Snow of Tomorrow | A nature-friendly ski tour

A note in advance for all readers with an allergy to moralizing: The following text may contain traces of must-haves and other behavioral recommendations. The author himself is no saint in this area, but he is a believer.

In order to give you, dear reader, more of a ski tour feeling, the following story invites you to go on a ski tour with a group of friends. Environmentally friendly action is important to you, and each of you has good ideas on how this can also be achieved on a ski tour:

Finally. The long-awaited long weekend is just around the corner and: the weather forecast is perfect! Angela, Giuseppe, Sebastian and you have been talking about going on a ski tour this weekend for a long time. However, the snow conditions at home aren't particularly good and you wanted to get to know a different area anyway. After clicking through various tour portals, you decide on a mountaineering village.

Sebastian checks the train connections. But instead of the 2 hours it would take by car, it would take a whole day by train, bus and possibly cab. So it's clear: you can't really avoid the car. Angela has a larger bus that can comfortably accommodate 4 people plus equipment. Giuseppe's idea was that you could also sleep in it. But this point hasn't really been discussed yet - how long do you actually want to stay? You were thinking of a day trip, but you like the idea of a longer stay because you have no other plans for the weekend anyway. It would also make the long journey worthwhile. Angela and Sebastian also agree, but they point out that they don't want to lie in a cold car without showering after a ski tour.

"A room is a must!" you agree.

"What's more, we shouldn't just leave our exhaust fumes and waste there, but also contribute to local value creation in return - in other words, consume something locally too," says Giuseppe and rejects his original idea.

You book two nice rooms in a guesthouse, pack your things and start planning your tour for tomorrow. Although the avalanche report predicts "only" moderate danger, you opt for an easy, flatter tour because you want to see the conditions for yourself on the first day. The anticipation of the approaching snow experience increases...

"Has anyone brought any tissues?" Giuseppe interrupts Sebastian's remarks.

I can see from the look on his face that he is plagued by an urgent human need.

"I've brought toilet paper," says Angela in a slightly reproachful tone. "Because in case you don't know, it can take up to five years for tissues to decompose. It's much quicker with toilet paper. But it would be best to take the paper back with you anyway." She hands him the roll with a look of reproach.

"Okay, okay, thanks," Giuseppe replies curtly and disappears into the trees.

You use the time for a short food and drink break. You take out your snack and proudly present your homemade beeswax wrap, in which you have wrapped the bread.

"Smaller than the bulky snack boxes and a sustainable alternative to disposable packaging," you enthuse to the two of them.

The cracking of a branch announces Giuseppe's return.

"Can I eat something quickly, please?" he asks, hinting that he's sorry to cause another delay.

This is probably why he devours his banana in three bites. As he reaches to throw away the banana peel, Angela snaps at him:

"Don't throw it away!"

"Why not? It's organic waste," he replies.

"That may be true, but it can still take up to three years for banana or orange peels to decompose."

Giuseppe is persuaded and stows the peel away in his snack box.

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You continue the tour. Soon you leave the last trees behind you. The view widens. Step by step, the summit cross draws closer. But the key section of the tour still lies ahead of you: the 30-degree steep summit slope. At a safe distance, you discuss how to proceed.

"According to the usual decision-making strategies, we would be in an acceptable risk range at avalanche warning level 2 on the 5-point scale," says Angela.

"But only if we don't recognize any danger signs on site that are problematic for us," adds Giuseppe.

Since you have all already taken part in avalanche training, you are familiar with the crucial questions in this situation: Is fresh snow a problem? Is there fresh drift snow? Has anyone noticed any settling noises? Is the snowpack soaked? Can fresh avalanches be seen? As you can answer these questions with "no", you decide to go up. Giuseppe leads the way and skilfully sets the first hairpin bend in the slope.

"10-metre relief distances!" is his command to be on the safe side, even though everyone would probably have known that.

At the summit, you enjoy the magnificent view and discuss the descent options.

"The forest isn't that high down there and there isn't a single track leading into it yet!", Angela points euphorically to her preferred descent.

But Sebastian disagrees: "That's young forest. We would cause damage there with our ski edges. What's more, it's not legally permitted to ski through there."

"We should stick to the recommended downhill route, as we discussed at the starting point," reminds Giuseppe.

You agree with him: "I think so too. I took a close look at the terrain on the way up - there are still plenty of passages with perfect powder snow!"

"Okay, you're right," says Angela, grudgingly bowing to the wishes of the majority.

On the way back to the guesthouse, the conversation becomes more serious, but in the end you all agree: treating wildlife and the forest with respect is important and sensible, but it must also be possible for winter sports enthusiasts to have fun in the backcountry. There should be room for everyone on the mountain. Today's tour was a good example of this. And that's how it should continue tomorrow...

This ski tour story shows that it's not easy to have all the problems and areas of action "on the screen". Nobody in your group would have known everything, but you learned a lot by sharing your experiences with each other. As more and more ski tourers are out and about in the mountains, the potential for conflict is increasing and with it the need for education - as many people as possible should be sensitized to nature-friendly behaviour. This story is intended to make a contribution to this. The picture on the left shows the recommendations at a glance - click on it to enlarge.