Global warming blamed as summer skiing on Whistler glacier is cancelled for first time in 30 years
An annual coaching programme in Whistler has been cancelled for the first time in almost 30 years, with the founder commenting that “global warming has decimated the glacier and our ability to run a summer camp.”
Ken Achenbach founded Camp of Champions in 1989, and has organised freestyle coaching sessions for skiers and snowboarders every summer at the Canadian resort. In a recent Facebook post, Achenbach said that conditions on Whistler's Horstman glacier had made it impossible to build a terrain park to an acceptable standard. As a result, the 2017 camp has been cancelled and all bookings are being refunded. He says Camp of Champions is filing for bankruptcy.
“Every year, the final pitch of the Horstman T-Bar shrinks more and more making it harder and harder for Whistler Blackcomb to maintain,” Achenbach said. “The giant pile of snow connecting the glacier to the top of the lift and the glacier itself is melting. This has accelerated over the last four summers. To give you an idea of how much melting has happened the last few years, in 2015 alone the glacier lost 35 vertical feet [10 metres] of ice.”
The 2016/17 winter saw a prolonged cold spell – in fact, some hailed it as the best season ever for North American resorts – but it hasn’t been enough to make a difference to Camp of Champions' prospects.
“This year’s snow pack is less dense than usual because we enjoyed such a long cold winter,” Achenbach explained. “We didn’t get the wet cement spring snow that builds the snow pack we count on.
“There isn’t enough snow to build intermediate or expert sized jumps. A huge portion of our campers are intermediate/expert level riders, and a park without those features will leave them unsatisfied. It wouldn’t have lasted to the end of the camp season either.
“In a nutshell, there isn’t enough snow to deliver what we promised. For this to happen after such an exceptional winter makes this news even harder to take.”
The Treeline summer camp in Whistler has also been cancelled. Other summer ski and snowboard camps are going ahead as usual.
“We are disappointed by Camp of Champions’ and Treeline’s decision to forego hosting their camps this summer at Whistler Blackcomb,” said a statement from the resort. “Whistler Blackcomb looks forward to a great summer season of camps on the glacier, as well as offering great overall skiing and snowboarding to guests visiting outside of the camps.”
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to the long-term survival of the skiing industry. Earlier this year, a Swiss study predicted that the Alps could lose as much as 70 per cent of their snow cover by the end of this century.
Retreating glaciers are cause for concern for ski resorts around the world, many of which rely on them for summer skiing. In an attempt to protect them a group of Swiss scientists have recently announced a brazen new plan to try stop glacial ice from melting by covering it in artifical snow.
A number of US ski resorts are among the signatories to We are Still In, an open letter from American politicians, universities and business which commits to take action to protect the environment and counter the effects of global warming. The letter was circulated this month in response to president Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
