Two hours on the train: Eight tips for passing the time and protecting the climate
1. Have a coffee or tea
Once you’ve stowed your skis on the train and taken your seat, it’s time to treat yourself to a cup of hot coffee or tea. After all, it’s just 6:50 in the morning! Regardless of whether you bought your beverage at the railway station or brought it with you from home – if you’re drinking it from a returnable cup, you're definitely acting with the planet in mind.
Although it is debated how much worse disposable cups really are in terms of their carbon footprint, one thing is certain: The most environmentally friendly solution is your own cup, since it avoids the impact of manufacturing and doesn’t have to be disposed of. If you can’t or won’t stop using disposable cups, you can save an enormous amount of CO2 emissions by skipping the plastic lid. When a plastic lid is burned, it creates more CO2 emissions than the cup itself.
2. Calculate your carbon footprint
According to information provided by SBB, if you travel by train from Zurich to Andermatt (about 110 kilometres), you’ll generate about 27 times less CO2 than if you come by car. Also, six times less energy is needed. The comparison calculator Mobitool (not available in English) can provide you with more precise details: For instance, if you travel by train to Andermatt, you emit less than one kilogram of CO2. If you travel the same route by car as part of foursome, the vehicle emits between eight and nine kilograms of CO2.
3. Join POW Switzerland
Visit www.protectourwinters.ch (not available in English) on your smartphone. If you’ve already decided to join, click here.
If you want to learn more about POW, you definitely have enough time now to scroll through the pages. POW seeks to highlight ways and means for you to adopt a lifestyle with low CO2 emissions – especially if you love the mountains and winter sports.
4. Talk with people
Enough of staring at your smartphone! It’s time to strike up a conversation with people around you. There’s a good chance that you’ll run into them a few times today – on a piste, in a restaurant, or on the Après Ski Train. When you’re on the train heading back to Basel, Lucerne, or Zurich, if not before, you’ll see some of these people again. Also: Talking doesn’t cost anything, and it generates practically no CO2. Find out why your friends and fellow travellers opted for the train instead of the car!
5. Rest up
All talked out and done enough for the climate? Take a nap! After all, you want to be in good shape when you get off the train in Andermatt.
6. Plan your stay
Using the interactive ski map of Andermatt+Sedrun+Disentis, you can plan in advance where and how you want to spend your time on the mountain: Take a steep run on Gemsstock or (hopefully) enjoy the sun on Gütsch and then move on toward Sedrun and Disentis?
One thing’s for certain: In the Mountain Food restaurants, you’ll find something that suits your taste – and you can enjoy mountain water from the Gotthard Massif at no charge.
7. Check and follow #andermattresponsible
On Instagram at @skiarena, @andermatt_swiss_alps, and @protectourwintersswitzerland, as well as under the hashtag #andermattresponsible
8. Watch the best films about winter sports and sustainability
If you prefer to keep to yourself, films are a good way to pass the time. Here you’ll find the best ones about winter sports and sustainability.