Responsible walking holidays in France

The Mont Blanc massif is one of the most popular regions for hiking holidays in France, and so it is hard to believe that it is not actually a highly protected landscape. It doesn’t have national park status, for example. In France, it was designated a ‘site classé’ in 1951, which prevents development, camping and supervises amenities, but it does not have a conservation strategy that is co-managed by the three countries, something that would exist with a higher form of protected landscape designation. What it does have, however, is a strong group of mountaineering, environmental and conservation experts from three countries, who came together in 1991 to form Espace Mont Blanc. Two of its priorities of late are to seek international protective status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and to perfect a management plan for the massif which will be controlled by European judicial statute. Indeed the former won’t be achieved until the latter is put into practice.

It is not just the slopes, forests and precious alpine tundra that needs protecting around Mont Blanc, it is also the air. And the ambience. Mountain Wilderness, a mountain conservation organisation created in Biella, Italy, in 1987, leads important campaigns to protect wild mountain places. They define these as “any untouched mountain environment where anyone who so wishes may come into direct contact with the wide-open spaces, experience solitude, silence, rhythms, natural dimensions, laws and dangers.”

The most recent campaign is ‘Silence’, launched in October 2014, lobbying to stop the growing number of privately chartered tourists planes and helicopters which are currently destroying this rare natural gift of silence on Europe’s highest mountain. There is now rarely a moment of total silence, without hearing tourist propellers, echoes and engines overhead.



At present, the conglomerate Espace Mont Blanc is working on the first ever ‘Strategy for the Future’ management plan for this multinational mountain, and this campaign seeks to ensure that an air space without aviation is prioritised by this organisation as it looks forward to a cleaner future. To date, these flights are not limited unlike, for example, the silent paragliders, which are not allowed over the Mont Blanc range in July and August. It is also thought that the increasing number of ‘flyovers’ is becoming a safety risk. In French national parks flights for leisure purposes are only allowed at a minimum of 1,000m above the ground, but there are no such restrictions over Mont Blanc, as it does not have protected status. Watch the video below which captures the heart of this campaign, as well as the hearts of the campaigners, which beat strongly to protect this unique mountain territory.

What you can do

Support the invaluable work of Pro Mont Blanc, the umbrella organisation of various charities and conservationists working to protect Mont Blanc in France, Switzerland and Italy. French speakers might also like to seek out Pro Mont Blanc’s book, published in 2002, Le versant noir du Mont Blanc (The black hillside of Mont Blanc), which highlights many of its conservation issues. Follow their many projects and share on social media outlets. Hikers are often aware of the issues, but many skiers aren’t.

If you have ever camped in France towards the end of August, you will know that dawn rude awakening well. Packs of barking dogs revving up for the annual hunting season, which usually continues until the end of September, but varies per region. So, if you see signage saying ‘chasseurs’, or chasse gardee’, wander right back to where you came from – this indicates a hunting area and these guys mean business. Indeed, 25 French hunters die each year after being shot by other hunters.

A more controversial area with regards to hunting is regarding the rare wolf and bear populations. The French hunted wolves to extinction back in the 1930s, but in 1992 a sneaky alpha mating pair crossed the border from Italy and since then wolves have got their own back. Today there are a minimum of 300 individual wolves in around 25 packs spread throughout the French Alps, across the Rhone Valley into Massif Central and up the country’s eastern border, and under the Berne Convention and European Law, the wolf is a protected species and can no longer be hunted or poisoned.



Until now… due to a rise in wolf attacks on farm animals and much protest from farmers across France, the government has passed a ‘wolf plan’ under which 24 wolves can be legally ‘removed’ annually. The role that began as an official culling job for states marksmen however has now been extended to ‘wolf lieutenants’ too and today wolves can be shot in ordinary hunts, or in areas where they can be ‘seen to pose a problem’ – a subjective opinion and one that has conservation groups who view a return to wolf hunts as archaic and scandalous up in arms.

Controversial further still is the smoke screen that conveniently blurs the facts on bear hunting in France. In 2004, hunters shot dead the last brown bear native to the Pyrenees, condemning the species to extinction and causing what the French government called ‘an environmental catastrophe’. Since then, 22 brown bears from Slovenia have been reintroduced to the Pyrenees as part of an official programme in a move that also ups the status of the mountain range as one of the last great strongholds of the European brown bear in southern Europe. Because, as a signatory to the European Union “Natura 2000? initiative to preserve biodiversity, France is legally bound to bear restoration. Farmers have long countered that the bears are unwelcome and kill their livestock and hunters have shot several brown bears, allegedly by mistake, though if a practiced hunter accidentally shoots an enormous endangered brown bear perhaps said hunter shouldn’t be handling a gun.

Throughout history wolves have had a reputation for killing on an almost mythical level, but French public opinion is very much on the wolf’s side with a 2014 poll concluding that 80 percent of French people wanted wolves to be protected from farmers, rather than sheep from wolves. France should also be given credit for trying to act with ethical guidelines to address the problem – even if you agree with the practice of culling as a whole – and the implementation of special fencing, similar to electric fencing, that has proved effective in reducing both livestock predation and reducing angry retaliation from farmers.

What can you do?

Don’t hunt, and definitely don’t tell a hunter if you see a brown bear. Apart from that, your best bet is to support any tourist initiatives that centre on either seeing wild animals in their natural environments, or keeping them happy there. Such as WWF, or locally Ferus, which strives to protect bear, wolf and lynx populations in France.

Mountain safety is like a religion for people who live in and love the mountains. Especially on Mont Blanc which has seen tragedies and fatalities. Tourists can be guilty of turning a blind eye to the harsh realities of walking and climbing in the mountains, be it the Alps or the Pyrenees, because they are so accessible, by cable car or train, they are packed with pretty ski villages and state of the art mountain refuges, they somehow seems ‘safer’ or that a Panama hat and a bottle of red is all you need to enjoy the exquisite excursions. Talk to the experts, your hosts and guides – they will be switched on to the unpredictability of French mountain landscapes.

If possible, always go trekking with an International Mountain Leader or IML. These are highly qualified people, who know exactly how and when to tackle different aspects of the mountains, depending on weather, the time of year, avalanche risks and so on. They are also fully trained in emergency procedures and will warn the walking group about dangers and how to prevent accidents. You might fall into the trap of thinking that you do not need a guide or leader in summer but this is not true. Conditions can still be extreme in summer, so don’t take any risks. Or, in early summer, the temperatures might soar early morning, causing ice melt and avalanche at higher levels. 80 percent of rescue operations are due to exhaustion, and are usually preventable with better preparation.

What you can do

Make sure you are fit and well prepared before your trip. Safe walking boots, the right amount of layers, waterproofs, water and an emergency kit are key. Ensure that you are walking with an internationally qualified mountain leader, particularly when hiking at higher levels. The UIMLA International Mountain Leader and the IFMGA Mountain Guide are the only internationally recognised qualifications in the mountains world-wide.

France is still the favourite destination for British people, in particular, seeking to buy property overseas. Something that is a persistent bone of contention in France. On the one hand, the invasion of holiday home seekers in France has been blamed for making some of its most quaint villages ‘seasonal’ and half-empty for much of the year, as well as forcing prices too high for the pockets of French locals. On the other, second-home owners have been lauded for contributing to activity in rural districts with lower populations where agriculture had been previously in decline, as well as preventing rural-urban migration among young French employed to work at rehabilitated B&Bs.



What can you do?

Luckily, our walking holidays are run by travel companies that support locally owned accommodations, guides and restaurants. And also, they operate for many months of the year, and so you are supporting a whole other side of the economy than you would be staying in a second home rented out on an accommodation booking website and heading off on random hikes on your own.

• The train network in France is superb and many walking holiday companies will organise transfers for you from train stations, whether you are coming for summer or winter walking. So avoid the carbon footprint of flying or bringing your car (unless there are lots of you in it) and consider travelling by train.

• There are now police at certain stages of the Mont Blanc ascent, due to irresponsible and ill prepared climbing practices on some people’s parts. This is always a divisive issue – how much do we police the mountains in order to stop the one or two idiots? When actually, the mountains should be about freedom and tranquility, not over-regulation. The fact is that if every climber, hiker and mountaineer acted responsibility, there wouldn’t be such a need for reigning in.

• It is very important to stay on the allocated paths. When trekking, you can lessen your environmental footprint on habitats and ecosystems and walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
• Sadly mountain bikers are often guilty of going off piste during the hiking seasons, so be wary.
• Waste is always an issue in trekking regions, so it is always worth reminding yourself of the Leave No Trace principles before you go. This organisation is the font of all knowledge and training when it comes to environmental protection and outdoor activities. It all seems like common sense and, in general, walkers love the environment and are extremely protective of it. However, this doesn’t explain the
  wasters who leave things behind like disposable barbeques, cigarette butts, banana skins, chewing gum, drinks bottles and even pop up tents. Leave no trace also means leaving nature as you find it, so don’t pick wildflowers please.
  

• Let’s not beat about the bush, the waste issue also relates to human waste. Bring bags with you, and take your faeces away. The two highest toilets in Europe are to be found on Mont Blanc. They are serviced by helicopter in order to deal with the amount of human waste which spreads down the mountain, calling it a ‘Mont Noir’ when the snow melts. Often local people have to clear it up along with all the other trash left behind. Shit happens. Shovel it and shift it.
• A responsible walker is an insured walker. Accidents do happen, even if it’s just a badly sprained ankle, and you might need to be rescued. So make sure you are properly insured, even though you might feel more ‘covered’ because you are in Europe.

*Source: New York Times

Photo credits: [Verdon Gorge:Shadowgate] [Silence:Mountain Wilderness] [Wolf:belgianchocolate] [Empty cottage:Adam]