I‘m a longtime season pass-holder at Purgatory. I’ve seen previous owners transform Purgatory from a ski area to a real estate development, so I’ve obviously been extremely impressed with the new direction of James Coleman’s current ownership. The new attention to the actual ski area has been refreshing. That said, I’m also a professional biologist who has seen measurable changes in the San Juans due to warming climate. Mr. Coleman has recently been profiled in Outside magazine.
While certainly flattering to Coleman (with good reason), the piece contains some disturbing quotes regarding climate change. He reaches into the climate skeptic’s playbook to bring out all the talking point clichés: “The climate has always been changing; there was an ice age 2,000 years ago. I don’t know how much of the current change is man-made.”
He then refers to conflicting science before astonishingly saying he “doesn’t worry about it a whole lot.”
This kind of myopic, head-in-the-sand thinking would be remarkable for anyone, let alone somebody who has a vested economic interest in five ski areas in the arid Southwest, where every study predicts warmer and drier climate in the near future.
In fact, the effects of climate change are occurring at such a rapid rate that the models have to be constantly adjusted to reflect frightening new climate data.
We’ve now reached a point in the climate arc where willful ignorance can no longer be tolerated.
As an owner of five ski areas in three states, Coleman has the unique opportunity to influence both public opinion and policy. Several ski areas in the West (Taos, Aspen, Alta) have partnered with Protect Our Winters to highlight the dangers of climate change and promote ski area management which minimizes carbon output.
Altitudes over 8,000 feet won’t inoculate his investments from the deleterious impacts of climate change. Coleman is a respected member of the Durango business community; he needs to show some leadership on this issue.
Like Coleman, I love to ski, and I want to ensure skiing in the Southwest does not become a thing of the past.
John Wickersham
Durango
