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Greetings from the bare mountain: Can ski tourism still be saved?

“No flues” is the new rule in the ski resort of Les Gets in the French Alps. The first ski resort in France and Europe to completely ban smoking, even of e-cigarettes.

The smoking ban was introduced last December because the resort’s operators were tired of collecting a good 3,000 butts from the slopes at the end of the season. Pocket ashtrays distributed free of charge had previously not had the desired effect.

Now smoking is taboo on the mountain. And winter sports enthusiasts comply, not only because of the threat of a fine, but because the message sinks in. A small gesture for the planet.

How about a little bigger? Because you can’t miss the fact that something is rotten in the ski paradise this winter: green-brown hills as far as the eye can see, even on northern slopes. Snow? Yesterday’s snow, literally.

Time for some “ski shame “

There was a time when you could ski down the slopes without a care in the world. Some people have a guilty conscience. Others, especially younger people, can no longer reconcile skiing with their ecological demands and hang up their boards. Keyword: “ski shame”!

This unworthy term, which is based on the much-vaunted “flight shame”, originally appeared in Austria a good year ago, when winter sports enthusiasts only sent bashful “greetings from the mountain” so as not to be exposed as notorious skiing offenders.

In the meantime, climate activists are also protesting on the mountain – not only with words, but with deeds. At the beginning of the year, there were attacks on lifts and snow-making equipment in ski resorts in Switzerland (Le Verbier), Italy and France (La Clusaz), among others. Officially, no one claimed responsibility for the sabotage.

The industry reacted in horror and suspected radical climate campaigners behind the actions. However, it is now clear that there is more at stake than just a guilty conscience. Skiing as we know it is bad for the mountains, because it leaves a miserable carbon footprint.

Problem factor: motorcades and snow cannons

The biggest polluter is motorised access, which according to studies accounts for around 70% of CO2 emissions from ski resorts. The second, more fundamental problem is artificial snow.

Without it, nothing works on Europe’s slopes. In Austria, more than 70% of ski areas are already equipped with snow cannons.

In France, 40% of the slopes are equipped with snow cannons, in Switzerland around 50% and in Italy as much as 87%.

Artificial snow has a large energy and water consumption: one hectare of artificially snowed area is equivalent to 4,000 m3 of water. Large artificial water reservoirs have to be dug for this. These disrupt the water cycle and the local ecosystem, while the artificial snow, which is denser than real snow, affects the soil by depriving it of oxygen.

There are sustainable approaches to this, says Moritz Nachtschatt of the Austrian branch of the NGO Protect Our Winters . “There are ski resorts that already produce a large share of their own energy or exclusively source renewable energy. There are innovative return systems where the melted snow flows back into the storage lakes. The biggest problem is actually the rising temperatures. At some point it will be too warm even for the artificial snow. “

Long-term threat of climate change

Researchers warn: Without climate protection measures, the natural snow cover in the Alps is expected to decrease by up to 70 percent by the year 2100. The ski season could also start up to a month later than today. According to simulations by the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos, Switzerland, there could then only be “enough natural snow above 2500 metres above sea level to operate a ski resort profitably”.

Can we still ski in 2023 with a clear conscience?

“Yes, you can,” says Moritz Nachtschatt from Protect Our Winters. “Especially when you look at where the emissions come from on an average ski day. It’s simply 70 % the journey. Depending on which statistics you look at, it’s 60 to 80 %. And that means that a lot of responsibility and many of the emissions caused lie with the end consumer. And that means that we are all asked to put our habits on the back burner.

“We are in no way asking people to stop skiing,” emphasises Carmen Grasmick from the NGO Mountain Wilderness in France. “Many of our members enjoy skiing very much. That is not the problem at all. But actually the time of ‘white gold’, as they used to say, is a bit over because of global warming. “

Rethinking in all directions: Ski resorts must become more flexible

We have known for at least ten years, if not longer, that winter sports need to become more sustainable,” says Carmen Grasmick. “Now is the moment to turn over a new leaf and finally pave the way for tourism that is closer to nature and more compatible with nature. When a ski lift closes, it does not mean yawning emptiness.

Of course, there are some resorts that have already turned the corner and embraced four-season tourism. Mountain biking and sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ski touring, there are many ways to enjoy the mountain.And this works very well and also leads to more long-term, more interesting, and less precarious employment. It takes a little time for the effects to really be felt, but it works – and is an opportunity for the mountains. “

“Yes, there is definitely a need to think in new directions,” agrees Moritz Nachtschatt of the international Protect Our Winters initiative, which tries to convince mountain lovers and decision-makers of sustainable solution strategies.

“Ski resorts and industry need to become more flexible. For example, there are ski resorts in Austria that open in November for mountain bikers.”

Rethinking is a question of survival, because: “Unfortunately, there will be very many ski resorts, below 1,600 metres and also below 2,000 metres, that will no longer be skiable from 2050, some certainly even earlier. The importance of the ski resorts in many Austrian valleys is very great and simply creates a lot of jobs. Without winter tourism or perhaps also the entire mountain sports tourism, entire valleys in Austria would certainly no longer be inhabited. “

Ruins on the mountain

The visible consequences of the lack of snow are the so-called “ghost resorts”, abandoned ski areas that are left to languish in the Alps. According to the NGO Moutain Wilderness, there are a good 400 abandoned facilities in France alone, which has been trying to collect and dispose of them since the early 2000s. In total, there could be around 3000 unwanted contaminated sites, not only former ski lifts, hotels, hospitality facilities, but also military installations, fences and barbed wire, some of which date back to World War II.

“We know that there are many more remains that have not yet been reported,” says Carmen Grasmick. “That’s why we set up a participatory website in 2021 to create an accurate inventory. We survey hikers, tourists, people who are out in the mountains. We looked a little deeper into this issue and found that no one cares. The polluter pays principle should apply. “

Climate awareness reaches top-level sport

Top athletes are also reacting to the visible and tangible effects of climate change and have addressed the international ski and snowboard federation FIS in an open letter. The letter calls for a sustainability strategy, a new race calendar and more environmentally friendly travel routes. In addition, all FIS events should be climate-neutral by 2035 at the latest.

“We are aware of the current sustainability efforts of the FIS and assess them as insufficient,” the letter says. Among the initiators and authors is 24-year-old alpine skier Julian Schütter, who presented the letter on the sidelines of the Alpine World Ski Championships in France and works as an ambassador with Protect Our Winters Austria.

Schütter has been an athlete with us for about a year as part of our Athletes Alliance,” confirms Moritz Nachtschatt. “The open letter was created on his own initiative and is still his project. We have supported him as much as possible along the way. And of course we hope that the whole thing will also lead to concrete results.”

Two days after its publication, the open letter to the FIS bore the signatures of more than 300 athletes from alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, freeskiing, snowboarding, freeskiing and freeriding.

What can be done to make skiing holidays more climate-friendly?

Protect Our Winters tries to convince with positive awareness raising. For example, campaigns with a “positive narrative” that make it clear that travelling by public transport is not only more climate-friendly, but often quite simply much more convenient than standing in traffic jams.

Moritz Nachtschatt draws from his own experience. The argument often comes up: “Yes, but we have children, that’s not possible. I myself am the father of a 2-year-old child. We used to have a car and my wife and I, we enjoy nothing more than going by train.”

Most ski resorts can be reached by public transport, he said. It is primarily up to tourism associations and regional policy to increase the frequency of transport accordingly.

But: “Of course, one should not take the ski resorts themselves out of the obligation. Of course, these areas have a great responsibility, many are still working on it. And here, too, I think it can be up to us consumers to give preference to ski resorts that are already doing more in terms of sustainability.

Tips for a sustainable skiing holiday

  • Environmentally friendly travel: Instead of saying it’s a hassle to travel by train because you have to lug your gear, just think more minimalist, pack less and enjoy your free time on the train instead. Many ski resorts in the Alps are accessible by public transport or offer free ski buses on site
  • Select sustainable ski resorts: It is best to find out beforehand whether the resort has experience in sustainability, for example if it does not use artificial snow and possibly offers some sort of “eco-label”
  • Book certified accommodation: Also look for seals of approval for resource-friendly accommodation in hotels and guesthouses (e.g.: Viabono , ibex fairstay, the Austrian Eco-label,Blaue Schwalbe…).
  • Choose sustainable ski equipment: It’s best to rent and if you do buy, look for products that are made without toxic chemicals and under fair conditions.
  • Watch out for regional products at the ski resort: If the menu at the lodge includes sushi with salmon from Alaska, something is fishy.
By Klaus