Hi everyone,
The ski season officially opens this weekend. The keen skiing enthusiasts amongst us will be hoping for lots of snow and already thinking about heading off to do a bit of skiing, snowboarding or tobogganing. Some of us might even be thinking about a visit to simply check out the lovely snow covered scenery and no doubt many have already booked a trip.
If you’re planning to hit the slopes this year, please consider the environment while you’re there. Here’s some tips to get you started:
- Transport is probably the biggest environment impact of going to the snow – avoid flying if you can, catch a bus, train or car pool
- Choose ski resorts close to home rather than overseas to reduce the transport miles
- Carbon offset your travel
- Use public transport to get to the slopes and use public transport or walk to get around the resorts
- Choose skis and snowboards from companies that follow green principles and make products from sustainable resources such as bamboo
- Look for eco-friendly ski gear and vegetable- based snowboard wax
- Recycle / Donate your old equipment and ski gear
- Don’t litter, use recycling bins where available and carry a rubbish bag around with you in case there’s no bins when you need them. You could even take that extra step and pick up litter you see. Note: At high altitudes, orange peel takes up to 2 years to break down and cigarette butts up to 5 years
- Respect out-of-bounds areas and stay outside national parks whenever possible
- Consider cross-country skiing or snow walking as these activities don’t need cleared, graded slopes, chairlifts etc.
- Choose environment friendly resorts – check environment pages on resort web sites
- Turn down the heat to 20 degrees and wear an extra jumper etc inside to keep nice and warm and turn off the heat when you go out
- Switch off lights when leaving rooms and electrical appliances when not in use, just like you would at home
- Take shorter showers (e.g. 4 mins max), turn down the hot water pressure and be frugal with water usage
- Reuse towels when you can instead of getting fresh ones every day
- Take your own refillable water bottles
Source: G magazine, Issue 12, July 2008, pg 57, www.gmagazine.com.au, How to Go Green: Skiing & Snowboarding, treehugger, http://www.treehugger.com/htgg/how-to-go-green-skiing-snowboarding.html#tips
Practice green skiing tips when you next venture to the snowfields and do something good for our precious environment
Many thanks
Lila
Resource Management Specialist,