ARE
ARE SCRAMBLING. HERE IS KGW'S MAGGIE VESPA.
>>
>> Reporter: WE'LL START WITH THE VIDEO THAT MAKES EVERYBODY
FEEL GOOD.
AND
AND WE'RE
AND WE'RE NOT ALONE IN OUR LOVE FOR THE SLOPES.
>> READY TO RIP?
SKIPPED OUT ON WORK.
>> Reporter: ACROSS THE
COUNTRY WINTER SPORTS MAKE UP A
$20 BILLION INDUSTRY, AN
INDUSTRY THAT CLIMATE EXPERTS
AND ECONOMISTS AGREE IS
GRAPPLING WITH A NEW ENEMY,
CLIMATE CHANGE.
>>
>> WHAT
>> WHAT WILL HAPPEN? WHERE'S MY LIVELIHOOD?
THE FUTURE?
THE FUTURE? >> Reporter: IN RECENT YEARS
HEADLINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
HAVE STARTED SHEDDING MORE
LIGHT ON THIS GROWING FEAR.
THIS PIECE FROM CNBC CITING
ERRATIC SNOWFALL TOTALS AND
WEAK STARTS TO THE SKI SEASON
IN FAMOUS HUBS LIKE VAIL,
COLORADO.
COLORADO.
COLORADO. >> HOW UNDEPENDABLE WINTER
WEATHER IS BECOMING.
>> Reporter: IN FACT,
ACCORDING TO A LETTER PUBLISHED
BY RESEARCHERS AT UNIVERSITY OF
ARIZONA, BETWEEN 1982 AND 2016
THE SNOW SEASON ACROSS THE
WESTERN HALF OF THE U.S.
DECREASED BY AN AVERAGE OF 34
DAYS AND THE AMOUNT OF SNOW IN
THE WEST HAS SEEN AN AVERAGE
DROP OF 41%.
THE
THE POINT? WELL, CHECK OUT THIS BLOOMBERG
PIECE FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO.
THE TITLE, A SKIER'S GUIDE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE, ENJOY IT FOR
NOW.
NOW.
NOW. SO
NOW. SO THOSE HEADLINES ARE ENOUGH
TO SCARE ANY SKI BUM, ANY SNOW
LOVER.
LOVER.
LOVER. WE
LOVER. WE HAVE THOUGHT WE WOULD KIND
OF NARROW THIS DOWN AND CHECK
IN BASICALLY WITH THE LOCAL L B
WIGS IN THE SKI INDUSTRY AND
ASK THEM IS CLIMATE CHANGE
SHORTENING THE SEASON HERE ON
MT. HOOD?
MT. HOOD?
MT. HOOD? THE ANSWER?
THE ANSWER? >> I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S
SHRINKING.
SHRINKING. >> Reporter: AT LEAST AT MT.
HOOD MEADOWS.
HOOD MEADOWS. >> BECAUSE OUR OPENING DAY
ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE RIGHT AROUND
THANKSGIVING.
THANKSGIVING. >> Reporter: NOT YET.
THEY'RE HIGH ENOUGH IN
ELEVATION TOPPING OUT AT 7,300
FEET THAT THEY'RE SAFE FOR NOW.
>> BUTT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE
NEXT YEARS OR 20 YEARS OR 30
YEARS ARE GOING TO BRING.
>> Reporter: THAT IN MIND
THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED FINDING
WAYS TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT.
>>
>> THANK
>> THANK YOU. >> Reporter: TO PROVE IT THE
VP OF MARKETING TOOK US TO MEET
JEREMY EVANS, THEIR DIRECTOR OF
FLEET OPERATIONS.
FLEET OPERATIONS. HI.
HI.
HI. I'M
HI. I'M MAGGIE.
I'M MAGGIE. >> NICE TO MEET YOU.
>> Reporter: AND HE SHOWED US
THIS.
THIS.
THIS. THAT'S A GIANT BED THAT STAFF
ARE WELDING TOGETHER.
THEY'LL USE IT TO CART SNOW
THAT FALLS EARLY IN THE SEASON
FROM THE PARKING LOT UP TO THE
SLOPES.
SLOPES.
SLOPES. YOU GUYS ARE, FORGIVE ME, LIKE
ELVES WORKING BEHIND THE SCENE
TO MAKE THIS WINTER WONDERLAND
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. MEADOWS SENT US VIDEO OF THEIR
CREWS DURING THIS DURING PAST
SEASONS.
SEASONS.
SEASONS. THEY CALL IT HARVESTING SNOW.
>> AND THEN WHEN WE GET MORE
NATURAL SNOW, WE'RE ACTUALLY
BUILDING THE BASE INSTEAD OF
USING THOSE INITIAL SNOWFALLS
TO BUILD A BASE AND WAIT UNTIL
THE NEXT SNOW COMES BEFORE WE
CAN START OPERATING.
>> SO THIS MACHINE IS THE FIRST
DUMP BED CAT THAT WE HAD.
>> Reporter: THIS IS WHAT THE
BED WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN IT'S
ATTACHED TO A SNOW CAT.
>> WHAT HE'S BUILDING IN THERE
HAS GOT ABOUT ANOTHER TWO FEET
IN SIZE ON THIS BED.
SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE
QUITE A BIT MORE CAPACITY.
>> Reporter: YOU SEE, WHEN
MEADOWS STARTED DOING THIS
DURING THE 2014/2015 SEASONS,
THEY ONLY HARVESTED SNOW WITH
ONE VEHICLE.
ONE VEHICLE. THIS YEAR THEY'RE UPPING THEIR
FLEET TO THREE.
>> IT WAS BEAUTIFUL UP THERE.
>> Reporter: THIS AS RESORTS
FIGURE OUT MORE WAYS TO MAKE
MONEY INDEPENDENT OF HOW MUCH
SNOW THEY GET.
THEY'RE SELLING SNOWSHOE TOURS
ON THE WEEKENDS AND LETTING
VISITORS MOUNTAIN BIKE DURING
THE SUMMER, BOTH TIMBERLINE AND
SKIBOWL OPENING TRAILS UP THIS
YEAR AND POSTED PROMOTIONAL
VIDEOS LIKE THESE ON YOUTUBE TO
SPREAD THE WORD.
ALL THE WHILE MEADOWS IS
BUILDING A $15 MILLION EVENT
SPACE AND RESTAURANT.
BEGINNING IN DECEMBER OF2020 IT
WILL BE CLIMATE CONTROLLED TO
USE YEAR-ROUND.
USE YEAR-ROUND. STAFF HERE CALL IT BEING
PROACTIVE GETTING AHEAD OF THE
CHANGE.
CHANGE.
CHANGE. FORECASTERS, THOUGH, INCLUDING
OUR CHIEF WEATHER WATCHER HERE
AT KGW HAVE BEEN TRACKING
CHANGES FOR YEARS.
SAY
SAY SOMEBODY WHO HAS BEEN WATCHING OUR CLIMATE HERE FOR
LITERALLY DECADES AND SOMEBODY
WHO RECREATES IN IT QUITE
OFTEN.
OFTEN.
OFTEN. >>
OFTEN. >> AS MUCH AS I CAN.
>> Reporter: THIS WEEK MATT
ZAFFINO LET ME PICK HIS BRAIN.
QUICKLY OUR FOCUS TURNED TO MT.
HOOD'S LOWER ELEVATIONS,
PARTICULARLY AROUND THE START
OF SKI SEASON.
>> WHAT I HAVE SEEN IS A TREND
TOWARDS THE SNOW COMING LATER
IN YEAR, WHEREAS WE'LL GET A
LOT OF SAY HEAVY RAIN IN
NOVEMBER ON RELATIVELY BARE
MOUNTAIN GROUND AND THAT CAN
LEAD TO OTHER PROBLEMS LIKE
DEBRIS FLOWS THAT WASH OUT
ROADS.
ROADS.
ROADS. WE
ROADS. WE SAW THAT ON MT. HOOD SEVERAL
TIMES WITH HIGHWAY 35 IN THE
LAST 10 YEARS OR SO, 10, 20
YEARS.
YEARS.
YEARS. >>
YEARS. >> Reporter: REGIONALLY
EXPERTS ARE WATCHING THOSE
TRENDS, TOO.
TRENDS, TOO. >> THERE'S SOME IN LOWER
ELEVATION THAT ARE PROBABLY
GOING TO FEEL THE EFFECTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE.
CLIMATE CHANGE. >> Reporter: DR. NICK BOND IS
THE CLIMATOLOGIST FOR THE STATE
OF WASHINGTON AND TOLD ME VIA
SKYPE CLIMATE CHANGE IS
SPEEDING UP AND THE REGION'S
HIGHEST MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS
LIKE THE REST OF THE NORTHWEST
WILL REALLY SEE SHIFTS IN THE
SECOND HALF OF THIS CENTURY.
>> WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING
LIKE A DEGREE, MAYBE TWO
WARMING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
DECADES, BUT AFTER THAT ANOTHER
THREE TO FIVE DEGREES WARMING.
>> Reporter: AND THAT'S WHEN
IN HIS WORDS THIS PART OF THE
COUNTRY WILL BECOME A VERY
DIFFERENT PLACE.
DIFFERENT PLACE. >> OUR SNOWPACK IS GOING TO BE
A LOT LESS.
FROM A WATER RESOURCES POINT OF
VIEW, THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO
BE A LOT MORE FLOODS IN THE
WINTER.
WINTER.
WINTER. THE PRECIPITATION THAT FALLS
WILL BE MORE IN THE FORM OF
RAIN THAN SNOW AND LESS WATER
TO GET US THROUGH THE DRY
SUMMER.
SUMMER.
SUMMER. >> Reporter: ALL THIS IN MIND
THERE WAS ONE LAST PERSON WE
MET AT MT. HOOD MEADOWS THIS
WEEK, HEIDI LAGOSH, THE
RESORT'S SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER
AND KEY FIGURE BEHIND THIS
LETTER SEND TO OREGON'S STATE
LEGISLATURE EARLIER THIS YEAR.
IT CAME ON BEHALF OF SEVERAL
SKI INDUSTRY LEADERS ON MT.
HOOD INCLUDING TIMBERLINE AND
SKIBOWL AND IT URGED LAWMAKERS
TO PASS A LIST OF BILLS
DESIGNED TO FIGHT CLIMATE
CHANGE.
SHE
SHE SAYS
SHE SAYS RESORTS ARE WORKING SO HARD HERE TO LESSEN THE IMPACTS
OF CLIMATE CHANGE IT ONLY FELT
RIGHT TO JOIN THE FIGHT OFF THE
SLOPES.
SLOPES.
SLOPES. >> I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE
EFFORTS OF THE LEADERSHIP OF
MT. HOOD MEADOWS.
IT'S ONE THING TO RECYCLE AND
DO THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF
EASY.
EASY.
EASY. YOU
EASY. YOU CAN TURN OFF POWER AND USE
LESS POWER, BUT IT REALLY TAKES
A LOT TO USE YOUR VOICE TO MAKE
A DIFFERENCE AND WE'RE REALLY
HOPING WHAT WE'RE DOING BY
USING OUR VOICE IS MAKING A
DIFFERENCE.
>>
>> WE
>> WE THANK MT. HOOD MEADOWS FOR BEING SO OPEN ABOUT THIS.
I WASN'T SURE THEY'D WANT TO
TALK ABOUT IT, SOMETHING THAT
HAS THE PRO PROPENSITY TO HURT
THEIR PRODUCT IN THE FUTURE.
THEY'RE SO HIGH IN ELEVATION ON
THE MOUNTAIN, WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT ONE OF THE LARGEST
MOUNTAINS IN THE COUNTRY HERE
IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
SO ELEVATION KEEPS THEM SAFE
FOR QUITE A WHILE AND THEN
AGAIN, CLIMATOLOGISTS INCLUDING
CHIEF METEOROLOGIST MATT
ZAFFINO WHO WE'LL HEAR FROM IN
A SECOND ALSO POINT OUT THERE'S
SO MUCH VARIABILITY YEAR TO
YEAR.
YEAR.
YEAR. THE
YEAR. THE TREND IS ABSOLUTELY CLIMATE
CHANGE IS IMPACTING SKI SEASON,
BUT YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF
FLUCTUATION, AS WE ALWAYS HAVE,
IN THE YEARS TO COME.
>> WHAT'S CLEAR IS THIS ISSUE
AFFECTS SO MANY PARTS OF OUR
LIVES.
LIVES.
LIVES. >>
LIVES. >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
>> WE RELY ON MUCH ON THAT
SNOWPACK AROUND HERE.
THAT'S REALLY A CONCERN.
>> WE DO.
>> WE DO.
>> WE DO. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED IT
IMPACTS US IN SO MANY WAYS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MOST
VISIBLE ONE THAT WE GET EXCITED
ABOUT EVERY YEAR, BUT YEAH,