Alpine Meadows Approaches Environmental Practices Differently
The Sierra Club said it best: "This is not about getting back to nature. It's understanding we've never left." Alpine Meadows' proactive environmental projects – including biodiesel fuel use, summer native plant revegetation projects, and extensive recycling programs - have certainly been received with open arms; but its what the resort doesn't do that has gained national attention.
Environmentalism does not begin by adopting a set of trendy "go-green BMPs"; it's more of a mindset that starts with self, manifesting into choices, actions, and life practices. Most guests and employees have actively chosen Alpine Meadows as their home mountain because of the resort's environmental standards and high regard for the mountains. "There is a permeating and intrinsic respect that we share for this place and the outdoors in general," said Bob Starks, tenured IT Coordinator and avid telemark skier at Alpine Meadows. "Alpine regulars are just more attuned to their natural surroundings, and choose to pay attention to important elements like weather and snowfall," he added.
And yes, Alpine Meadows does as much as it does not. Alpine Meadows works with Colorado-based Renewable Choice Energy. The resort purchases 100% wind power. Using this amount of wind energy is equivalent to not driving a car 1,822,061 miles. That's three and a half round-trip tickets to the moon!
New for winter 2006/2007, Alpine Meadows will help to raise money for the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the Truckee Trails Foundation by participating in the locally popular Open Space & Trails ongoing fundraiser. Alpine Meadows will have Open Space & Trails information at several retail locations, giving guests the opportunity to learn about the Land Trust and Trails Foundations' mission, which quite literally, is to preserve and protect important historic, recreational, and scenic open spaces in the greater Truckee region. With each lift ticket purchase transaction, guests will have the opportunity to donate $1 to assist the Open Space & Trails' projects locally.
Alpine Meadows also supports the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (or BEF), which focuses on restoring watersheds in the Pacific Northwest and exploring and developing renewable energy sources in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Colorado. The resort will sell the organization's popular "Green Tag" stickers with two Green Tag options: the $20 "Cooler Future" tags support a 99% wind, 1% solar energy initiative; the $24 "Brighter Future" tags support a 90% wind, 10% solar initiative. 100% of Green Tag proceeds realized at Alpine Meadows will fund BEF's restoration and renewable energy projects.
The focus at Alpine Meadows is to provide a natural mountain experience that emphasizes terrain that Skiing Magazine has named as some of the country's finest. Thanks to strategic lift placement that encourages guests to hike to many of its advanced runs, Alpine attracts clientele who seek remote terrain, serene locations, and the quiet of a snow shrouded forest. Factor in Alpine's open-boundary policy, and suddenly those 2400 acres become an infinite playground bound only by a skier's imagination.
Skiers at Alpine have a common bond, that which is uncommonly spoken. At a mountain that hosts some of North America's most sought-after terrain, most loyal visitors gage happiness by powder depth. The privilege of finding hidden terrain, the charm of a mid-morning cocoa break, and the unspoken bond between other skiers and boarders make the whole of Alpine greater than the sum of its parts. Alpine is tradition. Beauty. Passion and Soul.