Mountains bear the imprint of human activity. Scars from logging and surface mining sit alongside national parks and ski lodges. Although the environmental effects of extractive industries are well known, skiing is more likely to bring to mind images of luxury, wealth, and health. Drawing on interviews, field observations, and media analysis, Stoddart reveals the multiple, often conflicting meanings attached to skiing by skiers, mass media, First Nations, industry leaders, and environmentalists in British Columbia. Stoddart challenges us to reflect on skiing’s negative effects as he exposes how certain groups came to be viewed as the “natural” inhabitants and legitimate managers of mountain environments.

Mark C.J. Stoddart is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University, with research interests in environmental sociology, social movements, and communications and culture. He is the author, with Alice Mattoni and John McLevey, of Industrial Development and Eco-Tourisms: Can Oil Extraction and Nature Conservation Co-Exist? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). His work appears in a range of international journals, including Global Environmental Change, Energy Research & Social Science, Organization & Environment, Environmental Politics, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Environmental Communication, Mobilities, and Social Movement Studies.

Mark C.J. Stoddart's profile page

• Winner, Early Investigator Award, Canadian Sociological Association

Stoddart provides an insightful examination of skiing from the perspective of ecopolitics...a unique study. Recommended.

CHOICE, Vol. 50 No. 03