French Ski Resort mayors call for state to support train travel
More than one hundred mayors of French ski resorts have called for the French state to support train travel. Earlier this month, following the annual meeting of the Association Nationale des Maires des Stations de Montagne (ANMSM) at La Clusaz, the organisation issued a statement for help in adapting to the rapidly changing mountain environment....
Why I’m taking the Flight Free Challenge in 2024
Since I founded Ski Flight Free four years ago, I have substantially cut down on my flights, but I haven’t managed to stop flying completely. Admittedly one flight was rolled over from lockdown and another was to visit my elderly mum in Australia, but in 2024 I am committing to the ‘Flight Free Challenge’ –...
Case Study: Taking the train from the UK to Arinsal, Andorra
Tom Thorp recently contacted us after listening to Iain talking about train travel on The Ski Podcast: “I’ve been enjoying your podcast, thank you for all your work creating interesting episodes and insights.” Tom is a ski instructor, working both in the UK and regularly in the European mountains. He specifically wanted to share his...
Cauterets / Crans Montana / Eurostar / Les Arcs / Orelle / Serre Chevalier / Ski Flight Free / SNCF / Soll / Train Travel / Zermatt
‘The Best Ski Resorts to travel to by train’
Iain – founder of Ski Flight Free – was recently commissioned by ‘The Independent’ to put together a summary of the best ski resorts to travel to by train. The eight resorts that made the short list were: Les Arcs (Find out about the Travelski Express here) Crans Montana Serre Chevalier (Read about their night...
More Travelski services…from Paris
Lovers of train travel will no doubt already be aware of the Travelski Express direct service from London St Pancras to the French Tarentaise. You can find all the details of this service elsewhere on Ski Flight Free, including Iain’s review of the inaugural service in January 2022. However, it recently came to our attention...
“Dude, where’s my flying car?”
With new announcements about ‘electric planes’ regularly appearing in the press, I found this article by Andrew Orlowski in The Telegraph interesting. He points out that despite the many new prototypes for e-VTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) models, there are precious few in production. Orlowski writes: “Jet fuel has 70 times the energy density of...
British Skiers Planning to Travel by Train up 50%
At Ski Flight Free our whole remit is to encourage British skiers to choose to travel by train to the Alps or in a (fully-laden) car instead of flying. Yet it was with mixed feelings that we read the news that the number of skiers planning to fly has plummeted. Skiers planning to fly down...
Train Travel to the Alps: Tips and Advice
As well as founding Ski Flight Free, Iain also presents The Ski Podcast. In September 2023, Iain discussed new train travel options with Krissie Roe from Inghams: In September 2020, Iain was joined by Daniel Elkan from Snowcarbon and Anna Hughes from Flight Free UK in a Facebook Live event to discuss train travel to the Alps....
Ski Flight Free coverage in ‘The Telegraph’
Iain Martin, founder of Ski Flight Free, had this article published in The Telegraph this week, promoting driving to the Alps, rather than flying. This article is behind the Telegraph paywall, but you can download a Word doc version by taking this link. While our preference would always be to travel by train, if...
[Video] #SkiGreen presentations at #CEweekLDN
Iain Martin from Ski Flight Free was delighted to take part in the #SkiGreen Webinar at Circular Economy Week London last week. The session was attended by over 70 people interested to find out more about sustainability in the world of skiing and snowsports. The webinar started with five short presentations by the attendees: Sally...
Free #SkiGreen Webinar at Circular Economy Week London, 05 June
The ski industry has at last woken up to the sport’s environmental impact. So how do you #SkiGreen next season? From the clothes you wear, the way you travel and how you maintain your kit, to the changes being made by resorts you can make a difference. Iain Martin from Ski Flight Free will be...
Ski Sunday advises skiers & snowboarders to ‘Ski Flight Free’
We were delighted to see Ed Leigh and Graham Bell extolling the virtues of taking the train rather than flying to ski resorts on the BBC’s Ski Sunday. As Ed Leigh says: “If you’re serious about reducing your carbon footprint, then look at how you get from your house to the mountain. That traditionally accounts...