A Ski Legend Passes

eighth November 2025 | James Cove, PlanetSKI editor.

Say the identify once more.

‘Minty Clinch’.

What fabulous identify, and what a superb woman: no-one would be the persona and ski author that she was.

A one-off character of the sort we are going to by no means see once more.

The announcement of her demise was easy.

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

Beloved stepmother and grandmother mourned by household, pals in Uffington and around the globe.

And Alfred.

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

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

Minty was an utter pressure 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 nice shelf; from the outset, all buildings needed to be low and face in 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 simply simply needed 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 might be James from PlanetSKI. What’s that and what do you do?” Minty enquired.

“I run a ski web page,” I replied.

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

“Ah, you might be a type of folks on the web,” she noticed.

We ended up sitting up subsequent to one another within the personal 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 dinner, 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 all over the 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 provide fast and easy accessibility 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 inns 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 fairly irritating few hours attempting to add materials and so each barrels have been fired.

“James, I do not know about the way forward for the web and never a lot thought of what a ski web page is, however I do like your type,” Minty mentioned to me.

“By no means be beholden to those those who give us hospitality to be able to promote their product.”

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

“I additionally like the best way your journalist antennae all the time appear to be twitching for a narrative, fairly 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 college 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 areas, the second shifting randomly across the planet,” Minty mentioned of herself.

“Heaven throughout earth for any colonel’s daughter whose navy zeal is tempered by Irish indolence.

“Who would have it every other manner?”

“How arduous may it’s to jot down and ask questions, which I used to be skilled to do by a mom obsessive about social niceties.”

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

She had a stroke earlier and handed away quietly final Tuesday.

“She was a legend of the very lengthy lunchtime, a pressure of nature and an excellent wit,” mentioned my nice pal Lynsey Devon from Heaven Publicity as we met up at a pub in London on Friday night time 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 mistaken 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 on the planet of UK snowsports now really feel her absence.

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

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

“Look I don’t actually like newborns, however the place’s the boy as I wish to want him nicely for what life has in retailer and I sit up for assembly him once we can work together collectively correctly.

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

“Good luck.”

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

Minty had diminished her swing to a half back-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 couple of cheese fondues along 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 you must 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 fairly disagreeable.”

One of many final occasions I noticed Minty was at a choose ski dinner in London forward of final season.

Certainly one of her finest pals and supreme travelling companions, Leslie Woit from Canada, made up our trio at this  finish of the desk.

A choose UK ski business gathering. Picture c/o PlanetSKI.

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

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

“And, how about that golf swing of yours?

“You have got one of the vital relaxed golf swings of anybody I do know and though you aren’t the most effective of golfers you might be most pleasing 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 fairly disagreeable on her shoe.

We are going to by no means see the like of her 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 will likely be, Minty Clinch.

RIP my pal.

James and Minty enduring one other cheese fondue. Picture c/o PlanetSKI.

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