The Ski Podcast

In the third in our series of ‘Chamonix Stories’, we meet Emil Wittrup Præstbrogaard, founder of the Oak App. Oak was launched in 2024 to bring together the mountain community, including skiers, climbers, trail runners, mountaineers and more. SHOW NOTESWhat is Oak? (2:00) Like ‘Tinder for the Mountains’ (3:15) Emil’s background (4:00) Why Emil started the Oak app (7:00) Going live in December 2023 (9:00) Features within the app (10:30) Making booking guides easier (11:00) The LinkedIn for mountain people (12:30) Why ‘Oak’? (13:30)FEEDBACKIf you enjoyed this episode, or if you have any comments, please let me know. You can do that by leaving a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com. We’re also on WhatsApp. Nicky Webber: "I really enjoyed listening to Episode 313. Your love of Chamonix is evident."Erin Flynn: "Episode 314 was a great listen! Loved testing Zag skis at the ski test!" Judy Swens:“I’m spending part of my time off this July in Chamonix and loved your podcast episode about it.”There are now 316 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with at www.theskipodcast.com – have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something of interest to listen to.If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to support the podcast, then you are very welcome to buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast

We preview Dave Ryding’s last Olympics in the Men’s Slalom, including an interview with Laurie Taylor, plus look ahead to the Mixed Snowboard Cross with Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes.Host Iain Martin was joined by ex-Olympian and Team GB Skier X athlete Emily Sarsfield for our latest Winter Olympics Special Episode. SHOW NOTESWomen’s Snowboard Cross (2:45)The Mixed Snowboard Cross is on Sunday 15 Feb (4:45)Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes spoke with Iain (5:00)Kirsty Muir takes part in the Women's Ski Big Air: qualifiers on Sat, final on Mon (8:30)Mia Brookes is back for the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle: qualifers on Mon, final on Tue (8:45)According to the BBC, a lot of people are finding the drone sound annoying (9:15) Laurie Taylor interview (11:30) Dave Ryding’s chances (15:30) The Ski Podcast sponsors the Carrick Smith brothers Zak & Luca’s Slalom predictions (17:00)FeedbackYou can contact us via Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com. You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast. And, if you’re booking ski hire this winter, don’t forget that if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com you’ll get an extra discount. Take this link for your discount to be automatically applied]

We discuss Mia Brookes ballsy attempt at winning a medal in the Snowboard Big Air, whether Lindsey Vonn is in denial and look at Charlotte Bankes’ chances of winning a medal in the Snowboard Cross. Host Iain Martin was joined by ex-Olympian and Team GB Skier X athlete Emily Sarsfield for our latest Winter Olympics Special Episode. SHOW NOTESIain skied today in Isola 2000 (1:00)Mia Brookes finished in 4th in the Snowboard Big Air, attempting a backside 1620 (2:15)Listen to Iain’s interview with Ed Leigh in #296 to understand the language behind freestyle tricks (2:20)Mia Brookes: “It’s not like it’s a trick that I could do. I’ve only ever done it on the airbag and the last time I tried it was five months ago. So that was the first time I’ve ever tried it on snow. I think everyone will be just as stoked about me trying a 16 than me getting a medal.” Lindsey Vonn has a complex tibia fracture requiring multiple surgeries (4:00)“My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever” (4:00)Makayla Guerke Schofield finished in 18th in the Women’s Moguls qualification (6:15)Watch the TNT documentary ‘She Who Dares’ (6:45)Charlotte Bankes competes in the Women’s Snowboard Cross on Friday (8:30)Interview with Charlotte Bankes (10:00) FeedbackIf you’ve enjoyed this episode – or even if you didn’t like it – I would love to know. You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com If you’d like to help the podcast, there are three things you can do: - you can follow us, or subscribe, so you never miss an episode - And, if you’re booking ski hire this winter, don’t forget that you can get an additional discount if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied

BBC’s Ed Leigh explains the terms used to describe freestyle tricks, as well as how the judges come up with their scores, in the third of our Winter Olympics special episodes.With Kirsty Muir competing in the final of the Women’s Ski Slopestyle tomorrow (Mon 09 Feb) and Mia Brookes taking part in the Women’s Snowboard Big Air qualifying today (Sun 08 Feb) and, hopefully, the final tomorrow, there’s no better time to get up to date with all the key terms.SHOW NOTESDirection of spin (1:30)Axis of Rotation (2:15)Number of rotations (3:00)Type of grab (5:00)The scoring system in slopestyle (8:45)PAVED = Progression, Amplitude, Variety, Execution, Difficulty (9:15) Listen to our previous Winter Olympic special episodes, including our downhill preview with Graham Bell and exclusive interview with Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards. If you enjoyed this episode and want to help the podcast, don’t forget that if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book your ski hire at intersportrent.com you’ll save yourself some money. Simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied.

We find out about Sauze d’Oulx and the Via Lattea ski area in Italy, as well as the resort of Pra Loup in the southern French Alps.We also get excited about the Olympics, hearing Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards’ thoughts on Lindsey Vonn – and go ‘Down Under’ to look at Australia chances of bringing home a record medal haul. Plus we have your feedback and our regular snow reports from around the mountains.Iain was joined in the studio by James and Sinead from SauzeOnline and by Mike ‘The Snow’ Richards.---------Tirol in Austria sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we’re are finding out more about some of the great destinations in Tirol, and how you can connect with the Austrian way of life: ‘Lebensgefühl’ – that you’ll find there.---------SHOW NOTES Mike was in Crans Montana for the World Cup racing (3:45) Lindsey Vonn crashed in the Downhill and ruptured her ACL (5:00)Claire Harrison reports from the Aosta Valley (6:30) Alex Armand from Tip Top Ski Coaching is in Les 2 Alpes (7:45) Jim Duncombe is in La Clusaz (8:30) Betony Garner reported from Livigno, where she is working for Team GB (10:20) The first of our Special Olympics episodes was released on Wednesday (11:00) Former Team GB Skier X athlete Emily Sarsfield will be joining Iain for those episodes (11:30) Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards on Lindsey Vonn (13:00) Rachael Oakes-Ash is THE expert on skiing in Australia and New Zealand and is Livigno reporting for snowsbest.com (14:45) Australian team chances (15:00) Watch ‘Pipe Dream’ – Scotty James’ story (17:30) Indra Brown (19:15) James and Sinead run SauzeOnline (24:00) Visit the official ‘Via Lattea’ website (25:30) The ski area has 400km of pistes (26:30) Sauze d’Oulx used to have a reputation as a party destination (29:00) A UK company now owns lift systems in the Vialattea and Bardonecchia (27:15) Who is the area suitable for? (30:30) Gastronomy in Via Lattea…and low prices! (32:00) Mike visited Pra Loup in December 2025 (34:00) The Pra Loup ski area has 180km of pistes (37:30) Ski touring tracks in Pra Loup (38:00) The Mercantour National Park (41:30) Pra Loup is a ‘dark sky reserve’ (42:00) Wolves are in the logo and in the park (43:00) Find out about the proposed new slope in Merthyr Tydfil (44:00)FeedbackYou can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.Xomorph: “Enjoying the pod, but could you do an episode on what to do when you are bored with all the pistes in your area... I can ski all the slopes in my local resorts and now I don't know how to keep on having fun” Ian Brown: "Avid listener of the podcast. I just finished the Serfaus episode this morning, it’s an area on our list that we’d like to explore for sure"If you’d like to get some insight on a particular destination or the latest kit, just go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find interesting to listen to. if you’d like to help the podcast, there are three things you can do: - you can follow us, or subscribe, so you never miss an episode - you can give us a review on Apple Podcasts or leave a comment on Spotify - And, if you’re booking ski hire this winter, don’t forget that you can get an additional discount if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied.

Today we find out about La Tzoumaz in Switzerland and Jasna in Slovakia, plus we preview the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics including interviews with Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsports and Zak, Luca and Freddy Carrick Smith. We also have our regular snow reports and share our downloadable schedule for all the skiing and snowboarding events at Milan-Cortina.Iain was joined in the studio by Irish ski journalist, Catherine Murphy and Slovakia resident, Richard Patey.---------Tirol in Austria sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we’re are finding out more about some of the great destinations in Tirol, and how you can connect with the Austrian way of life: ‘Lebensgefühl’ – that you’ll find there.---------SHOW NOTESDave Burrows from Snowpros Ski School reported from Morgins (3:45) James Cove from planetski.eu reports from Revelstoke and Kicking Horse in Canada (5:00) Guy Beatson has been in Furano in Japan (6:00) The Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics start on 06 February (7:30) Download the skiing and snowboarding schedule (8:00) Team GB athletes picked up a stunning five medals at the X Games in Aspen (8:45) Listen to Iain’s interview with Kirsty Muir (9:15) Listen to Iain’s interview with Zoe Atkin (9:15) Mia Brookes spoke to Iain in Episode 188 (9:15) Vicky Gosling is CEO of GB Snowsport (9:30) Watch the documentary ‘She Who Dares’ on Discovery+ (16:00) Watch the Carrick-Smith documentary ‘Beyond the Gate’ on Amazon Prime or YouTube (20:30) Catherine shared her knowledge of Innsbruck in Episode 257 (21:00) Find out more about La Tzoumaz in Switzerland (21:15) The name comes from Valaisan dialect (21:45) How to get there (22:15) Catherine stayed at the Hotel Papillon (27:45)We featured Slovakia on the podcast once before, back in Episode 243 covering ‘Going East’ (29:00) Where is Slovakia? (29:30) Read Richard’s blog post about the transformation going on in the High Tatras (31:00) ‘Slovakia is entering its “Austria-in-the-90s” phase’ Jasna is the biggest resort (33:30) Richard (and the ‘Going East’ crew’ skied at Stary Smokovec (35:00) The GoPass covers all resorts as well as other benefits (36:30)Tatranska Lomnica and Štrbské Pleso are also in Slovakia Follow Richard on InstagramFeedbackIf you’ve enjoyed this episode – or even if you didn’t like it – I would love to know. You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast. David Flynn: “I’m an Irish/French listener, love the podcast. It's become a stable diet in my household and are a life-saver for the walks with the dogs on the beach” Gavin Marsden: “I love each and every episode.” Andrew Wilson: "I am a regular listener. I only took up skiing at the age of 50, 4 years ago and love it." Andrew Brannan: “Iain, your podcast is excellent. Thank you for going to the trouble and not just reading out the latest press releases from Crystal.” There are now 292 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with and 149 of those were listened to in the last week. If you’d like to get some insight on a particular destination or the latest kit, just go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find interesting to listen to. If you’d like to help the podcast, there are three things you can do: - you can follow us, or subscribe, so you never miss an episode - you can give us a review on Apple Podcasts or leave a comment on Spotify - And, if you’re booking ski hire this winter, don’t forget that you can get an additional discount if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied