Ski Season

The Dec. 1 snowfall that brought hope of a decent ski season to skiers and snowboarders alike was followed by disappointment, as it melted into 40- and even 50-degree weather. Last winter, ski resorts were faced with the worst season in two decades, and recent weather has many winter athletes worried for a similar outcome this year.


“Two years ago when I first started getting into snowboarding, the season was perfect,” said UNH senior and Loon Mountain frequenter Justin Lupone. “My friends and I went to the mountain around 80 times that season. That winter was absolutely beautiful. But since then, it has been going downhill.”

Although one would expect resort deals and a drop in lift-ticket prices, last year’s warm winter climate is subsequently boosting business for ski resorts this upcoming season.


“A lot of people are really anxious to hit the slopes since last year wasn’t great, and a lot of people might’ve postponed their plans,” Loon Mountain Communications Manager Greg Kwansik said. “I think we’re going to do just fine thisseason.”

Many resorts this year have already reported higher season-pass sales than last season, when they were forced to combat “the backyard effect,” which occurs when people don’t see snow in the areas where they reside.


If people didn’t see snow around their homes, they were deterred from making the drive up north. But after an unfortunate season, many winter sport enthusiasts are turning to long-term forecasts when deciding whether or not to purchase a season’s pass.


The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a colder winter this year, with more storms and heavier snowfall in the later part of the season. For UNH senior and Killington ski coach Pete Bauer, this is enough of a reason to get excited for this year’s ski season.


“There’s no delay for me,” Bauer said. “I’ll have skied for the sixth time this season after this weekend. The warm weather in early December is common, especially in the Durham area. What counts is that the temperature up north is below freezing throughout the nights.”

According to various studies, however, warm December temperatures in New England may in fact be a detrimental result of climate change.


An article in The Boston Globe discussed a study being published next year by Daniel Scott, director of the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. In the study, Scott discusses the negative impacts of heavy fossil fuel usage on environmental change.


Even though the warming temperatures have not yet had negative impacts on ski resorts, Scott said that within the next 30 years, the impacts will be devastating. His findings suggest that within that timeframe, more than half of the New Hampshire resorts, and all of the Massachusetts resorts will be forced to shut down.


In order to maintain future business, ski resorts will have to increase their snowmaking capacity, reassuring that their terrain will remain open in skiable conditions. For Loon Mountain, which allegedly has the most powerful snowmaking system in New Hampshire, this is already a common practice.


“We have such an expensive snowmaking system that when others had to close early because of warm weather, we stayed open all season,” Kwansik said. “Our snowmaking system covers 97 percent of our terrain.”

If the winter trends of the last few years continue, it is predicted that resorts that don’t already have the same snowmaking capacity as Loon Mountain will have to spend millions of dollars on machines to remain competitive; a difficult endeavor if lift-ticket profits begin to drop. But, at the very least, the warm weather in the recent weeks is not an indicator that this season will be unfavorable.


“High temperatures earlier this week are above normal,” said UNH environmental research professor Paul Kirshen,Ph.D. “But this does not mean all winter will be like this.”

It remains to be seen what potential climate change will bring to the future of winter sports in New England. For now, skiers and snowboarders look forward to what hopefully will turn out to be a better season than last.


“I think this season will be a good one,” Lupone said. “And I expect snow will pick up and we will get hit hard with a storm over winter break. I am a little worried, considering it was 50 degrees out the other day. I truly hope that the last few weeks do not mark another bad season.”