The Ski Podcast The Ski Podcast

We discuss Baqueira Beret in Spain and finding out about skiing in China – the fastest growing ski market in the world. 

Iain was joined by freelance journalist, Gabriella Le Breton and Justin Downes, President of Axis Leisure, who specialise in resort development in China.

SHOW NOTES

Gaby last skied in Andermatt (1:30)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Mike Goar, CEO of Vail Resorts in Andermatt (2:00)
[Video] Things Americans find shocking about skiing in Europe! (3:30)
Justin was last on snow at the indoor slope in Wuhan, China (4:15)
Andy Butterworth from Kaluma Ski skied in St Anton and Ischgl (5:00)
The Black Eyed Peas are playing at Ischgl’s closing party (6:45)
Susie Burt reported from Chamonix (8:00)
Alex Armand from Tip Top Ski Coaching is in Les 2 Alpes (9:45)
Listen to Iain’s interview in Episode 209 about the new Jandri 3S lift (11:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz0hrmQgVGg
Les 2 Alpes will remain open until 07 July
Huge thank you to Messy Weekend for replacing the ski goggles I lost in Verbier (14:30)
Take a look at the Vallon vizors here (15:15)
Gaby visited Baqueira Beret in the Spanish Pyrénées (16:14)
Heliskiing is possible in Baqueira (25:00)
Justin previously worked at Whistler and Kicking Horse in Canada (28:00)
He then managed Hotham in Australia (30:00)
Justin is now President of Axis Leisure (31:45)
China has more indoor snowdomes than the rest of the world combined (32:15)
There were around 30m skier days in China in 23/24, compared with around 50m in the USA (33:30)
Justin expects China will become the biggest snowsports market in the world in 2025 (34:15)
Eileen Gu and Su Yuming are huge influences on the growth of Chinese skiing (43:15)

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

Oliver Rutman: "Really great episode with Xavier De La Rue"
Quin Rescigno: "I found your podcast recently and have enjoyed listening."
Darren Jer: "Congrats on getting the new Vail Resorts executive of Andermatt on your show." 

If you like the podcast, there are two things you can do to help:
 
1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
2) Subscribe  (find all the links here at PodFollow) 

There are 215 episodes to catch up with and 134 were listened to in the last week. In the last week, 56% of our listeners were in the UK, 13% in the States and the remaining 31% across the world, including Turkey, Vietnam and Japan. 

You can follow me @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast

We discuss Les 2 Alpes in France, Trysil in Norway and find out more about a great new way of travelling to the snow on your ski holiday.

Iain was joined by freelance journalist, Rebecca Miles and Tarrant Anderson, founder of Vans For Bands.

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

David George joined me to discuss the impact of climate change on ski resorts in Episode 206 (3:30)
Simon Burgess was in Flaine (3:45)
Steve Angus reported from Val d'Isère (4:45)
Alex Irwin from 150 Days of Winter reported from Courchevel (6:20)
Iain took part in the X3 Triathlon in Courchevel in 2022 (7:00)
It was the warmest start to April ever in France, hitting 29C in Grenoble & 27C in Albertville (8:15)
This winter was already the third warmest winter in France (8:30)
Lobbying is underway for a direct Train from London to GVA (8:45)
Take a look at this year’s ski April Fools in this Skipedia blog post (9:15)
Vail Resorts themed April Fools including Disney buying Vail Resorts &  Vail buys Alterra(12:30)
Les 2 Alpes is a great trip for older teens looking for apres-ski! (13:30)
Highly recommended is the Umbrella Bar (14:00)
Anthony Guzman is Sales & Marketing Director at Les 2 Alpes lift company AEON (14:15)
SATA has rebranded as AEON (15:15)
You can find out more about the new Jandri 3S lift here (17:00)
Iain drove to Les 2 Alpes in a 9-seater luxury splitter minivans from Vans For Bands (23:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tYRSizJYAE
Vans For Bands was founded in 2006 (23:15)
The VFB coaches are like ‘hotels on wheels’ (26:30)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Bode Miller (27:00)
There is SO MUCH storage space (31:00)
Vans cost from £145pd to rent, including insurance, breakdown cover & snow chains
You can drive a splitter van on a regular driving licence (33:15)
Read Bec’s article about Trysil in The Telegraph (34:30)
Becs flew into Scandinavian Mountain Airport (35:30)
Find out more about Trysil ski resort (39:00)
Have a look at the piste map for Trysil (40:30)
Is Salen the closest ski resort to an airport? (42:15)
Find out more about train travel to ski resorts at Ski Flight Free (46:00)
Becs booked group train travel with Eurostar and SNCF at a good discount (46:45)

Feedback (43:30)
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 Fisher: "Really enjoy listening to the podcast, you're doing a great job. It helps me out with a bit of research. I'll just let you know that I am your English but Mexican listener as I spend a bit of time over there"

Michael Hart: "Enjoyed listening to The Ski Podcast as usual. I appreciate the work you do both on sustainability, but mindful of the difficulties that skiers in the north/Scotland have with train travel. I have taken the decision to offset my carbon to mitigate air travel, but the lack of economically viable train option from Manchester and similar areas remains a problem."

Andy Aitkenhead: "I found the recent episode on Andermatt and Vail Resorts of interest - I was in Andermatt just before the deal was announced. I'm heading to Engelberg in just over a week. I'm currently wrestling over travel - given my concerns around climate change. Currently my calculations are that it will be cheaper to fly. I wondered whether you have any tips for reducing the cost over the Eurostar and SNCF published prices. Keep up the good work with the podcast."

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

This episode is a special interview with professional snowboarder Xavier De La Rue. We speak about his competitive past, the cliff named after him in Verbier, his move into film making and adventures in places such as Alaska, Svalbard and Antarctica. 

We also discuss his almost fatal avalanche and how it changed his views about risk-taking. Finally, we talk about sustainability and his Audi Experience Camps taking place in Verbier this winter.

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

Xavier broke his ribs while taking time off from filming in Lobufen (1:00)
FIS bought the Freeride World Tour in 2022 (3:00)
Watch the Freeride World Tour on YouTube
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Verbier Extrme this amazing night shot was captured (4:30)
Xavier went to Antarctica in November 2023 (6:00)
The trip involved crossing Drake’s Passage (8:30)
The Svalbard adventure took place in 2016 (11:00)
Xavier took brother Victor with him to Alaska (14:00)
Victor won the Freeride World Tour for the third time in 2024 (15:00)
Xavier’s daughter Mila is also on the Challenger Tour (15:45)
Xavier is from St Lary in the French Pyrénées (17:00)
Iain skied in the Bruson sector of Verbier in March 2024 (19:00)
Watch Xavier’s ‘How to’ videos on YouTube (20:15)
Learn how to ski on ice! (20:45)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjfh9F9eT34
We discuss Xavier’s avalanche experience (22:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6EXW_e2ETU
“Paranoia can be a good thing” (24:00)
Xavier has clear views on air bags (26:30)
Listen to Xavier’s sustainability podcasts (31:30)
Find out about the Audi Experience camps (32:00)

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) 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 

We find out more about Val Cenis and the Haute Maurienne area of France as well as discoving what the skiing in Slovenia is like. 

Iain was joined by freelance journalists Katja Gaskell and Rob Rees.

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

Katja was last on the show in Episode 197, sharing her tips on skiing with children (0:30)
Rob was last on the show in Episode 186, discussing glacier skiing in Austria (1:00)
Find out more about the Dolomites in Episode 192 (1:30)
Tim from Inspired Italy reported from the Italian Dolomites (3:45)
Alex Armand from Tip Top Ski Coaching is in Les 2 Alpes (5:20)
Andy Butterworth from Kaluma Ski is in St Anton (5:30)
Team GB telemarker Jasmin Taylor was last on the show in Episode 200 (8:30)
Jasmin won two Crystal Globes at the World Cup Finals - with 11 podiums and 5 wins this season
British Slalom Champion Reece Bell is Martin Bell’s daughter and Graham Bell’s niece (9:00)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Martin Bell here
Freddie Carrick-Smith (just) beat twin brother Zac Carrick-Smith the Junior Slalom and Senior GS (9:45)
Iain interviewed Zac in Episode 200 about his double gold at the Youth Olympic Games (10:15)
Katja was in Val Cenis in the Haute Maurienne area of France (10:30)
Bonneval-sur-Arc has lots of ski touring options for both novice and advanced (12:30)
Bessans is a centre for biathlon and cross-country skiing (15:00)
Iain travelled to Orelle by train from Paris to Modane and covered this in Episode 165 (20:15)
Rob flew to Lublijana in Slovenia (22:15)
Rob skied at Krvavec, Vogel and Rogla ski resorts (24:30)
Listen to Iain’s experience of skiing in Abruzzo in Episode (29:00)
Rob visited the Elan Skis museum (31:15)
Elan introduced the first ‘parabolic’ ski in 1993/94 (33:00)
Find out more about the Julian Alps International Ski Pass (34:15)

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 

Andrew Brannan: "I enjoyed today's interview with Frank Baldwin. I am sure you could get him back on, sounds like he has a hundred more stories in him."

James: "Love the podcast. I was keenly interested in your interview with Mike Goar from Vail Resorts. I also found the two recent episodes discussing the resorts in Norway fascinating. Keep up the good work."

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 

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 e

This episode is a special interview with Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin - one of the leading ski journalists in the UK. Frank is best known as editor and publisher of Skier & Snowboarder Magazine. 

After over three decades in the industry, he knows more the world of skiing than almost anyone else and so I was delighted to find out more about his career and the history of UK ski magazines.

SHOW NOTES

On the Les Arcs – La Plagne link (1:30)
Sale of ‘Skier & Snowboarder’ Magazine (2:15)
On becoming editor of the mag (3:30)
Skiing with a broken foot (6:45)
The founding of ‘The Skier’ magazine (9:00)
When WH Smith had a ‘Ski Magazines’ section (12:00)
Early days in Fleet Street (12:45)
First ever ski holiday (15:30)
Buying an apartment in Les 2 Alpes (17:15)
Buying the magazine (19:00)
Becoming ‘The Skier and Snowboarder’ (20:15)
Becoming a free magazine (21:45)
What about new mediums like podcasts (26:00)
What advice would you give to a budding ski journalist (27:00)
How many resorts have you skied in? (28:00)
Frank’s favourite resort (29:00)
Favourite celebrity interviewee (29:30)

Feedback
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) 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

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 Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast