SkiGreen Blog

We carpool with the neighborhood kids,  thus saving gas as we have a hybrid. They all trade equipment  saving the plastic and our family buys eco ski clothes. We also volunteer to clean up the ski area in the fall.

Pro Snowboarder TJ Schneider has a social networking site (Ning) for snowboarders called The Snowboard Realms.  There are over 550 users, all snowboarders, who are members on the site.  I started a group called Treethumpers dedicated to a dialogue on how we, as snowboarders, can make a positive impact to preserve the snow we love. In hopes to extend my impact beyond myself, I wanted to provide a user created resource and foster change by not only pondering/addressing environmental issues on an individual level, but by harnessing the the power of many minds and experiences to create MORE consciousness and meaning.

Since its inception a month ago, the group has become the most active of all 24 of the groups.  The most active conversation is within the discussion Green Gear, which is a forum for products and companies that are taking action to address environmental issues in their products and how we, as snowboarders, can support their efforts by choosing those products/manufacturers with our hard earned dollars.

Other threads of discussion focus on what the ski/snowboard film industry has been doing environmentally to improve,  as well as links to articles on How to Go Green: Skiing & Snowboarding.

I rent a compact or economy car instead of a 4×4 at the airport to drive the the resort.

I just started skiing this winter. It’s been a great way to spend the long winter months in Wisconsin. We almost always car pool together to our nearest hill 30 minutes away. We bought used equipment to “reuse” Earth’s natural resources. We also plan on handing down our gear in the future to reduce wastefulness! Some of our ski/snowboarding clothing is organic, which is gentler on the environment overall.

We skied A-basin on 2/23 and bought the ski green pass.  I had never heard of SkiGreen but was pleased to see that their new chair in Montezuma basin was powered by wind energy.  We’re from the east and Wind energy has a lot of opposition because of the visual impact.  I’m hoping opponents will come to see wind turbines as symbols of sustainability that we should be proud to have as part of our (snowy-white) mountain landscape.

Frank and Tam,

Thank you for your suggestions, and for ’skiing green’ with us at Sugar Bowl!

As Abbey explained, the $2 offsets you purchased go directly to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and to balancing your personal carbon footprint. Sugar Bowl does not get credit for the tags its guests purchase.

However, Sugar Bowl is proud to run on 100% wind power, through our annual purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates. In 2005, Sugar Bowl began to take responsibility for its environmental impact, and was the first ski resort in the U.S. to purchase carbon offsets!

Today, Sugar Bowl’s Environment and Conservation Committee is continuing to evaluate and reduce our company’s carbon footprint. We recognize that using a large amount of energy is unavoidable in the operations of a ski resort. But, at Sugar Bowl we also understand that we will be adversely affected by global climate change. We have everything to lose. It is our responsibility to do our part to 1) reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions and 2) support policies and goals that aim to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Check out 350.org to read about how we ’skied green’ on Environmental Awareness Day! http://www.350.org/en/sugar-bowl-ski-resort-keeping-winter-cool

Shari Pomerantz

Environment and Conservation Manager

Sugar Bowl Ski Resort

Sugar Bowl Guests and Employees Support 350.org!

Wind and solar energy only, wood stove heat, cool adobe walls, 1 mile dirt-to-your-bootstraps driveway, skiing in the sun, drinking beer and eating a giant pretzel, good conversation around the fire on the patio of our dinner-place.  I had a wonderful time!

So, for my birthday I decided to go skiing to the place where I first set my little legs on skiis back when I was 4 yrs old (thanks mom & dad!), Kirkwood. A small group of friends were able to share it with me and we carpooled to the slopes in a fuel efficient vehicle. We all own our own equipment, which was all purchased at a ski swap at some point (reuse) and that even includes our goggles and gloves. Instead of water bottles (which I took the pledge to not use at thinkoutsidethebottle.org) we use our camel packs to stay hydrated and made sure we recycled our lunch beverages (beer, hey it was my birthday). I always make sure that as I advance in skill and want equipment to match that, I buy ”almost” new equipment from ski swaps and put my own old equipment into the swaps so that someone else may get use out of what’s been lovingly used and taken care of. So overall, it was one of the best birthdays I ever had (I kept forgetting it was even my birthday). The snow was still good from the previous week’s storm, it was a warm sunny day and I shared it with my fellow “green” conscious ski bums. Couldn’t ask for anything better. Oh and thanks Kirkwood for putting out recycling cans!

made the $2 donation to BEF at Sugar Bowl and received my sticker (proudly displayed on my ski tube) and the Clif Bar (Thanks, great energy boost mid afternoon!). Sugar Bowl was a hidden gem, virtually unheard of to us Brits. Great snow even though it’s a week or so since the last freshies. BEF SkiGreen Offset is a brilliant idea, I hope more mountains support this program SOON; otherwise there will be fewer places to enjoy great powder days. Enjoy the rest of your 08/09 Season!

PS: Sugar Bowl has had about 20″ since I was there last week….so go there and enjoy!