News
IOC favours bobsleigh solution abroad
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally notified the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) that there is no need to build a new bobsleigh track for the Winter Olympics.
Travelling with a clear conscience
The fifth edition of YOALIN started in April 2023. 150 Yoalin tickets are waiting for young people between 18 and 27 to travel the Alps in a climate-friendly way by train and bus. In addition, they are invited to the kick-off in Slovenia, to three hub events during the summer and to the final event in Switzerland.
Expedition for future female glacier researchers
Stay overnight on the glacier for over a week, climb peaks, carry out scientific experiments: the “Girls* on Ice” project offers girls an awe-inspiring summer experience.
No glacier marriage in Tyrol
Finally it’s official: the plans for the world’s largest glacier ski area are history. In November 2022, the Tyrolean federal state government rejected the planned merger of the glacier ski areas in Austria’s Ötztal and Pitztal valleys.
Visitor flows under control
More and more people are travelling to the mountains – and staying for shorter and shorter periods. This causes traffic and environmental problems. Pilot regions in Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Germany want to change that. With the speciAlps2 project, which is now coming to an end, they have taken the first steps to manage the flow of visitors.
Over the Alps on foot
In the summer of 2022, nine “Via Alpina Explorers” set out to hike the new red route of the Via Alpina. Three of them walked the route from start to finish, visiting all eight Alpine countries along the way – an undertaking that took four months.
Flexible and eco-friendly through the Alps
The right decision for their wallet and for the environment: 150 young participants in CIPRA’s Youth Alpine Interrail project celebrated the end of their climate-friendly journey of discovery through the Alps by train and bus in Bern at the beginning of October 2022.
Ideas for Jelovica from Pinzgau
Preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage: this is the aim of the project on the Slovenian karst plateau of Jelovica. In mid-September 2022, the Slovenian partners of the “JeloviZA” project travelled to the Austrian Pinzgau region to gain inspiration from the Hohe Tauern National Park region.
Via Alpina Explorer on the trail
Get your boots on, get set, go! Until the end of September 2022, nine “explorers” will be hiking along the redesigned Via Alpina route. They tell stories about alpine biodiversity, the magic of long-distance hiking, regional specialities and encounters along the way – in a series of short videos, reports, film and art projects.
Ski resorts for sale
Vail Resorts from the USA is taking over Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland, while a British company is buying Via Lattea in Italy. This is the role played by international investors in the ski circus of the Alps.
The Alpine tourism of the future
The results of CIPRA's Reset Alpine Tourism project show how the tourism industry can function in a more resilient and environmentally friendly way.
Questionable construction boom in ski resorts
Cable cars, reservoirs and blasting pylons: the Alpine landscape has been and continues to be built up for winter tourism even during the pandemic – sometimes in nature reserves and despite much criticism.
Leaving few traces along the way
How do we leave as few traces as possible on our way to the mountains or other attractions? On 22 November 2021, around 150 participants travelled virtually through the Alps during an online conference and exchanged ideas on measures to guide visitors in sensitive natural areas.
Onto the slopes by helicopter
Is heliskiing in the public interest? Vorarlberg extends its authorisation by two and a half years: CIPRA Austria calls for greater emphasis on climate protection.
Securing the future of the Via Alpina
A modern information and networking platform, improved safety and easier orientation along the trail: the Via Alpina, the transalpine long-distance hiking trail, is getting a makeover in 2022. CIPRA International started a crowdfunding campaign to support this project.
Winter Games on a slippery slope
History repeats itself: after the fiasco surrounding the construction ruins in Turin in 2006, the plans for Italy's supposedly “green” Winter Games in Milan and Cortina in 2026 are now too coming under criticism.
Point of view: Let's finally press the reset button in tourism!
Mass tourism in the Alps has collapsed due to the ongoing Corona pandemic, and the opportunities for switching to environmentally and socially just tourism have increased. But they must also be exploited, says Hans Weber, Executive Director of CIPRA Switzerland.
New alliance for European mountain regions
Three umbrella organizations committed to mountaineering and sustainability in European mountain regions decided, at the end of November 2021, to join forces: the Club Arc Alpin (CAA), the European Union of Mountaineering Associations (EUMA) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA).
How much is nature worth?
Alpine pastures that provide us with food. Trees that provide a pleasant microclimate. Alpine landscapes that heal and touch. At the beginning of July 2021, around 100 participants from all Alpine countries discussed the benefits and value of nature in the Alpine region at CIPRA’s Annual Conference in Biella/I.
Mountaineering villages: from the Western Alps to the Mediterranean Sea
The “Mountaineering Villages” initiative unites small communities in the Alpine region that focus on gentle tourism and nature conservation. Now there are six new members from Italy, Austria and, for the first time, Switzerland.
Dutch-Alpine partnership for sustainable tourism
Since 2021 the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association (NKBV) is new supporting member of CIPRA International. Regarding the large impact of Dutch visitors, the aim of the partnership is to contribute to sustainability in Alpine tourism.
Strange but true!
A “vision,” an innovative “lighthouse project” with “international appeal” – while countless cannons provide the necessary snow in other Alpine regions, eastern Switzerland is planning something really big: an indoor snow sports facility in a mountain tunnel in Flums. What is already possible on Dubai’s indoor ski slope, namely weather-independent winter sports, is to become a reality in eastern Switzerland by 2030.
Outdoor tourism as the new mainstream
The corona pandemic, digitisation and health are causing ever more people to spend their leisure time in the mountains. At the online conference “Outdoor tourism with a long-distance perspective” on 16 and 17 November 2020, experts from the fields of science and the industry discussed how sustainable and socially acceptable tourism in the Alpine region can succeed.
Vision Velo Alpina: a cycle path through the Alps
The Alpe-Adria cycle path or the Eurovelo routes: in the Alps there already exist cross-border long-distance cycle paths, but there is not yet a route through all the Alpine countries. A project to test the feasibility of a Velo Alpina wants to change this.
Via Alpina: 20 years of long-distance hiking
For 20 years, the cross-border long-distance hiking trail known as the “Via Alpina” has connected all eight Alpine countries from Trieste to Monaco. It connects people, living spaces and natural areas along five routes, not only physically but also symbolically.
Tourism after the ski lift
Milder and milder winters are forcing ski resorts to invest in expensive snowmaking and lift facilities – an arms race in which many are no longer able to compete. Some places in the Alps have already found alternatives to skiing.
Sabbatical in the Alps
Take a longer break and give something back: The "Alpine Sabbatical" in Switzerland offers a meaningful alternative way of spending your free time.
Point of view: For glaciers without a circus
The largest glacier ski resort in the Alps is to be built in Tyrol, Austria - on already melting glaciers. The planned connection of the ski areas in Pitztal and Ötztal goes against all reason, says Kaspar Schuler, Co-Manager of CIPRA International.