The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Guests at Mount Werner will find pro-environmental slogans and activities around the ski area today as part of the second annual Sustainable Slopes outreach campaign.

Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. is an active member of the National Ski Areas Association that encourages the Sustainable Slopes campaign to national ski areas throughout the winter.

Lyn Halliday, director of guest services and environmental affairs, said the ski area has been involved with environmental programs since the early 1990s when she began working there.

"In late '94 I did an inventory of the environmental initiatives in the recent years and it was astounding," Halliday said.

The National Ski Areas Association is the umbrella for various outreach programs and campaigns Sustainable Slopes being a branch of the Environmental Charter program.

Children enrolled in the Trail Busters program can participate in the "skicology" trip down the Why Not run at Mount Werner, gathering bags of litter for a prize at 2 p.m. today. Whistle Pig Willy, the Yampa Valley Recycling Program mascot, will distribute goodie bags for each bag of litter the children return.

Yampatika, U.S. Forest Service, Ski Corp. Ambassadors Yampa Valley Recycling will set up a tent at the base of the ski area to inform guests on tree identification, ski area programs and will answer questions regarding the forest and wildlife

White boards in front of all chairlifts will display trivia questions referring to the environment and its natural resources.

The ski area's environmental outreach programs are extensive, Halliday said. From creating uniforms partially made of recycled plastic in previous years to providing ski tours with Forest Service experts, Ski Corp. is one of the more pro-environmental mountains in the nation, Halliday said.

"(Today) is about the ski areas having the opportunity to have a day to showcase all of the great things they do environmentally," Halliday said.

In order to sustain clean and healthy slopes, recommendations to guests include: leave nature how they found it, observe trail closures and ski boundaries, carpool, be considerate of noise, get involved in local environmental programs and spread the word about these ideas to family and friends.

Although members of the National Ski Areas Association will not be in Steamboat Springs for the day of activities and education, Halliday said that would be a great idea someday.