Ski areas in coastal mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, whose winter temperatures hover around freezing, are in danger of being significantly hurt by rising temperatures. California has already warmed up by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950 and is on track to rise by over 9 degrees if current rates remain constant. Since 1970, the snow line in the Sierra Nevada has risen as high as 1,500 feet and is only set to speed up.
For most ski resorts, a 100-day season is required to stay profitable, and a large portion of this is attributed to the Chrismas and Spring Breaks, which happen to be at both ends of the season. This means that as the season shortens, the most profitable weeks for ski resorts will go away, leaving many resorts struggling financially. On average, the ski industry sees around 7.5 million skiers a year, generating 1.6 billion dollars in revenue. In low snow years, these figures decrease by 1.3 million, and 100 million, respectively.
In order to combat the seemingly inevitable drop in snow levels, many resorts are beefing up their man-made snow production capabilities. For instance, Squaw Valley, a resort in Lake Tahoe recently invested nine million dollars into snow production. According to Daniel Scott, a Climatologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, if current emission rates remain constant, around 103 ski resorts will have to shut down by the 2040s.
While climate change will surely impact ski resorts, it is not too late to take action, as any small changes one makes may be the difference in being able to enjoy a power day with his or her grandchildren.
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Personally as an avid skier I have experienced the decline in snow levels. Especially in California with higher temperatures as well as droughts, the resorts are suffering. Not only are they battling against the climbing temperatures but we had multiple seasons with very little rainfall that inhibit the production of man-made snow as well.
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