Case Study: Driving To The Alps In An Electric Car

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...
The 'TravelSki Express': New direct ski train to the French Alps (Updated Nov 2022)

The ‘TravelSki Express’: New direct ski train to the French Alps (Updated Nov 2022)

Iain tested the inaugural outbound service in January 2022. You can read his article here, listen to the special podcast episode or watch his video below. —————- The ‘Travelski Express’ is fantastic news for train lovers and skiers looking to reduce their carbon emissions. Compagnie des Alpes has signed an...
New low-cost rail service from London to Edinburgh

New low-cost rail service from London to Edinburgh

Next month Lumo – a new low cost rail service from London to Scotland – takes to the rails. The company, created by the FirstGroup travel company, plans to offer fares for significantly less than existing rail prices on the same route. One-way fares will be £20 in their initial...
Train Travel to the Alps: Tips and Advice

Train Travel to the Alps: Tips and Advice

As well as founding Ski Flight Free, Iain also presents The Ski Podcast. Earlier this month, he was joined by Daniel Elkan from Snowcarbon and Anna Hughes from Flight Free UK in a Facebook Live event to discuss train travel to the Alps. Useful links and notes Great options for checking your...
"Ski resorts are afraid for their future"

“Ski resorts are afraid for their future”

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
Guide to Bourg St Maurice Station

Guide to Bourg St Maurice Station

This is a short guide to help you if you’re travelling by train to Bourg St Maurice this winter. If you haven’t been to the station before, or even if you have, it can be useful to help with your orientation after a long journey. Main Bourg St Maurice station...
Why Ski Flight Free?

Why Ski Flight Free?

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...
Latest entries
Case Study: Driving to Méribel in a Tesla 3 Electric Car

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...
5 ways Alpe d’Huez is reducing emissions

5 ways Alpe d’Huez is reducing emissions

SATA Group – the company that manages the lifts in Alpe d’Huez – has been working on practical ways to reduce their emissions as part of their goal to achieve Net Zero by 2037. This is a quick look at some of the policies they have put in place already, with other measures lined up...
It's time to end private jets to the Alps

It’s time to end private jets to the Alps

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak loves a private jet. Last month Sunak took three trips by private jet in just over a week, including flying from London to Blackpool and London to Leeds, both journeys that could have been done by train in two and a half to three hours. The UK is in fact...
Glacier lake in Chamonix at risk of overflowing

Glacier lake in Chamonix at risk of overflowing

The ski resort of Chamonix has met again to discuss the monitoring of the lake formed in 2018 on the Bossons Glacier. Formed from increased amounts of snowmelt, the lake now carries the threat of overflowing, should there be future extended periods of warm weather. Last year, the resort used an excavator to clear rocks...
New Solar Panels for Meribel

New Solar Panels for Meribel

Méribel has joined the increasing number of ski resorts to deploy solar panels on their ski lifts. This winter look out for the unique PV panels on the roof of the mid-station of the Saulire Express gondola. In the summer of 2022, 182 solar panels, measuring one meter by two meters each, were installed covering an...
Case Study: UK to Méribel (Les 3 Vallées) by train

Case Study: UK to Méribel (Les 3 Vallées) by train

In January 2023, Iain Martin, presenter of The Ski Podcast and founder of Ski Flight Free, travelled from the UK to Méribel – in the heart of Les 3 Vallées – by train. London to Paris All train trips to the Alps from the UK depart from London St Pancras International. I booked the first Eurostar of the...
New EV chargers for ski resorts in Andorra

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...
We can't wait for Midnight Trains to arrive...

We can’t wait for Midnight Trains to arrive…

We’re in the midst of creating a sleeper train company, but more precisely, we’re aiming to reinvent the night train to make it the most comfortable and sustainable mode of transport of the century, as an alternative to medium-haul flights. The new trans-continental train company ‘Midnight Trains’ is not expected to launch until the end...
Consumers want more sustainable options in travel

Consumers want more sustainable options in travel

Recent research from Skift shows event more evidence that sustainable tourism has become more important since the pandemic. Interest in sustainable travel options by consumers has been steadily increasing over the past decades, and we are now seeing a societal shift towards sustainability that needs to be addressed by the travel industry. Details of the...
New Direct Train from Amsterdam to Austrian Alps (Updated Dec 2022)

New Direct Train from Amsterdam to Austrian Alps (Updated Dec 2022)

December 2022 Update: The TUI Ski Express has started. ⛷ Big news: The very first #TUI Ski Express hit the rail. ?The special #train is a weekly direct service from The Netherlands ?? to the Austrian alps ??. In addition to its comfort and cosiness, the big bonus is a more #sustainable transport to winter...
Case Study: UK to Orelle (Les 3 Vallées) by train

Case Study: UK to Orelle (Les 3 Vallées) by train

In December 2022, Iain Martin, presenter of The Ski Podcast and founder of Ski Flight Free, travelled from the UK to Orelle – the secret fourth valley of Les 3 Vallées – by train. London to Paris As with all train journeys to the continent, my day started at London St Pancras. Although on arrival...
Six more French ski resorts awarded the ‘Flocon Vert’

Six more French ski resorts awarded the ‘Flocon Vert’

Last week at the International Festival of Mountain Professions in Chambéry, the environmental organisation Mountain Riders confirmed that six more ski resorts have been awarded the ‘Flocon Vert’ sustainability label. The new resorts to receive the accreditation are: Font-Romeu (Pyrenees-Orientales) Val d’Isère (Savoie) Tignes (Savoie) Valloire (Savoie) Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie) Cordon (Haute-Savoie) In addition, two...