Podcasts about Foxfire

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast likes it when ski areas are run by people who are good at running ski areas. Please subscribe to the email newsletter to get new posts the moment they're live. Thank you for supporting independent ski journalism.About CamelbackOwned by: EPR Properties, managed by Peregrine Hospitality (formerly KSL Resorts)Located in: Tannersville, PennsylvaniaYear founded: 1963Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass: 7 days, no blackouts* Ikon Base Pass: 5 days, holiday blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: Shawnee Mountain (:24), Jack Frost (:26), Big Boulder (:27), Skytop Lodge (:29), Saw Creek (:37), Blue Mountain (:41), Pocono Ranchlands (:43), Montage (:44), Hideout (:51), Elk Mountain (1:05), Bear Creek (1:09), Ski Big Bear (1:16)Base elevation: 1,252 feetSummit elevation: 2,079 feetVertical drop: 827 feetSkiable Acres: 166Average annual snowfall: 50 inchesTrail count: 45, with three new trails for 2026-27 (not on the map below, but discussed on the podcast)Lift count: 12 (1 high-speed six-pack, 1 high-speed quad, 1 fixed-grip quad, 2 triples, 2 doubles, 5 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Camelback's lift fleet)For reference:The Zoom transcript (click “transcript” above for the Substack transcript, then click on any text block to teleport to the associated point in the video; timestamps below DO NOT MATCH THE VIDEO)00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:37.000Stuart Winchester: Welcome to The Storm! I'm your host, Stuart Winchester. Today is Wednesday, September 16th, 2026, and I've got a really good show for you today.00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:45.000Stuart Winchester: we're going to talk some Pennsylvania skiing. And Pennsylvania skiing is a really interesting thing. As I travel around the country.00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:56.000Stuart Winchester: and ski at all these different places in the Midwest, and out West, and in New England, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Uh, and as I talk to folks who… who don't ski that much, or only ski at the big mountains.00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:05.000Stuart Winchester: I'll often bring up some experience I had at a Pennsylvania ski area. Pennsylvania has quite a few ski areas as 21.00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:20.000Stuart Winchester: public chairlift-served ski areas, and it does 2.6 million skier visits on average per year. That is more than any state except for Colorado, California, Utah, Vermont, and New York.00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.000Stuart Winchester: It's more than Washington, it's more than Oregon, it's more than Montana, it's more than New.00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:39.000Stuart Winchester: So, Pennsylvania is a really important ski state, which is probably why Vail Resorts owns 8 ski areas there, because it is really close to a lot of population centers. In western PA, you have Pittsburgh.00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:54.000Stuart Winchester: and Seven Springs, and Laurel, and Hidden Valley, and then you have Philadelphia on the east side, and you can also draw up from Baltimore and D.C. for Round Top and Whitetail. And uh…00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.000Stuart Winchester: And Jack Frost's Big Boulder up in the Poconos. So…00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.000Stuart Winchester: Vail has a big presence there.00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:15.000Stuart Winchester: Icon has a presence there with Camelback and Blue Mountain. Uh, and then Indy Pass just signed their 8th ski area in Pennsylvania with Spring Mountain, uh, down near Philadelphia. So, so it's, it's a place where a lot of skiers start.00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.000Stuart Winchester: And it's a little bit of a funny place to ski, because…00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:29.000Stuart Winchester: it tends to have an outsized number of novice skiers, which is great. They're very good at doing that. Uh, but it can make it a little chaotic.00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:38.000Stuart Winchester: And the lift lines can get a little crazy, and people are all over the hill, and sometimes they're walking down the hill because they're frustrated and they're giving up.00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, and…00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.000Stuart Winchester: You take that as your baseline in Pennsylvania.00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:49.000Stuart Winchester: And you had any sort of complications.00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:54.000Stuart Winchester: And things get out of hand really quickly. And in general.00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:00.000Stuart Winchester: For that reason, the ski areas that have survived in Pennsylvania.00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:07.000Stuart Winchester: are among the best operators in the world, and I would put that up against anyone.00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:14.000Stuart Winchester: It's a very, very challenging environment, not only because you have a high number of novice skiers.00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:17.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, but also because you have…00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:31.000Stuart Winchester: not a ton of snow, sometimes in the west part of the state, where there's higher elevation, they do get a lot of snow, but… but not as a rule, you couldn't count on it for natural snow. Uh, you get a lot of rain, you get a lot of warm-ups.00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:35.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, and… and you, in general, have to rely on…00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:42.000Stuart Winchester: a very short season, generally mid-December-ish to mid-March-ish.00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:45.000Stuart Winchester: And the skiers there…00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:52.000Stuart Winchester: They're they're accustomed to a pretty high standard, so.00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:57.000Stuart Winchester: So when things do get out of control, uh…00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:04.000Stuart Winchester: They really rebelled, and they really noticed. So, a couple years ago, this is what happened at Camelback. So, Camelback…00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.000Stuart Winchester: You know, I don't generally do ops stories, uh…00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:10.000Stuart Winchester: You know.00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:19.000Stuart Winchester: ski area didn't groom this run, or they haven't opened this lift, or, uh, you know, they usually let this bump up, but they don't, or, or…00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:27.000Stuart Winchester: you know, they… they are trying to save money, or they're being cheap. I generally don't bother with those, even though I get a lot of messages.00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:32.000Stuart Winchester: Complaining about things like that, because there's almost always a pretty good reason.00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:38.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, and it's almost always temporary, and it's really not worth the effort.00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:48.000Stuart Winchester: to write the story if I'm just writing about, you know, why Stratton or Mount Snow or Magic Mountain didn't open a certain lift on a certain day.00:07:48.000 --> 00:08:04.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, it's, it's a lot to track down and it's a lot of, uh, this person said this and the other person said that. It's just not the kind of thing that I'm want to cover with the storm, right? I want to do bigger stories. I want to do trend stories. I want to look at the culture and evolution of skiing.00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:11.000Stuart Winchester: And the passes, and all the infrastructure, and all the fun stuff. So I don't generally cover the day-to-day stuff, just because…00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:18.000Stuart Winchester: The ski areas that remain in 2026 are, for the most part, run by really good operators.00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:32.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, it… because… and they've survived. Most of the bad ski areas that were either mismanaged or were in the wrong places, they went out of business a long time ago, which is why the number of ski areas has been stable for around 25 years now in America.00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.000Stuart Winchester: So I but I started to notice.00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:45.000Stuart Winchester: several years ago that I was getting an outsized number of complaints around one ski area in particular in the Poconos.00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.000Stuart Winchester: And it was Camelback.00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.000Stuart Winchester: And Camelback had a long history of being an independent.00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:52.000Stuart Winchester: And…00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.000Stuart Winchester: Really…00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:59.000Stuart Winchester: the way it's been described to me by… by season pass holders, and I've skied…00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:04.000Stuart Winchester: some at Camelback, but I don't have that depth of knowledge of having grown up there.00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:20.000Stuart Winchester: That Camelback for a long time, for decades, set the standard on snowmaking, on grooming, on just general maintenance of lifts in the ski area in the Poconos. And that was why they had chosen to ski there all those years.00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:30.000Stuart Winchester: But things had started to fall apart when a new owner showed up in 2019. It was at the time KSL Capital, who was.00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:43.000Stuart Winchester: was managing it for EPR Properties, which is the entity that bought it, and they own a bunch of ski areas, EPR Properties, including a bunch owned by Vail, including North Star, and a lot of the old Peak Resorts in Ohio and such.00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:50.000Stuart Winchester: And KSL Resorts was a division of KSL Capital.00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.000Stuart Winchester: which is a part owner of Altera.00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:58.000Stuart Winchester: But for some reason, Altera, which is very good at running ski resorts.00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.000Stuart Winchester: did not…00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:15.000Stuart Winchester: get assigned as the… as the owner of Camelback. And when KSL Resorts purchased Blue Mountain, not in Ontario, the Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania, that's about 45 minutes from Camelback, two years later, in 2021.00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:26.000Stuart Winchester: That ski area also did not fall under Altera's ownership. And it was an odd choice to make, because Altera's really good at running ski areas, and they run…00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:35.000Stuart Winchester: Mammoth, and Deer Valley, and Steamboat, and Solitude, and Palisades Tahoe, and Stratton, and Sugarbush, and they definitely have.00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:41.000Stuart Winchester: the institutional knowledge and internal firepower to be able to run these ski areas in the Poconos.00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, Blue Mountain…00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:47.000Stuart Winchester: Had the benefit of a long time tenured management team.00:10:47.000 --> 00:11:02.000Stuart Winchester: That kept the place, by all accounts, running pretty well. Camelback, on the other hand, seemed to be falling apart before our eyes, and before the eyes of the loyalist skiers who loved the place so much. And they were really, really concerned, and I started to…00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:08.000Stuart Winchester: Because they had put, uh, a management team in place, it seemed.00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.000Stuart Winchester: that…00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:22.000Stuart Winchester: was not familiar with the… with the inner workings of a ski area. Uh, I… I hosted Dave Makarski, the former general manager of Kalenbach, on this podcast.00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:33.000Stuart Winchester: and very nice guy. We had a great conversation. Uh, he's not a skier. And, and, you know, sometimes you can be not a skier and run a great ski resort. Uh, look at Bill Stritzler up at Smuggler's Notch.00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:43.000Stuart Winchester: Bill hasn't skied in years, and he snowboarded for a little bit, but he's not a daily skier. Look at Shawnee.00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:54.000Stuart Winchester: that where the owner… that's one of the most modern, nice ski areas in the Poconos, uh, and the owner has not skied in decades. So, so it's not always necessary, uh, but…00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:10.000Stuart Winchester: It does help and it's certainly a benefit. So everyone I talked to, I was, I was gathering all this stuff for a story and I was gonna write about Camelback and, and it, it really seemed like it was the worst run ski area anywhere that I could find based on the amount of feedback I was getting.00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:25.000Stuart Winchester: I was gathering all this feedback from all these long-time pass holders, and then they hired a new general manager, and so I scrapped the story, but I still wanted to get it, and by all accounts, Jason Bays, who I'll bring on the podcast in a moment.00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:34.000Stuart Winchester: has really done a nice job of turning CamelBak around. So, so let's go to Jason now.00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:16.000Stuart Winchester: My guest today is the Vice President and General Manager of Camelback Ski Area in Pennsylvania.00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:26.000Stuart Winchester: Camelback runs six chairlifts, or maybe seven. I might have had a typo there. Serving 45 trails on an 827-foot vertical drop.00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:41.000Stuart Winchester: Prior to taking the top job at Camelback, he was general manager for Great Wolf Resorts around the United States. He also spent time as chief operating officer and general manager of Mountain Creek Ski Area in New Jersey and director of operations.00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:54.000Stuart Winchester: for Jay Peak, Vermont. His very first jobs as a teenager were as a lifeguard and ski instructor at Camelback. Jason Bay is my guest. Jason, welcome to the Storm. Awesome to have you. How you doing today?00:14:53.000 --> 00:15:00.000Jason Bays: Thank you, Stuart. Great to be here. I've been a listener from day one, so excited to join you.00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:14.000Stuart Winchester: I love that. I'm so hyped to hear that. I know I started with a little Northeast focus. You know, you're the… you probably know this already, but you're the second straight guest I've had on. There was a Mountain Creek alum, Chris Haggerty, on yesterday. Are you acquainted with Chris?00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.000Jason Bays: Yeah, Chris and I worked together, um, back in our days at Mountain Creek, great guy.00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:33.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, yeah, I'm, uh, I'm not sure, I'm sure you're aware I'm based in New York City and Mountain Creek is one of my go-tos and, and was my home mountain before I started traveling all over the place for the storm. So, so, you know, Jason, I, I think it's awesome that you grew up at Camelback. Tal.00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:41.000Stuart Winchester: your childhood Camelback. What was the kingdom of Camelback like to you, uh, when you were growing up skiing there?00:15:40.000 --> 00:16:03.000Jason Bays: Yeah, look, I, you know, took, I grew up in Pocono Kid, born and raised 10 minutes from the resort. After school ski program was the first, you know, first sort of foray into life at Camelback and was immediately hooked in the summer as a swimming pool and two water slides. I thought that was the most awesome place in the world too.00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:04.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:21.000Jason Bays: And my parents thought it was a great babysitting service, you know, relative to that. So it was just an awesome, awesome place to grow up and, you know, be part of the small but mighty ski community that is Tannersville, Pennsylvania, in this area, in the Poconos.00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:39.000Jason Bays: um, you know, when it came to get a first job, uh, there's no place I was, uh, gonna consider other than Camelback. It's where all my friends were, it's where we all hung out all the time, and, um, you know, really just got introduced to, uh, to the sport, and, um, had some freedom. It was the first time I had some freedom, and it was to be at Camelback, so that's.00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:56.000Stuart Winchester: So you worked there, and you were part of the machine, so to speak, and I realized you were sort of on the peripheral of the machine, as opposed to in the center of it, as you are now. But, you know, you grew up in the Poconos, and had that experience, and you had this vision of Camelback in your head, right? Then you went off and had a big life, as…00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.000Jason Bays: Yes.00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.000Stuart Winchester: as people do, and you went and worked at all these places that I just mentioned.00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.000Stuart Winchester: And then you came back to Camelback.00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.000Stuart Winchester: When you, when you arrived.00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:10.000Stuart Winchester: How had the place changed? And I just want to tee this up. I, you know.00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:19.000Stuart Winchester: before you came on, I was talking about how I don't generally write operations stories, right? Because it… there's usually a good reason for why a trail is closed, a lift's not running.00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:26.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, but a few years ago, I started to get an outsized number of complaints about Camelback.00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:38.000Stuart Winchester: And so I started to write a story about it, and then when you came along, I shelved it, because honestly, everyone immediately was like, oh, this is so much better. So, you know, how had…00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:41.000Stuart Winchester: Camelback changed.00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:42.000Stuart Winchester: when you…00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.000Stuart Winchester: Came back to work there.00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:51.000Stuart Winchester: And what were the challenges facing the resort? What did you focus on immediately?00:17:50.000 --> 00:18:08.000Jason Bays: Yeah, I'll just back up to say, you know, just to contextualize, um, from when I was there as a teenager and, um, through college on the ski team, too, I would say that community was a really big word, um, that was used all the time. You, you felt like it was, it was the Camelback community, and there's a really big emphasis on the ski product.00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:28.000Jason Bays: Um, as a ski instructor, like, what we were putting out, how we were doing lessons, how many lessons we could do, and the experience that was surrounding that. And same thing on the water park side. And, you know, I think the, um, you know, some of the observations, um, coming back to Camelback was, um, I think there's a little bit of focus, um, focus direction for, for, like, to focus on the ski product.00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:44.000Jason Bays: and focusing on the water park product, and I sort of look at it as, like, a… as Disney World, right? Whereas we fill out… if we do the ski part well, we do the snow tubing part well, we do the water park well, that puts heads in beds, um, versus trying to put heads in beds.00:18:44.000 --> 00:19:01.000Jason Bays: And then have them do the activities. We're leading with an activity front and centered focus. And that means making the strategic investments in the ski product, in our recreational product, and making that the very best that it can be.00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:23.000Jason Bays: back in 2008 when I was here as a teenager, that was all there was. There was no hotel product, right? So the ski product got outsized attention just naturally because it was a 560-acre resort that identified as a ski area and a water park. And I think some of the context that was missing was that while there's been a great evolution of Camelback as a four-season resort.00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:16.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:40.000Jason Bays: It's really important that, to me, that each of those business units gets the time and attention that they would deserve if they were stand-alone units, particularly because a cog… it's a cog in the wheel, and that wheel is… it's a flywheel. It needs to… it all needs to turn at once, and so we lead with.00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.000Jason Bays: the recreational offerings first.00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000Stuart Winchester: You know, you mentioned the community, and I wasn't aware…00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:59.000Stuart Winchester: that there was such a strong community around Camelback, and I'm not surprised, because most ski areas have that group of folks who, you know, they're retirees, and they boot up at 8am, and they take runs together.00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:14.000Stuart Winchester: But they were really passionate, and the running theme, Jason, in the emails and messages that I got from Camelback locals was that they loved Camelback. It wasn't that they hated Camelback, they hated to complain about Camelback.00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:18.000Stuart Winchester: They wanted to love it, but they couldn't. There was there was.00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:34.000Stuart Winchester: a lot of things they cited, uh, not making snowmaking when it's cold, understaffed grooming, uh, missed lift inspections. I don't know if this is true. This is what people were… they were reaching, I think, for answers. Uh, put it all together, and there was… it was definitely…00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:47.000Stuart Winchester: seemed as though the ski product was not the focus. So when you came in, what did you focus on right away and say, okay, this is what we gotta change, you know, we have to cover every trail 100% right away, or whatever it was?00:20:47.000 --> 00:21:09.000Jason Bays: Yeah, I think that's, look, I would start, you hit the nail on the head that there's a very passionate skiing community here at Camelback and in the Poconos and it means a lot to people. This is second, third generations that are learning to ski here, bring their families here and be part of this. And to your point, everyone wants to be prideful of Camelback, right?00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:24.000Jason Bays: This was the, this was family run for a really long time and, you know, very focused on sort of the, you know, season pass holders renewing year after year.00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:40.000Jason Bays: You know, a couple of things. One is I think that how we authentically tell our story isn't done in a way that is, you know, is done in a way that's authentic. A, bringing back the Camelback Mountain Facebook page that communicated ski related content.00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:21:40.000 --> 00:22:06.000Jason Bays: Right? I think that, you know, there's only so many things you can say about a hotel room and how exciting it is. Like, we really lead now first with authentically telling the story. Our snow report got a lot more detailed, gave granular information as to what was going on. So, you know, did we have a perfect winter last winter? By all means, no, but we communicated that authentically. And where we messed up, we took.00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:23.000Jason Bays: the blame for it, and said, hey, we didn't get this right, and where we were working to improve the experience, we communicated that… communicated that story. So, to me, it started from a communication standpoint, that we were authentic, that we were honest, that we were truthful, and that we were communicating on a medium that.00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:31.000Jason Bays: our guests would see, um, and relate to. So I think a big miss was, I think, admittedly, a big miss was removing the, um, Camelback Mountain.00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:53.000Jason Bays: social media pages, um, and bringing those back were really important so that, um, we could tell the story authentically. I think SKUs really appreciate, um, knowing what's going on, and to your point on, hey, there's sort of this rumor flying or that rumor flying, um, you know, we were able to, uh, sort of hone in and, and tell, tell that story. Secondarily, I think from an infrastructure standpoint.00:22:53.000 --> 00:23:09.000Jason Bays: um, we really needed to make sure that we had, um, the right team in place. And we have an amazingly talented team at Camelback, um, but we did not have key positions filled, um, in certain areas. Um, and so, we bolstered up the snowmaking. Snowmaking team went from.00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000Stuart Winchester: Like, what areas?00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:30.000Jason Bays: you know, 3 to 4 to 30, um, this past winter, um, that makes a big difference, right? Our trail rollout was, um, you know, first to open in the East, uh, for Pennsylvania, um, and, uh, um, and, and focus on the core products. Um, same thing with lift operations. We brought in a really experienced lift, uh, maintenance manager.00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:13.000Stuart Winchester: Hey!00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:14.000Stuart Winchester: Wow.00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.000Stuart Winchester: Yep.00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:46.000Jason Bays: Um, to our team that really helped, um, support our Lyft, um, uh, operation. Um, decisions on when Lyfts ran and what time they ran, uh, you know, our thought was, let's, um, be more… like, you have to run the Terrain Park Lyft every day.00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:23:46.000 --> 00:24:06.000Jason Bays: to me, that's a commitment. We make that every day. We say we're running the Glen Lift every day. It services great novice terrain. It services the train park. And so, looking at the operational plan and saying, okay, what are ways that we can give back, you know, and make deposits back to our skiers? And in turn.00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:24.000Jason Bays: that builds momentum, right? People talk, and, like, the ski community is so connected, right? It's like, if you do something, like, people find out about it, because they're really, you know, they hear about it. And so, for us, focus on the core business was, um, you know, from a ski standpoint, was really important, and the infrastructure.00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:13.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:19.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:41.000Jason Bays: to be able to do it. And I would just, lastly, just say I go back to making sure that our team had the resources to do their job. We're supported, we're empowered, collaborative leadership, you know, we sat around the table and said, this is the operating plan, this is what we're going to do for our guests.00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:46.000Jason Bays: And then go out and execute it to the best we can.00:24:45.000 --> 00:25:03.000Stuart Winchester: You know, Jason, I, I, I think you could have run for governor with one of the first things that you did, which was get rid of paid parking. I, I, I don't think that I've ever, uh, heard people happier about anything. Now, now, and let me, let me qualify this, right? I think in, in some instances, paid parking and parking reservations.00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:05.000Stuart Winchester: make sense.00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:18.000Stuart Winchester: you know, super high volume days. Arapahoe Basin, I think, is a model in Colorado where they only charge for certain days and certain times, and they keep backing off which days as they learn when they really need it. Camelback was charging every day.00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:36.000Stuart Winchester: All day, you know, a Monday with, you know, 10 people on the mountain, they were charging for it. And, you know, acknowledging that sometimes it's appropriate, I think Camelback got pretty out of hand with it, and when I had Mr. Markowski on the podcast, great guy, we had a great conversation, but he was not backing off that. He said, nope, paid parking.00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:51.000Stuart Winchester: we're all in. You said no. So talk about that and how you sold. I'd imagine it was a revenue stream, right? And you had to sell management on that, and I don't know if I'm giving you credit for something someone else did, but talk to us about parking and the evolution there.00:25:51.000 --> 00:26:12.000Jason Bays: Yeah, that was a week one decision from the Camelback team when I got here made from our leadership team at Camelback that everyone was in alignment on our senior leadership team here at the property and myself to remove the paid parking. And I think definitely there's actually you have so many nice pictures behind you.00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:30.000Jason Bays: I have a picture of the old paid parking sign behind me there, if you can see it on the corner, and it actually serves to me as a reminder of the guest experience, because someone's put a sticker on that paid parking sign that you probably can't see there, but it says, Ski Camelback, we're not happy until you're not happy.00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:48.000Jason Bays: Um, and it's a reminder to, to me and our team, um, that we're here to have fun, and we're here for the guest experience, and we're here to live, live and breathe fun Camelback style. This is not a, um, you know, we want guests to look forward to, to being here. And I think, you know, yes, there was.00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:38.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:26:48.000 --> 00:27:05.000Jason Bays: So obviously we ran a financial model. We didn't just, you know, get rid of paid parking and not assume, you know, that there wasn't some revenue to be recaptured elsewhere with a strategy to do it. But I think more importantly, you know, think about it.00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:22.000Jason Bays: a non-busy day, it might even be raining, it's 40 degrees, the last thing you want is someone running around a parking lot telling you, like, hey, I need you to hand over $15, and by the way, then you're gonna schlep your stuff up two different levels of parking, um, you know, that might be even charged higher, and then get to.00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:38.000Jason Bays: uh, the mountain and go to guest services. You know, I have a 3-year-old. If my wife and I went skiing, that would be an incredible amount of friction, um, just to get to, uh, the front of the mountain. And so I think putting ourselves in the guest lens of saying, is that really what we want the guests to experience?00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:53.000Jason Bays: Um, it's not, and, and it was a burden to everyone at this, you know, you think I'm talking about, we talked to frontline associates too, like, the first thing that they had to tell people was that they had to pay for parking. You just imagine, sort of, the cascading effect that, that, that, uh, that that had, and we said, look, is there.00:27:53.000 --> 00:28:09.000Jason Bays: Um, is there a better way? Um, can we run shuttles to these lots and pick people up and bring them to the mountain and make them feel, um, you know, like our valued… like our valued guests? What does that arrival experience look like? Um, you know, that's really what we… what we looked at, and then said, okay.00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:25.000Jason Bays: can we… ultimately, will we drive more volume here? Will more people come because of a better guest experience? And I'll say that I would rather grow the sport, grow the industry. Our team would rather grow the sport and grow the industry than figuring out how to.00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:35.000Jason Bays: You know, sort of, you know, run a secondary ancillary business that's not to our core product and what we want our guests to experience here.00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:48.000Stuart Winchester: You know, it's a little counterintuitive, but sometimes, by removing a revenue stream, you get that less-is-more effect. Another example, your season pass, you know, according to my records.00:28:48.000 --> 00:29:04.000Stuart Winchester: Starting in 2020 to ‘21, the season pass was $599 at its early bird price, and it hovered between that and $649 for the next five years. This year, you put it on sale for $399. It's still at that price for unlimited Camelback.00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:20.000Stuart Winchester: That's a great bargain for, uh, for a season pass on the East Coast, and, you know, for the listeners, you are competing with the Epic Pass, which has Jack Frost, Big Boulder, right down the road, a couple exits down I-80, and their Northeast season pass is pretty affordable, and it's a pretty good deal.00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:33.000Stuart Winchester: So… so talk to us about that decision and… and… and how… how that $399 is worth it. You also wrote back, if you want to talk about, uh, the… the triple pack. I thought that was great, and I don't have the price right in front of me, but… but you've really done a lot to… to…00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:39.000Stuart Winchester: create more of a value experience for that loyal Camelback skier, from my point of view.00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:55.000Jason Bays: Yeah, thank you, and that's definitely the goal. Um, you know, I think our thought process here is let's get more people on Snow, um, and have them have a great experience while they're here. Um, I would love to tell you that there's some master business plan behind this.00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:29:55.000 --> 00:30:10.000Jason Bays: But, you know, truly, at the heart of what we do is, let's figure out how to get more people on snow, get them to a spot where they want to come back and learn and be part of it. And guess what I would just share to that is.00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:24.000Jason Bays: you know, we were charging a day ticket in 2025 of $169, um, at its highest point, right? And I would rather have a lifelong… I would rather have one per… I would much rather, I think from business proposition, we would rather have.00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:39.000Jason Bays: one person definitely not come and spend $15 to $40 to park and $169 and say, I'm never coming back, versus $399, now they're like, wow, this place is awesome, I'm getting a great value, I bring my family.00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.000Stuart Winchester: Damn.00:30:39.000 --> 00:31:01.000Jason Bays: I want to come enjoy food and beverage. And hey, by the way, we also have this great snow tubing park and this great water park. And would you like to stay at our hotel when you come with your season pass and enjoy Aquatopia? And we're debuting The Curse of Camelback this fall, right? Which is the Halloween, if you haven't heard, it's a Halloween 13 scare zones. Take a chair, lift up to it.00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:24.000Jason Bays: But I say all that to say we've got so many great cross marketing promotional opportunities at Camelback that that really becomes a super compelling business case for us. And I think it's the right thing to do for the sport is grow it, make it more accessible, allow more people to come here and see what we have to offer. I can't tell you how many people I meet, whether it's snow tubing, skiing.00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:41.000Jason Bays: water park, the hotel, whatever they're here for, CBKMA or Adventure Park, they have no idea that the other part exists to, um, the resort. And I'll share that that's been the case even in, like, when I was, uh, at Jay Peak running the water park.00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:34.000Stuart Winchester: Hmm. Okay.00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.000Jason Bays: People would come there, and they'd be like.00:31:43.000 --> 00:32:02.000Jason Bays: what is this mountain that is here? And it's Jay Peak, like, one of the most hardcore ski resorts in the world. And there were people that were coming there and were like, I had no idea there was a ski resort here. So, if it's true at Jay Peak, it certainly is true at Camelback, where.00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:53.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:00.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:02.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, okay.00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:19.000Jason Bays: we have all these different offerings that people don't know about, maybe necessarily about all of them, so our fundamental business philosophy is make it accessible, make them lifelong, um, skiers and riders, and introduce them to everything that we have to offer here in the Poconos. And I would just argue, when I say Poconos.00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:41.000Jason Bays: Like go, like experience Shawnee and experience Jack Frost Big Boulder and experience, you know, the other great ski areas in this region and Mountain Creek and wherever else and get a flavor for it. I think that's, we could use more skiers in the industry and to grow the sport. So for us, that's sort of the long-term business model that we're using.00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:58.000Stuart Winchester: So, I just looked at the triple ticket, and it looks like $149, and I think that's no blackouts. $199 includes rentals. That's pretty amazing. So, talk about that product, and then you mentioned the $169 peak day ticket. Have you settled on prices yet for 2020?00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:03.000Stuart Winchester: 6, 27. I should have checked your site in advance, but I didn't. So I don't know if you've.00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:21.000Jason Bays: Yeah, we have not, uh, posted, uh, day ticket prices for this year. Last year, um, we didn't exceed around $110, um, on a day ticket. Uh, so we kept it, I think, pretty reasonable for, for, for a, for a Pocono offering. Um, triple tickets, massive, um, success, uh, for us.00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, okay.00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, yeah.00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:37.000Jason Bays: Um, and when we talk about, like, again, getting more people introduced to the sport, you don't necessarily pick up skiing on the first time. Um, you think about that rental product, which we, um, tremendously… whatever we had on the pro forma for that was, uh, blown by by, like.00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:30.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:53.000Jason Bays: 400% on the triple ticket with rentals. And what I really believe in is that, you know, you become a lifelong skier by getting repetition, not by going once a year. It's really hard to sustain as a skier going once a year.00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:52.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:33:53.000 --> 00:34:11.000Jason Bays: and saying, oh yeah, that was our trip. We're really trying to create a guest for life and get them to return visit. That's in many ways more important to us than, again, trying to get, like, the highest yield on that one day that they picked. Like, come back and visit our resort and, um, you know, again, the business side to this is.00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:28.000Jason Bays: we're cross-marketing across all of our other offerings here that we have on this campus to say, come and visit us again. And again, to us, that's more important than, you know, the highest yield that we can get to. So the triple ticket's really successful. And I think one last thing I would share.00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:46.000Jason Bays: a lot of season passes in the market right now, um, the triple ticket's a great opportunity for people to get a couple of days at Camelback, even if they've committed somewhere else, and particularly, you know, our long season, um, there's plenty of time to use it, um, as well, uh, from the, uh, long season that we established from last year.00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:50.000Stuart Winchester: Jason, I think that's a really smart way to look at it as…00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:57.000Stuart Winchester: a… creating a habit rather than pulling as much yield as possible. And a lot of the larger operators.00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:11.000Stuart Winchester: get frustrated with me and the rest of the ski media because they don't understand why we focus on that peak price, right? Because the peak lift ticket this year at Beaver Creek is $392, set to be. Probably almost no one will pay that price, but…00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:28.000Stuart Winchester: What it does is it acts as a, a billboard for the rest of the ski industry and especially so, so Camelback for, for people who don't know when you're driving on I 80 I mean, you see it, it looms right over the highway. It is one of the major interstates in America, especially at night. The thing is lit up.00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:46.000Stuart Winchester: And so, chances are, if people think about skiing, and they think about where to go, they're gonna think about the most obvious one, and that's Camelback, and that's why, for many years, it was that, or Seven Springs was the busiest ski area in Pennsylvania, traditionally. So I think that's a really smart way to look at it, because if people show up that one time, and.00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:59.000Stuart Winchester: cost them, you know, $500 for 2 people, they're just not gonna come back, and they're not gonna try Shawnee, or… or Blue Mountain, or Jack Frost, or Elk Mountain, or Montage. So, um, I wanna talk about… Jason, I wanna talk about Lyft.00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:16.000Stuart Winchester: And… can you see this trail map? This is an old trail map. I mentioned that I know this, so for those watching on StormSkiing.com or YouTube, you can see this. So there's been a ton of changes, and I want to break all these down with you. The first I want to talk about is, over the past couple years.00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:32.000Stuart Winchester: Mark Antony and Cleopatra, these two lifts right here, an old triple and an old double, have been removed. Can you talk about why you took those lifts out of service, and if you plan to replace them with anything, or what you planned, or what the rationale was behind it?00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:49.000Jason Bays: Yeah, I appreciate that. Uh, that does predate my time here, that they had reached the end of their, um, uh, ability to operate. Um, and so they have, um, both been, um, sort of partially disassembled. Um, there is unfortunately not.00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:37.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:41.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:47.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:36:49.000 --> 00:37:05.000Jason Bays: I, by the way, two of my favorite lifts when I was a ski instructor, because you could get right up and not wait in long lines on the weekends, so absolutely realizing and recognizing the capacity that they brought, but no opportunity for us to.00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:02.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:23.000Jason Bays: um, reinstate those lifts as presently, um, as presently, uh, uh, sort of, um, situated, um, and, and not, not, not able to, uh, um, not able to, uh, rerun them. It will require a, um, new, uh, chairlift to, um, to ultimately replace.00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:37.000Jason Bays: those two lifts. It saddens me to share that, but that is, in fact, what has happened there, and I've been very open with our season pass holders about that messaging and the why behind it.00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.000Stuart Winchester: So, so in fantasy ski resort world, Jason.00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:46.000Stuart Winchester: Would you put a new lift here, and what would you put, if you could?00:37:45.000 --> 00:38:04.000Jason Bays: Yeah, absolutely. Um, same thing. We've, uh, we've made clear, uh, with no time, no official time frame to share, um, but certainly, uh, we've, we've, um, had, uh, preliminary conversations, um, about a fixed grip, um, quad that would, uh, would be able to take the place of both of those lifts, uh, and create that.00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:04.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:10.000Jason Bays: original redundancy that those two lifts brought to the resort when they were in operation.00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:27.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, that would be really nice. So, so, so these are gone and I, I have a, a current trail map now. So, um, and, and it's not completely current. We'll discuss the new trails in a moment, but this is the most current posted on your website. So, uh, we go over, these are the lifts that remain and see, uh, yeah, I, I miscounted in my intro, so sorry about that.00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:42.000Stuart Winchester: So this one is Stevenson, and Stevenson was, uh, it's a high-speed quad, uh, for the listeners, and it… it was a real junker. It was always stop, stop, stop, and, you know, it was… it was really… seemed to be falling apart and have a lot of issues. Now, uh, in 2020…00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:51.000Stuart Winchester: 5, this year, or 2024, I believe, Camelback, uh, McCarthy, the GM at the time, sent out a letter saying it was due for a…00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:53.000Stuart Winchester: Waltz.00:38:53.000 --> 00:39:02.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, let me see what he said… like, a complete modernization of Stevenson. So, so did that happen? And talk to us about Stevenson, and what kind of shape it's in right now.00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:20.000Jason Bays: Yeah, great, um, yes, that was a, uh, look, an amazing, um, project that was completed by, uh, by Dave and team, um, to modernize that lift. Um, it has, essentially, Doppelmayr came in and put in an entire new, uh, minus the, uh, minus the, uh, uh, the terminals and the.00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:09.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:35.000Jason Bays: Um, uh, and the structure itself, um, essentially all new components, all new electrical, um, uh, wiring components to it, a lot of the things that had plagued it. Um, and last year, uh, it operated 138 days.00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:36.000Stuart Winchester: Unbelievable.00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:53.000Jason Bays: Uh, which for Pennsylvania, uh, that's pretty darn good. I think we recognize it's a workhorse, um, it's key to accessing some really, um, fantastic terrain for us, um, and that modernization project with Doppel… in, um, partnership with Doppelmeyer that was done in the summer and fall of 2025.00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:54.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:39:53.000 --> 00:40:08.000Jason Bays: um, was, uh, very, uh, so it's all immediate impact, um, with, uh, Stevenson Reliability this past year, and we expect that to, uh, you know, knock on wood, to, uh, to continue going forward. We essentially, again, have a brand new lift, minus the, uh.00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:10.000Jason Bays: Uh, minus the physical pieces.00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:26.000Stuart Winchester: That's a really smart way to do it because they are tremendously expensive, these new lifts. And for folks who are watching or listening, this Stevenson is really important because you walk out of this giant hotel that's right here, that's not on the trail map with 400 and some rooms, and that is how you get up the mountain. Otherwise you got to.00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:41.000Stuart Winchester: pull your way over, so when that lift is not running or has problems, it's a real big issue. So, the alternative was, over here, Black Bear 6, uh, you replaced an old high-speed quad that was there, and… and I love this Black Bear 6 lift. It is…00:40:41.000 --> 00:41:01.000Stuart Winchester: Freakin' Ferrari, man. I think the price they gave me was something like $12 million that they spent, or maybe it was $10 to put that in. So that's the alternative, right? If you don't just modernize that current lift, you replace it. So, uh, Black Bear is awesome. I love it. It has bubbles. Is it too much? I mean, I know that KSL Now Peregrine had reasons for.00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:16.000Stuart Winchester: for putting it in, but what have you learned from a couple of years of having BlackBerry around, which is, again, probably the nicest lift in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the nicest in the Northeast, but maybe a little heavier than what you need for CamelBak, but I don't know, you tell me.00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:41.000Jason Bays: Yeah, you know, you know what I would share to that, um, you know, we, we brought it back for scenic chairlift rides this summer, and I mean, it's a massive hit. The summer, summer guests love, uh, the bubbles, they put them down when it's sunny, they put them down, um, probably gets more use in the summer as a bubble lift than the winter, uh, but look, it's, it's nice to, uh, have on the days where, you know, there's some liquid precipitation out here. It certainly happens in the Poconos.00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:24.000Stuart Winchester: Hmm.00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:35.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:58.000Jason Bays: um, and, uh, and, and or, um, uh, you know, other, other weather events, it's, it's, it's a nice to have, um, and it certainly, it gets you up in, you know, a little bit over two minutes. Um, it's a smooth ride, it's a great ride. Um, you are not going to get any complaints from me that we have a, um.00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:48.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:52.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:11.000Jason Bays: bubble, D-line, six-pack, um, in place, uh, and able to operate as our main workhorse lift. Um, and, uh, I think the six-pack versus the quad was absolutely the right, uh, call. Um…00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:27.000Jason Bays: from my experience being here before with the Sullivan Express, um, with the four-seater, the six-seater, just the… the added, uh, ability, uh, there is, uh, is… is well worth it. So, uh, we're happy to have that… happy to have that lift. I… I wouldn't, uh… I wouldn't…00:42:27.000 --> 00:42:31.000Jason Bays: We won't be trading it in at this point. Let's put it that way.00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:38.000Stuart Winchester: It is a gorgeous machine, and I have to tell you, I'm that weird person who, if there's a line on one lift.00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:56.000Stuart Winchester: And no line on the lift next to it. Even if it's a slower lift, I'll take the slower lift, because I just would rather not deal with the hassle of the line. So right here, for those who are watching, is the Bailey Double, and this is an old chair lift. It's an old slow double, it runs almost exactly parallel to Black Bear 6, doesn't land quite as high.00:42:56.000 --> 00:43:16.000Stuart Winchester: on the mountain, but functionally, it does about the same thing for you. So I like Bailey, and I was glad to see that not only did you keep it, and it does run, and that was true even under the previous regime, but you got a new gearbox for it, which is a really big deal for a lift like this in several decades. Also, talk about the work you've done on Bailey, and how you hope to use that lift.00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.000Stuart Winchester: this year to complement Black Bear.00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:21.000Jason Bays: Yeah, so, um, Bailey Lift…00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:32.000Jason Bays: full disclosure, Bailey Lift, Meadows Lift, Raceway Lift, and our season pass holders are very aware of this. Um, unfortunately, uh, we're not, um…00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:41.000Jason Bays: ready for day one of last year, um, or even close. And so, uh, we had to do a lot of, um…00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:35.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:57.000Jason Bays: normal PM maintenance, um, throughout the, um, end of fall and into winter to have all of them operational. Um, what I share to that is, um, we will run, just level set here really quickly, we will run all the lifts that we have on this trail map.00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:44.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:02.000Jason Bays: Um, and take care of them, maintain them, operate them.00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:18.000Jason Bays: Staff them, everything that you would do to run the extra capacity, we certainly need it. We'd like more capacity, actually. So that being said, Bailey Lift is critical. We got it back online.00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:10.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:34.000Jason Bays: End of January, it ran for 2 or 3 weekends, and we had a failed gearbox, um, on it, which is really unfortunate. Um, this off-season, uh, we've replaced the gearbox, we've done a full PM over the course of the summer on it, which is…00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:50.000Jason Bays: the, as you, as everyone knows, the ideal time, uh, to be, um, conducting such work, um, so that it is ready on, uh, day one. Um, it is a critical backup lift. We will run it every weekend.00:44:50.000 --> 00:45:07.000Jason Bays: Um, that we're, you know, in season, I would say in the heart of season, we're gonna run it. Won't be shy to not run it. Um, same thing with the Meadows, same thing with the Glen, same thing with the Raceway, which, um, you know, I know that that was, um, certainly chief among the complaints of.00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:22.000Jason Bays: locals and guests who were visiting from out of town alike was Lyft availability, Lyft reliability. That was something that we focused as fast as we could on last year, but we're setting ourselves up this year to be.00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:39.000Jason Bays: um, very proactive to that, and recognizing the importance of, of each of, uh, uh, you know, each of these. And look, every once in a while, uh, if the, you always want to have, like, Bailey is critical because it's the only other, if there's Black Bear, without Black Bear, it's the only other thing left, right?00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:38.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:55.000Jason Bays: Um, and so, uh, you know, I think the, you know, back in the, when I was here, like, every Lyft ran on the weekends. It was Camelback. Um, it was busy, right? Like, everything was going. That's, that's essentially our, our, our philosophy, um, will continue to be our philosophy going forward.00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:48.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:11.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, Jason, I'll admit, I didn't come to Camelback last season, so I wasn't able to experience it firsthand. I really wanted to come to your May thing, which I'll talk about, I'll get to in a minute, but I had a shoulder surgery, so I wasn't able to do that. But I wasn't only basing my perceptions of C.00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:19.000Stuart Winchester: on locals' reactions. I had skied there myself in recent years, and the lift line management, I have to say.00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:21.000Stuart Winchester: It was…00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:33.000Stuart Winchester: really frustrating from a skier point of view, when you're waiting for the Stevenson lift, and there's a big line, and every chair is going up with one or two people, and this is not peak COVID or anything else, this is several years later.00:46:33.000 --> 00:46:50.000Stuart Winchester: So, you know, and I had a lot of locals tell me, oh, we walk up Sun Bowl because the lift line is just too chaotic. People come from both sides. No, no, again, that was all before. What's your philosophy of lift line management? How have you tried to tame that? And there's always, it's always going to be a little wild and hard in Pennsylvan.00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:56.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, but they could definitely have been managed better. Is that something that was important to you, that you focused on?00:46:56.000 --> 00:47:15.000Jason Bays: Yeah, we focused on that. We have a new lift operations manager that was hired in November of 2025, who took the bull by the horns. We developed a supervisor team in fairly short order to that as well, to build out a well-rounded team. And then I would just share that our lift attendants.00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:32.000Jason Bays: All hired locally within the community. And I think that we were fully staffed in LiftOps this year, which was a big, very big win. It starts there, right? A, the people, and then B, the right people.00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:23.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:49.000Jason Bays: um, on the, uh, on the bus, um, as a catalyst to drive, uh, lift operations forward. Um, and then absolutely, uh, we focused on, uh, line management, queuing, um, we set new, in some cases, new queues. We had, um, uh, supervisors, in many cases, out.00:47:49.000 --> 00:48:04.000Jason Bays: um, putting up chairs, um, and, um, and managing the lift line. We added, once we got that right, and we felt like we were in a good spot, and we, you know, look, I think, admittedly, a couple technology hiccups here and there, it was not a perfect, uh.00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:17.000Jason Bays: we didn't, like, on opening day, it wasn't perfect, but, uh, we improved, it was a big focus for our team, and I think when we talk about fundamental ski operation, um, if we just were a ski area, we would absolutely be focusing on.00:48:06.000 --> 00:48:08.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:36.000Jason Bays: lift queuing, but we have to do that, like, we have to execute that every day because we are a ski area, um, and that's core to our business, and so that's important. Um, then we added, once we got queuing, uh, uh, correct, we added surprise and delights. Lift, uh, chocolate chip cookies were massively popular.00:48:36.000 --> 00:49:04.000Jason Bays: We handed out over 15,000 chocolate chip cookies this winter at the Stevenson lift line. And so, you know, then it becomes fun, right? Then it's the hospitality side of the business of how do we engage with our guests now that we have full chairs going up for the most part off of the Stevenson and the Black Bear and the Sun Bowl. So we hired extra associates to do that, to surprise and delight, to help our guests.00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:42.000Stuart Winchester: Cool.00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:20.000Jason Bays: The one other thing I would just share is Sunbowl is a great example. How many people get down to the Sunbowl and have never ridden a lift before? And so you need that extra human touch to be able to help. It's not even just putting people in groups of four. It's just helping them with like, here's where you go to load the lift. Here's what you do.00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:14.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:21.000Stuart Winchester: Yep.00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:33.000Jason Bays: Um, I think that that investment in our people to provide that service to our guests is very well worth it, and it's the difference between someone having a bad experience getting on a lift and never coming back.00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:43.000Jason Bays: or having a great experience, feeling well cared for, and wanting to try again. Um, and so that, that, that was, um, you know, I think that's a core, um, focus for us.00:49:43.000 --> 00:50:02.000Stuart Winchester: So, one of the ways that I can tell the resort is being run by a skier, in addition to all the things you just said, and your passion for the minutiae of things like lift lines, which I share, is that you're cutting 3 new trails in a resort that's 60 years old, and I love that. So, talk us through these trails, Jason. I'll do my best to trace them.00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:08.000Stuart Winchester: on the trail map. I don't have the updated trail map, I don't know if you've created it yet, but talk us through these three trails.00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:25.000Jason Bays: Yeah, so we're really excited. Look, this, you know, came after, you know, the so many guests, new guests that visited us at Camelback this past season. We said, you know what, let's do something fun and exciting. And like, you know, you think about how.00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:43.000Jason Bays: Um, yeah, I just, you know, if someone said, anyone puts in a new trail, uh, the skier in me wants to drive to that resort, no matter how big or small, and be like, alright, like, let's do it. Um, and our team feels, uh, you know, much of the same way. So, um, that being said, uh, we had a lot of natural snowfall this year, so…00:50:32.000 --> 00:50:33.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:50:33.000 --> 00:50:36.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:37.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, sure. Yeah.00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:59.000Jason Bays: I was acutely paying attention to where people were skiing when we had natural snowfall, where they wanted to go, and then, you know, maybe following those lines, too, and seeing what the fun was about. So, my point to all of that is, we said, let's create some, and I think for Camelback, too.00:50:46.000 --> 00:50:48.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:50:59.000 --> 00:51:15.000Jason Bays: it's very, um, you know, we wanted to create something that was sort of unique. I didn't want to just put in, like, regular trails that, A, we don't have a lot of space for regular trails, and B, um, we really wanted to create sort of unique experience. So, right underneath Black Bear, um, in between Sullivan and John Bailey there.00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:09.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:30.000Jason Bays: um, there's a, um, there's a chute, um, where the old Alpine Slide used to go. Basculus goes back into Rocket, uh, but underneath there is some really fun rolling terrain. Like, it's, it's because the mountain, the, uh, Alpine Slide.00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:28.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:54.000Jason Bays: back in the day did had several dips and curves and so we're going to lean into those dips and curves and create something sort of fun that you can get some you know launch some airtime off of if you want or carve a turn over it but it'll have some some really nice terrain variation in a way that most trails at Camelback don't have and they're coming off of an expert trail there so.00:51:54.000 --> 00:52:06.000Jason Bays: um, gives, uh, you know, anyone skiing Asp, Hump, Rocket, um, or Basilisk would be able to reach that trail, um, and, uh, and be able to, uh, just have a little bit more excitement on the way back down.00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:08.000Jason Bays: Um…00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:20.000Jason Bays: Upper Cleopatra there, if you go to the, uh, where the U is, uh, or where Upper is, we're gonna cut a trail through the woods there that's going to end up on the bottom of Big Pocono.00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:21.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:31.000Jason Bays: Um, so it's gonna go down and across. So, um, that… um, and I see where your cursor is. If you go to the… where it says Upper on Upper Cleopatra.00:52:26.000 --> 00:52:29.000Stuart Winchester: So, like, here? Or…00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:32.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, upper…00:52:32.000 --> 00:52:54.000Jason Bays: So, Big Pocono, that's Uncle B. Yeah, right there. Yep, we're going through there. Yeah, so that's gonna be, that's a narrow blue square. So, you know, I think one of the things that's fun for us is we're gonna create a blue square there. That used to be a trail back in the 60s and 70s, fun fact, when Walter Foger was designing Camelback.00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:37.000Stuart Winchester: Upper… oh, this one. Okay, so you're cutting through here?00:52:37.000 --> 00:52:39.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, cool. Okay.00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:51.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, cool.00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:09.000Jason Bays: Um, that being said, um, the… actually, it got filled in with pine trees, so it's gonna be really cool, because there's pine trees on both sides. Um, we made it narrow, so we kept the pine trees, um, and so that's gonna be a really fun, um, sort of narrow… I think about, like, the, um.00:52:58.000 --> 00:52:59.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:03.000Stuart Winchester: That's cool. It's pretty.00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:26.000Jason Bays: the ending of Jay Peak with some of the blues at the very bottom there by Interstate. We're trying to sort of have that, obviously in a much smaller zone, have that same effect, though, where you're feeling like you're really in the trees, and you've got some nice twists and turns to it. It's not terribly steep.00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:13.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, okay.00:53:26.000 --> 00:53:44.000Jason Bays: Um, two things on that trail. One is, it takes traffic off of Honeymoon Lane, which is a main boulevard, it pushes it onto the Sphinx, which has much more trail capacity, which is great, um, comfortable carrying capacity, and secondarily, um, on weekends, we're gonna have a hot chocolate, um, hut that people can ski up to.00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:32.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:53:44.000 --> 00:53:52.000Jason Bays: Um, and get shots of hot chocolate, um, as well, so we're excited to, um, uh, to offer that to our guests. We think that'll be really fun.00:53:46.000 --> 00:53:47.000Stuart Winchester: That's cool.00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:53.000Stuart Winchester: That was awesome.00:53:53.000 --> 00:54:17.000Jason Bays: And then the Stevenson, it's going to drop on the cliffhanger side and drop down that lift line and go right down into the Faroe there and follow that lift line. Vermont skiing in a very short array but very much Vermont skiing, that's an intimidating drop. Stevenson for those that may not be familiar has a extremely.00:53:53.000 --> 00:53:55.000Stuart Winchester: And it.00:53:58.000 --> 00:53:59.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:09.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, I think so.00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:34.000Jason Bays: extremely tight, um, and high, uh, crest of the lift, because the mountain crests, um, really steeply. Well, we're gonna ski that, um, and, uh, and make snow on it, and, uh, and, and, uh, and allow our guests to, uh, um, and allow skiers to, uh, to, to, to test, um, you know, a more narrow.00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:44.000Jason Bays: um, uh, trail up there that has a really great expansive view ov

AM Live guest Foxfire Cafe 9/15/2026

Original Air Date: March 31, 1954Host: Andrew RhynesShow: The Lone RangerPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Stars:• Brace Beemer (Lone Ranger)• John Todd (Tonto) Writer:• Fran Striker Producer:• George W. Trendle Director:• Charles D. Livingston Music:• Ben Bonnell For more great shows check out our site: https://www.otrwesterns.comExit music from: Roundup on the Prairie by Aaron Kenny...

Original Air Date: March 31, 1954Host: Andrew RhynesShow: The Lone RangerPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Stars:• Brace Beemer (Lone Ranger)• John Todd (Tonto) Writer:• Fran Striker Producer:• George W. Trendle Director:• Charles D. Livingston Music:• Ben Bonnell For more great shows check out our site: https://www.otrwesterns.comExit music from: Roundup on the Prairie by Aaron Kenny...

There's a story whispered in these hollers that speaks of the ones who never got their proper prom — how they wait, patient as roots, for the night the veil goes thin enough to try again. This Halloween, that night comes to Asheville, North Carolina.On October 31st, Old Gods of Appalachia drags Eulogy down into the dark for a night unlike any other — fog curling low across the floor, candlelight flickering like it's afraid of something just outside the door. DJ Poltergeist commands the decks, spinning deep cuts that sound like they were pulled straight up out of the mountain itself. Prom Royalty will be chosen and crowned by the hedge witch and yours truly, in a ceremony older and stranger than any homecoming court you ever knew in high school. Keep your eyes on the crowd... members of the Old Gods of Appalachia cast may creep among the revelers (as schedules permit). Before you leave, the merch table waits, offering the opportunity to carry a little piece of the dark home with you. The doors don't open until 7pm, and the night doesn't truly begin until 8, but for those who want to kick things off early, a pre-show meet & greet begins at 5pm. Extend your evening with early access to the venue, and enjoy the exclusive opportunity to chat with the cast. Meet creators Steve Shell and Cam Collins; the voice of Granny White, Betsy Puckett; the voice of Polly Barrow, Tracey Johnston-Crum; the voice of Granny Underwood, Stephanie Hickling Beckman; the voice of Glory Ann Boggs, Allison Mullins; and the voice of Conrad Barrow, Cecil Baldwin. With special appearance by season six cast member and New York Times bestselling author Don Martin (Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire). Tickets are limited and sold as an optional add-on to your general admission ticket.So dig out the taffeta, the lace, the fishnets, and all your black t-shirts. Dress in your finest and most fiendish. Because down here, the mountain remembers every monster who never got to go to prom — and tonight, they will.Tickets are on sale now! https://dice.fm/event/v3l3ov-goth-prom-old-gods-of-appalachia-takes-over-eulogy-31st-oct-eulogy-asheville-tickets Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/old-gods-of-appalachia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a Japanese Shinto garden took root in Southwestern Virginia because of family connections spanning geography and generations. Also, in Whitesburg, Kentucky a new mosaic uses recovered objects to honor the town's people after the flood of 2022. And, the young adult novel “Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire” mixes historical fact with spooky Appalachian folklore.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week's one on one pod is available to paid subscribers, join us on Patreon to access the full episode! In this episode we discuss our party flyer going viral, The Drake Underground in the 2010's, Foxfire, mushrooms, us not hanging out for a few years in 2015, Deconstructed Club Music, Pop music, The Bovine, sting backpacks, Dis Magazine, high visibility clothing, Heron Preston's DSNY collection, The Grenadier Cafe, cheesesteaks, meatloaf, The Tulip restaurant, poppers, Smiling Buddha, band names that couldn't exist in 2026, Sterling bonfires, Brickworks, the Eaton Centre parking lot roof, Toronto Island, Nick's refusal to swim in Lake Ontario and much more!Josh McIntyreNick Marian----COLD POD

The Ross Resorts empire is growing! With iconic Ross designs including Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club and Southern Pines Golf Club, the club owners are in the midst of adding 72 more holes with the acquisition of the Country Club of Whispering Pines and Foxfire to their portfolio.Kelly Miller, president of Ross Resorts, has enlisted the assistance of a familiar friend and renowned golf course architect Kyle Franz to redesign all 72 holes. In this episode of Paradise in the Pines, Miller and Franz talk about the current projects, when the courses plan to open and why they chose to expand their golf footprint in the Sandhills.

"Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire" is a young adult novel set in Appalachia. Written by West Virginia native Don Martin, the book follows the story of a witch-in-training who uses her magic to help a forgotten mountain coal town. It was an instant New York Times bestseller after it was released last year. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Martin about the book and his podcast "Head on Fire." The post A Conversation With ‘Verity Vox And The Curse Of Foxfire' Author, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

This week, a new book for young adults. Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire mixes historical fact with spooky Appalachian folklore.  Also, over 15 years, a photojournalist documented an Ohio family. Now she's a part of their lives. And an experimental guitarist records an album intended as a call to arms. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

Today on Too Opinionated, we sit down with acclaimed bilingual actor Jean-Michel Le Gal, whose career seamlessly bridges classical theatre and powerful contemporary screen performances. Jean-Michel returns in Season 2 of CBC's hit drama Saint-Pierre as fan-favorite character Renuf Aucoin. This season, Renuf's calm and guarded exterior begins to crack as long-buried secrets rise to the surface. With deep knowledge of Saint-Pierre's people, history, and hidden shadows, Renuf becomes more essential than ever — but the emotional toll may cost him everything. Season 2 of Saint-Pierre is streaming now on CBC and CBC Gem. Beyond Saint-Pierre, Jean-Michel's impressive television career includes standout roles in

New York Times best-selling author Don Martin joins me on the podcast for a wonderful episode full of laughs, learning, and beautiful words. We kick things off by talking about his podcast, Head on Fire. Don talks about how and why he started it, and what you can expect to find by listening or watching his episodes. He interviews experts in overlooked fields, searching for answers to life's biggest and smallest questions. From there, we talk about some of his early fandom influences. From the X-Men, to a focus on the Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate. We discuss how his time spent with family in West Virginia and the history and stories that come out of Appalachia formed the foundations for his future work. Don then talks about how he started writing poetry when he was 10-12.  Under the guidance of his uncle as his poetry & writing mentor, Don continued to develop and hone his craft. If you haven't found a poet you like, Don says you just haven't found the right one and recommends a number of poets and poetry to read. Link are at the end of the show notes. Then we talk about Don's novel, Verity Vox and The Curse of Foxfire. As mentioned previously, Don talks about how the idea for the novel started with a real town and story in West Virginia. From there, Verity Vox can be described as Kiki's Delivery Service meets Old Gods of Appalachia. We talk spoiler free about the book, and Don talks about how he infused the book's town and characters with his personal history with West Virginia and the family that resides there. We also talk about what's coming next for his work, and some projects that we hinted at are out now, including Hexes and Heroes. You can find Don at:  https://bydonmartin.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bydonmartin/ https://www.threads.com/@bydonmartin Verity Vox and The Curse of Foxfire - https://amzn.to/4qf4FNL Don Martin's catalog on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3M1hixS You can find Hexes and Heroes at: https://www.youtube.com/@hexesnheroes You can find Head on Fire Podcast at:  https://www.youtube.com/@HeadOnFirePod Don's Poetry Recommendations Include: Clint Smith - Above Ground - https://amzn.to/4t6Tvgx Andrea Gibson - Lord of the Butterflies - https://amzn.to/3NPX62t Franny Choi - https://amzn.to/3Ogjzps Maggie Smith - Good Bones - https://amzn.to/49RmPjI Maggie Smith - The Well Speaks Of Its Own Poison - https://amzn.to/3M1gmJS Staceyann Chin - https://amzn.to/49YGVak Beau Sia - https://amzn.to/4ann5qN Taylor Mali - https://amzn.to/4ann5qN Saul Williams - https://amzn.to/4ar4OsD Danez Smith - https://amzn.to/3NRul5G Morgan Parker - Other People's Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night - https://amzn.to/4kcF0DX Maya Popa - Wound Is the Origin of Wonder - https://amzn.to/3LPgj3Q

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

On this episode of MITM Laura and Aaron share, Appalachian haint and booger stories from the past.  Stories are shared from the second book of the Foxfire series.  The stories in the book were transcribed just as they were told from the Appalachian people back in the 1960's, these stories can date as far back to the mid 1800's.  These stories all share common threads of paranormal happenings that you hear today.  Stories of ungodly looking boogers (bigfoot), riding in Model T's, a black hairy beast lurking in a bedroom at night and disappearing as a fireball orb through the home and frightening cloaked encounters are retold. Little ghost girls in white, luring phantom baby cries in the woods, a mischievous unseen entity sneaking up on a child and shoving him to the ground, noisy cloaked spirits banging under house porches, are all some of the encounters that are recounted. Thank you for listening!  Please rate, review and share the show! Follow MITM on instagram!https://www.instagram.com/midnight_inthemountains/ 

This week, Vanessa shares some of the books she hopes to catch up on during her end-of-year reading sprint. Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and never miss a ook. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. We've got the chops to match the book lover in your life with their next favorite read. And it only takes a few clicks to gift Tailored Book Recommendations! Simply head to mytbr.co/gift to get started. Books Discussed: Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser, Hildegarde Serle (translator) History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin Witches of Honeysuckle House by Liz Parker This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Vanessa and Danika discuss some of December's new releases, and Liberty and Vanessa's favorite books of 2025. Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and never miss a beat book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Keep track of new releases with Book Riot's New Release Index, now included with an All Access membership. Click here to get started today! Books Discussed On the Show: The Curse of the Cole Women by Marielle Thompson There's Always Next Year by George M. Johnson and Leah Johnson The Jaguars Roar by Micheliny Verunschk, Juliana Barbassa (translator) Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-reum and Shanna Tan Scarlet Morning by N.D. Stevenson The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett Angel Down by Daniel Kraus Old Soul by Susan Barker The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson Queer Enlightenments by Dr. Anthony Delaney All the (More!) Books! December 5, 2025 What We're Reading: Joy to the Girls by Alyson Derrick and Rachael Lippincott Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlessler History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across the South, the word witch has been used to explain what people fear and cannot control. For generations, healers, midwives, conjurers and root workers carried knowledge their communities needed, yet often faced suspicion when tragedy struck. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the real lives and southern legends behind those branded as witches. From colonial courts to mountain cabins and coastal swamps, these stories reveal how the line between healing and haunting has always been thin and how fear can turn ordinary people into figures of folklore. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries

In this episode Steve laments the loss of an old friend, a monthly visitor to which he contributed a fairly large portion of his working career, a friend whose blank pages Steve turned, each month, into essays, exposes and bites of entertainment for thousands of hound-hungry subscribers over a nearly fifty-year history.  UKC announced recently that it will no longer publish their house organ Coonhound Bloodlines after the first of the year.The episode also contains a White River Refuge 2025 preview, a letter from old friend Bubba Back Home, a report on Ghost the wonder dog and a congratulatory message to the brand new UKC World Champions.  The episode concludes with a tutorial on coon skinning for those wishing to take a Foxfire-type approach to coon hunting the way Deddy did it.We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  www.dusupply.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode Steve laments the loss of an old friend, a monthly visitor to which he contributed a fairly large portion of his working career, a friend whose blank pages Steve turned, each month, into essays, exposes and bites of entertainment for thousands of hound-hungry subscribers over a nearly fifty-year history.  UKC announced recently that it will no longer publish their house organ Coonhound Bloodlines after the first of the year.The episode also contains a White River Refuge 2025 preview, a letter from old friend Bubba Back Home, a report on Ghost the wonder dog and a congratulatory message to the brand new UKC World Champions.  The episode concludes with a tutorial on coon skinning for those wishing to take a Foxfire-type approach to coon hunting the way Deddy did it.We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  www.dusupply.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode Steve laments the loss of an old friend, a monthly visitor to which he contributed a fairly large portion of his working career, a friend whose blank pages Steve turned, each month, into essays, exposes and bites of entertainment for thousands of hound-hungry subscribers over a nearly fifty-year history.  UKC announced recently that it will no longer publish their house organ Coonhound Bloodlines after the first of the year. The episode also contains a White River Refuge 2025 preview, a letter from old friend Bubba Back Home, a report on Ghost the wonder dog and a congratulatory message to the brand new UKC World Champions.  The episode concludes with a tutorial on coon skinning for those wishing to take a Foxfire-type approach to coon hunting the way Deddy did it. We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.   www.dusupply.com https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Steve laments the loss of an old friend, a monthly visitor to which he contributed a fairly large portion of his working career, a friend whose blank pages Steve turned, each month, into essays, exposes and bites of entertainment for thousands of hound-hungry subscribers over a nearly fifty-year history.  UKC announced recently that it will no longer publish their house organ Coonhound Bloodlines after the first of the year.The episode also contains a White River Refuge 2025 preview, a letter from old friend Bubba Back Home, a report on Ghost the wonder dog and a congratulatory message to the brand new UKC World Champions.  The episode concludes with a tutorial on coon skinning for those wishing to take a Foxfire-type approach to coon hunting the way Deddy did it. We would like to thank those who support this podcast. Special thanks to Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode. www.dusupply.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts

Welcome to the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast's 2nd annual Vamp-tober! Somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like the girlfriend I had in February of last century, and we're joined by the Salami Mommy, Tina Dillon to discuss aging, David Bowie, alphas & betas, and play a round of Porno or Pacino! Plus: Pepperhogs! Somebody better check on Bela Lugosi, it's The Hunger (1983)! Previous Episodes Mentioned: Ep. 13 - Lifeforce (1985)Ep. 22 - Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)Ep. 149 - Shadow of the Vampire (2000)Ep. 5 - The Apple (1980)Ep. 44 - Hubie Halloween (2020)Ep. 64 - The Addams Family (1991)Ep. 65 - The Dragon Lives Again (1977)Ep. 69 - Flesh Gordon (1974)Ep. 40 - Foxfire (1996)Ep. 108 - Deep Water (2022)Links: • HWGW Vamp-tober Playlist on spotify • Hunter's Oct. 2025 Watchlist on MovieJawn • Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead on youtube Questions, comments, requests? Write us at: WriteHWGW@gmail.com

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

Episode 191. This week Beth and Jayme are embrace the changing seasons and diving into their love for all things fall. On this episode >> pickleball >> soup >> applesMentions:Circle of Friends (1995)Foxfire (1996)The Lost Boys (1987)__________Join the Geriatric Millennials Community! Instagram: @thegeriatricmillennialsFacebook: facebook.com/TheGeriatricMillennialsTheme music by The Finley Ghost__________Connect with Beth:Instagram: @eransofarInstagram: @paperwhale_paper whale: www.paperwhale.comConnect with Jayme:Instagram: @justenjoyjaymeFacebook: facebook.com/jayme.jones.75__________Beth and Jayme are long time friends and geriatric millennials. Relish in their unique perspectives as you workout, commute, fold laundry, or just need a break from the reality of this timeline! Listen in as they tell stories, discuss every topic under the sun, and just enjoy being in conversation with a friend. Designed to be the soundtrack for the mundane.

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

African Enterprise is a Christian organization that has been working in Africa for nearly 60 years, with a focus on evangelism, youth empowerment, and community development. Today on The Evangelism Podcast, Zweli Sokhela, an evangelist from South Africa, shared his personal testimony of how he came to know Jesus and became involved with African Enterprise's Foxfire program, which trains and empowers young people to share the gospel through various creative means such as music, drama, and storytelling.

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

CW: Direct violence, decay and death, talk of injury and pain, Dismemberment, Exploitation of poverty, fire noises, Depictions of refugees and unhoused people, medial descriptions, medical scarcity, gun violence, sudden loud noises, rot, mild drug use, intense pain, discussion of blood, discussion of death, aggressive, repeated sounds, depictions of poverty BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/roomwherepod.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/uTxewBrkA5 Website: https://roomwherepod.com/ Patreon: https://roomwherepod.cash

Dan Wells Ph.D. is a scholar of American religious history, consulting faculty at Duke Divinity School, Methodist pastor, and hunter outdoorsman in Muskingum County, Ohio.  On this episode focused on the Christian God & wild snake handling churches of Appalachia, we begin with a haunting story about Dan's ancestors' old home-place. Back-&-forth we share experiences about our Christian upbringings, early skepticisms on the likes of hypocrisy and the problem of evil, followed by Dan's religious calling as an intellectual pursuit. From there we're into the serpents with Dan describing his first-hand experiences at a Kentucky snake church, diving into the history, beliefs, deaths and legal restrictions of these serpent handling practitioners opening conversations about martyrdom & sainthood, the Hopi snake dance, Biblical snake symbolism, and rattlesnake catch-&-release hunting. From there we bring together Christianity and reverence for nature through the teachings of the early desert fathers and mystics. We end on dreams and an allegorical hunting story about God's fatherly protection over his spiritual children.Reading from Foxfire 7: "The People Who Take Up Serpents" by Elliot WiggintonLearn more about Dan at DrDanWells.comSupport Our Numinous Nature on Patreon.Follow Our Numinous Nature & my naturalist illustrations on InstagramCheck out my shop of shirts, prints, and books featuring my artContact: herbaceoushuman@gmail.com

In this installment, after the team opens with a discussion about new legislation in California that seeks to make Bigfoot the official state cryptid, we are joined by researcher Jeff Carpenter, who discusses his experiences covering more than 20 years of research into the Sasquatch (Bigfoot) legend as well as local history/legends from the WNC mountains. Jeff grew up learning outdoor craft of hunting and tracking from his father, Earvin Carpenter. He is a descendant of some of the earliest settlers of the Western North Carolina mountains, including his grandfather, Harley Carpenter who was one of the first mountain people written about in the well-known Foxfire book series on Appalachian Mountain Living. Jeff is currently a Field Investigator for the Bigfoot Research Organization which interviews witness reports as well as documenting them for further study.  He is also a member of the East Coast Expeditions Group, Kentucky Bigfoot Organization and the Co-Founder of the Appalachian Sasquatch Research Project.  Jeff has presented his research findings during presentations he has given in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, as well as being a guest speaker on numerous podcasts.  He made an appearance in the Small Town Monsters documentary movie titled “ On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Ancients”, which can be seen on YouTube and Amazon Prime, as well as other streaming channels. Jeff is the former Director of the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department where heworked for 32 years and is now retired.  He is a graduate of Western Carolina University and still resides in Sylva. Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Albert Ostman's story of being kidnapped by Sasquatch Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.

In our last episode of the year, we:— Go through more wild Foxfire home remedies — Discuss why Rich Rodriguez is like JD Vance— Talk about what's happening in Syria— Big John explains his beef with Ponderosa Dr. Spalding's organization https://www.equalchanceforeducation.org/-----------------------------------------------HELP SUPPORT APPODLACHIA! Join our Patreon, for as little as $5/month, and access live events, weekly exclusives, bonus series, and more patreon.com/appodlachia-----------------------------------------------Subscribe to our Youtube channel! http://www.youtube.com/appodlachiaThe views and opinions expressed on this show are the personal opinions of the hosts, Chuck Corra and Big John Isner, and do not represent the opinions of either of their employers. This show is an opinion and commentary show, NOT a news show. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Send us a textSend us a textBest of the Left: Progressive Politics, News, Culture.Expertly-curated by humans, not algorithms or AI, since 2006. 1000s of 5⭐️ reviews!Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

We had a fantastic conversation with Madison aka xgigglypuff about how she went from Appalachia to graduating from Harvard University, working as a software engineer, content creation, video games, education attainment, and more!AND we run through the wildest Foxfire home remediesMadison's links: http://linktr.ee/xgigglypuffMadison's Twitch:   / xgigglypuff  We made a Twitch a day ago:   / appodlachia  Check out our substack! https://appodlachia.substack.com/-----------------------------------------------HELP SUPPORT APPODLACHIA! Join our Patreon, for as little as $5/month, and access live events, weekly exclusives, bonus series, and more patreon.com/appodlachia-----------------------------------------------Check out our fantastic sponsors!Red Rooster Coffee! Use our promo code “DOLLY” for free shipping!https://www.redroostercoffee.com/CBD and THC gummies & more: (use code “BANJO” for 25% off) http://www.cornbreadhemp.com/Support the show

Since 1967, Foxfire has been a storehouse of traditional Appalachian knowledge that still helps people today.It continues to preserve music and history, but part of Foxfire's heritage has been recording the stories of Appalachian women. This week, Inside Appalachia explores Foxfire – its past, present and future.