The journey through Salzburgerland was a little sad. Green ski resorts with white ribbons are no longer a rarity in the Alps, but the sight is always frightening and definitely makes you think. Where will skiing go in the next 20 years? This question was also very present at our meeting in Rauris and was discussed together with meteorologist and weather research station manager Dr. Elke Ludewig.
Our home base for the Patagonia event was the Ammererhof, which offers the perfect starting point for ski tours. The farm is surrounded by mountains, without mass tourism or ski lifts. The only gondola: the private Sonnblick gondola, which has a capacity of 6 people and goes directly to the GeoSphere Austria measuring station at an altitude of 3,106 metres.
After arriving and getting to know each other, Lenni and Philipp from Patagonia-Europe gave us a product presentation of the new Patagonia collection and an insight into the history and goals of the outdoor brand. In addition to 1% for the planet (1% of sales goes to environmental protection), Patagonia was donated in 2022 by founder Yvon Chouinard and his family to a non-profit organisation and the profits will be invested in combating the climate crisis and protecting the environment. Even if Patagonia continues to produce and sell products and this can never be 100% sustainable, the outdoor company is at least trying its best. "We're in business to save our home planet" is the current guiding principle for all Patagonia employees and this is truly a task and a challenge at the same time.
