Last summer, in a frantic bid to scrape together some extra cash to fund more lift passes, biere peches, and the grottiest air BnBs around, I worked in an ice factory in West London. My job consisted of standing in a freezer in as many jumpers as possible, chiselling the base of hundreds of ice glasses. The things one does for love (skiing, obviously…)

Against the almost deafening backdrop of the freezers’ cooling systems attempt to give me frostbite, I listened to 61 episodes. Mark, the host, repeatedly says that he started the podcast to be involved with skiing. The conversations with every skier under the sun drew me in and made me feel close to the skiers and mountains I dreamt about.

The conversations rarely approach anything remotely serious. And they aren’t a ‘deep dive’ into the technical abyss; for that, you have Blister. It’s the podcast equivalent of sitting on a chairlift with the skiers but with Mark as the intermediary. As the LPP’s most recent guest, J Rollins, said, it’s like you are ‘a part of the conversation’.

Given that our collective attention spans are increasingly diminutive, ski media has trended in the direction of 30-second social media clips. The truth is that an Instagram reel of someone skiing into the sunset set to the latest song of the moment gets more views than many ski movies. The wintery aesthetic or a moment of adrenaline-fuelled madness appeals to both skiers and non-skiers. This brings lots of eyes to skiing, even for a brief moment, and so it makes sense for skiers and sponsors. But however fun these short format videos are, they can’t do skiing the justice longer formats do.

This obviously is a slightly trite picture of ski media. You can still glean an insight into your skiing heroes and the ski culture they represent without turning to Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). Some skiers have more conversational or biographical short films, allowing their personalities and lives to shine. Tatum Monod’s Passage and Wiley Miler’s Connection to Gravity are some of my favourites of the genre. And ski magazines are littered with anecdotes and stories. But none of them have a good old-fashioned and unadulterated hour-long conversation.

Mark proudly starts with a blank list of questions, and so the conversation ebbs and flows naturally. You get everything from the personal and honest to a casual natter about anything and everything. But it always offers an insight into the general goings on of the ski industry that is hidden from us mere mortals who can’t do a double backflip (or even a 360).

So, if you ever find yourself in a glorified fridge in West London chiselling ice and feel like you need a bit of a skiing kick, have a listen. As their tagline goes, it really is THE podcast for skiers.

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