RESORT PROFILE
The array consists of 30 solar panels capable
of generating 8.26 kW of energy and
provides approximately 95 percent of the
is one of the longest seasons in North
America; during Nathan’s first year he
said the resort stayed open until the
fourth of July.
The fact that the ski area is committed
to sustainability is certainly a topic
in which it stands out.
“Ultimately, whether we’re composting
and throwing less away or using less
energy by changing light bulbs, it saves
us money on our utility bills or at least
is no more expensive than a businessas
usual approach,” he said. “Beyond
that, I would say that our motivation
is that we’re an outdoor recreation
business that relies on semi-stable or
predicable weather. We think that we
need to walk the walk and talk the talk.
We’re fairly outspoken in working with
other environmental groups on advocacy
and policy work. I think we can’t
really justify having that message without
doing it ourselves on the ground
and living what we’re preaching.”
He added that the resort’s guests
tend to be receptive to environmental
ideas and these projects have an impact
on them and provide ideas that
they can take home.
Airless snowmaking
introduced
A-Basin made its first major change
in 2003 when it installed a highlyefficient,
mostly airless snowmaking
system that uses only a portion of the
energy that a conventional snowmaking
system would.
Nathan said that a few years after he
joined the team, management really
began escalating its sustainability efforts.
He said the drive was fuelled by
Miklas, who first encouraged management
to make recycling and composting
a priority at the ski area.
“Initially, we just recycled and composted
in back-of-house prep areas in
our kitchen, but we started expanding
this program out to the public,” Nathan
said. “Now, anywhere a guest or employee
can find a garbage bin, there’s
a recycle and compost bin in the same
place. Waste reduction has been a huge
success here. The amount of waste we
recycle or compost rather than put in
the landfill is up to about 45 percent of
our total waste, which is about twice
the Summit County average and significantly
higher than the Colorado or
national average. We’re pretty proud of
that especially considering we’re such a
visitor-based business.”
Nathan said the recycling/composing
program was a good start to become
engaged with the guests around
sustainability and build some knowledge
on that end, while moving forward
with other initiatives.
A-Basin completed a lighting retrofit
in 2012 that saw over 500 light bulbs
in the base area and on-mountain facilities
replaced with newer, more efficient
bulbs. Incandescent bulbs were
upgraded to CFLs and LEDs, while
fluorescent T12 bulbs were switched to
T8s. These upgrades have saved more
than 53,000 kWh and 37 tons of CO2
emissions each year.
In 2013, the ski area completed a
massive upgrade to its Base Area Lodge,
incorporating energy-saving vestibules
at all entrances. Using two sets of
swinging doors, these vestibules pre-
energy that building uses.
6 Jan/Feb 2019 | snowopsmag.com
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