Winter activity vacation in the French Alps

Planet

We don’t promote any motorized sports on our activity list and try to choose activities that have a minimum impact on the environment and that are outside the big ski resorts. However in order to provide a good choice and diversity of activities we have included some resort based activities, such as the giant tyrolean zip wire – it is a balancing act! When arranging your itinerary we can advise you on activity choices that are environmentally friendly!

For snowshoeing and other activities that involve a trip into the Alpine winter wilderness or the Ecrins National Park our guides will explain the habitat of this harsh and fragile environment. You will get to know the difference between a wild boar print and a chamois and suss out if they were running, being chased or just chilling out in the snow!

The Ecrins National Park is a protected area for wildlife and there have been several projects to reintroduce animals such as the ibex and safeguard other species from the erosion of development elsewhere. These activities give a good appreciation and respect for the work and it’s importance globally.

We have a range of accommodation on offer and all the hotels, bed and breakfasts and self catering that we use is vetted by us. We favour family run local establishments over large commercial chains and are always on the look out for ecologically friendly buildings and environmentally conscious proprietors! We have a number of eco-gites on our books and a lot of our suppliers use solar power for hot water due to the climate here.

Our office policy is to be as paperless as possible, to use recycled paper where necessary and re-use envelopes and jiffy bags where possible. We try and promote train travel wherever possible when discussing ‘getting here’ options with clients as in general it is a far more pleasant and practical experience as well as being better for the environment.

People

The local economy of the Alps in winter is predominantly supported by the ski industry, which other than providing an income for local people is not the most responsible vacation activity for the environment! However it is often the only way local people can earn a living.

The mountains in winter are truly at their most magnificent and there are so many other ways to explore and discover them without having to strap a pair of skis to your feet. We have chosen a list of activities that you can do outside of the big resorts, to encourage non-skiing winter vacations and provide an alternate means of making a living for the local people.

For example, we have one ski instructor and high mountain guide who has reduced his contract with the ski school in order to have more time to lead ice climbing and snowshoeing trips for us which we are very pleased about! We always use local guides and instructors and rather than bringing over foreign guides.