Thousands of people crowded onto Main Street during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the ski resort.
A dog parade with hundreds of Bernese mountain dogs and a foot race with runners dressed as Santas and elves preceded the event. The evergreen in the square was bathed in golden light as the sun set.
The festive scene stood in stark contrast to what could be coming for Colorado and the Rocky Mountains: a severely shortened ski season by 2050, with some areas closing permanently by the end of the century.
The ski industry in Colorado is experiencing the effects of climate change more than any other industry, which could cause it to go out of business in the future.
Colorado collects $5 billion a year in revenue from the outdoor sport, which includes downhill skiing. Many wonder if the industry can survive its greatest challenge.
The city of Denver had no snow for 232 days this year, breaking the previous record. Pitkin County had 30 more frost-free days this year than in 1980. Warming temperatures prevent early snowmaking, which is essential to a profitable holiday season.
A study published in the journal Global Environmental Change found that the average length of winter recreation areas in the U.S. could decline by 50 percent and 80 percent by the year 2050.
Changes in season lengths under extreme emissions conditions could result in a loss of more than $2 billion for downhill skiing in the US, according to the authors.
Managers at Colorado's 32 main ski areas have differing ideas on how to battle the crisis, but most agree that what they are doing now isn't working.
Auden Schendler, a 30-year mountain resident and senior vice president of the Aspen Skiing Company, is alarmed by the lateness of snow and its early departure, which he called the March meltdown.
The Grizzly Creek Fire destroyed 33,000 acres near Aspen in 2020. It caused mudslides along I 70 in the canyon, cutting off access to Aspen.
I was concerned that the industry would be taken out by warmth and lack of snow. In the last four years, we have had two huge fires that shut down the town, the Lake Christine Fire in the summer of 2018, and the Grizzly Creek Fire in the winter of 2019.
Colorado is experiencing shortened winter seasons with first snows coming late and final snows falling earlier, according to Greg Hanson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
He said that the winter season shortens with the temperatures going up.
Melanie Mills is the president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA.
She said that business doesn't likeunpredictability. It is a major issue for the ski industry.
According to Colorado Ski Country USA, skiing is the largest economic engine for western Colorado.
Ski areas have been working to switch to renewable energy to generate electricity, conduct energy audits to track their progress and use less water because most of Colorado's water comes from mountain snowpack.
Mills said it wasn't enough despite the efforts by ski resorts to reach zero emissions, zero waste and zero net operating impacts.
She said that we can all be carbon-free and still not make a difference.
The industry wants policymakers to do more to fight climate change.
Mills said that the problem is not going to be solved locally. It is not a problem that the ski industry will solve. We want to be part of the solution, but we need to take action at the national and international levels.
Schendler was hoping that President Joe Biden's plan would be a success because it would have put the U.S economy on a path to zero emissions by the year 2050.
Without that kind of action globally, scientists say that nations will be unable to limit climate change to 2 degrees F, or 1.5 degrees C, and avoid its most catastrophic effects.
The late start to the season is putting too many people on too little terrain, which can increase the risk of accidents.
She said she would be sad not to be able to ski again. If a whole community is wiped out, I would be devastated. It is more sad to me than not being able to ski when I think about the hundreds of thousands of acres burning and the loss of wildlife.
Schendler said it will take a national effort to save skiing and other outdoor industries that rely on the weather for survival.
Schendler said that the majority of the United States business community is not doing what is required on a problem that costs more to leave alone than to solve.
