FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Information:
Karl Stone: 800-887-5464 x202
Alice Pearce: 800-887-5464 x203
Email: media@SkiNH.com
Download Release: www.SkiNH.com
NORTH WOODSTOCK, NH, OCTOBER 2009 - One of the most alluring attributes of New Hampshire ski areas is the beautiful environment in which they are located. Surrounded by beautiful mountains and lakes, it's logical that ski resorts want to be environmentally-friendly and encourage sustainable practices. Over the past several years New Hampshire's ski areas have begun to embrace and implement policies that will help to ensure these places are here for future generations to enjoy.
Cranmore Mountain, North Conway - In 2003, Cranmore became the first ski area east of the Mississippi to run its grooming equipment and other equipment on biodiesel fuel. Now all four groomers at Cranmore operate on biodiesel, utilizing 20,000 gallons of 20% biodiesel per year, resulting in a 4,000 gallon reduction of conventional fossil fuels. Anti-idling zones can be found around the resort encouraging guests and employees to turn their cars off instead of idling. Hybrid vehicle days are being held twice this year, when those arriving in hybrid vehicles receive one free lift ticket per car.
Mount Sunapee, Newbury - Mount Sunapee now uses biodiesel (B-10) in its snow grooming equipment and heavy equipment. Biodiesel (B-5) is used to heat base lodges and buildings. A total of 58 HKD high-efficiency snowguns are now in use; these guns produce as much snow at warmer temperatures as older snow guns did, while using 12-25% less compressed air per gun. The result has been a 14% decrease in electricity consumption over the past three years. Cardboard, glass, scrap metal, vehicle oil, and kitchen oil are all recycled. Low flush toilets, water-conserving sink faucets and energy-efficient fluorescent light fixtures have been installed. Mount Sunapee is enrolled in the ISO-New England program, in which the ski area agrees to shed 100% of its snowmaking load within 30 minutes should an emergency be called between November and March.
King Pine and Purity Spring Resort, East Madison - All of King Pine's lodging properties are heated with bio-fuel (over 100,000 gallons during the past two seasons). The resort maintenance building uses a recirculation system that separates water and oil from the cleaning bays so the oil can be recycled in a waste-oil furnace during heating months. Laundry and kitchen areas utilize, or are testing, environmentally-friendly organic based cleaners. Approximately 80% of print materials used at the resort are from a FSC certified paper source. FSC certification is a product group coming from well-managed forests, controlled sources, and recycled wood or fiber.
Wildcat Mountain, Pinkham Notch - Low energy snowguns help reduce environmental impact as well as energy costs. Other environmental efforts include a vegetation restoration project in Mountain Jag glade which involves restricted use in areas allowing for growth to regenerate. Wildcat also utilizes Greenwave environmentally-friendly food service products in its dining areas.
Crotched Mountain, Bennington - Crotched's snowmaking system consists of 100% fan snowmaking. The system does not rely on diesel compressors and is 50% more efficient than standard snowmaking operations.
Bretton Woods, Bretton Woods - The Bretton Woods base lodge features high-efficiency light bulbs and fluorescents, as well as timers on many lights. A waste oil furnace now supplies 50% of the heat to the maintenance facility for the resort. The Resort Sustainability Committee has a five-year plan focusing on these issues and future initiatives, as well as land conservation.
In addition to the efforts listed above, a few initiatives have garnered a wide following among NH's ski resorts.
The use of biodiesel has become a popular fuel alternative for many NH ski resorts. Cranmore, Jackson XC, King Pine and Purity Spring Resort, Loon Mountain, Mount Sunapee, Mount Washington Valley Ski Touring, Ragged Mountain, and Waterville Valley have made the move to biodiesel fuel for their grooming fleets and/or facility heating sources.
One of the most effective ways to combat the rise in greenhouse gases is to reduce the amount of time stationary engines and vehicles idle by encouraging anti-idling initiatives. With busy drop-off areas and numerous business deliveries, ski areas have large numbers of these vehicles. Ski areas including Attitash, Bretton Woods, Cranmore, Gunstock Mountain Resort, Jackson XC, King Pine and Purity Spring Resort, Loon Mountain, Mount Sunapee, Mount Washington Valley Ski Touring, Pats Peak, Ragged Mountain, Waterville Valley, Wildcat Mountain, and Windblown XC have all initiated anti-idling measures at their resorts. These areas use signage in drop-off/pick-up areas asking guests to turn off their cars as they arrive or pick up friends and family. Drivers of group ski buses are asked to turn off their engines and come into the base lodge for the day. Business-related deliveries also are greeted with signage and policies. Often these delivery trucks burn large amounts of fuel through stationary idling for extended times as the delivery is unloaded, making their regulation equally important.
Among the most basic environmentally-friendly efforts is recycling. The cafeterias at ski areas create a large amount of waste in a short period of time. Attitash, Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain, Cranmore, Dexter's Inn Trails by Norsk, Jackson XC, King Pine and Purity Spring Resort, Loon Mountain, Mount Sunapee, Pats Peak, Ragged Mountain, Sunset Hill Nordic Center, Waterville Valley, Wildcat Mountain and Windblown XC have recycling containers available for guests, and more ski areas are planning to offer recycling for guests this winter.
"New Hampshire's ski resorts have always been concerned about the environment, but the recent scientific reports about the severity of the damage our population seems to be doing to the environment has really sparked these initiatives. By working together with the NH Department of Environmental Services, and sharing best practices, New Hampshire ski areas will be able to implement many additional programs that help their businesses protect the environment that we all cherish. With such a dramatic increase in efforts over the past few years, it's exciting to see what additional policies our ski areas will have in place over the next few years!" added Alice Pearce, Ski NH's President.
Ski NH is the statewide association representing 36 alpine and cross country resorts and more than 200 lodging and guest service properties in New Hampshire. For more information on ski areas, lodging packages, and updated winter events at Ski NH resorts, call Ski NH at (800) 88-SKI-NH (800-887-5464) or visit the Ski NH website at www.SkiNH.com. For statewide media relations assistance, visit the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism's media room at http://visitnh.gov/media/ or contact Mr. Tai Freligh at 603-271-2343, option #2.