How do ski resorts make soil erode?
Levyy_22 asked:
me and my friend are doing a project on how ski resorts make soil erode.
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me and my friend are doing a project on how ski resorts make soil erode.
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January 24th, 2012 at 2:03 am
ski resorts
Ski resorts cut down trees to make ski runs. Tree roots hold soil together and the tree trunks and debris will slow water runoff down which reduces soil erosion.
January 27th, 2012 at 12:05 am
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They do cut down trees, which holds the soil in place. Then once all of the snow (man-made and natural) melts during the spring, the runoff on the trails carries soil down the mountain. This doesn’t happen that often though, as the trails are usually covered in grass and most ski areas are doing work to reduce their impact on the environment.
January 27th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
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Many ski resorts, especially the larger ones with larger budgets, have sustainability plans.
Snowmaking is important to some of those ski areas that don’t get sufficient early winter snowfall. This needed water needs to come from someplace. Over the years these ski areas have understood the importance of capturing natural moisture that runs down their terrain. This captured run-off is then stored to be used with snowguns to blanket a few trails with a good base. This helps keep or refrigerate any further natural snowfall to stay around longer without melting as quickly.
Nearly all the ski areas I have been to during the summer months have erosion berms to help slow down the kinetic energy that run-off would have if it were to run straight down the hill’s fall line.
Besides… there is a ‘mountain’ of legal paperwork that is required nowadays to get much of anything done trail improvement wise at a ski resort that is on Nat’l Forest land – on which a good majority of our ski areas exist.
I would venture to say that an overwhelming majority of employees at a given ski resort would consider themselves stewards of their particular area. If you like where you work, you feel a sort of vested interest in seeing things carried out in a proper manner.
If you’re looking for a good reliable resource on your chosen topic… I would highly recommend a phone call or visit to your nearest, or favorite, ski area to ask them personally. Of course a Forest Svc Ranger Station that works with one or more ski resorts inside its jurisdiction would be another decent source of info.
January 28th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
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There really isn’t much erosion. The trails at older resorts are, for the most part, overgrown with grasses. In may cases, cattle graze on the ski slopes of western US slopes during the summer. Newer trails cut within the last ten years may not have had as much time to recover but environmental laws in regards to the construction mandate erosion controls be put in place during the designand construction. Ski areas that utilize USFS and BLM lands out west must meet Federal standards and Vermont has extremely strict construction laws as well.
There are a few cases where erosion occurs, in most cases these are at smaller resorts on private land where there are less chances of getting caught and/or less impact. However, even at these resorts, a good deal of care is taken to not have erosion occur as it may cause damage to snowmaking and grooming equipment come winter. Rocks, ditches, and uneven terrain all pose as hazards that can damage equipment or require more artificial snow and additional grooming times. Repairs and time equal money and a cut into the bottom line, so resorts, especially small ones with limited budgets, take measures to save cash. Having well maintained terrain is important to them for this reason as well.
January 30th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
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“There really isn’t much erosion… cattle graze on the ski slopes of western US slopes during the summer.” WHAT??? That guy has never seen a ski resort in the summer, and he doesn’t understand what “erosion” means. I have never seen cattle in the alpine mountains. Seriously, that’s the worst answer I’ve seen in days.
Chris make some good points though. Calling your favorite ski resort and interviewing somebody from the resort about this would not only be pretty easy, but it would probably impress your teacher and get you an easy A.
January 31st, 2012 at 10:15 am
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when the snow melts in the spring, it runs down the mountain in little streams which carry dirt and rocks down also