Managing climate change in the cradle of skiing: exploring adaptation and mitigation strategies

In Norway, cross-country skiing is an important part of the cultural heritage and a popular sport and recreation activity. As it is dependent on snow conditions, it has been and will continue to be affected by climate change. Hence, management stakeholders in cross-country skiing are under increasing pressure to effectively adapt their practices to changing conditions, but also to mitigate their impact on the environment. Taking a climate resilient development perspective, this study explored climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies of stakeholders in organized and unorganized cross-country skiing in greater Oslo, Norway. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine stakeholders’ views on climate change, their adaptation and mitigation strategies, and challenges related to climate change. Small cross-country skiing clubs faced greater challenges in adapting to climate change than larger clubs with snowmaking capabilities. Reduced interest and economic concerns were seen as key future challenges. Special concerns were raised about unnecessary travel in organized skiing. Our climate resilient development approach can help managers in cross-country skiing better identify links and interdependencies between social, ecological and climatic subsystems, and thus target management measures aimed at building climate resilience more effectively.