With sprawling mountainside villages, water-guzzling snow machines, and high-powered chairlifts, it鈥檚 no secret operating a ski resort can be a dirty business. But in recent years, mountains around the country have started taking steps to reduce their environmental footprints by switching to renewable energy, banning single-use plastics, upgrading to water-saving snowmaking machines, and incentivizing skiers to arrive by public transportation, electric cars, or carpools. Which is all right and good, but is it enough?
To find out which U.S. ski resorts are really pushing the needle, environmentally speaking, we asked sustainability experts from organizations like , the , and for their picks. If you want to spend your dollars at a resort that鈥檚 truly making an impact, these ten spots pass the test.
Aspen Snowmass
Colorado
has long been a leader for its climate change advocacy and forward-thinking environmental operations. On the ground, the company captures waste methane from a local coal mine to generate carbon-negative electricity to help power the resort and built industry-leading solar arrays and mountaintop restaurants. This year, along with sister company and Protect Our Winters, Aspen was a strong advocate for electric services company 鈥檚 plan to close two Colorado coal plants and replace them with wind and solar, a move that will increase the percentage of renewable energy in the state from 29 to 55 by 2026.
Diamond Peak
Nevada
This on Lake Tahoe鈥檚 North Shore recently became one of the first mountains in the country to receive a Stoke certification, a new sustainability accreditation for the ski and surf tourism industries. How? Free shuttles from town to the slopes, electric vehicle charging stations, water bottle filling stations, a children鈥檚 coloring book featuring plants and animals native to the resort, and millions of dollars of investment into local watershed restoration. Plus, the resort hopes to run entirely on renewable energy by next year.
Sugarbush
Vermont
has done a lot of little things鈥攁nd they all add up. The resort installed 15 electric vehicle charging stations, built a solar array that supplies power to the local grid, and upgraded its snowmaking system to reduce energy usage by 24 percent. The mountain also hired 鈥渢rash talkers鈥 to stand at garbage cans throughout the main lodge and help guests separate trash, compost, and recycling into the proper bins.
Arapahoe Basin
Colorado
Mike Nathan, 鈥檚 sustainability manager, recently testified in front of Colorado鈥檚 Air Quality Control Commission about the need to increase electric vehicles usage. The ski area is part of a contingent of resorts working with the and Xcel Energy to develop a countywide energy reduction plan. The resort also matches employee contributions to an environmental fund that contributes to local land conservation efforts. In 2017, it installed a second solar array that generates nearly all the power needed by the summit lodge and ski patrol headquarters building.