204: Vail Resorts' Acquisition of Andermatt & Crans Montana, plus Geilo in Norway

In Episode 204, we discuss Vail Resorts - the company that owns over 40 ski destinations, including both Andermatt and Crans Montana in Switzerland. We look at their Epic Pass and their future expansion strategy in Europe. We also find out about skiing in Geilo, Norway.  Iain was joined by Katie Bamber, Online Editor at Fall Line Magazine and Mike Goar, MD of the Andermatt-Sedrun ski area. 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 Andermatt has had 80cm of new snow in the last week (3:30) Dave Burrows from Snow Pros Ski School reported from Villars in Switzerland (4:00) Tim from Inspired Italy reported from the Dolomites in Italy (5:15) Al Judge from AliKats Mountain Holidays reported from Morzine in France (6:45) Charlotte Bankes won gold at the Sierra Nevada Snowboard Cross World Cup (9:00) Laurie Taylor recorded a career PB of 8th at Aspen (9:15) Listen to Iain’s interviews with Laurie and Dave after their race in Chamonix in Episode 200 (9:30) The audio in our Scotland Special was like Scotland itself, not always perfect, but worth it! (9:45) Mike Goar is MD at Andermatt Sedrun He has worked for Vail Resorts for 40 years (10:30) ‘Vail Resorts’ was formed in 1997 (11:15) The Epic Pass launched in 2008 (12:15) Vail Resorts went international with the addition of Perisher and then Whistler in 2016 (16:30) The first European resort to join the Vail Resorts group was Andermatt (17:30) Iain reported from Andermatt in Episode 92 (19:45) In 2023, it was announced that Crans Montana would be joining the next acquisition (22:15) What changes can we expect to see in the Swiss resorts? (25:15) Will Verbier be the next acquisition? (27:45) Vail Resorts hit their goal of 100% renewable electricity for the 2nd year in a row (29:00) Episode 201 was a Norway Special (31:00) Katie was in Geilo in Norway (31:15) Geilo is known for its apres-ski reputation (34:45) Night skiing in Geilo (36:30) The Ski Podcast was recently no.1 in the Apple Podcast chart (42:45) Feedback (40:30) Kostas Doudoulakis: "Thank you for the inspiring content. I first started listening to the podcast during lockdown. We’re now ready to take our first skiing holiday with our 4-year-old and I partly attribute this to the enthusiasm you manage to convey with each episode of the podcast. It is brilliant listening to someone who has such passion - please keep up the good work!" Grant (Apple Podcasts): “Love this podcast! It covers a wide range of ski subjects in lots of detail! It’s a must listen! Keep up the good work.” Anon (Apple Podcasts): “I am a listener from the United States, and I follow several ski-oriented podcasts. I enjoy The Ski Podcast due to its wide geographic areas of focus, and I'm fascinated to hear the perspective of the primarily British and European hosts. Having had an opportunity to ski in Switzerland, I greatly enjoy and celebrate the differences in the ski culture there versus what I have grown up with here in the United States, just as I enjoy the wide range of topics covered by 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