May 28, 2010 – This weekend May 29-30, people all over Europe will be getting together for the annual spring cleaning of the mountains. The goal of the action is to make everybody aware of the impact rubbish has in the mountains, and to encourage people’s behavior concerning their rubbish to change.

Although ski areas may seem clean when covered in snow, last year 30 tons of rubbish was picked up from the slopes of 55 ski resorts by some 3,500 volunteers.

For the past 9 years the French environmental group for ski resorts, Mountain Riders, has been organizing and coordinating the spring cleaning to raise awareness on the state of outdoor playgrounds at the end of the ski season.

This year, Mountain Riders and their European partners: The ski club of Great-Britain, Respect the Mountains in the Netherlands and Summit Foundation in Switzerland are once again calling on everybody to join in with the European spring cleaning.

From ski resorts to Mountain bike tracks, crags and other areas where you can go climbing, this year everybody has got involved in the mountain clean up. So why don’t you meet up with the locals at your local ski-resort or your favorite outdoor playground and help out. With over 140 events taking place around Europe, there’s no excuse not to be out there.

For a list of events and participating resorts, click here.