The PistesA piste is effectively a trail on the mountain where the snow has been compressed to make a smooth surface to ski on. Pistes are a necessity for the mass market of skiers; only the advanced skier has the skill to ski off-piste and all skiers need to learn on piste. Skiers are ‘skilled consumers’ meaning that they return to ski again and again – always looking to improve and seek new challenges and consequently, the better they get the faster they ski, the more ground they cover. Ski resorts are often categorised by the number of pistes they contain and there is pressure to increase the numbers of pistes in a resort.
Pistes can be formed in one of three ways; they may follow the natural landscape of the mountain, they may follow some of the natural landscape but modification to the terrain is required to negotiate certain natural features or to make it safer or less steep, or they can be created from scratch by cutting through a forest. Modification to the terrain is often referred to as ‘machine grading’ and is frequently achieved by bulldozing the land to remove rocks and move soil around to create a smooth slope. Pistes are groomed overnight with a grooming machine or piste basher which flattens the snow out and redistributes the snow to maintain cover. Resorts take different views on whether all pistes are groomed every night A relatively new concept is the itinerary run which is where the route is cleared of major obstacles such as large rocks but otherwise untouched and unmaintained. It is however included in overall ski area and is therefore patrolled and avalanche secured. Snowboard parks are increasingly being created in every resort with ramps and half pipes for stunts and tricks constructed out of large amounts of artificial snow. All the above creates controversies though... |  What do you think? Contribute to our discussion forum
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The case against...Piste creation requires many trees to be cut down destroying forests
Machine grading of pistes ruins the land and vegetation which never recovers Reseeding is often unsuccessful and does not match the existing vegetation Piste grooming machines use a lot of energy and leak oil on the land Piste creation can create soil erosion and run-off - polluting water courses Snowboard parks require huge amounts of artificial snow to be created | The case for...Pistes are central to a viable ski resort for the mass market and create safe areas for people to ski and control use of the mountain
Maintenance is imperative to enable people to ski safely and ensures that the snow lasts Snowboard parks enable snowboarders a safe place to practise rather than trying to create their own jumps/obstacles Pistes/itinerary runs encourage people to stay in the ‘managed’ area Creating pistes can actually create new habitats |
The way forward...
So what is the way forward? The fact remains that in the majority of resorts all the pistes are already in place and were created a while ago. There are few resorts creating new pistes – generally resorts are looking to link to different areas in order to expand their ski terrain. The resorts that are creating new pistes are generally found in America and Eastern Europe
Ski resorts can take a number of steps to mitigate the negatives...
Maintenance
1. All piste maintenance operations should be ISO14001 certified, which will improve overall efficiency.
2. Resorts should select the most energy efficient grooming machines.
3. Resorts should ensure that grooming machines only start to groom pistes when there is sufficient snow cover to protect the land underneath.
4. Resorts should use bio-oil in their grooming machines in case of leakages onto the piste.
5. Resorts should consider whether grooming all pistes every night is required.
6. Snowboard parks can have the base created using dirt rather than artificial snow reducing the amount snow required to be made and the energy used.
7. Snowbaord parks can be created using natural materials such as logs to create the jumps and slides.
Piste Creation
1. All new pistes should undergo a full environmental impact analysis to assess the future impact on drainage, erosion, run-off, flora and fauna, habitat loss or gain, wildlife corridors etc.
2. New ski piste routes should be selected that require the least alteration to the land.
3. Where machine grading is required the ‘soil push’ method should be adopted, where the ‘turf’ is removed, the machine grading done underneath and the ‘turf’ re-laid.
4. Reseeding should be done with a seed mix that exactly replicates the existing biodiversity and which should therefore be created uniquely in each resort.
5. Tree cutting should be at a minimum and replaced with new planting elsewhere.
6. Itinerary runs should be considered as an alternative to piste creation (though definitions must be clarified and harmonised across different countries and communicated more clearly).
If you would like to learn more about the scientific studies conducted on this subject – click here
Ski resorts can take a number of steps to mitigate the negatives...
Maintenance
1. All piste maintenance operations should be ISO14001 certified, which will improve overall efficiency.
2. Resorts should select the most energy efficient grooming machines.
3. Resorts should ensure that grooming machines only start to groom pistes when there is sufficient snow cover to protect the land underneath.
4. Resorts should use bio-oil in their grooming machines in case of leakages onto the piste.
5. Resorts should consider whether grooming all pistes every night is required.
6. Snowboard parks can have the base created using dirt rather than artificial snow reducing the amount snow required to be made and the energy used.
7. Snowbaord parks can be created using natural materials such as logs to create the jumps and slides.
Piste Creation
1. All new pistes should undergo a full environmental impact analysis to assess the future impact on drainage, erosion, run-off, flora and fauna, habitat loss or gain, wildlife corridors etc.
2. New ski piste routes should be selected that require the least alteration to the land.
3. Where machine grading is required the ‘soil push’ method should be adopted, where the ‘turf’ is removed, the machine grading done underneath and the ‘turf’ re-laid.
4. Reseeding should be done with a seed mix that exactly replicates the existing biodiversity and which should therefore be created uniquely in each resort.
5. Tree cutting should be at a minimum and replaced with new planting elsewhere.
6. Itinerary runs should be considered as an alternative to piste creation (though definitions must be clarified and harmonised across different countries and communicated more clearly).
If you would like to learn more about the scientific studies conducted on this subject – click here
All resorts need to address the above steps in order to contribute to Responsible Skiing
