Yale Climate Connections · March 23, 2026
The problem is a major threat to the U.S. snowsports industry. But their actions fall short.
“This year was a catastrophic year,” said Auden Schendler, who shepherded the Aspen Ski Company’s sustainability program for 26 years.
Winter enthusiasts know that bad years happen. But “in a climate-changed world, you’re more likely to see multiple years of aberration stacked together,” Schendler said.
Many mountain communities rely on winter sports as the centerpiece of their economies and way of life. As the climate warms and snow becomes increasingly unreliable, skiing and snowboarding are on thin ice.
But surprisingly, the snowsports industry has not mounted an aggressive campaign for climate action.
Schendler spent much of his career pioneering sustainability practices in the snowsports industry, but now he realizes that many common responses, such as installing energy-efficient lighting, are missing the larger point.
That’s because climate change is a global problem that requires large-scale, systemic solutions. In Schendler’s view, individual actions, even when implemented by large companies, are not enough.
The missing element, says Schendler, is a powerful public voice: “You need a large, publicly traded company like Vail to publicly lobby, advocate, use their voice, and use trade group pressure to push on change,” he said. “And that just hasn’t happened.”
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