Bill McKibben wanders through the mountains of the
northeast, but while he stops at farms and wineries, schools and cafes, he
never touches upon the impact of ski resorts. Skiing is an omnipresent industry
in the Green Mountains, and imprinted in the perception of Vermont even more so
than local farming and environmental consciousness. Ski areas dot cover Vermont
in almost every region of the state – even McKibben’s ideological center
Middlebury College runs it’s own ski area – and his the first stop in the book,
Mt. Abe, is adjacent to Lincoln Peak, the site of Sugarbush Ski Resort. I can’t
quite decide myself the environmental impact of ski resorts. On one hand, they
do clear some trees and draw the masses into the mountains in great number.
However, ski areas rely on the maintaining the surrounding natural area, both
for marketing and athletic purposes: cleared land makes for an a-typical skiing
experience and inhibits backcountry enthusiasts. The presence of a ski resort
also protects the wilderness from the timber and mining industries, both of
which have decidedly greater and longer lasting impacts on the native
ecosystem.
My greatest concern regarding ski resorts is the increased
traffic into delicate and diminishing alpine zones. The delicate flora of the
alpine zone typically grow low to the ground and are hidden beneath
northeastern snows, which can total over 300 inches per year in some places.
Skiers can cut, crush and otherwise interrupt these endangered species at a
much greater rate than backpackers thanks to high-speed ski lifts, which can
shuttle around 12,000 people into these fragile regions each hour. Whiteface
Mountain in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park even has a road that runs
directly to the summit of the mountain from the highway below. Congestion of
that intensity doubtlessly has an impact on the region unmentioned on McKibben’s
journey, despite his proximity to the issue.
You bring up some interesting points about the impacts of skiers on the land, both positive and negative. I think having limited ski areas is the best way to go, as this provides a huge economic boost to the region, while not disrupting too much of the surrounding forests. Interestingly, in Europe it is perfectly normal to have huge hotels on mountaintops, and it seems as if so many mountains have cableways to the top. In Chamonix, France, one can be whisked up 8,000 ft in 10-15 minutes, and deposited in one of the world's greatest alpine landscapes on the Mont Blanc Massif. Sometimes it can be good to step back and realize that there could be much worse problems than having a few developed mountains.
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