Family travels to Les Arcs by train for a lower‑carbon ski holiday

A Guardian travel writer describes taking her family — her husband Joe, their two children and her mother — to Les Arcs in the French Alps by train as a lower‑carbon alternative to flying. The article notes that travel usually makes up the largest part of a ski trip’s environmental impact and quotes Dom Winter of Protect Our Winters UK: “The greenest ski resort is the one you get to without flying.” The family took the Eurostar Snow train from London, changed at Lille for a French TGV and arrived at Bourg Saint‑Maurice; the writer says the journey’s carbon footprint was 4.7kg CO2e per person (UK train from Hertfordshire to London St Pancras, Eurostar to Lille, French TGV to Bourg‑Saint‑Maurice).

By contrast, the writer says a taxi to Gatwick, a flight to Geneva and a coach transfer would amount to about 110kg CO2e each. To avoid buying single‑use kit, the family used Ecoski, an award‑winning skiwear rental company that sends cleaned, waterproofed items to a home address and accepts returns for reuse; the writer says Ecoski stocks many brands and sizes and offers a try‑before‑you‑buy option.

The article discloses that Ecoski and Inghams covered the writer’s rental costs and gives a typical price range of £130–£200 per person for a week’s clothes and boots rental.

Key Topics

Culture, Les Arcs, Eurostar, Bourg Saint-maurice, Ecoski, Inghams Ski