The Ski Podcast

Today is a special interview with Kirsty Muir – the World Cup winning British slopestyle and Big Air freestyle skier.Host Iain Martin spoke with Kirsty about her comeback from ACL and shoulder surgery to her first World Cup win last winter. We also discuss her journey from a dry ski slope in Aberdeen to becoming Britain’s youngest competitor at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 and look forward to the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. This episode is the latest in a series of interviews with high-achieving women in the world of snowsports. Previous episodes in this series have included interviews with Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsport, BBC Ski Sunday’s Chemmy Alcott, Kit DesLauriers – first person to ski the Seven Summits - as well as fellow Team GB freestyle skier Zoe Atkin.SHOW NOTESListen to Iain’s previous interview with Kirsty in Episode 174 (2:00) Kirsty was on the show in Episode 242 after her slopestyle win in Tignes (2:30) Kirsty tore her ACL in Dec 2023 at the Big Air at Copper Mountain (3:15) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9yJucQDxfUQ Coming back from injury (5:45) Using the Red Bull recovery centres (8:15) The psychological side of recovery (10:30) Training again after coming back from injury (12:30) Kirsty was Britain's youngest competitor at Beijing Olympics  at just 17 (14:30) Starting skiing at Aberdeen Snowsports Centre (14:45) Discovering freestyle skiing (15:30) Being mentor to Sandra Caune – winner of the Big Air at THE European Youth Olympics (16:45) Competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics (18:00) Taking part at Milano-Cortina (19:15) The coaching team (20:15) Learning new tricks (22:15) Training in the gym (23:30) Listen to Iain’s interview with Reece Bell (25:00) Plans for this season (26:00) Do you keep your high-value tricks hidden? (26:30) FeedbackYou can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to [email protected] You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast. There are now 289 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, then go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find plenty more 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 save money on your ski hire with an additional discount by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com. Simply take this link in the show notes for your discount to be automatically applied.

Today we find out more about the Arlberg ski area in Tirol, Austria – focussing on St Anton and Lech – plus we look at the rise of the ‘Slow Skiing’ movement.  Austria for sponsoring The Ski Podcast and making this winter’s episodes possible.  If this is your first time listening, you’ve already missed out on some great conversations about Tirol.  Host Iain Martin was joined in the studio by Nicole Feliciano, founder of Ski Moms. ---------  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 Nicole skied at Catamount in New England (2:00) Tim Hudson from Inspired Italy reported from the Dolomites, Italy (5:15) Jen Tsang from That’s La Plagne reported from La Plagne (6:45) Floss Cockle, aka FreeFloFloss on YouTube, reported from Tignes (8:30) Next week’s episode will be an interview with GB freestyle skier Kirsty Muir (10:15) Iain revealed in Episode 269 that he broke his scapula while skiing in St Anton (10:45) Find out more about the museum in St Anton (11:45) Yannick Rumler works for the St Anton Tourist Office Hannes Schneider founded the first ski school in the world (14:30) Find out about St Anton’s annual race ‘The Weisse Rausche’ (16:15) Gerhard Eichhorn is Sustainability Officer at the St. Anton Tourism Board (17:30) Iain travelled to St Anton by train (18:30) Lech is actually in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, but both resorts are part of the huge Arlberg ski area (21:30) Iain stayed in the family run Hotel Stafeli (22:15) The Stafeli is part of the ChangeMaker network of hotels Julia Fenneberg is from the Lech-Zurs tourist office (23:00) The annual ‘White Ring’ race (24:30) Discover the amazing Lech Skyspace (26:30) Iain spoke with Angelika Kaufmann about avalanche blasting (28:00)~ Iain tried Kaiserschmarn at the Sennhutte in St Anton (34:00) He also has a superb Gröstl at the magnificent Verwallestube at the top of the Galzigbahn (34:30) In Episode 225 Nicole shared the results of your ‘Ski Moms Happiness Survey’(36:30) Earlier this year Nicole founded the ‘Slow Skiers Club’ (36:45) Nicole’s Instagram post launching the club went viral (38:30) Why does slow skiing matter? (39:00) Nicole conducted a survey to find out more (43:00) Listen to Episode 229  Kimberley Kay & Carol Porter discuss ‘The Fear Project’ (46:00) Nicole spoke to Chemmy Alcott on her SkiMoms podcast The First Rule of Slow Skiers Club (49:00) Feedback If 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 [email protected]  You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast. Judy Matthews: “Thank you for all your wonderful work, been really enjoying your pod.” Colin: “267 was another great episode: I’ve been considering a trip to Sauze and Livigno was already on my wish list” Chris Weer: “Thanks for the podcast. Wishing you a speedy recovery!” There are now 288 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up. 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 is a special episode covering the latest snow conditions in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and in Canada, plus we reveal the results and the lucky winner from our 2025 Listener Survey. --------- 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 View results of our 2025 Listener Survey (1:00) James Fletcher was the winner of the prize draw (1:45) Zoe Atkin won the half pipe at Copper Mountain in the States (2:00) Jasmin Taylor took her first telemark win of the season in Pinzolo Lindsey Vonn became the oldest skier – at 41 years old - to win a World Cup race, in the Downhill in St Moritz (2:!5) I have picked up my own injury (2:30) Andy Butterworth from Kaluma Travel is in St Anton (3:50) Listen to Iain’s interview with James Cove in Episode 261 (5:40) James Cove from planetski.eu is spending this winter in Canada  (5:50) James & Sinead from Sauze Online are in Via Lattea (8:!5) Tim Hudson from Inspired Italy is in the Dolomites (9:20) James Webb was in Selva Val Gardena (11:15) Dave Burrows from SnoPros Ski School was in Les Crosets (13:20) Al Judge from Alikats chalet company is in Morzine (14:40) Jim Duncombe is in La Clusaz (15:45) Betony Garner reported from St Gervais (17:20) Jen Tsang from That’s La Plagne is in La Plagne (19:10) Alex Irwin from the YouTube channel ‘150 Days of Winter’ is in Courchevel (20:40) Nicholas from Freeride Republic is in Meribel (21:20) Alex Armand from Tip Top Ski Coaching reports from Les 2 Alpes (23:00) Mike Richards was out in Pra Loup (23:30) Feedback If 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 [email protected]  Matt Hayes: "Episode 267 was great. I appreciate all the work that goes into these."  You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.  There is so much in our back catalogue if you would 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

This is a special interview with Kit DesLauriers – the person to ski the Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the planet’s seven continents. I read Kit’s book ‘Higher Love’ in the summer of 2025 and was blown away by her bravery, courage, determination and, quite frankly, by her incredible organisation. During our conversation Kit covers her background in skiing as a former Freeride World Tour champion, as well as explaining the logistical, physical and physiological challenges she faced while tackling the Seven Summits. This episode is the latest in a series of interviews with high-achieving women in the world of snowsports. Previous episodes in this series have included interviews with Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsport, BBC Ski Sunday’s Chemmy Alcott and founder of YSE Ski Fiona Easdale, as well as the Team GB freestyle skiers Zoe Atkin and Kirsty Muir. SHOW NOTES Read Kit’s book: ‘Higher Love: Climbing and Skiing the Seven Summits’ Kit learned cross country skiing first (7:00) Skiing in Verbier (9:00) Chamonix and Alagna (13:00) Kit worked on the ski patrol at Telluride (14:00) Moving to Jackson Hole (16:15) Joining the World Freeski Tour (17:30) Being sponsored by The North Face (19:00) Dick Bass gifting his book (21:00) Mt Elbrus (27:00) Listen to Iain’s interview with Dan Egan (28:00) Vinson Massif, Antarctica (29:00) Using neoprene over boots (30:00) Aconcagua (31:00) Mount Kilimanjaro (35:00) Was Everest always going to be last? (38:00) ‘Complete autonomy’ contract with Dave Hahn (40:30) Buddhist blessings (44:00) A call from Megan Carney (47:30) Jimmy Chin (52:00) Skiing from the summit of Everest (53:00) Skiing the Lhotse Face (54:00) Becoming a parent (58:00) The Brooks Range of Alaska (59:00) Feedback You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to [email protected] You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.  Take part in our 2025 Listener Survey and you could win £400 worth of prizes. There are now 286 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, then go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find plenty more 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 save money on your ski hire with an additional discount by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com. Simply take this link in the show notes for your discount to be automatically applied. 

In this episode, we find out more about Livigno, the host resort for the freestyle events for the 2026 Winter Olympics, plus we make our recommendations for the best ski gloves and ski socks for this winter.  We also have snow reports from across the Alps plus the early results from our 2025 Listener Survey. Iain was joined in the studio by Betony Garner and Al Morgan.  ---------  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 Betony was last on the show in Episode 256 discussing ski touring in Tromso (1:00) Listen to our episodes on the Best Skis, Ski Boots, Helmets and Goggles for this winter (2:00) Dave Burrows from Snowpros Ski School reported from Pila, Italy (5:15) Alex Armand from Tip Top Snow Coaching is in Les 2 Alpes, France (6:20) James and Sinead Hanson from Sauzeonline are in the Via Lattea / Milky Way ski region in Italy (6:50) Complete our 2025 Listener Survey and you could win £400 of prizes (8:00) ‘The Secret Ski Seasonaire’ is a good stocking filler for anyone who worked in Chamonix, Tignes or Alpe d’Huez in the 2000s (9:00) Mia Brookes took first place in the Snowboard Big Air in China (9:15) Txema Mazet-Brown was 7th in the men’s Snowboard Big Air - a career best (9:30) Betony will be working for Team GB in Livigno during the Winter Olympics (10:15) Find out more about which events are taking place in which resort (11:45) Find out about Livigno (14:00) Aquagrande leisure centre in Livigno (14:45) Team GB best chance of medals (16:15) Listen to Iain’s interview with Vicky Gosling (18:00) What to look for when buying ski gloves (19:00) For more technical info, listen to our 2024 episode on gloves (22:15) Glove v. mitten v. lobster claw (22:30) THE BEST SKI GLOVES | WINTER 2026 Kombi Tactical Gore-Tex Leather Glove, £180 (23:45) Level Iris Glove, £110 (26:00) Dare2b Indicator Index Waterproof Gloves (3-Finger), £70 (but currently on sale at £35) (27:30) THE BEST SKI SOCKS | WINTER 2026 Sidas Ski Protect V2, £40 (29:30) Darn Tough Edge Over-the-Calf Midweight, £37 (31:30) Stance Jimmy Chin Ultralight Ski Socks, £27 (33:15) Find out more about heated gloves and socks in last year’s ‘Best Ski Socks’ episode (35:00) Feedback (36:45) If 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 [email protected]  You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.  Henry Smith: “Thank you for your dedication to bringing us the pod every week, it’s much appreciated. As a resident in the Canary Islands, we normally ski in Andorra or the Northern Spanish resorts.” Judy Mathews: “Thank you for this wonderful podcast! Absolutely love it and hope to get to meet you one day on or off the slopes.” Rachel Maffeis: "I loved the interview with Krishan in Episode 266. I enjoyed his approach is to creating ski experiences in Gulmarg, rooted in a sense of place. That mixture of extreme altitude...but not yet hugely developed makes it sound intriguing." Colin Tierney: “I enjoyed Episode 264. It was great to hear Al again.”  There are now 285 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. 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