Straight from the archives - a lesson on life from one of Chamonix's original skilebrities - Gary Bigham‪!‬ Sam In Cham with Samantha Ryder

Chamonix legend Gary Bigham is about as original as you can get. Luckily, he had some free time...and was available for a chat! From the ski bum era of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, we take a trip down memory lane to some of the wild times here in the valley, when beer was cheap, and work was a dirty 4 letter word…

Gary travelled the world with his skills as a photographer and filmmaker – films including ‘Life’s a beach in the Alps’ and ‘I’d rather be skiing than happy with you’. During this time, he skied for Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, and France, until in his words, they found someone better. 

Back in the 1980s, Gary bought a chalet here in the Chamonix valley, and over the last 40 years, it’s become a mecca for some of the world's coolest, including Patagonia founder Yvonne Chouinard…a story he still won’t tell me about…but there’s time!

Gary's daughter Guri is currently in the process of restoring slides and films in order to make his legendary archive accessible for all. These iconic images published in legendary magazines are a special time in skiing history. To find out more, you can visit @thegarybighamarchive

For more on the amazing athletes and sports enthusiasts featured on the podcast, head to Instagram @samincham_thepodcast and Facebook