Snow of Tomorrow | On a ski tour - suddenly without a car

Ski tours without your own car?

Gladly, if the desired destination can be reached by public transport and is best packed into an interesting traverse. But what if you're looking for a remote starting point for a solitary ski tour, your time budget is tight or convenience simply wins out again and half an hour's extra sleep becomes a weighty argument?
I'm guessing that the idea of a life in the mountains without your own car will cause similar discomfort for many people. The need for freedom and comfort somehow outweighs ecological awareness.

When my car had to go to the garage last fall, it became clear that the repair would be disproportionately expensive. From one day to the next, I found myself without a car and faced with the question: What now? Replace it as quickly as possible? The financial means for the possible replacement were already priced into the "nest egg". Ultimately, curiosity outweighs the question: What would it be like to live without a car (again)?

I find all maintenance work and visits to the garage annoying anyway. As a city dweller, I only need a car for leisure activities and therefore far too rarely to be able to rationally justify having my own car anyway. It's a real luxury that I allow myself in order to be able to go on any trip, no matter how unusual (see cost calculation below). I am aware of that.
So I'm taking up the challenge of going on tour without my own car for at least the next few months. At the same time, I'm looking forward to the experiences that go hand in hand with this decision.

In Austria, only slightly less than a quarter of households do not have a car, with half of car-free households concentrated in Vienna. In the other federal states, the proportion of car-free households is around 20%, in Lower and Upper Austria only 13% [1]. In the larger cities such as Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz and Graz, around a third of households are car-free [2]. The national average for Germany and Switzerland is similar [3].

Public transport is quickly researched and a vacation apartment is organized for one night. The anticipation was almost even greater when a (different) personal goal was unexpectedly realized. As a special treat, public transport is free when you stay overnight in South Tyrol (see tips below). Right at the beginning of the experiment, the successful trip ensures that I don't see the lack of a car as a restriction, but in this case even as an enrichment: not only financially, but also the free time available, in which I can work on the route description of the unpublished climbing tour in peace on the return journey.

An interim conclusion and an uncertain look ahead to the spring season

And what about ski touring in the cold season, when you are usually out and about with heavy equipment and public transport connections may be more limited, etc.?
After three months of the ski touring season and almost 30 days of touring, I can definitely say that I don't go ski touring any less often than before, although I have already tried to use public transport whenever possible. Otherwise I was able to ride with others. I've also borrowed a car from a friend once so far and tried car sharing twice. I've usually found a way to get to the place I want to go, or I've been able to plan an alternative route to suit the circumstances.

That doesn't mean that everything was always easy or went smoothly. In general, mobility requires more planning and attention than if you had your own car in the garage ready to go. Of course, there are a few tedious situations in which I sometimes doubt whether I could live without a car in the long term: When you have to get up unnecessarily early again to catch the only sensible bus connection in the morning to your starting point; when you have to wait for the next bus at a shady, cold bus stop in the middle of nowhere in sub-zero temperatures instead of getting into the car straight away and being able to activate the seat heating; when you calculate how quickly you would get home in your own car instead of having to change several times; when you find yourself in a "hole" in the bus timetable after the tour, hitchhiking is the only option, you get pitying looks from passing motorists:inside and remain in uncertainty as to how long you will have to stand there; driving a friend's car and worrying about bumping into something and causing him trouble due to the unusual dimensions; that the very time I'm driving my friend's car, the locking system apparently breaks down and I have to leave the car open in the parking lot (in retrospect, this turned out to be just an application error); when you decide too late and all the cars in the car-sharing scheme are occupied and you have to abandon your planned tour; when the car-sharing car doesn't have an ice scraper.

These snapshots are also offset by basic, positive feelings: no longer having to look after the car (refueling, changing tires, topping up antifreeze, cleaning, etc.); not having to worry about something breaking down on the car, unplanned repairs and being responsible for them yourself; or saving money (see tips below). Tours without a car often result in a particularly great overall experience. And it's a good feeling to live according to your own convictions and make a contribution to environmental protection.

I'm currently sticking to my decision to go car-free. Because I find the process exciting when you take the framework condition of "no car" as a given and use it as a starting point to look at mobility options that you hadn't previously considered or even known about. The path is created by walking, so to speak, by getting to know and trying out new things and gaining new (life) experiences along the way.

A well-developed, inexpensive car-sharing service, so that you are within reasonable walking distance of the nearest car, would be a decisive development for me. Admittedly, I'm skeptical about the spring ski touring season without my own car. By then, many ski bus lines have already been discontinued and parking spaces at higher altitudes that are not served by public transport are generally attractive, you can't get to the starting point early enough by public transport and picking up a car-sharing car in the morning means getting up even earlier than you already have to (you don't want to pay for the night!). So the self-experiment continues - with an open outcome.

Tips

Even though I am not yet a professional and do not have many years of experience, I am happy to pass on a few tips from my process for anyone who is perhaps also thinking about living without their own car, or who is simply trying to be more climate-friendly on the road.

1. a budget for mobility

A public transport ticket for an hour's journey for €16? Rent a car for a day for €60? Travel 100 km in a car borrowed from friends for €40?

Regardless of whether you use public transport, "official" car sharing or borrow a car from friends (if you pay them fairly: €0.30-0.50/km), the costs for the individual journey are more clearly visible than if you are traveling in your own car and only the fuel costs are incurred directly. The other, far higher costs of car maintenance are incurred at some point during the year, virtually without reference to the distance traveled. This means that we don't mentally add them to the car journey or simply lose track of the total annual costs. Do you know yours?

With my VW Golf, the maintenance alone (maintenance and repairs, insurance, road tax) excluding fuel and toll costs has been around €2,500 per year in recent years. This was slightly above the average - probably due to the age-related repair costs.

For a compact class car, annual maintenance is usually around €1,800 [1.1; 1.2]. However, you haven't moved your car a single meter with that amount. On average, we pay €1,000-1,500 in fuel costs per year. That would bring us to €3,000 per year. This does not take into account the purchase costs or the loss of value, for which, strictly speaking, a further €1,500 or more per year would have to be taken into account.

If you are aware of the actual costs for your own car, it is easier to spend what seems like a lot of money on individual journeys. For me, the idea of planning a sum (e.g. €2,000) as my mobility budget helps me to save a lot of money in the end.

An annual pass for public transport is a "no-brainer" for me - depending on what's on offer where I live, of course. The climate ticket for your own federal state costs between €400 and €700, which gives you a mobility flat rate, so to speak. What other means of transportation offers that?

2. overruns with public transport

Last winter season, I already tried to leave the car at home more often and to outsmart my own comfort, especially with overruns, which are best done by public transport (see here). Without your own car, this way of traveling is just as desirable to avoid the feeling of having to do without something.
For inspiration, we recommend the collection of traverses on the Alpine clubs' tour portal and on www.zuugle.at. There you can filter specifically for crossing tours.

4. plan multi-day tours

How about going on a multi-day tour instead of several day trips? Take more time to explore unknown areas and get in touch with the local people more easily. This way, even destinations with a longer journey are worthwhile and you can start your tour on the second day.

Yes, staying overnight is not cheap and not something you do every weekend. But it gives you a particularly intense overall experience. You also save yourself several trips. What is very attractive in this respect is that, in combination with an overnight stay, public transport can be used free of charge in many tourist regions, often even on arrival. In Salzburg, South Tyrol and Trentino, this even applies to the whole country. This means that public transport can even be financially advantageous compared to traveling by car.

The Austrian Alpine Club's new Mobility Cardfolder provides many more suggestions and tips on how to go on climate-friendly tours - with or without a car . If you would prefer to hold it in your hands in printed form, ask your nearest Alpine Club section.

Foreword/afterword

The author is aware that the challenges that arise without your own car depend on many factors such as where you live, the availability of public transport, your mobility needs, etc.. The article is therefore a very individual, personal reflection, whereby the reader is very likely to come to different conclusions. At best, the article is thought-provoking and provides inspiration for your own mobility behavior.