Snow falls thick as skiers braid their way down Snowmass Mountain, part of the Aspen Skiing Company resort chain. Auden Schendler, the company’s vice-president of sustainability, watches them descend like ants from a perch above the valley. Shortened ski seasons are the epitome of a first world problem, he says, but says it’s a way to help people understand climate change. “The risk of that going away is something visceral that Americans, Europeans globally, we can understand,” Schendler said. The problem, he said, is that the ski industry has generally kept its head down on climate change, “greening” their own operations, but not publicly advocating for policy change. “It really needs to say, ‘We care about this issue. It threatens our economies and we need action,’” he said. As global warming threatens to put much of the ski industry out of business over the next several decades, resorts are beginning to embrace a role as climate activists in the halls of government. The industry contributes just a tiny fraction of overall greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of climate change, but arguably has outsized influence on popular culture and in the business world. While many resorts are focused on reducing their own emissions, others are going much further, leveraging their influence to shift public opinion and advocate for climate legislation. Arapahoe Basin is a resort leading such efforts in the United States. Positioned high up on the craggy, wind-whipped continental divide in central Colorado, the area is relatively well-positioned to endure a warmer, shorter winter season. High altitude, which keeps temperatures cooler and lengthens the time snow stays on the ground, is its golden ticket. But the resort isn’t immune to extreme weather: it has experienced close calls with wildfires and subsequent mudslides, which washed out a parking lot adjacent to its slopes in 2021. About a decade ago, the resort transitioned from spending thousands of dollars annually to cancel out some carbon emissions by paying for carbon credits to instead funding a staff position focused on reducing on-site emissions. But Arapahoe Basin is taking it a step further, advocating for local, state and national policies that will slow global warming. “Last year we authored a letter to our senators and congresspeople from the state in Washington asking for support of the Inflation Reduction Act and specifically the climate policy pieces,” said Arapahoe Basin sustainability manager Mike Nathan. Mario Molina, executive director of climate advocacy group Protect Our Winters, says brands play a critical role in the climate fight. “Changes like those really move the needle in terms of overall carbon output from United States emissions,” Molina said. Aspen says they are proud of their on-site operations – such as their commitment to local beef and electrifying buildings – but those actions shouldn’t be framed as solutions that will save snow.“They’re part of being a good citizen, and good business management, but they’re not a climate change solution.” The company found a way to sway its local utility, Holy Cross, which supplies power to more than a dozen towns in addition to Vail Mountain Resort along the Interstate-70 corridor. About 15 years ago, Schendler began phoning environmentally minded locals and encouraged them to run for board positions for the utility, which produced about 10% renewable electricity at the time. Today, the board is stacked with pro-renewable members, largely the fruit of lobbying by Aspen and other activists. The utility is split about 50/50 between renewables and fossil fuels, and is committed to 100% renewables by 2030. Another way to speed the transition to renewables is through power purchase agreements. This is when a business or utility commits to buying a set amount of energy from yet-to-be-built projects, guaranteeing some of the funding to be built. Vail Resorts, which owns 37 ski areas in three countries, has done this with a wind farm in Nebraska, and is one of five partners for a new solar array in Salt Lake City. Power purchase agreements have helped Vail reach 100% renewable electricity for all its resort and ski areas in North America, and 96% internationally. Many skiers applaud such efforts and want their favorite ski areas to have a role in fighting climate change. “I think all companies should be getting behind it, because if there’s no snow, they don’t have much business to go on.,” said Archie Bolgar, a British student on vacation at Aspen in January with friends from Boston’s Bentley University. While there are many environmental issues corporations could embrace, Schendler says the focus must be on reducing emissions to make sure global temperatures don't rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times. The rise is currently about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit), and climate scientists warn that as it increases so too will extreme weather events. “We have the policy tools, and we have the technology to solve the problem today. We just have to deploy it,” he said.