Latest posts for the topic "Litter on the piste"

Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:00:44 GMT

Pointing at a cigarrete packet from the chair lift my ski instructor last year told me that when the snow melts the mountain is covered in rubish - I just found the report below - I didn't realise it was this bad. It's disgusting.

Found: 30,000 cigarette butts
9th September 2009

At the end of last season 3500 of you slipped on gloves and walking boots, grabbed a bin bag, and went up into the mountains to collect more than 30 tonnes of rubbish.

Mountain Riders, an organization which raises awareness about environmental issues, invited volunteers from around the globe to pick up dropped piste maps, goggles, poles, rubbish and all kinds of guilty secrets that were uncovered when the snow melted. Over 50 resorts took part in the annual spring clean which found more than 30,000 cigarette butts under just one chairlift in the Alps.

Mountain Riders started out in 2000 when a group of friends cleaned up their local slopes after the winter season. Ten years on, it collected over 50 tonnes of rubbish in 52 different resorts across France and the UK. As well as running the clean up sessions they produce The Eco Guide to Ski Resorts which gives a comprehensive and straight-forward evaluation of what 110 resorts are doing to help the limit their impact on the environment.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:03:59 GMT

I forgot to add though - well done to Mountain Riders it sounds like a great scheme to clean up the mountains.

Once when I was diving in Egypt they had a morning of free dives to go and collect rubbish from the reef (mainly plastic bags and plastic water bottles) Maybe the ski resorts could come up with a scheme for a free days lift pass if people went litter collecting.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:09:11 GMT

I saw this on the Ski Club site, absolutely unbelievable - 30,000 fag butts under ONE chair lift!

Littering in general is a disgusting habit, to do it in the mountains should be punishable by hanging.

Dirty b*stards.

Rant over.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:13:33 GMT

Smoking is the disgusting habit

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:24:38 GMT

You are right about smoking - Don't you hate it when you are on a chair lift, surounded by beautiful mountains covered in snow just wanting to breathe in the fresh alpine air - then the person on the chair infront of you lights up and your chairlift drags you through their cloud of smoke.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:26:09 GMT

Tony_H wrote:Smoking is the disgusting habit

Closely followed by littering.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:27:06 GMT

Why do people feel the need to drop litter and cigarette ends? Is it really so difficult to walk/ski to the nearest bin?

Nelly, I agree with you wholeheartedly - hanging is the way forward )

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:33:39 GMT

Funny thing is im betting this is one unsociable activity that cant be solely blamed on the Brits abroad for a change. Im pretty certain that British skiers smoke less than our European counterparts these days.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:35:09 GMT

I suppose the gloves,poles and guilty secrets could be down to the Brits though. :lol:

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:03:08 GMT

Littering :thumbdown:

Anyone with a true love of the mountains and the natural world ould not behave in such a way i am sure, unfortunately as the stats show there are tens of thousands of litterbugs out there on the hills.

It's not too difficult to wait a couple of minutes until you reach the top, have a smoke and then dispose of it responsibly in the bin after extinguishing it, or putting a chocolate bar wrapper in a pocket until a bin can be found.....most will use a mountain bar/toilet at some point during the day.

Maybe a few trained snipers around the resorts near the lifts might be of use.....or is that a bit extreme?

jon.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:05:29 GMT

:D

just had a thought...did the report also mention how many watches ,rings ,bracelets, mobile phones, wallets where found.....litter patrols when the snow melts, you could clean up in more ways than one :D

jon.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:16:44 GMT

I think snipers is a perfectly resonable solution to the problem. maybe the Lift companies could lease the shooting licence to the Army for training new Snipers that way the money gained could lower the cost of the Lift Pass for the rest of us. :)
Everybody wins.
Except the smokers but hey their days were numbered anyway. :lol:

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:39:25 GMT

It could get a bit messy though, and think of all those bodies that would clog up the pistes. They'd be a pain to get down the mountain too. :roll:

Apart from that, a brilliant solution to the whole litter problem :D

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:50:03 GMT

Hanging and snipers!! What about stoning or perhaps a ski version of stocks, where passing skiers can throw snowballs (or anything else) at the offenders. The possibilities are endless.
I now have a picture in my head of families of marmottes with a stash of mobile phones and wallets in their burrows...

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:50:18 GMT

jonG wrote: :D

just had a thought...did the report also mention how many watches ,rings ,bracelets, mobile phones, wallets where found.....litter patrols when the snow melts, you could clean up in more ways than one :D

jon.

I read a story somewhere about the kids in a certain resort who go up in June when the snow has melted and collect all sorts of stuff like that. Phones, cameras, money and jewellery too. Some of them do pretty well out of it.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:53:22 GMT

Actually Tony youv'e given me a great idea....as manufacturing is dire straits iin this country, Gordon and Rosa who own/run the Polairestar ski hire and service shop near the funicular in Bsm might be looking for someone to service the skis this season as Gordon was having to do for himself last season after a split with his business partner.

I could do the ski servicing during the season ,and then at the end go round all the lifts in Les Arcs and hoover up all the goodies, then sell them on ebay to fund myself over the summer/autumn months until the next season :D :D magic idea

jon

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:17:32 GMT

I'm happy to offer my services as 'rubbish police' and will happily take away lift passes for anyone caught littering the mountains.

I'm also pretty nifty with a rifle.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:55:48 GMT

I was guilty of the cigarette thing when I first started riding :oops:

Now I carry a wee box to collect my buts.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:19:20 GMT

tino_11 wrote:I was guilty of the cigarette thing when I first started riding :oops:

Now I carry a wee box to collect my buts.

I do believe there may be a case for applying the solution retrospectively, Nelly, do you like your targets moving or tied down?
)

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:07:42 GMT

I'm not fussy.

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:27:59 GMT

It is not about whether smoking is a disgusting habit, it is about getting involved, if you see someone dropping rubbish/dog ends on the mountain have a word in their shell like....... its fine being a do gooder and talking about it but how many of you are willing to do some thing about it....... I would guess not many :evil: :evil:

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:34:40 GMT

With my OH, taking our GD out for a walk on our local beach. A guy close by, had just unwrapped a sweet, twirled the wrapper between his fingers, and spun it into the grass. In my best, and loudest Dame Edna voice, "Ooh look, he's dropped some litter".

The guy slunk off. He knew.

Now then, most unwittingly, I was an avid litter collector. During my Niederau seasons, my mate & I used to ski under, what was then a chairlift. Our interest was dropped ski gear. At the end of the day, we would drop our pickings into a cardboard box, placed just inside the doorway.

End of season, 30 to 40 sticks, none giving a match of make/length.

40 to 50 left hand gloves, 3 or 4 right hand gloves.

Just watching Edwyn Collins on the box, what a guy!

Re:Litter on the piste

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:59:31 GMT

on my first skiing holiday I watched our instructor light a cigarette on every lift at every opportunity and throw the butt onto the ground below.
And he was a local :shock:

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:34:02 GMT

Caron, if I get the chance, when I see a see littering, I make a comment that "you surely cannot be Scottish!"

Anyway, where have you been?

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:43:05 GMT

Why can't they make cigarettes and their packets biodegradable?

Ally

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:17:49 GMT

NellyPS wrote:I saw this on the Ski Club site, absolutely unbelievable - 30,000 fag butts under ONE chair lift!

Littering in general is a disgusting habit, to do it in the mountains should be punishable by hanging.

Dirty b*stards.

Rant over.

I saw that too and I was suprised, because I don't think I've ever seen anyone dropping litter when I've been skiing. I have seen smokers dropping butts and that really annoys me. I am a smoker and I (despite having a disgusting habit) do appreciate the beauty of the mountains. I carry a portable ashtray. It's like a miniture cool bag, fag butt in, close pouch, pop in handbag (or pocket if you are skiing)until you find a bin . Simple as! I rarely use it when I'm skiing, because if I want a cigarette I'll stop at the next cafe and have a seat and a drink as well.

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:30:24 GMT

NellyPS wrote:I'm happy to offer my services as 'rubbish police' and will happily take away lift passes for anyone caught littering the mountains.

I'm also pretty nifty with a rifle.

I'm not too sure you could hit a barn door if the wind catches your head :mrgreen:

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:24:42 GMT

Does having a pointed head mean you can be turned upside down and used as one of those litter picking stick things? Make sure you are not wearing a skirt though.

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:34:00 GMT

I too am a smoker but have never littered any-where. Even when we were allowed I have never smoked in pubs, eating places or any public places. We dont smoke in our house, always go outside. When I am holiday my smoking consumption goes down to virtually zero, I just dont have the need. It could have something to do with my hands getting so cold when I take my gloves off to smoke :lol:

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:36:50 GMT

caron-a wrote:on my first skiing holiday I watched our instructor light a cigarette on every lift at every opportunity and throw the butt onto the ground below.
And he was a local :shock:

Same for me ion VT with my instructor. Every single damned lift.

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:39:41 GMT

Dave Mac wrote:Anyway, where have you been?

slightly distracted by birthday celebration organising. not totally off the radar though, I'm not easy to get rid of :twisted:

Re:Litter on the piste

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:28:49 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:It is not about whether smoking is a disgusting habit, it is about getting involved, if you see someone dropping rubbish/dog ends on the mountain have a word in their shell like....... its fine being a do gooder and talking about it but how many of you are willing to do some thing about it....... I would guess not many :evil: :evil:

I'd willingly offer my services to clear up the mountains. I always take out an extra bag when I walk Mr Dog for rubbish collecting.