Is this the most sustainable ski resort you can book?
Standing stark naked in the Swiss Alps with people I met for the first time yesterday, I begin to get a feel for the frame of mind this ski resort expects of its guests.
We’re about to enter a “no swimwear allowed” spa as I come to the realisation that the freestyle lifestyle this place is famed for extends beyond the slopes — it flows from the tip of the tallest mountain to the base of the valley below. Right up to — and including — this nudist sauna.
This is Flims, LAAX, where the pomp and pretense of other resorts would not be welcome, and a radically relaxed way of life is embraced by visitors and snow-sport veterans alike.
Due to its history of laissez-faire attitude towards snowboarders — who were once snubbed in other ski towns — the destination attracts freestyle boarding pros from across the globe. A cool crowd gathers to soak up the relaxed atmosphere and let loose on the snowy peaks. But despite being notorious for no judgement and a laid-back lifestyle, there’s one thing this place does take pretty seriously: protecting the planet that provides them with this playground.
Experts predict that the snow volume in the Alps may decrease by 70 per cent by the end of the century, and with news each year of less snowfall than the previous, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched that we could face an expiry date on these snowy sports. I'm not saying that a frequent flight to Geneva is by any means green, but if you’re already set on a ski trip and care about it not costing the earth, here's why LAAX might be top of your list.
Why is skiing unsustainable?
From the constant flow of energy it takes to lift everyone up and down the mountain to the unlikely achievement of running kitchens and warming diners in dimly lit, sexy restaurants on the slopes, the way resorts operate on and off-piste defies nature and takes from her, too.
Reto Poltera, freestyle fanatic, designer of the half-pipe at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the world’s largest half-pipe right here in this resort, is famed in LAAX legend as a founding reason for the welcoming attitude towards boarders. He sat with me to tell me the cold hard truth about the change he’s seen on the slopes since his first season here.
‘Each year we become more and more anxious about the warming winters,’ Reto tells me. ‘The Vorab Glacier, which sits next to our UNESCO world heritage site and can be skied down in winter, is set to melt in 2054. This will make life a nightmare for locals and anyone that relies on tourism or the landscape for their livelihood.’
‘The warmer the glaciers get and the quicker they melt, the more sea levels rise and coastal erosion happens, causing problems far beyond mountain regions,’ explains Reto. ‘If snowfall becomes a less frequent phenomenon, it would be a crisis from the Alps to Antarctica. This is bigger than just LAAX, so the response needs to be too.’
What makes LAAX a more sustainable ski resort?
The dream they have is big — they were the first ski resort to commit to carbon neutrality and self-sufficiency by 2030 — which is a breath of fresh air compared to some other operators in the industry. And they’re making impressive progress.
The distinction lies not just in pledges but in the facts — the resort has been run on Swiss hydropower since 2008, with plans to harness the cutting wind up the mountains in future for even more efficient energy. On-demand lifts will allow the resort to operate gondolas as and when they’re needed, so no power is wasted on empty seats.
Any excess heat from ski lifts goes into warming buildings across the resort, event banners are turned into rucksacks for tourists to buy, and even the wax used to protect skis and boards is biodegradable, where other petroleum options can take up to 100,000 years to decompose.
The resort's Last Day Pass initiative enables visitors to purchase a wooden pass, with the money raised reinvested into sustainable projects. Each card sold will offset approximately one tonne of CO2 through planting indigenous trees, slowing the melt of the Vorab Glacier down by 10 minutes per pass. Visitors can track the progress on the website, too.
On our trip we travelled everywhere by electric vehicle, which is the standard in the region. Failing that, we hopped on the back of a horse and carriage for the ultimate fairytale trip through the white wilderness. This may not emit as much carbon as a car, but I don't advise sitting too close to the horse’s exhaust pipe, speaking from experience. Not cute.
Where to stay
We stayed at Rocks Resort, where stylish, warm rooms contrast with a crisp view of the snow-capped mountains. The main attraction was, however, the nudist spa. The one we stripped off in was in the grounds of our hotel, although apparently they’re pretty common in Switzerland. Here guests can enjoy a pool, hot tub and waterfall feature in the luxury of their swimsuits and trunks, but on the ground floor an oasis of unself-consciousness awaits.
I was told by a polo-topped pool attendant, in hushed tones and with conspiratorial body language, that what we were all wearing would not fly downstairs. I’ve never been made to feel naughtier for not wanting to take my clothes off.
And it turns out jumping naked into a plunge pool around total strangers is refreshing for both body and mindset — how often can you let loose like this without judgement? With our doubts left at the top of the stairs (along with our swimsuits), we melted into the calm of cooling and heating sensations on our skin, and a new-found sense of silence from our self-critical voice.
Where to eat
With half of the ingredients used in the resort’s restaurants grown locally, and an aim to increase this to 75% in coming years, you can douse yourself in fondue and huff your heavy-handled pints safe in the knowledge that you aren’t racking up a gnarly carbon footprint.
We arrived at our hotel with stomachs grumbling so we hiked up the nearest mountain in the dark, feeling like intrepid explorers on an Alpine pilgrimage for capuns — mythical dumplings our guide had mentioned earlier.
Our dinner at Larnags didn’t disappoint — what it lacked in proximity to sea level it made up for in delicious local food and wine. We proceeded to order some variation of this carb-coated dumpling delicacy at every meal, from these soft spätzli on our first night to a Swiss twist on pumpkin ravioli at Conn (near Lake Cauma) in the final hours of our trip.
But the real stand-out on this Swiss gourmand tour was Riders — the first fully vegetarian restaurant in the Alps, with a 28-year-old head chef, Pascal Bertschinger, who’s making waves when it comes to locally-sourced, zero-waste meals.
Bertschinger’s fearlessness and ingenuity shines through not just in the peppy flavour combinations of the dishes, but also the use of planet-first, Swiss-built eco-tech — which tracks food wastage with AI cameras — and ahead-of-the-curve levels of carbon consciousness. This is just another touchpoint for the vanguard vibe of LAAX to sprinkle its magic, making for a dining experience that feels like après done the right way.
What I learnt from LAAX
This trip reminded me that life doesn’t have to fit within the guidelines of “normal”— skiing doesn’t have to be exclusive and snobby, no mountain is out of reach if you dedicate time and energy to conquering it, and getting your kit off in front of strangers isn’t always as scary as it sounds.
When I asked Reto at the end of our chat what it was about freestyle that he was so drawn to, a big grin reached the corners of his eyes as he answered, ‘no rules!’
The easygoing ethos of this place makes you feel less inclined to sweat the small stuff, and the local affiliation with constructing your life without the instruction manual is something I’ve really taken with me. But when I thought about Reto’s comment about no rules in coming weeks, it didn’t seem strictly right. The people here do live by one rule: leave the mountains as you found them. Build a world where we protect what we’re lucky enough to have been given. Appreciate nature and nurture it with whatever power we have.
As I look back at the jagged vista, soft pillowy clouds pass the serrated teeth of the mountain tops, and I notice a flurry of white falling from the sky. The landscape lies open-mouthed to the weather that breathes life into its lungs each winter. This time, and far into the future, let’s hope it settles.
To book your trip to LAAX, visit www.flimslaax.com/en
Accommodation on a budget https://www.rocksresort.com/
Or bouj it up https://en.ridershotel.com/
Affordable flights with Swiss Air
Or travel by train for a more sustainable travel option.
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