How to enjoy a sustainable ski holiday in 2024/2025?

The tourism industry is contributing to more than 5% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. On top of that, overtourism causes devastating environmental issues on a local level. Big tourist companies turn a blind eye and show complete disregard for the environment. Regardless of whether you believe in global warming or not, you have a responsibility to enjoy nature sustainably. Luckily, there is a lot that you can do to make your ski holiday in 2024/2025 more sustainable!

How to reduce carbon emissions from travelling?

Did you know, that if you take a flight, 90% of the carbon emissions of your holiday will come from the flight alone? The most impactful thing you can do is to pick a different mode of travel. Travelling by train is more than five times more sustainable. Sure, it might take longer to get there but a train journey can be a wonderful experience on its own. The Snomads team also offers a no-flight discount of 40% for anyone who makes the whole round trip by train.

Enjoy a train ride to the mountains!

Enjoy organic local produce!

Enjoying seasonal and locally sourced produce has huge benefits. They’re always fresh, aren’t produced in heated greenhouses, and don’t rack up any travel miles. At Snomads we believe that keeping it local is the best way. We work with the freshest and tastiest ingredients that the land has to offer. Our meat comes from a local butcher, our fish from an organic mountain fish farm, cheese from a local dairy farmer, and our vegetables from the local market week by week. We make and preserve all our own jams and chutneys, bake our own bread, and source local organic wines for our evening meals. You can find more about our sustainable menu.

Organic Aubergine

Recycle waste!

Recycling is the next big thing you should do to lower your carbon footprint. It’s extremely easy to implement. We just encourage all of our staff and guests to sort and recycle their waste in the provided utilities. We minimize our waste by cutting single-use plastic and using it to fill plastic bottles. We use them to make plastic eco-bricks which we use in special building projects. Similarly, food waste goes to local pigs and chickens ensuring we fill landfills with as little as possible.

Our Recycle Stations

Save Energy!

We encourage everyone to save energy by switching off lights, radiators, and appliances when not needed (signs up all over the chalets). We operate with an entirely paperless booking system that allows us to save a few trees in the process. Where we can, we use natural, environmentally friendly, and paraben-free cleaning products which cause less harm to the environment compared to other products on the market. Finally, with efficient chalet heating and bio hot water systems in place, it helps us to maintain the perfect in-house temperature with minimal burning of natural resources.

Natural Heating Sources

Use Carbon offsetting

Carbon offsetting can be a responsible way of pushing back against your carbon footprint. The simple idea is to reduce or remove carbon dioxide of emissions or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. By working with companies such as Ecologi you’re able to support global projects that use your money best to work towards this goal. In the past we’ve worked closely with Carbon Footprint to achieve this in edition to continuously working on our very own tree-planting project in Bulgaria. For winter 24/25 we’ll be working with Ecologi to ensure we continue to work responsibly.

Working with Ecologi offset carbon and plant trees

Find a ski company that cares about the environment!

The best thing you can do to enjoy a sustainable ski holiday is to find a ski company that actually cares about the environment. Many big companies have complete disregard for it and are only pushing for quick profits. We’ve seen the negligence of larger companies first hand. The ski industry is slowly changing for the better but sustainable businesses are still struggling.

The Snomads team recycling plastic.

We created Snomads back in 2013 because we believed we can do things in a better way for the environment while offering an excellent experience for our visitors. For that purpose we have created our own sustainable ethos. This year we will be running 4 chalets, hosting up to 70 guests a week, and are proud to say that this year we are aiming to end the season carbon neutral whilst pushing other projects that aim to push us into being climate positive.

We believe it is essential that tourism companies adapt to facilitate climate change and that those looking to ski responsibly seek out!