More than 15,000 people have signed a petition organised by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), calling for an end to heli-skiing in Switzerland.  The campaign is gaining support with all the countries environmental groups including Mountain Wilderness and Pro Natura behind it and pressurizing the government to ban it

They estimate 15,000 helicopter flights take place in Switzerland each year, to take skiers up to remote places not reached by chair lifts or cable cars, leaving few mountain areas in the country unspoilt by noise and, of course, using vast amounts of fuel.

They want Switzerland to join France, Germany and Liechtenstein in banning heliskiing altogether, or, at the minimum, reduce its authorised heliski landing sites from the current 42 to nearer the Austrian total of two.

As with most issues, particularly with tourism there are two sides to the argument and the aim has to be to balance all interests…

The helicopter companies and mountain rescue services point out that helicopters are a fact of life in the Alps. They are used to deliver food to mountain huts, to rescue climbers and skiers, and to take construction materials up to alpine villages. They claim banning heliskiing would not reduce the number of helicopter flights by any significant amount but enough to impact jobs and therefore the local economy.  Additionally resorts use the offer of heliskiing as an attraction in their marketing for competitive advantage.

On the other hand, local people are worried about the effect the helicopters are having on the environment, and on the local economy.  The Lauterbrunnen valley, for example, is a Unesco world heritage site and one of the most beautiful spots in Switzerland. With sometimes as much as a helicopter flying by every two minutes it can be very noisy.  The silence and beauty of the mountains are being spoilt – and this also is used as a key selling point in resorts’ marketing.  

The thrill of heliskiing enjoyed by a few is marring the mountain environment for the many.  Skiers, of course, can reach such areas by putting on "skins" on their skis to enable them to hike uphill to the glaciers – ski touring.  It takes several hours and a high level of physical fitness but, many say, if people really want the unique experience of skiing on the glaciers they should be prepared for that.

Naturally the environmentalists want to ban heliskiing totally – however it is likely to be a compromise whereby the number of sites is reduced – similar to the Austrian approach.   As Ms Hegglin notes "it would be a first step to ban it from the really protected areas, because there are a lot of landing spaces in those areas. That could be a first step and I think that would be fair."

The Swiss civil aviation authority is now scrutinising Switzerland's network of helicopter landing sites and, it is thought, some landing sites may, eventually, be closed.  So while those beautiful untouched high altitude slopes will still attract skiers, they will have to put in the effort to get there.