Downhill skiing hasn’t been my cup of tea for years, due to the expense, hassle, and crowds.  But I have fond memories of skiing when I was young.

Now it looks like skiing may soon become just a memory for everyone, at least in the western United States.  Climate change models predict increased warming and droughts, leading to less snowfall and more rain and flooding.

This year in the mountain west particular has been uniquely and historically awful, and the future looks even worse:

Even with technology and financial wherewithal, the resorts probably can’t win. “Snowmaking is not the answer,” says Porter Fox, author of Deep: The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow. “It’s a stopgap measure to keep the ski resort industry from collapsing.” When you’re skiing on machine-made snow, yes, you’re carving turns, you’re sliding downhill, perhaps even flying. You’re in the mountains. You might be with your parents, you might be with your kids. The thing is, on more and more days, you won’t get the real powder you grew up on, the kind of snow that turns ambivalent skiers into die-hards. While resorts will be able to cover over the decline for decades to come, the long-term future of the sport looks just as patchy and thin as the runs at Tahoe in early February.

Another victim of a changing climate, or whatever they call the phenomenon in Florida these days.