The sport of skiing is in danger of being wiped out by a warming planet. There is a boom in one corner of the ski world that is being driven by a combination of climate change and Covid.
The unexpected upturn shows how skiers are adapting to the dual crises and how one winter sport is evolving as snow cover declines around the world.
Ski touring, or uphill skiing, a hybrid style that combines elements of cross country and downhill, has been popular in Europe for decades. mountaineers and extreme athletes in the United States use special skis to trek uphill and into the wilderness in search of untouched powder.
The ski resorts were closed in 2020. As recreational skiers searched for ways to get uphill without lifts, sales of touring gear in the United States spiked. According to the market research firm, sales of specialized gear for touring increased 260 percent between November and December of last year, even as most ski lifts reopened.
Drew Hardesty, a skier and forecaster at the Utah Avalanche Center, said that growth is not linear. It is exponential.
Tour skiers use skins on their skis that allow them to walk with free heels. They remove the skins and lock in the heels to descend.
The predecessors of today's tour skis appeared as early as the 16th century. In Europe, uphill skiing is a part of the culture, according to a senior manager at the mountain sports company that owns the Dynafit and Pomoca ski brands. The European market is almost a generation ahead of us in terms of maturity and sophistication.
Ski touring began to trickle into the American mainstream in the mid-2000s when videos of wild descents in places like the Himalayas, the high Andes and theArctic began to circulate on the internet. Backstrom, a professional skier who has helped to popularize skiing in the US through films of her runs on remote slopes, said that back then there was barely anyone doing it. The equipment was more expensive and didn't work as well.
Ms. Backstrom said that she was careful about her days in the mountains because of the risk of accidents.
There is a mountain at Stevens Pass. The New York Times reports that experts say that wildfires can increase the likelihood of accidents.
Skiers like Ms. Backstrom have been pushed onto trails more often as the snow cover has diminished. She said that increased visibility and the Pandemic shutdowns have prompted more skiers to try touring gear. She said that having a visible example is always helpful.
Ms. Backstrom said that more skiers are opting to ski uphill on managed slopes because it is more safe.
As weather becomes more volatile, it's more difficult to predict how an event will unfold. Much of the work done by Mr. Hardesty is based on his previous observations and computer modeling. He said that the old hard drive wouldn't be accurate at looking at the avalanches that we're going to be seeing.
He said that climate change was making wildfires worse and that the threat of anavalanche was amplified. Mr. Hardesty said that increased layers of ash and dust within the snowpack can cause weak layers to cleave into the snow.
Ms. Backstrom's brother was killed in a skiing accident. She said that she is cautious about her days in the mountains because of the risk of accidents.
She sometimes chooses to stay on the resort runs even when the snow is not good. She said that it was a straightforward way to hike up and exercise, have freedom, and feel the fun of skiing back down.
Ms. Backstrom uses climbing skins on her skis for traction when skiing uphill.
Chona Kasinger for The New York Times was at Stevens Pass in December.
Climate change is making it harder for people to ski in the mountains as snow cover dwindles.
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Many ski resorts in North America rely on artificial snow for much of the season. In late December, the head of United States marketing for Black Crows, a ski manufacturer, said that there would be enough snow for a tour in the backcountry. It is almost impossible this year.
In Colorado, where ski touring is popular among endurance athletes, skiers are restricted to a limited range of terrain. The United States Ski Team's training ground, Copper Mountain, was only 50 percent open in the days leading up to Christmas. The resort has doubled the number of uphill ski routes for ski touring, but the majority of the trails are being supplemented by artificial snow machines. There wasn't enough snow to open the ski area by Christmas.
The ski season in the US shrunk by an average of 34 days a year between 1982 and 2016 according to a study.
The lead author of the study said that the snow season will shorten. It will double what we have already lost by the year 2050. This trend will affect not only skiing, but farming, fishing and wild ecosystems that rely on regular snow cover.
The industry is trying to decide whether to adapt to the changing conditions or try to overcome them with new infrastructure and artificial snow.
China and the International Olympic Committee are preparing for the Winter Games in China in 2022, which will likely use 100 percent artificial snow. A decision to use 49 million gallons of water for the events is being criticized as unsustainable.
A growing number of uphill skiers use touring skis on natural snow to reflect on their values. Ms. Backstrom said that powder is one of the wonders of the world. It is a pure miracle of nature, and you can't recreate it in any shape or form.
As snow cover continues to thin, it may be necessary to adjust those values.
Mr. Droppert said that ski touring in the future would require them to walk for a while in the dirt and their shoes.
Even if it means we have to walk in the mud, we will always ski.
