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The unchanging way of life of an Alpine farmer

The ugly rash of ski tows and cable lifts that transport tens of thousands of downhill skiers in winter remain throughout the summer as unwelcome intrusions on snow-free slopes that often bear the scars of bulldozed pistes. On the other hand, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and ski touring/ski mountaineering have no reliance on such mechanical aids, and make little or no impact on the environment.

Summer mountaineering is supported by a network of huts, by cable cars and funiculars that enable climbers, trekkers and walkers to gain height without physical effort; thus saving themselves both time and energy. Thousands of kilometres of trails wind across the hillsides, marked by splashes of paint or led by cairns; bolts and fixed anchors are applied to chalk-daubed crags; stairways of rungs, ladders and footplates scale rock faces in a rash of enthusiasm for via ferrata thrills; rescue helicopters and those that supply huts disturb the silence of the skies. All these are part of the infrastructure we’ve come to accept and rely on, yet they are alien to the appeal of wild nature.