SALEM LAKES, Wis. — Under a blazing sun, dozens of skiers and snowboarders last week whizzed down a hill just north of the Illinois state line. Despite the blinding white of the slopes, most trails on Wilmot Mountain are typically replenished with artificial snow, which ski locations across the globe are increasingly relying on as pollution from burning fossil fuels changes the climate, increases average global temperatures and shortens winters.
People ski at Wilmot Mountain ski resort in Wilmot, Wisconsin, on Jan. 29, 2026. The resort, located just over the Wisconsin border, uses a combination of real and artificial snow. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
And as lovers of winter sports from around the world prepare to watch one of the most popular sporting events kick off Friday, organizers for the Winter Olympics are also racing to adapt to the new reality.
Unseasonably warm winter temperatures in northern Italy — an average rise of 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit since it hosted the Winter Games in 1956 — and a reduced snowpack will require 2 million cubic yards of artificial snow to ensure consistent conditions for athletes. New snowmaking systems have been installed in Bormio for Alpine ski racing and ski mountaineering, and in Livigno for freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, according to The Associated Press.
“That has to be some kind of undertaking, to do that, cause you got to get it right. I mean, these kids are going quick. You want their conditions to be good,” said John Jedele, a resident of Antioch who skis at Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin a few times a week.
For the most part, hobbyists, athletes and Olympians on the slopes — from northern Italy to southeastern Wisconsin — say they don’t feel any changes in performance or experience between artificial and real snow.
“I can’t tell the difference, and I’m an expert skier. Been skiing my whole life,” said Chuck Randles, general manager at Wilmot Mountain of Vail Resorts.
However, a warming world will still affect logistics for future winter games. A 2024 study found that only half of potential Olympic host locations may have reliable cold temperatures by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed significantly.
And the processes behind snowmaking tend to be incredibly energy and water-intensive: The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing used over 192 million gallons of water to create an entirely artificial snowscape, a move that was criticized.
Snowy ski destinations in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Rockies and the Alps, have been trying to adapt to a changing landscape as human-made climate change has been shrinking snowpacks over the last four decades.
“I didn’t realize, even in Switzerland, they make snow,” said Mary Jedele, who has been skiing alongside her husband for over five decades.
Randles, who worked at Vail Resorts in Utah and Colorado, said those states have gotten less snow this season than their typical hundreds of inches. In fact, they are experiencing a record-low snow year with above-average temperatures and severe drought.
“They are much more reliant on the manufactured snow this year than they are in a typical year,” Randles said.
The Jedeles had been planning to visit friends and go skiing in Park City, Utah, after the holidays in December. But warm temperatures and the prospect of no fresh snow, or powder, changed their plans. Sites out west also generally don’t have the capacity to produce as much artificial snow as those in the Midwest and eastern United States do.
“They said, ‘Don’t come,’” John Jedele said.
“They’ll have to come to Wilmot,” Randles laughed.
“Well, yeah! Bring ’em here!”
A person carries skis at Wilmot Mountain ski resort in Wilmot, Wisconsin, on Jan. 29, 2026. The resort, located just over the Wisconsin border, uses a combination of real and artificial snow. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Already, ski resorts in the Midwest might be better prepared for warmer, shorter winters. Because of historically variable weather — often leading to unfavorable snow conditions — sites in the region have had to rely on artificial snow more than their snowier counterparts out West.
Wilmot Mountain was an early pioneer in snowmaking. Almost 15 years after opening, the resort began testing and tweaking a system that included yard sprinklers, pipes for air and water, and electric heaters to prevent the latter from freezing too early.
The modern process uses so-called snow guns or cannons, a machine that forces water and pressurized air through, with a fan that launches the water droplets, which freeze as they fall to the ground. If outdoor temperatures are extremely cold, the recipe mostly calls for water. When it is not cold enough, the compressed air is crucial to chill the water enough so it becomes snow instead of ice.
“Artificial snow is, ultimately, the same as natural snow,” Randles said.
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He compared the final product to ice made in a freezer and ice naturally forming in a pond, which are the same, he said, except that the freezer kind is manufactured.
“Even in a good snow year,” like Wilmot’s current season with 22 inches of natural snowfall, Randles said, “we are largely dependent on manufacturing snow.”
The main drawback to snowmaking, he said, is that it can’t replicate the texture of fresh, fluffy and light snow, also known as powder, which many skiers and snowboarders enjoy.
A foot of natural snow gets compacted into about an inch by people skiing and snowboarding over it, and later by a big machine or tiller that smooths the surface over, Randles said. This season, that compacted base at Wilmot has averaged 30 inches: 2 inches have come from almost 2 feet of natural snow, and 28 inches have been manufactured.
“Natural snow is a little extra icing on the cake,” Randles said. “We absolutely love it, but it doesn’t materially impact our business.”
Addressing the energy and water use from snowmaking — by recycling water, as well as automating the process and making it more efficient — is key to the resort’s carbon neutrality goals, Randles said.
The water they use, he said, is moved temporarily from ponds and natural springs on the Wilmot property to the snow cannons. It is then thrown into the air, where it freezes, and it sits on the slopes for a few months before melting and returning to the watershed of the Fox River, which flows from southeast Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois, some 80 miles southwest of Chicago, where it meets the Illinois River.
A snow machine sits at Wilmot Mountain ski resort in Wilmot, Wisconsin, on Jan. 29, 2026. The resort, located just over the Wisconsin border, uses a combination of real and artificial snow. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The resort has 56 new snowmaking guns, including low-energy fan towers, which complement existing equipment. As older equipment is replaced, Randles said, automation is crucial to reduce the time it takes for workers to do it manually — sometimes up to an hour to turn on a snowmaking system.
“We tell (the machine)to make snow when the temperature is right,” Randles said. With an onboard weather station, it monitors conditions to automate and fine-tune the process. “It’s turning itself on as soon as it’s right, it’s adjusting the ratio of air to water to make the most efficient snow, the most snow we can. And then, before it gets too warm, it’s turning itself off.”
While humans have learned to manufacture a natural process to make their own snow, Mother Nature ultimately prevails. If the wet bulb temperature — a combination of air temperature and humidity — is any higher than 27.5 degrees, Randles said, the process becomes inefficient, and the snow turns out wet and slushy, as the water can’t freeze before reaching the ground.
“We can trick science, but we can’t beat it,” Randles said.
