Now that the holidays are over, we can concentrate on other important winter rituals… like hitting the slopes. Unfortunately global climate change is leaving some of our normally snow-capped peaks naked (European ski resorts, faced with the warmest December on record, are especially suffering) while real estate developments eat up what’s left of the wild places. Despite the environmentalist ethos of those who partake in the sport, skiing and snowboarding just aren’t that green.

Enter the Sustainable Slopes charter, launched in 2000 by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), which encourages ski resorts to adopt sound environmental practices in the areas of planning/design, water use, energy use and waste reduction/recycling, among others.

Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the charter’s principles are voluntary, causing some environmentalists to cry “greenwash.” Sustainable Slopes’ main method of measuring compliance is a self-assessment tool, which in 2006, only 53 of the participating 180 resorts completed (according to NSAA’s 2006 Annual Report).

Of the SoCal resorts, Bear Mountain, Mammoth, Mountain High, Sierra Summit and Snow Summit all endorse the charter, but only Mammoth and Mountain High have completed the self-assessment.

While Sustainable Slopes may not be the immediate cure for the resource-devouring ski resort industry, it does deserve some props for charting a course in sustainability and offering means to reach those goals. (See NSAA’s “Green Room”—a database of ski areas’ environmental programs and practices.)

Perhaps a better bet for determining area resorts’ current eco-rating is the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition scorecard. The alliance of eco-conscious skiers evaluated our local resorts on nine criteria, including land preservation and renewable energy implementation, and came up with the following grades:

Bear Mountain – B
Mammoth Mountain – C
Mountain High – B
Sierra Summit – C
Snow Summit – C

At $50+ a pop for lift tickets, it’s worth it to make sure your hard earned cash to going to resorts that aim to keep nature natural. Happy trails!