What's New at Mad River Glen

09/28/2008 - Capitol Improvements for 2008-09: So your ski area just had one of the best winters in memory, there’s a bit more cash in the till than normal so where do you put your money? Well if your Mad River Glen, the iconoclastic, skier owned mountain your going to renovate the bathrooms. “I guess no one will ever accuse of us spending like drunken sailors,” quips Mad River Glen’s President Jamey Wimble. Since the inception of the Co-op in 1995, Mad River Glen has invested nearly $4 million in capital improvements. Unlike other ski areas Mad River’s goal is to maintain and preserve the experience rather than overhaul or upgrade it. Both the skier-owners and the management understand that skiers come to Mad River for the unique combination of legendary terrain, sense of community, low skier density and intimate atmosphere. “We don’t want to mess with a winning combination,” President Jamey Wimble explains, “Our capital plan is designed to maintain the existing infrastructure and to make small changes that will improve the overall experience for our skiers.” While most capital projects are relatively mundane and will not be obvious to many skiers, they are nonetheless very important to Mad River’s goal of keeping the buildings, lifts, and mountain in good shape and enhancing the overall experience for the skiers. Not surprisingly, a big chunk of the budget is earmarked for trail work, lift maintenance, and buildings. “Nothing fancy,” admits Mountain Manager Nate Martin, “Our skiers just want to come and have a great ski experience. Our job is to make sure everything is safe and it works, from the bathrooms to the lifts.” The ability of Mad River Glen to consistently reinvest in the mountain’s infrastructure is a testament to the success of the Cooperative. Capital projects are funded by a combination of operating income and Co-op share sales. Since Mad River Glen will continue to have significant capital needs in the future, Co-op share sales are always important. New shareholders will know that their support will enable critical projects designed to protect and preserve the Mad River Glen ski experience for generations to come. Environmental Efforts and Efficiency Mad River Glen's Revolutionary Approach to Sustainability While Mad River Glen’s ski experience is unique, the mountain’s business model of sustainability and its mission of protection and preservation are downright revolutionary. We believe that by operating in a responsible and sustainable way, with minimum impact, (along with the great skiing) Mad River Glen will appeal to a viable niche of skiers. It is common these days for businesses to talk about their “carbon footprint” as concern over climate change has finally begun to resonate with consumers. Mad River Glen operates under the philosophy of maximizing efficiency while minimizing the operational “footprint” in the first place. Most resorts use tremendous amounts of energy to make snow, run lifts and create and maintain base area development. These are all activities that Mad River Glen’s business model disdains. Mad River Glen’s philosophy is; if you don’t build it in the first place you minimize the “footprint” and reduce the need to offset long-term environmental effects. The mission statement of the Mad River Glen Cooperative, America’s only skier-owned mountain is: “…to preserve and protect the forests and mountain eco-system of General Stark Mountain in order to provide skiing and other recreational access and to maintain the unique character of the area for present and future generations.” To fulfill this mission the mountain has committed itself to an array of environmental initiatives. The mountain has: Continued on its established path of sustainable ski area management which includes a decided lack of snowmaking and non-essential development. This philosophy is exemplified by the historic rehabilitation of the Single Chair. Decided to swap the Single Chair’s old diesel drive for a more efficient electric drive that drastically cuts green house emissions. Worked with Efficiency Vermont to maximize Mad River Glen’s overall energy usage efficiency. Invested in efficient compact fluorescent lighting throughout the area. Developed an overall forestry management plan that will maintain the health of the forests on Gen. Stark Mountain, reduce soil erosion and minimize the need for man-made snow for generations to come. Offered, for over a decade, year-round guided naturalist programs in an effort to educate the mountain's community about the environment of Gen. Stark Mountain. Opened an on-mountain (ski/snowshoe-in) Nature Center to educate and inform the public about the environment at Mad River Glen. Instituted a ski-area wide recycling program that significantly reduces Mad River Glen’s contribution to the waste stream. Partnered with Native Energy of Vermont and The Stark Mountain Foundation to purchase carbon offsets that render the mountain’s entire operation “carbon neutral”. Develop the one-of-a-kind “Ski Green If You Can” program challenging skiers to offset the carbon emissions caused by their commute to the ski area. This "carbon footprint" is calculated to be 5 times that of the ski area operation itself. In the programs first year skiers voluntarily offset 100% of their travel to the mountain. Purchased carbon offsets through Native Energy of Vermont. All offset funds are earmarked for the development of methane digester projects on family farms right here in Vermont. These projects reduce green house gas emissions in a meaningful way and would not have been possible without these carbon offset purchases. MRG Goes Carbon Neutral and Then Some Mad River Glen, a mountain known for its environmental stewardship, is taking “going carbon neutral” to a new level. Not only does Mad River Glen offset their entire operational footprint, it also inspires skiers to voluntarily offset emissions from their commute to the ski area. Mad River Glen is one of the first ski areas in the nation to work toward truly offsetting the emissions from both operations and skier commutes to the mountain. Last season Mad River Glen, with the help of its non-profit partner, The Stark Mountain Foundation (SMF), implemented the “Ski Green If You Can” carbon offset program. Mad River Glen used an SMF grant to purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the emissions from the ski area’s already-minimal operations. What sets Mad River’s program apart from others in the ski industry is that it also tackles the impact of skier commuting to the mountain, not just the operational impact. After careful demographic analysis Mad River Glen calculated that an average skier’s commute has five times the greenhouse gas emission impact as the mountain’s operations [it can’t be the mountain’s total operations – perhaps the skier’s share of the day’s operations? Please clarify]. Using the “Ski Green If You Can” program as a vehicle, Mad River Glen challenged skiers to follow the mountain’s lead and voluntarily offset their commute when they bought tickets or season passes. Skiers paid either $1 for a day ticket, $3 for a Mad Card (a book of 3 discounted tickets) or $10 for a season pass when they made their purchase. Throughout the season skiers voluntarily opting into the program raised nearly $6,000. This was an outstanding result for a first year program, which is a testament to the Mad River Glen community’s concern for global climate change. To put this accomplishment into perspective the 842 tons of CO2 offset during the season was equivalent to negating the emissions from 1,684,000 miles of driving in average car (51,030 one-way trips from Burlington to Mad River Glen or 8,548 one-way trips from Boston to Mad River Glen). These carbon offsets were purchased through Vermont's NativeEnergy and will help fund new renewable energy projects. At present these carbon offsets are helping build new family dairy farm methane energy projects. The new renewable energy projects that Mad River Glen is helping build directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a meaningful way, and would not have been possible without the funding NativeEnergy provided through its up-front carbon offset purchases.