Train Travel to the Alps (Bonus Episode #4)

This week Jim and Iain go searching for good news in our post-COVID world find out about Aspen's cocaine problem and how Timberline is on the up. There's interviews with Alex from Courchevel and Mark from Disability Snowsport UK and we discover yet another Ski Club of Great Britain CEO has resigned.  Show Notes In Alpe d’Huez, they are using ESF uniforms to make facemasks for frontline staff More face masks has being made in ski as businesses pivot their production Find out more about the Goggles for Docs project Mt Baldy opened for skiing last week, with social distancing in place Just in case you haven’t seen the homemade ski lift in a garden yet Zermatt has been projecting onto the Matterhorn to show their solidarity Zermatt has also been in the news for other reasons The CEO of the Ski Club CEO has resigned. Listen to our look at their travils in Episode 44 Jason Auslander tells us about the cocaine problem in Aspen You can listen to our interview with Jason about ski thief Derek Johnson in Episode 52 We first covered the problems in Timberline in Episode 38 Our competition winner is GJ Harvey Pablo Rodriguez asked about Scotland, where Iain hopes to ski next winter and Spain (we mentioned Baqueira in Episode 49) Jim interviewed Mark from Disability Snowsport UK Iain interviewed Alex Irwin about his ‘150 days of Winter’ project Thanks for all the reviews from Daniel King, Paul Gilpin and Leon, as well as ‘wsirhc’ on Snowheads  with the rest of the world  In the meantime, Dick Yates Smith has a different Covid message: An exclusive interview with Dave Ryding – we’ll be finding out about life behind the scenes and how his barrista training is going!

27 Apr 202058min

Jim, Iain and group of ski and podcast fans gathered on Friday 10 April to record a live episode of The Ski Podcast online.  Topics ranged from what do Jim and Iain actually do to what are the Alps like in the summer?  Throughout the podcast, listeners post questions to the duo via the Facebook stream or joined them live in the virtual studio.  You can watch the full Facebook Live video on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/theskipodcast

13 Apr 20201h 2min

On Friday the 10th of April at 11 am BST we are going to be live on our Facebook page answering your questions in an ask Jim or Iain anything Q&A session. If you would like to put a question to Jim &/or Iain, you can email jim@theskipodcast.com before the show, or you can ask us in the live stream comments or request to put your question to us live by joining us in the virtual studio. Join the FB event for a reminder https://www.facebook.com/events/2996209590457404/

7 Apr 20201min

This week Jim and Iain interview Graham Bell about what inspired him to take on the famous 'Hausenkamm' ski run. Iain finds out about the world's most prolific ski thief in Aspen, as well as the rise and fall and rise of Andermatt.  There's our ski book group chat about 'Aiming High' and travel advice from Dave Froome about that pesky thing called COVID-19. The Ski Podcast would like to thank Switzerland Tourism for their support. Show Notes Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell recently filmed his ‘Hausenkamm’ demo run…in his own house! Would you buy this Lego snowgroomer? You might get the chance soon. We first covered this in Episode 40. Many thanks to Jason Auslander from The Aspen Times for sharing his time to tell us about notorious ski thief Derek Johnson Jim and Iain wish to confirm that we have never been involved in any ‘dodgy dealing’ during seasons in ski resorts. Thanks to Doug and Christian for their kind words Thanks also to everyone for our new reviews on iTunes… Don’t forget if you leave a review before 15 April then we will put you in the draw to win all this stash Iain interviewed Lars Werner from the Radisson Blu in Andermatt about the history of the Swiss resort Jim and Iain have been reading ‘Aiming High: The Life of Ski and Travel Pioneer Erna Low’ by Mark Frary You can listen to our interview with Mark in Episode 51 Dave Froome from specialist agent ifyouski.com gives his advice about claiming for refunds on cancelled holidays easyJet might not be flying now, but you can book your 2020/21 flights now Friend of the show Alex Irwin is based in Courchevel 1850 Ed Mannix runs Matterhorn Chalets in Zermatt

3 Apr 20201h 11min

This Ski Podcast Special episode covers avalanche safety in detail as we look into all you need to know to make us safer on the mountain.  Dave Burrows from SnowPros Ski School talks about snow layers; teaches Jim how to use a transceiver properly; and looks at the different types of avalanches you could encounter. Caroline Elliot, an experienced snow patroller talks about working with her Search and Rescue dog, Fjord, who is trained to find people buried in an avalanche.

31 Mars 202054min

This week your hosts Jim and Iain are joined live by Rob Stewart - organiser of the UK's proposed new Ski Show. There's no elephant in the room as we start off with a deep-dive into the devastating impact the Coronavirus has had on the ski industry. Dave Burrows joins us with some avalanche advice, we interview the author of 'Aiming High' and you can win some stuff by giving us a review.  The Ski Podcast would like to thank Switzerland Tourism for their support. SHOW NOTES The big news: yes, we are on the 7 Best Ski Podcasts list by Rad Season Did you hear about this thing called the Coronovirus? We discuss its impact on the ski industry, last week, right now and in the future In more cheery news the Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival and Magazine have both been cancelled But the positive news is that a new ski show is planned, to be held at The Ski Centre in Hemel Hempstead in September Iain enjoyed his last runs of the season in Arosa and Andermatt in Switzerland Jim goes into a hole with Dave Burrows in our Avalanche Feature Watch out for our one-off Avalanche special coming out soon Thanks to Pat MacInnes for your 5-star review Would you like to win all these goodies? Simply give us a review on iTunes to be included in the draw Jim and Iain are reading ‘Aiming High‘ the biography of Erna Low in Ski Book Group Iain interviewed Mark Frary, author of the book Coming up in Episode 52… The World’s Most Prolific Ski Thief The Rise and Fall and Rise of Andermatt Iain and Jim review ‘Aiming High’

20 Mars 20201h 1min

There's a Swiss theme this week as Iain tests Jim on his Swiss summer knowledge, Jim rhapsodises about his trip to Saint Luc and Iain looks forward to his visit to Arosa and Andermatt.  We also find out which is the most average ski resort in the world and discover a national park in the French Pyrénées. The Ski Podcast would like to thank Switzerland Tourism for their support.   Show Notes Congratulations to us – this is Episode 50 of The Ski Podcast (although thanks to our one-off and Olympic Specials we've actually on no.66) Iain shares his concerns that people are not acknowledging climate change. It’s happening and that’s why he founded Ski Flight Free. Jim put forward an excellent defence of Luchon’s decision to move snow by helicopter just prior to half term The world’s first solar-powered drag lift is in Tenna, Switzerland  By the time of the next podcast, Iain will have been to Arosa and Andermatt, travelling by train via Paris and Basel The yodelling championships are taking place this summer in Basel No, you can't do 'Cow Yoga', but you can do 'Goat Yoga' in Switzerland this summer Iain took a trek in the Pont d’Espagne national park during his recent visit to Cauterets in the French Pyrenees Jim continues his report from Bansko with an interview with Gary, representative for Balkan Holidays Would you like to win stuff? Give us a review on iTunes and we’ll include you in our competition to win stuff. Details coming soon in Episode 51 Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong is playing at the Zermatt Unplugged Festival in Zermatt  Thanks to Jack Hennessy for his emailed re view:  Dave from Ifyouski.com explained why Courmayeur is the most average resort Martina reports on her experiences of living in Courmayeur Iain took part in the City Ski Championships in Courmayeur and was told to take a fall so the City boys could win Iain and Jim are reading ‘Aiming High’ the biography of Erna Low for Ski Book Group Iain interviewed the author Mark Frary and we’ll feature that in Episode 51 If you enjoy The Ski Podcast, you always can buy us a coffee…

11 Mars 202058min

In this episode Jim has been busy and reports from Anzère in Switzerland as well as part two of his trip to Bulgaria. Iain is out in Cauterets in the French Pyrénées, we hear about Jamie Barrow's new world record and friend of the pod Dave Burrows joins us live to talk about an exciting new trip for next winter.  The Ski Podcast would like to thank Switzerland Tourism for their support.  Snow Aid Australia was a superb idea, originated by Rachael Oakes-Ash and which raised over AUD200,000 for bushfire relief/recovery and wildlife rescue/rehabilitation President Macron was in Chamonix viewing the melting Mer de Glace and launching new climate change policies It was also announced that there would be limits on the number of climbers on Mont Blanc (which would stop the rowing machine incident we discussed in Episode 40) Jim visited Anzère in the Swiss Valais region with Dave from Snowpros Iain was recording live from Cauterets in the French Pyrénées, where he also skied in Grand Tourmalet and visited the Pic du Midi It’s not great snow cover, but unlike in Luchon no helicopters were used to ship in snow Why do most skiers turn one direction more easily than another? Dave shared his thoughts Jim gave an insight into the rise of Bansko, where he was a guest of Balkan Holidays Thanks to all our listeners for helping us reach record audience numbers Thanks to Matt Hayes for his kind comments: “One of my favourite episodes yet! Great banter, insight and potential for legal action.” Also to Carolyn as she works on her 'big ski wear project' Thanks also to Craig for his 5-star review and we recommend Craig heads to Baqueira Beret in the Spanish Pyrénées on his short break from Barcelona Jamie Barrow set a new speed record for a snowboarder, towed behind a Tesla 3 EV at 183 kph We previous interviewed Jamie about his trip to North Korea back in Episode 4.  Also generating zero emissions are the lifts in Les Arcs, which are all powered by renewable electricity Dave revealed details of The Ski Podcast’s first hosted trip. Join us in Morgins in March 2021. Details coming soon… Don't forget we are reading 'Aiming High' in Ski Book Group. Feel free to read as well and we'll discuss it in Episode 51 or 51 If you enjoy The Ski Podcast, you always can buy us a coffee…

26 Feb 202056min