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What will the average ski season look like in 2050? Probably, a lot like this one.
That’s according to University of Utah Research Assistant Professor Peter Veals, who paid a visit to the Tetons this week to deliver a talk on climate change and its impacts on the future of skiing.
“In about 30 years, so 2050 to 2060, this [season] is likely what an average winter will look like in the West,” Veals said.
The planet’s temperature is 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than its pre-20th century baseline, he said. This winter is on track to surpass that.
“There’s a little bit left to be written on this winter, but it will likely land in the neighborhood of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial average,” Veals said. “[That puts] it at one of the warmest, if not the warmest, winter on record in the West.”
At a rise of 3 to 4 degrees Celsius, Veals said ski resorts would be lucky to still operate.
The 2025-2026 ski season started slow in the Tetons, with rare rain cycles broaching high elevations alongside warm temperatures in the valley. The result has been a lower-than-normal snowpack at most elevations. As of January, some lower elevation ski areas in Utah’s Wasatch Range experienced upwards of 40% of its precipitation in the form of rain, Veals added.
University of Utah assistant professor Peter Veals speaks to a crowded Old Wilson Schoolhouse about this year’s unseasonably warm temperatures. (Jenna McMurtry / KHOL)
A self-described skier first, meteorologist second, Veals spoke to a crowd of backcountry enthusiasts for Teton Backcountry Alliance’s annual night of “Teton Tales.” Veals’ talk came in between a ski film on the first descent of Mt. Robson’s south face in the Canadian Rockies and a talk from former Jacksonite Stephen Koch, the first snowboarder to ride down the world’s seven highest summits.
As climate change grows more pronounced, Veals said mountain towns can expect to feel the impact. That could mean more rain events, earlier melt-out, dust-on-snow events, pine beetle kill and wildfires, none of which bode well for ski resort management or snowmaking, especially at lower elevations.
“These high-elevation ski resorts, colder and higher-elevation mountain ranges, are going to become increasingly valuable,” Veals said.
In his analysis on how ski areas may respond, Veals suggested snow storage systems could rise in usage if a cost-effective method is figured out.
That may look like refrigeration systems, or insulated tarps that store snow over the summer, which water rights could complicate. Ground-based cloud seeding is likely on its way out, or at least won’t be a primary solution given questions about its effectiveness, Veals said.
Veals’ talk ended with a call-to-action with what he thinks could help extend the longevity of snowsports: support climate lobbyists, engage in local politics and invest in solar panels, electric vehicles and carbon sequestration.
