About

Who is behind Ski Parrainage?

I am. My name is Hugo, I live in the UK, have skied in Verbier for a number of years, and have benefited from the Ambassador Offer previously.

Why did you build Ski Parrainage?

Whilst the application process for the Ambassador Offer is simple enough (if you can find the form), finding someone to pair with is not. The recommended method is to hang out in the Verbier Community Facebook group and ask around as the season approaches. This becomes very chaotic as the season approaches.

The alternative is to pay someone to find you a match — typically a rental agency, as they know who is booked for the season. I believe the going price is CHF 50 (10% of a CHF 500 saving, so not outrageous).

I lost out last year when multiple potential Facebook pairings fell through at the last minute, and I promised myself then that I would fix the problem for the 26/27 season.

Who pays for Ski Parrainage?

I do. I am currently not working, and I wanted to test some AI models' coding abilities — this was a good testbed. It has cost me a few hundred GBP/CHF/EUR to build it, host it, buy the domain name, and so on.

How do you make money?

This is not a commercial project, and I am not intending to make money out of it, so it is coming out of my own bank account. That said, if I can cover my costs and pay for my own pass this year, I would consider that a great success.

I will be introducing voluntary donations (tips) if anyone is feeling generous, and I may introduce a charge for latecomers — so if you are registering close to the season start date, there may be something to pay.

What next for Ski Parrainage?

At the end of the matching process I will take a look at the data to see if there is anything to learn from it, then I will delete the data and put the website back in the cupboard until next year.

What is your relationship to Téléverbier?

I sit on their chairlifts. I have no affiliation with Téléverbier, and they know nothing about this site.

Do you have any other skiing-related projects?

Thanks for asking. If you only use the lifts to get to the backcountry, then my other project, snowdesk.info, may be of interest. At the moment it is just an avalanche bulletin aggregator, but it has a better map than WhiteRisk, and all the same information. More updates coming soon — and suggestions welcome.