In late 2023, some countries were already experiencing a delay in the start to ski season because of warmer than usual temperatures. Now, a new study has outlined just how much money ski resorts in the U.S. are losing as global warming leads to a loss of snow and shorter ski seasons.
The study authors modeled 226 ski areas in four regional ski markets in the U.S. to predict what the country’s ski industry may look like without influences from climate change, such as a loss of snow and the need to make artificial snow, as well as what ski seasons could look like in the future.
According to the study, which was published in the journal Current Issues in Tourism, the average ski season in the U.S. from 2000 to 2019 was shortened by about 5.5 to 7.1 days, even with supplemental snowmaking, compared to the average ski season from 1960 to 1979.
“Climate change is an evolving business reality for the ski industry and the tourism sector. The record-breaking temperatures this winter provided a preview of the future,” Daniel Scott, co-author of the study and a professor at the Department of Geography and Environmental Management of the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in a statement. “It tested the limits of snowmaking in many areas and altered millions of skiers’ ski visits and destination choices.”
Because of the shortened ski seasons and the need to make artificial snow to supplement lower amounts of natural snow, the researchers estimated the costs to total around $252 million per year. As The Guardian reported, this amounts to an estimated $5 billion in losses for ski resorts over the 20-year timeframe.
The authors noted that these cost estimates may be lower than reality, too, because they only factored in direct losses from fewer visitors and higher costs for snowmaking. The study’s calculations did not include estimates for losses from fewer hotel stays, retail spending and other operational costs.
“We are probably past the era of peak ski seasons,” Scott said. “Average ski seasons in all U.S. regional markets are projected to get shorter in the decades ahead under all emission futures. How much shorter depends on the ability of all countries to deliver on their Paris Climate Agreement emission reduction commitments and whether global warming temperatures are held below two degrees Celsius.”
According to the study, ski seasons could decrease by 14 to 33 days in a low-emissions scenario, or the average ski season may be 27 to 62 days shorter with continued high emissions. In total, this could lead to an estimated $657 million to $1.352 billion in losses for the U.S. ski industry per year.
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