42: London Ski Show, High 5 Festival, Porsche chairlifts & Chemmy Alcott

Today we find out what it’s like skiing in Arctic circle in Svalbard and look into some of the great work that the clothing brand Arcteryx are doing on sustainability. Plus we report on Tignes' decision to split with Compagnie des Alpes. Host Iain Martin was joined by Dominique Showers from Arcteryx Clothing and Verbier local and regular snow reporter Robin Shah.  SHOW NOTES Mt Seymour in BC is just 10 minutes from the Arcteryx offices (2:30) Robin skied on Doufourspitze (3:00) Missing the Olympics? It’s only 540 days to Milano-Cortina 2026 (3:45) BikePark Wales are going to rewild 400 acres of Welsh mountainside (4:30) Tignes is splitting from Compagnie des Alpes (5:00) Verbier has denied that Vail Resorts is planning to buy them (5:15) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GZD8jeQKjr8 Tignes previously discussed building an indoor slope (6:30) A new indoor slope has been proposed in Bosnia (6:30) Dominique is VP of ReBIRD™ and Circular Planning at Arcteryx Find out how the Acteryx logo came about? (8:00) ‘65% of the environmental impact of one of our jackets is caused by its creation’ (8:45) Find out about the Arcteryx ReBird programme (‘Waste Less. By Design.’) (9:00) ReCare is about educating consumer how to look after their kit (9:45) What is DWR? (11:00) Look out for the ReGear programme work coming to the UK (13:15) https://youtu.be/9UgAteHZE9I ReCut is Arcteryx’s commitment to upcycling (14:30) The company has a net zero goal of 2050 (or earlier) (16:30) Chris Howie joined us to talk Svalbard in Episode 94 (18:00) Xavier de la Rue also spoke about his visit to the area in Episode 208 (18:15) Svalbard is in the Arctic circle, east of Greenland and north of Norway (20:00) Robin booked his trip with Arctic Guides Take a look at Robin’s photos on his video on Instagram (26:00) Feedback (31:00) I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com  Paul Langley: "Hope you are well, loving the podcasts, they’re getting me through until next season starts!"  Paul asks if there’s somewhere to buy last year’s rental skis? Chris Moran from Intersport advises that this happens on a per shop basis and that Intersport’s rental skis are used for a max of 45 days before they’re sold on ShakeyJack: "Episode 195 was a great pod: Really interesting to hear about what Les Arcs are up to with their green credentials"  Susan Hurst: "Episode 192 was great, especially the piece on the Dolomites Ski Safari by Inspired Italy. I’ve been lucky enough to go on two and hoping to go again in 2025." Katie Bamber: “Listening to the La Grave section with Sam in Episode 214. Super interesting.” If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:   1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 2) Subscribe 3) Buy Me A Coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com  You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

16 Aug 202435min

We find out about the ski resort of St Martin de Belleville in Les 3 Vallées, what it’s like driving an electric car up the 21 hairpin bends that take you to Alpe d’Huez, plus we look at a brilliant new initiative to raise funds for British skiers.  Iain was joined by Vanessa Fisher and Simon McIntyre, MD at Igluski.com and down the line by Scott Dobson from Alpine 100. SHOW NOTES Vanessa shared what it’s like taking part in the Inferno Downhill race in Murren in Episode 70 (1:00) We featured the London and Northern ski shows in Episodes 215 and 216 (3:45) To get free tickets to the London show, use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ (4:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Dave Ryding (4:20) Scott Dobson is one of the founders of the Alpine 100 project (4:30) Find out more about the Alpine 100 project (9:30) Visit the official website of St Martin de Belleville (10:00) Jerusalem is one of many people’s favourite run in Les 3 Vallées (13:00) ‘La Belle Ville’ is a new sports centre with an outdoor pool (14:00) Le Brelin is an award-winning piece of architecture (18:00) Les Menuires holds a Yoga Festival every year (20:30) Listen to Iain’s report from the Yoga Festival from 2019 (21:30) Simon was previously in Episode 176, talking about driving an EV to Val d'Isère (22:00) Ionity is one of the main suppliers of electric chargers in Europe (25:00) Iain drove out to the Alps in a Tesla Y in 2022 (28:00) Regenerative charging adds miles to your range when going downhill (31:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xthOeIsk3Mc  Iglu’s survey shows being ‘snowsure’ is the most important factor in choosing a resort (32:45) It also shows that 57% of people rent skis, but that 83% own their own boots (35:00) 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. Feedback I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com   Jonny Richards: "Keep up the good work" Zero_cool: "As always an amazing interview [with Paddy Graham]. I learnt so much from this episode that I completely missed from the early 2000’s, despite being there in it all." David Lindsay: "Another great episode with Paddy Graham: what a star he is!" Pablo: "It was great to hear about Scotland [in Episode 203]” If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:    1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify  2) Subscribing is a great idea. If you’re listening online now, just click that button now  3) Buy me a coffee at BuyMeACoffee.com/theskipodcast You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

2 Aug 202439min

In this episode we focus on Courchevel, including an update on the Saulire cable car and how the resort is surviving without Russians, plus we discuss summer in Les 2 Alpes and find out about the new Northern Snow Show. Iain was joined live by Alex Armand, from Tip Top Ski Coaching in Les 2 Alpes and YouTuber Alex Irwin from 150 Days of Winter as well as down the line by Ian Brown from Chill Factore, Manchester. SHOW NOTES Find out more about the new Jandri 3S lift in Les 2 Alpes in Episode 209 (3:45) The Les 2 Alpes glacier has an excellent snow park (4:30) Saharan sand has been regularly seen in France in recent years (8:00) The snow is looking much better in Australia and New Zealand (9:00) Ian Brown is MD at Chill Factore in Manchester (10:00) Find out about the Northern Snow Snow here (12:45) The village of La Berarde was severely damaged by floods (13:30) The Mountain of Hell is a mountain biking event unlike any other! (20:00) https://youtu.be/b8D8wrF8d0Q Sam Haddad spoke about the new lift in La Grave in Episode 214 (21:30) Alex Irwin runs the YouTube channel, 150 Days of Winter (22:00) The Saulire cable car in Courchevel will reopen in December 2024 (24:00) The cabins were damaged in testing in 2021 (25:00) https://twitter.com/skipedia/status/1446031205976186886 Watch Candide Thovex ski the Courchevel couloirs (27:30) The 2023 Winter Olympics are coming to France (28:30) Opposition to the Games is coming from the 'NoJo' campaign Watch Alex’s video of the Val Thorens ice cave (30:30) Is Courchevel collapsing now the Russians have left? (32:00) Discover the gondola graveyard (33:45) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a884-2JgdsY Listen to Iain’s interview with Peter Landsman from LiftBlog (34:45) Alex volunteered to be a test subject for avalanche dogs (35:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyqgShN1z1I You can buy Alex’s tshirts on his website Feedback   I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com  I’d like to thank Sasha Ryazantsev for buying me a coffee: "Thanks for the podcasts. I always listen to them as they remind me of all the places we've skied and boarded over the years." If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:   1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 2) Subscribe so you never miss an episode 3) Buy Me A Coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

18 Juli 202439min

We discuss the latest ski news from Australia, get an update on summer skiing in Tignes and Val d’Isere and find out about this autumn’s London Snow Show.  We also look into how SBIT are lobbying for more trains to the Alps and the possible Youth Mobility Scheme, which would be great news for young people wanting to do a ski season. Iain was joined by Australia specialist and founder of the Snowbest.com website, Rachael Oakes-Ash and Diane Palumbo, Sales and Marketing Director at Skiworld and down the line by Alex Irwin, John Yates-Smith and Lindsey Coleman. SHOW NOTES Rachael’s vote goes to Whitewater in Canada (2:20) Diane is voting for Jackson Hole (2:45) Check out Corbet’s Couloir (3:15) Alex from the YouTube channel 150 Days of Winter was in Tignes (5:20) John Yates Smith from YSE Ski is based in Val d'Isère (7:00) There has been major flooding in Zermatt, which was cut off for 24 hours (8:00) The village of Berarde, in the Ecrins National Park, was devastated by floods (8:15) Lindsey Coleman is Event Director of the National Snow Show (9:15) The show will take place at Excel in London from 19-20 October (10:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Bode Miller (10:45) You can still secure free tickets using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ Snow Travel Expo takes place in Sydney and Melbourne in May each year (14:00) SBiT stands for Seasonal Businesses in Travel (15:45) Find out more about train travel at Ski Flight Free (18:45) Skiworld offer 68 catered chalets and employ 120 staff (20:45) Why we have seen price inflation in UK ski holidays (22:00) Listen to Episode 180 to find out more about how to get a ski job in a ski resort (23:00) A Youth Mobility Scheme has been suggested within the EU (24:00) Rachael was last on the show in Episode 97 (27:45) For info about skiing in Australia check out Rachael’s website Snowsbest Australia and New Zealand have seen fresh snowfall this week (30:30) Listen to Iain’s episode about Perisher and Thredbo (32:00) Thredbo have opened their new luge (32:30) There’s also a new Olympic half-pipe (33:15) Scotty James is an Olympic medal winning Australian snowboarder (34:00) Perisher is owned by Vail Resorts (37:00) Lift queue memes in Perisher (38:30) Listen to Iain’s interview with Mike Goar from Vail Resorts (39:45) Climate change is affecting Australian ski resorts (40:00) The slow Aldi ski sale reflects the cost of living pressure on Australian skiing Feedback (44:00)   I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com  Lozza (Apple Podcasts): "Every episode is a little ski holiday"  Richard Sideways (Snowheads): "Good interview with Stu Brass. I remember the old SCUK forum days.” Alex Hayman: "Really enjoyed the chat with Paddy Graham last month." If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:    1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify  2) Subscribe  3) Buy Me A Coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com  You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast.  There are 220 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. Just go to theskipodcast.com and search around the tags and categories: you’re bound to find something of interest to you.

5 Juli 202446min

We find out about the off-piste resort of La Grave and the state of the snowsports market in the USA, including ways to tackle climate change and bring newcomers to the sport. Iain was joined by freelance journalist, Sam Haddad and Nick Sargent, President of the SIA (Snowsports Industries America). SHOW NOTES Utah offers ‘The Greatest Snow on Earth’ (3:30) Marcel Hirscher is coming out of retirement to compete for Netherlands (4:30) LISTEX Luxury took place last week in London (5:15) Research by The Ski Club of Great Britain showed that luxury ski trips represent 4% of the market by pax, 21% by trips and 50% by value (7:30) The new Northern Snow Show will take place at Chill Factore in October (8:00) Nick previously worked as a boot fitter on the World Cup race circuit, working with skiers such as Alberto Tomba (11:00) Find out more about the SIA (Snowsports Industries America) (12:30) The number of skier visits in the States went down 7.6% last winter (14:30) https://x.com/skipedia/status/1803779843412160532 There are roughly 60m skier days in the States v. 2m active skiers in the UK (16:00) The Share Winter campaign is bringing newcomers to skiing and snowboarding (19:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Stu Brass about the AIM series schools education (21:00) “Climate change is the no.1 threat to the sport in the States” (21:00) Find out about the SIA’s ‘Climate United’ initiative (22:00) Iain spoke with Mike Goar from Vail Resorts Europe in Episode 204 (25:00 The importance of Epic/Ikon passes (28:00) Epic revenue was up last winter Sam was on the show discussing the impact of climate change in Episode 179 (29:00) Sam’s blog is called ‘Climate and Board Sports’(29:30) Find out about ‘NoJO’ (30:30) The 2030 Winter Olympics are due to be held in the French Alps (31:00) Link to the official La Grave website (33:00) Read Sam’s article about La Grave on The Guardian (33:30) Liste to Iain’s interviews with Peter Hardy and Arnie Wilson (37:30) The top lift in La Grave is due to be replaced with a new cable car (39:30) Find out about the new Jandri lift in Les 2 Alpes in Episode 209 (40:30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz0hrmQgVGg  Feedback I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com  James Rice: "Episode 204 was another great episode. Love the podcast, thanks! " Adam Fisher: "Episode 213 (with Stu Brass) was great" Steve Holding: "Really love the podcast, especially the equipment episodes and the features on different resorts" Bobnmillsy (Apple Podcasts): “Excellent podcast covering an incredible range of topics. The special episodes are particularly good giving fascinating insights into the worlds of the ski industry A list from a very well researched and skilled interviewer” If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:    1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify  2) Subscribe  3) Buy Me A Coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com  There are 219 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up. There is so much to listen to in our back catalog, just go to www.theskipodcast.com and search around the tags and categories: you’re bound to find something of interest to you.  You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

24 Juni 202445min

This is a special interview with Stu Brass - co-founder of ‘The Brits’, snowboard advisor to film & TV (including ‘Chalet Girl’ and ‘The Jump’) and ex-pro snowboarder.  If you have followed skiing or snowboarding in the UK in the last two decades you will have seen Stu’s work. He co-founded ‘The Brits’ – the British freestyle championships – and his expertise in running events has meant that he worked on the movie ‘Chalet Girl’, the Channel 4 series ‘The Jump’ and has built pretty much every kicker you’ve seen at a UK ski show. SHOW NOTES Watch Alex’s video on the ice tunnel in Val Thorens (2:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Chris Moran (2:30) The 2024 Brits took place at Tamworth Snowdome (3:00) View images from the event on the Brits Facebook page (4:15) Listen to Iain’s interview with Tim Warwood (5:00) The Brits will take place in Mayrhofen, Austria in 2025 (7:40) Stu learned to snowboard at Rossendale Dry Slope (11:15) Stu’s first season was in Les Arcs with his brother Russ, @chrismoran_hbt, Steve Bailey and @markkent35 Stu’s cliff drop pic was featured in Transworld, Onboard, Snow Surf (16:00) In 1998 Stu won the British Halfpipe Championships in Saas Fee (17:30) Snowboarding first featured in the Winter Olympics at Nagano in 1998 (18:00) Stu met Jenny Jones in Tignes and encouraged her to come to the British Champs (20:00) On a career direction change to becoming an agent (22:00) ‘Show me the money’ (22:40) Damian Norman encouraged more snowboarding and features at the Ski Show (26:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Jim Adlington (27:30) Stu created the AIM Series (29:00) Creating slopes with real snow at the ski shows (33:00) Shipping snow from Holland to Austria for ‘The Greatest Snowman’ (35:00) Working on the movie ‘Chalet Girl’ (36:00) The TV programme ‘The Jump’ ran on Channel 4 for four seasons (39:00) Competitors included Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Rebecca Adlington and Louis Smith Find out about The Brits on their website (50:00)  Feedback I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com   If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:   1) Subscribe, so you never miss an episode 2) You can review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or leave us a comment on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or YouTube. 3) You are very welcome to buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast There are now 218 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. There is so much to listen to in our back catalog, just go to theskipodcast.com and search around the tags and categories: you’re bound to find something of interest to you.  You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

7 Juni 202454min

In Episode 212 we find out about Valle Nevado and Portillo in Chile, what it’s like being a resort rep for the Ski Club of Great Britain and check in on a possible direct London-Geneva train. Iain Martin was joined by travel journalist, Lou Cameron-Hall and artist and snowsports blogger, Martina Diez-Routh. SHOW NOTES Katie Bamber wrote this article on summer ski options (2:00) Iain skied in Saas Fee in the summer of 2020, covered in Episode 57 (3:20) Australia and NZ have had their first snow (3:30) Chalet company Alpine Action has ceased trading (4:00) Listen to Episode 180 to find out more about the impact of Brexit on recruitment (4:30) In Episode 95, Iain spoke with Diane Palumbo from Skiworld, who is on the SBiT committee (4:45) Find out more about the Ski Club Consumer Survey in this blog post on Skipedia (5:00) The Youth Mobility Scheme has not been welcomed by UK politicians(5:15) The flight represents 60-70% of the carbon footprint of your ski holiday (5:45) You can find out more about Inghams’ sustainability plans in Episode 185 and Episode 160 (6:00) Nadine McCormick set up the petition calling for London-Geneva direct train service (6:00) You can sign the petition here (13:45) Eurostar also confirmed last week that they going to increase their fleet size by 30% (14:00) The Brits took place last weekend at SnowDome Tamworth (14:00) Iain interviewed Paddy Graham in Episode 211 to find out how ski movies like this were made (24:45) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA Martina joined us for Episode 87 and Episode 50 covering the Aosta Valley (15:30) Valle Nevado and Portillo are the two main ski resorts in Chile There’s only one accommodation option in Portillo (18:30) The sling-shot lift in Portillo takes some practice… (21:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRN9gKUDNak Valle Nevado links to El Colorado and La Parva (23:30) Mountain Capital Partners have bought La Parva (24:00) Valle Nevado is on the Ikon Pass (25:00) Listen to our feature on Perisher and Thredbo in Episode  (27:00) Lou went on the Ski Club of Great Britain reps course (27:45) The Ski Club of Great Britain celebrated their 120th birthday in 2023 (35:00) Find out more about the Les 2 Alpes-Alpe d'Huez gondola link in Episode 93 (39:43) Feedback (38:00) I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email theskipodcast@gmail.com Robert Stone: "I recently discovered your podcast and found it very enjoyable. I skimmed previous episodes and was surprised to see you've never covered the Brit favourite of Sauze d'Oulx. It suffered an unfair reputation as a Benidorm-on-snow resort in the 90s, particularly after a very sneering Wish You Were Here episode. It's actually a charming old town and has a fabulous ski area linking to the huge Vialattea" Paul Bond: "Episode 210 was as ever great listening. I've skied all over Europe and finally skied in Baqueira in March. Plenty of challenge with a unique vibe but also easy for a mixed ability family to ski the same mountains and meet up. My top tip: Hire a car from Toulouse and stay in Vielha in valley: a great old town with lots of accommodation and good value eateries." Hayder Fekaiki from www.myskibuddy.app: "I hope it’s been a successful season and thank you for a very enjoyable podcast." If you like the podcast, I’d really appreciate it if you could give us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  ‘Every Nickname is taken’ recently gave us a review on Apple Podcasts: “I like listening to the Ski Podcast when I’m driving up and down the country: there’s a great variety of guests and tons of useful information. It also reminds me of all the places we’ve skied and boarded over the years, while also giving me new ideas where to target next. Keep going and maybe one day we’ll meet on the slopes!” There is so much to listen to in our back catalog, just go to theskipodcast.com and search around the tags and categories: you’re bound to find something of interest to you.  You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

24 Maj 202442min

This special episode is an interview with pro-skier and filmmaker Paddy Graham. Paddy was one of the first wave of British freeskiers who burst out of the UK dry slope and indoor scene into the international arena in the early-2000s.  Paddy is an extremely accomplished freeride and freestyle skier, but is best known for the incredibly creative ski films that he's starred in and produced, as co-founder of the legendary production company Legs of Steel.  SHOW NOTES Legs of Steel started in 2009 (2:45) Paddy learned to ski at Sheffield Ski Village (6:00) Sheffield Ski Village had its own ‘fun park’ (8:00) Natives organised ‘The New Breed’ quarter-pipe comp at the Birmingham Ski Show Listen to Iain’s interview with Pat Sharples (10:00) Stu Brass organised the AIM series (11:30) Listen to Iain’s interview with Jim Adlington, founder of Planks Clothing (12:15) Paddy went to Serre Chevalier with Ben Hawker and Noddy Gowans (13:30) He followed that with a trip to the States to film ‘Rad’ (16:00) Murray Buchan, James Kilner, James Carr and Laura Berry, Adam Gendle, Ed Leigh, Tim Warwood, Matt Barr and Jonny Verity were also on the trip (17:45) Red Bull asked Paddy to go for the Sochi Olympics (19:30) The ski movie ‘Same Difference’ in 2017 featured THE kicker (22:00) The kicker was created in Livigno (23:30) They needed to hit the kicker between 110-117 km/h (26:30) “It was like being shot out of a cannon!” (28:30) The second attempt at jumping did not go so well (31:00) ‘Action Men’ came out in 2020 (33:30) Legs of Steel crew produced ‘The Ultimate Run’ with Markus Eder in 2021 (33:45) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA Paddy shot in Sheffield in 2023 after Storm Larissa (38:30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb9lZlLMLUk Watch Paddy’s ‘How To’ features for Red Bull (45:00) 'Skiers Jump over chairlift' was filmed for Red Bull at Mammoth Mountain (45:30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1P0SeYt2TA Listen to Iain’s interview with Kirsty Muir (48:00) Paddy has been on some very long bike rides! (49:45) Find out more about Stance Ski Socks (52:00) Advice for aspiring filmmakers and skiers (57:00) Paddy wears a range of Stance socks which all feature Freshtek and Infiknit™ technology; Sargent Snow, Flynn Snow and Baron Snow. Freshtek Performance Mesh keeps you cool with maximised airflow and breathability, whilst Stance’s Infiknit™ technology never rips, never tears. FEEDBACK  I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or theskipodcast@gmail.com    Tim Boyse: "I think I was “that guy“ you recently mentioned who listened to your very first episode. I retired to the Swiss Alps in 2017 and have listening since then. I loved the early episodes with Jim, but I have to say the podcast has gone from strength to strength since you took it on alone. Keep up the good work - you keep giving me so many ideas I can’t keep up." rms1765 (Apple Podcasts): “I love the mix of guests on this podcast and everything you are doing to raise awareness about issues facing skiing.” If you like the podcast, there are a couple of things you can do to help:    1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify   2) Subscribe and every episode will automatically be downloaded for you There are now 216 episodes to catch up with, and 91 were listened to in the last week. 50% of our listeners were in the UK, 18% in the States and the remaining 32% across the world, including Portugal, Taiwan and Brazil.  You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast.

10 Maj 20241h 1min