Mountain Riders – 1% For the Planet

Auron is a small ski station that sits above the Tinée valley about an hour-and-a-half north of Nice. For many Niçois, it’s the place to go for a mountain escape, and, winter or summer, it’s one of our favourite destinations: the roads and trails around the picturesque village are great to cycle or hike; then, when the snow falls we take to the pistes, or strike out into the deep backcountry for some ski-mountaineering.

But thanks to climate change good snow is no longer guaranteed. And Auron, like many ski resorts, is thinking about its future. As a part of that process, it’s been working with a social enterprise called Mountain Riders.

Mountain Riders, based in Chambéry, promotes sustainable development and works with young and old alike in mountain communities towards environmental awareness and a greener future "We’ve got to find a new way of thinking, so we can imagine ski resorts as a place to live and not just a site of consumption dependent on skiing,” a spokesman for Mountain Riders has said. Let’s enjoy what we have while we can, in other words, while finding a new way of being in the mountains.

In 2013 Mountain Riders created a certifying process, Flocon Vert (‘Green Snowflake’), which helps mountain resorts – traditionally so dependent on skiing for their livelihood – transition towards a future in which winter sports are only one part of their offering, working to create a new paradigm for life in the mountains. Up to three Green Snowflakes are awarded to recognise progress and spur a continuing effort to live sustainably, using a framework of 20 criteria split between environmental, social and economic themes. Almost 30 of France’s 250 ski stations now have one, and plenty of others are working towards it.

Mountain Riders is one of the six organisations Café du Cycliste supports as part of our 1% For The Planet commitment, and we’ve been keeping up with what’s been happening in Auron. One initiative is a new ‘rewilding’ programme on the pistes, ensuring that as the resort expands, the area of untouched forest is not diminished.

Other commitments to a low-impact lifestyle include extending the possibilities for Auron’s visitors to arrive car-free, whether that’s on improved bus services from the coast, or via the cable car from the valley, as well as reducing rubbish and safeguarding local bird species.

Mountain Riders encourages all local stakeholders – town councils, businesses and residents – to manage progress and confront issues together. In Auron this includes our friends Adventmount, a ski and clothing shop that is our local reseller, which is changing its own actions to conduct its business more sustainably.

In November 2023 Auron gained its first Flocon – hot on the heels of Valberg, another local resort, which received its first Green Snowflake in 2018 and now has two. We’re proud of supporting local action, giving back to these mountains that we love so much, and which have given us so much in their turn.