Just leave that natural scenery be.

A new study says that creating a ski run by clearing trees and foliage manually but leaving the underlying eco-system otherwise intact is better than using heavy machinery to re-grade the slope.

The findings from the University of California Davis are not just on environmental grounds. They also found that operating cost of machine-cut slopes were higher than those of slopes which had been left in a more natural state. The report authors believe that this makes the slopes more expensive to maintain to, offsetting and extra income that may be made by being able to open a machine cur slope a week or so earlier in the season as machine-cleared slopes require 20% less snow cover to be able to open.

Continue reading ‘Cut your ski runs the natural way’

Whistler will be able to power itself from now on.

With the world watching, Olympic host resort Whistler-Blackcomb has made itself energy self-sufficient.

A new hydro-electric power plant at the resort will meet 100% of the resort’s energy needs. The Fitzsimmons Creek power plant, located between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, has a capacity of 7.5 MW and its estimated yearly energy output is 33,000 MW-hr, equivalent to the annual power consumed by Whistler Blackcomb ski area.

Construction of Fitzsimmons Creek began in July 2008 and was completed in January 2010 ahead of schedule and within budget ($33.2 million).

Continue reading ‘Whistler gets electric for Olympics’

Grouse is not the first ski resort to erect a wind turbine.

Grouse Mountain ski area in Vancouver is celebrating the inauguration of its impressive new 65m high wind turbine, The Eye of the Wind.

This comes shortly after Whistler’s hydro electric plant began operations only a couple hours north of Grouse.

The Eye of the Wind is the only one of its kind in the world equipped with an elevator accessing a panoramic viewPOD to visitors, providing an close-up view of wind energy at work and panoramic views over the city and coastline. The structure also has the distinction of being the first commercial wind turbine in the Lower Mainland, and forever changes the face of alternative energy in British Columbia.

With no gears and minimal noise, a quiet revolution is underway at Grouse Mountain. As wind power rapidly revolutionizes the world of alternative energy, Grouse Mountain’s Quiet Revolution is a deliberate and sustained pursuit of balance and responsibility, both in ecological and economic terms.

Continue reading ‘Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain can get electric too’

The Pirin mountains are one of many areas being threatened by ski resorts.

Can skiing and environmentally responsible tourism go hand in hand?

A new website that was recently launched considers the impact of component parts of a ski holiday, including the pistes, artificial snow production, ski lifts and off piste skiing.

In addition to this analysis, there is an overview of options for getting to the destination and then all the resort factors; such as the transport, après ski and accommodation, are reviewed with case studies and ideas for both the industry and skiers.

Continue reading ‘Get green with your ski holidays’

The Alps have some of the most picturesque mountains and glaciers in the world, but some fear that may change.

Bollywood film companies and stars have been asked to help promote an eco-friendly message in the Alps by environmental groups.

Bollywood film companies are currently making up to 20 films a year in the Alps, thanks in part to inducements by the Swiss government, with Innsbruck a particularly favoured spot. Now the Austria-based Alpine Convention is asking them to highlight the plight of Europe’s leading mountain range in the face of global warming.

Continue reading ‘Filmmakers, shed a light on the melting Alps: Environmentalists’

One environmentally-friendly way of reaching ski resorts in Europe is by train.

The environmental impact caused by traveling to ski resorts is generally far greater than any impact made in the resort.

Transportation accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the US’s greenhouse gases, the leading cause of global warming, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Winter enthusiasts alone make more than 57 million visits to U.S. ski resorts each season, according to National Ski Areas Association. Taking a bus, says the U.S. Department of Energy, creates just half a pound of CO2 per passenger mile, compared with 590 pounds per passenger mile for the average car.

Continue reading ‘Finding greener ways to get to the ski hill’

The famous Ski Dubai indoor slope will get greener.

The Mall of the Emirates, one of the world’s largest shopping malls and the home of the Ski Dubai indoor slope has announced plans to cut its energy use by 25 per cent over the next year.

SkiRebel.com has learned that Dubai-based Green Technologies will retrofit the Mall of the Emirates to create what the company describes as an “energy-intensive building,” using a quarter less power and a fifth less water.

Continue reading ‘Ski Dubai turns down the volts’