It’s the worst nightmare for a ski resort: hillsides covered in shaggy yellow grass and streaked with slush under a leaden sky spitting sleet. Parts of Europe—places once used to crisp snowfields and clear blue skies—now face this disaster, something meteorologists might call a British winter.
Not everywhere, of course. Only lower altitudes are seeing such problems. Higher up, things carry on as normal. I’m in the Swiss resort of Laax, where most slopes sit at about 2,000 metres—high enough to be snow-secure, for now. The halfpipe is busy with guys in baggy trousers and headphones casually practising their double corks. On the traditional pistes, there are four-year-olds who could probably ski before they could walk. And then—Switzerland has its quirky side—three young men in First World War greatcoats on antique wooden skis propel themselves with rough-hewn quarter-staves.
Is all this destined to disappear, perhaps within our children’s lifetimes? To put it bluntly: are ski resorts in the same position as oil-dependent desert states, watching their one key source of wealth dwindle and vanish?
If so, Laax is not going down without a fight. This unusual Swiss resort, close to the Austrian border, is making a bold attempt to be carbon neutral by 2030—a goal that requires eliminating all oil use, making all energy generation sustainable, and reducing food waste to zero. Stung by criticism of the ski industry over the climate crisis, this community is now far ahead of most. What I’ve come to see may turn out to be the future of winter sports.
Down in Laax, I meet Reto Gurtner, 71, CEO of the Flims Laax resort. His father built the first ski lifts back in 1962. “Although there had been summer visitors since the 19th century, Laax was a poor village back then,” says Gurtner.
In the 1970s, something significant changed. Gurtner went to study at UCLA and, under the California sun, discovered skateboarding. Even now the memory makes his eyes light up. “They were inventing new sports and I loved the style: no nationalism or militarism. Skateboards, mountain bikes, snowboards—if you did a good run, everyone applauded. It didn’t matter who you were. There was a freedom about it.”
He came home with a degree in economics, but perhaps more importantly, a snowboard and a mountain bike. “We went up on the glacier and built the first halfpipe with shovels.”
At first, there was a lot of resistance. Local ski outfitters refused to stock snowboards, while in summer, farmers were outraged at the sight of cyclists tearing down mountain tracks. “We made every cyclist wear a bib,” says Gurtner with a chuckle. “Then the farmers thought it was a race and were fine with that.”
Conversation with Gurtner is a wild ride. We cartwheel through Steve Jobs, German poets and the Wu-Tang Clan, as he describes how his visionary approach evolved into something he calls “greenstyle”, an optimistic and well-designed future.
That vision is found in all the new buildings around the resort, nowhere more so than the ski lift in the neighbouring village of Flims, where I head with local guide Doris Rellstab. “The new gondola system does away with empty ski gondolas going up and down the mountainside,” she says. A complex algorithm allows skiers to choose one of five destinations up the mountain, dispatching individual gondolas, which balances energy efficiency with passenger demand. As we are lifted smoothly up over the fir trees, the quiet efficiency of this on-demand system becomes immediately apparent.
Rellstab tells me how things have changed in the half century since she began teaching winter sports. “Yesterday, I taught my first Arab group. They were a lot of fun.”
Our destinatiThis is Segnes, high above the treeline at 2,100 metres. After leaving the gondola, we put on snowshoes and head into a bowl-shaped, snow-filled valley. A couple of miles ahead, the valley ends in a sheer rock face topped by a jagged range of peaks. “That’s the Tschingelhörner,” says Rellstab. “Can you see the line in the rock below the peaks? That was once a geological mystery.” In 1848, the celebrated geologist Roderick Impey Murchison arrived here with a local expert, Arnold Escher von der Linth. Older rocks were lying on top of younger ones—a puzzle with no explanation at the time. It took more than a century for scientists to solve it: the ancient African tectonic plate was riding up over the younger European one. The world was indeed upside down. In summer, this area is covered in rare Alpine flowers, and there’s a mountain hut to stay in. Next to us are the tracks of a snow hare. “Wildlife is doing well here,” says Rellstab. “The wolf and lynx have both returned.”
In fact, climate change appears to be helping wolves in the Alps. The first Alpine pack was recorded in 1993, and by 2021 there were more than 250, with an annual growth rate of about 25%. Switzerland, once entirely wolf-free, now has about 40 packs. Rellstab shows me a website where sightings are monitored. There are conflicts with farmers and hunters, but the numbers keep growing—a sign that parts of the ecosystem are benefiting from retreating snowlines. Perhaps more surprising is that the lack of snow is not a big worry for the resort. As Gurtner points out: “Laax is not snow-dependent. A halfpipe or a snow freestyle playground doesn’t need much, and we make it with hydro power. And we’ve got mountain bikes and amazing hikes.”
Later that day, I’m up on the mountain with my skis, wandering around on blue runs. Conditions are a bit icy, so I’m playing it safe and find myself on a less frequented route that dips down into the valley. Then I come over a ridge and the snow on either side is gone—only the piste remains, a broad band of white curling down through green pasture dotted with lovely old barns. Cannon snow is more durable, lasting longer when the “real” stuff melts. Most Alpine ski resorts already rely on it, but unlike many, Laax doesn’t add any chemical or biological additives to the water in its cannons. With sustainable power sources and electric piste-grooming machinery now becoming available, cannon snow is not as environmentally destructive as it may appear.
At the foot of the hill, I reach the village of Falera, next to Laax. There is one old chairlift, clanking and squeaking, and as I approach it comes to a halt. “Sorry,” says the attendant, “we’re closed now.” I wander into the village, all hand-hewn barns with neat log stacks. I can’t see any cars. If Laax is taking the technological route, its neighbour appears to have chosen a less frenetic and more traditional path to net zero. After 20 minutes, a bus (electric, naturally) appears. As I ride back to Laax, I check the wildlife website that Rellstab recommended. And I get a shock. According to a CCTV report from a few hours earlier, a wolf had walked within a mile of me. Outside my hotel, I jump off the bus. Evening is falling. I wait for a line of silent cars to go by. With electric motors everywhere, the town is hushed. Climate change, I rReflect, is nothing if not unpredictable. When the wolves howl, you will hear them. The trip was provided by Flims Laax, and rental equipment by Ecoski. Trains run from Zurich via Chur and the Rhine Gorge to Ilanz, where there is a bus service to Laax. Inghams offers a seven-night trip to Laax from £1,618 per person, B&B, including flights.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs How the Swiss Ski Resort of Laax Is Tackling the Climate Crisis
1 What is Laax doing to fight climate change
Laax a ski resort in Graubnden Switzerland is cutting its emissions and energy use through renewable power energyefficient snowmaking greener buildings and transport and careful management of the surrounding alpine landscape It aims to be climateneutral by 2030
2 What does climateneutral mean
It means balancing the greenhouse gases you release with the amount you remove or offsetideally by reducing emissions first and offsetting only whats left
3 Why does a ski resort care about climate change
Ski resorts depend on cold winters and reliable snow Warming temperatures mean shorter seasons less natural snow and higher snowmaking costsso climate action is also business protection
4 How does Laax power its lifts and facilities
It relies heavily on renewable electricity including hydropower from the region and its own solar installations rather than fossil fuels
5 What is Laax doing about snowmaking which uses a lot of energy
It uses efficient snow guns optimized timing and renewable electricity and it captures waste heat from snowmaking to warm buildingscutting both energy use and emissions
6 Is snowmaking bad for the environment
It uses water and energy so it has an impact Laax limits this with efficient equipment renewable power and heat recovery and by making snow only when needed
7 How is Laax reducing emissions from buildings and transport
Through energyefficient buildings heat recovery electric vehicles and buses and encouraging guests to arrive by train rather than car
8 What role does the local community play
Residents businesses and local government work together on energy projects and sustainable tourism which helps ensure the changes last
9 What are the main challenges
High upfront costs limited winter sunshine for solar power reliance on snowmaking and the difficulty of getting guests to travel sustainably
10 What practical tips can visitors follow
Take the train use resort shuttles choose certified ecofriendly accommodation ski with reusable gear and respect protected nature zones
11 Can other ski resorts copy Laaxs approach
Yes Many measuresrenewable electricity efficient snowmaking heat recovery and green transport
