Arapahoe Basin Is Testing the Future of Ski Resort Sustainability: Electric Snowcats

Skiing and sustainability aren't always the first words you associate, but Arapahoe Basin in Colorado is looking to shift that narrative.

The Colorado resort initially set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2025, but this season, the ski area achieved the massive feat months ahead of schedule.

While the resort has reached one goal, that does not mean they are at their final destination. According to their "Looking Towards The Future" description of their sustainability goals, "A-Basin still emits carbon through gasoline, diesel, propane, and solid waste. Carbon offsets are not the final solution for these emissions sources. Since moving to 100% renewable electricity sourcing and addressing roughly two-thirds of ski area emissions, our next big step is full electrification of our vehicle fleet and buildings."

We chatted with the Director of Mountain Operations, Louis Skowyra, and Sustainability Manager Mike Nathan to get the low-down on how things are going using an electric snowcat.

When asked how A-Basin initially acquired this electric cat, Skowyra said, "we've had a relationship with Prinoth that goes back 25 years at least. Back when they were Bombardier and then transitioning to Prinoth. We buy Prinoth cats and we have an all Prinoth fleet."

"They're based out of Grand Junction, just a couple hours from us. We get together with them pretty often. We were over at the World Cup, the 5th event in Aspen, in early March, we knew that cat was going to be there."

Skowyra reported that there are two of these cats in the country right now. Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, bought one, and the other one is a kind of demo cat that travels to different resorts for officials to check out.

Skowyra continued, saying, "we had a chance to check that out, and we figured we should get our hands on this thing. We are in a good spot, centrally located in Colorado, but then also being high and having a long season."

"We demo cats for Prinoth pretty much every year. When we saw this thing a couple months ago, well, Mike and I have been talking about it for a while. We thought, 'why the heck can't we get that thing?'"

Skowyra said Prinoth floated the cat around to a couple other ski areas and then dropped it off with A-Basin. Officials at the resort expect to have the cat through the duration of their season.

Skowyra explained that Prinoth wants people to "take it for a spin, get some hours on it, get some feedback, and we tend to do that for them anyways."

"We made it clear we wanted the machine, and with all of Mike's sustainability initiatives, this is a good fit for us. We're going to be on the leading edge of this stuff in the near future, so it made all the sense in the world for us to to take that thing out and test it up here, a little higher up, in a colder environment, on a steep mountain."

We wanted to know what those benefits were that drew the resort to the snow cat in the first place. Nathan answered that question, saying, "achieving carbon neutrality is the overarching driver of our program here. One of the biggest components of that was achieving 100% renewable electricity, which we could do through a number of programs, such as Xcel Energy, as well as on-site production."

"We've also partnered with a local community solar farm. But, essentially, when we achieved 100% renewable electricity, that meant that any of our ski area operations or activities now could be powered without any carbon intensity at all."

Nathan relayed that the next goal for A-Basin is to eventually have zero emissions by weaning off of fuels and other non-electricity sourced activities.

The snow cats are some of the resort's main fuel users. Nathan said, "Heavy equipment here is still part of our business. Every ski area relies on snow cats, plows, a whole assortment of weird specialty items."

"Just like with a car, there's no tailpipe emissions. So even if we mark for 2% approval, there'll be no cloud of black smoke behind the machine. Every time we buy a new cat, it is an increasingly efficient diesel motor. The EPA is now on stage 5 level of efficiency motors, which we have a few of here."

"Having no downtime emissions, it's huge. We have a waste oil burning furnace shop, but every reduction of fuel use means less trucks loaded down with fuel when driving up and down and up and pass, which reduces the risk of an accident spill. It reduces the emissions from the truck getting us the fuel here, all of those things."

Nathan also explained that when Skowyra is either planning his budget or just working through the operational needs of the year, electricity is a very stable cost, whereas fuel fluctuates widely.

"Those are all reasons why we want to go electric with everything, buildings and equipment and vehicles."

Skowyra elaborated on this, saying, "relative to a lot of our peers, we're still a pretty small operation. That said, on a big day, if it's snowing and we have four groomers on a given night, which would be a big night for us, we're pushing snow around the parking lots with our loaders, and we can easily go through 300 to 350 gallons of diesel a day. Anywhere we can shave on that for all the reasons that Mike touched on, that's a good thing for us."

"This is the right thing to do. We we see ourselves as leaders on the sustainability front, because of what Mike has done for us. This is just another another cog in that wheel. The technology is getting there."

"We're podunk, little A-Basin. But here we are on the cutting edge of testing some new equipment that's brand new to the country. To be a part of that is pretty cool."

Skowyra admitted that just like everything else that's going electric, the battery capacity isn't quite there yet. He said, "our diesel fleet will run a 10 hour shift. Those machines can burn roughly 75 gallons at night over the span of 10 hours. In our experience so far, the battery capacity is is a lot less on this electric machine. We're getting about 2 hours per charge. That's a little ways off from where any downhill operation would need it."

"But for a ski area that has terrain parks that are close to the base area or close to their shop, this would be a great machine today. This cat is the smallest model. They have a diesel comparable build that's called a Husky. So it's a smaller profile. So it can fit between terrain park features really nicely. It can move around lift terminals really easily."

"It's a great machine. It rips. It's got power, immediate torque. It does really well out there in niche situations. Going out and grooming for 10 hours, this isn't the machine yet. But it'll definitely get there."

"If we can power ourselves off renewables, this this would be a huge win if we could electrify our fleet."

The heavy lift here going forward, Skowyra explained, is improvement of the technology, and then it is the buy in and the skill set for A-Basin's mechanics. Mechanics have spent lifetimes repairing certain machines, so to switch to a dramatically different setup poses certain challenges.

Skowyra said, "it's not only building up the improvements in the equipment and the battery life. It's also training people up to be able to work on those machines. We're very familiar with what goes wrong in the diesel cat."

"These electric machines start hitting the field, we're gonna shake out some issues that even the engineers haven't anticipated. So it's having the mechanic's skill set background and and beefing that up. The hydraulic system is similar. The electronics are similar, but the drivetrain is is dramatically different."

However, these are all just hurdles on the road to success. Sustainability isn't just a choice, it is a non-negotiable, and Arapahoe Basin is proud to be on the cutting edge of these new technologies we will be seeing more of at many resorts sooner rather than later.

Skowyra paused for a minute, considered the weight of grooming going electric. "This certainly falls in line with our ethos. If we want skiing to continue for future generations, we have to be responsible and grow out of the ways of the past."

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