Traveling the Green Way

Park City Mountain Resort has again ranked a top five ski resort in North America by readers of SKI magazine.

Green travelers take note the resort has also won this year’s Clif Bar Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Energy Conservation and Clean Energy.

Park City Mountain Resort environmental initiatives focus on  climate and environment protection, renewable energy purchasing, energy reduction and outreach and education.

“The annual energy consumption of a ski resort is substantial, and we have a responsibility to reduce the carbon footprint of our resorts to help preserve their pristine settings for generations to come,” says Brent Giles, director of environmental affairs and mountain operations of Park City Mountain Resort.

Among its initiatives, the resort:

-Purchases renewable energy credits to offset its power consumption by 100 percent.

-Uses the ambient temperature of outside air to cool walk-in refrigeration systems when possible instead of using air compressors to cool them.

-Finished a lighting retrofit, changing all building facility lighting on the mountain to more energy efficient lighting.

-Installs programmable timers/thermostats to reduce energy use.

-Maintains its recycling initiative and team member on-mountain clean up day every summer.

-Uses bio-diesel in its snowcat fleet.

-Plans to switch to all hybrid Chevrolets for official mountain vehicles.

“While this switch to renewable energy will be invisible to the guest, skiers and riders can enjoy peace of mind knowing that all of Park City Mountain Resort’s electricity is now coming from 100 percent renewable sources.”

Park City Mountain Resort, in the heart of Park City, Utah, has 3,300 acres of unspoiled terrain.  The resort offers groomed Signature Runs, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks and the Eagle Superpipe, North America’s largest superpipe.

For the 2008-09 winter season, the resort invested $10.5 million in improvements including a new high-speed lift, renovations to on-mountain dining, expanded snowmaking and a new run.

Need green living inspiration yourself?  The resort suggests 5 simple steps to reduce your carbon footprint:

• “Change out your regular, burn out all the time, light bulbs with long-lasting (CFL) compact fluorescent light bulbs. They may cost a bit more, but they will last up to 10 times longer and use at least 2/3 less energy than standard bulbs to provide the same light.”

• “Buy a more fuel efficient and less polluting vehicle and reduce or stop idling your vehicle. Over the average lifetime of an American car, a 40 mpg vehicle will save roughly $3,000 in fuel costs versus a 20 mpg vehicle.”

• “Purchase Green Tags to offset your individual carbon usage.”

• “Look for Energy Star rated products, in particular when upgrading or replacing appliances.”

• “Conduct a home energy audit and if recommended, air seal and insulate your home to improve your home’s energy efficiency and comfort.”

For more information on Park City’s environmental efforts, visit the resort’s website.

Images courtesy of Park City Mountain Resort

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