Ski industry professionals worry about effects of climate change on activity, study finds

Kris Blomback’s 36 seasons as general manager at Pat’s Peak have differed wildly in temperature and snowfall.

The latest winter season was very successful, he said; others have been so poor that Blomback has seen kids show up to the mountain in flip-flops.

“We’ve seen it all,” he said. “We just try and mitigate Mother Nature’s mood swings, if you will, with a robust snowmaking system.”

That system has allowed for more stable operations at Pat’s Peak, where few thousand gallons of water produce as much snow as the mountain needs. Blomback said they have continually invested in the technology as a response to a warming climate and more unpredictable winters.

Like Blomback, a majority of ski industry professionals in New Hampshire say they’re concerned about climate change’s effects on skiing in the state, with more than half expressing that the industry is not doing enough to address the crisis, according to a new study from UNH’s Carsey School of Public Policy.

The study gathered 68 responses from a 15-question survey, which found that 85% of respondents were either “concerned” or “alarmed” about how climate change could affect the ski industry.

The results were much higher than the national average of 54%, calculated by the authors of a similar study from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication in 2024.

“I think it’s important to recognize how others feel around your circle professionally,” said Elizabeth Burakowski, a research associate professor in UNH’s Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space who co-authored the survey study. “It’s really encouraging to know that there’s a lot of people in that community and within the industry itself that feel the same way.”

The study’s idea was born out of an internship Burakowski guided for Colby-Sawyer College senior Jacklyn Tracy, who has skied since she was two years old.

Tracy wanted to understand what industry professionals thought about shorter winters and less natural snowpack.

“We came up with the idea to combine my passion with my academics,” she said. “Skiing has always been a big part of my life and given me a big sense of community and passion that I hope others can have as well, even as we face the consequences of a warming climate.”

In response to the survey, most industry professionals said they noticed moderate to major changes in snowfall pattern, season length and temperature. Burakowski said that winters with less snow could see visits decline up to 20%.

The study highlighted several climate-driven initiatives by Ski NH, including regulary educating ski industry members, conducting research into electric vehicles and supporting legislation to push for business solar arrays. Despite these measures, more than half of survey respondents, 51%, thought that the state’s ski industry is not doing enough to address the climate crisis.

Blomback has, personally, come to the opposite conclusion — he said that the state is doing a “pretty adequate job” in addressing the crisis. Pat’s Peak has a page on its website called “Green Peak,” where it outlines its sustainability practices since 2014.

“I think every area realizes that the environment is our canvas,” he said. “I think we’re always working to reduce our footprint on what it takes to run our operation, whether that’s from a dollars sense or if that just makes environmentally more sense.”

Ski NH found that the state ranks sixth in the nation for snow recreation activity, with about 2.8 million people visiting ski areas annually and spending approximately $384.2 million collectively, mostly during the ski season from December to April.

Tracy said the study was an important first step in understanding climate change attitudes in New Hampshire. Both she and Burakowski would like to see further research done, including outside of the Granite State.

“I think one thing we’d love to see as a next step is to see other states conduct a similar study with their professional industries that rely on the weather that may be concerned about a changing climate,” Burakowski said.

To read the entire study, visit https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/ski-industry-professionals-new-hampshire-are-worried-about-climate-change.