Last Friday Iain Martin – host of The Ski Podcast – successfully completed his ’25 in 25 Snow Camp Challenge’.

The task was to ski 10 runs at each of the five indoor snow domes in the UK in a single day, and by doing so raise funds for the snowsports charity Snow Camp to give more inner-city young people the chance to experience snowsports for the very first time.

Brighton to Northampton (140 miles, 2h30m)

I live in Brighton, so to make the day slightly shorter, I drove on Thursday evening to my brother’s house near Northampton.That meant that I only had 50 miles to cover to my first slope of the day at Tamworth Snowdome.

Northampton to Tamworth (50 miles, 1 hour)

I left with a full battery and arrived bang on time just before 9am to be greeted by Ryan Floyd and his incredibly helpful team.

The centre doesn’t open to the public until 10am, but Ryan had a pair of skis ready and the whole slope available just for me.

It was my first time at Tamworth and I was impressed. It was the first indoor snowslope in the UK and has now been open 31 years.

I mixed up shorter descents off the drag lift on skiers’ right with the full 170m dog-leg from the top, accessed by a magic carpet.

What a magnificent way to start the day. Perfect corduroy turns and the slope to myself!

Ryan sent me off with a cup of tea and a croissant from the centre’s café and I set the sat nav for my next stop – the Chill Factore in Manchester.

Tamworth to Manchester (90 miles, 1 hour 40 mins)

Rather than driving direct to the Chill Factore, I parked at the Tesla Supercharger at the Trafford Centre, about 10 minutes away, so I could get back to a full charge again while skiing.

The Chill Factore is great. Britain’s longest slope at 180m, I was again met at the door with skis ready, this time prepared by Matt Robinson and his team.

The slope was buzzing with some great freestyle features set up, including a huge-looking kicker that was being shaped while I skied my ten runs.

After thanking Matt and handing back my skis, I had enough time to pop into M&S in the Trafford Centre to buy some lunch before setting off again.

Manchester to Castleford (60 miles, 1 hour 10 mins)

I’m not one for ‘great roads’, but the M62 from Manchester to Leeds has to be one of the most scenic motorways in the country. As I passed from Lancashire to Yorkshire, it was easy to see why the locals call it ‘God’s Own Country’.

Snozone Yorkshire in Castleford was busy, but Snowsports Manager Angus Blackwood fast-tracked me onto the slope and I didn’t have to wait long for any of the lifts.

As in Manchester, there were freestyle features set up for the jibbers, but I concentrated on getting my ten runs in as quickly as possible with fast, tight slalom turns on the granular snow.

Castleford to Milton Keynes (150 miles, 2 hours 30 mins + 45 mins charging)

This was the longest and hardest drive of the day. By the time I left Castleford, I’d already been up seven hours, driving and skiing my way around the UK, and was flagging, so I decided to break up the journey by taking two charging stops.

That meant I arrived at Snozone Milton Keynes around 6pm, after most of the day’s skiers had already left. Sasha on the ski desk kitted me out swiftly and I was out onto the slope within minutes of arriving.

I have to admit that by this stage, all the centres were beginning to blur into one, but I dutifully ticked off my ten runs, before handing back my skis to Sasha and heading off to my final slope.

Milton Keynes to Hemel Hempstead (30 miles, 1 hour 15 mins)

Despite being the shortest distance between centres, this was my worst segment for traffic. I’d hit rush hour and crawled through congestion into Hemel, so what a joy it was to be met by Marcus and his team.

The Snow Centre was quiet, the lifts felt quick and the snow was good. Even though it was the last centre at the end of a long day, I was enjoying skiing the 160m slope.

I managed to resist the temptation to keep on skiing (!) and stuck to my ten runs, before grabbing a cup of tea for a final caffeine boost for the journey home.

Hemel Hempstead to Brighton (90 miles, 2 hours)

It was already 8pm by the time I left Hemel, which meant that I missed ‘rush hour’ and the journey back was uneventful.

I arrived home just after 10pm, ready to drop, having driven a lap of the country – interrupted by bouts of skiing – in a single day.

A small disclaimer…

The Numbers

Driving time                  12 hours 10 minutes
Distance Covered         610 miles
Skiing time                    1 hour 45 minutes
Runs completed            50
Money Raised                £1600 (including Gift Aid)

I’d like to thank everyone who helped make the ’25 in 25 Snow Camp Challenge’ possible, including Dan Keeley (Snow Camp), Ian Brown (The Snow Centre/Chill Factore), Kyle Bell (Snozone) and Ryan Floyd (Tamworth Snowdome).

Especially I’d like to thank everyone who has sponsored me already. Your donations will help inner city young people to develop life skills and gain qualifications they might never have thought possible.

If you’d still like to sponsor me, you can do so on my JustGiving page.