Research: What is the carbon footprint of a ski holiday?
In 2022, I looked at the carbon footprint of a ski holiday, based on some research by French ski resorts. The original research attempted to detail the carbon cost of a day’s skiing, and the differences your choices can make to the final figure. I’ve now updated these figures, to make it more specific to...
Hydrogen bus tested between Moûtiers and Courchevel
A hydrogen bus has been tested on the Moûtiers and Courchevel route in a attempt to find new methods of reducing the carbon footprint of travel to resort. Feedback from the driver was positive, who noted the ease of the automatic transmission and the uphill power, although for this initial test, there were only twenty...
Compagnie des Alpes commits to add 7 electric snow groomers to their fleet
Compagnie des Alpes is the owner of 10 of the largest ski resorts in France, including Les Arcs, La Plagne, Tignes and Serre Chevalier – and are serious about commitment to sustainability. In 2021, they launched their Net Zero target of 2030. They took a significant step towards this when they converted their entire fleet...
Cool Bus celebrate first for their electric transfer fleet
Earlier this week the transfer company Cool Bus shared these great photos of eight vehicles simultaneously charging at their Bourg St Maurice base. It’s been seven years since the company bought their first electric vehicles. We have previously reported about the upgrades to their fleet. A lot of work to get to this point Founder...
Case Study: Driving to Val d’Isère in an electric car
Simon McIntyre – MD at Iglu Ski – recently contacted us to share his experience of driving in an electric vehicle to Val d’Isère. He recently spoke to Iain in Episode 176 of The Ski Podcast and you can listen to that conversation at ~39 minutes: EV to Val d’Isère He drove to France in...
CM DUPON releases world’s first standard electric snow groomer
French snow groomer manufacturer CM Dupon has launched the world’s first fully electric snow groomer of standard size, designed at the request of Compagnie des Alpes (CDA). After testing in La Plagne last winter, the pre-production model of the Alpine B400 will go into operation this winter, with the company in discussion with several French...
Mercedes EQV Review by Rob Forbes at Cool Bus
Regular visitors to Ski Flight Free may recall that in September 2022 we reported that transfer company Cool Bus were upgrading their fleet of electric vehicles to include three new Mercedes EQV minibuses. Now the season has finished we checked in with founder Rob Forbes to see how the new vehicles worked out. The electric...
Case Study: Driving to Méribel in a Tesla 3 Electric Car
Judy Mathews recently contacted us at Ski Flight Free to tell us about her experience of driving out to the Alps in her Tesla 3 earlier this year. The good news is Judy felt that the experience was “very positive” and she is already planning a similar trip for next season: “It required a bit...
New EV chargers for ski resorts in Andorra
Wallbox has announced the installation of twenty EV charging points for electric vehicles at Grandvalira Resorts. Chargers will be installed in Grau Roig (18 chargers) and Costa Rodona (two chargers) parking areas. They will offer 7.4kW charging power and are capable of operating in bad weather and temperatures from -25C to 40C. Powered by renewable...
Case Study: Driving To The Alps In An Electric Car
With the adoption of electric vehicles increasing fast, more and more British skiers will be driving to the Alps in an electric car. Iain Martin, founder of Ski Flight Free, drove to Zermatt at the end of August 2022 in a Tesla Model Y to see what it’s like on a long-distance journey in an...
8 Ideas to Improve Sustainability in Travel from the Skift/McKinsey Report
The recent joint research carried out between McKinsey & Company and Skift Research contained some valuable ideas for improving sustainability in travel. The report sets the scene by noting that global travel and tourism accounts for 8-11% of global emissions and that travel activity is expected to soar by 8% from 2016 to 2030. It...
Cool Bus updates their electric fleet of transfer vehicles in Alps
Transfer company Cool Bus have confirmed that they are updating their fleet of electric vehicles After six successful years using Tesla Model X’s for transfers to ski resorts in the Tarentaise valley the vehicles have clocked up nearly 600,000km of zero emission transport. New Mercedes Electric Minibuses This winter the cars will be supplemented by...
