This past week, my family and I went on a ski trip to Stratton Mountain, Vermont, and noticed a lot more green going on since our trip last year. Not only were they now offsetting 100% of their energy output and greengrading many of the ginormous appliances that go into snow making, I noticed extensive use of plastics made from corn rather than petroleum and recycling bins all over the resort including the hotel rooms.
Stratton is a charming ski resort that feels like a mini Beaver Creek. No history or deep roots behind the town like Aspen or Park City, but everything feels clean and efficient with a little touch of luxury. Though it has a long way to go before challenging Grand Targhee Resort of Wyoming to the top slot of greenest ski resort, Stratton has won distinction by the Clif Bar Golden Eagle Awards for Excellence in Energy Conservation/Clean Energy. Not too shabby.
The weather conditions this year were sadly about the worst I’ve experienced with puddles all over the place and a wicked wind that thankfully died down on the third day. East coast skiing never could compare to skiing out West but the worse than usual conditions made me think that if anyone has a vested interest in stopping global warming, it would be the ski resort industry! Climate change could prove disastrous to an industry already hurting from a weak economy. In fact, the Washington Post reported that slopes on the East Coast last year closed months ahead of time due to warmer weather, some losing as much as a third of their season.
The Citizen's Climate Lobby imagines a grim future for ski lovers!
In addition to the eco-conscious changes that I noticed at the resort, I would have loved to see even more exciting initiatives like perhaps refillable shampoo and soap fixtures in the hotels vs disposable bottles made from corn. Or how about installing more hooks and towel bars to encourage people to reuse towels instead of having them washed and replaced after a single use.
In any case, we all had a blast and the kids didn’t even seem to mind the wind and ice. Swamped with work this year, I was tempted to skip our winter vacation this year, but I’m glad we didn’t. I remembered a line from one of my favorite books on raising kids by H. Jackson Browne called Life’s Little Instruction Book: “Take family vacations whether you can afford them or not. The memories will be priceless.” He’s right.
