Approach
As the snow season declines due to warming conditions, the use, retention, and storage of natural and man-made snow has become a standard practice for downhill ski resorts, including a number of tactics that could be applied as well to backcountry settings. Measures could be taken to lengthen the snow season at low and mid-elevations and other marginal locations through snow fences, snow caches, and transportation of natural snow to where it is most needed. Other examples can include planting or retaining canopy trees that shade south-facing slopes and trails or contouring ski area terrain and drainage features to capture snowmelt.
Tactics
- Install snow fences, create snow caches, and transport natural snow to where it is most needed.
- Install box culverts in place of rolling dips on snowmobile trials to move water under the trail, but retain snow on the trail surface.
- Pitch the surfaces of cross-country or snowmobile trails away from the prevailing direction of solar radiation.
- Plant or retain strategic canopy trees that shade south-facing slopes and trails, or other areas prone to snowmelt. Where appropriate, utilize species that intercept a minimal amount of snowfall.
- At downhill skiing resorts, centralize snowmaking efforts and limit slope availability to concentrate use into the most advantageous corridors.
- Contour ski area terrain and drainage features to capture snowmelt into holding ponds that can help replenish snowmaking reserves throughout the winter.
- Use piping solutions and infiltration areas to capture snowmelt that can help replenish snowmaking reservoirs throughout the winter.
- Construct water reservoirs so that stream flow can be impounded in spring and summer for winter use, helping to ensure that increased water withdrawals to support expanded snowmaking operations don't greatly reduce winter water levels in streams and lakes.
Strategy
Strategy Text
Climate change will impact recreational opportunities and infrastructure such that it may become untenable to retain those opportunities and infrastructure without modification. Many of these opportunities and infrastructure are highly dependent on their setting within a natural area or within a specific context. Ski areas in particular represent an investment in infrastructure that is long-term, place-based, and highly compromised by the effects of a changing climate. This strategy seeks to provide options for re-evaluating past design concepts and for adapting existing opportunities and infrastructure in a way that allows for modification but retains the character of the current recreational experience.
O’Toole, D.; Brandt, L.A.; Janowiak, M.K.; Schmitt, K.M.; Shannon, P.D.; Leopold, P.R.; Handler, S.D.; Ontl, T.A.; Swanston, C.W. Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Outdoor Recreation. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7030.