Since I founded Ski Flight Free in 2019, I have cut down on my flights considerably in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint. Flight Free in 2024 and 2025 For the last two years, I have gone slightly further committed to the ‘Flight Free Challenge’ – created by Anna...
In June 2025, Eurostar confirmed that they would be running the ‘Eurostar Snow Train’ again for the forthcoming 2025/26 winter season. This is great news, plus there are some key changes to this year’s service that will make the journey more attractive for many travellers. What dates will the Eurostar...
In 2022, I looked at the carbon footprint of a ski holiday, based on some research by French ski resorts. The original research attempted to detail the carbon cost of a day’s skiing, and the differences your choices can make to the final figure. I’ve now updated these figures, to...
The options for train travel to the Alps this winter are outlined here: THE EUROSTAR SKI TRAIN (via Lille) Eurostar have confirmed that their snow train, reintroduced last winter will continue for 2025/26 with more departures, plus an option to return on the following Saturday (six days’ skiing), as well...
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...
Make sure you pick up a copy of this month’s ‘Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Magazine’ encouraging skiers to #SkiFlightFree. You can find Iain’s opinion piece on the existential threat to ski resorts on page 20: Find out more at www.skiflightfree.org
Climate change represents an existential threat to human life on the planet. The evidence for this has been widely published, but you don’t have to take my word for it. This is what Britain’s most trusted man has to say on the subject: An existential threat to the ski industry...
According to Météo France, winter 2023/24 was the third warmest in the French Alps since records began in 1900. This included a very mild February and March and was before the record warm start to April, which saw temperatures of 29°C in Grenoble and 27°C in Albertville and Bourg-Saint-Maurice on 06 April 2024. Third warmest...
The Norwegian Ski Federation has lobbied FIS in an attempt to introduce a new, more sustainable calendar for the 2024/25 season. Billed under the slogan ‘Change The Course’ and developed in association with KPMG, the concept is to make the Ski World Cup more sustainable by changing the racing calendar completely. Start of season in...
Although Ski Flight Free is a resource for skiers, I thought I’d share my experience of travelling by train to Nice last summer. I’m hugely aware of the carbon cost of air travel and have significantly cut down on the number of flights I take in the last few years (and have pledged not to...
In March 2024, Iain from The Ski Podcast travelled by train from the UK to Verbier in Switzerland. Because of the seamless integration at the final stop, Le Chable, before going up to Verbier, this is one of the easiest ski resorts to travel to by train. Brighton-London-Paris I live in Brighton, so it was...
Compagnie des Alpes is the owner of 10 of the largest ski resorts in France, including Les Arcs, La Plagne, Tignes and Serre Chevalier – and are serious about commitment to sustainability. In 2021, they launched their Net Zero target of 2030. They took a significant step towards this when they converted their entire fleet...
Phil Skone contacted Ski Flight Free to share his experience of travelling to Saalback in Austria by train earlier this year in January 2024. UK-Brussels-Cologne-Munich Starting in Kenworth, we travelled to King’s Cross, then Eurostar to Brussels and Brussels to Cologne. We had time for a meal and tour of the area near the station....
If you’ve ever wondered how to take the train from the Austrian Alps to the UK via Amsterdam on the way back from a ski trip, then Neil Guthrie – co-creator of the excellent map ‘The Alps – Skiing by Train‘ kindly put together this report for Ski Flight Free. —– The new best entry...
According to a new survey by Booking.com, over half (53%) of travellers look for accommodation that blends comfort with innovative sustainability features. According to the survey, people ‘crave the serenity of nature indoors’, with 65% seeking out green spaces and plants in their stays. ‘Authenticity’ – a word we’ve been seeing more and more –...
Iain from The Ski Podcast and Ski Flight Free travelled on the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Edinburgh in February 2024. This is super simple journey compared to travelling to the Alps, as evidently there is no changing trains in Paris after the initial Eurostar leg of the journey. London to Edinburgh I only travelled...
A huge cavern has formed in the upper part of the Glacier des Bossons in Chamonix. So large that it’s visible from the centre of Chamonix, the cave appeared last month in the upper part of the Bossons glacier. A old pocket of water or large crevasse? Located not far from the Grands Mulets refuge,...
In February 2024, Iain Martin, presenter of The Ski Podcast and founder of Ski Flight Free, travelled from London to Chamonix by train. “Chamonix is one of my favourite resorts and I’ve travelled there by train several times. It’s not quite as convenient as some resorts, as it typically requires two changes after Paris. However, the...
Earlier this week the transfer company Cool Bus shared these great photos of eight vehicles simultaneously charging at their Bourg St Maurice base. It’s been seven years since the company bought their first electric vehicles. We have previously reported about the upgrades to their fleet. A lot of work to get to this point Founder...
