Without the splendid mountains and beautiful scenery surrounding us, Nevis Range would not exist. That is why we have been taking care of our environment in the past, while building Nevis Range, we take care of our environment in the present and we will take care and protect our environment in the future.
Nevis Range operates in a National Scenic Area (NSA), includes part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is adjacent to a Special Area for Conservation (SAC). A Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) monitoring and management scheme was set up at Aonach Mor (for the first time in Scotland) to monitor the effects of its development.
SSSIs are areas of special interest due to their fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features. In SSSIs, certain activities are prohibited and there are legal duties concerning how the areas should be managed and protected. Nevis Range consults and works together with a monitoring group that includes the Scottish Natural Heritage, the Highland Council and the landowners, to manage and protect the land.
During the construction of Nevis Range (30 years ago), all work carried out was in compliance with planning controls and restrictions were put in place to protect the environment. Buildings were designed to blend with surrounding vegetation, helicopters were used for all construction work and no bulldozing was permitted throughout the process of piste creation. The build of Nevis Range has been hailed as the model of a well-managed, low impact development.
Up to today the use of vehicles is limited on the upper slopes of Aonach Mor to reduce our impact and prevent unnecessary damage to the delicate summit ecosystem. In the summer the lift infrastructure has to be maintained and serviced on foot. This takes time, as equipment and tools have to be carried to site. When we have a big job to undertake, we will use a helicopter to assist us lifting heavy items up to the top of the mountain. We depend on our environment for both recreation and employment. As a business we aim for a healthy balance between limiting our impact and encouraging a sustainable use of the natural world.
Our Gondola runs on electricity. As you can probably imagine, we need a lot of electricity to keep the Gondola running. As we find our environment important, Nevis Range gets it green (water) power from the Nevis Range Hydro located on the Allt Choille-rais Burn on a subsidiary ridge of Aonach Mor.
The hydroelectric scheme has an electrical output range of 40kW to 1.1MWh from two 550kW Pelton turbines. The scheme generates 3,700MWh per annum, enough to provide electricity for over 1,000 households.
By getting our power from the Nevis Range Hydro we are able to power the gondola and base station with green energy and reduce our carbon emissions.
The water that we use on our premises all comes from the mountain. Streams constantly flow down from the summit plateau filling our two reservoirs up with pristine water. Rain and snow melt running down through layers of rock and gravel provide us with a unique natural product. We filter out any impurities and use in it in our operations providing customers safe clean fresh water to drink. Our commitment to the environment and using the resources available locally allows us to reduce single use plastic and transportation impacts.
