Podcasts about Fernie

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast is a reader-supported publication (and my full-time job). To receive new posts and to support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.WhoChris Cushing, Principal of Mountain Planning at SE GroupRecorded onApril 3, 2025About SE GroupFrom the company's website:WE AREMountain planners, landscape architects, environmental analysts, and community and recreation planners. From master planning to conceptual design and permitting, we are your trusted partner in creating exceptional experiences and places.WE BELIEVEThat human and ecological wellbeing forms the foundation for thriving communities.WE EXISTTo enrich people's lives through the power of outdoor recreation.If that doesn't mean anything to you, then this will:Why I interviewed himNature versus nurture: God throws together the recipe, we bake the casserole. A way to explain humans. Sure he's six foot nine, but his mom dropped him into the intensive knitting program at Montessori school 232, so he can't play basketball for s**t. Or identical twins, separated at birth. One grows up as Sir Rutherford Ignacious Beaumont XIV and invents time travel. The other grows up as Buford and is the number seven at Okey-Doke's Quick Oil Change & Cannabis Emporium. The guts matter a lot, but so does the food.This is true of ski areas as well. An earthquake here, a glacier there, maybe a volcanic eruption, and, presto: a non-flat part of the earth on which we may potentially ski. The rest is up to us.It helps if nature was thoughtful enough to add slopes of varying but consistent pitch, a suitable rise from top to bottom, a consistent supply of snow, a flat area at the base, and some sort of natural conduit through which to move people and vehicles. But none of that is strictly necessary. Us humans (nurture), can punch green trails across solid-black fall lines (Jackson Hole), bulldoze a bigger hill (Caberfae), create snow where the clouds decline to (Wintergreen, 2022-23), plant the resort base at the summit (Blue Knob), or send skiers by boat (Eaglecrest).Someone makes all that happen. In North America, that someone is often SE Group, or their competitor, Ecosign. SE Group helps ski areas evolve into even better ski areas. That means helping to plan terrain expansions, lift replacements, snowmaking upgrades, transit connections, parking enhancements, and whatever built environment is under the ski area's control. SE Group is often the machine behind those Forest Service ski area master development plans that I so often spotlight. For example, Vail Mountain:When I talk about Alta consolidating seven slow lifts into four fast lifts; or Little Switzerland carving their mini-kingdom into beginner, parkbrah, and racer domains; or Mount Bachelor boosting its power supply to run more efficiently, this is the sort of thing that SE plots out (I'm not certain if they were involved in any or all of those projects).Analyzing this deliberate crafting of a natural bump into a human playground is the core of what The Storm is. I love, skiing, sure, but specifically lift-served skiing. I'm sure it's great to commune with the raccoons or whatever it is you people do when you discuss “skinning” and “AT setups.” But nature left a few things out. Such as: ski patrol, evacuation sleds, avalanche control, toilet paper, water fountains, firepits, and a place to charge my phone. Oh and chairlifts. And directional signs with trail ratings. And a snack bar.Skiing is torn between competing and contradictory narratives: the misanthropic, which hates crowds and most skiers not deemed sufficiently hardcore; the naturalistic, which mistakes ski resorts with the bucolic experience that is only possible in the backcountry; the preservationist, with its museum-ish aspirations to glasswall the obsolete; the hyperactive, insisting on all fast lifts and groomed runs; the fatalists, who assume inevitable death-of-concept in a warming world.None of these quite gets it. Ski areas are centers of joy and memory and bonhomie and possibility. But they are also (mostly), businesses. They are also parks, designed to appeal to as many skiers as possible. They are centers of organized risk, softened to minimize catastrophic outcomes. They must enlist machine aid to complement natural snowfall and move skiers up those meddlesome but necessary hills. Ski areas are nature, softened and smoothed and labelled by their civilized stewards, until the land is not exactly a representation of either man or God, but a strange and wonderful hybrid of both.What we talked aboutOld-school Cottonwoods vibe; “the Ikon Pass has just changed the industry so dramatically”; how to become a mountain planner for a living; what the mountain-planning vocation looked like in the mid-1980s; the detachable lift arrives; how to consolidate lifts without sacrificing skier experience; when is a lift not OK?; a surface lift resurgence?; how sanctioned glades changed ski areas; the evolution of terrain parks away from mega-features; the importance of terrain parks to small ski areas; reworking trails to reduce skier collisions; the curse of the traverse; making Jackson more approachable; on terrain balance; how megapasses are redistributing skier visits; how to expand a ski area without making traffic worse; ski areas that could evolve into major destinations; and ski area as public park or piece of art.What I got wrong* I blanked on the name of the famous double chair at A-Basin. It is Pallavicini.* I called Crystal Mountain's two-seater served terrain “North Country or whatever” – it is actually called “Northway.”* I said that Deer Valley would become the fourth- or fifth-largest ski resort in the nation once its expansion was finished. It will become the sixth-largest, at 4,926 acres, when the next expansion phase opens for winter 2025-26, and will become the fourth-largest, at 5,726 acres, at full build out.* I estimated Kendall Mountain's current lift-served ski footprint at 200 vertical feet; it is 240 feet.Why now was a good time for this interviewWe have a tendency, particularly in outdoor circles, to lionize the natural and shame the human. Development policy in the United States leans heavily toward “don't,” even in areas already designated for intensive recreation. We mustn't, plea activists: expand the Palisades Tahoe base village; build a gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon; expand ski terrain contiguous with already-existing ski terrain at Grand Targhee.I understand these impulses, but I believe they are misguided. Intensive but thoughtful, human-scaled development directly within and adjacent to already-disturbed lands is the best way to limit the larger-scale, long-term manmade footprint that chews up vast natural tracts. That is: build 1,000 beds in what is now a bleak parking lot at Palisades Tahoe, and you limit the need for homes to be carved out of surrounding forests, and for hundreds of cars to daytrip into the ski area. Done right, you even create a walkable community of the sort that America conspicuously lacks.To push back against, and gradually change, the Culture of No fueling America's mountain town livability crises, we need exhibits of these sorts of projects actually working. More Whistlers (built from scratch in the 1980s to balance tourism and community) and fewer Aspens (grandfathered into ski town status with a classic street and building grid, but compromised by profiteers before we knew any better). This is the sort of work SE is doing: how do we build a better interface between civilization and nature, so that the former complements, rather than spoils, the latter?All of which is a little tangential to this particular podcast conversation, which focuses mostly on the ski areas themselves. But America's ski centers, established largely in the middle of the last century, are aging with the towns around them. Just about everything, from lifts to lodges to roads to pipes, has reached replacement age. Replacement is a burden, but also an opportunity to create a better version of something. Our ski areas will not only have faster lifts and newer snowguns – they will have fewer lifts and fewer guns that carry more people and make more snow, just as our built footprint, thoughtfully designed, can provide more homes for more people on less space and deliver more skiers with fewer vehicles.In a way, this podcast is almost a canonical Storm conversation. It should, perhaps, have been episode one, as every conversation since has dealt with some version of this question: how do humans sculpt a little piece of nature into a snowy park that we visit for fun? That is not an easy or obvious question to answer, which is why SE Group exists. Much as I admire our rough-and-tumble Dave McCoy-type founders, that improvisational style is trickier to execute in our highly regulated, activist present.And so we rely on artist-architects of the SE sort, who inject the natural with the human without draining what is essential from either. Done well, this crafted experience feels wild. Done poorly – as so much of our legacy built environment has been – and you generate resistance to future development, even if that future development is better. But no one falls in love with a blueprint. Experiencing a ski area as whatever it is you think a ski area should be is something you have to feel. And though there is a sort of magic animating places like Alta and Taos and Mammoth and Mad River Glen and Mount Bohemia, some ineffable thing that bleeds from the earth, these ski areas are also outcomes of a human-driven process, a determination to craft the best version of skiing that could exist for mass human consumption on that shred of the planet.Podcast NotesOn MittersillMittersill, now part of Cannon Mountain, was once a separate ski area. It petered out in the mid-‘80s, then became a sort of Cannon backcountry zone circa 2009. The Mittersill double arrived in 2010, followed by a T-bar in 2016.On chairlift consolidationI mention several ski areas that replaced a bunch of lifts with fewer lifts:The HighlandsIn 2023, Boyne-owned The Highlands wiped out three ancient Riblet triples and replaced them with this glorious bubble six-pack:Here's a before-and-after:Vernon Valley-Great Gorge/Mountain CreekI've called Intrawest's transformation of Vernon Valley-Great Gorge into Mountain Creek “perhaps the largest single-season overhaul of a ski area in the history of lift-served skiing.” Maybe someone can prove me wrong, but just look at this place circa 1989:It looked substantively the same in 1998, when, in a single summer, Intrawest tore out 18 lifts – 15 double chairs, two platters, and a T-bar, plus God knows how many ropetows – and replaced them with two high-speed quads, two fixed-grip quads, and a bucket-style Cabriolet lift that every normal ski area uses as a parking lot transit machine:I discussed this incredible transformation with current Hermitage Club GM Bill Benneyan, who worked at Mountain Creek in 1998, back in 2020:I misspoke on the podcast, saying that Intrawest had pulled out “something like a dozen lifts” and replaced them with “three or four” in 1998.KimberleyBack in the time before social media, Kimberley, British Columbia ran four frontside chairlifts: a high-speed quad, a triple, a double, and a T-bar:Beginning in 2001, the ski area slowly removed everything except the quad. Which was fine until an arsonist set fire to Kimberley's North Star Express in 2021, meaning skiers had no lift-served option to the backside terrain:I discussed this whole strange sequence of events with Andy Cohen, longtime GM of sister resort Fernie, on the podcast last year:On Revelstoke's original masterplanIt is astonishing that Revelstoke serves 3,121 acres with just five lifts: a gondola, two high-speed quads, a fixed quad, and a carpet. Most Midwest ski areas spin three times more lifts for three percent of the terrain.On Priest Creek and Sundown at SteamboatSteamboat, like many ski areas, once ran two parallel fixed-grip lifts on substantively the same line, with the Priest Creek double and the Sundown triple. The Sundown Express quad arrived in 1992, but Steamboat left Priest Creek standing for occasional overflow until 2021. Here's Steamboat circa 1990:Priest Creek is gone, but that entire 1990 lift footprint is nearly unrecognizable. Huge as Steamboat is, every arriving skier squeezes in through a single portal. One of Alterra's first priorities was to completely re-imagine the base area: sliding the existing gondola looker's right; installing an additional 10-person, two-stage gondola right beside it; and moving the carpets and learning center to mid-mountain:On upgrades at A-BasinWe discuss several upgrades at A-Basin, including Lenawee, Beavers, and Pallavicini. Here's the trailmap for context:On moguls on Kachina Peak at TaosYeah I'd say this lift draws some traffic:On the T-bar at Waterville ValleyWaterville Valley opened in 1966. Fifty-two years later, mountain officials finally acknowledged that chairlifts do not work on the mountain's top 400 vertical feet. All it took was a forced 1,585-foot shortening of the resort's base-to-summit high-speed quad just eight years after its 1988 installation and the legacy double chair's continued challenges in wind to say, “yeah maybe we'll just spend 90 percent less to install a lift that's actually appropriate for this terrain.” That was the High Country T-bar, which arrived in 2018. It is insane to look at ‘90s maps of Waterville pre- and post-chop job:On Hyland Hills, MinnesotaWhat an insanely amazing place this is:On Sunrise ParkFrom 1983 to 2017, Sunrise Park, Arizona was home to the most amazing triple chair, a 7,982-foot-long Yan with 352 carriers. Cyclone, as it was known, fell apart at some point and the resort neglected to fix or replace it. A couple of years ago, they re-opened the terrain to lift-served skiing with a low-cost alternative: stringing a ropetow from a green run off the Geronimo lift to where Cyclone used to land.On Woodward Park City and BorealPowdr has really differentiated itself with its Woodward terrain parks, which exist at amazing scale at Copper and Bachelor. The company has essentially turned two of its smaller ski areas – Boreal and Woodward Park City – entirely over to terrain parks.On Killington's tunnelsYou have to zoom in, but you can see them on the looker's right side of the trailmap: Bunny Buster at Great Northern, Great Bear at Great Northern, and Chute at Great Northern.On Jackson Hole traversesJackson is steep. Engineers hacked it so kids like mine could ride there:On expansions at Beaver Creek, Keystone, AspenRecent Colorado expansions have tended to create vast zones tailored to certain levels of skiers:Beaver Creek's McCoy Park is an incredible top-of-the-mountain green zone:Keystone's Bergman Bowl planted a high-speed six-pack to serve 550 acres of high-altitude intermediate terrain:And Aspen – already one of the most challenging mountains in the country – added Hero's – a fierce black-diamond zone off the summit:On Wilbere at SnowbirdWilbere is an example of a chairlift that kept the same name, even as Snowbird upgraded it from a double to a quad and significantly moved the load station and line:On ski terrain growth in AmericaYes, a bunch of ski areas have disappeared since the 1980s, but the raw amount of ski terrain has been increasing steadily over the decades:On White Pine, WyomingCushing referred to White Pine as a “dinky little ski area” with lots of potential. Here's a look at the thousand-footer, which billionaire Joe Ricketts purchased last year:On Deer Valley's expansionYeah, Deer Valley is blowing up:On Schweitzer's growthSchweitzer's transformation has been dramatic: in 1988, the Idaho panhandle resort occupied a large footprint that was served mostly by double chairs:Today: a modern ski area, with four detach quads, a sixer, and two newer triples – only one old chairlift remains:On BC transformationsA number of British Columbia ski areas have transformed from nubbins to majors over the past 30 years:Sun Peaks, then known as Tod Mountain, in 1993Sun Peaks today:Fernie in 1996, pre-upward expansion:Fernie today:Revelstoke, then known as Mount Mackenzie, in 1996:Modern Revy:Kicking Horse, then known as “Whitetooth” in 1994:Kicking Horse today:On Tamarack's expansion potentialTamarack sits mostly on Idaho state land, and would like to expand onto adjacent U.S. Forest Service land. Resort President Scott Turlington discussed these plans in depth with me on the pod a few years back:The mountain's plans have changed since, with a smaller lift footprint:On Central Park as a manmade placeNew York City's fabulous Central Park is another chunk of earth that may strike a visitor as natural, but is in fact a manmade work of art crafted from the wilderness. Per the Central Park Conservancy, which, via a public-private partnership with the city, provides the majority of funds, labor, and logistical support to maintain the sprawling complex:A popular misconception about Central Park is that its 843 acres are the last remaining natural land in Manhattan. While it is a green sanctuary inside a dense, hectic metropolis, this urban park is entirely human-made. It may look like it's naturally occurring, but the flora, landforms, water, and other features of Central Park have not always existed.Every acre of the Park was meticulously designed and built as part of a larger composition—one that its designers conceived as a "single work of art." Together, they created the Park through the practice that would come to be known as "landscape architecture."The Storm explores 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

At 13, Nell Smith made headlines for releasing an album of Nick Cave covers with one of her favourite bands, The Flaming Lips. After that, the promising young singer from Fernie, B.C., started working on her debut solo album, “Anxious.” But this past October, at 17, Nell's life was tragically cut short by a car accident. Now, her record has been released posthumously. Sage McBride and Tim Newton of the Fernie-based indie band Shred Kelly helped Nell write some of the music on the album. They join Tom Power to share their memories of her

Hear from some of WA racing's biggest names in the lead up to the 2025 TABtouch Western Trilogy. The Western Trilogy is the world's only tri-code slot race series. The Sandgroper - Thursday April 24 (Cannington Greyhounds)The Nullarbor - Friday April 25 (Gloucester Park)The Quokka - Saturday April 26 (Ascot Racecourse) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of *The Crownsmen Show*, Jerrod, Rory, and Roy discuss taxes, smart borrowing, ETFs, and construction site security, while also reviewing Fernie's Huck Berry. Filmed in the Petro-Canada Lubricants Studio. Watch now!Visit Crownsmen Partners to Learn More: https://www.crownsmen.com/Heavy Industry Tour Partner

Cette semaine, avec ma co-host invitée Ka$hyWorld, on reçoit Fernie et son amie Élodie ! On parle de pourquoi on ignore parfois notre 6e sens et des raisons qui poussent certaines personnes à rester dans des relations toxiques. Fernie nous partage ce qui a influencé la création de son dernier EP Hopeless Dreams. On aborde aussi les idées reçues sur les relations qu**r. Cet épisode est présenté par Eros et compagnie. Obtenez 15% de rabais sur votre prochain achat en utilisant le code promo "DAEDS" ou en utilisant le lien suivant: https://www.erosetcompagnie.com/?code=deads Rejoignez notre Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/damouretdesexe Vous avez des courriers du coeur, des commentaires et des suggestions? Envoyez nous un courriel au damouretdesexepodcast@gmail.com  Suivez nous sur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damouretdesexeSuivez nous sur Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/DAEDS_podcastSuivez nous sur Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@damouretdesexe

Coming up on this episode of Flirtations, spring has sprung (more or less), and with it comes a fresh new season of flirting, romance, and dating possibilities!  On the show today is Flirtation's in-house astrologer, fortune teller, and magic mystic, Fernie, to share with us what the stars have in store for our love lives and how to align with the energy of the universe this season. No matter your experience or knowledge of astrology, you don't need to be an expert, this episode is for you as we explore themes like:  the power of saying yes to yourself and embracing new opportunities, living life from the heart rather than from the head, and how to have more patience in our dating lives.  We're also talking about why Delulu is the Solulu and finally, we tap into the energy of Venus—the planet of beauty, and love—to help you channel confidence and playfulness as we navigate romance. So get ready to flirt, trust the process, and step into spring with an open heart! Let's do this, Flirties! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review Flirtations on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode to spread BFE - big flirt energy, all over the world! Enjoying the show and want to support my work? Buy the Flirt Coach a coffee! About our guest:  Fernie Salinas (he/they) is a queer Latinx fortune telling witch from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  They are the owner and founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, and they hope to be Your Favorite Fortune Teller! They grew up always knowing that magic was around us, as their great-grandfather and his son, their grand-uncle, were both curanderos (folk healers) in Rio Grande City, and it's been such a delight to have Golden Mirror Fortunes carry on the legacy of healing and mysticism they instilled in him. He's also an educator — he went to Rice University, studied English and Art History, got their teacher's certification, joined TFA, and have been a teacher and principal at various schools in the RGV.  He is currently an education consultant as well as running Golden Mirror Fortunes, their small fortune telling business.  He uses tarot and magic to help people heal and find their paths, all in service of improving their fortunes.  His deepest desire is to provide you with the light that you need to make your life a little more magical and glittery. Follow them on Instagram and let them be your favorite fortune teller! About your host:  Benjamin is a flirt and dating coach sharing his love of flirting and BFE - big flirt energy, with the world! A lifelong introvert and socially anxious member of society, Benjamin now helps singles and daters alike flirt with more confidence, clarity, and fun! As the flirt is all about connection, Benjamin helps the flirt community (the flirties!) date from a place that allows the value of connection in all forms - platonic and romantic connection - to take center stage and transform lives for greater healing and ultimately, a deeper connection with the self. You can connect with Benjamin on Instagram, TikTok, stream the Flirtations Flirtcast everywhere you listen to podcasts (like right here!), and find out more about working together 1:1 here.

Full show: https://kNOwBETTERHIPHOP.com Artist Played: AMiAM, Swamburger, conshus, Sadat X, Dat Guy Ike, Trexz, Say She She, Emma-Jean Thackray, Kassa Overall, Izabel, Basia Bulat, Brother Ali, Little Barrie, Arc De Soleil, DJ Center, Oddisee, Shinobi Stalin, 7X3=21, DJ Freddy Fresh, Eddie Chacon, Fly Anakin, $ilkmoney, Quelle Chris, Big Kahuna OG, Colette Chantel, Raging Moses, Cory Ard, Fernie, Jehst, Boog Brown, yU, CeeLo Green, OutKast, GOODie MOb, IMAKEMADBEATS

• Elon Musk offering $97.4 billion for Open AI• Sam Altman offers $9.74 billion offer to buy X• How to solve lose/lose problems – Exit the Frame• Earn More Profit; Raise Business Capital  https://thescottsinclair.myshopify.com/• City of Fernie parking lot story – changing the persuasion frame• Dragons' Den star Michael Wekerle's El Mocambo heading to Receivership?• Virtual, Fractional Accounting Services (Bookkeeping, Controller, CFO)https://www.sinclairrange.com/2024/10/sinclair-range-offers-fractional-cfo-controller-and-accounting-services-for-small-businesses/

Full show: https://kNOwBETTERHIPHOP.com Artist Played: Millatron, Marz Mello, Shinobi Stalin, DH, Crew54, Trust Burnem, conshus, Mad Sexual Genius, Kramer, Tensei, Michi, R.A.P. Ferreira, Yukimi, Fernie, Alsarah and the Nubatones, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Free Daps, Choses Sauvages, Cavalier, Child Actor, Hot 8 Brass Band, Ensilence, Tekbeatz, Songhoy Blues, Brother Ali, Tara Lily, Surya Sen, Scar, Sleepy Brown, OutKast, GOODie MOb, IMAKEMADBEATS

• City of Fernie Special Council Meeting related to Parking proposal• Hatfield–McCoy feud in the City of Fernie, BC?  A lesson on deals• Persuasion is the art of reframing• Facing a difficult decision? – punting is an option• Kroger M&A deal mismanagement • Business Course:  Earn More Profit; Raise Business Capital  https://thescottsinclair.myshopify.com/• Virtual, Fractional Accounting Services (Bookkeeping, Controller, CFO)https://www.sinclairrange.com/#leadership #entrepreneur #business #finance #BusinessCourse   #fernie  #Persuasion #Kroger #deals

Coming up on this episode of Flirtatations, we're going to have a magical time as Fernie, our favorite mystic and fortune teller, is back on the show for our winter solstice and new year's dating horoscope! The longest night of the year has passed us and we'll explore the cosmic energies that will influence our dating lives heading into the new year. What celestial movements will affect our love lives? How can we use the energies of the solstice to help us prepare for new beginnings and transformations? Whether it's attracting a new partner, deepening an existing relationship, or working on self-love, Fernie has got plenty of insight on what we should be focusing on for the coming season and how you can tap into the energy of the universe for your own personal growth and romantic aspirations. Let's do this, flirties! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review Flirtations on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode to spread BFE - big flirt energy, all over the world! Enjoying the show and want to support my work? Buy the Flirt Coach a coffee! About our guest:  Fernie Salinas (he/they) is a queer Latinx fortune telling witch from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  They are the owner and founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, and they hope to be Your Favorite Fortune Teller! They grew up always knowing that magic was around us, as their great-grandfather and his son, their grand-uncle, were both curanderos (folk healers) in Rio Grande City, and it's been such a delight to have Golden Mirror Fortunes carry on the legacy of healing and mysticism they instilled in him. He's also an educator — he went to Rice University, studied English and Art History, got their teacher's certification, joined TFA, and have been a teacher and principal at various schools in the RGV.  He is currently an education consultant as well as running Golden Mirror Fortunes, their small fortune telling business.  He uses tarot and magic to help people heal and find their paths, all in service of improving their fortunes.  His deepest desire is to provide you with the light that you need to make your life a little more magical and glittery. Follow them on Instagram and let them be your favorite fortune teller! About your host:  Benjamin is a flirt and dating coach sharing his love of flirting and BFE - big flirt energy, with the world! A lifelong introvert and socially anxious member of society, Benjamin now helps singles and daters alike flirt with more confidence, clarity, and fun! As the flirt is all about connection, Benjamin helps the flirt community (the flirties!) date from a place that allows the value of connection in all forms - platonic and romantic connection - to take center stage and transform lives for greater healing and ultimately, a deeper connection with the self. You can connect with Benjamin on Instagram, TikTok, stream the Flirtations Flirtcast everywhere you listen to podcasts (like right here!), and find out more about working together 1:1 here.

Fernie makes his predictions for trump‘s second term and Shawn makes his assessment of the predictions. Shawn believe  some of the predictions are just left-wing pearl clutching while he hopes some of the predictions come true despite Fern's concerns 

Today on a progressive and a libertarian walk into a bar Sean and Fernie take a look at Argentina to see how they are doing after electing a libertarian president. Fernie also wanted to discuss third parties as spoilers a concept Shawn thoroughly disagrees with. 

Have you ever felt the fire of your passion finally come to life, creating real impact in the world? Many of us have a drive to help others—especially those recovering from concussions—but find ourselves held back by a lack of confidence or resources. You might feel an eagerness to serve but face the frustration of not knowing how to deliver consistent, impactful results.   When you struggle with doubt, you risk limiting your reach and the positive change you can bring. But there's a way to overcome this! With the right framework and community support, you can transform that passion into a lasting impact.   In this episode, you'll learn:

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 11. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 18. 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:WhoAndy Cohen, General Manager of Fernie Alpine Resort, British ColumbiaRecorded onSeptember 3, 2024About FernieClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which also owns:Located in: Fernie, British ColumbiaPass affiliations:* Epic Pass: 7 days, shared with Kicking Horse, Kimberley, Nakiska, Stoneham, and Mont-Sainte Anne* RCR Rockies Season Pass: unlimited access, along with Kicking Horse, Kimberley, and NakiskaClosest neighboring ski areas: Fairmont Hot Springs (1:15), Kimberley (1:27), Panorama (1:45) – travel times vary considerably given time of year and weather conditionsBase elevation: 3,450 feet/1,052 metersSummit elevation: 7,000 feet/2,134 metersVertical drop: 3,550 feet/1,082 metersSkiable Acres: 2,500+Average annual snowfall: 360 inches/914 Canadian inches (also called centimeters)Trail count: 145 named runs plus five alpine bowls and tree skiing (4% extreme, 21% expert, 32% advanced, 30% intermediate, 13% novice)Lift count: 10 (2 high-speed quads, 2 fixed-grip quads, 3 triples, 1 T-bar, 1 Poma, 1 conveyor - view Lift Blog's inventory of Fernie's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himOne of the most irritating dwellers of the #SkiInternet is Shoosh Emoji Bro. This Digital Daniel Boone, having boldly piloted his Subaru beyond the civilized bounds of Interstate 70, considers all outlying mountains to be his personal domain. So empowered, he patrols the digital sphere, dropping shoosh emojis on any poster that dares to mention Lost Trail or White Pass or Baker or Wolf Creek. Like an overzealous pamphleteer, he slings his brand haphazardly, toward any mountain kingdom he deems worthy of his forcefield. Shoosh Emoji Bro once Shoosh Emoji-ed me over a post about Alta.

In this captivating episode, Paul Harvey sits down with Gavin Fernie-Jones, a man whose life journey from the urban streets of Essex to the picturesque landscapes of the French Alps is nothing short of transformative. Join us as we delve into Gavin's story, exploring his evolution from a reluctant child in the Peak District to a passionate advocate for sustainable living and community connection. Gavin's early life took an unexpected turn when his family moved to an isolated outdoor activity center in the Peak District. Initially resistant, Gavin soon found himself immersed in the beauty of nature, a shift that laid the foundation for his lifelong love of the outdoors. This connection to nature was further deepened during his college years, where he pursued art, and later, through his travels and experiences in the French Alps. Now settled in the French Alps, Gavin has spent over two decades integrating his passion for outdoor activities with a growing awareness of the environmental impact of consumerism. His journey took a pivotal turn when he launched an outdoor clothing business, revealing the staggering levels of waste in the industry. This realization sparked a personal journey, and he started a community project that emphasizes repair, reuse, and conscious consumption. Discover how Gavin's initiative, One Tree at a Time, has led to a community-driven revolution where 75% of outdoor clothing in his village is repaired and reused. Learn about the Reaction Collective, an international movement empowering local communities to make a difference while having fun. Gavin shares his insights on living a life in harmony with nature, free from the constraints of consumer culture and societal pressures. Towards the end of the episode, Gavin introduces us to Citizen Friday, a campaign encouraging individuals to share, repair, and get some fresh air as an alternative to the consumer frenzy of Black Friday. Listen in to find out how you can participate in this movement and make a meaningful impact in your own life. This episode is more than just a conversation; it's a call to action. Join Paul and Gavin as they explore the profound shifts we can make in our lives and communities by embracing simplicity, sustainability, and the true essence of being a citizen of the world.       Further details about this podcast along with my Guest's website and social links are all available at: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/gavin-fernie-jones-nature-and-community/     Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living. There is a lot to gain from listening to other people's stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life. For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit: www.lifepassionandbusiness.com     Support For Podcasters: Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests. Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion    

Plus, meet the card stacker with a Guinness World record. This & more during the Midday Mic Check!

In this exciting episode of What In East Dallas Is Going On?!, we dive deep into the heart of the State Fair of Texas! Our first guest is Melanie Linnear, Senior Vice President of Concessions for the fair, who shares her incredible journey from secretary to senior leadership. We discuss all things fair food! Yes, she is the one that picks the food! And she is going to tell us her favorites and even give us some gems. Then, we're joined by Christy and Johnna of Fernie's Funnel Cakes, the family behind one of the State Fair's most beloved traditions. Discover the story of how their family brought funnel cakes to Texas and hear all about their award-winning creations that have become fan favorites. Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at the food, fun, and legacy of the Texas State Fair!Get your tickets today! www.BigTex.com Connect with us! Instagram - Facebook www.visiteastdallas.comPartner with us! connect@visiteastdallas.com

Fernie is BACK on Flirtations to share with us in this episode our fall dating horoscope and dating guide for cuffing season!  What is cuffing season? What do the stars hold for our dating lives these next few months? What should be focusing on out there dating this upcoming season? Are there big themes the universe has in store for love lives? How will this impact us out there dating and making connections? How can we bring more fun, desire, and pleasure into our dating lives? All of this and MORE is waiting for you in this episode! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review Flirtations on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode to spread BFE - big flirt energy, all over the world! For more information on how to use astrology in your dating life and find out your "big three," check out episode 2 of Flirtations where we went into all of this! About our guest:  Fernie Salinas (he/they) is a queer Latinx fortune telling witch from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  They are the owner and founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, and they hope to be Your Favorite Fortune Teller! They grew up always knowing that magic was around us, as their great-grandfather and his son, their grand-uncle, were both curanderos (folk healers) in Rio Grande City, and it's been such a delight to have Golden Mirror Fortunes carry on the legacy of healing and mysticism they instilled in him. He's also an educator — he went to Rice University, studied English and Art History, got their teacher's certification, joined TFA, and have been a teacher and principal at various schools in the RGV.  He is currently an education consultant as well as running Golden Mirror Fortunes, their small fortune telling business.  He uses tarot and magic to help people heal and find their paths, all in service of improving their fortunes.  His deepest desire is to provide you with the light that you need to make your life a little more magical and glittery. Follow them on Instagram and let them be your favorite fortune teller! About your host:  Benjamin is a flirt and dating coach sharing his love of flirting and BFE - big flirt energy, with the world! A lifelong introvert and socially anxious member of society, Benjamin now helps singles and daters alike flirt with more confidence, clarity, and fun! As the flirt is all about connection, Benjamin helps the flirt community (the flirties!) date from a place that allows the value of connection in all forms - platonic and romantic connection - to take center stage and transform lives for greater healing and ultimately, a deeper connection with the self. You can connect with Benjamin on Instagram, TikTok, stream the Flirtations Flirtcast everywhere you listen to podcasts (like right here!), and find out more about working together 1:1 here.

Today on a progressive and a libertarian walk into a bar Fernie and Shawn  welcome Starchild chair of the San Francisco libertarian party to discuss the differences between chase Oliver and VP Harris. 

The conversation explores the importance of talking to kids about disabilities and how to approach the topic. Amanda Owen, who has a brother with a rare chromosomal disability, shares her personal experience and passion for advocating for individuals with disabilities. They discuss the need to normalize disabilities early on, finding common ground with individuals with disabilities, and the importance of open and honest conversations. They also touch on the generational shift in attitudes towards disabilities and the impact of societal norms on children's perceptions. In this conversation, Amanda Owen discusses how to address children's curiosities and teach empathy and inclusivity towards individuals with disabilities. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing similarities and finding common interests, as well as using moments of curiosity as teaching opportunities. Amanda also suggests using the phrase 'excuse us while we're learning' to address inappropriate comments and engage in a respectful conversation. She encourages parents to have scripted conversations with their children about differences and to model empathy and inclusivity in their own behavior. Amanda also shares her books, 'Owen the Wonder' series, which teach children about disabilities and promote understanding and acceptance. Chapters 00:00: Introduction and Personal Experience 02:50: Normalization and Early Conversations 07:46: Finding Common Ground 13:00: Open and Honest Conversations 17:55: Challenging Societal Norms 22:21: Recognizing Similarities and Finding Common Interests 27:17: Modeling Behavior and Having Scripted Conversations 31:45: Promoting Understanding and Acceptance Through Books About Amanda Amanda Owen is a children's book author, speaker, podcaster, nonprofit founder/director and lifelong advocate for those with disabilities. Her big brother, Nick, was the 11th person in the world diagnosed with his rare chromosomal disability, which meant Amanda grew up as an advocate. She became a special education teacher to help students like her brother, but desired to offer her students and their families more. Taking a leap of faith, Amanda left the classroom 11 years ago to launch Puzzle Pieces, a Kentucky-based nonprofit that serves individuals with disabilities, offering them targeted autism services, residential living, vocational training, supported employment, behavior services and more. Amanda's work has become a state and national model for disability services, allowing her to speak all over the country on advocacy, provider services and her perspective as a sibling. She inspires everyone she meets to dream big, work hard, own their mistakes and learn from them, be themselves, and most of all -- laugh! Amanda loves to connect! Find her at: Website: piecesofme.org Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pieces-of-me/id1547078857 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piecesofmebyamanda Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piecesofmebyamanda/ Episode Sponsors: Invest in your whole family's health with Seed. Go to Seed.com/MAMAKNOWS and use code 25MAMAKNOWS to get 25% off your first month of DS-01® Daily Synbiotic or PDS-08® Pediatric Daily Synbiotic.  Never skip therapy day, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/MAMAKNOWS today to get 10% off your first month. Disney Jr.'s Ariel is an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. The series features fan-favorite characters, including King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, and Flounder, as well as exciting new additions like Ariel's two best friends, mer-children Lucia and Fernie, and lots of other adorable sea creatures. The series debuts Thursday, June 27 on Disney Jr. and next day, Friday, June 28 on Disney+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation, Nina and Jessica discuss the importance of routines for children, especially during the back-to-school transition. Jessica, a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Rooted in Routine, shares the benefits of routines for children's physical and mental health, cognitive development, and stress management. They also discuss strategies for preparing children for the school year, managing screen time, and helping children decompress after school. Jessica provides advice for parents navigating different routines in two households. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the significance of routines in creating stability and supporting children's well-being. Jessica Irwin is a childhood routine expert, pediatric occupational therapist, mom of a toddler, and lover of all things child development. She founded her online business, Rooted in Routine, to help parents learn simple, easy-to-implement routines for optimal baby and child development at every age. Her approach is largely rooted in going back to the basics to help you establish solid, age-appropriate routines for things like feeding, play, mealtimes, potty, and sleep. She believes this is the most important foundation you can provide for your child - and she wants to help you do just that! You can find her on socials at @rootedinroutine or www.rootedinroutine.com. Jessica is having a back-to-school sale this August (8/15-8/19) where her Comprehensive Routine Guides will be 20% off! We love our Dream Land Baby Pajamas for the kiddos, go the dreamlandbabyco.com and enter code MAMAKNOWS at checkout to receive 30% off sitewide + free shipping! Land End has so many great options for the whole family! If you haven't checked out their swimsuits yet, you are missing out! Go to Landsend.com and use code mamaknows for 30% off your purchase. Disney Jr.'s Ariel is an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. The series features fan-favorite characters, including King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, and Flounder, as well as exciting new additions like Ariel's two best friends, mer-children Lucia and Fernie, and lots of other adorable sea creatures. The series debuts Thursday, June 27 on Disney Jr. and next day, Friday, June 28 on Disney+. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation, Nina and Dr. Menije discuss perfectionism and its impact on women, particularly in the context of motherhood. They explore different types of perfectionism and how it can manifest in various areas of life. Dr. Menije emphasizes the importance of self-compassion and embracing imperfection as antidotes to perfectionism. They also discuss how parents can help their children navigate perfectionism by teaching them to embrace mistakes and regulate their emotions. Overall, the conversation highlights the need to challenge societal expectations and redefine the concept of perfection. 00:00: Introduction and Personal Experiences with Perfectionism 03:11: Understanding the Different Types of Perfectionism 07:20: Perfectionism in Motherhood: Fear of Not Being Good Enough 10:36: The Role of Comparison and Social Media in Perfectionism 13:21: Overcoming Perfectionism: Self-Compassion and Embracing Imperfection 19:28: Helping Children Navigate Perfectionism: Embracing Mistakes and Regulating Emotions 25:25: Addressing Our Own Perfectionism as Parents More About Dr. Menije Dr. Menije is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Los Angeles, CA and a leading expert on overcoming perfectionism and building an authentic life. She knows her clients can bust out of their comfort zones, take ownership of their dreams, and create a new sense of self. As the founder of Perfectionism University, an online platform for self-help courses on breaking up with perfectionism, her goal is to create a community where we can all unlearn Perfectionism and start our journey of embracing imperfections and owning our enoughness. Disney Jr.'s Ariel is an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. The series features fan-favorite characters, including King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, and Flounder, as well as exciting new additions like Ariel's two best friends, mer-children Lucia and Fernie, and lots of other adorable sea creatures. The series debuts Thursday, June 27 on Disney Jr. and next day, Friday, June 28 on Disney+. Invest in your whole family's health with Seed. Go to Seed.com/MAMAKNOWS and use code 25MAMAKNOWS to get 25% off your first month of DS-01® Daily Synbiotic or PDS-08® Pediatric Daily Synbiotic.   For a limited time, kids eat FREE! Go to HelloFresh.com/mamakids to unlock this  exclusive offer. One free kids' meal per box for two months while subscription is active. That's FREE kids' meals just by going to HelloFresh dot com slash mamakids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fernie and trail running community of western Canada lost an incredible human, leader, and mentor on July 17th. Abi Moore was a pillar in the Fernie and trail running community and her loss is being felt deeply. We were honored to know her, even if only for a short time and will continue to be inspired by her enthusiasm and joy for life, mountains, dogs, and her community here in the Rockies. Rest easy, Abi.— Loss of a Community Member— Personal Reflections on Loss— Memories of Abi— Processing Grief and Finding Support— Living with Purpose and Balance— Tribute to AbiResources Mentioned in This Episode:· FernieFix — Abi Moore· Canadian Trail Running Magazine: Popular B.C. race director killed in car accident in Alberta· Tactic Nutrition Post: Live Your Life· The Tigers & The Strawberry· Stag Leap Running Co.────────────────────────────Want to work with Tactic Functional Nutrition? Check Out Our ServicesLearn More About Us Here and be sure to follow Tactic Nutrition on IG!Stay in the loop with us by signing up for our email list!

Do you struggle with self confidence? Having confidence is something I struggle with and have been working on across all areas of my life. In this episode we dive into the topic of confidence and how you can work on building yours! Discussion: 1. Why are some flamingos lighter pink/more washed out than others? 2. Signs you are lacking self confidence. 3. Simple things to implement daily to boost your self confidence. Click here to buy my Manifestation Guide.  Disney Jr.'s Ariel is an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. The series features fan-favorite characters, including King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, and Flounder, as well as exciting new additions like Ariel's two best friends, mer-children Lucia and Fernie, and lots of other adorable sea creatures. The series debuts Thursday, June 27 on Disney Jr. and next day, Friday, June 28 on Disney+. City Lips by City Beauty Shop citybeauty.com and get 15% off site wide with code: mamaknows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shawn tries to cut through the progressive madness to explain anarcho capitalism to Fernie 

Shawn and Fernie discuss some current events. Recorded on July 21, 2024. 

Oh my god we're back again This week Edan McGovern returns to tell us all about the idyllic snow town of Fernie, British Columbia. Special thanks to Chloe Maddren for filling in as a guest host once more. Subscribe to our Patreon at www.patreon.com/communitynoticeboard Hit us up with tips and stories at: Insta: communitynoticeboardpodDiscord: Community Noticeboard PodcastEmail: communitynoticepod@gmail.comFb: Community Noticeboard Podcast  https://linktr.ee/CommunityNoticeboardPodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest on Episode #66 of the TGG Podcast is Paul Fernie. Paul is Sporting Director of SV Darmstadt in Germany. He grew up in Hull and worked in analysis roles in England before the opportunity came to join Wiesbaden. He progressed from Head of Recruitment to Sporting Director and led the club from promotion to Bundesliga 2. Paul told us how the Sporting Director role works in Germany, what it was like to work under Graham Potter and Paul Mitchell and why more English staff should give it a go abroad. 

Invest in your whole family's health with Seed. Go to Seed.com/MAMAKNOWS and use code 25MAMAKNOWS to get 25% off your first month of DS-01® Daily Synbiotic or PDS-08® Pediatric Daily Synbiotic. That's 25% off your first month of Seed's DS-01® or PDS-08® at Seed dot com slash MAMAKNOWS, code 25MAMAKNOWS. Disney Jr.'s Ariel is an animated musical series for preschoolers inspired by the beloved story of “The Little Mermaid.” It follows 8-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond. The series features fan-favorite characters, including King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, and Flounder, as well as exciting new additions like Ariel's two best friends, mer-children Lucia and Fernie, and lots of other adorable sea creatures. The series debuts Thursday, June 27 on Disney Jr. and next day, Friday, June 28 on Disney+.  Arguing in relationships happens but we don't often talk about how to reconnect and repair the relationship after an argument happens. Too often we move on without any true resolution. This we are talking to Jocelyn Freeman of Meet the Freemans and she walks us through some strategies and ways we can repair and take accountability without resentment. 1. We just had a big argument and are at a stalemate, how do we repair? 2. Our argument got heated, we took a break to cool down, but when we talk about it and try to repair we end up getting into an even bigger argument. How can we stop this cycle? 3. POV: I always feel like I am initiating the repair and taking accountability, but my partner isn't. I am feeling disconnected and frustrated which is leaving me to feel resentment. What can I do so I am not the only one saying sorry? 4. How can I get past the self-righteous mentality in arguments? Aaron and Jocelyn Freeman ("The Freemans") are authors of The Argument Hangover, creators of The Couples Workshop (which has sold out over 50 times), and coaches to thousands of couples worldwide. They are best known for their relatable and actionable tools and skills for couples to communicate better, fight smarter, and handle any challenge as a team. The best resources to start with are their 30-Day Couples Challenges and their instant-access guides. 

Welcome to the Cross Border Interviews, Today's guest is Fernie Councillor Ted Shoesmith. 
 Cross Border Interviews is Part of the Cross Border Network. ©2024

Chantelle Erickson, known as "the mother runner," has enjoyed running for 15 years. Originally from the Greater Toronto Area, she moved west, living in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Her running journey spans obstacle races, marathons, ultras, and multi-stage races, all initially in the pursuit of health and wellness. Starting on a treadmill, she soon embraced the outdoors, running on Saskatchewan's gravel roads. Running became crucial for her mental well-being, offering a positive self-image and goal-setting opportunities.Chantelle's structured approach has kept her consistent for over a decade. After her son's birth, she completed her first half-marathon within eight months, living by her mantra, "If you can believe it, you can achieve it." She has raced in numerous Canadian cities and achieved a podium finish in Fernie in 2016. Her passion for mountains was ignited after a challenging 70-mile backpacking trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.She entered ultra marathons in 2017, completing her first 50k at the Lost Soul Ultra. With podium finishes in subsequent races, Chantelle realized the importance of consistent training and coaching. Despite facing injuries and harsh conditions, she remains resilient, using running to overcome life's setbacks. Chantelle coaches for Personal Peak and writes for Canadian Running magazine. Outside running, Chantelle runs a pre and postnatal fitness business called Be Well Chantelle, advises on financial fitness, and enjoys various outdoor activities.Connect with Chantelle:Instagram: @runningmama85Website: bewellchantelle.comPersonal Peak Run CoachingFacebook: chantelle.ericksonConnect with Carolyn & Kim:Email us with guest ideas: inspiredsolescast@gmail.comInspired Soles InstagramKim's InstagramKim's FacebookCarolyn's FacebookWe love hearing from you! Connect with us on Instagram @inspiredsolescast or email guest ideas to inspiredsolescast@gmail.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe or leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

A know a flirty will gaze at the stars from time to time! Wonder is one thing we do!  But what if the stars could help us ... flirt? In this special bonus episode of Flirtations, I sat down with Fernie, my favorite fortune teller on the internet, to talk about how we can use astrology to help us flirt and date with more empowerment and confidence! In this conversation, we'll start with the basics on how to find your "Big 3" and then figure out what to do with that information! Fernie guides us through how to interpret your chart and why astrology is ultimately a tool for introspection, self awareness, and connection. Let's flirt with the stars! To find your "Big 3" if you're not sure what they are, please find out for free here! This is Fernie's favorite resource. Do your best, it's ok if you don't know all the details! To take the FREE flirt styles quiz mentioned in the episode, follow this link! Finally, let's connect on Flirtstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/benjamincamras/ And Flirttok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@benjamincamras The conversation continues on Swell with bonus clips, extended interviews, and more! After each episode, head on over to Swell and let's keep flirting! In the bonus clips for this episode, I ask Fernie to spill more tea on some popular astrological pairings. Check out THREE bonus clips on Swell:  https://www.swellcast.com/BenjaminCamras About our guest:  Fernie Salinas (he/they) is a queer Latinx fortune telling witch from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  They are the owner and founder of Golden Mirror Fortunes, and they hope to be Your Favorite Fortune Teller! They grew up always knowing that magic was around us, as their great-grandfather and his son, their grand-uncle, were both curanderos (folk healers) in Rio Grande City, and it's been such a delight to have Golden Mirror Fortunes carry on the legacy of healing and mysticism they instilled in him. He's also an educator — he went to Rice University, studied English and Art History, got their teacher's certification, joined TFA, and have been a teacher and principal at various schools in the RGV.  He is currently an education consultant as well as running Golden Mirror Fortunes, their small fortune telling business.  He uses tarot and magic to help people heal and find their paths, all in service of improving their fortunes.  His deepest desire is to provide you with the light that you need to make your life a little more magical and glittery. Follow them on Instagram and let them be your favorite fortune teller! Thank you for listening! I couldn't do this without two amazing collaborators! Thank you to Corey Claxton for mixing down and editing each episode to perfection. You can connect with Corey on Instagram and via email coreyclaxton@gmail.com. Thank you to Joey Collins for the original music you hear in each episode. You can connect with Joey on Instagram and Soundcloud! 

Hey there, beer buffs and joystick juggernauts! Fernie and Mike here, and we've got a brew-soaked controller-gripping adventure in store for you. Ever wondered what a hazy double IPA can reveal about your gaming tastes? We're breaking down the bold flavors of Full Earth from Old Nations Brewing Company while dishing out our raw thoughts on the latest gaming hits from Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. Strap in for a wild ride through the digital plains of Resident Evil 3's remake and the updated wastelands of Fallout 4, now more gripping in its next-gen glory. We're rating games and beers with the same gusto, with the added twist of live chugging challenges that'll have you cheering (or wincing) along with us. But it's not just about the suds and the scores; we're tapping into the pulse of the gaming world with news updates from Mike Corner that'll keep you locked in and possibly inspire your next screen time session.We wrap up our virtual gathering with a nod to our live listeners – you're the real MVPs. Join us as we recount the highs and lows of broadcasting live and transitioning those spontaneous gems into polished podcast episodes. And because we can't resist a good cliffhanger, we've got gaming news that you'll be mulling over long after your headphones are off. So pour yourself a cold one, press play, and let's raise a toast to the power of friendship, gaming, and the perfect beer. Cheers to that!https://www.instagram.com/smashandbrews/www.smashandbrews.com

Shawn and Fernie finish off their stout beer in this doubleheader podcast while they talk about voter ID and the false equivalency. 

Bre Fernie and Russ Liptzin of HPE Aruba Explore the Power of Wi-Fi 6E, Tech Talks with Bre Fernie Podcast, Unveiling the Next Frontier in Wireless Connectivity “It's like Wi-Fi 6 on steroids,” says Bre Fernie. “So, the E stands for extended, and it brings some exciting enhancements to the table, more channels, less interference. Wi-Fi 6E provides even more available channels for devices to use. With the addition of the 6 gigahertz frequency band, there's less interference from other devices, so you can say goodbye to buffering during your favorite shows, faster speeds.” In this edition of Tech Talks with Bre Fernie, Bre's Sales Engineer partner, Russ Liptzin, from HPE Aruba Southern California, join us on a journey into the realm of Wi-Fi 6E. In this episode, they dissect the buzz surrounding Wi-Fi 6E, the extended version of the Wi-Fi 6 standard, shedding light on its game-changing features and technical intricacies. From expanded spectrum and lightning-fast speeds to seamless streaming and future-proofing networks, discover why Wi-Fi 6E is the ultimate solution for anyone seeking a superior wireless experience. Tune in for expert insights, practical advice, and a glimpse into the future of connectivity. “This is a game changer for high density deployments and minimizing co-channel interference. Having 59 new single channels is a pretty big deal,” adds Russ. Contact fernie@hpe.com Visit https://www.arubanetworks.com/products/wireless Bre Fernie and Russ Liptzin of HPE Aruba Explore the Power of Wi-Fi 6E https://youtu.be/aFD6o74vBXQ  

Crack a cold one and settle in as Fernie and Mike, take you on a whirlwind tour through gaming's glory days with our mate Eric, the legend behind TrueScope. This episode isn't just about nostalgia, though; we get into the thick of it, from the adrenaline-pumping idea of a John Wick video game to the shadowy allure of a Sin City adaptation. And as we marvel at the possible cinematic crossovers, we're not just sipping on any old brews—Austin's finest black IPA and Shiner's Tex Hex are on the tasting block, each with a character as distinct as the games we're reminiscing about.Let's face it, sometimes the best game tactics come with a side of tipsiness or a puff of creativity—so we hash it out: weed, alcohol, or sober strategy? We'll regale you with tales of silent victories and raucous multiplayer sessions that might just convince you to switch up your gaming routine. But it's not all fun and games; we're also stirring the pot with a frank talk on the indie game sphere. Can indie darlings command AAA prices? The debate gets as heated as a deathmatch in Call of Duty, with no camp left unchallenged.Amidst the hoppy banter and digital dreams, we don't shy away from the bigger conversations. We're dissecting the tug-of-war between graphics and gameplay that's as old as the first consoles, and pondering if the indie hits could be the David to the AAA Goliath. And as we wrap up with a tribute to Paticolas Brewing's Irish Goodbye, we also tackle the delicate topic of gender biases in the gaming industry, wondering why some characters get the acclaim while others fight for the spotlight. So grab your headset and a drink, because this is one Smashing Brews episode you won't want to miss.https://www.instagram.com/smashandbrews/www.smashandbrews.com

Remember those high school nights spent in the throes of Halo battles, snack-fueled laughter, and living room wrestling matches? We sure do, and this episode is a trip down memory lane, spiked with debate over who'd win in fictional character smackdowns, from Kerrigan of StarCraft fame to Diablo's Lilith. With our elusive guest, Rabid Hound's, insights just out of reach, Mike and Fernie, still manage to stir up the past with roars of nostalgia and invite you into our musings of the ultimate video game battles. What's more, we're curious about your dream match-ups too, so join the revelry as we celebrate these iconic characters.The conversation takes a turn as we dissect the gaming industry's revenue models and the potential of in-game advertising – think seeing the latest sneakers on a Madden player! We also unpack the pros and cons of charging streamers for licensing fees and share a collective eye-roll over the latest Call of Duty's shortcomings. But it's not all critical banter; we ponder on ways game developers could truly reward their fans. Meanwhile, we sip on our brews, unafraid to call out the ones that blend into the background, all while balancing critiques and commendations of the gaming world.As we wrap up, we cast an analytical eye toward the digital future of gaming and its price tag perplexities, questioning if a digital-only market could finally bring down costs for gamers. GameStop's survival tactics and Blizzard's leadership shuffle also make it into our crosshairs, with a brief detour into NFL fandoms and the unpredictability of sports trends. Whether you're intrigued by platform exclusivity discussions or the influence of Assassin's Creed's naval battles on new pirate adventures, there's plenty to unpack here. So, refill your glass and lend an ear – we're sending off episode 24 with heartfelt thanks and a look ahead to the 'lucky' 25th gathering.https://www.instagram.com/smashandbrews/www.smashandbrews.com

Ever wondered if a video game can send shivers down your spine more effectively than a horror movie? That's just a taste of what we're serving up in this boozy gaming gabfest, where Mic and Fernie swap tales of terror from the pixelated depths of Silent Hill to the immersive scares of VR. Grab your brews, folks; we're toasting the eerie and the untamed in video game horror, exploring whether childhood nightmares can evolve into full-grown fear in today's gaming world.Strap in as we navigate the twists and turns of gaming's past, present, and future – all while sipping on the latest craft beers. From the nostalgic lanes lined with Halo and Mario to the cutting-edge co-op in Helldivers, we dissect what makes a game stand the test of time or fizzle out faster than a dud beer. And speaking of beers, we're not shy about sharing our latest tasting notes – some hit the spot, some miss by a mile, but all are part of the ride.As the suds settle, we get real about Xbox's latest hurdles, offer candid takes on political speeches (with a side of beer critique, naturally), and shine a spotlight on gaming gems that deserve more love. Beyond the banter, we look toward the horizon of our own podcast, plotting a course through the evolving landscape of gaming media and sponsorships. So come for the games, stay for the laughs, and perhaps, just maybe, you'll find your next favorite beer or game recommendation right here with us.https://www.instagram.com/smashandbrews/www.smashandbrews.com

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on April 16. It dropped for free subscribers on April 23. To receive future pods 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:WhoSteve Paccagnan, President and CEO of Panorama Mountain, British ColumbiaRecorded onMarch 27, 2024About PanoramaClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Panorama Mountain Village, Inc., a group of local investorsLocated in: Panorama, British Columbia, CanadaYear founded: 1962Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass: 7 days, no blackouts* Ikon Base Pass: 5 days, holiday blackouts* Mountain Collective: 2 days, no blackouts* Lake Louise Pass: view details hereClosest neighboring ski areas: Fairmont Hot Springs (:45), Kimberley (1:43), Kicking Horse (1:54) – travel times will vary considerably depending upon road conditions and time of yearBase elevation: 3,773 feet/1,150 metersSummit elevation: 8,038 feet/2,450 metersVertical drop: 4,265 feet/1,300 metersSkiable Acres: 2,975Average annual snowfall: 204 inches/520 centimetersTrail count: 135 (30% expert, 20% advanced, 35% intermediate, 15% beginner)Lift count: 10 (1 eight-passenger pulse gondola, 2 high-speed quads, 2 fixed-grip quads, 1 triple, 1 double, 1 platter, 2 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Panorama's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himU.S. America is making a mistake. In skiing, as in so many other arenas, we prioritize status quo protectionism over measured, holistic development that would reorient our built environments around humans, rather than cars, shrinking our overall impact while easing our access to the mountains and permitting more people to enjoy them. Our cluttered and interminable western approach roads, our mountain-town housing shortages, our liftlines backed up to Kansas are all the result of deliberate generational decisions to prioritize cars over transit, open space over dense walkable communities, and blanket wilderness protection over metered development of new public ski areas in regions where the established businesses - and their surrounding infrastructure - are overwhelmed.I write about these things a lot. This pisses some of you off. I'm OK with that. I'm not here to recycle the broken ideas that have made U.S. skiing into the mess that (in some fundamental ways, in certain regions) it is. I'm here to figure out how it can be better. The skiing itself, mind you, tends to be fabulous. It is everything that surrounds the mountains that can spoil the experience: the cost, the hassle, the sprawl. There are better ways to do this, to get people to the mountains and to house them there, both to live and to vacation. We know this because other countries already do a lot of the things that we ought to be doing. And the most culturally similar and geographically cozy one is so close we can touch it.U.S. America and U.S. Americans are ceding North American skiing's future to British Columbia. This is where virtually all of the continent's major resort development has occurred over the past three decades. Why do you suppose so many skiers from Washington State spend so much time at Whistler? Yes, it's the largest resort in North America, with knockout terrain and lots of snow. But Crystal and Stevens Pass and Baker all get plenty of snow and are large enough to give most skiers just about anything they need. What Whistler has that none of them do is an expansive pedestrian base village with an almost infinite number of ski-in, ski-out beds and places to eat, drink, and shop. A dense community in the mountains. That's worth driving four or more hours north for, even if you have to deal with the pain-in-the-ass border slowdowns to get there.This is not an accident, and Whistler is not an outlier. Over the past 30-plus years, the province of British Columbia has deliberately shaped its regulatory environment and developmental policies to encourage and lubricate ski resort evolution and growth. While all-new ski resort developments often stall, one small ski area after another has grown from community bump to major resort over the past several decades. Tiny Mount Mackenzie became titanic Revelstoke, which towers over even mighty Whistler. Backwater Whitetooth blew upward and outward into sprawling, ferocious Kicking Horse. Little Tod Mountain evolved into Sun Peaks, now the second-largest ski area in Canada. While the resort has retained its name over the decades, the transformation of Panorama has been just as thorough and dramatic.Meanwhile, in America, we stagnate. Every proposed terrain expansion or transit alternative or housing development crashes headfirst into a shredder of bureaucratic holdups, lawsuits, and citizen campaigns. There are too many ways to stop things, and too many people whose narrow visions of what the world ought to be blockade the sort of wholesale rethinking of community architecture that would make the mountains more livable and accessible.This has worked for a while. It's still sort of working now. But each year, as the same two companies sell more and more passes to access a relatively stable number of U.S. ski areas, the traffic, liftlines, and cost of visiting these large resorts grows. Locals will find a way, pick their spots. But destination skiers with a menu of big-mountain options will eventually realize that I-70 is not a mandatory obstacle to maneuver on a good ski vacation. They can head north, instead, with the same ski pass they already have, and spend a week at Red or Fernie or Kimberley or Revelstoke or Sun Peaks or Kicking Horse.Or Panorama. Three thousand acres, 4,265 vertical feet, no lines, and no hassle getting there other than summoning the patience to endure long drives down Canadian two-laners. As the U.S. blunders along, Canada kept moving. The story of Panorama shows us how.What we talked aboutA snowmaking blitz; what happened when Panorama joined the Ikon Pass; how Covid savaged the international skier game; Panorama in the ‘80s; Intrawest arrives; a summit lift at last; village-building; reviving Mt. Baldy, B.C.; Mont Ste. Marie and learning French; why Intrawest sold the ski area; modernizing the lift system; busy busy Copper; leaving for Kicking Horse; Resorts of the Canadian Rockies arrives; who owns Panorama; whether the resort will stay independent; potential lift replacements and terrain expansions; could we ever see a lift in Taynton Bowl?; explaining those big sections of the trailmap that are blocked off with purple borders; and whitebark pine conservation.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewIt wouldn't be fair to call Panorama a Powder Highway sleeper. The place seems to be doing fine as a business, with plenty of skier traffic to support continuous expansive infrastructure upgrades. But with lower average annual snowfall totals than Revy and Whitewater and Fernie and Red, Panorama does tend to get fewer shout-outs through the media and social media megaphones. It's Northstar to Palisades Tahoe, Keystone to A-Basin, Park City to the Cottonwoods: the less-snowy, less-intense neighbor that collects families in wholesome Build-A-Bear fashion.But Panorama is wrapping up its second full season on the Ikon Pass, and its second winter since Canada finally unlocked its Covid-era borders. What impact, if any, would those two developments have on Panorama's famously uncrowded slopes? Even if Colorad-Bro would never deign to turn his Subaru north, would Kansas Karl or North Dakota Norman load the kids into the minivan for something farther but less annoying?Not yet, it turns out. Or at least, not in great enough numbers to wreck the place. But there is another angle to the Panorama story that intrigues me. Like Copper Mountain, Mountain Creek, and Whistler, Panorama once belonged to Intrawest. Unlike Winter Park, Steamboat, Stratton, and Snowshoe, they did not remain part of the enterprise long enough to live second lives as part of Alterra Mountain Company. But what if they had? Our big-mountain coalitions have somewhat ossified over these past half-dozen years, so that we think of ski areas as Ikon mountains or Epic mountains or Indy mountains or independent mountains. But these rosters, like the composition of sports teams or, increasingly, leagues, can fluctuate wildly over time. I do wonder how Whistler would look under Alterra and Ikon, or what impact Mountain Creek-as-unlimited-Ikon mountain would have had on the megapass market in New York City? We don't really know. But Panorama, as a onetime Intrawest mountain that rejoined the family through the backdoor with Ikon membership, does give us a sort-of in-between case, a kind of What If? episode of skiing.Which would be a fun thought experiment under any circumstances. But how cool to hear about the whole evolution from a guy who saw it all happen first-hand over the course of four decades? Who saw it from all levels and from all angles, who knew the players and who helped push the boulder uphill himself? That's increasingly rare with big mountains, in this era of executive rotations and promotions, to get access to a top leader in possession of institutional knowledge that he himself helped to draft. It was, I'm happy to say, as good as I'd hoped.What I got wrongI said that Panorama was “one of the closest B.C. ski areas to the United States.” This is not quite right. While the ski area is just 100 or so miles from the international border, more than a dozen ski areas sit closer to the U.S., including majors such as Kimberley, Fernie, Whitewater, and Red Mountain.Why you should ski PanoramaLet's acknowledge, first of all, that Panorama has a few things working against it: it's more than twice as far from Calgary airport – most skiers' likely port of entry – than Banff and its trio of excellent ski areas; it's the least powdery major ski resort on the Powder Highway; and while the skiable acreage and vertical drop are impressive, skiers must ride three lifts and a Snowcat to lap much of the best terrain.But even that extra drive still gets you to the bump in under four hours on good roads – hardly an endurance test. Sure, they get more snow in Utah, but have you ever been in Utah on a powder day? Enjoy that first untracked run, because unless you're a local who knows exactly where to go, it will probably be your only one. And lapping multiple lifts is more of a psychological exercise than a practical one when there are few to no liftlines.And dang the views when you get there:There are plenty of large, under-trafficked ski resorts remaining in the United States. But they tend to be hundreds of miles past the middle of nowhere, with 60-year-old chairlifts and little or no snowmaking, and nowhere to sleep other than the back of your van. In BC, you can find the best of America's Big Empties crossed with the modern lift fleets of the sprawling conglomerate-owned pinball machines. And oh by the way you get a hell of a discount off of already low-seeming (compared to the big-mountain U.S.) prices: an American dollar, as of April 16, was worth $1.38 Canadian.Podcast NotesOn IntrawestPanorama, as a former Intrawest-owned resort, could easily have been part of Alterra Mountain Company right now. Instead, it was one of several ski areas sold off in the years before the legacy company stuffed its remainders into the Anti-Vail:On Mont Ste. MarieMont Ste. Marie is one of approximately 45,000 ski areas in Quebec, and the only one, coincidentally, that I've actually skied. Paccagnan happened to be GM when I skied there, in 2002:On Kicking HorseIt's incredible how many U.S. Americans remain unaware of Kicking Horse, which offers what is probably the most ferocious inbounds ski terrain in North America, 4,314 vertical feet of straight down:Well, almost straight down. The bottom bit is fairly tame. That's because Kicking Horse, like many B.C. ski areas, began as a community bump and exploded skyward with an assist from the province. Here's what the ski area, then known as “Whitetooth,” looked like circa 1994:This sort of transformation happens all the time in British Columbia, and is the result of a deliberate, forward-looking development philosophy that has mostly evaporated in the U.S. American West.On the Powder HighwayPanorama lacks the notoriety of its Powder Highway size-peers, mostly because the terrain is overall a bit milder and the volume of natural snow a bit lower than many of the other ski areas. Here's a basic Powder Highway map:And a statistical breakdown:On the Lake Louise PassI already covered this one in my podcast with Red Mountain CEO Howard Katkov a couple months back:Katkov mentions the “Lake Louise Pass,” which Red participates in, along with Castle Mountain and Panorama. He's referring to the Lake Louise Plus Card, which costs $134 Canadian up front. Skiers then get their first, fourth, and seventh days free, and 20 percent off lift tickets for each additional visit. While these sorts of discount cards have been diminished by Epkon domination, versions of them still provide good value across the continent. The Colorado Gems Card, Smugglers' Notch's Bash Badge, and ORDA's frequent skier cards are all solid options for skiers looking to dodge the megapass circus.On Panorama's masterplan:On Mt. Baldy, B.C.Paccagnan helped revitalize a struggling Mt. Baldy, British Columbia, in the 1990s. Here was the ski area's 1991 footprint:And here's what it looks like today – the ski area joined Indy Pass for the 2023-24 ski season:On Panorama's evolutionPanorama, like many B.C. ski areas, has evolved significantly over the past several decades. Here's what the place looked like in 1990, not long after Paccagnan started and before Intrawest bought the place. A true summit lift was still theoretical, Taynton Bowl remained out of bounds, and the upper-mountain lifts were a mix of double chairs and T-bars:By 1995, just two years after Intrawest had purchased the ski area, the company had installed a summit T-bar and opened huge tracts of advanced terrain off the top of the mountain:The summit T ended up being a temporary solution. By 2005, Intrawest had thoroughly modernized the lift system, with a sequence of high-speed quads out of the base transporting skiers to the fixed-grip Summit Quad. Taynton Bowl became part of the marked and managed terrain:On Whitebark Pine certificationA bit of background on Panorama's certification as a “whitebark pine-friendly ski resort” – from East Kootenay News Online Weekly:The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada has certified Panorama Mountain Resort as a Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area, the first resort in Canada to receive this designation.The certification recognizes the resort's long and continued efforts to support the recovery of whitebark pine within its ski area boundary, a threatened tree species that plays a critical role in the biodiversity of mountain ecosystems. ,,,Found across the subalpine of interior B.C., Alberta and parts of the U.S, this slow growing, five needle pine is an integral part of an ecosystem that many other species depend on for survival. The tree's cones hold some of the most nutritious seeds in the mountains and sustain Grizzly bears and birds, including the Clark's nutcracker which has a unique symbiotic relationship with the tree. The deep and widespread roots of the whitebark pine contribute to the health of watersheds by stabilizing alpine slopes and regulating snowpack run-off.Over the past decade, whitebark pine numbers have fallen dramatically due in large part to a non-native fungal disease known as white pine blister rust that has been infecting and killing the trees at an alarming rate. Since 2012, the whitebark pine has been listed as endangered under the Government of Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA), and was recently added to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's threatened species list.Panorama Mountain Resort has collaborated with the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada to facilitate restoration projects including cone collection and tree plantings within the resort's ski area.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 31/100 in 2024, and number 531 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

Fernie  and Shawn record a doubleheader coup Podcasts with two topics while drinking stout beer with an AVB of .12 On today show they discuss project 2025 along with “the right to associate” be sure to stay tuned for the next podcast as the beer really kicks in 

MNMT Label Showcase presents Space Textures mixed by Fernie (@ferniemusic) Space Textures is a label created by Glasgow based Fernie with a view to curating and bringing to the fore atmospheric deep techno. Founded in 2020 Space Textures has now released over 100 tracks from artists all across the world showcasing both upcoming and already established acts. The label continues to build upon the original ethos staying true to the concept of releasing music that holds emotional value and resonates with the wider cosmos. Presented here are both current and upcoming works from the Space Textures catalog. Follow: https://soundcloud.com/spacetextures https://www.instagram.com/spacetextures/ https://spacetextures.bandcamp.com/ www.spacetextures.com https://soundcloud.com/ferniemusic https://www.instagram.com/ferniemusic/ https://www.facebook.com/Ferniemusicuk/

Shawn and Fernie talk smack about lots of topics

Shane grew up and played his minor hockey in Fernie, BC, a town of roughly 7.000 people, He rose through the ranks with skill and tenacity, resulting in him playing 488 NHL games and amassing 2301 penalty minutes. Always ready to stand up for a teammate, Shane was loved by his teammates and coaches. He currently serves as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the NHL's Florida Panthers.Riverside Bike and Skate Eau Claire's hockey headquarters which is the oldest hockey store in the state of Wisconsin. Chippewa Valley Ortho and Sport Medicine Dedicated and committed to the health care needs of patients in Western Wisconsin since 1954. Dooley's Pub The place to go for a traditional Irish pub experience with quality food good prices and beveragesRyan Flaig - State Farm Serving Eau Claire, Altoona, Fall Creek, Fairchild, Augusta, Osseo, Eleva, Strum, MondoviEau Claire Ford Eau Claire Ford is here for all your parts and service needs for your vehicleWilliams Diamond Center Williams Diamond Center is a fun and friendly place to find your next sparkling signature pieceDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.@TheBOSPodwww.thebreakoutsessions.com

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Feb. 28. It dropped for free subscribers on March 6. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription (on sale at 15% off through March 12, 2024). You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoHoward Katkov, Chairman and CEO of Red Mountain Resort, British ColumbiaRecorded onFeb. 8, 2024About Red MountainClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Red Mountain VenturesLocated in: Rossland, British Columbia, CanadaYear founded: 1947 (beginning of chairlift service)Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass: 7 days, no blackouts* Ikon Base Pass and Ikon Base Pass Plus: 5 days, holiday blackouts* Lake Louise Pass (described below)Closest neighboring ski areas: Salmo (:58), Whitewater (1:22), Phoenix Mountain (1:33), 49 Degrees North (1:53)Base elevation: 3,887 feet/1,185 metersSummit elevation: 6,807 feet/2,075 metersVertical drop: 2,919 feet/890 metersSkiable Acres: 3,850Average annual snowfall: 300 inches/760 cmTrail count: 119 (17% beginner, 34% intermediate, 23% advanced, 26% expert)Lift count: 8 (2 fixed-grip quads, 3 triples, 1 double, 1 T-bar, 1 carpet)View historic Red Mountain trailmaps on skimap.org. Here are some cool video overviews:Granite Mountain:Red Mountain:Grey Mountain:Rossland:Why I interviewed himIt's never made sense to me, this psychological dividing line between Canada and America. I grew up in central Michigan, in a small town closer to Canada (the bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron stood 142 miles away), than the closest neighboring state (Toledo, Ohio, sat 175 miles south). Yet, I never crossed into Canada until I was 19, by which time I had visited roughly 40 U.S. states. Even then, the place felt more foreign than it should, with its aggressive border guards, pizza at McDonald's, and colored currency. Canada on a map looks easy, but Canada in reality is a bit harder, eh?Red sits just five miles, as the crow flies, north of the U.S. border. If by some fluke of history the mountain were part of Washington, it would be the state's greatest ski area, larger than Crystal and Stevens Pass combined. In fact, it would be the seventh-largest ski area in the country, larger than Mammoth or Snowmass, smaller only than Park City, Palisades, Big Sky, Vail, Heavenly, and Bachelor.But, somehow, the international border acts as a sort of invisibility shield, and skiing Red is a much different experience than visiting any of those giants, with their dense networks of high-speed lifts and destination crowds (well, less so at Bachelor). Sure, Red is an Ikon Pass mountain, and has been for years, but it is not synonymous with the pass, like Jackson or Aspen or Alta-Snowbird. But U.S. skiers – at least those outside of the Pacific Northwest – see Red listed on the Ikon menu and glaze past it like the soda machine at an open bar. It just doesn't seem relevant.Which is weird and probably won't last. And right now Shoosh Emoji Bro is losing his goddamn mind and cursing me for using my platform focused on lift-served snowskiing to hype one of the best and most interesting and most underrated lift-served snowskiing operations in North America. But that's why this whole deal exists, Brah. Because most people ski at the same 20 places and I really think skiing as an idea and as an experience and as a sustainable enterprise will be much better off if we start spreading people out a bit more.What we talked aboutRed pow days; why Red amped up shuttle service between the ski area and Rossland and made it free; old-school Tahoe; “it is the most interesting mountain I've ever skied”; buying a ski area when you've never worked at a ski area; why the real-estate crash didn't bury Red like some other ski areas; why Katkov backed away from a golf course that he spent a year and a half planning at Red; why the 900 lockers at the dead center of the base area aren't going anywhere; housing and cost of living in Rossland; “we look at our neighborhood as an extension of our community of Rossland”; base area development plans; balancing parking with people; why and how Red Mountain still sells affordable ski-in, ski-out real estate; “our ethos is to be accessible for everybody”; whether we could ever see a lift from Rossland to Red; why Red conducted a crowd-funding ownership campaign and what they did with the money; Red's newest ownership partners; the importance of independence; “the reality is that the pass, whether it's the Epic or the Ikon Pass, has radically changed the way that consumers experience skiing”; why Red joined the Ikon Pass and why it's been good for the mountain; the Mountain Collective; why Red has no high-speed lifts and whether we could ever see one; no stress on a powder day; Red's next logical lift upgrades; potential lift-served expansions onto Kirkup, White Wolf, and Mt. Roberts; and the Powder Highway.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewMy full-scale assault of Canada, planned for 2023, has turned into more of an old-person's bus tour. I'm stopping at all the big sites, but I sure am taking my time, and I'm not certain that I'm really getting the full experience.Part of this echoes the realization centuries' of armies have had when invading Russia: damn this place is big. I'd hoped to quickly fold the whole country into the newsletter, as I'd been able to do with the Midwest and West when I expanded The Storm's coverage out of the Northeast in 2021. But I'd grown up in the Midwest and been skiing the West annually for decades. I'd underestimated how much that had mattered. I'd skied a bit in Canada, but not consistently enough to kick the door down in the manner I'd hoped. I started counting ski areas in Quebec and stopped when I got to 4,000*, 95 percent of which were named “Mont [some French word with numerous squiggly marks above the letters].” The measurements are different. The money is different. The language, in Quebec, is different. I needed to slow down.So I'm starting with western Canada. Well, I started there last year, when I hosted the leaders of SkiBig3 and Sun Peaks on the podcast. This is the easiest Canadian region for a U.S. American to grasp: Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective, and Indy Pass penetration is deep, especially in British Columbia. Powdr, Boyne, Vail, and Pacific Group Resorts all own ski areas in the province. There is no language barrier.So, Red today, Panorama next month, Whistler in June. That's the way the podcast calendar sets up now, anyway. I'll move east as I'm able.But Red, in particular, has always fascinated me. If you're wondering what the largest ski area in North America is that has yet to install a high-speed lift, this is your answer. For many of you, that may be a deal-breaker. But I see a time-machine, an opportunity to experience a different sort of skiing, but with modern gear. Like if aliens were to land on today's Earth with their teleportation devices and language-translation brain chips and standard-issue post-industro-materialist silver onesies. Like wow look how much easier the past is when you bring the future with you.Someday, Red will probably build a high-speed lift or two or four, and enough skiers who are burned out on I-70 and LCC but refuse to give up their Ikon Passes will look north and say, “oh my, what's this all about?” And Red will become some version of Jackson Hole or Big Sky or Whistler, beefy but also busy, remote but also accessible. But I wanted to capture Red, as it is today, before it goes away.*Just kidding, there are actually 12,000.^^OK, OK, there are like 90. Or 90,000.Why you should ski Red MountainLet's say you've had an Ikon Pass for the past five or six ski seasons. You've run through the Colorado circuit, navigated the Utah canyons, circled Lake Tahoe. The mountains are big, but so are the crowds. The Ikon Pass, for a moment, was a cool little hack, like having an iPhone in 2008. But then everyone got them, and now the world seems terrible because of it.But let's examine ye ‘ole Ikon partner chart more closely, to see what else may be on offer:What's this whole “Canada” section about? Perhaps, during the pandemic, you resigned yourself to U.S. American travel. Perhaps you don't have a passport. Perhaps converting centimeters to inches ignites a cocktail of panic and confusion in your brain. But all of these are solvable dilemmas. Take a deeper look at Canada.In particular, take a deeper look at Red. Those stats are in American. Meaning this is a ski area bigger than Mammoth, taller than Palisades, snowy as Aspen. And it's just one stop on a stacked Ikon BC roster that also includes Sun Peaks (Canada's second-largest ski area), Revelstoke (the nation's tallest by vertical drop), and Panorama.We are not so many years removed from the age of slow-lift, empty American icons. Alta's first high-speed lift didn't arrive until 1999 (they now have four). Big Sky's tin-can tram showed up in 1995. A 1994 Skiing magazine article described the then-Squaw Valley side of what is now Palisades Tahoe as a pokey and remote fantasyland:…bottomless steeps, vast acreage, 33 lifts and no waiting. America's answer to the wide-open ski circuses of Europe. After all these years the mountain is still uncrowded, except on weekends when people pile in from the San Francisco Bay area in droves. Squaw is unflashy, underbuilt, and seems entirely indifferent to success. The opposite of what you would expect one of America's premier resorts to be.Well that's cute. And it's all gone now. America still holds its secrets, vast, affordable fixed-grip ski areas such as Lost Trail and Discovery and Silver Mountain. But none of them have joined the Ikon Pass, and none gives you the scale of Red, this glorious backwater with fixed-grip lifts that rise 2,400 vertical feet to untracked terrain. Maybe it will stay like this forever, but it probably won't. So go there now.Podcast NotesOn Red's masterplanRed's masterplan outlines potential lift-served expansions onto Kirkup, White Wolf, and Mount Roberts. We discuss the feasibility of each. Here's what the mountain could look like at full build-out:On Jane CosmeticsAn important part of Katkov's backstory is his role as founder of Jane cosmetics, a ‘90s bargain brand popular with teenagers. He built the company into a smash success and sold it to Estée Lauder, who promptly tanked it. Per Can't Hardly Dress:Lauder purchased the company in 1997. Jane was a big deal for Lauder because it was the company's first mass market drugstore brand. Up until that point, Lauder only owned prestige brands like MAC, Clinique, Jo Malone and more. Jane was a revolutionary move for the company and a quick way to enter the drugstore mass market.Lauder had no clue what do with Jane and sales plummeted from $50 million to $25 million by 2004. Several successive sales and relaunches also failed, and, according to the article above, “As it stands today, the brand is dunzo. Leaving behind a default Shopify site, an Instagram unupdated for 213 weeks and a Facebook last touched three years ago.”On Win Smith and SugarbushKatkov's story shares parallels with that of Win Smith, the Wall-Streeter-turned-resort-operator who nurtured Sugarbush between its days as part of the American Skiing Company shipwreck and its 2019 purchase by Alterra. Smith joined me on the podcast four years ago, post-Alterra sale, to share the whole story.On housing in Banff and Sun PeaksCanadian mountain towns are not, in general, backed up against the same cliff as their American counterparts. This is mostly the result of more deliberate regional planning policies that either regulate who's allowed to live where, or allow for smart growth over time (meaning they can build things without 500 lawsuits). I discussed the former model with SkiBig3 (Banff) President Pete Woods here, and the latter with Sun Peaks GM Darcy Alexander here. U.S. Americans could learn a lot from looking north.On not being able to buy slopeside real estate in Oregon, Washington, or California The Pacific Northwest is an extremely weird ski region. The resorts are big and snowy, but unless you live there, you've probably never visited any of them. As I wrote a few weeks back:Last week, Peak Rankings analyzed the matrix of factors that prevent Oregon and Washington ski areas, despite their impressive acreage and snowfall stats, from becoming destination resorts. While the article suggests the mountains' proximity to cities, lousy weather, and difficult access roads as blockers, just about every prominent ski area in America fights some combination of these circumstances. The article's most compelling argument is that, with few exceptions, there's really nowhere to stay on most of the mountains. I've written about this a number of times myself, with this important addendum: There's nowhere to stay on most of the mountains, and no possibility of building anything anytime soon.The reasons for this are many and varied, but can be summarized in this way: U.S. Americans, in thrall to an environmental vision that prizes pure wilderness over development of any kind, have rejected the notion that building dense, human-scaled, walkable mountainside communities would benefit the environment far more than making everyone drive to skiing every single day. Nowhere has this posture taken hold more thoroughly than in the Pacific Northwest.Snowy and expansive British Columbia, perhaps sensing a business opportunity, has done the opposite, streamlining ski resort development through a set of policies known as the B.C. Commercial Alpine Ski Policy. As a result, ski areas in the province have rapidly expanded over the past 30 years…California is a very different market, with plenty of legacy slopeside development. It tends to be expensive, however, as building anything new requires a United Nations treaty, an act of Jesus, and a total eclipse of the sun in late summer of a Leap Year. Perhaps 2024 will be it.On “Fight The Man, Own the Mountain”Red ran a crowd-funding campaign a few years back called “Fight the Man, Own the Mountain.” We discuss this on the pod, but here is a bit more context from a letter Katkov wrote on the subject:Investing in RED means investing in history, independence, and in this growing family that shares the same importance on lifestyle and culture. RED is the oldest ski resort in Western Canada and it has always been fiercely independent. There are not many, if any ski resorts left in North America like Red and the success of our campaign demonstrates a desire by so many of you to, help, in a small way, to protect the lifestyle, soul and ski culture that emanates from Red.RED is a place I've been beyond proud to co-own and captain since 2004 and the door is still open to share that feeling and be a part of our family. But please note that despite the friendly atmosphere, this is one of the Top 20 resorts in North America in terms of terrain. The snow's unreal and the people around here are some of the coolest, most down-to-earth folks you're ever likely to meet. (Trying to keep up with them on the hill is another thing entirely…)With $2 million so far already committed and invested, we wasted no time acting on promised improvements. These upgrades included a full remodel of fan favorite Paradise Lodge (incl. flush toilets!) as well as the expansion of RED's retail and High Performance centres. This summer we'll see the construction of overnight on-mountain cabins and the investor clubhouse (friends welcome!) as well as continued parking expansion. We've heard from a number of early investors that they were beyond stoked to enjoy the new Paradise Lodge so soon after clicking the BUY button. Hey, ownership has its privileges…On the Lake Louise PassKatkov mentions the “Lake Louise Pass,” which Red participates in, along with Castle Mountain and Panorama. He's referring to the Lake Louise Plus Card, which costs $134 Canadian up front. Skiers then get their first, fourth, and seventh days free, and 20 percent off lift tickets for each additional visit. While these sorts of discount cards have been diminished by Epkon domination, versions of them still provide good value across the continent. The Colorado Gems Card, Smugglers' Notch's Bash Badge, and ORDA's frequent skier cards are all solid options for skiers looking to dodge the megapass circus.On the Powder HighwayRed is the closest stop on the Powder Highway to U.S. America. This is what the Powder Highway is:And here's the circuit:Fairmont is just a little guy, but Kicking Horse, Kimberley, and Fernie are Epic Pass partners owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, and Revy, Red, and Panorama are all on Ikon. Whitewater used to be on M.A.X. Pass, but is now pass-less. Just to the west of this resort cluster sits Big White (Indy), Silver Star (Ikon), and Sun Peaks (Ikon). To their east is Sunshine, Lake Louise, Norquay (all Ikon), and Castle (Indy). There are also Cat and heli-ski operations all over the place. You could lose a winter here pretty easily.On Katkov's business backgroundIn this episode of the Fident Capital Podcast, Katkov goes in-depth on his business philosophy and management style. Here's another:On bringing the city to the mountainsWhile this notion, rashly interpreted, could summon ghastly visions of Aspen-esque infestations of Fendi stores in downtown Rossland, it really just means building things other than slopeside mansions with 19 kitchens and a butler's wing. From a 2023 resort press release:Red Development Company, the real estate division of RED Mountain Resort (RED), in conjunction with ACE Project Marketing Group (ACE), recently reported the sell-out of the resort's latest real estate offering during the season opening of the slopes. On offer was The Crescent at RED, a collection of 102 homes, ranging from studio to one bedrooms and lofts featuring a prime ski in – ski out location. Howard Katkov, CEO of RED, and Don Thompson, RED President, first conceived of bringing the smaller urban living model to the alpine slopes in January 2021. ACE coined the concept as "everything you need and nothing you don't" …An important component was ensuring that the price point for The Crescent was accessible to locals and those who know and love the destination. With prices starting mid $300s – an excellent price when converted to USD – and with an achievable 5% deposit down, The Crescent at RED was easily one of the best value propositions in real estate for one of the best ranked ski resorts in North America. Not surprisingly, over 50% of the Crescent buyers were from the United States, spurred on by the extraordinary lifestyle and value offered by The Crescent, but also the new sparsity of Canadian property available to foreign buyers.As a good U.S. American, I ask Katkov why he didn't simply price these units for the one-percenters, and how he managed the House-Flipping Henries who would surely interpret these prices as opportunity. His answers might surprise you, and may give you hope that a different sort of ski town is possible.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 15/100 in 2024, and number 515 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Success Journey Show! Today, we're delighted to welcome a seasoned entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio of business ventures. Our guest has navigated various industries, from retail to media and content, to hospitality and tourism management, gaining invaluable experiences along the way. Notably, they've developed a unique relationship with spreadsheets and financial analysis—a blend of love and hate that fuels their strategic insights. Currently, our guest is deeply involved in two innovative projects: birr agency and Sucre Interactive Technologies. birr agency, based in Fernie, BC, is a powerhouse of creative marketing expertise. Specializing in crafting comprehensive marketing strategies and executing them flawlessly, birr agency eliminates the confusion surrounding marketing endeavors. With a proven track record of delivering measurable results within budget constraints, they bring clarity and effectiveness to every campaign. Sucre Interactive Technologies is revolutionizing workplace training with immersive, high-fidelity simulations. Their cutting-edge solution replicates high-risk environments, providing a safe yet realistic platform for training and evaluation. By leveraging digital scanning and photogrammetry technologies, Sucre Interactive Technologies creates digital twins of workspaces, enabling companies to develop and refine safe work procedures. Through scalable and repeatable training modules, they ensure that lessons learned from accidents and near-misses are embedded into institutional memory, preventing future incidents. Always eager to expand their network, our guest is a connector at heart, ready to engage with new collaborators and forge meaningful relationships. Join us as we dive into the entrepreneurial journey and innovative ventures of our distinguished guest. Welcome!

If I told you that two super simple things were linked to more energy, better skin, and fat loss, what would you say? Not only that, but they're shown to help reduce depression, anxiety, your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.   Cold exposure and light therapy have been a hot topic for biohacking influencers and medical professionals alike. So, in this latest solo episode, I explore whether these two are really worth the hype.    Could cold exposure and red light therapy be the secret ingredients to increased energy, fat loss, and life extension? Or are they just another flash in the pan of health hacks that are all talk and no substance?    In this episode, I dive into… (00:01) Exploring the hype around cold and light exposure  (04:28) The metabolic benefits of cold exposure, at what temperature, and for how long  (12:16) How cold water exposure impacts neurotransmitters for psychological and physiological health  (26:11) The benefits of red and near-infrared light for skin health, energy, mood, and disease prevention   Don't forget…   You can order now by heading to darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book or order now on Amazon.   Thank you to our sponsors:   Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off   Find more from Darin:   Website: https://darinolien.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Darinolien/ Book: https://darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book/ Down to Earth: https://darinolien.com/down-to-earth/   Resources:  Therafrost Cold Exposure: https://therasage.com/collections/therafrost Therasage Light Therapy: https://therasage.com/collections/thera-tri-lite-red-light-therapy Huberman Lab Cold Exposure: https://bit.ly/3S7Bo8J Boosting Metabolic Health: Ivanova and Blondin 2021 Cardiovascular Adaptations: Li, Alshaer, and Fernie 2009 Pain Relief and Inflammation Reduction: Bouzigon et al. 2016 Enhancing Mental Well-being: Néma et al. 2023 Cancer Therapy: Yang et al., 2020 Skin Health: Li et al., 2021 Neurological and Psychological Conditions Salehpour et al., 2018 Sports Injury Recovery: Hu et al., 2019 Safety in Skin Treatments: Wang, Austin & Jagdeo, 2022  

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Nov. 6. It dropped for free subscribers on Nov. 13. To receive future pods 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:WhoTom Chasse, President and CEO of Schweitzer Mountain, IdahoRecorded onOctober 23, 2023About SchweitzerClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Alterra Mountain CompanyLocated in: Sandpoint, IdahoYear founded: 1963Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass: unlimited* Ikon Base Pass, Ikon Base Plus Pass: 5 days with holiday blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: 49 Degrees North (1:30), Silver Mountain (1:42), Mt. Spokane (2:00), Lookout Pass (2:06), Turner Mountain (2:17) – travel times vary considerably depending upon weather, time of day, and time of yearBase elevation: 3,960 feet (at Outback Inn)Summit elevation: 6,389 feetVertical drop: 2,429 feetSkiable Acres: 2,900Average annual snowfall: 300 inchesTrail count: 92 (10% Beginner, 40% Intermediate, 35% Advanced, 15% Expert)Lift count: 10 (1 six-pack, 4 high-speed quads, 2 triples, 1 double, 1 T-bar, 1 carpet)View historic Schweitzer trailmaps on skimap.org.Why I interviewed himChasse first appeared on the podcast in January 2021, for what would turn out to be the penultimate episode in the Covid-19 & Skiing miniseries. Our focus was singular: to explore the stress and irritation shoved onto resort employees charged with mask-police duty. As I wrote at the time:One of the biggest risks to the reconstituted-for-Covid ski season was always going to be that large numbers of knuckleheads would treat mask requirements as the first shots fired in Civil War II. Schweitzer, an enormous ski Narnia poking off the tip of the Idaho panhandle, became the most visible instance of this phenomenon when General Manager Tom Chasse chopped three days of twilight skiing after cantankerous Freedom Bros continually threw down with exhausted staff over requests to mask up. While violations of mask mandates haven't ignited widespread resort shutdowns and the vast majority of skiers seem resigned to them, Schweitzer's stand nonetheless distills the precarious nature of lift-served skiing amidst a still-raging pandemic. Skiers, if they grow careless and defiant, can shut down mountains. And so can the ski areas themselves, if they feel they can't safely manage the crowds descending upon them in this winter of there's-nothing-else-to-do. While it's unfortunate that a toxic jumble of misinformation, conspiracy theories, political chest-thumping, and ignorance has so thoroughly infected our population that even something as innocuous as riding a chairlift has become a culture war flashpoint, it has. And it's worth investigating the full story at Schweitzer to gauge how big the problem is and how to manage it in a way that allows us to all keep skiing.We did talk about the mountain for a few minutes at the end, but I'd always meant to get back to Idaho's largest ski area. In 2022, I hosted the leaders of Tamarack, Bogus Basin, Brundage, and Sun Valley on the podcast. Now, I'm finally back at the top of the panhandle, to go deep on the future of Alterra Mountain Company's newest lift-served toy.What we talked aboutThe new Creekside Express lift; a huge new parking lot incoming for the 2024-25 ski season; the evolution of the 2018 masterplan; why and how Schweitzer sold to Alterra; the advantages of joining a conglomerate versus remaining independent; whether Schweitzer could ever evolve into a destination resort; reflecting on the McCaw family legacy as Alterra takes control; thoughts on the demise-and-revival of Black Mountain, New Hampshire; the biggest difference between running a ski resort in New England versus the West; the slow, complete transformation of Schweitzer over the past two decades; the rationale behind the Outback Bowl lift upgrades; why Schweitzer's upper-mountain lifts are mostly fixed-grip machines; whether Alterra will continue with Schweitzer's 2018 masterplan or rethink it; potential for an additional future Outback Bowl lift, as outlined in the masterplan; contemplating future frontside lifts and terrain expansion; thoughts on a future Sunnyside lift replacement; how easy it would be to expand Schweitzer; the state of the ski area's snowmaking system; Schweitzer's creeping snowline; sustained and creative investment in employee housing; Ikon Pass access; locals' reaction to the mountain going unlimited on the full Ikon; whether Schweitzer could convert to the unlimited-with-blackouts tier on Ikon Base; dynamic pricing; whether the Musical Carpet will continue to be free; discount night-skiing; and whether Schweitzer's reciprocal season pass partners will remain after the 2023-24 ski season.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewUntil June, Schweitzer was the third-largest independent ski area in America, and just barely, trailing the 3,000 lift-served acres at Whitefish and Powder Mountain by just 100 acres. It's larger than Alta (2,614 acres), Grand Targhee (2,602), or Jackson Hole (2,500). That made this ever-improving resort lodged at the top of America the largest independent U.S. ski area on the Ikon Pass.Well, that's all finished. Once Alterra dropped Idaho's second-largest ski area into its shopping cart in June, Schweitzer became another name on the Denver-based company's attendance sheet, their fifth-largest resort after Palisades Tahoe (6,000 acres), Mammoth (3,500), Steamboat (3,500), and Winter Park (3,081).But what matters more than how the mountain stacks up on the stat sheet is how Alterra will facilitate Schweitzer's rapidly unfolding 2018 masterplan, which calls for a clutch of new lifts and a terrain expansion rising out of a Delaware-sized parking lot below the current base area. Schweitzer has so far moved quickly on the plan, dropping two brand-new lifts into Outback Bowl to replace an old centerpole double and activating a new high-speed quad called Creekside to replace the Musical Chairs double this past summer. Additional improvements include an upgrade to the Sunnyside lift and yet another lift in Outback. Is Alterra committed to all this?The company's rapid and comprehensive renovations or planned upgrades of Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat, and Deer Valley suggest that they will be. Alterra is not in the business of creating great day-ski areas. They are building destination ski resorts. Schweitzer, always improving but never quite gelling as a national bucket-lister, may have the captain it needs to finally get there.What I got wrongI asked Chasse if there was an “opportunity for a Snowcat operation.” There already is one: Selkirk Powder runs day-long tours in Schweitzer's “west-northwest-facing bowls adjacent to the resort.”Why you should ski SchweitzerAllow me to play the Ida-homer for a moment. All we ever hear about is traffic in Colorado. Traffic in the canyons. Traffic in Tahoe. Traffic at Mount Hood and all around Washington. Sometimes, idling amid stopped traffic in your eight-wheel-drive Chuckwagon Supreme Ultimate Asskicker Pickup Truck can seem as much a part of western skiing as pow and open bowls.But when was the last time you heard someone gripe about ski traffic in Idaho? Probably never. Which is weird, because look at this:Ten ski areas with a thousand-plus acres of terrain; 12 with vertical drops topping 1,000 feet; seven that average 300 inches or more of snow per season. That's pretty, um, Epic (except that Vail has no mountains and no partners in this ripper of a ski state).So what's going on? Over the weekend, I hosted a panel of ski area general managers at the Snowvana festival in Portland, Oregon. Among the participants were Tamarack President Scott Turlington and Silver Mountain GM Jeff Colburn. Both told me some version of, “we never have lift lines.” Look again at those stats. What the hell?Go to Idaho, is my point here, if you need a break from the madness. The state, along with neighboring Montana, may be the last refuge of big vert and big snow without big crowds in our current version of U.S. America.Schweitzer, as it happens, is the largest ski area in the state. It also happens to be one of the most modern, along with Tamarack, which is not yet 20 years old, and Sun Valley, with its fleet of high-speed lifts. Schweitzer sports what was long the state's only six-pack (until Sun Valley upgraded Challenger this year), along with four high-speed quads. Of the remaining lifts, all are less than 20 years old with the exception of Sunnyside, a 1960s relic that is among the last artifacts of Old Schweitzer.Chasse tells us on the podcast that the ski area could add hundreds of acres of terrain simply by moving a boundary rope. So why not do it? Because the mountain, as it stands, absorbs everyone who shows up to ski it pretty well.A lot of the appeal of Idaho lies in the rough-and-tumble, in the dented-can feel of big, remote mountains towering forgotten in the hinterlands, centerpole doubles swinging empty up the incline. But that's changing, slowly, ski area by ski area. Schweitzer is way ahead of most on the upgrade progression, infrastructure built more like a Wasatch resort than that of its neighbors in Idaho and Washington. But the crowds – or relative lack of them – is still pure Idaho.Podcast NotesOn Schweitzer's masterplan Even though Schweitzer sits entirely on private land, the ski area published a masterplan similar to those of its Forest Service peers in 2018, outlining new lifts and terrain all over the mountain:Though that plan has changed somewhat (Creekside, for instance, was not included), Schweitzer has continued to make progress against it. Alterra, it seems, will keep pushing it down the assembly line.On the Alterra acquisitionIn July, I hosted Alterra CEO Jared Smith on the podcast. We discuss the Schweitzer acquisition at the 53:48 mark:On Alterra's megaresort ambitionsWithout explicitly saying so, Alterra has undertaken an aggressive cross-portfolio supercharging of several marquee properties. Last year, the company sewed together the Palisades and Alpine Meadows sides of its giant California resort with a 2.1-mile-long gondola:This year, Steamboat will open the second leg of its 3.1-mile-long, 10-passenger Wild Blue gondola and a several-hundred-acre terrain expansion (and attendant high-speed quad), on Mahogany Ridge:Earlier this year, Alterra announced a massive expansion that will make Deer Valley the fourth-largest ski area in America:Winter Park's 2022 masterplan update included several proposed terrain pods and a gondola linking mountain to town:If my email inbox is any indication, New England Alterra skiers – meaning loyalists at Stratton and Sugarbush – are getting inpatient. When will the Colorado-based company turn its cash cannon east? I don't know, but it will happen.On Mt. WittierChasse learned how to ski at Mt. Wittier, New Hampshire. I included a whole bit on this place in a recent newsletter:As far as ski area relics go, it's hard to find a more captivating artifact than the Mt. Whittier gondola. While the New Hampshire ski area has sat abandoned since the mid-1980s, towers for the four-passenger gondola still rise 1,300-vertical feet up the mountainside. Tower one stands, improbably, across New Hampshire State Highway 16, rising from a McDonald's parking lot. The still-intact haul rope stretches across this paved expanse and terminates at a garage-style door behind the property. Check it out:Jeremy Davis, founder of the New England Lost Ski Areas Project, told me an amazing story when he appeared on The Storm Skiing Podcast in 2019. A childhood glimpse of the abandoned Mt. Whittier ignited his mad pursuit to document the region's lost ski areas. Years later, he returned for a closer look. He visited the shop that now occupies the former gondola base building, and the owner offered to let him peek in the garage. There, dusty but intact, sat many, or perhaps all, of the lift's 35 four-passenger gondola cars. It's still one of my favorite episodes:A bizarre snowtubing outfit called “Mt. Madness” briefly operated around the turn of the century, according to New England Ski History. But other than the gondola, traces of the ski area have mostly disappeared. The forest cover is so thick that the original trail network is just scarcely visible on Google Maps.The entire 797-acre property is now for sale, listed at $3.2 million. The gondola barn, it appears, is excluded, as is the money-making cell tower at the summit. But there might be enough here to hack the ski area back out of the wilderness:Which would, of course, cost you a lot more than $3.2 million. Whittier has a decent location, west of King Pine and south of Conway. But it's on the wrong side of New Hampshire for easy interstate access, and we're on the wrong side of history for realistically building a ski area in New England. On the seasonal disruption of hunting in rural areasChasse points to hunting season as an unexpected operational disruption when he moved from New England to Idaho. If you've never lived in a rural area, it can be hard to appreciate how ingrained hunting is into local cultures. Where I grew up, in a small Michigan town, Nov. 15 – or “Deer Day,” as the first day of the state's two-week rifle-hunting season was colloquially known – was an official school holiday. Morning announcements would warn high-schoolers to watch out for sugar beets – popular deer bait – on M-30. It's a whole thing.On 2006 SchweitzerIt's hard to overstate just how much Schweitzer has evolved since the turn of the century. Until the Stella sixer arrived in 2000, the mountain was mostly a kingdom of pokey old double chairs, save for the Great Escape high-speed quad, which had arrived in 1990:The only lift from that trailmap that remains is Sunnyside, then known as Chair 4. The Stella sixer replaced Chair 5 in 2000; Chair 1 gave way to the Basin Express and Lakeview triple in 2007; Chair 6 (Snow Ghost), came down for the Cedar Park Express quad and Colburn triple in 2019; and Creekside replaced Chair 2 (Musical Chairs), this past summer. In 2005, Schweitzer opened up an additional peak to lift service with the Idyle Our T-bar.While lifts are (usually) a useful proxy for measuring a resort's modernization progress, they barely begin to really quantify the extreme changes at Schweitzer over the past few decades. Note, too, the parking lots that once lined the mountain at the Chair 2 summit – land that's since been repurposed for a village.On Schweitzer's proximity to Powder Highway/BC mountainsMany reference materials stop listing ski areas at the top of America, as though that is the northern border of our ski world. But stop ignoring that big chunk of real estate known as “Canada,” and Schweitzer suddenly sits in a far more interesting neighborhood. The ski area could be considered the southern-most stop on the Powder Highway, just down the road from Red and Whitewater, not far from Kimberley and Fernie, skiable on the same circuit as Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, Silver Star, Big White, Panorama, and Castle. It's a compelling roadtrip:Yes, there area lot more ski areas in there, but these are most of the huge ones. And no, I don't know if all of these roads are open in the winter – the point here is to show the overall density, not program your GPS.On Alterra's varying approach to its owned mountains on the Ikon PassAlterra, unlike Vail, does not treat all of its mountains equally on the top-tier Ikon Pass. Here's how the company's owned mountains sit on the various Ikon tiers:On cheap I-90 lift ticketsI've written about this a bunch of times, but the stretch of I-90 from Spokane to the Idaho-Montana border offers some of the most affordable big-mountain lift tickets in the country. Here's a look at 2022-23 walk-up lift ticket prices for the five mountains stretched across the region:Next season's rates aren't live yet, but I expect them to be similar.On Alterra lift ticket pricesI don't expect Schweitzer's lift tickets to stay proportionate to the rest of the region for long. Here are Alterra's top anticipated 2023-24 walk-up lift ticket rates at its owned resorts:On Bogus Basin's reciprocal lift ticket programI mentioned Bogus Basin's extensive reciprocal lift ticket program. It's pretty badass, as the ski area is a member of both the Freedom Pass and Powder Alliance, and has set up a bunch of independent reciprocals besides: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 97/100 in 2023, and number 483 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. 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

When life gets busy, it can be hard to remember to slow down and take a moment to relax. Take this opportunity to take a breather and catch up with Alex and Meredith as they take a mental break and unpack what they have been up to recently! They have all kinds of exciting updates to share, including their recent move, a new furry friend, and their journeys of figuring out who they are. They'll also talk about finding your personal style, the struggles of getting the perfect haircut for short hair, and the craziness that accompanies packing and driving a moving truck. — Welcome Mel to the Family!— Alex & Meredith Have Moved to Fernie! — Packing with Different Productivity Styles— First Time on ADHD Medication While Moving— Moving Truck Shenanigans — Beware of Truck Mirrors— Funny Discoveries From Packing— Department Stores & Sephora— The Journey of Having Short Hair— Have They Peaked or Are They Peaking?— Determining Your Style— Staying Curious & Figuring Out Who You AreResources Mentioned in This Episode:Marcus Mumford at Gorge Amphitheater ────────────────────────────Want to work with Tactic Functional Nutrition? Check Out Our ServicesLearn More About Us Here and be sure to follow Tactic Nutrition on IG!Stay in the loop with us by signing up for our email list!

David and Rachel discuss the tragic ammonia leak at the Fernie Memorial Arena in British Columbia. Script by Auden