ALTA, Utah — During an educational event at Alta Ski Resort, a certified arborist took skiers on a field trip to learn about the importance of protecting Utah’s trees.
Ian Peisner led the "Trees and Skis" adventure, teaching recreators about the environment and Utah's many species of trees.
According to Peisner, elevations like Alta Resort are dominated by two main species of trees; Engelmann Spruce and the Subalpine Fir.
“It has the rusty orange color and also has really scaly bark all the way up,” Peisner told skiers while describing the Englemann Spruce.
Another way you can distinguish a tree is by its needles.
“They’re much softer so they don’t poke into your skin like that,” Peisner said as he described the Subalpine Fir needles. "Flat - friendly fir… spiky - spruce.”
Peisner said events like “Trees and Skis” are important for spreading information and helping to conserve the outdoors.
“They're wonderful on a ski slope,” Peisner said about trees. “For one thing, they help protect against avalanches. They also help maintain a nice snowpack. They provide habitat for all the other creatures and things that we're sharing this spot with.”
Alta hosts “Trees and Skis” events once a month during the winter months.
“It's a lot of effort, but they do a really good job because you know...we want to preserve the natural environment that we get to recreate," said Alta Ski Resort’s Communications Manager Andria Huskinson.
She added that the events help the resort with one of their key missions, sustainability.
There are two more “Trees and Skis” events this year. April 4th and April 13th. No registration is required for the event and the group meets at Alta’s Sunnyside lifts at 11a.m.
