The Ski Podcast The Ski Podcast

In this Ski Podcast Special, Iain speaks with Paralympian Jon-allan Butterworth.

A four-time Paralympic medallist, Jon-allan recently joined GB Snowsport’s Para Snowsport World Class Programme following his retirement from Britain’s professional cycling programme in December 2020.

SHOW NOTES




Jon-allan won three silver and one gold medal at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and will represent Team GB in the Para Snowboard discipline in the Banked Slalom and Boarder Cross events.


https://twitter.com/theskipodcast/status/1438080356087894023




Jon-allan’s first event will be at SnowWorld Landgraaf in the Netherlands



You can listen to our Ski Podcast Special with GB Snowsports Team Manager, Pat Sharples




Jayne Kavanagh is GB Snowsport's Head of Culture and Para Operations 



Prior to his sporting career, Butterworth was a member of the RAF and served in Afghanistan, in 2005, and in Iraq before losing his left arm below the elbow in a rocket attack in August 2007. 



In 2015, Jon-allan Butterworth took part in Channel 4's 'The Jump':


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXztu1dT3qI

In Episode 79, we discuss the latest testing & travel rules, reveal how the new direct snow train will operate and listen to industry experts’ predictions for season.




We also find out about Dynastar's new 21/22 skis, meet the latest member of GB Snowsports squad and find out if you can still work overseas in a post-Brexit world.
 
 Iain was joined by Alyn Morgan from SkiKitInfo.com and Christa Jackson, LDA
resident and Area Manager for Eurocamp. 





SHOW NOTES





You can ski right now in Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland
Al was testing skis at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead
Christa last skied in Lauterbrunnen, Swizerland
PCR tests are being replaced for the fully vaccinated 
A Covid certificate may be required to ski in Switzerland, and possibly in Italy as well

The Pass Sanitaire will apply to children in France from 30 September, so children's vaccinations in UK may become even more relevant





https://twitter.com/skipedia/status/1439844825822638090





Austria have extended the max duration since full vaccination to 12 months from 270 days
According to figures from the NHS, less than 1.5% of red and amber list arrivals tested positive in the week between Aug 26 and Sep 01 





https://twitter.com/skipedia/status/1438119171922046981
 


Iain spoke to the following contributors at the Ski Launch
event in London about their predictions for this winter season: Cathy Rankin (P&V), Nick Morgan (Le Ski), James Gambrill (Ski Club of Great Britain), Doug Newman (Ski Weekend), Jane Bolton (Erna Low), Hannah Zajic (Austrian Tourist Board)





Listen to our Ski Podcast Special about Erna Low here 

 Find out more about the ‘Travelski Express’ in this blog post at Ski Flight Free

 Charlie Owen from SBiT has been on the podcast previously discussing post-Brexit recruitment in Episodes 8 and 20
 We featured Al’s review of Faction Dictator 3.0 in Episode 78 and discussed the Elan Voyager ski in Episode 71

 Read more about Dynastar’s range of skis for this winter on the SkiKitInfo website

 Jon-allan Butterworth is a multiple Paralympic medal winner in cycling
Listen to our Pat Sharples Ski Podcast Special here

He took part in ‘The Jump’ in 2015




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXztu1dT3qI

 
Reviews

Thanks to Andy (aka ‘sailormissingsnow’) for his 5* review on Apple Podcasts

We really do appreciate reading all feedback about the show, so please do email me theskipodcast@gmail.com and if you can give us a review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or
whatever platform you listen on, then that would be great, as it helps other people find us.

Don't forget you can always buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast and all cuppas are much appreciated. 

In Episode 78, we discuss the new National Snow Show coming up next month, summer activities in the mountains like e-biking, mountaineering and trail running, plus we talk to Tony McWilliam, founder of Faction Skis.

Iain was joined by Stephen Morgan, MD at Raccoon Events, and mountaineer Olivia Jane, with contributions from Alyn Morgan at SkiKitInfo and Katie Crowe from Battleface Travel Insurance.

SHOW NOTES





Steve skied in Glencoe. Listen to our interview with Andy Meldrum, owner of Glencoe, in Episode 75

There is now no quarantine for British arrivals into Italy

Austria, Norway, Switzerland and Canada have all been added to the ‘Green List’

But Austria are applying a 270 day limit on their double vaccination rules for travellers 
The cost of tests remains an issue, as Battleface have identified in their previous research

 Iain used the Britanny Ferries discount for Randox tests
 Helen Coffey’s article in The Independent about ‘Trav-min’ is spot on
 We interviewed James Wilcox from Untamed Borders in our Special Episode about 'skiing in Afghanistan'
Find out more about their campaign to support local guides here

The National Snow Show is on at the NEC on 23-24 October
Listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Benjamin Alexander – Jamaican Alpine Skier
The mystery speaker turned out to be Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards. Listen to our Ski Podcast Special interview with Eddie here. 
We spoke to Mount Noire in Episode 61 of The Ski Podcast

You can buy tickets to the National Snow Show here

You can watch The Ski Podcast Live at the show at midday on Sunday 24 October
Iain will be joined by Podcast regular Mike Richards as well as Simon Burgess, who told us about his experience skiing in the Lake District in Episode 73

2021 is the 150th anniversary of Lucy Walker’s first female ascent of the Matterhorn

Olivia Jane is part of the Mammut team

Iain reported from Zermatt in Episode 76 




 https://www.instagram.com/p/CSW0BAIjQjI/ 





Listen to Iain’s interview with Martin Anthamatten in Episode 77

Iain took part in the Eiger Trail 51 race in Grindelwald, Switzerland
Read Iain’s article ‘Five Tips for Fast Packing the Tour du Mont Blanc’

The UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc) is a 171km race with 10050m of climbing





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyvVhgPp4p0
 


Read Iain’s race report from the UTMB here

Listen to Iain’s interview with Claire Burnet from the Chamonix Tourist Office in Episode 73

The ‘Village Vacances Grandeur Nature’ offer in Chamonix meant visitors could enjoy free activities in July and August
Jim went surfing at Alaia Bay and reported on that in Episode 76 and tried VTT in Crans Montana
Iain spoke to Faction Skis founder Tony McWilliam about the early years of the company. You can listen to the full interview in our Ski Podcast Special

Listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Jim Adlington

Verbier holds an ebike Festival every year






https://www.instagram.com/p/CQEGEx8D3J3/ 
 

We're still waiting to get hold of Faction's new range, but Alyn Morgan (previously on the show in Episode 71) reviews the Faction Dictator 3.0 freeride here:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6-nqtJb9Y0

REVIEWS

I'd like to thank everyone who bought me a coffee since our last podcast, it's very kind of you. Also thanks to these guys for their feedback and reviews:

Tom Brownlee: “Keeping me going during this ski-less time!"
 
Matt Hayes: "fantastic pods as ever"
 
Andrew Brannan: “Two episodes to keep me going during August - Cheers for that!”
 
Peter S: "An excellent discussion about the prospects for ski holidays this winter and a good report from Switzerland. Must listen to more of your podcasts now. Keep up the excellent work"
 
Roddy MacDonald: "Enjoy the podcast, keeping the faith for the upcoming season both abroad and here in Scotland"

Jon White: "I am enjoying your chats with everyone from ‘back in the day’ when I was in the industry"
 

In this Ski Podcast Special, we meet Tony McWilliam, founder of one of the world's leading snowsports brands - Faction Skis.

We find out what inspired him to start the company and how it took it to become one of the most famous freestyle ski brands in the world.

SHOW NOTES





Tony designed my first brochure for my first business, Natives.co.uk

You can listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Pat Sharples here
Faction skis started in 2003
BoardX took place in Battersea for several years
You can listen to our Ski Podcast with Jim Adlington here

Other key contacts for Tony in the early years were Phil Martin, Gordy Hughes and Matt Reardon
He worked closely with Peter Bauer, founder of Amplid
The first range of Faction skis had a waist of 80-110mm
Initially the skis were made in Annecy before production moved to Austria
Skis like the Seth Pistol were an inspiration

Jamie Strachan's designs for Volkl were another influence
The first run of Faction skis was just 44 pairs - they now sell 35,000 pairs every year globally

Sam Smoothy is a NZ freeride skier

Ski Service in Verbier was the first store to stock Faction Skis
Tony first met Candide Thovex as a 16-year-old rider in Les Arcs
Check out Candide in China here (he took 27 pairs of skis with him for that shoot!)
Tony launched an eco-friendly outerwear brand, GHOSTS, on Kickstarter in 2019
He also worked with Eric Pollard - ex-Line Skis - on the launch of the new ski and snowboard range Season Eqpt

Find out about Candide's outerwear brand

In Episode 77, we find out about skiing in Northern Ireland and we talk Olympics - summer and winter - with my guests Olympian Emily Sarsfield and World Cup winning telemarker, Jasmin Taylor. Iain meets Martin Anthamatten to find out what it takes to win the Patrouille des Glaciers.

SHOW NOTES





Mark and David skied in the Mourne Mountains (850m), just north of the border near Dundalk and at Errigal mountain in Donegal (751m)
Watch their TikTok here 



https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMd4N4dCU/





Andy Meldrum from Glencoe told us about midsummer skiing event in Episode 75

We have over 100 episodes to catch up on at TheSkiPodcast.com

Katie Crowe from Battleface Travel Insurance joined us
Battleface research shows that on average people are prepared to pay £61 for travel tests




https://twitter.com/skipedia/status/1422830932793376771





We interviewed Vicky Gosling - CEO of GB Snowsport - in Episode 21

Listen to the Pat Sharples Ski Podcast Special

Jasmin Taylor has reached the podium in World Cup events more than 30 times - you can listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Jasmin here

Find out about the Ellie Souter Foundation


'The Chimp Paradox' is by Steve Peters
Iain spoke to Philippa Middleton about the Patrouille des Glaciers race way, way back in Episode 06 of The Ski Podcast


Martin Andermatten is a previous winner of the Patrouille des Glaciers
Find out more about the Sierre Zinal trail race

Iain took part in the Eiger Trail in Grindelwald

UTMB went 'fastpacking' around the Tour de Mont Blanc in four days
Iain takes part in the UTMB trail race - 171km with 9500m+ - later in August

In Episode 76, we discuss surfing, skateboarding and snow drifts in Switzerland in Crans Montana, Zinal & Zermatt. Plus we chat ski holiday trends for next winter, including the implications of Brexit for British workers, plus we find out what it's like to live in a mountain refuge year round.




Iain is joined by Cathy Rankin from Pierre & Vacances and, joining us from La Clusaz, a voice that long time listeners of the show will know well, former presenter of The Ski Podcast, Jim Duncombe.





SHOW NOTES





Iain didn't get to ski in Zermatt, but he did do this snow report for InTheSnow Magazine

Dave Burrows from SnowPros Ski School was skiing at the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise from the Cervinia side
The UK government has introduced a new 'Amber Plus' category for France in their traffic light system
France has also introduced a new vaccination certificate system, called the Pass Sanitaire, to allow access to restaurants
Jim was surfing in the Alaia Bay surf centre in Sion and skateboarding at the Alaia Chalet in Crans Montana



The Alaia Bay surf centre





Iain went to Crans Montana in December when he interviewed Adam Bonvin, the founder of Alaia Chalet and Alaia Bay

Iain was trail running last week in Switzerland as preparation for the UTMB race in August




Day 1 took him along the Sierre-Zinal course

He first came across snow on Stage 6 of the Via Valais, which took him to the Turtmann Hutte where he interviewed Fredy Tscherigg



Magdalen and Fredy Tscherigg




Stage 7 was more challenging with heavy snowfall to deal with!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9RvCJaJpQ 

Iain last stayed in a refuge when ski touring in Morocco. You can listen to his report on this in Episode 30



Ski touring in Morocco





Cathy Rankin took part in the Travel Industry Day of Action


Seasonal Businesses in Travel are lobbying for British staff to be able to work in the Alps



Photo (c) Daily Express

Reviews




"Love the skipodcast. Thank you for keeping us hopeful over the last 15 months."


Simon Marr



Thanks to Wayne Hall and Jonny Goldsbrough for buying me a coffee. Don't forget if you enjoy listening to The Ski Podcast, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast and all cuppas are much appreciated.

If you'd like some TSP stickers for your helmet, skis or phone, then just email theskipodcast@gmail.com with your address and we'll post some out to you for free.

Equally that's the email address if you've got any questions or suggestions for items you'd like to listen to on the show. And if you enjoy the show, let us know - send us an email or contact us via social media...and tell all your friends about this great podcast you've found.