Selfsufficientish.com

Can you ski and be green?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/blog/2 ... eco?page=1

I've used the snow-train to travel to the alps... and when I worked in a Canadian resort I harangued them about renewable power - lots of resorts nowadays invest in hydro and wind power - but at the end of the day, unless im in Finland cross country skiing to work is it impossible to ski and be environmentally friendly?

Well, I'd say no. They can dribble on about snow cannons being green because they use hydro power, but every MWh of hydro they use means that somewhere someone is having to burn coal or oil or gas in its place.

When I was a kid, I used to ski - starting at home, and going to the meadows and very low hills a few minutes' walk from our house... That was green skiing. Anything else would involve travel - whichever way you do that, it's not entirely "green".

Cross-country skiing can be green. Not sure about downhill, those lifts need a lot of power!

I gave up snowboarding because it isn't a sustainable pursuit. The industry for manufacturing the gear and the turnover of fashionable clothing, the travel involved, and the management of resorts make it an unsustainable hobby.

If you happen to live near mountains and you 'earn your turns' by walking up and riding the backcountry, then it needn't be destructive.

Now I garden and skateboard instead.The kicks aren't quite the same, but I don't feel bad about doing these activities.

central portugal has skiing in the winter.
but to get there i think you'd need to drive from your accommodation - you can get here by train though.