Board Makers Offer the Green Option RESPONSE

I'm really excited about about this article; the only thing I can say is that I really hope that skiing companies do the same. I don't know of any ski companies that are actually changing the designs of their skis to help the environment. I know that Head has an "Keep Winter Cool" campaign, but they really aren't doing anything in regards to their skis. I can't believe that someone has been making eco friendly boards since 1995 and nobody has taken notice until now. I guess old hippies really know what they're doing sometimes. I'm impressed that Burton expects to have a 50 percent environmentally friendly line by 2010. I think that coolest part of this whole issue is that bamboo cored boards are actually lighter than wood or fiberglass cores, so not only are they more sustainable, they most likely perform better.

Board Makers Offer the Green Option

This is a very in depth article about a few snowboard companies, and their grassroots efforts to go green. It turns out that Arbor Snowboards, based in Venice, California has been pushing for an eco-friendly revolution in snowboarding since 1995, and now many large companies like Burton, K2, and Salomon are following in their steps. Burton's new and first environmentally friendly board called the "Eco Nico" is made with a wood core, lacquer-free topsheet, 90 percent recycled steel edges, 100 percent recycled sidewalls, and a 50 percent recycled base. 

Bob Carlson, founder of Arbor Snowboards has been using bamboo in his designs for years. Recently, Salomon manager Alex Warburton came across the idea of using bamboo in boards. Not only is it more environmentally friendly and sustainable, but bamboo based boards are about 10 percent lighter than others.

However, snowboard companies' executive are somewhat hesitant about producing a whole line of green boards (Warburton in particular) because these boards are more expensive and may not be entirely feasible. Todd King, director of sales for Burton Snowboards says that by 2010 they hope that 50 percent of their entire line will be made with the same materials that the Eco Nico contains now. This is a big transition for board companies and an exciting time for environmentally conscious snowboarders.

Mountain Melt RESPONSE

This article was interesting, and kind of scary. Its scary to think that ski resorts may one day be bare. This article focused on peaks that are much higher then east coast mountains. Most large western ski resorts are between 8,000 and 12,000 feet above sea level. To give you some perspective, Sugarloaf, the highest ski resort in Maine is only 4,200 feet. The study predicts that by 2100, only the top of Park City will be skiable, so where does that leave smaller mountains that we have on the east coast? What if someday we have to go to Europe to ski? I liked that they talked about snowmaking, because we really rely on man-made snow, because you can't always count on mother nature. Hopefully resorts will be willing to spend the money to increase snowmaking capabilities and expand to higher peaks.

Today I rode up a lift with a snowboarder who was talking to his friends and said, "Isn't there supposed to be an ice age after global warming happens? Like, then we'd be able to ride everywhere!" I guess it didn't occur to him that we wouldn't be able to ski during an ice age because we would be dead. 

Mountain Melt

This article talks about a recent study done to investigate the effects of climate change on ski resorts over the next century. The study focused on two of the biggest and most well-known Rocky Mountain resorts; Park City, Utah, and Aspen, Colorado. The study showed that under the most severe scenarios, by 2100 only the very top of Park City resort will be skiable. Aspen however, fared better, because it is higher, and less susceptible to snow loss. Researchers suggest that ski resorts expand to higher elevations and make more snow to counter this process, but that would of course take more money, which brings into question "the economic feasibility of some ski areas in a warming climate".  Mark Williams, Brian Lazar, and Carmen de Jong were the researchers of this issue, and they recently presented it at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.