68: Skiing the Berlin Wall, Jungfrau Review, Avalanches & Charlotte Bankes

It is the end of the season so Ian and Jim a reminiscing about the winter but not before they get some spring snow under their skis. Iain has been to Les Menuires for Yoga week and Jim has been over in Switzerland visiting some new (for him) resorts. Also in this episode Iain chats to Frank Baldwin editor and publisher of Skier and Snowboarder Magazine, Jim tries out cross country skiing, they chat about Les 2 Alpes and it is book club time.

24 Apr 201952min

In Episode 33, we find out the latest on the drug dealer behind the Courchevel fire, Iain finds out about lift pass marketing in Ax 3 Domaines and Jim discovers who the La Clusaz liftie was with The Ski Podcast sticker. Dave reveals his tips on how to ski moguls, we look at a different guiding philosophy and (surprisingly) discover that The Ski Podcast is officially one of the best Olympic podcasts in the world! Show Notes - It turns out that the La Clusaz liftie with The Ski Podcast sticker was a friend of Chloe at the Tourist Office. We're pretty sure that it's Chloe who features in this video, covered by Iain on Skipedia in Sep 2018 - Ski lift etiquette – have you ever pushed in to a ski lift queue? - The latest news on the Courchevel fire reveals it was a drug dispute between an armed cocaine supplier and his local dealers - Jacques Murat, is Commercial Director of the resort of Ax 3 Domaines. Iain wrote about his trip there last week for Planetski. - ‘Mur’ means 'wall' in French ;-) - Dave Burrows from SnowPros shared his advice on technique for handling moguls - Iain competed a couple of times in the ‘European Mogul Challenge’ series that took place in the 90s: - The Ski Podcast is officially one of the Top Five Olympic Podcasts! Long time listeners will recall that we ran a daily podcast during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics - Thanks to Huski and Dave Moore for their reviews - This is Jan’s very kind review on iTunes. Please do leave us your reviews as they help other people find us. - Thanks to Lee for his detailed email and all his comments, particularly the confirmation that we are indeed boring. Some great suggestions though and we are definitely going to include some of them in future episodes - Mark from Snowonly visited Samoen and the properties Jim was looking at can be found here. - Jim interviewed ski guide Yvan Dorier from Alter Ego Ski School - Dave Ryding finished 12th at the World Cup Finals and 9th overall in the end of season rankings - Charlotte Bankes was 4th at the World Cup Finals and finished 4th overall. Added to her Silver at the World Champs it’s a successful first season for Team GB. We interviewed Charlotte about her switch from France in Episode 25 - Charlie Guest became the first Brit to win a Europa Cup race - Jan Farrell logged a shocking 220.85 km/h to finish 12th in the speed skiing world champs - You can watch ‘The Horn’ – about the Zermatt air rescue team – on Netflix - Val d'Isère, Les Arcs, Tignes and La Plagne are organising an anti-Brexit rally in Bourg St Maurice on Saturday 06 April Coming up in Episode 34: - Jim will be trying cross-country skiing for the first time - Iain will be reporting on Yoga Week in Les Menuires - We have an interview with Frank Baldwin, publisher of ‘Skier and Snowboarder Magazine’

3 Apr 201958min

In this episode, Jim finds out about the legendary Ja-powder in Japan, while Iain takes a first slide at the Chill Factore in Manchester. We find out about how to buy property in the Alps, discuss whether you should eat chips in a cable car and mourn the sad loss of chalet industry stalwarts Ski Val. There's also a new selection for our ski book group. All that and much more in this 32nd episode of The Ski Podcast. Remember all pod listeners can claim a 10% discount a the north west’s premier ski and snow centre Chill Factore using the code (‘SKIPOD10’).

19 Mar 201951min

Woah... this is a snow-packed episode. In this edition of the podcast Iain and Jim discuss the quality of Moon-Boots, Jim goes Telemarking for the first time and they talk about Lyndsey Vonn retiring to become a cow farmer. There is also interviews with Bethany from Globalshots about her 'Beyond the Pistes' film & Linley Lewis from Ticket To Ride about the new chalet regulations. Check out the full list of what is in the pod... Show Notes - Ski suit or ski gear? Jim favours the ski suit… - There was a fatal avalanche in Crans Montana, Switzerland on 19 February - If you missed it, then this is a video of the plane crash at Courchevel altiport - Lyndsey Vonn retired second to Ingemar Stenmark with 82 World Cup wins to his 86 in the all-time list of Alpine Ski World Cup wins - Vonn started her own herd of livestock after choosing a cow (“because she was really cute”) as a prize over a $5,000 check after a World Cup win in Val d’Isere. The cow, Olympe, turned out to be pregnant and Vonn now owns a family of them. - Moon Boots: genuinely not too bad (as long as you don’t get them out of a rubbish in like Jim) - Iain interviewed Bethany from Globalshots about her 'Beyond the Pistes' film - The new TV programme about the ski patrol in Val Thorens is being filmed this season and will be broadcast later in the year - Val Thorens has introduced an autonomous bus service - If you would like to sponsor or partner with the ski podcast then please contact iain@theskipodcast.com - Jim interviewed Linley Lewis from Ticket To Ride about the new chalet regulations and controls in place in France - Please do review us on iTunes or email or Tweet us your feedback (but if you do leave us a 1-star review, don’t be shy, tell us why – we might be able to change things!) - Iain reviewed the Eckster smart wallet: 'Designed for people who tend to lose their belongings'. Save 20% off any order by using the code ‘SKIPOD-EKSTER’ - Jim was coached on the art of telemark skiing by Wendy Holland in La Clusaz - Team GB telemarker Jasmin Taylor now had more podiums than any other British skier - Jim’s Ski Servicing interview was with Simon from Wax Off

6 Mar 20191h 4min

In this episode Iain and Jim find out how to ski powder and service skis, discover you can do a GCSE in skiing, rejoice in Team GB success (and how Eddie 'The Eagle' feels about it). There's ski touring in Morocco and more bad news for 'The Jump'.

12 Feb 20191h

n this episode Iain chats to Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards about how life has changed since the movie, Jim reviews La Clusaz and finds out more about how to service skis properly. We discuss the best value ski resorts, cheese vending machines, ski touring in Courchevel and the new Folie Douce hotel in Chamonix. There’s all that and much more in this 29th episode of The Ski Podcast. Don’t forget that all pod listeners can claim a 10% discount a the north west’s premier ski and snow centre Chill Factore using the code (‘SKIPOD10’).

29 Jan 20191h 9min

In this episode Jim and Iain discuss the increase in the number of wolves in the Alps, we find out how cows prevent avalanches and Jim tests a new eco-friendly boot dryer. Jim brings us up to date on life in La Clusaz, we celebrate the return of Ski Sunday and Dave Ryding's successes and Chemmy Alcott discusses skiing after pregnancy. There's all that and much more in this 29th episode of The Ski Podcast. Don't forget that all pod listeners can claim a 10% discount a the north west's premier ski and snow centre Chill Factore using the code ('SKIPOD10').

14 Jan 20191h 5min

In this episode Jim and Iain swap Secret Santa presents, we have updates from Betony in Chamonix and Becky in St Anton. Jim prepares for his move to La Clusaz and Iain reports live from La Rosière. The boys discuss the new Graystone training facility in Manchester, touch on Brexit and reminisce about classic apres-ski bands in the Alps.

26 Des 201856min