SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN SPORTS
Sport and fresh mountain air are good for us. But staying in the mountains can also be harmful to nature. With sustainable mountain sports, we can still enjoy sports in the mountains while leaving nature intact as much as possible.
On this page I will collect and share background information about sustainable mountain sports in Switzerland. The different types of sports, their origins and of course I also share general tips about possibilities in Switzerland. In my blog I will write about the trips I did myself, my experiences and the special places to visit.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This page is under construction on rainy days :)
The project of “Bergsteiger Dörfer” started in Austria and at the moment more countries in Europe embraced it. In short "Bergsteiger Dörfer" are small and quiet villages that are accessible to mountain tourism and that preserve nature and culture in these villages as well as possible. In 2020 also Switserland started a pilotproject to select “Bergsteiger Dörfer”in Graubünden. There is not much more to say about it now, but that will come in 2021 and 2022.
Tour skiing is one of the sustainable mountain sports and it grows in popularity. Actually it is funny to realize that touring skiing already existed before alpine skiing. This is logical because the infrastructure of mountain lifts was not yet constructed before slopes were explored. Here a piece about the origin of skiing in Switzerland. It started in the voralps of Glarus with a young merchant who made is own skis.
Where alpine skiing has declined in popularity in recent years, cross-country skiing is becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland. It belongs to the sustainable mountain sports and is also a super good full body workout. The offer in Switzerland is large and the highlight is the Engadin marathon. I'm learning and discovering cross-country skiing. Of course, Engadin cannot be missed, but I am also curious about the small, less well-known trails.
Via Alpina is one of the most famous hiking trails in Switzerland. It’s about 390 kilometres long and goes from Vaduz in the west (right at the boarder in Liechtenstein) to Montreux at lake Geneva in the West. SRF Wonderland has made a series about this trail. In 7 episodes of 45 minutes each, Nik Hartmann guides you through. Once you start, you can not stop watching! This is the link to the first episode. If the Swiss German is hard to understand, just watch it :)!
Right in our backyard is a very special piece of nature: The Tectonic Arena Sardona. This area offers unique insights into the history of origin of alpine mountains and valleys. Along a long line, 250-300 million year old rocks were pushed onto much younger, in part “only” 35-50 million year old rocks. This happened 10-20 million years ago far below the former surface of the earth. This video provides a brief explanation. A must see if you are staying in the area. (Click here for the German version)