How green is your snow?

Since Sunday was Earth Day 2012, here’s a quick look at the environmental impacts of skiing, what ski areas are doing to lessen their impact, and actions that individual skiers can take.

There’s no getting around the fact that ski resorts and the activity of skiing leave a large footprint on the environment, particularly in terms of energy consumption. Snowmaking, lifts and grooming utilized by downhill ski resorts have very large energy requirements. Lighting and heat for lodges and other buildings also contribute to a ski area’s carbon footprint. Snowmaking is by far the largest energy consumer, with huge amounts of electricity and/or diesel fuel required to operate air compressors and water pumps.

Robinson Preserve kayak tour, Anna Maria Island, Florida

Florida is a long way from the Adirondacks that I usually write about, but since this blog is about adventures in the Adirondacks and beyond, I'll let this post fall into the "beyond" category.

For the past several years, we've spent a week's vacation in the spring on Anna Maria Island, at the mouth of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast. Although I don't generally associate Florida with an abundance of protected natural landscapes - outside of the Everglades at least - we discovered a small gem just a couple of miles from Anna Maria during our vacation last week: the Robinson Preserve.

Extra innings at Killington

Nineteen inches of snow at Killington over the past several days means ski season doesn't have to be over yet. The K-1 gondola and Superstar quad are in operation giving access to as many as 47 trails. At this writing, Killington is shooting to remain open as late in April as possible.

I've put away my skis, but if you're looking for some late season turns, I have a small number of unrestricted 2-for-1 coupons. Send an email if interested, first come first served.

Just how warm was last winter?

Ask any skier or winter sports enthusiast, and the general consensus is that the winter of 2011-12 was one of the worst in memory. Not only was natural snowfall sparse, a lack of cold temperatures hampered snowmaking operations all season long. The result was a slow start to the ski season, a record early end, and frustrating thaws in between.