SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 2, 2017—The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has chosen four member ski areas to receive its annual Sustainable Slopes Grants: Arapahoe Basin, Colo., Copper Mountain Resort, Colo., Granite Peak, Wis., and Mt. Bachelor, Ore.

Mt. Bachelor received a cash grant to install an infrared motion sensor control system for lighting in its Pine Marten Lodge. The automated system allows for off-site monitoring, and will reduce electricity use and the ski area's carbon footprint by 120 MTCO2e, or 2 percent. Mt. Bachelor, a participant in the ski industry's Climate Challenge, has a goal to reduce emissions by 3,000 MTCO2e by 2024-25 from 2010-11 levels, and the project will help meet that goal over the next several years. Mt. Bachelor's $5,000 grant was made possible by a donation from Clif Bar & Company, which has contributed to the Sustainable Slopes grant program for eight years.

Copper Mountain Resort, also a participant in the Climate Challenge, received a high-efficiency snowmaking grant from HKD Snowmakers. The grant consists of five high-efficiency snowmaking guns from HKD with a value of $23,000 and will kick start a deeper investment into more efficient snowmaking equipment across the mountain. Copper's existing snow guns use 232 cfm of compressed air to produce 27 gpm of snow, while the replacement guns will use only 29 cfm at the same output—an 87 percent savings in compressed air. The upgrade will help Copper reach its Climate Challenge goal of reducing emissions by 12,000 MTCO2e.

Granite Peak is the beneficiary of a new in-kind grant of 10 Snow-Bright light fixtures from Ultra-Tech Lighting, valued at $7,000. The energy-efficient lighting will result in savings up to 85 percent over conventional lighting in operating electricity. Snow-Bright also substantially reduces “in-rush” current associated with electricity demand charges, which can shave enormous amounts off of total energy bills.

Arapahoe Basin will receive another new in-kind grant, for sustainability staffing consulting services, valued at $5,000. This comes courtesy of Brendle Group, the sustainability engineering and planning firm that manages NSAA's Climate Challenge. A-Basin will use the grant to assess the intersection of HR and sustainability. One key aim: to utilize existing staff to help achieve sustainability goals and reap the economic benefits of incorporating sustainability into HR practices, including improved employee retention and productivity. Arapahoe Basin is another participant in the Climate Challenge, and has pledged to reduce emissions by three percent under 2008-09 levels by 2019-20, despite expansions to the resort.

Since its inception in 2009, the Sustainable Slopes Grant Program has awarded $123,500 in cash grants and $359,000 in in-kind grants, for a total of $482,500 in support of resort sustainability projects.

For more information on NSAA's Sustainable Slopes Grant program, the Climate Challenge, or other environmental initiatives and projects, visit the Environment section of nsaa.org.

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