I just came across an article in the Boulder Weekly titled “Building Dreams“, that talks about the emergence of a new concept for ski resort development. As any one who has ever visited the majority of the ski areas in the US will tell you, the development of enormous second homes and other real estate ventures is getting a little ridiculous. This article does a great job of pointing out the fact that more and more emphasis is being placed on such development and less on the actual mountain and skiing and riding experience itself. With so many skiers and riders also being environmentalists, this has been a major dilemma for years now. We love lift accessed skiing, but do not like how all that development got there and what was destroyed to make all those epic resort days possible.
However, according to Jamie Schectman, the founder of Mountain Rider’s Alliance (MRA), in a interview with Tom Winter of the Boulder Weekly, a new ski area model is underway in Alaska. Manitoba Mountain, Alaska is set to become the first ski area to test the model which intends to create a more community based environment with the emphasis placed back on the mountain and the skiing and riding experience. The project aims to incorporate wind, solar and micro hydro power to make the ski area sustainable and allow for all profits to be put back into the mountain experience.
You’ll have to read the article to get the full details, but if you ask me this is a slam dunk! I love the idea of riding a low impact surface lift to gain access to “10,000-plus acres of he-man terrain”! However, there are certainly going to be some difficult challenges with this, mainly the locations. With the concept aiming to create these ski areas in remote areas with limited accommodations, access to them will be difficult. Obviously, this is all part of the concept and will greatly enhance the skiing and riding experience once you are there, but to remain sustainable will undoubtedly be an on going issue, even with alternative energy. Either way, I think it’s a great idea and I’ve gotta add this one to the ole “Ski-it” list!
For more information check out the article: Building Dreams
{ 1 trackback }