In part one of this series, published in November, SKI looked at the growing environmental movement that has portrayed skiing as an environmental heavy and threatened the future of the sport. Lost in the rhetoric of confrontation that is currently raging at nearly 50 resorts in North America are the numerous examples of how ski areas are turning "green."
Here we look at the other side of the coin, where resorts have successfully partnered with environmentalists to protect public lands and improve the quality of life for locals and visitors alike. While they acknowledge that mistakes were made 20, 30 and 40 years ago, there is both a new management style and a new commitment to have skiing co-exist with the environment.
The president of Crested Butte Resort noticed that every time the ski area built something, there was a ripple in Gunnison Valley.
The Aspen Skiing Company has taken a lead in showing the ski industry, and industry in general, how to be environmentally correct.
Often, finding common ground between ski resorts and environmentalists is a matter of communication.
Sorting out fact from fiction is sometimes difficult in the emotion-laden debates over ski area expansions. Here's a look at the myths-and the facts.
SKI contributing editor Ken Castle is an an award-winning environmental writer.
Skiing & the Environment, Part 1: the End of Skiing as We Know It
