8 Takeaways from the 2024 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism
Last month, alpine tourism specialist Laurent Vanat, released his 16th annual International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism. We look at 8 takeaways from the report. Full access is limited to crowdfunding supporters or copies can be purchased online. Winter 2022/23 was a ‘very average’ season Total skier numbers for the 2022/23 winter season were 372m...
Mathieu Blanchard interview for Ultrarunner Magazine
Iain recently interviewed the world-class trail runner Mathieu Blanchard for Ultrarunner Magazine. You can find out in this exclusive interview why he has chosen Les 2 Alpes as his training base, the reasoning behind his focus on ski touring this winter and exactly what went on in his epic battle with Kilian Jornet during the...
FIS racers’ secret meeting to change calendar
According to skiracing.com, ski racers recently met secretly in Kvitfjell, Norway to discuss a plan of action to force FIS to make changes to the existing race calendar. Top of the agenda was an end to the demanding double race weekends and replacing the twice-cancelled ‘Speed Opening’ downhill races that Zermatt and Cervinia may be...
Les 2 Alpes Snow Marathon article on Ultrarunner Magazine
In January 2024, Iain went to Les 2 Alpes in the southern French Alps to take part in Les Lumières de la Muzelle – a trail marathon completely on snow. You can now read his report on the race at UltrarunnerMagazine.co.uk Iain also reported on the race in Episode 198 of The Ski Podcast
What does your ski pass money get spent on?
Have you ever wondered where the money from your increasingly expensive lift pass goes? French ski resort Alpe d’Huez have answered that question by publishing a full breakdown of how they spend the income from lift pass sales. The price of a day pass in Alpe d’Huez is €62. That scales down to just over...
Fire at Chamonix swimming pool
Yesterday afternoon (09 January 2024) a huge fire broke out at the Richard Bozon swimming pool in Chamonix at around 17:30 CET. Around 50 swimmers were quickly evacuated and there were no injuries. A friend of ours was in the changing rooms with her children at the time: “It was a very narrow escape. We...