Ski Resorts of the Future

I have been a skier my whole life and cannot imagine a winter without it. A recent New York Times article describes how ski resorts in Switzerland are working with the future in mind. They are striving to create and promote other attractions besides skiing. This is due to rising temperatures that are diminishing usual snow amounts. Other countries liable to fall victim are Germany and Austria which are both described in this article as well. Instead of boasting about how many ski trails are open and how many inches of fresh powder the mountain just received, spa highlights will be featured and talked about most. Just how the fashion industry is staying ahead of the game because of rising temperatures, so are the resorts. They have already felt the effects of increased temperatures, therefore why not stay ahead of the game?

Is this completely attributable to global warming? We know all ski resorts will not be gone tomorrow, however, if no action is taken on climate change, this will happen in the future. Of course resorts do not always have to rely on natural snow to fall because of the advent of snow making technology, however, the temperatures must be just right for human made snow as well. Now of course the resorts are responding by altering tourist attractions, alleviating focus on skiing, and instead shifting to spas and pools. However, the fact that this behavior is occurring should send a message to policy makers, especially in the United States since we are among one of the only countries not to sign Kyoto.