 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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hey achillies, you'd certainly think the locals and the participants would have a vested interest in preserving the skiing and making it nice. Funny how it's not always displayed, though that can and does change. Happy to assume no ideas if you don't write them - no need to say 
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Stop all grooming, stop all snow making, stop all lifts. That'll put most ski resorts out of business and ensure most people don't spend carbon miles getting to their winter holidays when they could spend them at home weaving eco sweaters and turning the heating down.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
 positive/remedial actions in place already |
resorts and operators are always trying to improve what they do, as you say achilles, so it would be good to know more of who's done what to get the word out. Good ideas are worth repeating.
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| achilles wrote: |
| SophieFP wrote: |
Want to keep the snow in the Alps for foreseeable decades and encourage resorts to treat their local areas well?
So, where do you think there could be environmental improvements and what do you think would help?
Please add in here things like:
knowledge on environment issues in particular resorts (power use and sources, sewerage overflow, litter, wildlife, etc) |
The locals have a vested interest in preserving skiing. So their appliocation of local knowledge will be far more relevant than any armchair theorizing in Wimbledon. |
Oh no! Come on.....that whole fag butt box thing should really be taken seriously, achilles. Really no point in dissing those armchair skiers....surely.....
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Are you a veggie? *shivers*
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I expect someone will be along shortly to suggest putting up nuclear reactors to power the lifts...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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SophieFP, Are you enlisting our help to write a Green Paper?
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How about some small, local nuclear reactors to power the lifts?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Pedals fitted to all chairlift seats. You want a high speed chairlift? Pedal faster.
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nuke china and india..
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You know it makes sense.
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SophieFP, as you have probably gathered, 'environmental' skiing has been discussed a lot in snowheads. Threads usually involved the inimitable David Goldsmith. However, AFIK he posts here no longer. It's been a while since we had an 'environment' post - bar the Portable Ashtray Anyone? one - and to my mind it beats helmets and ski boots in luggage. Enjoy.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Can't you just ask China to shut down the new 2400 coal fired power stations it has just built?
Some people are thinking of cycling to the Alps and hugging every tree they pass en route, god damn it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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SophieFP, resisting the very great temptation to join in the wittiness, here are some genuine things which can be done:
- don't use flourinated wax (hydrocarbon will do for anything most normal people do): it gets into the environment and is not good
- don't do any night skiing, thus reducing demand for it (all those floodlights - use a Petzl LED headtorch instead)
- don't infringe 'no ski' areas
- don't go on snowmobile trips for vanity or mere pleasure (killjoy effect)
- drive rather than take the plane if you can fill a car (really! see http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/relative_carbon_emissions.htm)
- don't trash equipment
- do more ski touring?
- don't do heli-skiing (killjoy...again)
bigger things make a bigger impact - for example great if countries increase the proportion of hydro, but that's outside our control.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi Sophie,
Is the query for your site or just a general ask?
From what I've seen in France, the resorts, local government etc etc are usually very involved in environmental initiatives because if the snow dissappears, then we all lose our livelihoods. Information about what's involved is rarely available for the English speaking public though because the resorts are French run, and what is available in English doesn't often come up in the anglophone search engines because sites are seo optimised in french.
In general, the resorts are looking for holiday makers to do the small, simple things like you would do at home, and to leave the bigger planning to them. Things that they have regularly publicised in recent years, and asked the tour operators to support with their clients, are things like recycling properly; reducing heating, lighting use etc; making sure that people don't ski in national park areas; car sharing and traffic reduction etc etc
A couple of good places to look for info on the work which the resorts do:
- www.mountain-riders.org (click the uk flag for English - English site quite limited)
- http://www.la-plagne.com/fr/hiver/infos-pratiques-plagne/developpement-durable.html (La Plagne environmental plan for sustainable development)
- http://www.mairie-tignes.fr/index.php/fr/information/29451/environnement (Tignes plan for sustainable development)
- http://www.parcnational-vanoise.fr/ (Vanoise national park site - large nature reserve are in the heart of the Tarentaise)
Hope that helps . . .
Heather
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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It's a general ask, Heather, and thanks for the links. Wasn't intending to put info up on any site, as thought discussion here might do as a good start, but happy to rethink.
I don't know this David Goldsmith bloke, poor bloke whoever he is.
There will be snowheads out there with good knowledge and ideas in this area, which is worth sharing. Don't blame you if you don't share though as the anti-environmental-sensitivity brigade shout loud and harsh and seem to find it easiest to make out it's an all or nothing issue and that anyone trying to bring it up should be smothered in non-informative replies.
So if you'd like to share your knowledge and ideas in this area but don't feel like doing so here, do send me a private message.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Greenness is pointless.
There are 7 billion humans plundering the Earth as fast as they can.
It is impossible to control them all.
Just join the party and enjoy while it lasts.
Ski, eat and consume to the max. 
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SophieFP, from memory (and I may well be wrong) but the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland tends to be pretty environmentally friendly for a ski region, Hydro Power supplies the railways and the trains there also feed power back into the system as the come down hill, roughly three trains coming downhill provide sufficient power for one going up, much of Switzerland uses Hydro power generally.
Piste groomers use Bio Diesel
Recycling has been going on in Switzerland for as long as I can remember, as a child more than 30 years ago I used to have to take bottles back to the coop to get the deposit back and these days they have many different bins for recycling
Artificial snow uses only water in the area, no additives are used as this might harm the summer pastures.
Off piste skiing is these days limited and the piste maps clearly show the areas it is not allowed in order to protect the local flora and fauna.
Internal Combustion vehicles within Wengen are strictly limited to those who live outside the centre of the village, with the exception of the post office and I believe one farm all other vehicles owned by those in the centre of the village are electric.
Water for Wengen comes I'm told from a natural spring line behind the village sewerage I believe is sent to the valley floor for treatment.
Litter bins (and dog poop bins) are well supplied in the area and tend to be well used and regularly emptied.
That the sort of info you are after ?
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I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to achieve with this thread barring some hippie love-in but there are a number of non profits set up re environmental awareness in wintersports -
Check out Jeremy Jones' pet project POW http://protectourwinters.org
and,presumably less successful (asit doesn't look like its been updated in a while, Alison Gannett's SOS http://www.saveoursnowfoundation.org/The_Save_Our_Snow_Foundation/Welcome.html.
Fact is skiing, as most Euros practice it is pretty environmentally unfriendly - artificially sculpted mountains, land scars,mass lift infrastructure,snow making a drain on water reserves, massive electrical consumption, aviation or car fuel/pollution etc so I can't help feeling you're pissing in the wind.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Buy top quality kit in the first place, so you don't have to replace it often. Don't ski in areas of sapling growth. Skin for your lines. Realistically, 'greening' skiing is unlikely to make much difference overall whatever you do, there are many other areas where the cost of making things environmentally friendly/more efficient will reap greater rewards.
D G Orf, you sure whacking a load of concrete in and destroying river ecosystems is environmetally friendly??
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Spud9 wrote: |
| Pedals fitted to all chairlift seats. You want a high speed chairlift? Pedal faster. |
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In apartment block bins the most rubbish consistently found to be placed in the 'wrong' bin ie not sorted is packaging of a UK orientation. Big impact in 2008/09 when the euro x-rate appeared to influenced a higher % of UK customers bought more of their own groceries with them. Very guilty of this are student groups - ironically the very same segment of the population who claim to care about the long term future of the planet!
I am sure its not Snowheads who are guilty but maybe they can help spread the word! So good luck and a well intentioned effort Sophie..
There is no harm in lots of people doing the small things that cost little and make sense as the less time/money effort a resort has to spend on waste management (a massive challenge in most resorts) the more effort it will be able to make on other environmental programmes.
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FAQ
