Since I founded Ski Flight Free in 2019, I have cut down on my flights considerably in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint. Flight Free in 2024 and 2025 For the last two years, I have gone slightly further committed to the ‘Flight Free Challenge’ – created by Anna...
In June 2025, Eurostar confirmed that they would be running the ‘Eurostar Snow Train’ again for the forthcoming 2025/26 winter season. This is great news, plus there are some key changes to this year’s service that will make the journey more attractive for many travellers. What dates will the Eurostar...
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...
The options for train travel to the Alps this winter are outlined here: THE EUROSTAR SKI TRAIN (via Lille) Eurostar have confirmed that their snow train, reintroduced last winter will continue for 2025/26 with more departures, plus an option to return on the following Saturday (six days’ skiing), as well...
As well as founding Ski Flight Free, Iain also presents The Ski Podcast. In September 2023, Iain discussed new train travel options with Krissie Roe from Inghams: In September 2020, Iain was joined by Daniel Elkan from Snowcarbon and Anna Hughes from Flight Free UK in a Facebook Live event to discuss...
Make sure you pick up a copy of this month’s ‘Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Magazine’ encouraging skiers to #SkiFlightFree. You can find Iain’s opinion piece on the existential threat to ski resorts on page 20: Find out more at www.skiflightfree.org
Climate change represents an existential threat to human life on the planet. The evidence for this has been widely published, but you don’t have to take my word for it. This is what Britain’s most trusted man has to say on the subject: An existential threat to the ski industry...
‘Tourism Declares’ is a collective of companies and professionals acting on climate change in travel and helping to develop solutions. The campaign launched in January 2020 and aims to encourage all sectors of the travel industry to acknowledge the climate emergency and develop appropriate action plans. “We believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to tackle...
The ski industry has at last woken up to the sport’s environmental impact. So how do you #SkiGreen next season? From the clothes you wear, the way you travel and how you maintain your kit, to the changes being made by resorts you can make a difference. Iain Martin from Ski Flight Free will be...
We enjoyed watching this video from the French ski resort of Megève. Like many communities in France, Megève has opted to use natural grazing to maintain its green spaces. Eco-grazing is a simple and ecological solution which improves the living environment and has many advantages. Although an agricultural practice as old as farming itself, ‘L’écopâturage’...
Serre Chevalier is currently testing a new photovoltaic (PV) solution designed specifically for lifts in ski resorts. The ‘Alpha Module’ – created by Sunwind Design – is being used on the roof of the Prorel lift in the southern alps ski resort. 20% more power The photovoltaic panels are made of thin triangular prisms,...
Positive sustainability news from Les Orres in France which is starting a project to improve its energy efficiency and renewable energy self-sufficiency. There are plans for more hydroelectricity, turbine purification of used water, as well as new biomass units and photovoltaic power.
The French ski resort of Chamrousse has agreed a multi-energy ‘smart grid’ contract with the power supplier ENGIE Solutions that will make it the first ‘Smart Ski Resort’ in the country. The project will see the village centre in Le Recoin renovated as a ‘hyperlieu’ – a hyperzone – in the mountains as a model...
La Thuile in Italy was the first ski resort in the world to develop a hydroelectric system to generate renewable energy from their artificial snow network. Electricity fed back into the national grid In three years, La Thuile has produced more than 4.8 million kWh purely from the force of the water circulating in its...
We love to hear from people about their own trips to the Alps by train. Alun Pinnegar recently contacted us to tell us about his journey from London to Zermatt by train: London to Zermatt by Train Alun’s journey took 13 hours door-to-door and cost £1000 for a family of four. Given he was travelling...
We were delighted to see Ed Leigh and Graham Bell extolling the virtues of taking the train rather than flying to ski resorts on the BBC’s Ski Sunday. As Ed Leigh says: “If you’re serious about reducing your carbon footprint, then look at how you get from your house to the mountain. That traditionally accounts...
In a further sign that the Alps are being affected by global warming even more than the rest of the planet, Météo France recently announced that December 2019 and January 2020 were the second warmest in France since records began in 1900. In particular they picked out Chamonix where the average temperature during the period was...
I’ve just booked for my third trip by train to the Alps this winter and as for the previous two trips (to Les Arcs in December and Courchevel in January), I’ve analysed the cost of taking the train relative to flying. My motivation is to reduce my carbon footprint – and travelling by train saves...
We were really stoked to see this mention for the Ski Flight Free campaign in ‘Totally Snow’ magazine. The campaign has had some excellent support from the UK press:
