Snow of Tomorrow | Ideas for sustainable mountain adventures

Stay flexible!

It is often not easy to fit in all the amenities you want. It helps to set priorities and perhaps "do without" one or two things. The more flexible you are when planning, the more aspects of planning that are important to you can come to the fore, e.g. choice of destination, mobility (arrival and departure, accessibility by public transport, mode of transportation on site), length of stay, type of activity, budget or accommodation.

Do you need a lot of comfort or large spa areas, or is it more important to start your ski tour after a mountaineering breakfast on your doorstep? You also don't have to worry about full parking lots and traffic jams at the starting point if you plan something away from the very popular tours or choose a day during the week for the busy mountains. In return, quiet tours and new experiences await you.

Be smart!

On tour portals, you can search the map for tours using search filters and choose those that suit your available time and ability (e.g. alpenvereinaktiv.com). The PowderGuide.com tour tips also offer many interesting tour ideas! There is often also additional information on the current conditions (see ConditionsReports!), how to get there or visitor guidance measures, e.g. wildlife rest areas.

It is also worth researching the local "offer". Are guided tours offered (by mountain guides or your alpine club section) where you can improve your alpine skills or which take you to unknown areas? Are there local rental options, e.g. the sports store, the tourism association or the local Alpine Club section? It's worth renting equipment, especially if a sport is not practiced that often or if you need to try it out first to see if it's fun. Or to make the public transport journey easier!

Ski tour Bratschenwand

Karl Heinz Martin

Grosses Walsertal

Keep moving!

Using public transport helps to maintain this important infrastructure. It also reduces your ecological footprint compared to traveling by car. Anyone who already does this regularly knows that opting for bus and train gives you time for the pleasant things in life (such as talking, reading, listening to music, sleeping, planning trips, calling grandma). The best thing is that crossings and multi-day tours can be done without the hassle of driving.

You can find extensive collections of public transport tours at alpenvereinaktiv.com or other platforms, e.g. www.bahn-zum-berg.at (Austria), ZugBusBerg (from Munich).

When it comes to planning, apps for finding connections are now standard and quite reliable (e.g. Scotty, ÖBB, Wegweiser, DB Navigator, SBB Mobile), even if you can often find alternatives with a little research, for example when changing trains. And sometimes it pays to use alternative routes. If the connection is complicated, there are often carpooling platforms with good offers, and for the so-called "last mile" a cab can be used, and (rental) bicycles are also often very practical for the entire stay.

Offers for car sharing, carpooling etc. are collected here.

Be mindful!

Large ski lifts, après-ski music or hotel castles are not what you are looking for in winter? Instead, would you prefer untracked slopes and quiet mountain villages in a picturesque mountain panorama? Nevertheless: the mountain world is not a "Heidi idyll" and not just a backdrop, it is a habitat. People have been farming the valley floors, alpine pastures and forests here for centuries, shaping the landscape that we love so much. This is the living room of the ibex, chamois and ptarmigan; this is where the needs of nature, residents and visitors meet today. In the interplay of these areas, a nature-oriented approach is the freestyle, which we as guests can appreciate and support, above all with mindful behavior and by including the available information. Protected areas usually provide a wide range of information, be it on protected species or special areas, as well as on areas that should be avoided in order to protect wildlife. When visiting the website or the visitor center of the protected area, you can already learn a lot - on site, information boards are often informative. The "old wisdom" of the Alpine Association (e.g. "Keep the mountains clean!", "Take your garbage back down into the valley!", "Cutters destroy the vegetation!") is still valid and contributes to a respectful approach to the environment.

Tour options right on the doorstep — Touring options right on the doorstep

Osswald Fürhapter

Mountaineering village Innervillgraten

Leave positive things behind!

In your free time, you want to have a good time - this includes a good meal, which you can get at the inn, the alpine club hut or the small store in the village. If you use these facilities, you help to strengthen them and maintain jobs and infrastructure (e.g. bakers and butchers, innkeepers who are also popular with local clubs). This also applies when other local services are used, such as transportation, accommodation, rental equipment, etc. Thanks to the prospect of not only living locally, but also being able to earn a living, migration trends are halted - and subsequently the infrastructure that is important for the local quality of life is maintained, including kindergarten, school, accessibility by public transport, etc.

Tip: Talking brings people together! If you'd like a few insider tips, ask the local professionals. The hosts are often experienced alpinists and the local alpine school where you rent equipment will be happy to provide tips. And who knows, you might even learn something interesting outside of the tour tips or make new friends.

The mountaineering villages

Many of the Alpine Club's ideas and ideals for environmentally friendly mountain sports and stays in the mountains come together in the mountaineering villages. The local stakeholders are working to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine region in line with the Alpine Convention and respect its intact landscape, natural areas and cultural characteristics. But it is not only the offer, which is ideal for a mountain and nature-loving public, that distinguishes the mountaineering villages - visitors and guests in a mountaineering village are also expected to behave in an environmentally aware and responsible manner, to take personal responsibility, to be capable and confident - both on the mountain and in the valley. All information on the 35 mountaineering villages in Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland can be found at www.bergsteigerdoerfer.org

Authors:

Barbara Reitler and Marion Hetzenauer work in the Spatial Planning & Nature Conservation department of the Austrian Alpine Club and are responsible for the Mountaineering Villages initiative, which they also like to visit in their free time to enjoy the peace and quiet and nature there.