209: Les 2 Alpes, Trysil in Norway & Vans For Bands

We discuss Les 2 Alpes in France, Trysil in Norway and find out more about a great new way of travelling to the snow on your ski holiday. Iain was joined by freelance journalist, Rebecca Miles and Tarrant Anderson, founder of Vans For Bands. Intersport Ski Hire Discount Code Save money on your ski hire by using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ at intersportrent.com, or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout.  SHOW NOTES David George joined me to discuss the impact of climate change on ski resorts in Episode 206 (3:30) Simon Burgess was in Flaine (3:45) Steve Angus reported from Val d'Isère (4:45) Alex Irwin from 150 Days of Winter reported from Courchevel (6:20) Iain took part in the X3 Triathlon in Courchevel in 2022 (7:00) It was the warmest start to April ever in France, hitting 29C in Grenoble & 27C in Albertville (8:15) This winter was already the third warmest winter in France (8:30) Lobbying is underway for a direct Train from London to GVA (8:45) Take a look at this year’s ski April Fools in this Skipedia blog post (9:15) Vail Resorts themed April Fools including Disney buying Vail Resorts &  Vail buys Alterra(12:30) Les 2 Alpes is a great trip for older teens looking for apres-ski! (13:30) Highly recommended is the Umbrella Bar (14:00) Anthony Guzman is Sales & Marketing Director at Les 2 Alpes lift company AEON (14:15) SATA has rebranded as AEON (15:15) You can find out more about the new Jandri 3S lift here (17:00) Iain drove to Les 2 Alpes in a 9-seater luxury splitter minivans from Vans For Bands (23:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tYRSizJYAE Vans For Bands was founded in 2006 (23:15) The VFB coaches are like ‘hotels on wheels’ (26:30) Listen to Iain’s interview with Bode Miller (27:00) There is SO MUCH storage space (31:00) Vans cost from £145pd to rent, including insurance, breakdown cover & snow chains You can drive a splitter van on a regular driving licence (33:15) Read Bec’s article about Trysil in The Telegraph (34:30) Becs flew into Scandinavian Mountain Airport (35:30) Find out more about Trysil ski resort (39:00) Have a look at the piste map for Trysil (40:30) Is Salen the closest ski resort to an airport? (42:15) Find out more about train travel to ski resorts at Ski Flight Free (46:00) Becs booked group train travel with Eurostar and SNCF at a good discount (46:45) Feedback (43:30) I enjoy all feedback about the show, I like to know what you think, especially about our features so please contact on social @theskipodcast or by email [email protected] Adam Fisher: "Really enjoy listening to the podcast, you're doing a great job. It helps me out with a bit of research. I'll just let you know that I am your English but Mexican listener as I spend a bit of time over there" Michael Hart: "Enjoyed listening to The Ski Podcast as usual. I appreciate the work you do both on sustainability, but mindful of the difficulties that skiers in the north/Scotland have with train travel. I have taken the decision to offset my carbon to mitigate air travel, but the lack of economically viable train option from Manchester and similar areas remains a problem." Andy Aitkenhead: "I found the recent episode on Andermatt and Vail Resorts of interest - I was in Andermatt just before the deal was announced. I'm heading to Engelberg in just over a week. I'm currently wrestling over travel - given my concerns around climate change. Currently my calculations are that it will be cheaper to fly. I wondered whether you have any tips for reducing the cost over the Eurostar and SNCF published prices. Keep up the good work with the podcast." If you like the podcast, there are three things you can do to help:   1) Review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 2) Subscribe 3) Book your ski hire with Intersport Rent using the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied at the checkout   You can follow Iain @skipedia and the podcast @theskipodcast