Sustainable Skiing….really?

As we head off to Mammoth California for several days of family skiing I wonder – is there really such a thing as sustainable skiing?

I think at some level the answer has to be – no – not really.  Right – bringing thousands upon thousands of people to remote – hard to access mountain slopes to race down…then get “lifted” back to the top….well who is fooling who?

But – as with many things in life – we like it and it is great family fun – soooo – the question is how to enjoy skiing – and the beautiful mountains – leaving the smallest human imprint possible.  This I think is important because if we do so in the mountain – recreation – environment – then maybe we will take our good (sustainable) habits home with us and use them in our homes and communities.

our friend - wayne

So – we have found a web site – Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition - that actually grades ski areas across the country (or at least the west).  They use several criteria:

These seem right to us…

The top ranked resort – Squaw Valley in California, second Aspen in Colorado….for the rest best and worst – go check out their site.

We have to do the best we can – and when we are serious about sustainability – we can actually do a pretty good job.