Skipedia

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday

by iain on Sep 25, 2023 • 8 Comments

Looking through a recent survey from Le Ski, I was struck by one stat in particular. While it was encouraging to read that the number of UK skiers and snowboarders is predicted to grow by 14% in winter 2023/24, the fact that only 13% stay in catered chalets highlighted how...

Ideas

Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?

by iain on May 11, 2023 • No Comments

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing fast. A few years ago, it was just the name of one of Steven Spielberg’s less good movies, but in 2023 AI has moved from the world of ‘futurologists’ into the mainstream. The chances are that even if you haven’t tried ChatGPT (or Google’s ‘Bard’),...

Iain / Ideas / Tour Operators

‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines’ – article in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine

by iain on Mar 8, 2023 • 3 Comments

Iain’s article ‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines‘ has now been published in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine. It’s also now available as a special episode of The Ski Podcast My first experience of working in the ski industry came 35 years ago when I went to Chatel...

Iain / Resorts

Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay

by iain on Feb 8, 2019 • No Comments

Iain from Skipedia recently went ski touring in Morocco. Flying into Marrakech, and then travelling to Imlil (1740m), Iain then spent three nights at the Refuge des Mouflons (3207m), ski touring to different 4000m peaks. Ski hire was from Braemar Mountain Sports, guiding and logistics were organised by Toubkal Guide. You...

Resorts / Tour Operators

‘I’m a modern-day Batman’ says anti-ESF campaigner

by iain on Nov 2, 2014 • No Comments

These are difficult days for the ESF in the UK. The current legal cases against Simon Butler and Le Ski have stirred up plenty of negative sentiment within the British market against the ESF. Both cases – which deal with different aspects of the law – are currently at different...

Tour Operators

Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?

by iain on Aug 13, 2011 • 2 Comments

Okay, not strictly anything to do with marketing, but just for fun… So why do chalet girls bake a cake every day? As far as I know chalets have always left out a cake for their guests to tuck into for ‘afternoon tea’. After a long day on the slopes,...

Latest entries

Resorts

Saulire Cable Car in Courchevel will re-open in December 2024

by iain on Jul 9, 2024 • No Comments

Les 3 Vallées has confirmed that the Saulire cable car will open again in December 2024. You can find out more in Episode 216 of The Ski Podcast: Damaged in pre-season testing Readers may be aware that during a standard pre-season check on the 120-capacity cable car in September 2021, both cabins were damaged as they...

Branding / Ideas

Exclusive: Planks Clothing for sale prior to appointment of liquidator

by iain on Jun 11, 2024 • No Comments

We are extremely disappointed to confirm that Planks Clothing – the British snowsports brand – is currently seeking a buyer prior to the appointment of a liquidator. Planks Clothing assets and IP for sale Investors were advised by letter last month that the company had not been successful in their latest attempt to raise capital...

Events / Resorts

Exclusive: ‘The Brits’ to return to Mayrhofen, Austria in March 2025

by iain on Jun 10, 2024 • No Comments

British snowsports premier freestyle competition ‘The Brits’ will take place in Mayrhofen, Austria next winter. It will be the first time the event has taken place in the Alps since 2019, when Laax in Switzerland was the venue. Stu Brass, organiser of ‘The Brits’ confirmed the news in Episode 213 of The Ski Podcast: “It’s...

Social Media

Who are the top skiing and snowboarding influencers in the UK?

by iain on Jun 7, 2024 • 1 Comment

I doubt there’s anyone reading this blog who doesn’t spend time on social media every day. Depending on your age, you probably spend hours scrolling through TikTok, Instagram or Facebook. You might even be one of the remainers on Twitter, desperately hoping that Elon Musk doesn’t go completely bat-crazy. Maybe ‘the kids today’ spend too...

Resorts

When ski resorts go to war: Saint-Gervais and Megève dispute turns nasty

by iain on May 28, 2024 • No Comments

You know things are going badly between neighbours when both Hitler and Donald Trump are invoked to settle an argument. Yet the mayors of French ski resorts of Saint-Gervais and Megève are currently swapping insults at a rate that would shock even Jackie Weaver. New lift dispute The dispute arose over the construction of a...

Events / Ideas

10 Things We Learned from the latest Ski Club of Great Britain Consumer Report

by iain on May 14, 2024 • 4 Comments

Last week, we attended the annual LISTEX & SASTEX online event, organised by the Mountain Trade Network. The two-day event started with a presentation by James Gambrill, General Manager at the Ski Club of Great Britain. He revealed the results of the end-of-season consumer report. We take a look here at some of the main...

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