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Column: Larch Hills Nordic Society considering bus in effort to reduce carbon footprint

Trail Tales by Marcia Beckner
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People gather in the chalet at Larch Hills. (File photo)

By Marcia Beckner

Contributor

Needless to say, as skiers we rely upon snow for our activity.

And, as we all know, climate change is threatening our skiing by reducing the snow pack.

In a move to mitigate the impact of climate change in our ski area, the Larch Hills Nordics Society has committed to work toward minimizing our carbon footprint. Thus a Carbon Neutral Committee (CNC) has been formed to investigate ways in which we can achieve this goal.

One contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) is club operations on the hill. This past year the LHNS bought carbon offsets to compensate for the carbon footprint generated by fuel used in club operations – PB 400 tracksetter, snowmobiles, chainsaws, plus general club operation. This gives us carbon neutral status for this past year’s on-hill maintenance and tracksetting operations.

However, by far the greatest contributor to our GHG footprint is skier transportation to the hill. The Carbon Neutral Committee is looking at ways and means to reduce the vehicle impact, such as encouraging carpooling, investigating in a bus service and looking at creative ways to reduce vehicle trips up the hill without impacting skier enjoyment.

As folks renew their membership to the LHNS through Zone 4, or become brand new members, they will note the following: “You can help offset your commuting emissions by donating to the Larch Hills Commuting Carbon Offset Fund. At the end of the season, LHNS will purchase carbon credits on your behalf from the Darkwoods Forest near Nelson – a forest specifically managed in perpetuity to sequester carbon we’re emitting.”

Lots to look forward to this ski season! The Lantern Ski will be held Wednesday, Dec. 29 from 5 to 9 p.m. Always a magical event! A modified Reino Keski-Salmi Loppet will be held Saturday, Jan. 22. The Jackrabbits and Race Team are in full swing. The Thursday Geezers are underway, and the Wednesday Wenches will start soon. Keep an eye on the club website for more details: www.skilarchhills.ca.

Read more: Trail Tales: Larch Hills’ ‘Mr. Fix It’ ready to focus on skiing



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