Thoughts on Snowsports

Iain Martin, The Ski Podcast

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday
Ideas / Tour Operators

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...
Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?  
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’),...
'Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines' - article in 'Ski+Board' magazine
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...
Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay
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...
'I'm a modern-day Batman' says anti-ESF campaigner
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...
Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?
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
YouGov reveals Snowboarders read the Financial Times and drive Audis
Ideas

YouGov reveals Snowboarders read the Financial Times and drive Audis

by iain on Dec 1, 2014 • No Comments
You may recently have read about the YouGov Profiler – launched at the Festival of Marketing last month. It is a database tool built from surveys of almost 200,000 people and shows you the habits, likes and characteristics of anyone who might like a certain person, brand or hobby. We took a look at the...
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy a ski holiday.
Iain

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a ski holiday.

by iain on Nov 28, 2014 • No Comments
If there was ever a single body for promoting the snowsports industry – an idea that gets discussed at every LISTEX – we think this would make a great ad…     Photo courtesy Erna Low
'Out with the old, in with the new': Ski Boot Fit at Profeet
Ideas

‘Out with the old, in with the new’: Ski Boot Fit at Profeet

by iain on Nov 17, 2014 • No Comments
I’ve known Profeet – either via Natives or Skipedia – since they were founded by Hamish Wolfenden in 2001. While I’ve tried out their Run Lab several times, it was only last month that I first experienced the ski boot fit service. I can’t believe I waited so long! Vintage 1997 ski boots I worked my lastski season...
New French/English 'Ski Instructor' Phrasebook
Ideas

New French/English ‘Ski Instructor’ Phrasebook

by iain on Nov 12, 2014 • No Comments
When we first read about the new ‘Passe-Partout’ English/French phrasebook for ski resort professionals, we did wonder if someone was having a cheeky joke. The last few seasons have seen two British/French legal actions, with Le Ski’s ‘ski hosting’ case and Simon Butler‘s still going through the appeal process. Time for an entente? So maybe...
The Alternative Snow Awards
Events / Ideas

The Alternative Snow Awards

by iain on Nov 5, 2014 • No Comments
Last week the London Ski and Snowboard Show was held at Earls Court. Normally we’d write up a ’23 Snippets from the Ski Show’ type of post, but in the wake of the World Snow Awards we thought we’d announce our own award winners, based on our observations last week. Biggest Newcomer to the Industry...
38 Soundbites from the LISTEX 2014 Ski Forum
Events / Ideas

38 Soundbites from the LISTEX 2014 Ski Forum

by iain on Oct 29, 2014 • No Comments
Skipedia attended this week’s London International Ski Trade Exchange forum, moderating and presenting at several sessions. There was such a huge amount covered over the two days, it’s impossible to do justice to it all, but here’s a taster of what was under discussion: Ski 2 The Moon There were 90,000 downloads of Skitracks last...

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The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. Please feel free to support or disagree with me in the comments section of each blog entry.