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,...

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Events / Ideas

UTMB Sustainability interview for The Green Runners

by iain on Sep 24, 2025 • No Comments

In August 2025, Iain interviewed Fabrice Perren, Sustainability Director for UTMB, in Chamonix to discuss the various initiatives that the company is bringing in to reduce their carbon footprint. Iain’s interview is now live on ‘The Green Runners’ website – the fantastic UK lobbying group that is bringing together environmentally-conscious runners and helping make running...

Iain

Flight Free article: Train travel from the UK to Greece

by iain on Sep 23, 2025 • No Comments

Having taken the Flight Free Challenge for a second year in 2025, last summer Iain travelled from the UK by Greece by train and ferry. He has written an article on the journey, including itinerary and costs for the lobbying group Flight Free UK.

Events

Tom Evans Interview: 2025 UTMB Winner “I’m doing this for my family”

by iain on Sep 19, 2025 • No Comments

In August 2025, Asics athlete Tom Evans became the first Briton to win the UTMB trail running race since Lizzy Hawker in 2012 (and the first male winner since Jez Bragg in 2010). Evans finished in 19:18:58, more than 30 minutes ahead of Ben Dhiman from the USA in second place. Iain Martin from The...

Ideas

Will AI make ski photographers redundant? [2025 Update]

by iain on Sep 17, 2025 • 2 Comments

AI has come a long way in the last two years. Back in May 2023, I took a light-hearted look at AI’s ability to create images. But how much has AI improved since then? The answer is shockingly far. Let’s have a look at the vastly different results that the same prompts generated… The terrifying...

Iain

Flight Free article for The Green Runners

by iain on Aug 17, 2025 • No Comments

I am really pleased to be able to share my story of travelling flight free to Spain earlier this year on The Green Runners website. ‘The Green Runners’ is a fantastic organisation, lobbying to improve sustainability in the world of running. I have been a member for several years, since I read co-founder Damien Hall’s...

Marketing / podcast

Intersport Discount Code 2025/26

by iain on Jul 15, 2025 • No Comments

Use the Intersport discount code ‘SKIPODCAST’ to save on ski hire in France, Austria and Switzerland.

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