Searching for the soul

How to have a more sustainable winter holiday

If you’re worried about the environmental impact of your winter holiday, here are our suggestions for how to have a less carbon-intensive time in the mountains

BY Simon Miller

With a reputation as one of the world’s off-piste skiing epicentres, Andermatt is also an outstanding winter destination for winter walkers and alpine aficionados. Lying at the cross roads of medieval Europe, Andermatt, in the Uri canton in Switzerland, has an enormously rich history to discover and, as with finding the best skiing, you simply need a good guide to help.

Meet Bänz. Ask anyone in the village and they’ll direct you to Bänz Simmen – the owner of Kiosk 61, an internet café-cum-crystal shop. He describes himself as a tour guide, crystal digger, snowshoe tester, herbalist and if I had another two hours probably more besides.

Whipping out a 3D map he shows how Andermatt was perfectly placed for the medieval Italian citystates to access Germany for trade and a bit of fisticuffs.

Bänz’s snowshoe hikes around the stories. I am a new convert to snowshoeing – I had long been dismissive of strapping ‘tennis racquets’ to my feet, but now love the wonderful stillness of padding through snowy forests.

Winter quiet, with the muffling effect of snow, is like no other. The tranquility heightens your other senses: the smells of the different pines, the subtle sounds of birds and marmots, the majestic views.

A wonderful narration avalanches from Bänz as we walk the Hospental loop, covering subjects from the 50 edible plants in the valley, to the crystals he digs up, as well as the myths and legends that abound.

Andermatt itself is a classic alpine village dating back centuries. All this will soon compete with the £1.5bn investment in Andermatt ‘new town’, kicked off by Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris. I’ll leave others to review the newly opened Radisson Blu hotel; I thoroughly enjoyed the casual, local charm of the familyrun Gasthaus Skiklub. Mascia Meneghel, the granddaughter of the founders, now runs the place and is a delight.

So what of this famed off-piste skiing? Conditions were not in my favour during my visit last winter, but the real highlight were the stories around the village and valleys from Bänz. ANDERMATT

Take the train. Flying to your destination eats up a lot of carbon and can be pretty stressful (if you’ve travelled through Geneva airport on a peak holiday weekend you’ll know the feeling). Instead, the train has many merits – including it’s more relaxing (there’s space to walk around, have a drink in the bar carriage, and no fear of turbulence); there are no extra fees for taking your skis or snowboard; and it provides the opportunity to break up the journey in an interesting city or two en route.

Or take the ferry and drive – as long as you have a full car of passengers (bonus points if you’re in an EV).

Choose your resort wisely. Some are making great strides in using renewable energy (Serre Chevalier in France, Laax in Switzerland) and doing clever things with, for example, how they manage their snow cover.

Look for the Flocon Vert (Green Snowflake) label in France, the EcoLabel and KLAR in Austria, and the Swisstainable mark in Switzerland.

Consider alternative winter sports away from the downhill pistes, such as snowshoeing, cross country and ski touring, where your impact on the mountains will only be snow deep.

Rent your gear, or if you must buy, buy to last. EcoSki is the go-to here, whether you choose to borrow some of its great quality kit, or be guided by its guide to the brands that are taking their sustainability responsibilities seriously.