Snow/ skiing/ boarding films have long been a staple part of mountain life. And while I love snow porn as much as the next person, I never felt very interested in the high profile ‘heroes and helicopters’ style that has long dominated the mainstream films.
It was only a few years ago when I realised there was a sub genre that actually spoke to my reality: backcountry films.
As our governments at state and federal level continue to ignore the reality and scale of climate change, and dismantle the limited actions we currently have in place to reduce emissions, this book seems rather timely for those of us who like our winters cold and our snow deep.
“This is the most important book on snow ever written. This is a wake up call. We need to accept our reality and get busy fixing climate change.” —Jeremy Jones, pro snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters
“The first in-depth report on how climate change is affecting the present and future of the ski industry and mountain communities, DEEP is a must-read for every passionate skier.” — John Stifter, Editor, Powder Magazine
“Skiing offers a good barometer of the trouble we’re in—and, as this book reminds us, one more good reason for wanting to face that trouble.” —Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey and co-founder of 350.org
In his stunning first book, veteran ski writer Porter Fox captures the 8,000-year-old sport of skiing, the miracle of snow and the shocking truth of how climate change could wipe out both in the next 75 years.
The narrative follows the unlikely rise of skiing from prehistoric Norwegian hunters to nobility in the Alps in the 1800s to present-day freeriders on the vaunted slopes of the Rocky Mountains. On his global tour of the most celebrated mountains in the Northern Hemisphere—from Washington’s Cascade Range to the European Alps—Fox talks to alpinists about the allure and mysticism of the sport and to scientists about climate change and its effect on snow—ultimately finding a story that is far larger than the demise of skiing.
For the seven million skiers in America who dedicate their winters to tracking storms and waking up at dawn to catch the first chairlift, the lifestyle change will be radical. It will likely be far worse for the rest of the world. Fox uses primary interviews and evidence, mixed with groundbreaking scientific studies, to explain exactly how and when the Great Melt will play out—and the tremendous groundswell that is rising up to stop it. DEEP provides firsthand accounts from skiers and scientists who are mapping a way to mitigate climate change, reduce human impact on our planet and repair the water cycle. As it turns out, their efforts to save snow and ice might end up saving the world.
The Victorian government recently called for Expressions of interest for long term private managers to take on running the Lake Mountain and Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resorts. Tender applications have now closed.
As noted recently on this site, the Victorian Government has previously decided to open up the state’s national parks to further development and private investment. The depth of this agenda is not yet clear.
The government describes Mt Baw Baw as “an all-season alpine resort, open year round for summer and winter adventures. It is Victoria’s affordable, family friendly ‘learn to ski’ destination. Activities include downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, tobogganing, terrain parks and other event in the white season, plus walking, hiking, cycling, downhill and mountain biking and a number of events in the green season”.
And Lake Mountain as Lake Mountain is a Crown Land reserve which is open year round for summer and winter experiences. It is Victoria’s affordable family getaway in the great outdoors, and is Australia’s premier cross country skiing and snow play resort. Only a two hour drive from Melbourne, Lake Mountain is Melbourne’s closest alpine resort.
Given the prognosis of expected warmer conditions and less reliable snowfalls as a result of climate change, any private operator considering taking on a new project in these lower elevation resorts will need to be building up the ‘green season’ activity at the resorts.
This begs a fairly obvious question: with the pro development agenda of the current state government and a limited ability to run economically viable resorts based on snow activity at lower elevations, what devil in the detail might emerge once the new operators are announced?
Let’s hope this doesn’t become an opportunity for new operators to radically increase the footprint and impact of activity at these resorts.
While the new International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report confirmed recently that climate change is indisputable, it’s something that the winter sports community has been seeing first-hand for years.
This has seen many in the recreational skiing and boarding community get active to tackle climate change. But there are also some interesting things happening amongst professional athletes.
Jeremy Jones
In April, 75 Olympic medalists and other winter sports athletes – including White House “Champion of Change” awardee and pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones – lobbied President Obama, urging the President to take action on climate and clean energy.
The representatives of the global snow sports community signing the letter to the President included X Games champions and World Champion snowboarders, alpine/Nordic skiers and professional climbers, including:
• Olympic gold and silver medalist Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA)
• Olympic silver medalist and four-time X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO)
• 10-time Big Mountain Rider of the Year Jeremy Jones (Truckee, CA)
• Olympic silver medalist, three-time World champion, seven-time X Games champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, VT)
• Two-time Olympian and six-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland (Truckee, CA)
• Olympic gold & silver medalist, six-time X Games medalist, six-time World Cup champion Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT)
• 2010 Olympian, Nordic skier Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK)
• Five-time winner Powder Magazine’s Best Female Performer Ingrid Backstrom (Seattle, WA)
• Two-time World Freeskiing champion Chris Davenport (Aspen, CO)
• Two-time World Freeeskiing champion, Kit Deslauriers (Jackson, WY)
• 2013 World champion, X Games medalist Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO)
The letter states “Without a doubt, winter is in trouble” “… at risk are the economies of tourist-dependent states where winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries. Those are the jobs and businesses are generators of billions in federal and state income.”
Hot Planet/ Cool athletes program
Meanwhile Protect our Winters (POW) has restarted Hot Planet/ Cool athletes program, which organises Professional skiers and snowboarders to deliver presentations to North American students, encouraging them to become Climate Leaders.
Protect Our Winters re-launched their “Hot Planet/Cool Athletes” program this week to take the first hand perspective of climate change into the classroom to explain climate change from an engaging new perspective and to inspire and empower students to become involved.
Presented by The North Face, the program has been presented to more than 20,000 students at 41 schools nationwide since 2011. The new format for 2013 continues to educate students about climate change, combining engaging action sports footage and understandable climate science with first hand athlete’s perspectives and a call to action that truly breaks through to students and gives them the tools to be part of the solution.
Pro athletes such as Gretchen Bleiler, Jeremy Jones, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Ingrid Backstrom, Lucas Debari, Danny Davis and Angel Collinson are featured in the video project, with many others scheduled for in-person school appearances.
Then there is the the #ourtimeisnow campaign, a call to action that invites students to take meaningful action on climate change. By connecting with them in a relevant way, via their social media, POW will invite all students to use the hashtag #ourtimeisnow across their social media channels. POW can then track its use and provide meaningful climate actions directly back to each student. As students become more involved in the campaign by using the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, they will have opportunities to win prizes and spend time with professional athletes discussing climate change or joining POW representatives to lobby MPs in Washington.
“We’ve got to create a social movement starting with young kids who will be the most affected, and we feel that this component of the program is a critical step in making a difference. By using social media as a backbone for it, we’re connecting with students on their terms and starting that movement with meaningful results,” said POW’s Executive Director, Chris Steinkamp.
STEPS – a journey to the edge of climate change
Then there is this new film from Ride Greener and Coupdoeil which considers how the snow industry can work in harmony with nature to protect the climate we rely on.
The promo says:
“The carbon-neutral approach shown in the film is a new way of thinking with the ever-looming shadow of climate change growing closer year after year. It’s not too late to prevent the oncoming consequences of fossil fuels and the damage that has already been caused”. This film tackles how an industry that revolves around predictable and consistent weather patterns can play it’s part in preventing climate change.
This is the 4th backcountry ski film from Sweetgrass Productions.
Two years in the making, Valhalla is way beyond your normal ski film and its almost as if the usual eye candy of skiing/ boarding big lines is used to entice you in, and covers a deeper story. The premise of the film is that as we get older we lose our passion for life, that sense of wonder we have as a child, but can look for it again.
‘Valhalla is the tale of one man’s search to rediscover the freedom of his youth. Feeling the distant heat of it’s fire still burning in the mountains of the frozen north, he goes in search of those tending the flame—the untamed, the wild, and the outcast dwelling on the fringe’.
There is one last showing for 2013 – at Falls Creek, on friday September 20 at 7pm.
Many thanks to Brett Lemin for organising the evening, and to Falls Creek resort management for support, the Last Hoot cafe bar for hosting, and Patagonia for the give-aways.
Check here for details on the films shown in this years festival.
I know I should probably stop bagging out our local ski resorts for being useless on climate change, but there are so many inspiring examples from overseas that show what is possible with a little bit of vision.
The following is an announcement about a new collaboration between an alliance of US-based mountain resorts, and Protect Our Winters.
The announcement is vague on the details of exactly what the alliance will do, and highlights ‘cross promotion’ opportunities, but at least it seems intent on putting climate change on the agenda for each of the resorts, and mentions advocacy as one of the activities that will be undertaken.
The Mountain Collective, an alliance of independent mountain resorts, and Protect Our Winters (POW) are proud to announce a new and innovative partnership with the mission of uniting the winter sports community on the important issue of climate change. Both groups have worked independently to promote this environmental cause, and this collaboration will make an even bigger impact.
Protect Our Winters is the environmental center point of the winter sports community’s fight against climate change. The Mountain Collective is comprised of six iconic destinations representing the core of the skiing and snowboarding world including Alta, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Mammoth Mountain, Snowbird, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, and Whistler Blackcomb. Together, POW and these high profile resorts can impact the entire community and industry with incredible effectiveness.
“Through this groundbreaking partnership, The Mountain Collective has re-defined what a pass should be. It not only represents access to six world-class destinations, but the foresight to realize that climate change is a threat to our sport and with that access, comes a responsibility to protect it for the long term,” said POW’s Executive Director Chris Steinkamp.
“Partnering with a leading organization like POW serves to reinforce The Mountain Collective as the most forward-thinking alliance of its kind,” said Christian Knapp, vice president marketing, Aspen Skiing Company. “Together we can leverage the power of our brands to promote meaningful climate advocacy that resonates with mountain resorts and snow sports enthusiasts alike.”
The partnership will include ongoing advocacy and cross-marketing initiatives, education and community outreach to raise awareness and promote environmental sustainability. Additionally, POW members who purchase a Mountain Collective Pass will receive a year’s subscription to Powder magazine, and anyone who purchases a new Mountain Collective Pass will be offered a free one-year membership to POW.
The Impact of Climate Change on Winter Sports
The last decade was the warmest on record [NOAA, 2010]. Fewer ski days would not only reduce enjoyment for skiers, boarders and other winter sports enthusiasts, but also cause significant economic impact to an industry that supports 965,000 people and contributes $66 billion to the U.S. economy alone [OIA 2006, 2012]. Without action to reduce emissions, scientists predict that by 2039 the Northeast ski season will last less than 100 days and the probability of being open by Christmas will decline below 75% [Scott et al. (2008)].
Anyone with an interest in skiing or boarding steeper lines on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains will love this book. I can’t believe that it took 20 years from its publication before I heard of this wonderful book.
I was skiing with my friend Peter this winter and as we talked of the backcountry trips we had done and wanted to do, the western slopes of the Snowies came up. He mentioned Alan Andrews ‘classic’ Skiing the Western Faces Kosciusko, describing it as the Bible of skiing in the area, and providing the ‘tick list’ for anyone interested in the many lines that come off the western side of the highest peaks of the Main Range.
Two weeks later I was the proud owner of a copy, a publication of Canberra based Tabletop Press, which has an impressive collection of mountain themed books in its stable.
As Alan describes in the introduction, the book is not so much a guide to skiing the western slopes as ‘a companion volume that might instil in you or remind you of its joys’.
The Winter Wildlands Alliance created the Backcountry Film Festival in 2005 to help grassroots and professional filmmakers to show audiences their love of the winter outdoors. Since then, the annual festival has become something of an institution amongst many outdoor communities.
The festival is now a pre winter event here in Australia. Melbourne show
Wednesday May 15
At The South Melbourne Commons
corner of Bank & Montague St in South Melbourne
Suggested donation: $8 conc/ $12 waged
7pm. Come and grab a drink and catch up
7.30. Films start, the show runs til 10pm (with a 20 minute break in the middle).
Kronicle is the world’s first backcountry snowboarding/ spiltboard magazine:
“Kronicle is a backcountry snowboard publication tailored to riders with a thirst for untracked snow, untapped lines, and exploration. We’re employing the richest stories, images and design to chronicle the people and places of backcountry snowboarding. That’s not all—we also report on the gear and skills riders need to reach their mountain objectives.
During its relatively short lifespan, snowboarding has covered a lot of ground and backcountry is the next frontier. It’s a homecoming of sorts, coming back to where it all began, bringing the sport full circle and leading us to Kronicle. This is our story, and it’s just the beginning”.
It is produced by Height of Land Publications in the US, who produce the excellent Backcounrtry magazine and, for many years, Telemark magazine. HOL produces high quality, visually gorgeous publications and Kronicle is a nice addition to their existing magazines.
Kronicle have teamed up with FirstLight Snowboards to provide this to the Australian Splitboard community.
The federal Greens have been successful in getting a Senate Inquiry into extreme weather. This is a significant opportunity for the government to consider the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on local communities, landscapes and economies in the Alpine region.
It would be useful if you or your business or group were be able to make a brief submission to the inquiry about the threat of extreme weather and climate change in your community, and the impacts it has already had or is predicted to have. See below for some ideas on making a submission.
Time is short – we only have until January 18.
You may also want to make a formal request for the committee to visit your area and host a public hearing to take submissions from people who live in or are reliant on good winters to keep the local economy strong.
The snow industry – the canary in the cage when it comes to climate change?
The winter sports industry/community is deeply dependent upon predictable, heavy snowfall, but climate change is expected to contribute to warmer winters, reduced snowfall, and shorter snow seasons.
A recent US study, commissioned by Protect Our Winters (POW) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), shows that the U.S. ski and snowmobile winter sports industry is currently worth an estimated $12.2 billion each year, and has already felt the direct impact of decreased winter snowpack and rising average winter temperatures.
As the authors note in the report, “climate change spells trouble for all businesses dependent on winter weather including snowboarding, snowshoeing and skiing. The shrinking numbers of winter sports tourists also affect restaurants, lodging, gas stations, grocery stores, bars” and other businesses.
Bogong High Plains fires, 2007
Here in Australia, winters are already becoming warmer and more erratic, and this impacts on the quality and quantity of snow.
According to Dr. David Bain, in the high Alps from 1950 to 2007 there has been an increase in winter temperatures approaching 1°C, and over much the same period (1957 to 2011), Australia has seen a slow decrease in snow depth. The mid-winter snow depths have only decreased a small amount, whereas spring snow depth has dropped by almost 40%. The obvious impact here is that the resort season becomes shorter, making it more difficult to make a profit on infrastructure that is located in resorts year round.
While resorts have invested in extra snow making capacity and are seeking to build visitation outside of the winter months, the majority of infrastructure is based around winter sports. Snow making will become more expensive in coming years as energy prices rise, and this will impact on resort profit margins and hence viability. As was highlighted in the 2012 document the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan, “cost pressures are a major problem for many on-mountain businesses and site holders”.
Science suggests that without determined action to reduce climate change, we can expect to see less and less reliable snow falls in coming years.
According to the government commissioned report ‘Caring for our Australian Alps Catchments’, the Alps face an average temperature rise of between 0.6 and 2.9 degrees centigrade by 2050, depending on how much action the international community takes to combat climate change.
Rain, snow and other precipitation is expected to decrease up to 24% over the next four decades, accompanied by more bushfires, droughts, severe storms and rapid runoff, causing heavy erosion. Additionally, what precipitation we get could become more erratic. For instance, it is likely there will be more storm events in summer, which could be expected to impact on outdoor recreation and especially organised events like bike rides and festivals. The 2003 and 2006/2007 fires in Alpine regions are an indicator of what could come with enhanced global warming. These shut down tourism across sections of eastern Victoria, with dramatic impacts on businesses reliant on summer tourism.
The Caring for our Australian Alps Catchments report says that our ski slopes could be completely bare of natural winter snow by 2050 unless concerted action is taken against global warming.
The erratic weather will also be felt in winter, with corresponding impacts on economies. The US report notes that in that country, the downhill ski resort industry is estimated to have lost $1.07 billion in aggregated revenue between low and high snow fall years over the last decade: if the snow is bad, many people will simply cancel their holiday. So even if there is some snow cover, erratic weather can still have impacts.
All of this will be a disaster for skiers, boarders and all who spend their time in the Alps.
Buffalo Plateau from Big Hill
But it will also be devastating for local economies. In Victoria, the alpine resorts are estimated to have contributed $570 million and 5,800 Full-Time Equivalent jobs to the Victorian economy in winter alone for 2011 (source: Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan 2012, p13). The flow on effects of the industry is felt in towns throughout north east Victoria and around the Snowy Mountains, including the development of niche agriculture economies which is, in part, supported by snow-based tourism. To take one example of local benefits, the ‘gross regional profit’ of Alpine Shire was increased by about $130 million in 2011 because of the presence of the alpine resorts. The negative impacts of the bushfires on Murrindindi Shire in this same period indicate what climate change and extreme weather events could mean in future for all shires across the state.
According to the Economic Significance of the Australian Alpine Resorts report (2011), the combined benefit for the three Australian States with alpine resorts in 2005 is calculated to be $1.3 billion with 17,050 annual equivalent employment opportunities.
As the US report concludes: “all of this translates into less snow and fewer people on the slopes, which results in massive economic hardship for resorts, states, local communities, businesses and their employees.” Please write a submission
In order to protect the alpine environments that we love and the many thousands of people and businesses who depend on a snow-filled season, we must act now to support policies that protect our climate, and in turn, our slopes.
Apart from any direct impacts you are concerned about, you might want to mention that the latest science is showing that the impacts of climate change are happening faster than expected, and that communities will require funding to deal with the worst predicted outcomes. There must be greater community engagement about adaptation to climate change. However, responding to climate change (‘adaptation’) is not enough: we must also respond to the causes of climate change – by reducing emissions (‘mitigation’).
Check here for climate change scenarios for the Alps.
If you would like the Senate Inquiry to visit your town to hear your concerns about climate change and extreme weather, please check here.
Submissions are due on 18 January with the final report due from the Senate Committee on 20th March.
Lake Mountain, Melbourne’s closest and most affordable alpine resort, will soon be given over to developers in a long‐term lease that effectively privatises public land.
“The Baillieu Government should not be acting like a real estate agent for land that belongs to all Victorians. It should be managing our natural heritage responsibly, for future generations,” the Victorian National Parks Association’s Phil Ingamells said today.
“The Baillieu Government’s announcement that it is handing over management of the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort to a private recreation company, in preparation for auctioning the leasehold, may be the first of many such developments. Our alpine resorts, national parks and other public land are all vulnerable to this policy,” he said.
Importantly the Alpine Resorts Act, which governs the management of Victoria’s alpine resorts, makes it clear that resorts are for the use of all sections of the community, not just the big spenders.
A recent State Services Authority inquiry into Victoria’s alpine resort management said the resorts need to provide for a far greater section of the community, not just high‐end tourism.
The inquiry also recommended that resorts such as Lake Mountain, which will be the first to lose their snow cover as global warming increases, should be placed under the management of Parks Victoria.
“But the Baillieu Government seems determined to hand our finest bits of public land over to private control, and make them playgrounds for the wealthy,” said Mr Ingamells.
“Developments in private hands inevitably grow. This is a short‐sighted move, and one that will be very hard to reverse. Victorians of the future will almost certainly look back at this time with great regret.”
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