Climate and sustainability top of mind for racers & industry
Ganong: ‘It’s not something in the future. It’s right now’
If World Cup athletes that signed and sent the recent climate change letter to the FIS wanted a moment to reveal why their thoughts should be taken seriously, they probably couldn’t have picked a better day than March 3 in Aspen.
Seated in front of an outdoor art installation depicting a melting gondola, a bonafide blizzard dumped snow on a sustainability panel that included downhiller Travis Ganong and U.S. Ski & Snowboard President & CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. They discussed changes ski sports can make that are kinder and gentler for the planet.
Earlier on Friday, a fast-moving storm – typical for springtime in the Rockies – contributed to the cancellation of America’s Downhill on Aspen Mountain. It came at the end of a season plagued by cancellations due to a lack of snow and cold temperatures, a point not lost on Ganong.
200+ athletes sign letter to the FIS
“This is our last World Cup race of the year and it’s finally real winter and Europe is finally getting snow,” said Ganong, who announced his retirement on Thursday after nearly two decades as a member of the US Ski Team.
He was among the more than 200 athletes across multiple disciplines who signed the letter to FIS “demanding that they take a stronger stance for sustainability and climate change in our sport.”
The requested action includes the formation of a sustainability council, organized by FIS, that would hire experts on climate change. Included in the letter written to the FIS by Austrian racer Julian Schutter, an ambassador for the organization Protect Our Winters (POW) is a request to shift the race season to start and end later. It is a suggestion to attempt to reduce the reliance on manufactured snow.
Kilde shares his thoughts
After his downhill run Friday, Aleksander Kilde explained why he signed the letter asking the FIS for action by 2024.
“We need to take care of our sport, but we also need to take care of the environment,” he said.
Reducing the travel from Europe to the states to one trip a year is also on the list of athlete suggestions to reduce carbon emissions.
“Maybe we can stay here for longer. I like to be here and it’s stressful for us athletes to come twice back and forth, and I think that’s a good idea for FIS to think about,” he said.
Kilde called FIS’ initial response to the athlete’s demands “A little disappointing, but it came really quick, the day after” the letter was submitted. “Let’s see what they say in the future.”
Photo courtesy Elevate
A ski suit that was designed to spotlight climate change was worn by Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team members, including Travis Ganong, during the 2023 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships.
In Friday’s Aspen finish arena, Charlotte Chable, the former racer turned FIS media coordinator, said she was not authorized to comment on climate issues.
Athletes speak out
Ryan Cochran-Siegle said the suggestion of having the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey and Aspen races on back-to-back weekends “makes a lot of logistical sense. And it’s not just the athletes. It’s a lot of equipment that gets shuttled back and forth. Obviously, that has an impact on carbon emissions and all that.
As winter athletes, we depend on winter snow and a cold climate. We should probably be doing everything in our power to make it work,” he said.
The gold medalist from the recent World Championships, Jack Crawford, said, “I think if we condense the season and start the season a little bit later, it would definitely help with missed races and other issues in the sport.” He lamented the loss of Lake Louise to start the season.
Support is not universal
Support for climate action isn’t universal. Vincent Kriechmayr said he had not signed the FIS letter.
Josef Ferstl of Germany said a change is “possible” but will take time. “We cannot switch it all in one day. It’s quite a future, day by day, week by week.”
Asked if he was on board with pushing the race season to April when skiers often retreat to the desert or beach, USA’s Bryce Bennett said moving it back to the end of March may be more palatable.
Bennett suggested starting the season two weeks later.
That way, “Maybe you don’t have to push so much for these crazy training venues. There’s a bigger chance for colder temperature windows at the beginning of the season,” he said, echoing a standard view.
Ganong sees a need for immediate action
Teams taking multiple trips to the southern hemisphere for training is another area under the climate change microscope, one that Ganong alluded to during Friday’s climate panel in Aspen’s Wagner Park.
Taking action on these issues “is not something in the future. It’s right now,” said Ganong.
Moderator Auden Schendler of Aspen Skiing Co. stressed at the outset, “This panel is about how you go big.” Also speaking were Daniel Weissland, President and CEO of Audi and Erik Snyder, who works on climate solutions.
USSS CEO Goldschmidt seemed to answer the call by saying the US ski team was ready for action.
“It’s something that is very close to our heart for all sorts of reasons. The mountain is our playground,” she said.
“Our sports are really an endangered species if we look to the long term. So it’s absolutely something that we are very, very focused on…we can’t be passive. We’re way behind already.”
France’s Nils Alphand was realistic about training, travel and sustainability.
“We try to go on the glacier when we can and when we have good conditions,” Alphand said.“We need to ski to be good in the winter.”
About the Author: Madeleine Osberger
