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 NOTES

What 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)
FEEDBACK

If 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

In the second in our series of ‘Chamonix Stories’, we meet Katy McInnes from the ‘Silent Sessions’ project in Chamonix. 
‘Silent Sessions’ is a unique experience that blends stunning natural locations in Chamonix with mindfulness and dancing.
SHOW NOTES

Katy is a ‘musician, dancer, restaurant owner and events planner turned yoga teacher’ (2:30)
She previously ran restaurants in Chamonix (4:00)
Mountains and Valleys Retreats (5:00)
What is Silent Sessions? (6:00)
Sourcing locations for Silent Sessions (7:15)
“A cross between a mindfulness session and a rave” (8:30)
Dance like no one’s watching (11:00)
Connecting with nature (11:45)
FEEDBACK

If 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. 
Louise Cotter: “Episode 312 was a fabulous listen."

Susie Burt: “Episode 312 was excellent. Rachael was so interesting and funny to listen to. Keep up the good work."

Jeremy Gibbon: “I absolutely LOVED your most recent episode on Chamonix. Thanks for all the time and effort that goes into putting together such an informative podcast. Can’t wait for the special interviews with different people from the valley.”

Jay: “Great podcast, all year long! Please keep it up”

There are now 315 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with at www.theskipodcast.com. If you’d like to keep winter in your mind through the northern summer, then just have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something of interest.
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

Episode 314 is the first in our series of Chamonix Stories, today featuring Zag Skis.
Iain spoke with head of marketing Alan Lemasson and head of R&D Bastien Saillard from the Chamonix-based freeride ski brand at their Argentiere 'Zag Lab' - where they make and test prototypes. 
We discuss the origins of Zag, the process of creating and testing new lines, sustainability and plans for the future. 
Zag has always been one of the most innovative ski brands, full of ideas and enthusiasm and I think that comes across in this interview.
SHOW NOTES

Alan Lemasson and Bastien Saillard from Zag Skis joined Iain for this interview (1:30)
Why Zag test at the 'Zag Lab' in Chamonix (2:00)
“Every ZAG model is smashed, thrashed, and put through the wringer” (3:00)
The lead time for new models (6:00)
Origins of the brand (7:00)
Were Zag the first skis with rockers? (8:00)
Winning the ISPO award (8:15)
Julien Lopez won the Freeride World Tour on Zag Skis in 2009 (8:45)
Topsheet designs (9:30)             
Planned growth markets (10:30)
‘ZAGreen’ sustainable construction (11:00)
AROC is a the ‘brother of the Mata’ (13:00)
FEEDBACK

If 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. 
Mandy Gourley: "Really interesting and packed with information! I definitely need to return to Chamonix as I’ve never seen the mural!"

David Spendlove: "Great episode. Very informative."

Millsy1976: “Loved the interviews with Tony McWilliam and Victoria Jamieson in Episode 309”

EmmaintheGlens: “I just spent 6.5 hours binging old episodes of the podcast on my way from Perthshire down to the Manchester Snow Centre. The Erna Low and Bladon Lines episodes were fascinating.”

There are over 300 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with – all available at theskipodcast.com. Just have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find something of interest.
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

Today we focus on one of the most famous resorts in the world – Chamonix Mont-Blanc. 
Host Iain Martin talks with Chamonix locals to get behind what makes this resort so special, from history to high mountain, glaciers to guides. 
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode, including Bernadette Tsuda, Brad Carlson, David Webster, Sam Haddad, Sasha Rayazantsev, Benoit Borrell, Sam Morton and Iona Halley, as well as Nathalie Tortora.
SHOW NOTES

Bernadette Tsuda is a heritage guide in Chamonix
William Windham and Richard Pococke ‘discover’ the Mer de Glace in 1741 (2:00)
The statue of de Saussure and Jaques Balmat (5:00)
The statue of Michel Paccard (7:40)
The mural at Place des Alpes (12:00)
Marie Paradis was the first woman to summit Mt Blanc in 1808 (12:30)
How to qualify as a mountain guide, with Brad Carlsson (17:30)
ENSA is the École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme (19:00)
How to become a member of the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix (21:30)
The ski areas (24:00)
The Aiguille du Midi (27:00)
Changes to the Vallee Blanche over the years, with David Webster (29:30)
Dangers of crevasses, with Sam Haddad (31:00)
The kit you need for glacier skiing, with Brad Carlsson (34:00)
The Haute Route is a hut-to-hut ski touring route from Chamonix-Zermatt (37:00)
The effects of climate change on the Vallee Blanche route (41:00)
Visit the Glacorium (41:15)
The impact of global warming on guides (41:45)
The new Grands Montets lift, with Benoit Borrell (46:00)
The Tour de Mont Blanc, with Sam Morton (49:30)
Sam runs the Adventure Running Company (50:00)
Changes in Chamonix from season workers to ‘daytrippers (51:00)
Iona Hally runs Mountain Massage (53:00)
Chambre Neuf and Elevation are both popular with locals (54:00
FEEDBACK

There are over 300 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with – all available at theskipodcast.com. Just have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find something of interest.
If 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.
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

As well as this special episode, The Ski Podcast is going to run a series of ‘Chamonix Stories’, which will feature extended versions of some of the conversations featured here, plus others that I wasn’t able to include here. 
Look out for the first of those – a chat with Chamonix-based brand Zag Skis - coming up next week.

Today’s special episode is an interview with Rachael Oakes-Ash – founder of the Southern Hemisphere’s leading snowsports website, Snowsbest.com. 
Rachael – aka Miss Snow It All – is also a best-selling author, publicist, documentary producer, social media guru and podcaster. 
In this interview, we speak about her experiences reporting from the Winter Olympics in Italy, raising $200,000 for Snow Aid Australia, her work to promote women in the snow industry and her journey from novice to ski expert. 
 
This episode is the latest in an ongoing series of interviews with high-achieving women in the world of snowsports. Previous episodes in this series have included conversations with Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsport, BBC Ski Sunday’s Chemmy Alcott, the first person to ski the seven summits, Kit DesLauriers, founder of YSE Ski, Fiona Easdale, as well as the Team GB freestyle skiers Zoe Atkin and Kirsty Muir. 
SHOW NOTES

Winter Olympics mention-itis (2:30)
Comparing Livigno with Pyeongchang in 2018 (4:30)
Empty slopes in Livigno (7:30)
Working alongside Team Australia (10:00)
Why were Australia so successful at the Winter Olympics? (14:00)
Working with Dame Edna Everage (17:00)
In 2000 Rachael wrote the book ‘Good Girls Do Swallow’ (19:00)
Rachael’s second book was ‘Anything she can do, I can do better (19:00)
Skiing with the prime minister of New Zealand (24:00)
Becoming Miss Snow It All (26:00)
Starting Snowsbest.com (26:45)
Running consumer webinars (30:00)
‘Women of Winter Snow Australia’ working group (30:30)
Advice for anyone wanting to get into ski journalism (32:30)
‘Snow Aid Australia’ (34:00)           
Selwyn Snowfield burnt down during the 2020 bushfires (34:30)
Snow Travel Expo (37:00)
The threat of climate change (38:30)
Thredbo and Coronet Peak have added ‘Snowfactory’ facilities (39:00)
Will ‘Snowtunnel’ open at some point? (41:30) 
Will Australia see a post-Olympics bump attendance (44:00)
Feedback
You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com. We’re also on WhatsApp.
Mike Greenland: “Listened for years. Always excellent.”

You are very welcome to buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast

We have over 300 episodes in our back catalog – all available at theskipodcast.com. Just have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find something of interest.