206: Verbier, Saalbach & the impact of climate change on ski resorts
The Ski Podcast22 Mars 2024

206: Verbier, Saalbach & the impact of climate change on ski resorts

In this episode, we discuss Verbier, Saalbach Hinterglemm and the impact of climate change on ski resorts. Plus we have a lot of feedback on Vail Resorts and the Epic Pass, which we covered in Episode 204.

Iain was joined by freelance journalist and regular guest Catherine Murphy and David George, founder of the PisteHors.com website

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

Catherine was last on the show in Episode 173, when she was telling us about Pays de Gex
Jen Tsang from ‘That’s La Plagne’ reported from…La Plagne (3:00)
Betony reports on the latest conditions in the Mont Blanc valley (5:45)
Alex from 150 Days of Winter covered the latest conditions in Courchevel (7:15)
Iain rented skis from Philippe Roux Intersport on his Verbier trip (8:45)
Charlotte Bankes has taken 5 consecutive podiums in World Cup Snowboard Cross (9:00)
Dave Ryding finished 7th overall in the World Cup slalom rankings
Jasmin Taylor picked up 3 more podiums in Telemark and goes into the Finals in 1st place (9:15)
Catherine was in Saalbach Hinterglemm
Saalbach will host the Alpine Ski World Championships in 2025 (10:15)
Read the case study on train travel to Saalbach on Ski Flight Free (14:00)
Iain’s guides in Verbier were Anthony Voute from European Snowsport and Bertrand Lovey from ski school La Fantastique (18:00)
Try the ‘Canadian Trees’ in the Bruson sector of Verbier (18:15)
Verbier has so many backcountry options off the back of Mont Fort (19:30)
Victor de la Rue clinched the snowboard Freeride World Tour title for the third time (20:30)
Iain spoke with older brother and three-time champion Xavier de la Rue (21:00)
Iain travelled by train to Verbier – a very straightforward journey (21:30)
Protect Our Winters research shows that ski kit represents 12% of the carbon footprint of a ski holiday (22:00)
Cirkel Supply is a new ski clothing rental company, founded by Anders Bergenstrand (22:45)
Anna Smoothy has done some research that shows renting clothing has a 76% smaller carbon footprint than buying
Josh Speller is the founder of Verbier Green (30:00)
David founded PisteHors.com in 2004 (34:00)
You can read David’s blog about the effect of climate change on ski resorts here (44:00)
66% of the carbon footprint of a ski holiday comes from the your flight (45:30)
Find out more about low-carbon ski holidays at Ski Flight Free (46:00)
More than half of American skiers buy an Epic or Ikon pass (49:00)
The Magic Pass has seen a 9% increase in sales this winter (49:00)
Laurent Vauchet, CEO of Televerbier, is equivocal that Vail Resorts is not buying Verbier (49:30)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Mike Goar, MD of Andermatt in Episode 204 (51:00)
Find out more about the Ikon Pass (52:00)

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

Adam Horsfield: "I have been an avid listener of the ski podcast since 2018. After 6 years of listening, I’ve finally taken the decision to take the train to the Alps and am very much looking forward to it."

Episode 204 about Vail Resorts prompted a LOT of feedback:

Simon Burgess: "Really enjoyed the last episode on the Epic Pass. As someone who has used it a lot it’s exciting what’s on offer and what could develop. I still think some of the partner agreements are a rip off with special lodging needed to get a pass, but for Andermatt, 3 Valleys and the Dolomites it’s been brilliant. It was fantastic in Andermatt: show the Epic Pass and they give you a season pass which I’m pretty sure is sold for more”

Andrew Brannan: "Eye watering ticket prices, all the top management jobs taken out of resort, all teh restaurants and hotels, shops and even estate agents bought up by the same monopoly, aggressive property development, workers forced to live down the valley"

Chris Howie: "It feels as if Vail Resorts are trying to wring every last penny out of resorts while providing the very minimum in return. In most of the Vail Resorts-owned resorts prices have gone sky high so only the rich can ski. Ski passes are almost three times the price of a European ski resort. Lift lines are unbelievably long. The local staff are removed to bring in centralised American staff, ripping the heart out of the resort. I will do my best to never ski at a resort owned by the Vail Resort organisation"

Jane Henderson: “You should've given him a bit of a grilling on the negative impact of Epic/Ikon passes”

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) Book your ski hire with Intersport Rent using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout

You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

Avsnitt(271)

39: Skiing in Montenegro, Women Only Ski Camps & Summer in Morzine

39: Skiing in Montenegro, Women Only Ski Camps & Summer in Morzine

In Episode 39 Jim and Iain find out about Women Only Ski Camps, what it's like skiing in Montenegro and chat trail running in the Alps.

28 Aug 201951min

The mini mid summer don't forget us episode - Including a Saas-Fee snow report

The mini mid summer don't forget us episode - Including a Saas-Fee snow report

Just a quick episode to let you know that we are still here and to let you know that the next full episode will be out a the end of this month. Listen for a preview of an upcoming Emily Sarsfield interview and get the latest snow conditions from Saas-Fee.

19 Aug 20194min

38: Blind Skiing, Heliskiing in Iceland, Val d'Isère & the Timberline story

38: Blind Skiing, Heliskiing in Iceland, Val d'Isère & the Timberline story

In Episode 38 Jim and Iain find out about how to start skiing if you're blind or visually impaired, offer tips on resorts for beginners and hear about a heliskiing adventure in Iceland. We find out about Val d'Isère's new podcast as well as the fascinating rise and fall of Timberline resort.

17 Juli 201955min

37: Skiing in Georgia, Buying a Piste Basher & the Future of Chalet Holidays

37: Skiing in Georgia, Buying a Piste Basher & the Future of Chalet Holidays

In Episode 37 Jim and Iain find out about skiing in Georgia and consider the future of the chalet holiday. We have Olympic downhill racer Ed Drake in the studio, with his views on Team GB selection, plus we look at summer the mountains, snow centre trespassers and Mt Blanc aviators/climbers.

26 Juni 201916min

36: October Half Term Ski Trips, Touring The Haute Route & Should You Teach Yourself to Ski?

36: October Half Term Ski Trips, Touring The Haute Route & Should You Teach Yourself to Ski?

In episode 36 Iain and Jim look to the future and see what is possible if you wanted an October ski trip. Iain has been chatting to Ski Weekend about doing the famous Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. Jim hangs out with a group of ski instructors and asks them "should you teach yourself to ski"? And there is studio chat about the Chines ski market along with a big announcement from podcast supporters Snowonly.com.

5 Juni 201959min

35: Val Thorens Zip Wire, Magic Pass v. SnowPass & Grimentz Zinal

35: Val Thorens Zip Wire, Magic Pass v. SnowPass & Grimentz Zinal

In Episode 35, Jim reports on his recent visit to Grimentz in Switzerland while Iain tests the new zip wire in Val Thorens. We look at the success of the Magic Pass, the new SnowPass, find out how to store your skis over summer and which resort is the most visited in the world... Show Notes Marmots might be cuddly, but they caused the black death and eating them raw is a bad idea (just in case you were thinking about it). Val Thorens closed on 05 May with 30cm of fresh snow on the floor Iain tried out the new three-stage zip wire in Val Thorens in April. La Plagne was top of 'Most Visited Ski Resorts' list from the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism. Snowpass goes on sale on 12 May Magic Pass is already on sale for 2019/20 Magic Pass ski resorts saw lift pass volume +30% (compared to +10% across all Switzerland) with revenue +27% (+9% for all CH) #skistat #magicpass #LISTEX #LISTEX2019 Iain interviewed Paddy Griffith from Huski at LISTEX on the challenges of growing a new business. Thanks to Merlin 127 for his 5-star review on iTunes. Simon from Waxoff.fr shared his tips on how to store your skis over the summer. Please send through your suggestions for our next Ski Book Group to iain@theskipodcast.com. Coming up in Episode 36 How to ski in October Half-Term Is teaching yourself to ski a good idea? Split-boarding on the Haute Route

15 Maj 201951min

34: Snowga, Cross Country Skiing, Ski Magazines & Les 2 Alpes

34: Snowga, Cross Country Skiing, Ski Magazines & Les 2 Alpes

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

33: Drug Dealers in Ski Resorts, Mogul Technique, French Pyrénées & Skiing at 220 km/h

33: Drug Dealers in Ski Resorts, Mogul Technique, French Pyrénées & Skiing at 220 km/h

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

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