78: Mountaineering & Mountain Biking, National Snow Show plus Faction Skis interview

In Episode 78, we discuss the new National Snow Show coming up next month, summer activities in the mountains like e-biking, mountaineering and trail running, plus we talk to Tony McWilliam, founder of Faction Skis.

Iain was joined by Stephen Morgan, MD at Raccoon Events, and mountaineer Olivia Jane, with contributions from Alyn Morgan at SkiKitInfo and Katie Crowe from Battleface Travel Insurance.

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SHOW NOTES

Steve skied in Glencoe. Listen to our interview with Andy Meldrum, owner of Glencoe, in Episode 75

There is now no quarantine for British arrivals into Italy

Austria, Norway, Switzerland and Canada have all been added to the ‘Green List’

But Austria are applying a 270 day limit on their double vaccination rules for travellers 

The cost of tests remains an issue, as Battleface have identified in their previous research

 Iain used the Britanny Ferries discount for Randox tests

 Helen Coffey’s article in The Independent about ‘Trav-min’ is spot on

 We interviewed James Wilcox from Untamed Borders in our Special Episode about 'skiing in Afghanistan' 

Find out more about their campaign to support local guides here

The National Snow Show is on at the NEC on 23-24 October

Listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Benjamin Alexander – Jamaican Alpine Skier

The mystery speaker turned out to be Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards. Listen to our Ski Podcast Special interview with Eddie here. 

We spoke to Mount Noire in Episode 61 of The Ski Podcast

You can buy tickets to the National Snow Show here

You can watch The Ski Podcast Live at the show at midday on Sunday 24 October

Iain will be joined by Podcast regular Mike Richards as well as Simon Burgess, who told us about his experience skiing in the Lake District in Episode 73

2021 is the 150th anniversary of Lucy Walker’s first female ascent of the Matterhorn

Olivia Jane is part of the Mammut team

Iain reported from Zermatt in Episode 76 

 https://www.instagram.com/p/CSW0BAIjQjI/ 

Listen to Iain’s interview with Martin Anthamatten in Episode 77

Iain took part in the Eiger Trail 51 race in Grindelwald, Switzerland

Read Iain’s article ‘Five Tips for Fast Packing the Tour du Mont Blanc’

The UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc) is a 171km race with 10050m of climbing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyvVhgPp4p0

Read Iain’s race report from the UTMB here

Listen to Iain’s interview with Claire Burnet from the Chamonix Tourist Office in Episode 73

The ‘Village Vacances Grandeur Nature’ offer in Chamonix meant visitors could enjoy free activities in July and August

Jim went surfing at Alaia Bay and reported on that in Episode 76 and tried VTT in Crans Montana

Iain spoke to Faction Skis founder Tony McWilliam about the early years of the company. You can listen to the full interview in our Ski Podcast Special

Listen to our Ski Podcast Special with Jim Adlington

Verbier holds an ebike Festival every year

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQEGEx8D3J3/ 

We're still waiting to get hold of Faction's new range, but Alyn Morgan (previously on the show in Episode 71) reviews the Faction Dictator 3.0 freeride here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6-nqtJb9Y0

REVIEWS

I'd like to thank everyone who bought me a coffee since our last podcast, it's very kind of you. Also thanks to these guys for their feedback and reviews:

Tom Brownlee: “Keeping me going during this ski-less time!"

Matt Hayes: "fantastic pods as ever"

Andrew Brannan: “Two episodes to keep me going during August - Cheers for that!”

Peter S: "An excellent discussion about the prospects for ski holidays this winter and a good report from Switzerland. Must listen to more of your podcasts now. Keep up the excellent work"

Roddy MacDonald: "Enjoy the podcast, keeping the faith for the upcoming season both abroad and here in Scotland"

Jon White: "I am enjoying your chats with everyone from ‘back in the day’ when I was in the industry"

I really do appreciate reading all feedback about the show, so please do email me [email protected] and if you can give us a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform you listen on, then that would be great, as it helps other people find us.

And if you do enjoy listening to The Ski Podcast, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast and all cuppas are much appreciated.

We also have a few stickers left, so if you'd like some for your skis, board, helmet or phone, please drop us an email or contact us via social with your postal address.

COMING UP

As we get nearer the season, we are going to be finding out more about equipment and all the changes and developments for the coming season. We'll keep our eye on the travel rules and the snow forecast.

Please do email [email protected] if you've got any questions or suggestions for items you'd like to listen to on the show.