This winter marks the lowest snow cover on record in the Western United States, forcing ski resorts to depend more on machine-made snow. While this practice helps maintain operations, it raises concerns over energy and water use. Experts highlight both environmental challenges and adaptation limits as climate change alters winter conditions.
The Western United States is experiencing its lowest snow cover on record this winter, impacting ski operations across the region. In Colorado, fewer than one-third of Arapahoe Basin's runs remain open. Washington's Mt. Baker Ski Area canceled its annual snowboard race due to an unworkable snowpack, while Oregon's Hoodoo Ski Area and Mt. Ashland Ski Area closed temporarily for weeks from lack of natural snowfall. College ski championships shifted from Montana to Utah as a result.
Ski resorts are turning to snowmaking, a process originating in 1949 when a Connecticut resort spread 700 pounds of ice on a run. Today, it involves spraying pressurized water into freezing air. Vail Resorts, operating 42 areas globally, noted that weather conditions, especially temperature, determine snowmaking extent, though it does not disclose specifics.
Steven Fassnacht, a snow hydrology professor at Colorado State University, explained that expanding snowmaking in the West is challenging due to the costly process of acquiring water rights. Historically, less than 10 percent of Western skiable acres use man-made snow, compared to over 50 percent in the Northeast and 80 percent in the Southeast and Midwest.
Environmental concerns include high energy demands—averaging 18 percent of a resort's total use—and water consumption. Palisades Tahoe, for instance, uses 50 to 70 million gallons annually, covering 60 acres in 1.5 feet of snow. Fassnacht estimated 80 percent of this water returns to streams, with snowmaking comprising just 0.05 percent of Colorado's annual water use versus 85 percent for agriculture. However, machine-made snow does not replenish regional water supplies like natural snowpack, which provides 75 percent of water for Westerners.
"Snowmaking should be considered a temporary storage on the mountain, instead of in a reservoir," Fassnacht said. "The water is not really taken out of the system, just stored somewhere else. It does not replace snow that falls from the sky."
Some resorts, like Big Sky in Montana, use treated wastewater to reduce freshwater draw, though this sparks controversy. Flagstaff's ski area has faced Indigenous protests since 2013 for spraying sewage on a sacred mountain. A 2022 Journal of Sustainable Tourism paper found impacts vary by location, lower in areas like Washington with cleaner grids and higher in Colorado or New Mexico amid water stress.
Despite expansions, such as Vail's 2019 purchase of 421 snow guns—the largest in North American history—challenges persist. Vail reported a 20 percent visitation drop from poor snowfall. Historian Jesse Ritner stated, "There’s a level to which, to put it bluntly, the ski industry is screwed," adding that snowmaking will grow in importance. Climate researcher Michael Pidwirny predicts resorts like Whistler Blackcomb may face unviable seasons in one of every two years by 2050 or 2060, as temperatures limit snowmaking to below 28 degrees wet bulb.