The disheartening rate of glacial retreat in the face of climate change isn鈥檛 a new concern for scientists and outdoor enthusiasts. But ski behemoth Whistler Blackcomb has a particularly vested interest.聽
As one of two North American resorts to offer summer skiing and snowboarding on a glacier, the revered ski area鈥攕pecifically, Blackcomb Mountain鈥檚 Horstman Glacier鈥攈as become a summer training destination for ski and snowboard teams from around the globe.聽
The problem: A couple of sparse snowfall years combined with rising summer temperatures聽have caused the glacier鈥檚 mass balance to dwindle, which puts the resort鈥檚 summer season鈥攁nd the revenue it generates鈥攁t risk. In fact, this summer鈥檚 skiing and riding will end earlier than usual on Horstman.聽
The proposed solution: snowmaking. The idea is to stabilize the glacier鈥檚 movement enough to support resort operations and, ideally, to reverse the recession鈥攅ventually. 鈥淚n terms of the current state of the glacier and trends we鈥檝e been measuring for decades, now is the time to implement snowmaking,鈥 says Arthur De Jong, Whistler Blackcomb鈥檚 mountain planning and environmental resources manager. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a physical reality. Right now, the glacier is in such a condition that it鈥檒l be very difficult to operate in the summer.鈥
鈥淭he glacier project聽is an adaptive measure,鈥 Arthur De Jong聽says, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 actually a very small piece of a much bigger strategy.鈥
After the summer season ends in late July, the resort will begin installing the pilot project: five new snow guns at the top of the glacier鈥攖he only system in the resort鈥檚 extensive fleet that makes snow above 6,300 feet in elevation, and the only guns that will be stationary. Snow will start blowing in October and ramp up on either end of the season, as the higher elevations will sustain cold enough temperatures to keep making snow through late May. If the test phase is successful鈥攅ach gun will need to produce around 17,000 cubic meters of snow annually to prove a full-scale system is viable鈥攖he resort will begin phase two next summer, which means installing 21 more guns on the glacier. De Jong hopes to add back about 12 acres of glacial surface to Horstman and expects to go through about 60 million gallons of water by the end of the second phase.聽
With three snowmaking reservoirs and a surplus of stored water between the resort鈥檚 mountains, he doesn鈥檛 worry about water use. The more pressing issue is energy. 鈥淲e鈥檙e testing different low-energy guns on the project so we鈥檒l learn more about them,鈥 De Jong says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very mindful that we鈥檙e having these climate change issues because of our own choices with energy.鈥 It鈥檚 an industry generalization, but he鈥檚 quick to point out Whistler Blackcomb鈥檚 impressive efforts en route to a net-zero carbon footprint. 鈥淭he glacier [project] is an adaptive measure,鈥 he says, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 actually a very small piece of a much bigger strategy.鈥澛
Whether or not Horstman can be saved with snow guns remains to be seen. But the concept resonates with experts鈥攖o a point. 鈥淚t does work because fresh snow is bright and white and insulating,鈥 says Ted Scambos, lead scientist for the (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. 鈥淪o it reflects the solar energy, keeps the surface cooler, insulates the surface below, helps hold the winter cold in, and would probably work to slow down glacier retreat. But only a few glaciers in the world would have enough intrinsic economic value to warrant that sort of effort to save them. It鈥檚 not the kind of thing that鈥檚 going to work on any sort of large scale. 鈥