Ski season 2011 is in full swing. Here on the East Coast there is a mixture of natural snow and the man-made stuff, making the conditions perfect for any skier or rider. Skiing truly is a great way for a family to spend quality time together in the great outdoors.
Wherever your skiing adventures take you, there are many ski resorts to choose from. Most of us choose a resort based upon location, but know little about the individual ski areas’ environmental practices and policies.
The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition [1] put together a guide of the Top 10 and Worst 10 Western U.S. Ski Resorts [1] based on the resorts environmental policies and practices. It is their mission to provide ski areas with a standard on which to improve.
They used 4 categories to rank the resorts:
- Habitat Protection
- Protecting Watersheds
- Addressing Global Climate Change
- Environmental Practices and Policies
Here are the 2011 Top 10 Environmentally Friendly Ski Resorts:
- Squaw Valley [2]-California
- Park City Mountain Resort [3]-Utah
- Alpine Meadows Ski Area [4]-California
- Aspen Mountain Ski Resort [5]-Colorado
- Aspen Highlands Ski Resort [6]-Colorado
- Buttermilk Mountain Ski Resort [7]-Colorado
- Deer Valley Resort [8]-Utah
- Jackson Hole Mountain Resort [9]-Wyoming
- Sundance Resort [10]-Utah
- Bogus Basin Mountain Resort [11]-Idaho
According to Norma Ruth Ryan of the Colorado Wild (the umbrella organization for the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition), for the time being they have no intention of expanding their report card into the Midwest or East Coast.
So I am starting my own Top East Coast Environmentally Friendly Ski Resorts list:
- Shawnee Peak [12] in Bridgton, Maine is a wonderful family mountain. It has a long list of green initiatives [12], making it appear to be very eco-friendly.
Disclaimer: I didn’t use the same method used by the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition to make this determination. We ski at this mountain on a regular basis and see first hand how conscientious the mountain truly is.
When planning a family vacation-choose your ski resort wisely. By making eco-friendly choices, you can encourage the improvement of environmental business policies and practices at ski resorts.
Know any other great, green resorts that should be included?
Interested in the list of the the 10 Worst Ski Resorts-click HERE [13].
*Top photo used under Creative Commons from Planetlight