Whistler Blackcomb: An environmental nerd?!

There are these ski resorts. The resorts that you remember from the first ski videos. The ones that already stood for freedom, passion and the pure lifestyle of skiing back then. The ones that were virtually synonymous with freeskiing. Powder. And endless backcountry. That you always had at the top of your bucket list - without even knowing what a bucket list actually was. Whistler, or more precisely Whistler Blackcomb, is undoubtedly one of these ski resorts.

As early as 1962, a Vancouver businessman made plans to develop Whistler Mountain as a possible venue for the Winter Olympics. In the course of this, the road network was expanded and after the construction of a 4-seater gondola, a double chairlift, two T-bar lifts and a ski hut, the Whistler ski area was created in 1966. Over the years, the area continued to grow and Blackcomb Mountain opened in 1980. By connecting the two areas in 2008 with the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, Whistler Blackcomb became one of the largest ski resorts in North America. And a place of longing for even more champagne powder lovers.

However, even the largest and most popular ski resort in North America is struggling with the problems of the future and the effects of climate change. "Whistler Blackcomb is embedded in a huge mountain world that is home to a large number of glaciers. These glaciers have allowed us to witness the effects of climate change for many decades," explains Arthur De Jong, Mountain Planning and Environmental Resource Manager at Whistler Blackcomb. "According to weather data from 1976 to 2011, collected by Whistler Blackcomb and Environment Canada, on average the amount of snow is slightly increasing in winter. We've seen the same thing with winter air temperatures - an average of 0.5°C over the last 35 years. Our summer temperatures have even increased by up to 2°C on average over the same period. We have also observed that the glaciers in the area are retreating further and further."

A new gondola alone, which will replace the two chairlifts Wizard and Solar in Blackcomb, is set to increase capacity by 47 percent and transport up to 4,000 winter sports enthusiasts per hour. More people than anywhere else in North America. The reasoning behind the construction of this gondola is that it will allow skiers to climb the mountains in even greater comfort and protection from the weather.

When Arthur De Jong talks in an interview about how our thirst for adventure is threatening the environment, that we definitely need to find a way to reduce our recreational footprint and that Whistler Blackcomb has set itself the goal of becoming an industry leader in climate protection, this statement seems almost grotesque in the wake of the latest development plans in Whistler.

Or is it simply consistent? After all, Whistler Blackcomb is a tourist destination. Tourist destinations live from their guests and their satisfaction. Perhaps it was time to modernize the lifts in terms of their energy efficiency?

The fact that new superlatives - such as the longest, continuous lift system - are created in the process is probably part and parcel of a resort of this size. And if Whistler has recognized the problem with winter and snow reliability, it seems only logical to further expand the bike park, if you disregard the land consumption.

So can everything in climate and environmental protection always be seen as black or white, or do you sometimes have to accept compromises? Is Whistler Blackcomb an environmental nerd, or perhaps just a resort that likes to adorn itself with an environmental department? Perhaps we should simply be happy that such a large resort is drawing attention to the effects of climate change. Whether it always does everything right remains to be seen - after all, they say of themselves that others can learn from their successes and failures. And doing something is always better than doing nothing, right? What do you think?

Here you can find Whistler Blackcomb's climate strategy at a glance