Press Releases

Media Contacts:

Krista Parry
Director of Marketing

kristap@pcmr.com

01/02/2007

FIRST-EVER SCIENTIFIC STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT AND THE SNOW SPORTS INDUSTRY

Park City, Utah (January 2, 2007) – Powdr Corporation, Park City Mountain Resort, and KPCW radio proudly present the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of global warming’s potential effect on Park City Mountain Resort and the Utah snow sports industry. The results of the $60,000 study will be presented at a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 9th at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts in Park City, Utah.

Modeled after a similar study commissioned by Aspen, Colorado, Scientists at Stratus Consulting and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder, have projected what the snow pack will look like at Park City Mountain Resort in the years 2030, 2075 and beyond.

“I was shocked when I heard the results of this study for the first time,” said John Cumming, CEO of Powdr Corp. “Bottom line, if global warming continues at its current rate, it will mean the end of snow sports and our business as we know it. However, as the study shows, there is still a window of opportunity for all of us to help save our snow, but we – and our political leaders – need to take decisive action now.”

The program will commence with singer/song-writer, Kathy Mattea’s climate change presentation, based on Al Gore’s hit film, An Inconvenient Truth”. Mattea was one of 50 well-known entertainers trained by the former vice-president to speak about scientists’ findings on global warming.

Following Mattea’s presentation, Brian Lazar from Stratus Consulting, will present the results of the study, which project what wintertime temperatures will look like month-by-month at Park City Mountain Resort during the rest of this century. Lazar bases his conclusions on seven different models of greenhouse gas emissions developed by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

To continue the program, snow modeling expert Mark Williams will show what the
various temperature scenarios developed by Lazar will mean for the snowpack at Park City Mountain Resort. His findings are based on historical data from the Resort and the National Weather Service’s SNOTEL site at 9,000 feet. Photos taken by Landsat Satellites were also used to determine snow coverage at the Resort.

The program will conclude with a presentation by the head of Aspen’s City Department of Climate Change about what their town is doing to reduce its carbon footprint. In addition, representatives from the three area resorts, Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley and The Canyons, will participate in a panel discussion to communicate their plans to help stop the effects of global warming.

Key funding for Save Our Snow was provided by Park City Mountain Resort, Powdr Corporation and KPCW radio. Additional funding was provided by Deer Valley, The Canyons and the Summit County Recreation, Parks and Arts Tax.

###