157: Snowboarding Special - How to choose a snowboard, renting v. buying, splitboarding & more
We focus on snowboarding, including how to choose a snowboard, whether you should buy or rent and what split boarding is. Iain was joined by journalist Sam Haddad (Guardian & Cooler Magazine) and Luke Rees, founder of adventure travel website AWE365.com. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES Check out Sam’s new ‘Climate & Board Sports’ Substack Listen to Felix Milns talk about his helicopter freefall jump over the Eiger in Episode 98 Sam was in La Rosiere in April Iain tested the Mont Valaisan ski area in La Rosiere in Episode 27 Luke travelled to North Macedonia The are 157 episodes of The Ski Podcast, so under our new numbering system, this is Episode 157 Les 3 Vallees sponsors The Ski Podcast The Alpine Ski World Championships will be held in Courchevel and Meribel from 06-19 February 2023 The National Snow Show takes place at the Birmingham NEC on 15-16 October Look out for ‘The Ski Podcast Live!’ on Saturday at 11.15am and Iain’s presentation on electric cars in ski resorts on Sunday at 12:00pm There are three main categories of snowboard: Freeride, Freestyle and All Mountain Sam is a big fan of splitboarding – read her article in The Guardian here For a UK-based splitboarding option, try Wandering Workshops in Scotland Burton’s ‘Step On’ snowboard bindings are a game-changer Nidecker’s ‘Supermatic’ is another ‘step’ in this direction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm_PyqvFoSo Al Judge is the owner of AliKats Mountains Holidays in Morzine Find out about the Montagne Verte organisation in Morzine Listen to our special episode on Electric Vehicles in ski resorts Find out about bokashi composting You can find out more about their sustainability policies on their website On average, a hot tub uses 1,500 litres of water and 200 kWh of electricity to keep the water at 37.5 degrees centigrade for a week in the winter Find out about their ‘Responsible Hot Tub Initiative’ here AliKats use the Good Planet Foundation for any offsets they require Listen to our special episode when Iain interviewed Helen Coffey, the flight free travel journalist FEEDBACK I enjoy all feedback about the show, so please do review us on Spotify/Apple, or get in contact on social or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com. Fogey58: "Always varied, well presented and for snowsports fans an essential hit" Guapo333: "Love this podcast. Really informative and superbly presented. Keep up the good work" Elaine Bunyon: "Wow…Greece is now on my bucket list!" Thanks also to Fiachra Diskin and Dave Faller for their kind words. Don’t forget we have 156 other episodes to catch up on – typically 75-100 get listened to every week. You can follow The Ski Podcast on social media at @theskipodcast
10 Okt 202234min
101: Skiing in Greece, 'Frontside' skis & the 'Parablack'
We discuss skiing in Greece, ‘frontside’ skis and the ‘Parablack’. James Gambrill also joins us with news of the latest Ski Club of Great Britain survey. Iain is joined by journalist Gemma Bowes and equipment expert Al Morgan. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES · Gemma travelled to Val Cenis and Val Frejus last spring · Splitboard Fest will be held in La Norma in January 2023 · Skiing on the glacier in Zermatt restarted on Tue 20 September · Recent episodes have included Warren Smith, Helen Coffey, Speed Opening in Zermatt and, of course, our 100th Episode · Thanks to Julie for her comments on the taxonomy of the podcasts! · Les 3 Vallees - the largest ski area in the world - is now the main sponsor of The Ski Podcast · Read about the solar panels installed in Meribel this summer on the Saulire Express · Gemma skied in Parnassos in Greece https://youtu.be/GtEc9RJU8cM · Listen to Iain’s report on his half-term family ski trip to the French Pyrenees in Episode 49 · ‘The Ski Podcast’ will be at the National Snow Show taking people ‘off the beaten track’ in our live episode covering Morocco, Turkey, Albania & Kazahkstan. It’s on at 12pm on Saturday 15th October. · On Sunday 16th October, Iain will be presenting about driving EVs to and around the Alps. · Iain curated the forum at ‘Ski Launch’ – an industry event in London on 13 September – and the sustainability panel at LISTEX, held at The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead · James Gambrill is the General Manager of the Ski Club of Great Britain · Iain was reading these US ski reviews · Mike Greenland asked us via Twitter: "Who remembers the Parablock from the 70s?” · A vaguely similar idea available now is the Edgie Wedgie FEEDBACK You can give us feedback about the show, on social to @theskipodcast or by email to theskipodcast@gmail.com Rachel Frisby: "Loved episode about La Plagne (99). Love the resort so much.” Joe McHugh: “Great podcast again, as always! Regarding the Vanoise Express link to Les Arcs, if you stay in Montchavin, you can ski a full day in either La Plagne or Les Arcs. The village is one lift away in the morning and there are no extra lifts to be taken in the evening: you just ski back to the village. It’s a traditional village, quiet with limited night-life, but location makes it a great base to explore the whole Paradiski area.” Richard_Sideways: “Great special with Warren Smith” BobinCH: “Great podcast with Warren! Didn’t know he filmed with Guido Perrini” Liam Major: “I just wanted to say I've been listening through the podcast series and I'm hooked, you and Iain do a really good job. I've only recently developed an interest in skiing and have started listening through all of your podcasts in anticipation for my first trip away. The magnitude of knowledge I've have learned from these podcasts is exceptional so I can't thank you enough.” Photo from https://www.facebook.com/OnParnassos
26 Sep 202236min
100: The Story of The Ski Podcast plus Favourite Guests & Features
Episode 100 of The Ski Podcast is slightly different from usual as Iain looks at the story behind The Ski Podcast. We look at how the podcast started, celebrity guests, favourite features and reveal our new sponsor. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES · The ‘Pilot’ episode of The Ski Podcast was published in October 2017, lamenting the cancellation of ‘The Jump’ · Early episodes covered anything that piqued our interest, from Ed Sheeran (Episode 4), Genepi (Episode 5) and Jim’s love of funiculars (Episode 7) · During the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, we produced an episode every day · Chill Factore in Manchester were our first sponsor in September 2018 · One of Iain’s favourite interviews was Eddie the Eagle Edwards in Jan 2019 · Favourite early features include the number of wolves in the Alps (Episode 28) or theories about drug dealers in ski resorts (Episode 33) · Jim left the show in August 2020 · Back in 2017, when an interview went awry it was news, but with the rise of Zoom during Covid, this hardly seems out of the ordinary… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY · CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) is a great resource for anyone suffering from mental health issues · Perhaps Iain’s favourite celebrity interview was with Roger Federer 😉 · Other favourites include Steve Cross, who man who built a chairlift in his garden during lockdown, Antoine Motillon, a paraplegic pistebasher driver in Courchevel, and the amazing story of the Aspen Ski Thief · Thanks go to Intersport and Battleface for supporting the show, but especially to Switzerland Tourism for being our main partner for the last three years · Our new sponsor from Episode 101 onwards is the world's largest ski area Les 3 Vallées · There are over 150 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with · Make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing now and join us for the next five years…
18 Sep 202223min
Zermatt-Cervinia Downhill Races inc. Pirmin Zurbriggen interview (Bonus Episode #30)
This bonus episode of The Ski Podcast focuses on the new ‘Speed Opening’ downhill races from Zermatt to Cervinia. Iain speaks to ‘Speed Opening’ director Christian Ziojian as well as legendary Swiss ski racer Pirmin Zurbriggen. We discuss how this first ever cross-border race came into being, what the course is like, its place in the FIS calendar and what it will take to actually make it happen in the context of a summer of unprecedented temperatures. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES ‘Speed Opening’ will be the first cross-border World Cup race In 2019 the Cervinia lift company came up with the initial idea The ‘Alpine Crossing’ connecting Klein Matterhorn and Cervinia is due to open in spring 2023 The first European race of the World Cup calendar is a Giant Slalom in Solden in October The Wengen ‘Lauberhorn’ Downhill takes place in January The National Snow Snow takes places at the NEC in Birmingham on 15-16 October The course has been designed by the Swiss ex-downhill racer, Didier Défago, who won the gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYRvPJdlD9A The final layout of the course has not yet been confirmed, but it likely to include a larger finish jump The glacier in Zermatt closed in July 2022 due to lack of snow after a very warm summer and a dry winter The Beijing Winter Olympics took place on very little snow! The races are scheduled for 29/30 October (men’s races) and 05/06 November (women’s races) Pirmin Zurbriggen is one of the most successful racers ever, with four overall World Cup wins, Olympic downhill gold in 1988 and 9 world championship medal
12 Sep 202229min
Helen Coffey, The Independent’s no-flight Travel Editor (Bonus Episode #29)
In this bonus episode Iain talks with Helen Coffey, travel editor at ‘The Independent’ and author of the book ‘Zero Altitude: How I Learned to Fly Less and Travel More’. We discuss her background in skiing, time at Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Magazine and her decision in 2020 to give up flying completely – a significant decision for a travel journalist. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES · Helen was on the show in Episode 80 · She learned to ski at Hemel Hempstead (2:15) · Her first ski season was in Les Arcs (4:00) · Listen to our interview with ski instructor Warren Smith here (4:45) · Helen worked as a transfer rep for Crystal Ski (6:45) · Younger listeners may be surprised to learn that ski passes used to require photos (9:30) · She started as a sub-editor at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Magazine before moving to the relatively new position of Online Editor (12:00) · She was schooled in ‘churnalism’ at the Daily Express (14:15) · During PyeongChang 2018 we produced a podcast every day (15:30) · Iain founded Ski Flight Free in 2019 (16:15) · Anna Hughes was on the podcast in our Train Travel Special episode (20:00) · Following an interview with Anna Hughes at Flight Free UK, Helen decided to take the Flight Free pledge and to stop flying completely (20:45) · Tagsyrt is a Swedish word loosely meaning ‘train bragging’ (25:15) · If you’re paying £2 to offset your flight (say with Ryanair), it’s unlikely to be an effective scheme (29:30) · Iain uses MyClimate to offset emissions from flights (30:15) · Aviation fuel is not subject to taxation that other forms of transport are (32:00) · Research has shown that 1% of people cause half of global aviation emissions (34:00) · Look at Mark Smith’s excellent Seat61.com website for advice on flight free travel (37:00) · Helen travelled on the Travelski direct Eurostar service last winter to Les Arcs (38:30) · You can listen to our bonus episode about Iain’s experience on the TravelSki Express service here (39:30) · You can see Helen ‘in person’ at The Independent’s virtual event for advice on your next holiday, with Simon Calder on 22 September (41:30) · Helen’s book ‘Zero Altitude: How I Learned to Fly Less and Travel More’ is available in all good bookstores
5 Sep 202242min
Warren Smith, Ski Instructor (Bonus Episode #28)
Iain was joined by Warren Smith, eponymous founder of the Warren Smith Ski Academy, for this bonus episode of The Ski Podcast. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES Warren learned to ski at the Hemel Hempstead dry ski slope, before it was recreated as The Snow Centre – an indoor snow slope His first snow experience was on a school trip to Saalbach in Austria, when the coach broke down Phil Gordon presents the ‘Legends of the Brand’ podcast (3:30) Warren’s first qualification was as a UK dry slope instuctor (4:45) He first taught on snow in Seefeld in Austria, before moving to Verbier in 1994 (5:00) Joyce Read from Ski Verbier was an early mentor (6:00) You can watch Blizzard of Aaaahs – the famous ‘extreme’ ski movie – on YouTube Jamie Strachan designed top sheets for Volkl and brought Warren on the their team in winter 1998/99 (8:45) Strachan also designed many of the legendary ChamJam posters (9:30) Listen to Iain’s interview with GB Snowsports coach Pat Sharples in this bonus episode of The Ski Podcast (10:15) Stu Brass and Spencer Claridge were behind the AIM Series of events and built the freestyle features for events like the London Ski Show and The Jump (11:00) Iain launched Natives.co.uk in April 1999 (12:00) Other early freestyle projects that Warren set up were the British Freestyle Camps and the Ride Series Pat talks about the impact of the Salomon 1080 on the freestyle scene in this interview, as does Jim Adlington (founder of Planks) in our bonus episode with him (14:00) Paddy Graham came out of the Sheffield dry slope scene and is still producing award-winning movies with the ‘Legs of Steel’ crew (17:30) Warren also produced movies such as the ‘Snow’s In The House’ series and ‘Snow Odyssey’ featuring a 16-year-old Candide Thovex (19:00) Warren’s ‘Go Ski’ technique book and DVD is available online (25:00) Rob Sawyer from the Farinet Bar in Verbier recommended Warren to England rugby player Laurence Dallaglio (28:00) Other celebrities that Warren has skied with or instructed in Verbier include James Blunt, Princess Eugenie and Prince Harry (33:00) Listen to Peter Hardy’s anecdotes about James Blunt in our special episode Louis Smith, Spencer Matthews and Jason Robinson were among the quickest learners that Warren coached for the wintersports reality show ‘The Jump’ (35:00) The Warren Smith Ski Academy now has a team of 15 instructors with key focus on biomechanics (39:00) Find out about the Carv device here (45:00) The Academy also offers ‘Gap Year’ Instructor Qualification courses, having changed from BASI to the Irish IASI qualification in 2013 (45:30) The Warren Smith Ski Academy will be at the National Snow Show at the Birmingham NEC on 15/16 October 2022 (48:00) Courses start in Cervinia from 06 November for five weeks, then on to Verbier. Warren will be leading a trip to Japan in February (50:00)
29 Aug 202253min
99: La Plagne & the Irish Ski Scene
In Episode 99 of TSP we find out about La Plagne in France with Jen Tsang and all about the growing ski scene in Ireland with journalist Catherine Murphy. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES · Jen previously reported from La Plagne in Episode 93 · Catherine last skied in Tignes, with Guerlin Chicheret · Chicheret is known for being a FWT winner, but also as an extreme driver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqxlBBTgn08 · The freezing point in Switzerland reached 5184m · Zermatt is hosting the ‘SpeedOpening’ downhill races in October and November · Team GB telemarker Jasmin Taylor has been based in Mt Hotham in Australia · Pick up free tickets to the National Snow Show for free using the code ‘2months’ · Iain will be hosting ‘The Ski Podcast Live’ at the show · Jen is based in La Plagne, where she runs a marketing consultancy · The Vanoise Express link between La Plagne and Les Arcs opened in January 2003 · The 6000D is one of the Alps’ most famous trail running races · You can try the bobsleigh run yourself in La Plagne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X_ylHbwV1o · Catherine learned to ski at the Kilternan dry slope in County Dublin · Listen to our feature about snow skiing in Ireland in Episode 77 · Topflight and Directski are specialist Irish ski companies · Catherine estimate that the Irish market is about 100,000 skiers · Soll in Austria celebrates St Patrick’s Day every year Feedback Please do get in contact with your feedback on social or by email to theskipodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for all the survey feedback. Some highlights: "Less inane wittering from industry PR types please" "Iain handles the interviews really well. Precision informality. I look forward to every edition" "Can you get Lindsey Vonn on?" "I've spent the past season as a rep and I learn a lot from the podcast." "Love what you are doing promoting the ski industry & sustainable skiing" Finally special thanks to Rob from Northwich for this poetic and kind feedback via BuyMeACoffee.com: “As a child I had my head in the clouds. Now, with your help I can keep my head in the mountains. Much appreciated” You can follow Iain on social media @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast
22 Aug 202235min
98: Freefalling above the Eiger & the AJ Bell 3 Valley Rally
In Episode 98, we find out what it's like to jump out of a helicopter above the Eiger and learn about a new event in Val Thorens raising funds to turn young lives around. Presenter Iain Martin was joined by Olympic Skier Cross athlere Emily Sarsfield-Power, Dan Keeley from Snowcamp and journalist Felix Milns. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout. SHOW NOTES & TIME CODES A new record for the longest women-only rope chain was set on Breithorn in Zermatt in June 2022 Listen to more conversation about gender representation in Episode 97 Episode 97 was a Down Under special, featuring Australia and New Zealand The snow down under is still very good Jasmin Taylor is a Team GB telemarker and is currently working in Hotham, Australia (7:00) At the time of recording only Zermatt, Hintertux and Passo Stelvio were open to the public for summer skiing (9:30) Read Felix’s article about freefalling above the Eiger in The Telegraph (10:45) Watch Shane McConkey’s double front flip into base jump straight off the Eiger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w18wl-HQuH8 The AJ Bell 3 Valley Rally will take place in Val Thorens in April 2023 (21:00) Find out more about Snowcamp charity and their Switch 180 campaign (25:00) https://youtu.be/Z15pIQSfeJk Feedback BobinCH: "Enjoyed Neil English's stories about Villars [in Episode 96]. Slightly depressing to hear about the Mer de Glace situation but reminder to go back and enjoy it while we can!" We enjoy all feedback about the show, so please do get in contact. Reviews and comments wherever you leave them are always welcome, whether on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, social media or via email to theskipodcast@gmail.com You can follow Iain at @skipedia and The Ski Podcast @theskipodcast If you enjoy the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee…
25 Juli 202232min
