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The pandemic-related closure of the ski areas led to the resurgence of ski mountaineering. Individual sport away from the slopes is booming. This can be seen not only in the “weekend” motorcades that meander like shiny ribbons through the glittering white landscape on beautiful winter mornings but also in the absolute sales figures in the sports trade. “Some dealers in southern Germany speak of a factor of one in ten”, says Stefan Herzog, President of the Association of German Sports Retailers and its European counterparts FEDAS. “Ten pairs of touring skis sold for one pair of alpine skis.” In contrast to all other sports, in which you move around in a smaller space with many people, the ski touring sector is clearly in the plus.
The comeback of ski mountaineering
Winter sports have been moving away from the slopes and into open terrain in all Alpine countries for a number of years. The pandemic has now fuelled this retro trend again. That means a resurgence of ski tourism in the early 1960s – without a lift, but with skins and your own muscle power. This makes it possible again to be away from large crowds in the snow and in the middle of untouched nature.
Rethinking is required
Curse and blessing at the same time. Due to the masses that are now out and about, there is not much of the mountain solitude and tranquillity to be felt. “There will be great pressure on nature,” says press spokesman Thomas Bucher from the German Alpine Association (DAV). This calls for rethinking and reflecting on the careful use of resources and the social, ecological, and ethical status quo a great responsibility of the ski industry, of the trade, but also of each individual ski tourer – not only on the mountain but already at home.
Responsible and sustainable ski touring
From the equipment to the journey to the ascent track. The choice is yours. The choice for a responsible and sustainable approach to nature, fellow human beings, and ultimately with ourselves. Here you will find a few ideas and guidelines on how you can practice your leisure activities in harmony with nature and your fellow human beings while having a clear conscience to preserve what you love and act with consideration for others.
AT HOME:
- Equipment: When buying, look for high-quality and durable equipment that has been produced in accordance with recognized environmental and social standards such as bluesign®, Responsible Down Standard (RDS), Fair Wear Foundation, etc. Buy carefully and ask yourself whether it really has to be a new product or whether you can extend the life cycle of your old product through good care and repair. Think about whether you need a separate product for each sport, or whether a multiuse solution for different sports on the mountain will also work for your needs in the city. Also, make sure that your products are PFC-free. There are now excellent DWR solutions that do not contain harmful substances.
- Sustainable planning: Plan your tours with guides and maps that have the DAV seal of approval, “Naturally on tour”. In addition to the ascent routes, they also show you sanctuaries and protected areas for wild animals. Find out about the weather and avalanche situation. Check the completeness and functionality of your safety equipment. This should go without saying, unfortunately, it isn’t always. A study from 2020 by the DAV section Munich in cooperation with the LMU Munich on the behavior of ski tourers on the Taubenstein in the Spitzingsee area shows alarmingly: The avalanche situation tends to be insignificant for most ski tourers. However, the current avalanche warning level is consistently underestimated and personally incorrectly assessed. 29 percent were complete without avalanche equipment, and another seven percent only with tracker beacons.
The average ski tourer on the Taubenstein can also practice winter sports in objectively poor weather conditions. Low temperatures, wind, and precipitation are of secondary importance for the practice of ski touring. 63 percent of ski tourers do not find out about the existing forest and game sanctuaries until they are out in the field. - Environmentally friendly arrival: Use public transport or carpooling for the arrival. Ski touring buses are now also offered, e.g. from Munich or Innsbruck.
On TOUR:
- Use official parking areas: Park only in designated parking spaces and make sure not to block access roads or emergency lanes, or to park on private property or in areas of the nature park. You wouldn’t want that either. And the penalties are high.
- Longer stay: In general, it is more sustainable to plan stays in an area for several days rather than frequent day trips.
- Signs follow: Pay attention to the markings, instructions, and route recommendations of the DAV project “Environmentally friendly ski mountaineering”. In this way, you can be sure to move on nature-friendly ascent routes.
- Respect protected and sanctuary areas for plants: In forest areas and at the tree line, stay on the usual ski routes, forest, and hiking trails, keep your distance from groups of trees and bushes and protect reforestation and young forest. Responsible behavior towards the forest is of great importance. Often a beautiful, snow-covered, and supposedly free swath seems to be the perfect downhill route. It should be borne in mind here that the afforestation areas are urgently needed for the rejuvenation of the alpine forests in order to maintain all protective functions. When descending over these areas, the sharp edges of the skis can cause great damage to the young trees under the snow. These young populations are also often the habitat of wild animals.
- Respect protected and sanctuary areas for animals: Wild animals are generally well adapted to the seasons and eat up fat reserves in autumn. In winter, her top priority is: to save energy and manage energy consumption well! Feeding places and paths are often snow-covered and make survival a challenge for wild animals. In general, wild animals need a lot of rest in winter and should not be disturbed. If there is additional stress, for example, due to the flight from people, this becomes a deadly danger not only for weak and sick animals. During an escape, energy consumption increases enormously, and fat reserves are drastically reduced. Therefore: Avoid noise, avoid wild animals as much as possible, only watch them from a distance, avoid feeding places, and leash dogs.
- Special protection for grouse: grouse are survivors, but they are threatened with extinction! Any escape in winter can cost them their lives, which is why peaks, ridges, and ridges where they prefer to dig should be avoided in the middle of winter before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
- Slope rules: Always observe the local regulations for ski tourers in slope ski areas and the rules of conduct for ski tours on slopes. You can find a good overview on the DAV website.
- Keep everything clean: Do not leave any waste in nature, because it destroys the organic cycles and makes animals and plants suffer. For example, a cigarette with up to 4000 toxins makes 50 liters of water inedible, paper handkerchiefs need at least 3 years to dissolve, and plastic packaging does not rot at all.
Let us help together to protect our nature and wildlife so that we and the next generations can still enjoy it a lot. Consideration and mindfulness do not exclude the fun of sporting activity, but make it even more valuable.
deuter – your perfect companion for responsible tours
Responsible action has been important to deuter for over 120 years – protecting the environment and protecting people and animals plays an important role in this. It is not for nothing that the deuter brand and products have been awarded our label for particularly sustainable alternatives. As a Wir Denken Um-Brand, deuter is primarily characterized by the following points:
- The company is committed to fair production conditions and has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation for 10 years
- The company pays attention to the resource-saving use of sustainable raw materials and Verpackungsmaterialien
- deuter offers a worldwide, lifelong repair service – deuter Promise
So, the perfect companion for your next responsible ski tour! deuter also tries to make a contribution by the German sporting goods manufacturer taking a variety of measures as part of the deuter Promise program to produce long-lasting, sustainable products in accordance with the highest environmental and social standards and thus to reduce their own carbon footprint as much as possible. Because deuter wants to help preserve our nature and the environment for us and for future generations. Take a look at the environmentally friendly Freescape Pro models. The main material of the multi-day backpack for ambitious ski mountaineers is 100% recycled and bluesign® certified. This means that the material used was sustainably produced in the manufacturing process. In addition, like all other deuter products, the Freescape Pro is PFC-free.
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