A Ski Legend Passes

eighth November 2025 | James Cove, PlanetSKI editor.

Say the title once more.

‘Minty Clinch’.

What fabulous title, and nobody would be the persona and ski author that she was.

A one-off character of the kind we’ll by no means see once more.

The announcement of her dying was easy.

Araminta (Minty Clinch) traveller, journalist, skier and croquet participant died on 4th November aged 83.

Beloved stepmother and grandmother mourned by household, mates in Uffington and all over the world.

And Alfred.

If ever such an announcement was an understatement this was it.

Alfred was her canine by the way in which, a bearded collie.

Minty was an utter power of nature.

Her final ski article got here from Verbier in Switzerland in a chunk for The Scotsman final winter as she regarded again on the expansion of the Swiss resort.

“In March 1965, my two tone Triumph Herald laboured up the 14 bends from the ground of the Val des Bagnes to Verbier, a newly trendy resort I’d by no means heard of.

“Tarmac had changed grime simply 16 years earlier, first to Vieux Verbier, a church surroundedby wood chalets and cow byres for winter use.

“Too early to launch their occupants onto Alpine pastures, however rustic odours evoked lengthy months of steamy imprisonment.

“Additional up, close to the embryo Place Centrale, a scattering of chalets unfold throughout the good shelf; from the outset, all buildings needed to be low and face in the direction of the Valais to take in the solar.

“I can not bear in mind how we secured one with three bedrooms for a handful of low cost francs – 12 to the pound again then – but it surely was ours and ours alone…”

Supreme copy –  phrases that you just simply wished to learn extra of, from an final wordsmith.

I first met Minty on a ski press journey to Canada a few years in the past.

“So, you’re James from PlanetSKI. What’s that and what do you do?” Minty enquired.

“I run a ski website online,” I replied.

As I sat there with my lap high open, punching out phrases and importing movies/footage of our day on the slope feeling burdened, she checked out me like I used to be one thing relatively disagreeable on her shoe.

“Ah, you’re a kind of folks on the web,” she noticed.

We ended up sitting up subsequent to one another within the non-public eating room on the 5* Lodge that was internet hosting us.

We locked horns, laughed and entertained one another like no-one I’ve met for the primary time.

Kindred spirits had met.

On the finish of the diner, the supervisor of the flowery lodge requested what we considered his lodge.

“The bathtub is a bit small and there may be an over-powering odor of air freshener in every single place,” Minty replied with out hesitation.

I took her cue after which gave my views on the very fact the lodge, charged for wifi that was of very poor connection and {that a} 5* lodge ought to supply fast and quick access to the web freed from cost.

It was circa 2010.

I identified to our host that Wifi was extra necessary than entry to a TV and that accommodations don’t cost for turning on faucets for water so they need to not, and won’t sooner or later, be charging for Wifi.

I had simply had a relatively irritating few hours making an attempt add materials and so each barrels have been fired.

“James, I don’t know about the way forward for the web and never a lot thought of what a ski website online is, however I do like your model,” Minty mentioned to me.

“By no means be beholden to those those that give us hospitality as a way to promote their product.”

“All the time stay unbiased, opinionated and inform it as it’s.

“I additionally like the way in which your journalist antennae all the time appear to be twitching for a narrative, relatively than the place the following free drink is coming from, although that is essential too.”

Minty was born in 1942.

She was a colonel’s daughter and attended a convent boarding faculty earlier than heading to school at Trinity School in Dublin.

Then she noticed the world.

“An extended profession in two halves, the primary watching movies at festivals around the clock and hanging out with stars on distant places, the second transferring randomly across the planet.

“Heaven throughout earth for any colonel’s daughter whose army zeal is tempered by Irish indolence,” she mentioned of her life.

“Who would have it another method?”

Minty wrote frequently about snowboarding for most of the nationwide newspapers – The Sunday Occasions, The Each day Mail, The Telegraph, The Monetary Occasions, plus different specialist publications.

She had a stroke final Tuesday and handed quietly away later that night.

“She was a legend of the very lengthy lunchtime, a power of nature and a superb wit,” mentioned my nice good friend Lynsey Devon from Heaven Publicity as we met up at a pub in London on Friday evening to boost a glass or two to Minty.

“Her feisty, indomitable spirit lit up each room — normally earlier than she even arrived,” mentioned Lynsey.

“She challenged us, charmed us, and made us roar with laughter, usually at exactly the flawed second.

“Her mischief, her depraved sense of humour made all of us really feel a part of the journey of life.

“She enriched our lives greater than she ever knew.

“The mountains, the champagne bars, karaoke bars in Japan and pole dancing in Alaska – all of us within the small world of UK snowsports now really feel her absence.

“She was, fairly merely, an unstoppable surprise.”

Minty got here to see Lynsey after she gave delivery to her son Fynn, some 20 years in the past.

“Look I don’t actually like youngsters, however the place’s the boy as I want to want him properly for what life has in retailer.

“Then I’ve an appointment with a glass with some bubbles in it.

“Good luck.”

Minty was an achieved golfer, and I performed together with her on a number of events together with on the RAC with two different legends of the snowports world, her life-long good friend Neil English from the Each day Mail and the legend that’s Roger Ainger from Vail Resorts.

Minty had decreased her swing to a half again swing and each drive went straight down the center.

Not far, 150 yards, however all the time on the golf green.

Un-Minty to be so predictable but it surely labored.

I additionally endured a number of cheese fondues together with her within the mountains on varied press journeys.

She hated cheese fondues.

“Look it’s little bit of melted cheese on some stale bread that it’s important to prepare dinner your self, why these resorts make such a fuss about them is completely ridiculous.”

“Worse of all this one is in an igloo at 2,000m with no air circulating on the finish of the season so the general odour is relatively disagreeable.”

I final noticed Minty at a ski dinner in London.

“James, how beautiful to see you. How is that stunning spouse of yours?”

“You’re a very fortunate man, and I think the great appears to be like of your youngsters are right down to her.

“And, how about that golf swing of yours?

“You’ve got one of the crucial relaxed golf swings of anybody I do know and though you aren’t one of the best of golfers you’re most gratifying to play a spherical with.”

“We should play once more, and shortly.

“Do you play croquet by any probability?”

It was a major transfer on from being considered one thing relatively disagreeable on her shoe.

We are going to by no means see her like once more and the following cheese fondue I’ve in a smelly igloo someplace within the mountains I’ll increase a glass of white wine or two to the legend that’s, and all the time can be, Minty Clinch.

RIP my expensive good friend.

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