Gondola Is Unusable As It ‘Melts’ On Aspen Mountaintop To Portray Global Warming
Image via Aspen Snowmass
Skiers at the top of Aspen Mountain will now find a fallen gondola car “melting” away at its peak. Keep the planet this way for some decades, and more might follow too.
The cable transport unit, of course, isn’t really melting. The simple yet impactful structure, perched 12,121 feet up, was wholly sculpted by artist Chris Erikson as a precautionary symbol of climate change’s snowballing effects, and is part of a commissioned 75th-anniversary project by ski resort Aspen Snowmass with support by environmental awareness group Protect Our Winters (POW).
“Look around. Reach down and touch the snow. Think about your next run. Do you want all this to melt away?” reads the sign next to the artwork, called The Melted Gondola.
The resort says it has lost 30 days of winter since 1980. To inspire skiers, snowboarders, and other visitors to take urgent action, The Melted Gondola is being portrayed almost like ice cream on a hot summer’s day so as “to get people thinking about the next 75 years.”
Shortened winters and extreme weather can’t be good for the industry. Simply put, climate change is putting skiing out of business,” says the company in a news release.
Aspen Snowmass details that the installation itself was inspired by James Dive and The Glue Society’s 2006 Hot with the Chance of a Late Storm ice cream truck sculpture, which is also about global warming. “We wanted to create a statement piece that represents not just our resort, but our whole industry,” describes creative director Mark Carolan. “With it, we are encouraging dialogue, support, and most importantly—through our close connection with POW—strong action.”
The creators acknowledge that art isn’t going to solve everything, but “we also hope it is one step of many.”
“The best way to be a part of the fix is to think systemically,” notes Auden Schendler, senior vice president of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company. “Sure, that’s voting, but it’s also writing senators, it’s pressuring your favorite businesses to use their voice and influence in Washington; it’s getting into local political and getting your town to implement fixes like code changes, electrification, and clean energy standards.”
The reflective piece is now on display at the exit of Aspen Snowmass’ Silver Queen Gondola, on the way to the Sundeck, and will stay up until 2022.
[via Aspen Snowmass, images via various sources]
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