Environmental Impact of Skiing

Skiing & the Environment

Environmentally Friendly Skiing

For many of the European Alpine resorts, winter is an important source of income and snow is heavily relied upon for related sports such as skiing, snowboarding, telemarking, hiking and ice-climbing. However, when we drive or fly to our favorite ski resorts, climb on the brand new six-seated chairlift through the trees; toss our cigarette butts in the snow, chuck our orange peel from the chairlift targeting a skier/boarder below; few of us ever really stop to consider the impact the sport is having on the mountain and its eco-system. For example, did you know the following facts:

orange peel takes up to two years to break down;
cigarette butts will remain on the hillside for up to 5 years before the atmosphere breaks them down (which we hear on the alpine grapevine is contributing to 'alleged' increases in lung cancer amongst marmottes and chamois
when skiing through trees, you can damage them by knocking off branches and killing young shoots underneath;
your snotty tissues and plastic sweet wrappers will still be on the mountain there when you’re back at work dreaming of your next winter holiday!

Direct and Indirect Impact of Skiing on the Environment

The huge expansion of ski resorts since the 1970s has, according to environmentalists, had numerous effects on mountain water levels of lakes and streams; damaged mountain wildlife through the destruction of habitat, noise and pollution in addition to affecting annual climate conditions.

The increasing popularity of skiing and simultaneous development of the ski industry has created a demand for larger accommodation blocks to be built in the popular resorts but with limited space for new aparments and chalets on the valley floor, this forces more erosion of the surrounding hillsides in order to fulfil accomodation demands. In order to keep up with the tourist demand for the sport, ski resorts today are under pressure to build more lifts with a faster and higher skier capacity. This improvement in resort facilities ultimately creates a 'catch 22' situation as number of individuals visting the resort increases, which in turn creates pressure to improve transport links to these resorts and so the cycle continues.... The indirect cost of the increase in human wealth and enjoyment is to the detrement of the Mountain and its associated environmental conditions. Mountains are highly sensitive to extreme changes we humans are currently enforcing upon them. The repeated damage and environmental changes which are being inflicted upon the mountains by mankind is difficult to repair. It wont take a year or two to put things back to 'normal'. Environmental damage which is being caused by this change mankind is creating is being seen in eratic climage changing patters across the Alps, with predictions including more rain and melting glaciers that will bring erosion and floods on an unprecented scale. Already such implications of these changes for the alpine environment can be seen by the following changes in recent years:

poor snow records
receding glaciers; and
unusual weather patterns

Pistehors.com recently wrote that in general, average seasonal temperatures across France have risen by 1ºC during the winter months at 1800 meters in the French Alps. Additionally, Pistehors commented that high temperatures experienced during the summer of 2002 caused some of the European glaciers to recede by up to 10% causing suspicion amongst some climate specialists that within 50 years Swiss glaciers could potentially melt away! As pressure mounts on the ski companies to build higher into the mountains to reach snow reliable areas, sensitive high mountainous environment then become ultimately affected. The increases in global temperatures will have a serious implication for the many ski resorts located at lower altitudes. It’s not just as simple as going higher to get more snow.<

last updated 9-Oct-2007

Are snow cannons environmentally friendly?

European resorts have experienced a decrease in precipitation (rainfall) over the past five years which in turn has led to some resorts having to stringently control their water supply in order to conserve supplies. After the unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of early season snow during the winter of 2007, global warming has been at the forefront of winter sports enthusiasts’ minds. To counter this very real climate change, (a 4 degree temperature rise is anticipated by the end of the century) ski resorts are turning to artificial snow manufacture.

Snow canons are becoming increasingly commonplace in France, today 15% of French ski areas are covered by the machines and they are no longer confined to low lying areas. Avoriaz has equipped the bottom of the runs on the Grande Motte glacier with snow making equipment at 3000 meters and Val d’Isere will do the same next year on the Glacier du Pisaillas to preserve summer skiing. Millions of euros are invested in artificial snow manufacture every year, but the investment comes at a high cost to the environment.

It seems illogical to combat global warning, widely agreed to be created by the burning of fossil fuels with yet more energy outlay. In some resorts, such as l'Alpe d'Huez, snow making now consumes more power over an average season than the entire lift system. Furthermore, the machines constitute a visual blot on the landscape and contribute hugely to noise pollution. A single snow canon emits between 60 to 80 decibels, the equivalent of heavy traffic, which disturbs mountain wildlife.

Snow cannons spray water at great pressure into sufficiently cold air which then falls as snow on the ground and any long-term environmental impact of this at present is uncertain. We do know that artificial snow is much denser than natural snow and it takes a meter cubed of water to make two meters cubed of snow. This artifically created snow has an effect on the vegetation and melts much later than natural snow.

We do however understand that the manufacture of artificial snow is costly in terms of energy and quantities of water required. It is estimated that snowmaking in France uses as much water as a town with 170,000 inhabitants. Everyone knows that water freezes at 0C but the rainwater found in reservoirs for snow making has to be cooled to around -7 to -9C before it will freeze and make snow. If it is necessary to make snow at warmer temperatures, agents such as Snomax™ are added. Snomax is a protein which provides a nucleate for ice crystals enabling freezing at temperatures around -3C. York International says that Snomax is completely safe but extensive studies have not been carried out to determine the overall effects of such additives on the environment. Despite the construction of reservoirs, snow-making uses vast quantities of water with consequences on a region’s water courses and aquatic wildlife.

More worrying is the natural erosion caused by the increase in melt water which runs back down the mountain in the Spring. There is also a suggestion that chemical additives used in its production affect the natural vegetation. As melt water comes off the slopes, chemicals used in the production of snow potentially find their way into rivers that supply drinking water for the resort.

Ski Press World in 2005 reported that low lying resorts such as Les Gets (1172m) were spending up to €300,000 searching for additional water supplies in an effort to meet an increase in resort demands as resort expansion continues. In response to their use of snow cannons, Les Gets stressed: 'the manufacture of artificial snow did not have any impact on the water supplies', further commenting that their '...snow cannons principally use water supplies which are unsuitable for drinking water.' Whether the same can be said for all other resorts is a different matter! In Val d’Isere a 36,000 square metre reservoir has been built on the Iseran sector to supply water for the snow cannons that will boost the summer skiing available on the Pissaillas Glacier. The STVI Lift company in Val d’Isere are committed to employing summer skiing possibilities with a minimum of consequences for the surrounding environment and its ecology.

Finally, artificial snow is currently seen as the saviour of some European ski resorts however given that the vast majority of canons require low temperatures to operate, reliance on them in the warmer winters of the future seems misguided. Since the long-term answer to the snow question has yet to be found, the debate between environmentalists and the ski industry looks set to continue well into the future.

last updated 7-Aug-2008