Every winter, a whole way of life in New England emerges as the temperature drops and the snow starts to fall. Families pile into station wagons for that first trip of the season for everything from skiing to tubing and outdoor skating. Seasonal employees check lift tickets and serve hot cocoa at the lodge. Highly skilled blue-collar pipefitters and mechanics service and operate chair lifts up frozen hillsides.

"In New England, winter sports are an annual multi-billion-dollar industry, employing hospitality professionals, college kids on winter break, mechanics and more..."

In New England, winter sports are an annual multi-billion-dollar industry, employing hospitality professionals, college kids on winter break, mechanics and more, while sustaining local businesses, restaurants, and bars. Ask a barista or small business owner about the difference between a traditional white winter and one bereft of snow when it comes to their economic engines. Each and every winter day counts to the New England economy.

But global climate change and increasingly warmer temperatures in cold weather states could be making winter sports a short-lived seasonal activity and industry, and endangering seasonal jobs and property tax revenue.

"Global climate change ... in cold weather states could be making winter sports a short-lived seasonal activity and industry, and with it, endangering seasonal jobs and property tax revenue."

This is a growing concern in New England, but it isn't a fate we have to accept.

This winter, I drove my girls up to Wachusett Mountain for some snowboarding lessons. The ski area, like so many ski areas, has been making snow for a large part of the season, which is now a commonplace practice. You do not need to analyze graphs of CO2 for proof that 2020 was the hottest year on record: just look at the number of ski areas that have been shuttered. Here in New England alone that figure tallies 604 due to the lack of the plentiful, reliable snow we used to get. Ski areas and resorts are at the frontlines of climate change and addressing it by making their own snow, which is a messy business that increases operating costs.

"Look at the number of ski areas that have been shuttered. Here in New England alone that figure tallies 604 due to the lack of the plentiful, reliable snow we used to get."

But I thought to myself -- what if ski areas took a page out of the marketing book from outdoor apparel manufacturers like Patagonia, Marmot, REI and many others incorporating education and activism into their branding and onsite?

What if the winter sports industry joined forces to work to influence climate policy?

According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 72% of Americans know that climate change is happening, but only 43% realize that it will adversely impact them personally.

Teaching New England families and workers about how climate change is affecting a regional way of life could really hit home. In the same way hunters and fishermen have become unlikely advocates for conservation and nature-based solutions in the face of climate change -- needing fish to catch and game to hunt -- winter sports enthusiasts can and should be prime recruits for climate advocacy.

"Teaching New England families and workers about how climate change is affecting a regional way of life could really hit home. In the same way hunters and fishermen have become unlikely advocates for conservation..."

Inside the equipment shop we find clothing that advertises the various ways in which they recycle and upcycle plastic bottles, sugar cane, or otherwise unusable trash to make their products. According to Picture, a clothing manufacturer, pellets from 50 plastic bottles equates to one ski jacket. For a ski resort area that's still selling beverages in plastic bottles why not encourage patrons to deposit their empty bottles into advanced recycling bins to be shredded and supplied to apparel manufacturers? The sport apparel industry is modeling the environmental cause well. Ski resort areas should follow its lead.

Skiers, snowboarders, and families going tubing can play their part, too. They can upcycle, reuse, and recycle everywhere possible; find out if favorite resorts use climate-friendly methods; and buy used apparel from responsible manufacturers. Before buying more gear, find out if Buy Nothing has what you need -- or check out a sports gear consignment sale. Wachusett Mountain, for example, has an annual consignment sale where patrons can exchange their used equipment -- skiers should check if their own areas have the same. If they don't, suggest the idea! Skiers need to raise their voices and let ski areas and resorts know that they are taking the health of the planet seriously.

"Skiers can play their part, too. They can upcycle, reuse, and recycle everywhere possible; find out if favorite resorts use climate-friendly methods; and buy used apparel from responsible manufacturers."

Though winter sports enthusiasts can't affect global change on the scale needed, their actions will provide an example applicable to the many sports and beloved activities now being impacted by climate change.

Even in New England, from Massachusetts to Vermont, we can't go back to the cold, snowy days of seasons past. But there are ways to work towards a future that will keep people going downhill in the way our region cherishes as a part of its identity.