Out of sight out of mind.

     The Swiss Alps, a pristine mountain environment enjoyed by millions of holiday makers every year, is perhaps one of the very reasons that many people strive to protect the environment. I know that rolling pasture and jagged mountains motivate me more than tarmac and concrete.

 

 

      The environmentally friendliness of tourism has been discussed before, but could it be argued that some types of tourist are better than others? The beached sunbathers? The latte sipping town tourers?  And what about mountaineers? If ever there was a group who were more appreciative of their environment, surely it would be those who’s very hobby rests upon it.

 

 

      This was certainly the case in the 1930s, with  mountaineers living a simple existence, using locally sourced stream or melt water, eating simple but filling food while being in the mountains with little or no mod-cons. However the 60s and 70s saw this all change; peoples free time and disposable income grew and mountaineering was revolutionised with the entrance of synthetic clothing and equipment. The tiny mountain huts of old turned into mountain hotels where you not only had a roof and somewhere to cook, but received duvets and were cooked 3 course meal.

 

 

     This presented the hut wardens with a problem, albeit quite a simple one: an ever increasing pile of rubbish to deal with.  I say it’s a simple problem because in those days it came with  a simple solution: just burn the rubbish and bury it. Out of sight out of mind.

 

 

40 year old cans lying partially decomposed under moraine behind the Fründenhütte. Labels are still visible on many, as it can take up to 100 years for these to decompose.

 

 

     Towards the 70s more and more huts began to take advantage of chartered helicopters to bring supplies up the mountain, but many still would not send the rubbish back down with the helicopter. With a helicopter burning around 1 litre of fuel every minute and time being money (in this case, a lot of money!) the rubbish would still be left behind. You have to ask yourself what it says about our mind set all those years ago; would it be acceptable to do such a thing these days? Was it even an acceptable thing to do then? Thankfully  it isn’t acceptable to do this anymore and huts instruct guests to carry their own waste down and fly down what is left with the helicopter.

2 Cubic meters of batteries, broken glass and tin cans dug out of the moraine around the Fründenhütte, Kandersteg, waiting to be taken down the mountain having sat in the ground for the last 20 years or more.

What inspired me to write about this is my recent work at the Fründenhütte Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut for KISC this year. Here several volunteers and staff from the hut took a stand and decided to do something about the rubbish left behind, rubbish left behind years before they even first stepped foot in the hut. It’s really impressive that not only somebody has started to clear up this mess but also that the hut warden is prepared to pay for its removal. It would be extremely easy to just leave it there and forget about it.

 

 

I think these things serve as little lessons to us all. We should not only look out for our environment in the present and future but also be prepared to take responsibility for the past. I hope to see more mountain huts follow suit and check that they don’t have any skeletons still hiding in their closets.

Dave (UK)

Snow and Ice Guide Summer 2013