It’s been almost a week since American president Donald Trump announced that the US will withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement and ski resorts across the country have now united to condemn the decision.

In response to Mr Trump’s latest controversial move, over 1,200 politicians, universities and businesses as well as ski resorts have pledged to play their own part in safeguarding the natural environment and protecting the country from the impact of climate change by signing an open letter, entitled We are Still In.

Included on the list are two of the companies that manage the majority of the USA’s ski resorts, Vail Resorts and Aspen Skiing Company.

Vail Resorts has made its position on climate change very clear

Before the We Are Still In open letter was made public earlier this week Rob Katz, the chairman and CEO of global giant Vail Resorts, which owns 13 North American resorts including Breckenridge and Park City in America as well as Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, released a statement. “Climate change is a global challenge that requires global cooperation,” he said. “And it is disheartening to see the United States pull away from working with the other 194 countries that were part of the Agreement.”

Joining him in opposing Mr Trump was Auden Schendler, vice president of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company, which as well as Aspen in Colorado manages resorts including Winter Park, Mammoth and Steamboat following recent acquistions. “Aspen Skiing Company isn’t just opposing withdrawal from Paris. We’re going to fight it to the ground, and we’re going to implement the Paris accords ourselves in our business, in Colorado and, as soon as possible, nationally,” said Schendler.

Those signing the We Are Still In letter are pledging to remain actively engaged with the international community as part of the global effort to hold global warming to well below 2ºC as well as to help accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, according to the letter’s opening statement.

Vail Resorts and Aspen Skiing Company aren’t the only organisations to show their support, Colorado-based Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain Ski Resort and Telluride Ski and Golf have also signed. Further afield the likes of Boyne Resorts, which manages Big Sky in Montana, the California Ski Industry Association, Deer Valley Resort in Utah, Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, POWDR Corp – which owns several resorts such as Alpine Meadows in California and Mount Bachelor in Oregon – and California's Squaw Valley Ski Holdings have shown their support.

The owners of Big Sky resort have also shown their support for the open letter

The effects of climate change have become an increasingly important issue for ski resorts, which also recognise that snow sports can have damaging affects on the environment due to transportation and infrastructure. Over recent years many have introduced energy saving and creation plans, and acted to improve their own sustainability. Most recently Telegraph Ski and Snowboard has reported on a bold new plan to save glaciers in Switzerland and an indoor slope at 2,000m in Tignes, France.

In his statement, Rob Katz stressed Vail Resorts' ongoing committment to reducing energy use. “Vail Resorts will redouble our efforts to find significant ways to minimise our carbon footprint through reducing our energy use to help address one of the most serious challenges facing our worldwide community,” said Katz.

These efforts have already reduced water usage by 27 per cent since 2008, and saved enough energy to powder 5,000 US home annually. Modern snow making and grooming systems, which measure efficiency and energy usage, have been introduced as part of an energy efficiency program. These, along with several other initiatives, form part of what Vail Resorts terms its Epic Promise to actively work to maintain the environment that skiers and snowboarders love.

The effect climate change and global warming is having on the ski industry was recently highlighted in a video released by California-based organisation Protect Our Winters, set up by professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones in 2007. The video features Telegraph Ski and Snowboard’s ski technique editor Warren Smith who has seen the changing conditions in the mountains over the past two decades.

Jeremy Jones has also made his own public statement directly to Mr Trump, asking how children are to understand why the US is no longer supporting the global climate change effort.

“Do I tell them that we are the largest polluters on the planet and doing the least about it? That the rest of the world has taken climate seriously? That they are creating jobs and opportunities - doing it?” he wrote.

“Do I tell them that we have failed them? That we - their parents and grandparents - have failed them? That we have all sat idly by while a great injustice is happening right in front of our eyes? That we have done nothing because change is too hard? That turning coal jobs into renewable jobs is too hard?



“I don't know how you do it. How do you look the kids of our country in the eyes and tell them that you put short-term profits ahead of long-term solutions?” continues Jones.

Mr Trump has riled a number of big names with his latest action. Keen skier, film star and ex-governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a video on his Facebook page following the announcement, where he calls for a clean energy revolution, something ski resorts are also working towards.

The full open We Are Still In letter is clearly gaining momentum amongst US state, local and business leaders, both in and out of the ski industry, and can be read in full here.