Featured Image: Gabe Rovick
Gone are the days of record-low snow years, receding glaciers and shorter ski seasons feeling like distant lore. We're living it right now. For decades we have been warned about what climate change can and will do to our snow-covered mountains and the sport we love so much. What's happening this season, the extreme feast or famine conditions, is only going to become more prevalent, and ski seasons more uncertain.
Within ski towns and around ski resorts, the largest contributor to climate change is vehicle emissions. If you've ever spent a weekend on I-70 between Denver and the mountains, it shouldn't be hard to imagine traffic like that all around the Mountain West adds up every year. Even the Cottonwood Canyons in Salt Lake City can have hundreds of cars sitting and running on the six-mile stretch of road for multiple hours in the morning and in the evening every weekend and powder day of the season.
To address the issue, many ski resorts and towns are offering rideshare options to incentivize carpooling and reduce the number of cars on the road—especially those with only a single passenger. Not only does it reduce emissions in the atmosphere and save time on the road, but it also helps reduce your travel costs. Splitting a tank of gas, or a service, is always cheaper than paying for it yourself.
Photo: Gabe Rovick
Photo: Gabe Rovick
Uber was quick to adapt to this niche mountain need with Uber Ski, which guarantees the rider an Uber XL (two passengers plus gear) or XXL (four passengers plus gear) with a ski rack and snow tires. Uber Ski is a seasonal offering from the rideshare company, which partnered with Vail Resorts in 2025 to solidify its place on the slopes. When you book your Uber Ski, you can also purchase your Epic Pass or Epic Day Pass directly through the Uber app to streamline your ski-related reservations all in one place. Many town or city that has Uber also offers Uber Ski during the winter months.
There's also local rideshare apps like TreadShare in Colorado and SnowPals in Tahoe that connect skiers looking to carpool to the mountains. Mountain Rideshare follows the same concept, but on a larger scale across the U.S., U.K. and Europe. Mountaineer is an on-demand shuttle service for the Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows in California and of course, public transportation is always an option and encouraged if you're visiting or living within a ski town and don't have far to go.
At this point, it's up to us as skiers to help protect the mountains we love by making choices in our everyday lives to help reduce our impact on the environment. Leaving your car at home or carpooling with your friends (or likeminded strangers!) is one simple way to help make an impact.
