Podcasts about Aspen Skiing Company

On today's newscast: Contract negotiations between Aspen Skiing Company and the union that represents ski patrollers are set to start today; Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is entering the race for Attorney General; and federal forecasters are predicting a very active fire season in large swaths of the West. Tune in for these stories and more.

On today's newscast: Aspen Skiing Company has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $1.575 million; Roaring Fork Valley residents joined people nationwide yesterday in observing the National Day Without Immigrants; and Colorado lawmakers are pushing forward with a bill aimed at improving mental health coverage by insurance companies. Tune in for these stories and more.

On today's newscast: At Snowmass Ski Area, a petition sparked by frustrated locals challenges Aspen Skiing Company's decision to roll back chairlift openings to 9 a.m., cutting into cherished pre-work ski laps; from wildfire preparedness to immigrant protections, Colorado Rep. Elizabeth Velasco outlined her priorities for the legislative session in a virtual town hall; and the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied Utah's lawsuit seeking control of large swaths of public lands. Tune in to these stories and more.

Erin Sprague, CEO of Protect Our Winters (POW), joins Maddie Pellman, host of Who Runs This Park, Park Enthusiasts. POW is the outdoor movement driving climate action, fueled by the world's most influential athletes, artists, and brands. With Erin at the helm—an intelligent, passionate, and adventurous leader—POW is tackling the climate crisis through transformative policy solutions and grassroots advocacy.In this episode, we dive into the heart of POW and the remarkable journey of Erin herself. For Erin, national parks laid the foundation for her love of the outdoors—she even got married in Yosemite. Her career is a testament to bold pivots: from finance to the outdoor industry to climate advocacy, she has embraced a life of purpose and adventure. From completing a four-month bike race in Africa to being the youngest woman to run a marathon on every continent, Erin now pursues her goal of running a marathon in all 50 states.We geek out over Erin's experiences at Specialized and Aspen Skiing Company, including Aspen's legendary powder day policy. And as we unpack POW's work, Erin explains why imperfect advocacy is key to tackling the climate crisis, how the athlete ambassador model is driving impact, and why disrupting the status quo is POW's biggest challenge.This episode will leave you inspired to join the movement, better informed about the climate crisis, and ready to channel your love of the outdoors into meaningful action.You can follow Who Runs This Park on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, can email us at info@whorunsthispark.com or check us out online at whorunsthispark.com. Sign up for the Who Runs This Park's newsletter at linktr.ee/whorunsthispark. Who Runs This Park is produced by Maddie Pellman with music by Danielle Bees.

On today's newscast: Colorado Parks and Wildlife plans to send low-flying helicopters into Pitkin County to study elk; Snowmass Town Council unanimously approved Aspen Skiing Company's plans to demolish and rebuild an expanded Ullrhof restaurant; and more than a thousand water experts will descend on Las Vegas tomorrow for an annual conference on the Colorado River. Tune into these stories and more.

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Nov. 24. It dropped for free subscribers on Dec. 1. To receive future episodes as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:What There's a good reason that the Ikon Pass, despite considerable roster overlap and a more generous bucket of days, failed to kill Mountain Collective. It's not because Mountain Collective has established itself as a sort of bargain Ikon Junior, or because it's scored a few exclusive partners in Canada and the Western U.S. Rather, the Mountain Collective continues to exist because the member mountains like their little country club, and they're not about to let Alterra force a mass exodus. Not that Alterra has tried, necessarily (I frankly have no idea), but the company did pull its remaining mountains (Mammoth, Palisades, Sugarbush), out of the coalition in 2022. Mountain Collective survived that, just as it weathered the losses of Stowe and Whistler and Telluride (all to the Epic Pass) before it. As of 2024, six years after the introduction of the Ikon Pass that was supposed to kill it, the Mountain Collective, improbably, floats its largest roster ever.And dang, that roster. Monsters, all. Best case, you can go ski them. But the next best thing, for The Storm at least, is when these mountain leaders assemble for their annual meeting in New York City, which includes a night out with the media. Despite a bit of ambient noise, I set up in a corner of the bar and recorded a series of conversations with the leaders of some of the biggest, baddest mountains on the continent.Who* Stephen Kircher, President & CEO, Boyne Resorts* Dave Fields, President & General Manager, Snowbird, Utah* Brandon Ott, Marketing Director, Alta, Utah* Steve Paccagnan, President & CEO, Panorama, British Columbia* Geoff Buchheister, CEO, Aspen Skiing Company, Colorado* Pete Sonntag, VP & General Manager, Sun Valley, Idaho* Davy Ratchford, General Manager, Snowbasin, Utah* Aaron MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer, Sun Peaks, British Columbia* Geordie Gillett, GM, Grand Targhee, Wyoming* Bridget Legnavsky, President & CEO, Sugar Bowl, California* Marc-André Meunier, Executive Marketing Director, Bromont, Quebec* Pete Woods, President, Ski Big 3, Alberta* Kendra Scurfield, VP of Brand & Communications, Sunshine, Alberta* Norio Kambayashi, director and GM, Niseko Hanazono, Japan* James Coleman, Managing Partner, Mountain Capital Partners* Mary Kate Buckley, CEO, Jackson Hole, WyomingRecorded onOctober 29, 2024About Mountain CollectiveMountain Collective gives you two days each at some badass mountains. There is a ton of overlap with the Ikon Pass, which I note below, but Mountain Collective is cheaper has no blackout dates.What we talked aboutBOYNE RESORTSThe PortfolioBig SkySunday RiverSugarloafTopicsYes a second eight-pack comes to Big Sky and it's a monster; why Sunday River joined the Mountain Collective; Sugarloaf's massive West Mountain expansion; and could more Boyne Resorts join Mountain Collective?More Boyne ResortsSNOWBIRDStats: 3,240 vertical feet | 2,500 skiable acres | 500 inches average annual snowfallTopicsThe new Wilbere lift; why fixed-grip; why 600 inches of snow is better than 900 inches; and how Snowbird and Alta access differ on the Ikon versus the Mountain Collective passes.Wilbere's new alignmentMore SnowbirdALTAStats: 2,538 vertical feet | 2,614 skiable acres | 540 inches average annual snowfallTopicsNot 903 inches but still a hell of a lot; why Alta's aiming for 612 inches this season; and plotting Mountain Collective trips in LCC.PANORAMAStats: 4,265 vertical feet | 2,975 skiable acres | 204 inches average annual snowfallTopicsPanorama opens earlier than most skiers think, but not for the reasons they think; opening wall-to-wall last winter; Tantum Bowl Cats; and the impact of Mountain Collective and Ikon on Panorama.More PanoramaASPEN SKIING COMPANYStatsAspen MountainAspen HighlandsButtermilkSnowmassTopicsLast year's Heroes expansion; ongoing improvements to the new terrain for 2024-25; why Aspen finally removed The Couch; who Aspen donated that lift to, and why; why the new Coney lift at Snowmass loads farther down the mountain; “we intend to replace a lift a year probably for the next 10 years”; where the next lift could be; and using your two Mountain Collective days to ski four Aspen resorts.   On Maverick Mountain, MontanaDespite megapass high-tides swarming mountains throughout the West, there are still dozens of ski areas like Maverick Mountain, tucked into the backwoods, 2,020 vertical feet of nothing but you and a pair of sticks. Aspen's old Gent's Ridge quad will soon replace the top-to-bottom 1969 Riblet double chair that serves Maverick now:On the Snowmass masterplanAspen's plan is, according to Buchheister, install a lift per year for the next decade. Here are some of the improvements the company has in mind at Snowmass:On the Mountain Collective Pass starting at AspenChristian Knapp, who is now with Pacific Group Resorts, played a big part in developing the Mountain Collective via Aspen-Snowmass in 2012. He recounted that story on The Storm last year:More AspenSUN VALLEYStats* Bald Mountain: 3,400 vertical feet | 2,054 skiable acres | 200 inches average annual snowfall* Dollar Mountain: 628 vertical feetTopicsLast season's massive Challenger/Flying Squirrel lift updates; a Seattle Ridge lift update; World Cup Finals inbound; and Mountain Collective logistics between Bald and Dollar mountains.More Sun ValleySNOWBASINStats: 3,015 vertical feet | 3,000 skiable acres | 300 inches average annual snowfallTopicsThe Olympics return to Utah and Snowbasin; how Snowbasin's 2034 Olympic slate could differ from 2002; ski the downhill; how the DeMoisy six-pack changed the mountain; a lift upgrade for Becker; Porcupine on deck; and explaining the holdup on RFID.More SnowbasinSUN PEAKSStats: 2,894 vertical feet | 4,270 skiable acres | 237 inches average annual snowfallTopicsThe second-largest ski area in Canada; the new West Bowl quad; snow quality at the summit; and Ikon and Mountain Collective impact on the resort.The old versus new West Bowl liftsMore Sun PeaksGRAND TARGHEEStats: 2,270 vertical feet | 2,602 skiable acres | 500 inches average annual snowfallTopicsMaintaining that Targhee vibe in spite of change; the meaning of Mountain Collective; and combining your MC trip with other badass powder dumps.More Grand TargheeSUGAR BOWLStats: 1,500 vertical feet | 1,650 skiable acres | 500 inches average annual snowfallTopicsBig-time parks incoming; how those parks will differ from the ones at Boreal and Northstar; and reaction to Homewood closing.More Sugar BowlBROMONTStats: 1,175 vertical feet | 450 skiable acres | 210 inches average annual snowfallTopicsWhy this low-rise eastern bump was good enough for the Mountain Collective; grooming three times per day; the richness of Eastern Townships skiing; and where to stay for a Bromont trip.SKI BIG 3Stats* Banff Sunshine: 3,514 vertical feet | 3,358 skiable acres | 360 inches average annual snowfall* Lake Louise: 3,250 vertical feet | 4,200 skiable acres | 179 inches average annual snowfallSunshineLake LouiseTopicsThe new Super Angel Express sixer at Sunshine; the all-new Pipestone Express infill six-pack at Lake Louise; how Mountain Collective access is different from Ikon access at Lake Louise and Sunshine; why Norquay isn't part of Mountain Collective; and the long season at all three ski areas.SUNSHINEStats & map: see aboveTopicsSunshine's novel access route; why the mountain replaced Angel; the calculus behind installing a six-person chair; and growing up at Sunshine.NISEKO UNITEDStats: 3,438 vertical feet | 2,889 skiable acres | 590 inches average annual snowfallTopicsHow the various Niseko ski areas combine for one experience; so.much.snow; the best way to reach Niseko; car or no car?; getting your lift ticket; and where to stay.VALLE NEVADOStats: 2,658 vertical feet | 2,400 skiable acres | 240 inches average annual snowfallTopicsAn excellent winter in Chile; heli-skiing; buying the giant La Parva ski area, right next door; “our plan is to make it one of the biggest ski resorts in the world”; and why Mountain Capital Partners maintains its Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective partnerships even though the company has its own pass.More Valle/La Parva JACKSON HOLEStats: 4,139 vertical feet | 2,500 skiable acres | 459 inches average annual snowfallTopicsThe Sublette lift upgrade; why the new lift has fewer chairs; comparisons to the recent Thunder lift upgrade; venturing beyond the tram; and managing the skier experience in the Ikon/Mountain Collective era.More Jackson HoleWhat I got wrong* I said that Wilbere would be Snowbird's sixth quad. Wilbere will be Snowbird's seventh quad, and first fixed-grip quad.* I said Snowbird got “900-some inches” during the 2022-23 ski season. The final tally was 838 inches, according to Snowbird's website.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 79/100 in 2024, and number 579 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

BigTent was excited to welcome Erin Sprague, CEO of Protect our Winters (POW) and Abbey Smith, POW Team Captain and pro climber. In 2024, POW aims to mobilize its alliance members, including professional athletes, to encourage civic engagement and voter turnout in November's general election. The POW ‘Stoke the Vote' campaign will strategically conduct GOTV work nationally, and in targeted geographies, where it knows it can have an outsized impact by engaging the “Outdoor State.”Listen to POW's strategies and initiatives to get out the “outdoor” VOTE and how you can get involved in driving meaningful change.Donate to the Stoke the Vote campaign and have your donation matched! DONATE HEREABOUT OUR SPEAKERSErin Sprague is the CEO of Protect our Winters (POW), where she helps outdoor enthusiasts protect the places and experiences they love from climate change. Previously, Erin built world-class brands in the outdoor industry as the Chief Brand Officer at Aspen Skiing Company; VP of Marketing at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Sport; and Global Head of Women's Brand and Product at Specialized Bicycles. Most recently, Erin has worked with leaders from Google and Nest to help build climate tech start-ups tackling food waste and heat pump adoption. Erin started her career in finance and public affairs at The Blackstone Group, and graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard College. She also set a World Record as the Youngest Woman to Run a Marathon on all Seven Continents.Abbey Smith is the POW Climb Alliance Team Captain, professional climber, producer and storyteller born and raised in Colorado. For the last 25 years, she has dedicated her life to climbing, exploring uncharted territories, and sharing stories that offer new perspectives through writing, film, virtual reality, and live experiences. Her unrelenting drive for exploratory and big mountain bouldering has led her all over the world. She's established first ascents on five continents from the extreme altitudes of the Himalayas and Andes to remote islands in Thailand. Abbey currently lives in Los Angeles, California. She's an Explorers Club National Member, and sponsored by La Sportiva and Marmot.

In this week's episode of Forty Drinks, Stephanie talks with Erik DeRosa about his profound midlife transition and struggle with mental health. Erik grew up with severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, masking it under a facade for 25 years while pursuing a high-pressure career on Wall Street. At age 33, a dissociative episode forced him to confront his mental health issues and seek therapy. His life took a transformative turn when he discovered skiing, a passion that ultimately led him to leave his finance career and become a ski instructor in Colorado. Eric's story emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing mental health struggles, and how following one's passion can lead to a fulfilling and happier life. Guest Bio Erik DaRosa, known by friends as “Yoda,” is the Founder and CEO of From Survivor to Thriver, a mental health advocate, speaker, author and Co-host of the popular From Survivor to Thriver podcast. Through his work and his own lived experience, Erik is upending the front-end of the mental health space and building a bridge between those who seek resources and those who provide both help and hope. Each week on his podcast, he tackles different mental health topics through honest and relatable "kitchen table" conversations with real people who are helping to shatter mental health stigmas and find their voices. He aims to normalize discussions around mental health topics and remind his audience they are not alone, there is strength in community and "it's perfectly ok to not always be ok."In 2011, Erik traded in a successful career as a NYC finance executive when he moved to Colorado with his wife and two cats. Erik spent twelve winters as a ski instructor for the Aspen Skiing Company before retiring in the Spring of 2023.Born and raised in New England, Erik earned his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and his BA in Economics from Brandeis University. He lives in Colorado with his wife Amy and two cats, Lincoln and Taylor.Turning 40 and Changing the Things that Muck with Your Mental HealthThis week, Stephanie sits down with Erik DaRosa, a former Wall Street banker who found solace and a new beginning in the snowy mountains of Colorado. Erik shares his compelling story of battling severe anxiety and OCD from a young age, and how a midlife pivot at 40 led him to a transformative journey in skiing and mental health advocacy. Join us as Erik opens up about the challenges he faced, the revelations in therapy, and how skiing became not just a hobby but a lifeline.Highlights of the Episode:Erik's early struggles with severe anxiety and OCD, and how these challenges were masked during his youth and early professional life.The pivotal moment at age 33 when a dissociative episode during a drive forced Erik to seek help and begin confronting his mental health issues.How a therapist's unusual suggestion to try skiing led Erik to discover a passion that was transformative, both mentally and physically.Erik's transition from a high-pressure finance career in New York to becoming a ski instructor in Snowmass, Colorado, embracing a healthier lifestyle and community.The launch of Erik's mental health podcast, "From Survivor to Thriver," and his upcoming program, U-MOST (Unlocking Minds on Snow Together), which combines skiing with mental health healing practices.Today's episode is a profound look at how midlife can be a turning point for profound personal transformation. Erik's journey from the trading floors of Wall Street to the ski slopes of Colorado is not just about changing careers; it's about discovering and embracing a new way of life that prioritizes mental health, passion, and community. His upcoming U-MOST program is set to offer others the therapeutic benefits of skiing, showing that it's never too late to find your true calling and heal.If you enjoyed this...

On today's newscast: Grand Valley High School offered Latine students a serape to wear for graduation, Pitkin County and the White River National Forest are expanding some of their agreements on watershed health to studying beavers, Aspen Skiing Company is nearing a settlement agreement with a restaurant employee over a lawsuit he filed last year, and more.

In this episode, we speak with Founder & CEO, Erik DaRosa.  Erik known by friends as “Yoda,” is the Founder and CEO of From Survivor to Thriver, a mental health advocate, speaker, author and Co-host of the popular From Survivor to Thriver podcast. Through his work and his own lived experience, Erik is upending the front end of the mental health space and building a bridge between those who seek resources and those who provide both help and hope. Each week on his podcast, he tackles different mental health topics through honest and relatable "kitchen table" conversations with real people who are helping to shatter mental health stigmas and find their voices. He aims to normalize discussions around mental health topics and remind his audience they are not alone, there is strength in community and "it's perfectly ok to not always be ok." In 2011, Erik traded in a successful career as a NYC finance executive when he moved to Colorado with his wife and two cats. Erik spent twelve winters as a ski instructor for the Aspen Skiing Company before retiring in the Spring of 2023. Born and raised in New England, Erik earned his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and his BA in Economics from Brandeis University. He lives in Colorado with his wife Amy and two cats, Lincoln and Taylor. In this episode, we discuss: 1) Erik's story, what it means to move from Survivor to Thriver, how he hid his story from everyone and what it was like to be able to learn how to share it and feel the release of the hold of his story on his life. 2) Erik shared his equilateral triangle of healing and how it needs all 3 components of Western and Eastern medicine and the component of nature and if one of the ends of the triangle collapses it all crashes. Connect with Erik Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skisherpa Website: https://fromsurvivortothriver.com Email: skisherpa@gmail.com Marsha Vanwynsberghe — Storytelling NLP Trainer, Speaker, Publisher & Author, 2xs Podcaster Marsha is the 6-time Bestselling Author of “When She Stopped Asking Why”.  She shares her lessons as a parent who dealt with teen substance abuse that tore her family unit apart. Marsha has been published 7xs, most recently with her co-platform, Every Body Holds A Story, and she is on a mission to continue to help women and men to speak, share, and publish their stories.  Through her tools, OUTSPOKEN NLP certification, programs, coaching, and podcast, Marsha teaches the power of Radical Responsibility and Owning Your Choices in your own life.  She empowers people how to heal and own their stories, be conscious leaders, and build platform businesses that create massive impact.  

Auden Schendler is a decades-long corporate sustainability veteran and climate leader with Aspen Skiing Company. He shares what's worked, what hasn't, and why truly effective climate action in business comes from wielding power and influence to drive systemic change. Read Aspen One's 2024 sustainability report called “25 Years of Questions”: https://www.aspensnowmass.com/discover/sustainability Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's newscast: The Aspen Skiing Company is taking a London-based clothing line to court, Roaring Fork Schools is implementing new initiatives to raise awareness and increase enforcement for drug use, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association is hoping to use its 2023 data to improve its strategies next year, and more.

Having customers send your Senator a million postcards, building a methane-capture energy plant, funding an outdoor sustainability movement: these are not the typical actions of a big tourism business. But Aspen Skiing Company isn't exactly typical. Auden Schendler, Senior VP of Sustainability, tells us about the company's journey to adopting sustainable values and business practices, along with examples of what positive change looks like as a collective and as individuals.Presented by Destination Think and sponsored by Aspen Chamber Resort Association. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erik is on a mission to help create a world where we can all speak openly about our mental health journeys. He founded the “From Survivor to Thriver” podcast in order to spark this change. Erik is also a ski instructor for the Aspen Skiing Company and the lead mountain bike coach for Sacred Cycle, a Colorado based nonprofit whose mission is to empower survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault through therapy and cycling. In this episode, we discuss:Impact of Therapy/Speaking Your TruthMoving in the Present MomentOpen Ended QuestionsFind Eric's podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ki6AuWRD57kEVcSuFVwQK?si=f56926528d234dca

To support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. The discounted annual rate is back through March 13, 2023.WhoChristian Knapp, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Pacific Group ResortsRecorded onFebruary 27, 2023About Pacific Group ResortsPacific Group Resorts (PGRI) owns and/or operates six North American ski areas:While they don't have a single unified pass like Vail Resorts or Mountain Capital Partners, PGRI's ski areas do offer reciprocity for their passholders, largely through their Mission: Affordable product. Here are the 2022-23 exchanges – the company has not yet released 2023-24 passes:Why I interviewed himThere are more than a dozen companies that own three or more ski areas in North America. The National Ski Areas Association itemizes most of them* here. Everyone knows Vail and Aspen, whether they ski or not. The next tier is a little more insider, but not much: Alterra, Boyne, Powdr. These are the ski companies with national footprints and Ikon Pass headliner resorts. If skiers haven't heard of these companies, they're familiar with Mammoth and Big Sky and Snowbird. Everything else on the list is regionally dense: Invision Capital's three California ski areas (Mountain High, Dodge Ridge, China Peak); Wisconsin Resorts six Midwestern bumps (Alpine Valley, Pine Knob, Mt. Holly, and Bittersweet in Michigan; Alpine Valley in Wisconsin; and Searchmont in Ontario); the State of New York's Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface. Some – like Midwest Family Ski Resorts' trio of gigantors – align with Indy Pass, while others stand alone, with a pass just for their mountains, like Mountain Capital Partners' Power Pass.PGRI doesn't fit any of these templates. The company has a national footprint, with properties stretching from coastal BC to New Hampshire, but no national pass presence (at least before the company inherited Jay Peak's Indy Pass membership). Its properties' season passes sort of work together but sort of don't. It's all a little strange: a small ski area operator, based in Park City, whose nearest ski area is more than a 400-mile drive away, on the edge of Colorado's Grand Mesa. PGRI is built like a regional operator, but its ski areas are scattered across the continent, including in improbable-seeming locales such as Maryland and Virginia.Despite the constant facile reminders that American Skiing Company and SKI failed, small conglomerates such as PGRI are likely the future of skiing. Owning multiple resorts in multiple regions is the best kind of weather insurance. Scale builds appeal both for national pass coalitions and for banks, who often control the cash register. A larger company can build a talent pipeline to shift people around and advance their careers, which often improves retention, creating, in turn, a better ski experience. Or so the theories go. Independence will always have advantages, and consolidation its pitfalls, but the grouping together of ski resorts is not going away. So let's talk to one of the companies actively growing on its own terms, in its own way, and setting a new template for what corporate skiing balanced with local control can look like.*Missing from the NSAA's list is the Schmitz Brothers trio of Wisconsin ski areas: Little Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, and The Rock Snow Park; the list also includes Sun Valley and Snowbasin, which are jointly owned by the Holding Family, but excludes the other two-resort groups around the country: Berkshire East/Catamount, Labrador/Song, 49 Degrees North/Silver Mountain, Homewood/Red Lodge, Perfect North/Timberline, and Mission Ridge/Blacktail - there may be others).What we talked aboutThe bomber western winter; closing Wintergreen early; the existential importance of Eastern snowmaking; why Mid-Atlantic ski resorts are such great businesses; growing up in the ski industry; Mt. Bachelor in the ‘90s; Breck in the early Vail days; why founding the Mountain Collective was harder than you probably think; the surprising mountain that helped start but never joined the pass; how essential the existence of Mountain Collective was to Ikon Pass; why Ikon didn't kill Mountain Collective; the origins and structure of Pacific Group Resorts (PGRI); reviving the historically troubled Ragged Mountain; the two things that PGRI did differently from previous owners to finally help Ragged succeed; the Mission: Affordable pass suite; how Jay Peak turbocharged reciprocity between the company's resorts; how reciprocity for Jay Peak may shape up for 2023-24 passes; why we're unlikely to see a Mission: Affordable pass at Jay Peak; why Mount Washington Alpine hasn't had a Mission: Affordable pass; the future of Jay Peak – and, potentially the rest of PGRI's portfolio – on the Indy Pass; the fate of Ragged's Pinnacle Peak expansion; how and why PGRI started running and eventually purchased Wisp and Wintergreen; wild and isolated Mount Washington Alpine; could that Vancouver Island resort ever be a destination?; thoughts on replacing the West End double at Powderhorn; why PGRI has not prioritized lift replacements at the rate of some of its competitors; priorities for lift upgrades at Wisp; winning the bid for Jay Peak; reflecting on receivership; the chances of getting a new Bonaventure lift; and whether PGRI will buy more ski areas.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewThe lazy answer: PGRI just bought Jay Peak, and while writing the various stories leading up to and after the auction in which they acquired the joint,  I established contact with PGRI corporate HQ for the first time. My first impression was not a great one (on their side), as I managed to not only jack up the company name in the headline announcing their opening bid, but get the fundamentals of the story so wrong that I had to issue a correction with a full article re-send for the only time in Storm history. Which apparently created a huge PR pain in the ass for them. Sorry.Maybe the stupid jokes eventually disarmed them over or something, but for whatever reason Knapp agreed to do the pod. As you know I don't typically host marketing-type folks. I work with them all the time and value them immensely, but that's just not the brand. The brand is talk-to-whoever-is-in-charge-of-whatever-mountain-or-company-I'm-talking-about. But Knapp is a unique case, the former CMO of Aspen Skiing Company and the creator of the uber-relevant-to-my-readers Mountain Collective Pass. So Knapp joins the equally impressive Hugh Reynolds of Snow Partners as the only other marketing lead to ever carry his own episode.Ahem. What I was trying to get to is this: yes, this was a convenient time to drill into PGRI, because they just bought one of the most important ski resorts on the Eastern seaboard and everyone's like, “Now what, Bro?” But this is a company that has been quietly relevant for years. It cannot be overstated what an absolute shitshow Ragged Mountain was for five decades. No one could get that thing right. Now it is one of the most well-regarded ski areas in New Hampshire, with knockout grooming, a killer glade network, one of the state's best lift systems, and a customer-friendly orientation that begins with its ridiculous Mission: Affordable season pass, one of the few all-access season passes under $400 at a thousand-foot-plus mountain in New England.Which set them up perfectly to glide into the Jay marquee. Almost any other buyer would have ignited mutiny at Jay. No one I've spoken to who skis the mountain regularly wanted the place anywhere near the Ikon Pass. So no Alterra, Powdr, or Boyne. Epic? LOL no. Locals have seen enough downstate. Another rich asshat cackling with cartoon glee as he shifts hundreds of millions of dollars around like he's reorganizing suitcases in his Escalade? F**k no. Jay will be shedding the scabs of Ariel Quiros' various schemes for decades. PGRI hit that Goldilocks spot, a proven New England operator without megapass baggage that has operated scandal-free for 15 years, and is run by people who know how to make a big resort go (PGRI CEO Vern Greco is former president and GM of both Park City and Steamboat, and the former COO of Powdr Corp).PGRI is just good at running ski areas. Wisp opened Thanksgiving weekend, despite 70-degree temperatures through much of that month, despite being in Maryland. Visitation has been trending up at Powderhorn for years after steady snowmaking improvements. It's hard to find anyone with a bad opinion of Ragged.But PGRI has never been what business folk call a “consumer-facing brand.” Meaning they let the resorts speak for themselves. Meaning we don't know much about the company behind all those mountains, or what their plans are to build out their network. Or build within it, for that matter. PGRI has only stood up one new chairlift in 16 years – the Spear Mountain high-speed quad at Ragged. Powderhorn skiers are side-eyeing the 51-year-old, 1,655-vertical-foot, 7,000-foot-long West End double chair and thinking, “are you kidding me with this thing?” Five years into ownership, they want a plan. Or at least to know it's a priority. There are lesser examples all over the portfolio. It was time to see what these guys were thinking.Questions I wish I'd askedI had a few questions teed up that I didn't quite get to: why is Ragged still owned by something called RMR-Pacific LLC (and operated by PGRI)? I also wanted to understand why some PGRI ski areas use dynamic pricing but others don't. I'm still a little confused as to the exact timeline of Pacific Group purchasing Ragged and then PGRI materializing to take over the ski area. And of course I could have filled an entire hour with questions on any of the six ski areas. What I got wrongWhen I summarized Ragged's traumatic financial history, I said, “ownership defaulted on a loan.” It sounded as though I was suggesting that PGRI defaulted on the loan, when it was in fact the previous owner. You can read the full history of Ragged's many pre-PGRI financial issues on New England Ski History.I said that Midwest Family Ski Resorts had announced two new high-speed six-packs “in the past couple years.” They've actually announced two within the past year, both of which will be built this summer: a new Eagle Mountain lift at Lutsen, and a new sixer to replace three old Riblets on the Jackson Creek Summit side of Snowriver.Somehow though I got through this entire interview without calling the company “Pacific Resorts Group” and I would like credit for this please.Why you should ski PGRI's mountainsWell let's just fire through these real quick. Jay: most snow in the East. Nearly 300 inches so far even in this drab-until-the-past-two-weeks New England season. Some of the best glade skiing in the country. Just look:Ragged: Also strong on glades, though it gets maybe a third of Jay's snowfall if it's lucky. When the snow doesn't come, Ragged has some of the best grooming in New Hampshire:Wisp and Wintergreen: you know, I take my kid to Mt. Peter, a small ski area outside of New York City, every Saturday for a seasonal ski program. I'd say 80 percent of the parents arrive in street clothes, drop their kids, and sit in the lodge zombie-scrolling their phones for 90 minutes. Why? Why wouldn't a person ski every opportunity they have? This is what Wisp and Wintergreen exist for. Sure, you live in the Mid-Atlantic. No one is trying to pretend it's Colorado. But these are good little mountains. Wisp is a zinger, with terrific fall line skiing. Wintergreen sprawls, with a fun trail network and two high-speed sixers. If you live anywhere near them, there's absolutely no reason not to pick up their sub-$400 season passes (though Wintergreen's is not a true season pass, excluding Saturdays and holidays, which are reserved for club members) to supplement the Epic or Ikon Pass you use for those Western or New England vacations:Powderhorn: If you live in Grand Junction, you can fight your way east, or stop on the Mesa and go skiing:Mt. Washington Alpine: I know you'll all tell me this is for locals, that no one would bother trekking out to Vancouver Island when they can reach Whistler in a fraction of the time. But I don't know man, I've done enough wild voyages to the ass-ends of the earth to have convinced myself that it's always worth it, especially if skiing is involved:Besides, you're not going to find Whistler crowds here, and this is about enough mountain for most of us.Podcast NotesOn Wisp and Wintergreen opening and closing datesI mentioned on the podcast that Wisp opened in November. The exact date was Nov. 25 for Wisp. The resort is still open today, though on “limited terrain,” and I imagine the season is winding down quickly. Wintergreen opened on Dec. 20 and closed Feb. 26. Ugh.On the world's largest snow fortKnapp said he helped start this tradition when he worked at Keystone:On the Mountain CollectiveKnapp and I had an extensive discussion about his role founding Mountain Collective, which debuted in 2012 with two days each at Alta, Aspen-Snowmass, Jackson Hole, and Palisades Tahoe. At $349, it's underwhelming to today's ski consumer, but it's impossible to overstate how miraculous it was that the product existed at all. I won't give away the whole story, but this 2012 Powder article crystalizes the shock and stoke around the realization that these four resorts were on the same pass, Brah!On Pinnacle Peak at Ragged PGRI is probably hoping I will stop asking them about this stalled expansion at Ragged sometime this century. No luck so far, as I presented Knapp with the same set of questions that I'd asked Ragged GM Erik Barnes on the podcast last year. Here's what I was talking about: in 2007, PGRI took over Ragged. From 2014 to 2019, the mountain teased this future expansion on its trailmaps:Then, without explanation, the expansion disappeared. What happened? “The expansion does not make financial sense,” Knapp told me last year. But I wanted a more thorough explanation. Knapp delivered. This is still one of the most talked-about projects in New England, and its sudden abeyance has been a source of curiosity and confusion for Ragged skiers for a few years now. Listen up to find out what happened.The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The discounted annual rate is available until March 13, 2023.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 19/100 in 2023, and number 405 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

On today's episode I'm talking with my friend, Erin Sprague, and I can't wait for you to get to know her as we talk about her personal and professional journey.   Erin is the Head of Marketing at Mill Industries, a consumer technology start-up that has built a new system to prevent waste, starting with food. Before getting into sustainability, Erin built world-class brands in the outdoor industry as the Chief Brand Officer at Aspen Skiing Company; VP of Marketing at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Sport; and Global Head of Women's Brand and Product at Specialized Bicycles. She lives and plays with her husband and two daughters in Boulder, Colorado.   We discuss her realization that what she went to college for wasn't what she wanted to continue to do (and how she managed her mindset so she could pursue what she really wanted), how listening to her intuition played into later job transitions, and how she hasn't followed traditional definitions of success — and why that's severed her both personally and professionally. I adore Erin and appreciated this conversation so much. If you're looking for real talk navigating career goals and transitions (and cross country moves), the importance of consistency over being a hero, and juggling pursuits while raising kiddos — be sure to tune in.    How growth mindset leads to purpose and meaning and how to overcome a fixed mindset Job transitions and how I she made those decisions Finding the definition of success that works for you How to appreciate our seasons of life   She Doesn't Settle Podcast The She Doesn't Settle Assessment Instagram: www.instagram.com/shedoesntsettle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withkellytravis/ Erin's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erin_sprague Mill: https://mill.com/ 

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Dec. 29. It dropped for free subscribers on Jan. 1. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoRob Clark, CEO of Aspenware, an e-commerce and software company   Recorded onDecember 12, 2022About AspenwareAspenware's website declares that it's time to “modernize your mountain.” As far as corporate sloganeering goes, this is a pretty good one. Skiers – like everyone – live on their phones. Ski areas need to meet them there – to sell them lift tickets, process their lunch order, sign their liability waivers, and rent them skis. This is what Aspenware does. “Close your ticket windows,” one of the company's ad campaigns insists, “you don't need them.” Alterra and Aspen Skiing Company agree. Earlier this year, the companies formed a joint venture to purchase Aspenware.Why I interviewed himI spend a lot of time rambling about lifts and terrain and passes – the meat of the lift-served skiing world; how resorts shape an interesting experience, and how skiers access it and move through it. But a modern ski experience does not just mean fast lifts and great snowmaking and diverse terrain offerings and passes that include the nine moons of Endor. It also means mitigating the ski day's many built-in points of misery, which mostly have to do with lines. Everything we need to do that is already built into your smartphone. Ski areas just have to figure out how to tap that technology to streamline the experience. Aspenware is doing that.What we talked aboutRelocating to New England after nearly two decades in Colorado; Peek'N Peak; Holiday Valley; an Ohio boy goes West; 1-800-SKI-VAIL; running the Vail Mountain ticket windows in the pre-Epic Pass, everyone-buys-a-walk-up-ticket days; the Epic Pass debuts; RFID debuts; RTP in its heyday; a brief history of Aspenware and its evolution into a ski industry technology powerhouse; one of the largest organisms in the world; what it means to modernize a ski area with technology; how United Airlines inspired a pivot at Aspenware; how the ski industry went from an early tech adopter to a laggard; the problem with legacy tech systems; what happens when people ask me where they should go skiing; what happened when Covid hit; why some resorts ticket windows “will never open again”; tech resistance; “I'm on a mission to get technology considered in the same breath as lifts and snowmaking”; do ski areas need tech to survive?; what skiing is competing against; why Alterra and Aspen formed a joint venture to purchase Aspenware; which bits of tech it makes sense to develop in-house; the Shopify of skiing?; which tech skiers should expect in the future; Vail's decision to move Epic Passes to phones next year; I still don't think trailmaps belong on phones (exclusively); interactive trailmaps are terrible; why skiers should own their resort data; the evolution of dynamic pricing; and the one thing that actually makes skiers purchase lift tickets.        Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewAs we all know, Covid supercharged the skiing tech cycle. In the eight months between the March 2020 shutdowns and the November-ish re-openings, the nation's 470-odd ski areas had to figure out how to keep people as far away from each other as possible without blowing up the entire industry. The answer, largely, was by digitizing as much of the experience as possible. Aspenware met that moment, and its momentum has continued in the two years since.Podcast Notes* Rob and I guessed a bit at the debut price of the Epic Pass back in 2008 – it was $579 for adults and $279 for children.* Rob referenced Start with Why, a business leadership book by Simon Sinek – you can buy it here.* I'll make the same disclaimer with Aspenware as I did with OpenSnow: while Aspenware is a Storm advertising partner, this podcast was not part of, and is not related to, that partnership. Aspenware did not have any editorial input into the content or editing of this podcast - which is true of any guest on any episode (Rob did request one non-material cut in our conversation, which I obliged). I don't do sponsored content. The Storm is independent ski media, based on reporting and independently verified facts - any opinion is synthesized through that lens, as it is with any good journalism outlet.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 139/100 in 2022, and number 385 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com.The Storm is exploring the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

In this episode Nicole and Sarah host Katie Ertl, the SVP of Mountain Operations at Aspen Skiing Company. Aspen Skiing Company includes 4 mountains, across 8 miles — Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk. Katie grew up in the Aspen Valley, her mom was a ski instructor and she taught Katie and her twin sister from the age of 3. She went on to alpine ski race. Katie taught ski lessons in college, and after graduating decided to continue down that path. Katie coached kids ski racing in Australia and loved it so much she went back and forth coaching between Aspen and Australia. Katie worked her way into ski school management and concurrently became a ski instructor educator, giving clinics to ski instructors through PSIA.  That led Katie to her role overseeing the 4 ski schools at Aspen Skiing Company - and their 1,300 instructors!  After 12 years in this role she moved to her current role, as the SVP of Mountain Operations. Katie explains the role of Mountain Operations - which includes everything related to the mountain infrastructure, from getting the lifts running every morning, to grooming the hill and guest services.  Aspen Skiiing Company is undergoing a 180 acre expansion called Pandoras, which is keeping Katie busy.Katie walks us through the history of the 4 mountains.  She describes how the various mountains are situated and what makes each mountain and town unique.  We also learn about the sustainability programs that Aspen Skiing is involved in across the valley and more broadly. Create your Ski Butlers Profile here: https://www.skibutlers.com/portal/momtrendsKeep up with the Latest from Aspen Skiing Company:Website: https://www.aspensnowmass.com/Instagram: https://instagram.com/aspensnowmassFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspensnowmass/Twitter: https://twitter.com/aspensnowmassResources: Pandora Expansion PSIA: https://www.thesnowpros.org/who-we-are/ Nastar: https://nastar.com/national-championshipsPlease Help Support our Podcast:Check out the Ski Pack at www.puremountainfun.com and use code SKIMOMS2022 for 20% off your orderJoin the Ski Moms Fun Community! Follow us on Instagram @skimomsfunCheck out the Ski Moms Fun Store at www.skimomsfun.comContact us sarah@skimomsfun.com

In this episode of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Chris Lane, Chief Executive Officer at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.Chris discusses his awakening to nature and early fascination with birds, his upbringing in the southern United States, and his studies in environmental engineering at University of Florida, touching on his collegiate boxing prowess, and ultimately his move west to Colorado. He describes his early works with Ted at IRT Environment conducting case studies on exemplary energy efficiency programs.Chris goes on to share his experience as the first Environment Affairs Director at Aspen Skiing Company, building a LEED certified building -- The SunDeck -- at the top of Aspen Mountain. He also talks about his work at Xanterra, where he directed the resort management firm's sustainability program, and was instrumental in building a 2 MW solar field in Death Valley. He then dives into his work at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), leading a staff of 45 employees who work with partner organizations, schools, government agencies, and other key decision makers to tackle regional environmental issues around ecological literacy, forest health, regenerative agriculture, land restoration, and climate change to advance conservation and education outcomes and create life-long commitments to the Earth. 

Erik DaRosa is a motivational speaker, mental health advocate, and co-host of the From Survivor to Thriver Podcast, where he is on a mission to shatter the stigma of mental health issues and have open and honest conversations regarding mental health. Erik is also a ski instructor at the Aspen Skiing Company and spends his summers as the lead mountain bike coach for Sacred Cycle—a Colorado based nonprofit whose focus is to empower survivors of sexual trauma through the intersection of mountain biking and community. Erik shares his personal story of discovering downhill skiing in his mid-thirties as a form of healing as he navigated through his own mental health journey, which lead to a move to Colorado and becoming a ski instructor in one of the best ski resorts in North America. Download this positive, upbeat, and entertaining episode to hear Erik's story, including many helpful tips and learn about the many resources that are available to help support and empower you through your own mental health journey. ; Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-survivor-to-thriver/id1551758201 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ki6AuWRD57kEVcSuFVwQK?si=jz6qamJuSViGjOVDy0JEmg Facebook Page From Survivor to Thriver TikTik @fromsurvivortothriver Instagram @brushcreekthrivers Instagram (Personal) @skisherpa Linked-In https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikdarosa/

This year has challenged our own inner emotional states of relating to our environment, ourselves, and our loved ones post pandemic, and especially in the US including the many school shootings, which have occurred thus far, and the political climate. It has caused much anxiety and stress for many. Erik DaRosa, known to friends and clients as “Yoda,” joins us to have an important conversation on mental health and the necessity of funding for it. His experience has also revealed his own PTSD, which was more recently brought into his awareness. Erik's mission is to remove the stigmas surrounding mental health and is the Founder and Co-host of the From Survivor to Thriver podcast. Tune in to this episode for insights on knowing that it's okay to not be okay. Join us. LISTEN: From Survivor to Thriver Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-survivor-to-thriver/id1551758201 MORE ABOUT ERIK DAROSA Erik DaRosa, known by friends and clients as “Yoda,” is an inspirational speaker and both the Founder and Co-host of the From Survivor to Thriver podcast. Erik is upending the front-end of mental health conversations along with his Co-host Marc Fernandes. Each week, he tackles different mental health topics through honest and relatable “kitchen table” conversations with real people who are helping to shatter mental health stigmas and find their voices. He aims to normalize discussions around mental health topics and remind his audience they are not alone, there is strength in community and “it's perfectly ok to not always be ok.” In 2011, Erik traded in a successful career as a NYC finance executive when he moved to Colorado with his wife and two cats and hasn't looked back since. In addition to the podcast, Erik spends winters as a ski instructor for the Aspen Skiing Company and also sits on the Board of Sacred Cycle, a Colorado based nonprofit whose mission is to empower survivors of sexual trauma through mountain biking and community. Born and raised in New England, Erik earned his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and his BA in Economics from Brandeis University. He lives in Snowmass Village, Colorado with his wife Amy and two cats, Lincoln and Taylor. Connect with Erik: Podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-survivor-to-thriver/id1551758201 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brushcreekthrivers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erik.darosa.7 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skisherpa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikdarosa/ YOUR GUIDE TO SOUL NECTAR: KERRI HUMMINGBIRD I love mentoring women to rewrite the story of their lives through inner transformation, connection to essence, remembrance of purpose, and realignment to authenticity and truth. If you don't want to settle for anything less than a life of passion and purpose, book a Discovery Call and let's talk! Schedule today!  http://bit.ly/2CpFHFZ JOIN SOUL NECTAR TRIBE! https://kerrihummingbird.com/membership/ Do you lack the confidence to trust yourself and go for what you want? When you take actions towards your dreams, does self-doubt infect your certainty? Do you find yourself distracting and numbing while also feeling something is missing inside? Do you feel disrespected and like your wisdom is being dismissed? Do you have a hard time asking for what you need? You may benefit from healing the Mother Wound and reconnecting with the Divine Mother for love. Find out more at www.motherwoundbook.com You may be a member of The Second Wave, here to uplift human consciousness from the inside out by healing patterns of suffering that run through your ancestry. Find out about “The Second Wave: Transcending the Human Drama” and receive a guided meditation at www.thesecondwave.media

Mike Kaplan is President and CEO of Aspen Skiing Company for the last 17 years. He recently announced that after 30 years with the company, that the 2022-23 winter season would be his last at the helm of the organization. Together he and Zuckerman in a completely unprecedented, brave, and innovative way collaborated to place art by world renowned contemporary artists on all lift ticket products and to integrate art into the company in unexpected places and ways. He and Zuckerman discuss powder days, flow state, focusing on paths to success, being taken out of your place, noble pursuits, not just skiing, a life worth living, family, and the beauty in the ordinary!

We review the Mazda CX-5 crossover SUV; Why cow manure is the basis for the new "gold rush" in California - to the delight of dairy farmers; and we talk about the National Brotherhood of Skiers, a black group working to promote inclusion in the ski industry for all. 

The National Brotherhood of Skiers has been around for over 50 years, promoting inclusion of black skiers on the nation's ski slopes.  Now with over 5,000 members in over 50 affiliated chapters around the country,  a new crop of young skiers and snowboarders are looking to push the effort even further. 

Schendler is an author, activist, and Senior Vice President for Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company. The New York Times published his essay, Worrying About Your Carbon Footprint is Exactly What Big Oil Wants You to Do , in late August. With ski season approaching, he spoke with KDNK about the piece.

Jeff, a 30-year veteran of the aerospace and model airplane industries and, today, a colleague to FSTT's co-hosts at the Aspen Skiing Company, started swimming around in the pool of painkillers from the time of his first surgery for scoliosis at the age of eight. Several decades later, a minor back injury, along with a misdiagnosis for Type 2 diabetes, led to his 12-year dependence on Vicodin, other more powerful pain meds, and a serious deterioration in his physical and mental health. That all changed in 2015 when he decided to take back his life and, through his mechanical mindset, figured out that the key is finding the right gear for where you are along your life journey. Contact Us: Email: amgits.reverse@gmail.com Instagram: @brushcreekthrivers Facebook: From Survivor to Thriver

The Storm Skiing Podcast is sponsored by Mountain Gazette - Listen to the podcast for discount codes on subscriptions and merch.WhoMike Kaplan, CEO of Aspen Skiing CompanyRecorded onSept. 24, 2021Why I interviewed himVail may rule the American skiing economy, but Aspen remains king of the nation’s popular skiing imagination. From Aspen Extreme to Dumb and Dumber, the town and its mountains serve as the stand-in for big-mountain Western skiing as a whole, one word that communicates to skiers and non-skiers the essence of the sport. And there is something spectacular about it. This city at the end of the road, hovering just past the gravitational pull of Denver and the I-70 disaster seeping beyond it. Those narrow expert mountains with their unrelenting fall lines and absence of greens. Buttermilk with its lazy empty groomers and lost-in-plain-site underdog patina. The wild labyrinthian variety of burly Snowmass. The city itself, bleeding as one into Aspen Mountain, some invigorating mashup of town and city, luxe and lowbrow, skibum and jetset. Aspen doesn’t have the wildest terrain. It doesn’t get the most snow. It doesn’t have the most vertical or the most skiable acres. But it may just be the best total ski experience America offers. What we talked aboutArriving in Aspen in 1993; how the city has changed over the past three decades; going from ski school instructor to CEO of one of America’s great ski companies; celebrating 75 years of skiing at Aspen; the significance of Aspen’s original Lift 1, the present-day Shadow Mountain lift, and what may replace it and when; the return of Ruthie’s restaurant; the scope and status of the proposed Pandora expansion off Aspen Mountain’s summit; what could be developed on that land if the county denies the expansion permit; what the expansion could mean for the Gent’s Ridge quad and the rest of Aspen’s lift fleet; Snowmass lifts: the new high-speed six-pack on Big Burn, a timeline to replace Coney Glade, the latest thinking on a possible Burnt Mountain lift; whether we could ever see a lift up Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands; whether the Bowl Cat will return for the 2021-22 ski season; where we could see future expansion at Highlands; how the Deep Temerity expansion at Highlands could inform the Pandora expansion at Aspen; the status of the Golden Horn surface lift at Highlands; a different point of view on Buttermilk; the interplay of the four mountains to create a distinctive Aspen experience; why Aspen didn’t become part of Alterra; the Mountain Collective Pass and Ikon Pass origin stories; why Aspen pulled off the Ikon Base Pass and how the move to the “plus” tier has worked out; the future of the Mountain Collective; what happened with the $2 million that Liftopia owed Aspen for Mountain Collective Passes; Aspen’s plan to “stay in business forever” amid a changing climate; why Aspen is requiring all employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 prior to the start of the 2021-22 ski season; and the tangle of problems Covid brought along with it last season.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewAspen, under Kaplan, has evolved. It is: a leader in the fight against climate change, a model for implementing creative employee housing solutions in the modern mountain town, a crown-jewel of two transcontinental ski pass products, a voice in skiing’s struggles to diversify, and an uncompromising partner in the battle against Covid. There was nothing inevitable about any of this. Fifteen years ago, Aspen was a fun town with a pack of fun ski hills. The Epic Pass didn’t exist and issues of diversity, equality, and environmental catastrophe were minimized or ignored. Aspen could have just kept being Aspen and that would have probably been good enough to keep on existing. But Kaplan had other ideas. Lots of ideas. And while a phalanx of market and social forces, innovators, and disruptors would likely have forced the company into some version of its 2021 self, Kaplan no doubt accelerated the change. Aspen Mountain, by skiable acres, is only the 20th largest ski area in Colorado – smaller than Monarch, Sunlight, Eldora, Wolf Creek, Powderhorn, A-Basin, Purgatory, and Loveland. Yet in its purpose and its presence it is bigger than all of them. Now seemed as good a time as ever to find out why that continues to be true.Questions I wish I’d askedI had wanted to discuss the origin and influence of the X-Games at Buttermilk, whether the locals backlash against the Ikon Pass has subsided as Aspen changed access levels and started giving out a Base Pass with an Aspen season pass, whether Aspen would continue rationing season passes, how the company’s various diversity initiatives are evolving, whether post-Covid employee benefit cuts had been restored, how short-term rentals and urban Covid refugees were impacting the local housing market, Aspen’s employee housing initiatives, how the Covid fallout compared to the aftermath of The Great Recession, whether the company expected last year’s skier visit declines to continue, and which Covid-era operating changes were most likely to hang around. We ran out of time. Next time.Why you should ski AspenBecause Aspen will give you the best total ski week in America. The skiing, yes: the mountains, teetering above the valley, four poles balancing one another like a perfectly assembled sports team. The steeps that are not too steep to manage and the greens that are not too flat to lean into. The lost-in-time-and-space feeling of the Hanging Valley Glades or Deep Temerity or Bingo Glades. But it’s everything else, too. The free and frequent shuttlebus connecting town and mountains. The incredible variety of lodging options that make the place more affordable than you’d think. And the city itself, a pedestrian-friendly human-scaled relic salvaged from Colorado’s Wild West ancestry and outfitted with T-shirt shops, celebrity-chef eateries, weed emporiums, surly bars, grocery stores, Prada shops, and antique stores, like the most bizarre Lego set ever invented. And you go because you have to. It’s just one of those places. If you’re a skier you must ski Aspen because it’s Aspen. I really don’t know how else to say it. Just go.More AspenLift Blog’s lift inventories for:Aspen MountainAspen HighlandsButtermilkSnowmassHistoric trailmaps for:Aspen MountainAspen HighlandsButtermilkSnowmassArchival footage of Lift 1, the single chair that stood from 1947 to 1971 and took 40 minutes to rise from town to the Aspen Mountain summit:Get stoked on Aspen Extreme: Get on the email list at www.stormskiing.com

Jeremy Swanson has been photographing the Roaring Fork Valley for 20 years, partnering with the Aspen Skiing Company to capture images that tell the story of his mountain community. His work has been published by National Geographic, Outside, Travel & Leisure, and SKI Magazine.  Jeremy's fine art photographs are represented by the Elliot Yeary Gallery in Aspen and he received his MFA from the University of Illinois. When he's not photographing incredible scenics or athletes on the mountain, his skills are put to work shooting real estate and he recently became a drone pilot to expand his content crushing repertoire.  In our conversation we talked about the cyclical nature of the housing market and the importance of diversifying and adapting income streams as a freelance creator. How to properly showcase a property using the latest staging, lighting, video, drone, and 3D tour techniques. Lastly, we discussed the need for photographers to have a connection with their subject in order to stand out among the thousands of images consumed online every day.  ----- This episode is brought to you by SH Building Group. The experienced team of professionals at SH Built, consists of client, site, accounting, subcontractor, design, and craft building specialists. They integrate the latest construction management technology into every project and offer Home Guardianship Services and Advanced inspections. Start planning your project today, call (970) 438-0925 or visit http://shbuilt.com/ (http://shbuilt.com/). ----- This episode is brought to you by Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel — an independent investment advisory and financial planning firm based in Aspen and Denver with roots dating back to 1982. Their team of experienced investors, thoughtful financial advisors, and focused problem-solvers would like to offer all listeners a complimentary, no-pressure investment portfolio review. To schedule an appointment and learn more about their services, visithttps://obermeyerwood.com/ ( https://obermeyerwood.com/). ----- This episode is brought to you by Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty, the premier brokerage in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. They are a powerhouse firm with international reach and over 180 hand-picked brokers who are local experts, deeply vested in the community and their clients. They continue to set the bar in market knowledge, sales volume and satisfied clients and are convinced there's no better place to live than right here, right now. Learn more by visiting https://www.aspensnowmasssir.com/. ----- Thanks for listening to this episode of Selling The Mountains. You'll never miss an episode if you follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your listening platform of choice. If you liked what you heard, please leave a short review and share it with a friend. Sign up for the free Selling The Mountains newsletter to get exclusive content, episode recaps, sponsor offers, and more — visithttps://www.sellingthemountains.com/ ( https://www.sellingthemountains.com/).  You can follow the show on Instagram or Facebook @SellingtheMountains. You can follow the host on Twitter @Christianknapp, LinkedIn @ChristianKnapp, or Clubhouse @christian_knapp. This show was produced in collaboration with Dustin H. James at Podboarder.  Selling The Mountains is a production of Moment of Truth, LLC - all rights reserved.

In this issue of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted salutes the Aspen Skiing Company for Climate Action. Ted also releases the fourth part of a 10 part series on microgrids, telling the story of EcoMotion's first adventures with microgrids at the Santa Rita Union School District. In addition to climate action and microgrids, there are stories on net negative bioenergy works, all-electric tankers, hydrogen updates on Saudi Arabia and hydrogen goop, energy storage news, and hillside solar.

This edition of Flanigan's Eco-Logic features a conversation with Auden Schendler, Vice President of the Aspen Skiing Company for Environmental Sustainability. Nearly ten years ago, SkiCo invested in a methane capture project at a mine in the next county, tackling a major environmental problem since methane is like "carbon on steroids," while generating enough green power for all of SkiCo's operations.

Troy Howard- https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-howard-a0b4b94/ I completed my first 100 mile trail run around 2007 at Angeles Crest in Southern California. I came in second and had such a positive experience. In 2009 I ran my first Hardrock 100 in Southern Colorado’s San Juan mountains. It was unlike anything I thought was possible. I came in second in the second fastest time on record. That Hardrock experience led my wife and I to decide to leave California and make the move to Colorado where we still live today. I worked for Vail Resorts for 9 years where I led their HR & Finance systems. I also received the CIO 100 award for implementing real-time lift line wait times across all of the destination resorts. A year ago I left Vail Resorts for the opportunity to live more directly in the mountains and for a company more aligned with my values. I now work for Aspen Skiing Company where help run all of Aspen’s systems. Sidenote: I have a heart condition known as a “bicuspid aortic valve” where one chamber of my heart is ~50% less efficient. I’ve been told that if it was 100% I’d see a material improvement in my athletic performance. Not sure I buy that. I think it hinders my anaerobic performance, but has no real impact for ultra distances where it’s as much mental as it is physical. Athletic highlights: 11 100 mile run finishes 6 Leadville 100 mountain bike finishes 5 Elk Mountain Grand Traverse ski mountaineering finishes Countless other marathons, ultra marathons less than 100 miles, ski mountaineering races, ultra endurance biking events & races Continue to play hockey recreationally, ski at least 40 days a season, backpacking --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

Today we are joined by Auden Schendler, Vice President of Sustainability at the Aspen Skiing Company to talk about mobilizing outdoor enthusiasts to take action on climate change from both sides of the political spectrum. This is episode 40 of our cross-country odyssey to bring you local stories about the many environmental solutions taking place around the U.S. during the election season. Subscribe via the podcast platform of your choice by searching Electric Election Roadtrip!

This week we speak with Auden Schendler, Vice President of Sustainability who is with Aspen Skiing Company. Auden focuses on big scale solutions to climate change, primarily clean energy and activism. He worked previously in corporate sustainability at Rocky Mountain Institute. Auden has been a trailer insulator, burger flipper, ambulance medic, Outward Bound instructor, high school math and English teacher, and Forest Service goose-nest island builder. He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Google and Starbucks, and to second graders and Chilean kayakers. His writing has been published in Harvard Business Review, the L.A. Times, Scientific American, Climatic Change, Atlantic.com, Huffington Post, The Denver Post, and other media, and his work has been covered in Outside, Fast Company, Travel + Leisure and Businessweek. In 2006, Auden was named a global warming innovator by Time Magazine and in 2007 he testified to Congress on the impacts of climate change on public lands. His book Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolutionwas called “an antidote to greenwash” by NASA climatologist James Hansen. Auden lives in Basalt, Colorado with his wife Ellen and their children Willa and Elias, who call him "a goofy global warming guy." Thanks for listening! Find all our episodes at dayfirepodcast.com This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association Executive Director John Norton grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where he played the "typical" ball sports like football.  At Dartmouth College, he met his future wife, an accomplished and avid skier, so he knew he better learn how if he wanted to stick with her.  Today, it's one of his favorite things to do, but he's also a jack-of-all-trades, enjoying kayaking, fishing, mountain biking and everything else we enjoy in Crested Butte. After college, John began climbing the corporate ladder in the marketing department at Proctor and Gamble.  He may have stayed on that track if an old college friend hadn't offered him a job at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), in the marketing department there.  The early 90's were an exciting time at CBMR, with new lifts like the North Face and High lift, plus innovative efforts to attract new business, like guaranteeing airline seats and "free ski".  Later, John spent roughly ten years at the Aspen Skiing Company before being called back to Crested Butte and helping secure the sale of CBMR from the Nortons and Calloways to the Muellers (Triple Peaks).   After the Mueller sale, John eventually became the executive director at the local tourism association (TA).  The TA has since grown to encompass local entrepreneurial efforts as well.  In this episode, we talk about all of this and more, so enjoy this one- Crested Butte Real Estate Minute: Like many other places, Crested Butte and Gunnison are experiencing closures due to the Corona virus.  Please consider supporting local businesses by purchasing gift certificates, or donating to local charities.  Not sure where to donate?  Contact me here. Learn More: Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association

A former Aspen Skiing Company executive has recently been sentenced to 6 years in prison for stealing from the company. It's quite the story. Jason Auslander of the Aspen Times helps us understand what happened. This episode is supported by Beau Jo's Colorado Style Pizza and 10 Barrel Brewing Company.  Email me alex@wintrymixcast.com. Leave the pod a voicemail/text at 802 560 5003. Questions. Rants. Anything.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Google Play or elsewhere. Now on Spotify too. Follow and/or pester me on instagram @wintrymixcast. All the links are on the sidebar of WintryMixCast.com too.  AK

As cities viable for hosting the Winter Olympics dwindle, ski resorts face shorter seasons, and climbers work with less predictable terrain, the winter sports industry acts as a key site influencing climate policy. 2:00 - Auden Schendler of Aspen Skiing Company and Protect Our Winters 14:15 - Allen Hershkowitz of Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI)

What influence does business have on the politics of climate change? In today’s episode, we'll look at how climate change affects different businesses, and how proposed regulations like a carbon tax could help or harm business. Weighing in with their unique perspectives are Auden Schendler from Aspen Skiing Company, Bill Eacho from the Partnership for Responsible Growth, and Professor Mike Toffel.

Welcome to episode 11 from the very snowy Swiss Alps.  You might have heard that there has been some very serious snowfall already in the southern alps with resorts like Saas Fee, Cervinia and Zermatt getting absolutely hosed in the last week. It's snowy here also in the Western end of the alps and the temperatures are cold. Hopefully this means a good and early start to the season. This week I have a short interview with Jon Ballou, the Boss of The Aspen Ski School.  That's the title I hear in my head anyway but actually, his full title is Managing Director, Ski and Snowboard Schools, Aspen Skiing Company.  You can find out more about what that all means when you listen to the episode. We talk about managing such a large operation, teaching trends and a bit of tech.  No podcast with Jon would be complete without a bit of chat about the movie Aspen Extreme too. You can find Jon on facebook as Jonathan Ballou or on his youtube channel of the same name. https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.ballou.7 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Ko-b6WfmZWWxyi6rj14hg I hope you enjoy the episode, see you on the next one. Dave Burrows www.snow-pros.ski dave@snow-pros.ski music by www.bensound.com  

The Storm Skiing Podcast #2 | Download this episode on iTunes and Google Play| Read the full overview at skiing.substack.com.Who: Danielle and Laszlo Vajtay, Owners, Plattekill MountainWhy I interviewed them: Because Plattekill flat amazes me. Situated deep in the Catskills interior, surrounded by better funded and bigger neighbors, nearly unknown outside of die-hard ski circles, the odds of this family-owned mountain still existing at all, let alone thriving, would seem remote in our days of octuple chairlifts and Ikonik gigapasses. But there it is, a sort of Little-Engine-That-Could clanking one refurbished snowgun at a time into 2019. This was not an accident. It was not luck. It was two people busting their ass for 26 years, reinvesting deliberately in the hill, plugging snowmaking at a one-run-per-annum rate into the incline, and slowly building a community around that intangible thing called atmosphere that makes skiing Plattekill unlike skiing anyplace else in the state. And they did all of that by avoiding debt like blue ice after a refreeze. How they did that against considerable odds was a story that I wanted to hear.What we talked about: Skiing together since they were kids; their terrific first winter as owners (1993-94); when the mountain almost fell apart during their second, terrible winter (1994-95; imagine not opening until February!); snow farming; why real estate is a dumb strategy for building a sustainable ski business; the Plattekill model of deliberate investment/no debt; how the Plattekill model could have saved lost Catskills ski areas Bobcat and Cortina; the mountain is one giant glade; yes the front five double blacks are absolute freefalls but the mountain has some terrific greens and blues and for families or novices it offers a hell of a lot; turns out a The New York Times feature story about your mountain rental program is pretty damn good marketing, so if you own a mountain maybe do that? How the mountain rental program started when 20 people showed up on a midweek powder day and Laszlo was like, “we’ll open for $2,500,” and some dude was like, “cool,” and they all went skiing; what happens when Vail sets up shop in your backyard by buying your largest rival; is Alterra buying Windham inevitable? And speaking of giant unwieldly conglomerates bwah-ha-ha-ha Platty is still here and has anyone seen American Skiing Company around here anywhere oh yeah there’s its carcass in a Dumpster in lower Manhattan; Laszlo does have a favorite big ski conglomerate though; The Freedom Pass; the Indy Pass and why the Vajtays, uh, passed on it; where Platty’s passholders come from; Belleayre. Oh, man, Belleayre. Laszlo is not a fan of operating in direct competition with a state-subsidized ski area, especially as a taxpayer who is essentially then doing the subsidizing. How can that be remedied? Laszlo has some ideas. Why the Vajtays would rather compete with Vail or Alterra than ORDA. Also – how often and where the Vajtays ski (turns out that when you own a mountain, you get to ski a lot); what Win Smith said to Laszlo when they went skiing together. Also, this:Four of Plattekill’s front five double-black divebombers in February 2019. L to R: Northface, Giant Slalom, Plunge and Freefall. A T-bar used to run up Plunge. Laszlo talks about the painstaking process of refurbishing and installing the Northface Double Chair that replaced it and is pictured here.Things that may be slightly outdated because we recorded this a while ago: Laszlo announced a reciprocity agreement with Homewood, a mountain seated on the shores of Lake Tahoe. The place looks rad but I’ve never skied there or anywhere in Tahoe (big ski resume gap). This appears to be a separate agreement from the Freedom Pass arrangement, as Homewood is not listed as a partner in that alliance but does have a pretty amazing list of season pass reciprocity deals (really wish more East Coast mountains forged these sorts of free-ticket partnerships with their neighbors instead of their standard “you can get 10 percent off a full-priced lift ticket at our partner mountains,” which isn’t much of a bargain when you can typically find those tickets far cheaper elsewhere). Platty’s season pass details are here. What I got wrong: When I mentioned that the three ORDA mountains (Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface), were on Max Pass, I forgot to mention that Windham was as well. I sort of flubbed the description of Aspen’s role in Alterra – The Aspen Skiing Company, which is in turn owned by Henry Crown and Company, owns Alterra in conjunction with KSL Capital Partners. I said something slightly different during the interview, but it’s interesting to note that I don’t think most skiers realize that Aspen is the Ikon analogue to Vail/Epic, and it’s kind of amazing how they’ve transformed themselves into Captain Good Guy when their pass is more expensive and their day ticket prices are just a pair of disposable foot warmers cheaper than Vail’s in most cases. Why I thought that now was a good time for this interview: Plattekill is on a roll. Besides the aforementioned Times piece, an excellent Catskills write-up by Powder Magazine’s Porter Fox last winter featured Plattekill (along with Belleayre and Hunter) prominently, describing it as a throwback, a scrappy survivor, and, most importantly, “the Alta of the Catskills” for its 150 inches of annual lake effect snow. The mountain rental program is working, and the place, relatively speaking, is thriving. This is in part I think due to a general backlash against our Ikonik/Epik landskape and the perceived cost and generic experience of skiing those mega-pass mountains. While I have both of these passes and will likely continue to buy them and believe the Disneyfication angle is overstated, I also make sure to ski Plattekill and other indies over the course of the winter, for exactly all of the reasons articulated above. Why you should go there: Because this is the coolest damn ski hill in the state of New York. Yes, it’s the smallest of the four Catskills mountains by acreage and vertical drop and number of lifts and size of the parking lot and size of the lodge. No, there are no high-speed lifts and the trails are shockingly narrow in places and the lodge is not some starchitect-designed spaceship ready to transport you to Jupiter. This is what skiing looks like when it’s run not by block grants airlifted from Broomfield but real people who love their mountain and love skiing and put every damn thing they have into making it work. Plus, it’s never crowded, the lift tickets are fairly priced, they have the friendliest lifties I’ve every encountered, and, yes, it feels like skiing in the 1960s. I think. Since I have no first-person recollecation of the 1960s, I’m going to make some assumptions here and say it feels like skiing in some indeterminate bygone era when kids didn’t spend all their time smartphoning and playing the Halo. Seriously though, make a day for this one (as long as that day is a Friday through Sunday, because a midweek lift ticket is $4,500 – not bad actually if you can round up 100 friends or bribe your company into paying for it). While we’re on the subject of throwbacks: Ribbing the this-is-my-secret-mountain-don’t-you-dare-tell-anyone-it-exists-let-them-all-ski-at-Hunter attitude of his core skiers, Laszlo says, “OK, just tell one friend,” and then he mentions an old “and then they’ll tell two friends” shampoo commercial. This appears to be that commercial:A 1970s Brady Bunch-style version:And then Wayne’s World spoofed it:While I was alive for most of that and doubtless saw the commercial dozens of times while my mom was re-watching that day’s soap operas on our Betamax or whatever, I don’t remember it at all. But apparently it was cultural currency back in the day.The Storm Skiing Podcast is on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Pocket Casts. The Storm Skiing Journal publishes podcasts and other editorial content throughout the ski season. To receive new posts as soon as they are published, sign up for The Storm Skiing Journal Newsletter at skiing.substack.com. Follow The Storm Skiing Journal on Facebook and Twitter. Get on the email list at www.stormskiing.com

Auden Schendler is Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company, where he focuses on finding large-scale solutions to climate change, specifically through clean energy and activism. Aspen Skiing Company has long been at the forefront of sustainable business practices, and Auden is one of the main forces behind the scenes driving those efforts-- efforts that have positively influenced the ski and outdoor industries at large. In addition to his daily work in Aspen, he’s a well-known author and speaker, and he wrote the amazingly impactful book Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution. For a guy who spends his days deep in the trenches fighting the forces of climate change, Auden is surprisingly upbeat, energetic, and funny-- as you’ll hear, we spend quite a bit of time laughing. But he’s far from naive or overly idealistic-- he is quick to call out “greenwashing” when he sees it and is unapologetically focused on achieving specific, measurable results. Through trial and error and a lot of hard work, Auden has managed to find the balance of the optimism needed to pursue audacious initiatives with the pragmatism required to succeed in a competitive business environment. From a personal perspective, Auden’s work and writing have been especially impactful on my career-- I read his book a few months after earning my MBA, and it provided a much different perspective from the profit-at-all-costs philosophy that was the norm in business school. So it was obviously an honor to meet him, and I appreciate his letting me hassle him with questions for an hour. We had a wide-ranging and fun conservation, discussing A work at Aspen Skiing Company and how he got his start in sustainability. We talked a lot about reading and books, specifically how the works of Cormac McCarthy and Jack Kerouac affected his outlook and approach to work. We chat about his daily routine and how he manages to fit so much into a single day, as well as how he wraps his head around pursuing a goal as overwhelming as solving climate change. We also talk about his expedition to Denali, how his kids have changed his outlook, and the importance of daily exercise. And as usual, we discuss favorite books about the West, favorite films, and his favorite location in the West. This is an excellent episode, and I can’t thank Auden enough for making time in his busy schedule to chat. Links to everything are in the episode notes. Enjoy! http://mountainandprairie.com/auden-schendler/ TOPICS DISCUSSED: 3:10 - How Auden began his career in sustainability 4:15 - Transition from theoretical sustainability to the business world 7:10 - Balancing patience with action 8:45 - Work as a practice 11:30 - Understanding the need for big challenges 12:45 - Mentors 16:00 - First visits to the West 17:30 - Republicans and the history of conservation 18:45 - On the Road’s influence on Auden 20:00 - Favorite failures 22:00 - Influence of Pat O’Donnell 24:30 - Publicly traded versus private companies 26:00 - Companies as political levels 29:00 - Dealing with climate change deniers 31:15 - Dealing with criticism 33:00 - Basalt fire and community 35:30 - Why does Auden choose to stay in the trenches? 37:15 - Auden’s daily routine 40:15 - How kids change his perspective 42:20 - Favorite books about the West 45:50 - Favorite films 47:50 - Most powerful outdoor experience 51:00 - Favorite location in the West 52:45 - Best advice he’s ever received 54:40 - Request of the podcast listeners 55:50 - Connect with Auden

Adam Grant is exploring “how to make work suck less.” For his podcast WorkLife, he visited unconventional companies to discover how to improve the work experience. Grant, who authored Give and Take and teaches at the Wharton School, thinks we should be leading more creative and meaningful lives at work. After all, we spend a quarter of our lives there. He speaks with Mike Kaplan, president and CEO of the Aspen Skiing Company based in Aspen, Colorado. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Insight episode Beyond a Level Playing Field. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.

Oxycontin lawsuit, the ballot issues that will affect the general election, construction along I-70, Walker Stapleton’s comments and the “Give A Flake” campaign launched by the Aspen Skiing Company are topics of discussion.

Everyone has unique gifts, and there are always ways to share them with the world. Activism isn’t just about politics or standing around all day arguing with people. There are many people who share their talents and skills in other ways to support activism. Verde seeks out people who inspire conservationism and bring new light to the issues happening in our communities. People like today’s guest, Sarah Uhl. Sarah is a phenomenal artist, who is using her skills to help heal the world. She’s making emotional connections with people through art and bringing them closer to nature and our public lands. Her art plays an important role in protecting public lands, clean water, and climate issues. She’s not only an activist, but she’s also an expert marketer and visual storyteller. She’s helping big brands near and dear to all of us, like REI, Outdoor Research, PrAna, YETI Cycles, Aspen Skiing Company, The Access Fund, American Alpine Club, American Rivers to reach an emotional connection with customers and consumers we haven’t seen before in our industry. She does it through her amazing custom illustrations and artwork. If you plan to attend Outdoor Retailer and SIA in Denver this week (January 25, 2018, at the Denver Convention Center), you’ll be able to see her Live Art Performance happening at the Outdoor Research booth. She’s creating an amazing mural out of scrap wood that show-goers can purchase panels of for a great cause! If you don’t know Sarah, this show will share who she is and how she lives to be in the mountains. Follow her work through Instagram and watch her journey - you will NEVER be bored! Download this episode now, to hear all about her inspirational journey, where she’s going, and exactly where you can meet her next.   Resources:Sarah’s WebsiteSarah’s Instagram  

Good afternoon, it’s Mountain Edition. RFTA gets millions for more parking, service, and facilities. A Basalt woman is sentenced for causing a fatal accident last August. Aspen Skiing Company and pro skier Alice McKennis look back on the season. There’s a new book about Glenwood Springs history. A nonprofit aims to restore part of the Crystal River in Carbondale. And we find out about the country’s biggest conservation effort ever and a bird here in Colorado. That’s ahead on Mountain Edition. For more about Mountain Edition: aspenpublicradio.org/programs/mountain-edition

Welcome to Mountain Edition. Elected leaders in Aspen choose a brewery - slash - small business incubator to fill the city-owned Old Power House. Unstable snow on local ski slopes prompts the Aspen Skiing Company to temporarily close terrain. A professional cross country ski racer is home from the World Championships. Aspen’s Simi Hamilton looks back on his season. There won’t be a sentence for a fatal highway 133 crash for another month. We hear from the head of Colorado’s largest oil and gas organization about why she’s leaving her post. Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants public input on how it should spend its money and the Forest Service is working to minimize human run-ins with moose. A researcher says the Smuggler/Hunter Creek area could see wildfire in the next decade. Finally, a quaint church near downtown Aspen celebrates 125 years. For more about Mountain Edition: aspenpublicradio.org/programs/mountain-edition

On today's show, the Aspen Hall of Fame with this year's inductees are Joe and Judy Zanin, George Madsen, and Dick Butera. The guests on the show are members of the board Lorna Pederson and Jeanette Darnauer. From the Aspen Hall of Fame website: he idea for the Aspen Hall of Fame began in 1985 as the Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) planned a celebration of Aspen’s 40th anniversary of skiing the following year. The concept of the Aspen Hall of Fame was to honor the “pioneers” who dedicated their lives to the development of skiing and the betterment of our community, and to establish a meaningful annual event during the celebration that would live beyond the season of celebration. The first Hall of Fame committee represented a cross-section of the community, including representatives from the arts council and the historical society, from the ski club and the ski company, as well as 10th Mountain Division soldiers; there was even a member of the first board of directors of the Aspen Corporation, the original name of the ASC. The first banquet was held during the Aspen Skiing Company’s 40th Anniversary Celebration week in January 1987. The current organization has been independent from ASC for many years. Each year’s banquet features an awards presentation, introduced by a video profiling the life of each inductee. http://www.aspenhalloffame.org/ To learn more about CrossCurrents: aspenpublicradio.org/programs/crosscurrents

In October 2007, Auden Schendler (@Audenschendler) of Aspen Skiing Company ignited a conversation about corporate sustainability when he appeared in a cover story article of...

Jerry Begly is a freelance cartoonist living in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado. A graduate of Colorado Mountain College, Jerry's career path took him to The US Forest Service as a ranger, a mountain guide in the summers, and more recently he has been teaching skiing for the Aspen Skiing Company. All the while, cartooning and humor have been his trademark.  In 2010, Jerry wrote and illustrated his first book, "Dad, the Tooth Fairy Didn't Come!" (Treesock Press). Jerry is building his log cabin chalet with the help of his seven children, and wife, Marti.

Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution Auden Schendler, Executive Director of Sustainability, Aspen Skiing Company; Author, Getting Green Done What does the mechanic say when you ask him to put french fry oil in his $250,000 tractor? How do you actually make sustainability happen? Schendler will give us a peek under the hood of the green movement – what it means, in the trenches, to implement actual solutions to climate change. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 7, 2009.