainable activity.
