January Green-hike 1: Green-hiker skiing

We'll start off the year with a pretty obvious one - though one that springs immediately to mind given the current weather forecasts in the UK...

Skiing is getting more and more popular in the UK, and it's a great thing. What could put you more in touch with nature than to get out there, breathing deep lungfuls of proper mountain air, and getting some serious exercise under your belt early in the year?

Of course, there are different types of skiing holiday, but here's a few principles of green-hiker skiing, together with a few places to look at next:

1 - Look beyond the obvious resorts, or at least the obvious parts of town
If you go to Tignes, Meribel, La Plagne, etc, you risk a not-particularly-authentic ski experience. A lot of these places are becoming the posh ski equivalents of egg and chips on the Costa Brava. But if you go a little further afield to find something special...

Have a think about Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia in particular. Sinaia in Romania has got some rave reviews, but Slovenia's Lake Bled and Kranskja Gora would take a lot of beating.

2 - Travel by train
So many skiers lose at least a full skiing day out of a week's trip through the times of their flights, not to mention spouting a load of unnecessary emissions into the atmosphere. Rail travel will be a theme of this site - with Eurostar's move to St Pancras, and Railteam coming online as we speak, a new era of travel is starting right now. And it spreads a lot further than you'd think.

Of the destinations above, only Slovenia is within a day's travel by rail, with an overnight train from Paris to Munich, followed by a short hop on towards Ljubljana. But if you prefer to stick to the French alps, rail is really the only way to go. There are two options - either go direct from London to the alps on Eurostar's snow trains (which run twice a week and take about 6 hours); a better option, though, is to hop over to Paris for dinner, and then take the sleeper to the alps, waking up refreshed and ready to hit the slopes.

3 - Share a chalet with people you don't know
It's a great way to do things. Open yourself up to new experiences, new banter, new ideas... and paying less for your holidays...

A good option if you want to 'go aussie' and meet some fun folk is to look on the Gum Tree's Travel Partners page; there's usually some like-minded folk around. But to be honest, most companies book you in to the bigger chalets bed-by-bed, so this isn't really revolutionary - but many people think they've got to get everything organised before they go for it. You don't!

The Ultimate Skiing Green-hike
This month's big combination takes you to the Italian resort of Madonna di Campiglio. Situated in the Dolomites, and until recently frequented almost exclusively by Italians, this resort has kept its authenticity to an impressive degree. It's great for beginners, but especially good for intermediate skiers (though there isn't a great off-piste offering if that's what you're after).

Getting there by train is a great option - a Friday afternoon train to Paris, a spot of Parisian dinner, and then onto the sleeper. You'll be in Brescia before 7am, and up at the resort by 10... giving you virtually the full Saturday on the slopes. Cheap fares are definitely a possibility if you book in advance, and remember the price includes two nights accommodation train-style, and getting you an extra two days skiing. See http://www.seat61.com/ for more on the journey.

http://www.lowcostbeds.com/ has some good options for accommodation, with Residence Alpes 2 looking a particularly good bet...

As will be the norm, please do send in your thoughts on the suggestions here, and any other Green-hiker tips of your own. Anyone who thinks they've got Green-hiker skiing down, we'd love to hear from you!