While most of us in North America have put away our skis for the season, the time for alpine fun is right around the corner Down Under. The treehugging skier (the green kind, not the klutzy kind) will definitely want to check out the Falls Creek Ski Resort, as its sustainability credentials look as impeccable as some US ski lodges we've noted. Today, the resort announced that it had received the Alpine Planning Award from Rob Hulls, Australia's Minister of Planning, for "its contribution to conservation and environmental management." Yesterday, Falls Creek announced that it would be partnering with TRUenergy to power its main lifts with renewable energy. Both of these developments represent the resort's mission to maintain its "greatest asset": the natural environment:

Falls Creek is extremely proud of the position the resort holds as an industry leader in the field of sustainable alpine tourism and development. Our environmental programs produce tangible actions which help reduce our resort's impact on the local environment and acknowledge the importance of maintaining a healthy world beyond our boundary.

Falls Creek Management became the world’s first alpine-based organisation to be benchmarked by Green Globe - the international certification program for ecologically and socially sustainable tourism – in March 2005.

In announcing Falls Creek’s achievement the 2005 Alpine Resorts Sustainability Forum in Melbourne, the Victorian Minister for the Environment, John Thwaites, congratulated FCM and said Falls Creek’s example was one he hoped other alpine operators would follow.

In addition, the resort has committed itself to becoming a "plastic bag-free zone," it's is the only alpine operator in the country to participate in the national EcoBuy program, and it has even created its own carbon neutralization program, A Tree for Me. While Falls Creek can't promise that you won't run into one of those trees while trying out a challenging run, the eco-conscious skier can rest assured that his/her ski vacation will leave a minimal footprint. :: Falls Creek via e-Travel Blackboard