Intrawest Resort Holdings is a business that will be significantly affected by climate change.\u00a0 Intrawest owns and\/or operates six ski resorts, as well as real estate and a helicopter skiing operation.\u00a0 Intrawest\u2019s ski resorts are Steamboat (Colorado), Winter Park (Colorado), Mont Tremblant (Quebec), Blue Mountain (Ontario), Stratton Mountain (Vermont), and Snowshoe Mountain (West Virginia).<\/p>\n
Ski resorts may the industry most immediately affected by climate change.\u00a0 According to a study by Daniel Scott at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, half of the 103 ski resorts in the Northeast will not be able to sustaining a 100-day ski season by 2039 (under certain forecasts).\u00a0 He believes that by 2039 no ski resort in Connecticut or Massachusetts will be financially feasible, and only 7 out of 18 resorts in New Hampshire and 8 out of 14 in Maine will be.\u00a0 The resorts in the higher mountains of the West will suffer as well.\u00a0 In the Colorado Rockies, temperatures are expected to rise as much as 7 degrees by 2100, causing Park City to lose its snowpack and Aspen\u2019s snowpack to be limited to the top 25% of the mountain.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Climate change has certainly already negatively impacted Intrawest\u2019s snowfall and financial results in recent years, and will continue to impact its business going forward.\u00a0 Intrawest discloses this risk in its 10-K: \u201cThe effects of climate change, including any impact of global warming, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 However, the company has not put forth public statements on mitigating this threat to their business.\u00a0 Yet, coverage of the ski resort industry tells us that there are two main mitigation strategies Intrawest is likely pursuing.<\/p>\n The first mitigation strategy is snowmaking.\u00a0 According to the New York Times: \u201cresorts big and small are combating the trends [climate change] with bigger investments in snow making ($8 million worth at Squaw Valley and neighboring Alpine Meadows in the last three years [article from 2014]).\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 In fact, artificial snowmaking now contributes to snow cover at 88% of American ski resorts.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 However, according to Porter Fox, author of Deep: The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow<\/em>: \u201cSnowmaking is not the answer\u2026It\u2019s a stopgap measure to keep the ski resort industry from collapsing.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Furthermore, snowmaking is very expensive and uses tremendous amounts of energy and water.<\/p>\n The second mitigation strategy is diversifying into non-skiing activities.\u00a0 These fall into two buckets: winter activities to supplement skiing and off-season activities to generate year-round revenue.\u00a0 For example, Washington School House, a high-end boutique hotel in Park City, Utah, now offers 18 winter sport activities, including bobsledding, zip-lining, yoga, hot-air ballooning, and therapeutic soaks.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Diversifying into summer activities can include golf, waterparks, and sports which utilize the chairlifts, such as mountain biking and downhill carts.<\/p>\n I believe ski resorts are pursuing the right general strategy to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.\u00a0 However, rather than adding new activities in what appears to be a scattered and improvised fashion, I would sketch out a holistic vision of what the winter <\/em>resort \u2013 <\/em>not the ski<\/em> resort \u2013 of the future looks like.\u00a0 Then, I would build a plan for how to transform from today\u2019s resort to this resort of the future in a staged and financially realistic manner.\u00a0 Rather than muddling along, these resorts need to have a vision and detailed execution plan for transforming into the winter resorts of the future.<\/p>\n (675 Words)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Katharine Q. Seelye, \u201cRising Temperatures Threaten Fundamental Change for Ski Slopes,\u201d New York Times<\/em>, December 12, 2012, http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/12\/13\/us\/climate-change-threatens-ski-industrys-livelihood.html<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc., June 30, 2016 Form 10-K, http:\/\/ir.intrawest.com\/docs.aspx?iid=4424057<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> John Branch, \u201cAs Snow Fades, California Ski Resorts Are Left High and Very Dry,\u201d New York Times<\/em>, November 23, 2014, http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/11\/24\/sports\/skiing\/as-snow-fades-california-ski-resorts-face-a-brown-future.html<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Porter Fox, \u201cThe End of Snow?\u201d New York Times<\/em>, February 7, 2014, http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/08\/opinion\/sunday\/the-end-of-snow.html<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Evelyn Spence, \u201cThe High-Tech Fight to Save California Skiing,\u201d Bloomberg<\/em>, March 6, 2015, http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2015-03-06\/fake-snow-real-money-the-high-tech-fight-to-save-california-skiing<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n