Tour specific travel advice to cut carbon emissions – for Haute Tarentaise
The Eagles now has a target to emit net zero carbon from its activities within two full seasons, by cutting emissions by swapping from air to train, for example; and by offsetting. We estimate current net emissions from tours to be 280 tonnes/year after offsetting. (To keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees by 2100, each person should emit on average no more than 1.5 tonnes per year.) If you would like to help reach the club’s target, there are two main things you can do:
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Offset your travel (by whatever mode) by buying from the Club’s emissions offset scheme at a cost of around £3.50 for an average return flight within Europe and less for other modes.
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Choose lower emission mode(s) of transport for all or part of your trip. (Taking a direct flight from say Edinburgh to Munich then continuing to Innsbruck by train, instead of taking connecting flights, will still cut emissions. Or travel by train in one direction and plane the other.)
Per passenger, the rough CO2 emissions for a return from London to Geneva are as follows
Direct flight, Economy Class 400kg
Large car, 4 passengers 160kg
Small car, 4 passengers 80kg
Coach 50kg
Train (e.g. Eurostar ) 25kg
(Source of data: here)
This document gives a few tips on booking lower carbon travel to the start and finish points of your tour, Val d’Isere and Bessans, from London. The closest station to Val d’Isere is Bourg St Maurice from where buses operated by https://vente-bellesavoieexpress.fr/nos-lignes/ run Val d’Isere. The closest station to Bessans is Modane, linked by bus https://www.transdevsavoie.com/fr/fiches-horaires-transdev-savoie (the Modane to Bonneval service).
Train. Bourg St Maurice is around 11 hours by train from London St Pancras, with a change in Paris (from Gare du Nord to Gare du Lyon, using one fast metro line; tickets are sold at the Eurostar buffet car). You may also find viable times via Lille and Lyon Part-Dieu, avoiding crossing Paris. Alternatively, travel to Geneva Airport by train in 7 to 8 hours from London, then get a bus shuttle to Val d’Isere at www.altibus.com. Modane is 9 hours from London also via Paris. For train times see www.bahn.co.uk – just enter London and your final destination, anywhere in Europe.
In 2023 Eurostar may offer through London-Bourg tickets and trains. The closest alternative destination you can get to with a through ticket is Lyon. Alternatively, you can buy a ticket to Paris or Lille on www.eurostar.com, and another onwards from Paris or Lille at www.oui.sncf.com. To be on the safe side allow 60 minutes in Paris if you don’t have a through ticket. Booked well ahead Eurostar charge around £60 for a single from London to Paris; SNCF charge about the same for a single from Paris to Bourg, Modane or Geneva; or a through ticket from London to Lyon is about £100, and then £32 for a buy-on-the-day ticket to Bourg.
Eurostar and German Rail (DB) tickets go on sale 6 months in advance and SNCF 4 months. More info at https://www.eagleskiclub.org.uk/plan-your-trip/low-carbon-travel/train-travel-tips-and-hints – including the latest about axes on Eurostar.
Bus. You can travel overnight from London to Paris and then to Chambery in a total of about 18-20 hours and for around £50, booking ahead at www.flixbus.co.uk. Train Chambery-Bourg/Modane.
Car. The Michelin route planner www.viamichelin.com suggests a drive time from London to Val d’Isere or Bessans of 12-13 hours, a distance of 1100 km/700 miles and tolls of €79 one way. It also calculates fuel costs for your car, though not Euroshuttle. A motorway payment tag can be convenient – see www.bipandgo.com – but prices are the same as cash or card.
Carshare. Carsharing is available with www.blablacar.com. If driving, register your trip details to get paying passengers – e.g. €70 Calais-Lyon. Lifts are great value but often only posted 1-2 days in advance. It is widely used in France and Spain.
Travelling from outside London? Apologies if this info all seems a bit London-centric but pretty much all rail and bus travel from the UK to the continent is via London, though when driving, the Hull-Zeebrugge or Newcastle Amsterdam ferries may be good (though still carbon intensive) alternatives to Euroshuttle. By train, it is possible to return as far north as Edinburgh in one day from some stations in the western Alps (Modane, for example; or from Zurich), though more difficult on the outward due to the time difference. See www.bahn.co.uk