Podcasts about mrg

Bienvenidos de nuevo a un directo desde Twitter, esta vez voy a darles una clase magistral sobre como funciona nuestra red eléctrica, algo complejo y sencillo a la vez. No hay ningún medio de comunicación que hable claramente sobre esto y por ello la gente no se puede formar una opinión al respecto. Se habla de oido y por regla general los tertulianos no tienen ni idea de lo que hablan. Os explicaré a grandes rasgos mi formación: Título de FP2 en la especialidad Líneas y maquinas eléctricas, eso antiguamente eran 5 años. Luego pasé algunos meses como técnico para un autónomo que trabajaba para Balay antes de irme a la mili. La mili la realice en la base aérea de Getafe como electricista dentro de la central eléctrica donde ayude a los electricistas civiles, allí teníamos varios grupos electrógenos, de varios tamaños y potencias. Al volver de la mili entre en una empresa de verificación trafos en fábricas y permisos para poner en marcha instalaciones. Después entre en una de las empresas eléctricas mas antiguas de España, J.Gil, se trata de una empresa de las primeras que construyó nuestra red eléctrica. Decir que los antiguos trabajadores de Hidroeléctrica Española hacían horas en esa empresa y que nosotros celebrábamos la comida de nochebuena con ellos. En esa empresa viví la unificación de Hidroeléctrica Española e Iberduero dando como resultado el monstruo de Iberdrola. Esa empresa empezó a ir mal y entre a otra del sector y entre las dos estuve más de 10 años en las empresas que construyen y mantienen centrales de generación y distribución trabajando por toda España. Dentro de esas dos empresas trabajé en todo tipo de instalaciones: nucleares, térmicas de carbón, hidroeléctricas, de fuel, eólicos, de todo salvo solar. Y en todo tipo de tensiones, desde las subestaciones de distribución en 20KV a las grandes centrales de 400KV. Participe en la construcción desde cero de subestaciones y centrales, instalacion de cableado de control, montaje de bastidores de protecciones y pruebas en todo tipo de instalaciones. Estuve trabajando en el cinturón de 400KV que rodea Madrid y también en la instalación de los telemandos para manejar las centrales a distancia. Trabajando en el parque de 400 KV de Vandellos se pusieron en contacto conmigo para que echara el curriculum en REE, Red eléctrica de España. Tuve que ir a Zaragoza a realizar una entrevista para ver si estaba capacitado para ser operador del sistema con ellos. Lo pase y realice también un test de conocimientos básicos y otro psicológico que también pase…pero al final mi apellido no era el adecuado y no entre. Luego contaré una anécdota al respecto. Pude ir a trabajar a Brasil y deje esta última empresa porque me querían contratar en Iberdrola y mi jefe lo impidió. Le di quince días y me marché a una pequeña ingeniera de valencia. Alli trabaje un año como delineante diseñando telecontroles, teledisparos, equipos de protección de red y modificaciones en centrales eléctricas. Allí colaboré en el diseño de subestaciones para Brasil. Pero yo soy un técnico de campo, una rata de calle y parque al aire libre, por lo que terminé yéndome a la empresa donde sigo trabajando hoy dia. Dicha multinacional fue a su vez comprada por otra aún mayor, nada menos que GE. Así que sí, he trabajado para GE (General Electric) como técnico de campo, incluso me dieron un cuadro de reconocimiento, ja, ja, ja. En esta empresa llevo los últimos 25 años. Se trata de una empresa que produce energía y la inyecta a la red todos los días desde todas partes del mundo. Así que sí, creo estar capacitado para hablar sobre el apagón del dia 28, otro fatídico 8, a las 12:33 Decir que las explicaciones que ha dado REE a través de Eduardo Prieto como director de servicios para la operación de Red eléctrica son claramente insuficientes. Un escueto video de 50 segundos publicado en su página web donde simplemente nos dicen que la demanda había sido repuesta en un 77% a las 4 de la mañana… De momento nadie ha dado una respuesta verosímil sobre lo que de verdad a pasado. REE, la empresa privado-estatal que maneja la red eléctrica ha dicho esto en su sala de prensa. Tan solo ha explicado que a las 12 de la noche se recuperó el 60% de la demanda y a las 2 de la mañana el 77%. Esto es largo de explicar a través de unos tuits...pero digamos que es la pescadilla que se muerde la cola. Muchas instalaciones generadoras no están diseñadas para producir mientras la red está caída, lo que se denomina blackout, y necesitan que haya tensión de red para empezar a inyectar potencia a la red. Las instalaciones grandes como las nucleares y otros grupos de generación necesitan horas o incluso días para estar disponibles. Es más, las nucleares necesitan una enorme cantidad de energía eléctrica para refrigerar sus núcleos nada más desconectarse de la red. La propia distribución eléctrica consume un montón de potencia eléctrica que se disipa en forma de calor y de emisiones de radiación electromagnética en todos los cientos de miles de kilómetros del cableado eléctrico de AT (alta tensión) y en los bobinados de los trafos. Por lo tanto, la primera generación que se va recuperando debe enviarse a qué las nucleares tengan red y no utilicen sus grupos electrógenos de emergencia y en inundar las redes de distribución con tensión. De momento no he escuchado ni una explicación técnica sobre el #apagon de parte de REE o de algún medio oficial. Aquí, Eduardo Prieto, director de Servicios para la Operación de Red Eléctrica en declaraciones a los medios nos contó como iban reponiendo esta tensión para que todos tengamos electricidad en casa. Eso fue a las 20:35 y es el último comunicado publicado en la web de REE. Ya está circulando por ahí la posibilidad de que este apagón haya sido debido a la presencia de masiva de energia procedente de los paneles solares fotovoltaicos, leo: "En un sistema eléctrico dominado por paneles solares, aerogeneradores e inversores, la inercia física es prácticamente nula. Los paneles solares no producen rotación mecánica. La mayoría de los aerogeneradores modernos están desacoplados electrónicamente de la red y proporcionan poca fuerza estabilizadora. Los sistemas basados ​​en inversores, que predominan en las redes modernas de energía renovable, son precisos pero delicados. Siguen la frecuencia de la red en lugar de resistir cambios repentinos”. El tuitero Principia Marsupia decía: “Veremos si tiene algo que ver con el apagón de hoy o no, pero hay un concepto del que se habla muy poco: la **inercia** de un sistema eléctrico. La inercia funciona como un amortiguador ante las fluctuaciones. Las centrales nucleares, las hidroeléctrica, las de gas, etc. proporcionan inercia al sistema xq tienen el mismo principio de funcionamiento: turbinas muy pesadas que giran muy rápido (a 50 vueltas por segundo = 50 hertzios). Esos bichos tan pesados girando a tanta velocidad tienen una inercia muy grande. Newton nos enseñó que cuanta más inercia tienes, más fuerza tiene que ejercer el exterior para cambiar tu velocidad de rotación. Dicho de otra manera: esos sistemas "absorben" las fluctuaciones de forma instantánea y muy eficiente. Por supuesto, todo tiene su límite y también puede haber apagones con esas centrales. ¿Y la solar y la eólica? La solar y la eólica producen electricidad sin una masa que proporcione inercia. (Los molinos eólicos no giran a 50 vueltas por segundo). Ojo: yo soy muy partidario de las renovables. Son más baratas y nos hacen depender menos de los países que exportan petróleo o gas. Pero creo que no se explica bien que cuando dependemos *sólo* de las renovables, el diseño y la gestión de la red es mucho más compleja. Y dicho esto, repito: no sé si el apagón de hoy ha sido un problema con la inercia del sistema. En todo caso, os he podido dar la chapa con un tema que me parece interesantísimo.” Es cierto que el dia del apagón el aporte de la energia fotovoltaica fue mayor de un 60% dentro del mix energético, concretamente un 60,64% con 17.657 MW. Pero hace solo unos días, el 21 de abril de 2025, la energía fotovoltaica alcanzó un récord en España, aportando el 61,5% del mix energético peninsular a las 13:35 horas, con una producción instantánea de 20.120 MW. El 19 de marzo de 2023, a las 11:37 horas, la energía solar fotovoltaica cubrió el 64,5% de la demanda eléctrica en España, marcando un récord histórico…sin que sufrieramos un apagón. ………………………………………………………………………………………. contar que es la red…tendréis que escuchar mi explicación ………………………………………………………………………………………. Decir que consultando los datos vemos que a las 12 y 20 no solo estábamos produciendo lo que consumían los españoles sino que estábamos exportando o guardando energia en forma bombeo. En concreto estábamos exportando 1 GW (a grosso modo una central nuclear) a Francia, 2,6 GW a Portugal y 3 GW se estaban destinando a bombear agua en presas para luego turbinarla, esto es, para en otro momento donde la energia sea mas cara vender de nuevo esa energia. Y casi un 1 GW más destinado a Marruecos, Andorra, etc… O sea, a las 12 y 20, 13 minutos antes del desastre nos sobraban casi 7 GW. En ese momento teníamos algunas de nuestras centrales nucleares en marcha, en torno a la mitad, por lo que estábamos produciendo unos 3 GW de forma nuclear. Por no decir que en España existe también el servicio de Interrumpibilidad por el que cobran y muy bien algunas de las empresas que mas energia eléctrica consumen. Este servicio significa que en caso de necesidad estas empresas serán desconectadas de la red por el operador y tendrán que funcionar en isla, o sea, se tendrán que generar ellas mismas su energía. Este servicio se empezó a gestionar en la Orden ITC/2370/2007, de 26 de julio, y hoy dia no está claro cuantos gigavatios hay destinados a esto. Esto funciona por subasta, el gobierno ofrece este chollo solo a las empresas afines, ya que como yo he comentado en mis artículos y podcast titulados “La red de araña” la corrupción y el oscurantismo en este sector es generalizado. Hace años que no busco datos sobre este respecto pero han habido años donde habían mas de 7 GW destinados a esto. Por ello estas empresas pagan su energia mas barata que la señora Maria que utiliza la electricidad para usar su secador de pelo y cuatro bombillas. Hoy se llama Servicio de Respuesta Activa de la Demanda (SRAD) y son solo unos 2 GW, podemos leer esto: “Las subastas de interrumpibilidad, tal como se conocían tradicionalmente, han evolucionado en España. Desde 2022, se han reemplazado por un nuevo mecanismo denominado Servicio de Respuesta Activa de la Demanda (SRAD), según el Real Decreto-ley 17/2022. Este servicio permite a grandes consumidores, como la industria electrointensiva, y otros agentes con al menos 1 MW de potencia reducir su consumo eléctrico en momentos críticos para el sistema eléctrico, a cambio de una retribución económica. A diferencia del antiguo sistema, la retribución se basa en la disponibilidad y, en caso de activación, en la ejecución efectiva de la reducción de consumo. En 2024, se anunció que la subasta para el SRAD de 2025 se celebraría el 14 de noviembre, con un requerimiento de 2.116 MW. Estas subastas, gestionadas por Red Eléctrica de España (REE), son telemáticas, anuales y abiertas a más participantes que las antiguas subastas de interrumpibilidad, que estaban restringidas principalmente a la gran industria. Por tanto, las subastas de interrumpibilidad como tal ya no existen, pero el SRAD cumple una función similar, adaptada a un marco regulatorio más moderno y flexible, alineado con las directrices de la Unión Europea.” Esto nos dice que en cualquier momento nos podríamos deshacer de la producción de 9 GW…ya saben que supuestamente todo ha sobrevenido porque nos faltaron de golpe 15GW en un consumo de entorno 26. Les hablare de como se calcula la energia necesaria que tenemos que producir para no tener problemas. Toda la energia que podemos producir se denomina “capacidad efectiva” y toda la energia que necesitamos en un instante se llama “demanda máxima bruta coincidente”. Lógicamente esta ultima debe ser menor que lo que podemos producir, esa diferencia se denomina “margen de reserva”. Y aqui es donde vienen las curvas. Lógicamente no todas las instalaciones están operativas: Puedes estar paradas debido a un mantenimiento programado, a un fallo, a la degradación por el paso del tiempo o al cajón de sastre que denominan “causas ajenas”. Asi que ese margen de reserva que teníamos antes se nos ha reducido hasta lo que se conoce como “margen de reserva operativo”. Por tanto tenemos una capacidad neta disponible que debe superar a la demanda máxima neta en ese “margen de reserva operativo”. Dicho margen esta compuesto por el margen de reserva de generación, la demanda interrumpible y la capacidad de interconexión (nuestra red está conectada a la de otros países y podemos exportar o importar electricidad). Nuestra interconexión principal es con Francia, pueden buscarla como Inelfe, una linea que pretende que pasemos del 3% de interconexión actual a un 10%...o sea aproximadamente 10 GWh… esto solo puede servir para enviar nuestra energía sobrante ...porque a nosotros nos sobra aproximadamente un 70% de todo lo que hay instalado en este santo país. Hice unos cálculos sobre el margen de reserva en 2014, son estos: Pues bien, si nosotros tenemos oficialmente 108 GWh (yo creo que son mas bien 120 GWh...pero "aceptamos pulpo") y consumimos en una franja entre los 22 y 36 GWh...¿Cuantos GWh nos sobran?... Pues bastante mas de esos 10 GWh que si no paran en Francia (que pararan, vaya si pararan)...y le dejo aqui los fríos datos extraídos de ese pdf que Vd. obvio y ojo es un pdf muy, pero que muy pronuke… Le remarco lo de la flechita para que vea que ES PARA EXTRAER NUESTRA ENERGIA SOBRANTE CREADA EN INSTALACIONES QUE EMPLEAN ENERGIA RENOVABLE LA QUE CIRCULARA POR LAS REDES FRANCESAS...PORQUE ELLOS DE ESO POCO... Para calcular el margen de reserva de nuestra red necesitamos conocer estos tres factores: MRG ó margen de reserva de generación. Como tenemos parados casi todos los ciclos combinados, y según Iberdrola, este margen es grande de casi 30 GWh (datos del 2010, ahora sera mayor) y ya que cobran sumas astronómicas en concepto de disponibilidad pues que estén preparados para empezar a generar, leñe. DI ó demanda interrumpible. Esto por si no lo saben nuestros oyentes se trata de un convenio entre las empresas eléctricas y los grandes consumidores via subvención del estado para que sean avisados y dada la circunstancia de un preapagon se queden fuera de la red, esto es, les sea cortado el suministro eléctrico para compensar la demanda en ese momento, a veces simplemente para gestionar las tensiones en la red. La ultima orden de interrumpibilidad se produjo en diciembre del 2009 en el sur de España. Solo se pueden sumar a estas "primas" los grandes consumidores de mas de 100MW, o sea, a estas grandes industrias la luz les sale bastante mas barata por este y otros motivos que a un pequeño consumidor. CI ó capacidad de interconexiones. Actualmente gozamos de unos 10 GWh que serán ampliados en breve gracias al proyecto INELFE pasando a los 15 GWh ampliable a los 25 GWh, que consiste en enterrar unas líneas de corriente continua entre Francia y España. Todo esto hace que nuestra capacidad bruta de 108 GWh oficiales y nuestra capacidad efectiva que es la suma de la demanda bruta coincidente y el margen de reserva sean bastante grandes y parecidos. Yo calculo a grosso modo que esta capacidad efectiva seria de: 36GWh del pico máximo actual, ya que no volveremos en mucho tiempo a los 45 GWh de nuestra burbuja mas los 30 GWh del margen de reserva de generación mas los 6 GWh de la demanda interrumpible mas los 10 GWn actuales de la capacidad de interconexión nos arroja un total de 82 GWh. Unos 82 GWh, que descontandole el aproximadamente el 25 % de fallos, degradación, causas ajenas y al mantenimiento de equipos nos arroja una potencia de margen de reserva operativo mas demanda bruta coincidente de 61,5 GWh y esa y no otra seria la potencia bruta instalada mínima que precisaríamos en estos momentos. Sin embargo nosotros que hemos tenido un pico máximo de demanda de 45 GWh en plena burbuja inmobiliaria, tenemos instalada la friolera de 108 GWh lo que nos arroja un margen de reserva del 59%. Vamos por último a comparar estos valores con dos países, el primero México: En el informe del 2012 de la comisión nacional de energia eléctrica podemos leer los datos del 2011, esto es, México tuvo una demanda media de 38,85 GWh y una capacidad bruta de generación de 54 GWh, lo que deja un margen de reserva operativo del 24 %, o lo que es lo mismo en Mexico hacen los deberes. Veamos ahora el caso de Francia: Su pico máximo de demanda en el año 2010 fue de 96 GWh y ellos tienen una capacidad bruta instalada de 123,5 GWh así que esto nos arroja un margen de reserva operativo de tan solo un 22 %, o sea peor margen de reserva que México y no digamos con nuestro abultadisimo margen del 59 %. Todos los autores están de acuerdo en que este valor de reserva se debe situar entre el 25 y el 30%... así que le dedico estos datos a un pronuclear cabezón que sigue opinando que nuestra red no puede funcionar sin la mano que nos echan los franceses...pero ya vemos que es al revés y que en breve aun necesitaran mas de nuestras energias renovables. ………………………………………………………………………….. Quería comentar que los cortes eléctricos que puedan inestabilizar el sistema no son tan poco frecuentes, yo he vivido dos. El más importante, sin lugar a dudas fue el de 1987 provocado por un fallo en un trafo de 220 KV en la subestación de Sentmenat. Durante aquellos días estaba trabajando en la ET de la Plana (Castellon), punto estratégico donde se pudo aislar la avería junto con la ET de la Mudarra en Valladolid. Para ello fue preciso el sacar las “palas” de los relés de protección de sobreintensidad (que por cierto eran GE , como casi todos) y controlar la línea “a mano”. Os dejo un fragmento del libro histórico de REE , donde se recoge aquel accidente, en la pág. 31 podemos leer esto: “…El apagón de Cataluña de 1987 El 14 de octubre de 1987 se produce un apagón en Cataluña que deja sin servicio al 91 % del mercado catalán y desacopla las conexiones con Francia. El incidente se origina a las 22:44 horas en la subestación de Sentmenat (Barcelona), al explotar un polo de un interruptor. La situación se agrava a las 23:20 horas al dispararse la línea Aragón-La Plana, lo que afecta al resto de las centrales eléctricas de la zona. En concreto se disparan los grupos de La Robla, Teruel, Ascó, Vandellós I y Garoña. La potencia de la central de Cofrentes se queda en 80 megavatios. Para superar esta situación, se acoplan grupos de fuelóleo en Sant Adriá de Besós, Foix, Cercs y Castellón. El suministro se normaliza al cien por cien a la 1:45 horas de la madrugada. «Se puede hablar de perturbación general. Es la incidencia mayor que se ha registrado en la etapa de la explotación unificada», asegura José Alburquerque, que fue jefe del CECOEL entre 1990 y 1999 y ahora está jubilado…” (OJO 4 Nucleares paradas, y bajar a 80 MW Cofrentes es una parada técnica de emergencia en toda regla, la situación se puso al rojo vivo) Sobretodo se han dado situaciones de peligro en la zona de Cataluña, aunque tras crear el doble anillo de 400 KV de la red eléctrica se ha mejorado muchísimo. Figuraos que hasta hace no tanto tiempo toda la energía eléctrica que salía y/o entraba a Segovia lo hacía por un único interruptor de 400 KV. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Conductor del programa UTP Ramón Valero @tecn_preocupado Canal en Telegram @UnTecnicoPreocupado Un técnico Preocupado un FP2 IVOOX UTP http://cutt.ly/dzhhGrf BLOG http://cutt.ly/dzhh2LX Ayúdame desde mi Crowfunding aquí https://cutt.ly/W0DsPVq Invitados JuanMa @KbmEa7 Superior de Telecomunicaciones Radioaficionado, testing Radiohack, SDR, DSD+ tetra, TTTracker, SDRsharp. …. ¡Danterior! @Suptedax CIUDADANO GALLEGO ESPAÑOL Y EUROPEO LUCHO POR UNA SOCIEDAD HUMANA Y MÁS JUSTA. LOS NIÑOS SON EL FUTURO. AMARAS AL PRÓJIMO COMO A TI MISMO DIOS ES AMOR …. Española @Espaola100 Yeshúa es el gran YO SOY. La verdad es sólo UNA. Biblia. Profecía. Geopolítica. Sionista. LIBERTAD. …. (((VerdadesOfenden ن @verdadsmolestas "Censura, hija del miedo, padre de la ignorancia, arma del tirano. Defender hoy la verdad es nadar contracorriente" #PuraSangre https://t.me/Verdadesofenden …. El Profe @ElProfeOscar2 …. MinarcatMEGA @Rodrigo198718 liberal, capitalista, libertario, VLLC. DON'T TREAD ON ME 100% MAGA y antisocialista. Termo Milei, Termo Donald Trump, fvck Gaza fvck hamas …. Santiago Usoz @SantiagoUsoz Nací en Pamplona, donde Hemingway, Heston, Gardner, Welles y Spike Lee fueron a la plaza a ver matar toros …. Astudillo @4studill0 ………………………………………………………………………………………. Enlaces citados en el podcast: AYUDA A TRAVÉS DE LA COMPRA DE MIS LIBROS https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2024/11/16/ayuda-a-traves-de-la-compra-de-mis-libros/ Orden ITC/2370/2007, de 26 de julio, por la que se regula el servicio de gestión de la demanda de interrumpibilidad para los consumidores que adquieren su energía en el mercado de producción. https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2007-14798 30052013 CANAL ZERO-Gaia-La Red de Araña https://www.burbuja.info/inmobiliaria/temas/30052013-canal-zero-gaia-la-red-de-arana.427877/ UTP 12 La red de araña https://www.ivoox.com/utp-12-la-red-arana-audios-mp3_rf_10917493_1.html UTP13 La red de araña II https://www.ivoox.com/utp13-la-red-arana-ii-audios-mp3_rf_10943328_1.html UTP17 El Amperio contra Antonio Primera Parte https://www.ivoox.com/utp17-el-amperio-contra-antonio-primera-parte-audios-mp3_rf_11352806_1.html UTP18 El amperio contra Antonio Segunda Parte https://www.ivoox.com/utp18-el-amperio-contra-antonio-segunda-parte-audios-mp3_rf_11352896_1.html UTP26 El Déficit de Tarifa y otras malas hierbas https://www.ivoox.com/utp26-el-deficit-tarifa-otras-malas-audios-mp3_rf_12312715_1.html UTP27 El déficit de tarifa y otras malas hierbas. Segunda parte https://www.ivoox.com/utp27-el-deficit-tarifa-otras-malas-audios-mp3_rf_12509855_1.html PUNTO DE NO RETORNO RED ELÉCTRICA EN 2002 https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/03/23/punto-de-no-retorno-red-electrica-en-2002/ Inelfe http://www.eib.org/at ta chm ents/inelfe_es.pdf FILOMENA Y EL GRAN APAGÓN QUE NO FUE NI SERÁ https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2021/01/15/filomena-y-el-gran-apagon-que-no-fue-ni-sera/ ………………………………………………………………………………………. Música utilizada en este podcast: Tema inicial Heros Epílogo Maná - Bendita Tu Luz (Video Oficial) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44kityInDvM

In dieser Folge von „IMMO WISSEN kompakt“ spricht Maria-Magdalena Kager-Knapp über die rechtlichen Aspekte der Weitergabe von Mietgegenständen im Anwendungsbereich des Mietrechtsgesetzes (MRG). Thematisiert werden die Untervermietung, die Weitergabe an Familienangehörige und die Unternehmensnachfolge. Welche Rechte und Pflichten haben Mieter und Vermieter? Worauf sollte man achten, um Konflikte zu vermeiden? Die Folge bietet praxisnahe Einblicke und wertvolle Tipps für Mietverhältnisse.Weiterführende Informationen unter https://www.kager-knapp.at/Feedback gerne per mail an office@kager-knapp.at

Yuri Moraes convida seus amigos Beto Estrada e Adriano Vilas Bôas para conversar de cinema. No capitulo de hoje a lista dos melhores filmes do OSCAR 2025.

In der neuen OGH- Entscheidung 10 Ob 54/24z hat sich dieser mit den Themenbereichen Betriebskosten und Wertsicherung im Teilanwendungsbereich des MRG beschäftigt.Welche Feststellungen das Höchstgericht getroffen hat erläutern Frau Mag. Anela Blöch, Rechtsanwältin bei ATB. Law und Frau Mag. Sonja Helm vom Linde Verlag miteinander.

The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and to support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.WhoErik Mogensen, Director of Indy Pass, founder of Entabeni Systems, and temporary owner and General Manager of Black Mountain, New HampshireRecorded onFebruary 25, 2025About Entabeni SystemsEntabeni provides software and hardware engineering exclusively for independent ski areas. Per the company's one-page website:Entabeni: noun; meaning: zulu - "the mountain"We take pride in providing world class software and hardware engineering in true ski bum style.About Indy PassIndy Pass delivers two days each at 181 Alpine and 44 cross-country ski areas, plus discounts at eight Allied resorts and four Cat-skiing outfits for the 2024-25 ski season. Indy has announced several additional partners for the 2025-26 ski season. Here is the probable 2025-26 Alpine roster as of March 2, 2025 (click through for most up-to-date roster):Doug Fish, who has appeared on this podcast four times, founded Indy Pass in 2019. Mogensen, via Entabeni, purchased the pass in 2023.About Black Mountain, New HampshireClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Indy PassLocated in: Jackson, New HampshireYear founded: 1935Pass affiliations: Indy Pass and Indy+ Pass – 2 days, no blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: Attitash (:14), Wildcat (:19), Cranmore (:19), Bretton Woods (:40), King Pine (:43), Pleasant Mountain (:48), Sunday River (1:00), Cannon (1:02), Mt. Abram (1:03)Base elevation: 1,250 feetSummit elevation: 2,350 feetVertical drop: 1,100 feetSkiable acres: 140Average annual snowfall: 125 inchesTrail count: 45Lift count: 5 (1 triple, 1 double, 1 J-bar, 1 platter pull, 1 handletow – view Lift Blog's inventory of Black Mountain's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himI first spoke to Mogensen in the summer of 2020. He was somewhere out west, running something called Entabeni Systems, and he had insight into a story that I was working on. Indy Pass founder and owner-at-the-time Doug Fish had introduced us. The conversation was helpful. I wrote the story and moved on.Mogensen didn't. He kept calling. Kept emailing. There was something he wanted me to understand. Not about any particular story that I was writing, but about skiing as a whole. Specifically, about non-megapass skiing. It wasn't working, he insisted. It couldn't work without sweeping and fundamental changes. And he knew how to make those changes. He was already making them, via Entabeni, by delivering jetpack technology to caveman ski areas. They'd been fighting with sticks and rocks but now they had machine guns. But they needed more weapons, and faster.I still didn't get it. Not when Mogensen purchased Indy Pass in March 2023, and not when he joined the board at teetering-on-the-edge-of-existence Antelope Butte, Wyoming the following month. I may not have gotten it until Mogensen assembled, that October, a transcontinental coalition to reverse a New Hampshire mountain's decision to drop dead or contributed, several weeks later, vital funds to help re-open quirky and long-shuttered Hickory, New York.But in May of that year I had a late-night conversation with Doug Fish in a Savannah bar. He'd had no shortage of Indy Pass suitors, he told me. Fish had chosen Erik, he said, not because his longtime tech partner would respect Indy's brand integrity or would refuse to sell to Megaski Inc – though certainly both were true – but because in Mogensen, Fish saw a figure messianic in his conviction that family-owned, crockpots-on-tabletops, two-for-Tuesday skiing must not be in the midst of an extinction event.Mogensen, Fish said, had transformed his world into a laboratory for preventing such a catastrophe, rising before dawn and working all day without pause, focused always and only on skiing. More specifically, on positioning lunch-bucket skiing for a fair fight in the world of Octopus Lifts and $329 lift tickets and suspender-wearing Finance Bros who would swallow the mountains whole if they could poop gold coins out afterward. In service of this vision, Mogensen had created Entabeni from nothing. Indy Pass never would have worked without it, Fish said. “Elon Musk on skis,” Fish called* him. A visionary who would change this thing forever.Fish was, in a way, mediating. I'd written something - who knows what at this point – that Mogensen hadn't been thrilled with. Fish counseled us both against dismissiveness. I needed time to appreciate the full epic; Erik to understand the function of media. We still disagree often, but we understand and appreciate one another's roles. Mogensen is, increasingly, a main character in the story of modern skiing, and I – as a chronicler of such – owe my audience an explanation for why I think so.*This quote hit different two years ago, when Musk was still primarily known as the tireless disruptor who had mainstreamed electric cars. What we talked aboutWhy Indy Pass stepped up to save Black Mountain, New Hampshire; tripling Black's best revenue year ever in one season; how letting skiers brown bag helped increase revenue; how a beaten-up, dated ski area can compete directly with corporate-owned mountains dripping with high-speed lifts and riding cheap mass-market passes; “I firmly believe that skiing is in a bit of an identity crisis”; free cookies as emotional currency; Black's co-op quest; Black's essential elements; skiing's multi-tiered cost crisis; why the fanciest option is often the only option for lifts, snowcats, and snowguns; what ski areas are really competing against (it isn't other ski areas); bringing big tech to small skiing with Entabeni; what happened when teenage Mogensen's favorite ski area closed; “we need to spend 90 percent of our time understanding the problem we're trying to solve, and 10 percent of our time solving it”; why data matters; where small skiing is in the technology curve; “I think it's become very, very obvious that where you can level the playing field very quickly is with technology”; why Entabeni purchased Indy Pass; the percent of day-ticket sales that Indy accounts for at partner ski areas; limiting Indy Pass sales and keeping prices low; is Indy Pass a business?; and why Indy will never add a third day.Questions I wish I'd askedMogensen's tenure at Indy Pass has included some aggressive moves to fend off competition and hold market share. I wrote this series of stories on Indy's showdown with Ski Cooper over its cheap reciprocal pass two years ago:These are examples of headlines that Indy Pass HQ were not thrilled with, but I have a job to do. We could have spent an entire podcast re-hashing this, but the story has already been told, and I'd rather move forward than back.Also, I'd have liked to discuss Antelope Butte, Wyoming and Hickory, New York at length. We glancingly discuss Antelope Butte, and don't mention Hickory at all, but these are both important stories that I intend to explore more deeply in the future.Why now was a good time for this interviewHere's an interesting fact: since 2000, the Major League Baseball team with the highest payroll has won the World Series just three times (the 2018 Red Sox, and the 2000 and '09 Yankees), and made the series but lost it three additional times (the 2017 Dodgers and 2001 and '03 Yankees). Sure, the world champ rocks a top-five payroll about half the time, and the vast majority of series winners sit in the top half of the league payroll-wise, but recent MLB history suggests that the dudes with the most resources don't always win.Which isn't to say it's easy to fight against Epic and Ikon and ski areas with a thousand snowguns and chairlifts that cost more than a fighter jet. But a little creativity helps a lot. And Mogensen has assembled a creative toolkit that independent ski area operators can tap to help them spin-kick their way through the maelstrom:* When ski areas join Indy Pass, they join what amounts to a nationally marketed menu for hungry skiers anxious for variety and novelty. “Why yes, I'll have two servings of the Jay Peak and two Cannon Mountains, but I guess I'll try a side of this Black Mountain so long as I'm here.” Each resulting Indy Pass visit also delivers a paycheck, often from first-time visitors who say, “By gum let's do it again.”* Many ski areas, such as Nub's Nob and Jiminy Peak, build their own snowguns. Some, like Holiday Valley, install their own lifts. The manly man manning machines has been a ski industry trope since the days of Model T-powered ropetows and nine-foot-long skis. But ever so rare is the small ski area that can build, from scratch, a back-end technology system that actually works at scale. Entabeni says “yeah actually let me get this part, Bro.” Tech, as Mogensen says in our interview, is the fastest way for the little dude to catch up with the big dude.* Ski areas can be good businesses. But they often aren't. Costs are high, weather is unpredictable, and skiing is hard, cold, and, typically, far away from where the people live. To avoid the inconvenience of having to turn a profit, many ski areas – Bogus Basin, Mad River Glen, Bridger Bowl – have stabilized themselves under alternate business models, in which every dollar the ski area makes funnels directly back into improving the ski area. Black Mountain is attempting to do the same.I'm an optimist. Ask me about skiing's future, and I will not choose “death by climate change.” It is, instead, thriving through adaptation, to the environment, to technological shifts, to societal habits. Just watch if you don't believe me.Why you should ski Black MountainThere's no obvious answer to this question. Black is surrounded by bangers. Twin-peaked Attitash looms across the valley. Towering Wildcat faces Mt. Washington a dozen miles north. Bretton Woods and Sunday River, glimmering and modern, hoteled and mega-lifted and dripping with snowgun bling, rise to the west and to the east, throwing off the gravity and gravitas to haul marching armies of skiers into their kingdoms. Cranmore gives skiers a modern lift and a big new baselodge. Even formerly beat-up Pleasant Mountain now spins a high-speeder up its 1,200 vertical feet. And to even get to Black from points south, skiers have to pass Waterville, Loon, Cannon, Gunstock, and Ragged, all of which offer more terrain, more vert, faster lifts, bigger lodges, and an easier access road.That's a tough draw. And it didn't help that, until recently, Black was, well, a dump. Seasons were short, investment was limited. When things broke, they stayed broken – Mogensen tells me that Black hadn't made snow above the double chair midstation in 20 years before this winter. When I last showed up to ski at Black, two years ago, I found an empty parking lot and stilled lifts, in spite of assurances on social media and the ski area's website that this was a normal operating day.Mogensen fixed all that. The double now spins to the top every day the ski area is open. New snowguns line many trunk trails. A round of explosives tamed Upper Maple Slalom, transforming the run from what was essentially a cliff into an offramp-smooth drag-racer. The J-bar – America's oldest continuously operating overhead cable lift, in service since 1935 – spins regularly. A handle tow replaced the old rope below the triple. Black has transformed the crippled and sad little mid-mountain lodge into a boisterous party deck with music and champagne and firepits roaring right beneath the double chair. Walls and don't-do-this-or-that signs came down all over the lodge, which, while still crowded, is now stuffed with families and live music and beer glasses clinking in the dusk.And this is year one. Mogensen can't cross five feet of Black's campus without someone stopping him to ask if he's “the Indy Pass guy” and hoisting their phone for selfie-time. They all say some version of “thank you for what you're doing.” They all want in on the co-op. They all want to be part of whatever this crazy, quirky little hill is, which is the opposite of all the zinger lifts and Epkon overload that was supposed to kill off creaky little outfits like this one.Before I skied Black for three days over Presidents' weekend, I was skeptical that Mogensen could summon the interest to transform the mountain into a successful co-op. Did New England really have the appetite for another large throwback ski outfit on top of MRG and Smuggs and Magic? All my doubt evaporated as I watched Mogensen hand out free hot cookies like some orange-clad Santa Claus, as I tailed my 8-year-old son into the low-angle labyrinths of Sugar Glades and Rabbit Run, as I watched the busiest day in the mountain's recorded history fail to produce lift lines longer than three minutes, as Mt. Washington greeted me each time I slid off the Summit double.Black Mountain is a special place, and this is a singular time to go and be a part of it. So do that.Podcast NotesOn Black Mountain's comebackIn October 2023, Black Mountain's longtime owner, John Fichera, abruptly announced that the ski area would close, probably forever. An alarmed Mogensen rolled in with an offer to help: keep the ski area open, and Indy and Entabeni will help you find a buyer. Fichera agreed. I detailed the whole rapid-fire saga here:A year and dozens of perspective buyers later, Black remained future-less heading into the 2024-25 winter. So Mogensen shifted tactics, buying the mountain via Indy Pass and promising to transform the ski area into a co-op:On the Mad River Glen co-opAs of this writing, Mad River Glen, the feisty, single-chair-accessed 2,000-footer that abuts Alterra's Sugarbush, is America's only successful ski co-op. Here's how it started and how it works, per MRG's website:Mad River Glen began a new era in 1995 when its skiers came together to form the Mad River Glen Cooperative. The Cooperative works to fulfill a simple mission;“… to forever protect the classic Mad River Glen skiing experience by preserving low skier density, natural terrain and forests, varied trail character, and friendly community atmosphere for the benefit of shareholders, area personnel and patrons.” …A share in the Mad River Cooperative costs $2,000. Shares may be purchased through a single payment or in 40 monthly installments of $50 with a $150 down payment. The total cost for an installment plan is $2,150 (8.0% Annual Percentage Rate). The installment option enables anyone who loves and appreciates Mad River Glen to become an owner for as little as $50 per month. Either way, you start enjoying the benefits immediately! The only other cost is the annual Advance Purchase Requirement (APR) of $200. Since advance purchases can be applied to nearly every product and service on the mountain, including season passes, tickets, ski school and food, the advance purchase requirement does not represent an additional expense for most shareholders. In order to remain in good standing as a shareholder and receive benefits, your full APR payment must be met each year by September 30th.Black is still working out the details of its co-op. I can't share what I already know, other than to say that Black's organizational structure will be significantly different from MRG's.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Beto Estrada é criador e apresentador do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes (MRG), um dos maiores do Brasil. Host do Bocas Ordinárias do Spotify; é Diretor de Criação, Professor de pós-graduação. Atua com publicidade e marketing digital há mais de 16 anos. É sócio da BKR e é torcedor do Fluminense.

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Dec. 31. It dropped for free subscribers on Jan. 7. To receive future episodes as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoShaun Sutner, snowsports columnist for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Telegram.comRecorded onNovember 25, 2024About Shaun SutnerSutner is a skier, writer, and journalist based in Worcester, Massachusetts. He's written a snowsports column for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from Thanksgiving to April for the past several decades. You can follow Shaun on social media to stay locked into his work:Read his recent columns:* On Wildcat, Attitash, and Vail Resorts* Everyone needs a bootfitter* Indy Pass is still kicking assWhy I interviewed himJournalism sounds easy. Go there, talk to people, write about it. It's not easy. The quest for truth is like the Hobbit's quest for the ring: long, circuitous, filled with monsters who want to eat you. Some truth is easy: Wachusett has four chairlifts. Beyond the objective, complications arise: Wachusett's decision to replace its summit quad with a six-pack in 2025 is… what, exactly? Visionary, shortsighted, foolish, clever, pedestrian? Does it prioritize passholders or marketing or profit over experience? Is it necessary? Is it wise? Is it prudent? Is it an answer to locals' frustrations or a compounding factor in it?The journalist's job is to machete through this jungle and sculpt a version of reality that all parties will recognize and that none of them will be entirely happy with. Because people are complex and so is the world, and assembling the truth is less like snapping together a thousand-piece puzzle and more like the A-Team examining a trashheap and saying “OK boys, let's build a helicopter.”Sutner is good at this, as may be expected of someone who's spent decades on his beat. He understands that anecdote is not absolute. He knows how to pull together broad narratives (“New England's outdated lift fleet” of the 2010s), and to acknowledge when they change (“New England operators aggressively modernize lifts” in the 2020s). He is empathetic to locals and operators alike, without being deferential to either. He knows that the best stories are 90 percent what the writer leaves out, and 10 percent identifying the essential bits to frame the larger whole. And he lives the beat, aggressively, joyously, immersively.We need more Sutners, but we are probably getting fewer. As journalism figures out what it is in the 21st century, it is deciding that it is less about community-based entities employing beat-specific writers and more about feeding mastheads to private equity funds that drag the carcass down to entrails and then feed them to the hounds. Thousands of American communities now have no local news organization, let alone one with the resources to hire writers solely devoted to something as niche as skiing. Filling the information void is Angry Ski Bro, firing off 50 dozen monthly Facebook posts about Vail's abominable greed being distilled in a broken snowgun at Wildcat.I started The Storm as an antidote to this global complaint box. And I believe that the future of journalism includes writers tapping Substack and similar platforms to freelance the truth. But I still believe that the traditional news organization – meaning physical newspapers that have evolved into digital-analogue hybrids – can find a sustainable business model that tells a community's essential stories. Sutner, and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, deserve credit for showing us how to do this.What we talked aboutSki South America; how to ski 60 days while working full time; Worcester's legendary Strand's ski shop; Powdr's sale of Killington and Pico and how the new owners can keep from ruining it; how to make Pico more relevant; is this the start of New England ski area deconsolidation?; Smuggs; Black Mountain, New Hampshire's co-op quest; taking stock of New England consolidation; Vail Resorts' New England GM shuffle; New England's chairlift renaissance; what is New England's new most-hated lift?; why New England needs more surface lifts; a new sixer coming to Wachusett; the legacy of Wachusett's David Crowley; why Wachusett works; and what we lose with consolidation.What we got wrongOn whatever that city is calledI probably still can't pronounce “Worcester.” Just congratulate yourself if you can, and keep moving.On South American skiingI said in our conversation that there were “40 or so ski areas” in South America. I've not taken my magnifying glass to the region as I have with Real America, but I made this quick-hitter chart earlier this year that counted just 26 on the continent, all of them in Chile and Argentina:This map on skiresort.info counts 45 South American ski areas, including a sporadically operating area in Bolivia and one indoor and one artificial-turf area in Brazil. Someday I'll do a cross-check with my list, but that day is not today.On which county Killington lives inNeither of us knew which county Killington is in, but he suggested Windham County. The correct answer is Rutland County.On The Man owning our ski centersWhen discussing state-owned ski areas, Sutner didn't remember that New Hampshire owns Cannon and Vail-operated Sunapee, and I didn't remember to remind him.On Black Mountain, New HampshireWe recorded this prior to Black outlining its plans for a transition to co-op ownership. Mountain leadership has since released more details:On Mad River Glen's snowmaking hard stopI noted that Mad River Glen only makes snow up to “2,000-whatever feet.” The actual number, as proclaimed by some past assemblage of the MRG co-op, is 2,200 feet. Though perhaps raising that by a couple hundred feet would have spared them from spending a fat stack to build a double-chair midstation this year.On Vail's GM shuffleWhen we recorded this conversation, Vail-owned Wildcat, Mount Snow, and Crotched had general manager vacancies. The company has since filled all three (click through on the links above).On Sugarloaf's T-barIn our discussion on surface lifts, Sutner references a T-bar to Sugarloaf's summit. The Bateau T-bar does land quite high on the mountain, but it stops short of the summit and snowfields.On Waterville Valley's T-barsWaterville's T-bar game is way ahead of most New England ski areas. Two of them serve lower-mountain race or race-training trails, and one serves the mountain's top 400 vertical feet, replacing the windhold-prone chairlifts that once ran to the summit. While two of the T-bars run parallel to terrain parks, serving them does not appear to be the lifts' direct purpose, as we debated on the podcast.On Vail's high-speed “T-bars”I mixed up my lift types when describing the high-speed surface lifts that Vail runs at its Midwest mountains. They are ropetows, not T-bars. Here they go at Afton Alps, Minnesota:Afton Alps, Minnesota. Video by Stuart Winchester.On Wachusett upgradesSutner noted that Wachusett's coming summit six-pack would be its first big infrastructure upgrade in 20 years, but the mountain installed the 299-vertical-foot Monadnock Express quad in 2011.On Berkshire East's T-Bar ExpressSutner said that last year was Berkshire East's second season running its T-Bar Express high-speed quad, but the lift first spun for the 2023-24 ski season. The current, 2024-25 season is the lift's second.On Sutner's ski daysWe recorded this a while ago, and Sutner had clocked eight ski days before Thanksgiving. As of Dec. 30, he'd hit 21 days, well along to his 60-day goal.Podcast NotesOn Cerro CatedralI'm somewhat obsessed with this 3,773-vertical-foot, 1,500-acre Argentinian monster:On Shaun's Worcester Living articleSutner wrote up his Argentinian ski adventure for Worcester Living magazine. The story starts on page 20.On Powdr's sale of Killington and PicoIn case you missed it:On New England consolidationNew England's 100-ish ski areas are largely independently owned and operated. These 25 are run by an entity that operates at least two ski areas:On Intrawest and American Skiing CompanyIt's impossible to discuss the history of New England ski area consolidation without acknowledging the now-dead Intrawest and American Skiing Company. On Vail's management shuffleI wrote about this recently:I launched The Storm in October 2019, when Vail owned 34 North American ski areas. To the best of my knowledge, just three of those ski areas' general manager-level leaders remain where they were on that date: Vail Mountain VP/COO Beth Howard, Okemo VP/GM Bruce Schmidt, and Boston Mills-Brandywine GM Jake Campbell. Compare this to Boyne, where nine of 10 mountain leaders either remain in their 2019 roles, or have since ascended to them after working at the resort for decades, often replacing legends retiring after long careers. Alterra and Powdr have demonstrated similar stability. Meanwhile, Vail's seven New England Resorts enter this winter with just two mountains – Okemo and Attitash – under the same general manager that ran them in the spring.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 90/100 in 2024, and number 590 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. 2024 will continue until the 100-article threshold is achieved, regardless of what that pesky calendar says. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Nov. 13. It dropped for free subscribers on Nov. 20. To receive future episodes as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoMatt Jones, President and Chief Operating Officer of Stratton Mountain, VermontRecorded onNovember 11, 2024About Stratton MountainClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Alterra Mountain Company, which also owns:Located in: Winhall, VermontYear founded: 1962Pass affiliations:* Ikon Pass: Unlimited* Ikon Base Pass: Unlimited, holiday blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: Bromley (:18), Magic (:24), Mount Snow (:28), Hermitage Club (:33), Okemo (:40), Brattleboro (:52)Base elevation: 1,872 feetSummit elevation: 3,875 feetVertical drop: 2,003 feetSkiable Acres: 670Average annual snowfall: 180 inchesTrail count: 99 (40% novice, 35% intermediate, 16% advanced, 9% expert)Lift count: 14 (1 ten-passenger gondola, 4 six-packs, 1 high-speed quad, 2 fixed-grip quads, 1 triple, 1 double, 4 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Stratton's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himI don't know for sure how many skier visits Stratton pulls each winter, or where the ski area ranks among New England mountains for busyness. Historical data suggests a floor around 400,000 visits, likely good for fifth in the region, behind Killington, Okemo, Sunday River, and Mount Snow. But the exact numbers don't really matter, because the number of skiers that ski at Stratton each winter is many manys. And the number of skiers who have strong opinions about Stratton is that exact same number.Those numbers make Stratton more important than it should be. This is not the best ski area in Vermont. It's not even Alterra's best ski area in Vermont. Jay, MRG, Killington, Smuggs, Stowe, and sister resort Sugarbush are objectively better mountains than Stratton from a terrain point of view (they also get a lot more snow). But this may be one of the most crucial mountains in Alterra's portfolio, a doorway to the big-money East, a brand name for skiers across the region. Stratton is the only ski area that advertises in the New York City Subway, and has for years.But Stratton's been under a bit of stress. The lift system is aging. The gondola is terrible. Stratton was one of those ski areas that was so far ahead of the modernization curve – the mountain had four six-packs by 2001 – that it's now in the position of having to update all of that expensive stuff all at once. And as meaningful updates have lagged, Stratton's biggest New England competitors are running superlifts up the incline at a historic pace, while Alterra lobs hundreds of millions at its western megaresorts. Locals feel shafted, picketing an absentee landlord that they view as negligent. Meanwhile, the crowds pile up, as unlimited Ikon Pass access has holstered the mountain in hundreds of thousands of skiers' wintertime battle belts.If that all sounds a little dramatic, it only reflects the messages in my inbox. I think Alterra has been cc'd on at least some of those emails, because the company is tossing $20 million at Stratton this season, a sum that Jones tells us is just the beginning of massive long-term investment meant to reinforce the mountain's self-image as a destination on its own.What we talked aboutStratton's $20 million offseason; Act 250 masterplanning versus U.S. Forest Service masterplanning; huge snowmaking upgrades and aspirations; what $8 million gets you in employee housing these days; big upgrades for the Ursa and American Express six-packs; a case for rebuilding lifts rather than doing a tear-down and replace; a Tamarack lift upgrade; when Alterra's investment firehose could shift east; leaving Tahoe for Vermont; what can be done about that gondola?; the Kidderbrook lift; parking; RFID; Ikon Pass access levels; and $200 to ski Stratton.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewHow pissed do you think the Punisher was when Disney announced that Ant Man would be the 12th installment in Marvel's cinematic universe? I imagine him seated in his lair, polishing his grenades. “F*****g Ant Man?” He throws a grenade into one of his armored Jeeps, which disintegrates in a supernova of steel parts, tires, and smoke. “Ant Man. Are you f*****g serious with this? I waited through eleven movies. Eleven. Iron Man got three. Thor and Captain f*****g America got two apiece. The Hulk. Two Avengers movies. Something called ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,' about a raccoon and a talking tree that save the goddamn universe or some s**t. And it was my turn, Man. My. Turn. Do these idiots not know that I had three individual comic lines published concurrently in the 1990s? Do they not know that I'm ranked as the ninth-greatest Marvel superhero of all time on this nerd list? Do you know where Ant Man is ranked on that list? Huh? Well, I'll tell you: number 131, behind Rocket Raccoon, U-Go Girl, and Spider Man 2099, whatever the hell any of those are.” The vigilante then loads his rocket launcher and several machine guns into a second armored Jeep, and sets off in search of jaywalkers to murder.Anyway I imagine that's how Stratton felt as it watched the rest of Alterra's cinematic universe release one blockbuster after another. “Oh, OK, so Steamboat not only gets a second gondola, but they get a 600-acre terrain expansion served by their eighth high-speed quad? And it wasn't enough to connect the two sides of Palisades Tahoe with a gondola, but you threw in a brand-new six-pack? And they're tripling the size of Deer Valley. Tripling. 3,700 acres of new terrain and 16 new lifts and a new base village to go with it. That's equal to five-and-a-half Strattons. And Winter Park gets a new six-pack, and Big Bear gets a new six-pack, and Mammoth gets two. Do you have any idea how much these things cost? And I can't even get a gondola that can withstand wind gusts over three miles per hour? Even goddamn Snowshoe – Snowshoe – got a new lift before I did. I didn't even think West Virginia was actually a real place. I swear if these f*****s announce a new June Mountain out-of-base lift before I get my bling, things are gonna get Epic around here.”Well, it's finally Stratton's turn, with $20 million in upgrades inbound. Alterra wasn't exactly mining the depths of locals' dreams to decide where to deploy the cash – snowmaking, employee housing, lift overhauls – and a gondola replacement isn't coming anytime soon, but they're pretty smart investments when you dig into them. Which we do.Questions I wish I'd askedAmong the items that I would have liked to have discussed given more time: the Appalachian Trail's path across the top of Stratton Mountain, Stratton as birthplace of modern snowboarding, and the Stratton Mountain School.What I got wrong* I said that Epic Pass access had remained mostly unchanged for the past decade, which is not quite right. When Vail first added Stowe to the Epic Local Pass for the 2017-18 season, they slotted the resort into the bucket of 10 days shared with Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler. At some point, Stowe received its own basket of 10 days, apart from the western resorts.* I said that Sunday River's Jordan eight-pack was wind-resistant “because of the weight.” While that is one factor, the lift's ability to run in high winds relies on a more complex set of anti-sway technology, none of which I really understand, but that Sunday River GM Brian Heon explained on The Storm earlier this year:Why you should ski StrattonA silent skiing demarcation line runs roughly along US 4 through Vermont. Every ski area along or above this route – Killington, Pico, Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, Stowe, Smuggs – lets trails bump up, maintains large glade networks, and generally provides you with balanced, diverse terrain. Everything below that line – Okemo, Bromley, Mount Snow – generally don't do any of these things, or offer them sporadically, and in the most shrunken form possible. There are some exceptions on both sides. Saskadena Six, a bump just north of US 4, operates more like the Southies. Magic, in the south, better mirrors the MRG/Sugarbush model. And then there's Stratton.Good luck finding bumps at Stratton. Maybe you'll stumble onto the remains of a short competition course here or there, but, generally, this is a groom-it-all-every-day kind of ski area. Which would typically make it a token stop on my annual rounds. But Stratton has one great strength that has long made it a quasi-home mountain for me: glades.The glade network is expansive and well-maintained. The lines are interesting and, in places, challenging. You wouldn't know this from the trailmap, which portrays the tree-skiing areas as little islands lodged onto Stratton's hulk. But there are lots of them, and they are plenty long. On a typical pow day, I'll park at Sun Bowl and ski all the glades from Test Pilot over to West Pilot and back. It takes all day and I barely touch a groomer.And the glades are open more often than you'd think. While northern Vermont is the undisputed New England snow king, with everything from Killington north counting 250-plus inches in an average winter, the so-called Golden Triangle of Stratton, Bromley, and Magic sits in a nice little micro-snow-pocket. And Stratton, the skyscraping tallest peak in that region of the state, devours a whole bunch (180 inches on average) to fill in those glades.And if you are Groomer Greg, you're in luck: Stratton has 99 of them. And the grooming is excellent. Just start early, because they get scraped off by the NYC hordes who camp out there every weekend. The obsessive grooming does make this a good family spot, and the long green trail from the top down to the base is one of the best long beginner runs anywhere.Podcast NotesOn Act 250This is the 20th Vermont-focused Storm Skiing Podcast, and I think we've referenced Act 250 in all of them. If you're unfamiliar with this law, it is, according to the official state website:…Vermont's land use and development law, enacted in 1970 at a time when Vermont was undergoing significant development pressure. The law provides a public, quasi-judicial process for reviewing and managing the environmental, social and fiscal consequences of major subdivisions and developments in Vermont. It assures that larger developments complement Vermont's unique landscape, economy and community needs. One of the strengths of Act 250 is the access it provides to neighbors and other interested parties to participate in the development review process. Applicants often work with neighbors, municipalities, state agencies and other interested groups to address concerns raised by a proposed development, resolving issues and mitigating impacts before a permit application is filed.On Stratton's masterplanStratton is currently updating its masterplan. It will retain some elements of this 2013 version. Some elements of this – most notably a new Snow Bowl lift in 2018 – have been completed:One curious element of this masterplan is the proposed lift up the Kidderbrook trail – around 2007, Stratton removed a relatively new (installed 1989) Poma fixed-grip quad from that location. Here it is on the far left-hand side of the 2005 trailmap:On Stratton's ownership historyStratton's history mirrors that of many large New England ski areas: independent founders run the ski area for decades; founders fall into financial peril and need private equity/banking rescue; bank sells to a giant out-of-state conglomerate; which then sells to another giant out-of-state conglomerate; which eventually turns into something else. In Stratton's case, Robert Wright/Frank Snyder -> Moore and Munger -> Japanese company Victoria USA -> Intrawest -> Alterra swallows the carcass of Intrawest. You can read all about it on New England Ski History.Here was Intrawest's roster, if you're curious:On Alterra's building bingeSince its 2018 founding, Alterra has invested aggressively in its properties: a 2.4-mile-long, $65 million gondola connecting Alpine Meadows to the Olympic side of Palisades Tahoe; $200 million in the massive Mahogany Ridge expansion and a three-mile-long gondola at Steamboat; and an untold fortune on Deer Valley's transformation into what will be the fourth-largest ski area in the United States. Plus new lifts all over the place, new snowmaking all over the place, new lodges all over the place. Well, all over the place except for at Stratton, until now.On Boyne and Vail's investments in New EnglandAmplifying Stratton Nation's pain is the fact that Alterra's two big New England competitors – Vail Resorts and Boyne Resorts – have built a combined 16 new lifts in the region over the past five years, including eight-place chairs at Loon and Sunday River (Boyne), and six-packs at Stowe, Okemo, and Mount Snow (Vail). They've also replaced highly problematic legacy chairs at Attitash (Vail) and Pleasant Mountain (Boyne). Boyne has also expanded terrain at Loon, Sunday River, and, most notably – by 400 acres – Sugarloaf. And it's worth noting that independents Waterville Valley and Killington have also dropped new sixers in recent years (Killington will build another next year). Meanwhile, Alterra's first chairlift just landed this summer, at Sugarbush, which is getting a fixed-grip quad to replace the Heaven's Gate triple.On gondola wind holdsJust in case you want to blame windholds on some nefarious corporate meddling, here's a video I took of Kirkwood's Cornice Express spinning in 50-mile-per-hour winds when Jones was running the resort last year. Every lift has its own distinct profile that determines how it manages wind.On shifting Ikon Pass accessWhen Alterra launched the Ikon Pass in 2018, the company limited Base Pass holders to five days at Stratton, with holiday blackouts. Ahead of the 2020-21 season, the company updated Base Pass access to unlimited days with those same holiday blackouts. Alterra and its partners have made several such changes in Ikon's seven years. I've made this nifty chart that tracks them all (if you missed the memo, Solitude just upgraded Ikon Base pass access to eliminate holiday blackouts):On historic Stratton lift ticket pricesAgain, New England Ski History has done a nice job documenting Stratton's year-to-year peak lift ticket rates:The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 76/100 in 2024, and number 576 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

When someone in the relationship cheats how do you react? dump them, divorce? Or maybe... Cuckolding? The panel has a cracking discussion with ⁠@ontherocksgirl⁠ and her tremendous husband MrG on their amazing journey and life together in the lifestyle. At one point even taking snatching the microphone and interviewing PO! It's a really wonderful conversation and a fascinating listen with plenty of laughs. Come on in and enjoy the show Find On The Rock Girl Here

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 14. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 21. To receive future episodes as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoRalph Lewis, General Manager of Pleasant Mountain (formerly Shawnee Peak), MaineRecorded onSeptember 9, 2024About Pleasant MountainClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Boyne Resorts, which also owns:Located in: Bridgton, MaineYear founded: 1938Pass affiliations: New England Gold Pass: 3 days, no blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: Cranmore (:33), King Pine (:39), Attitash (:46), Black Mountain NH (:48), Sunday River (:53), Wildcat (:58), Mt. Abram (:56), Lost Valley (:59)Base elevation: 600 feetSummit elevation: 1,900 feetVertical drop: 1,300 feetSkiable Acres: 239Average annual snowfall: 110 inchesTrail count: 47 (25% advanced, 50% intermediate, 25% beginner)Lift count: 6 (1 high-speed quad, 1 fixed-grip quad, 2 triple chairs, 2 surface lifts – total includes Summit Express quad, anticipated to open for the 2024-25 ski season; view Lift Blog's inventory of Pleasant Mountain's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himPleasant Mountain is loaded with many of the attributes of great - or at least useful - ski areas: bottom-to-top chairlifts, a second base area to hack the crowds, night skiing, a nuanced trail network that includes wigglers through the woods and interstate-width racing chutes, good stuff for  kids, an easy access road that breaks right off a U.S. highway, killer views, a tight community undiluted by destination skiers, and a simpleness that makes you think “yeah this is pretty much what I thought a Maine ski area would be.”But the place has been around since 1938, which was 15 U.S. presidents ago. Parts of Pleasant feel musty and dated. Core skier services remain smushed between the access road and the bottom of the lifts, squeezed by that kitchen-in-a-camper feeling that everything could use just a bit more space. The baselodge feels improvised, labyrinthian, built for some purpose other than skiing. I would believe that it used to be a dairy barn housing 200 cows or a hideout for bootleggers and bandits or the home of an eccentric grandmother who kept aardvarks for pets before I would believe that anyone built this structure to accommodate hundreds of skiers on a winter weekend.American skiing, with few exceptions, follows a military/finance-style up-or-out framework. You either advance or face discharge, which in skiing means falling over dead in the snow. Twenty-five years ago, the notion of a high-speed lift at Alta would have been sacrilege. The ski area has four now, including a six-pack, and nobody ever even mentions it. Saddleback rose from the grave partly because they replaced a Napolean-era double chair with a high-speed quad. Taos – Ikon and Mountain Collective partner Taos – held out for eons before installing its first detachable in 2018 (the mountain now has two). One of the new owner's first acts at tiny Bousquet, Massachusetts was to level the rusty baselodge and build a new one.Pleasant needed to start moving up. Thirteen hundred vertical feet is too many vertical feet to ascend on a fixed-grip lift in southern New England. There are too many larger options too nearby where skiers don't have to do that. Sure, Magic, Smuggs, and MRG have fended off ostentatious modernization by tapping nostalgia as a brand, but they are backstopped by the kind of fistfighting terrain and natural snow that Pleasant lacks. To be a successful city-convenient New England ski area in the 2020s, you're going to have to be a modern ski area.That's happening now, at an encouraging clip, under Boyne Resorts' ownership. Pleasant was fine before, kept in good repair and still relevant even in a crowded market. It could have hung around for decades no matter what. But the big passes aren't going anywhere and the fast lifts aren't going anywhere and ski areas need to change along with skier expectations of what a ski area ought to be. That's happening now at Pleasant Mountain, and it's damn fun to watch.What we talked aboutAt long last, a high-speed lift up Pleasant Mountain; why the new lift won't have a midstation; why the summit triple had to go; taking out the same lift at two different mountains decades apart; when the mountain will sell old triple chairs, and where the proceeds for those will go; will the new lift overcrowd the mountain?; why Pleasant doesn't consider this a used lift even though its bones came from Sunday River; being part of Boyne versus being an indie on an island; Pleasant Mountain in the ‘70s; building Bear Peak at Attitash; returning to a childhood place when you're no longer a child; the Homer family legacy; Boyne buys Shawnee and changes the name back to “Pleasant”; “the big question is, what do we do with the land to the west of us?” as far as potential ski area expansion goes; how Pleasant interacts with Boyne's other New England ski areas; why Pleasant hasn't joined the Ikon Pass like all of Boyne's other ski areas; the evolution and future of Pleasant Mountain on the New England Pass; whether the Sunnyside triple is next in line for a high-speed upgrade; night-skiing; snowmaking; and potential baselodge expansion. This pod also features some of the coolest background noise ever, as we hear the helicopter flying these towers for the new summit lift:Lewis sent me some photos after the call:Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewBoyne came in and went to work doing Boyne things. That means snowmaking that can bury a brontosaurus. More parking. Food trucks. Tweaks to the trail network. Better grooming. Access to the Maine bigsters with a Pleasant season pass. And a bunch of corporate streamlining that none of us notice but that fortify the bump for long-term stability.But what we've all been waiting for are the new lifts. Or lift. It would always be the Summit Triple that would go first. The other chairs gathered around Big Jim (as he was known around the yard), and delivered their eulogies on that day three years ago when Boyne bought its fourth New England ski area. They all had stories to share. Breakdowns and wind holds. Liftlines and rainy days. Long summers just sitting there, waiting for something to do. Better to hear the tributes before the chairs stopped spinning, before they were auctioned off and sent to sentry backyard firepits from Portsmouth to Farmington, before the towers were scrapped and recycled into steel support beams for a Bangor outlet mall. Then they gathered round to listen.“What's it like to have a midstation?” asked Pine Quad.“Did you have electricity in the ‘90s, or were you powered by a woodstove?” asked Rabbit Run Triple, born in 2014.“Is it true that from the top of North Peak at Loon, you can see four Canadian states?” asked Sunnyside Triple.“In Canada, they're called ‘metric states,'” Summit Express Triple answered sagely. And they all nodded in awe.And then Boyne sawed the whole thing into pieces and trucked a better lift down from Sunday River to replace it. The whole project probably took a bit longer than Pleasant Mountain locals would have liked, but hey Boyne restored the ski area's original name in the meantime which was a nifty distraction. And now the new lift is here and it isn't new but it looks new and was rebuilt like a ‘60s muscle car so that the garaged version you see today is better than anything you would have seen on the street when CCR was new and cool.I don't know what Boyne's going to do when they run out of lifts to upgrade. Right now it's like 10 every year and each of them sleek as a fighter jet and nearly as expensive. But impactful, meaningfully changing how skiers experience a mountain. The new tram at Big Sky feels like a rocket launch to a moon landing. Camelot 6 at The Highlands – 487 vertical feet with bubbles and heated seats – is so over the top that riders travel from Michigan to Austria on the 42-second ride. Even the International triple chair at Alpental will blow the sidewalls off one of the best pure ski mountains in the Pacific Northwest, humble as a three-person chair sounds in this itemization of megalifts.Pleasant Mountain's new Summit Express – which replaces a Summit Express that was actually a Summit Regular-Speed Fixed-Grip Lift – will transform the ski area. It will change how skiers think about the place and how they experience it. It instantly promotes the mountain to the 21st century, where New England skiers expect detachable chairs anytime a lift rises more than a thousand vertical feet. And it assures the locals that yeah Boyne is in this. They've got plans. And we're just getting started here.What I got wrong* There were a bunch of times that I called the ski area “Shawnee” or “Shawnee Peak.” Yes I got the memo but I don't know names are hard.* I said the six-state New England region was “like half the size of Colorado,” but the difference is not quite that dramatic. New England covers 71,988 square miles (nearly half of which – 30,843 square miles – is Maine), compared to 103,610 square miles for Colorado. I feel like I've made this mistake, and this correction, before.* I made the keen observation that Pleasant Mountains was “Loon's” fourth ski area in the region and third in the state of Maine. I meant “Boyne's.”Why you should ski Pleasant MountainPleasant Mountain fits into this odd category of ski areas that you only visit if you live within an hour of the parking lot, and only if that hour is east-southeast of the ski area. There's too much Conway competition west. Too much Sunday River north. Too easy to get to Loon if you're south. Which is another way of saying that Pleasant Mountain is an overlooked member of New England's ski area roster, a lost-unless-you're-from-Portland afterthought for skiers distracted by New Hamsphire and Vermont and Sugarloaf.That's not the same thing as saying that this is not a very nice ski area. Nothing stays in business for 86 years by accident. Skiers just don't think about it unless they have to. Pleasant isn't on any national multimountain pass, isn't particularly convenient to get to, isn't a bargain, doesn't harbor a pocket of secret hardcore terrain.But you should go anyway. Even if all you do is ride the lift to the summit and stare out at the water below. The views are primo. But the ride down is fun too. Twisty narrow New England fall lines at their playful, unpredictable best. The pitches aren't overly steep, but they are consistent. This is one of the more approachable thousand-plus-footers in the country. And Maine is one of the more pleasant states in the country (no pun intended). Good people up there. A nice place to break your leg, I'm told. I'll take any excuse to visit Maine. You can go ahead and see that for yourself.Podcast NotesOn Pleasant having one of New England's highest vertical drops with no high-speed liftPleasant Mountain is one of the last New England ski areas with more than 1,000 vertical feet to install a detachable lift, but there are still a 11 left. Twelve if you count Dartmouth Skiway, which I will because I suspect their reported vertical drop may be more honest than some of the ski areas claiming 1,000-plus:On Boyne rebuilding old detach quadsBoyne has rebuilt quite a few high-speed quads over the past half-decade:Loon GM Brian Norton delivered an excellent breakdown of his mountain's rebuild of Kanc/Seven Brothers in his 2022 podcast appearance.On early-70s Pleasant MountainLewis recalls his 1970s childhood days skiing Pleasant Mountain. The place was a fairly simple operation in 1970:Within a couple of years, however, the trail footprint had evolved into something remarkably similar to modern-day Pleasant Mountain:On Pleasant's claim to having the first chairlift in the state of MainePleasant appears to be home to Maine's first double chair, a Constam make named “Old Blue,” that ran from 1955 to ‘84. According to New England Ski History, a now-defunct operation named Michaud Hill installed a single-person chairlift for the 1945-46 ski season. The lift only lasted for a couple of years, however, before being “possibly removed following 1947-48 season, with parts possibly used at [also now defunct] Thorn Mountain, New Hampshire.”On Sunday River as a backwaterI've covered this extensively, but it's still a trip to look at 1980s trailmaps of a teeny-tiny Sunday River:On ASC's rosterLewis spent time as part of American Skiing Company, which at its height had collected a now widely distributed bundle of mountains:On Bear Peak at AttitashLewis helped build two of the largest modern ski expansions in New Hampshire. Bear Peak, installed between 1994 and '95 on the proposed-but-never-developed Big Bear development next door to Attitash, more or less doubled the size of the ski area. Here's a before-and-after look at the American Skiing Company mega-project:On Sugarbush's Lift-tacular summerThose American Skiing Company days were wild in New England, marking the last major investment surge until the one we're witnessing over the past five years. One of the most incredible single-summer efforts unfolded at Sugarbush in 1995, when the company installed six chairlifts: Super Bravo Express, Gatehouse Express, and the North Lynx Triple on the Lincoln side; North Ridge Express and the Green Mountain Quad on the Mt. Ellen side; and the two-mile-long Slide Brook Express (still the longest chairlift in the world), linking the two.Current Sugarbush GM John Hammond, who occupied a much more junior role at the mountain in the mid-90s, recalled that summer when he joined the podcast in 2020.On vintage LoonLewis eventually moved from Attitash to Loon, where he found himself part of his second generational expansion: South Peak. Here's Loon around 2003:Expansion unfolded in phases, beginning in 2007. By 2011, the new peak was mostly built out:Loon actually expanded it again in 2022:On Loon busynessWhile it's difficult to verify skier visit numbers exactly, since ski areas, for reasons I don't understand, lock them up as though they were the nuclear launch codes, they occasionally slip out. And all available evidence suggests that Loon is, by far, New Hampshire's busiest ski area. Here's a dated snapshot gathered by New England Ski History:On Loon being the best of New HampshireI claim, without really qualifying it, that Loon is New Hampshire's “premier ski area.” What I meant by that was that the ski area owns the state's most sophisticated snowmaking and lift system. That assessment is a bit subjective, and Bretton Woods Nation could fight me about it and I wouldn't really have much of a counterargument.However, there is another way to look at the “best,” and that is in terms of pure ski terrain. Among the state's ski areas, Cannon and Wildcat generally split this category. Again, it's subjective, but on a powder day, those two are going to give you the most interesting terrain when you consider glades, steeps, bumps, etc.And then you have a bunch of ski areas in Vermont, and a handful in Maine, that are right in this fight. And since New England states are roughly the size of suburban Atlanta Costcos, it makes sense to consider them as a whole. Which means this is a good place to re-insert my standard Ski Areas of New England Inventory:On Booth Creek's rosterLoon was, for a time, one of eight ski areas owned by Booth Creek:Today, the company's only ski area is Sierra-at-Tahoe.On the Homer family and “Shawnee Peak”Pleasant Mountain's somewhat bizarre history includes its purchase by the owners of Shawnee Mountain, Pennsylvania in 1988. Per New England Ski History:Following the 1987-88 season, the owners of Pleasant Mountain found themselves in financial trouble. That off season, they sold the ski area to Shawnee Mountain Corp. for $1.4 million. Pleasant Mountain was subsequently renamed to "Shawnee Peak," the name of the owners' Pennsylvania ski area.Current Shawnee Mountain CEO Nick Fredericks, who has worked at that Pennsylvania ski area for its entire existence, recalled the whole episode in detail when he joined me on the podcast three years ago.Out-of-state ownership didn't last long. New England Ski History:Circa 1992, the parent company decided to divest its skiing holdings, resulting in banks taking control of Shawnee Peak. After a couple of season on the bubble, Shawnee Peak was purchased by Tom's of Maine executive Chet Homer in September of 1994. Though Homer considered restoring the ski area's original name, he opted to keep the Shawnee Peak identity due to the brand that had been established.In 2021, Homer sold the ski area to Boyne Resorts, who changed the name back to “Pleasant Mountain” in 2022. Chet's son, Geoff, recently acquired the operating lease for the small Blue Hills, Massachusetts ski area:On expansion potential to Pleasant Mountain's westPleasant Mountain owns a large parcel skier's left off the summit that could substantially expand the mountain's skiable terrain:Boyne has been aggressive with New England expansions over the past several years, opening a massive new terrain pod at Sugarloaf, expanding South Peak at Loon, and adding the family-friendly Merrill Hill at Sunday River. Boyne has the resources, organizational knowhow, and will to pull off a similar project at Pleasant. I'd expect the new terrain to be included whenever the company puts together the sort of long-term visions it's articulated for Sugarloaf, Sunday River, Loon, Boyne Mountain, The Highlands, Summit at Snoqualmie, and Big Sky.That expansion will not include these trails teased skier's right of the current Sunnyside pod in this 52-year-old trailmap – Pleasant either donated or sold this land to a nature conservancy some years ago.On Pleasant's slow expansion onto the New England PassHere's how access has evolved between Pleasant Mountain and the remainder of Boyne's portfolio since the company's 2021 acquisition:* 2021-22: Boyne purchased Pleasant in September, 2021 – too late to include the ski area on any of the company's pass products for the coming winter.* 2022-23: New England Pass excludes Pleasant as a full partner, but top-tier passes include three days each at Pleasant and Boyne's other ski areas across North America; top-tier Pleasant passes included three days to split between Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Loon, but no access to Boyne's other resorts.* 2023-24: New England Pass access remains same as 2022-23; top-tier Pleasant Mountain passes now include three days each at Boyne's non-New England resorts, including Big Sky.* 2024-25: New England Pass holders can now add a Pleasant Mountain night-skiing pass at a substantial discount; Pleasant Mountain access to remainder of Boyne's portfolio remains unchanged.Since Pleasant Mountain's season pass remains so heavily discounted against top-tier New England Passes ($849 early-bird versus $1,389), it seems unlikely that adding Pleasant as a full pass partner would do much to overcrowd the smaller mountain. Most skiers who lay out that much for their big-time pass will probably want to spend their weekends at the bigger mountains up north. Pleasant's expansion, whenever it happens, will also increase the chances that Pleasant could join the New England or Ikon Passes.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 65/100 in 2024, and number 565 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Join us for an engaging conversation with MRG, a former baseball prodigy who transformed his life into a successful music career. In this episode, we discuss the life-altering injury that derailed his dreams of going pro and how he discovered his true passion in music. MRG also shares valuable insights on the importance of marketing your music to create hit songs. This is an episode you won't want to miss!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrg/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KXD7CKcvf7KNntq0E-33ASpotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/74zPdXP4ajNbL93KT9tEiDTune in every Tuesday at 8 AM for another inspiring success story, along with the proven formula to help you achieve your own goals. Don't miss out on the insights that could change your life!Listen to our podcast on:Buzzsprout- https://successformulapodcast.buzzsprout.com/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7aRe06pXIq6yq8GQf62NBMAmazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1393b77c-626a-4a53-bdd5-43ce3b1aa15b/success-formula-podcastOur Social Media:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialSuccessFormulaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialsuccessformula/Twitter: https://x.com/_SuccessFormula/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialsuccessformula

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing BOTTOMS (2023), from writers Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, the film is directed by Emma Seligman.  In this raunchy comedy, school outcasts PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) hatch a scheme to attract the attention of the popular girls, particularly Isbael (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber), at their school by starting a fight club..  The film clocks in at 1 h and 31 m, is rated R and is available to stream on MGM+ or to buy/rent on Prime Video. Please note there are SPOILERS in this review.  #Bottoms  #EmmaSeligman  #RachelSennott  #PJ  #AyoEdebiri  #RubyCruz  #Hazel  #HavanaRoseLiu #Isabel  #KaiaGerber  #Brittany  #NicholasGalitzine  #Jeff  #MilesFowler  #Tim  #MarshawnLynch  #MrG  @MGM+  @PrimeVideo  #FridayFamilyFilmNight         Opening intro music: GOAT by Wayne Jones, courtesy of YouTube Audio Library --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jokagoge/support

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on June 26. It dropped for free subscribers on July 3. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoJD Crichton, General Manager of Wildcat Mountain, New HampshireRecorded onMay 30, 2024About WildcatClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Vail ResortsLocated in: Gorham, New HampshireYear founded: 1933 (lift service began in 1957)Pass affiliations:* Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, Northeast Value Pass – unlimited access* Northeast Midweek Pass – unlimited weekday accessClosest neighboring ski areas: Black Mountain, New Hampshire (:18), Attitash (:22), Cranmore (:28), Sunday River (:45), Mt. Prospect Ski Tow (:46), Mt. Abram (:48), Bretton Woods (:48), King Pine (:50), Pleasant Mountain (:57), Cannon (1:01), Mt. Eustis Ski Hill (1:01)Base elevation: 1,950 feetSummit elevation: 4,062 feetVertical drop: 2,112 feetSkiable Acres: 225Average annual snowfall: 200 inchesTrail count: 48 (20% beginner, 47% intermediate, 33% advanced)Lift count: 5 (1 high-speed quad, 3 triples, 1 carpet)Why I interviewed himI've always been skeptical of acquaintances who claim to love living in New Jersey because of “the incredible views of Manhattan.” Because you know where else you can find incredible views of Manhattan? In Manhattan. And without having to charter a hot-air balloon across the river anytime you have to go to work or see a Broadway play.* But sometimes views are nice, and sometimes you want to be adjacent-to-but-not-necessarily-a-part-of something spectacular and dramatic. And when you're perched summit-wise on Wildcat, staring across the street at Mount Washington, the most notorious and dramatic peak on the eastern seaboard, it's hard to think anything other than “damn.”Flip the view and the sentiment reverses as well. The first time I saw Wildcat was in summertime, from the summit of Mount Washington. Looking 2,200 feet down, from above treeline, it's an almost quaint-looking ski area, spare but well-defined, its spiderweb trail network etched against the wild Whites. It feels as though you could reach down and put it in your pocket. If you didn't know you were looking at one of New England's most abrasive ski areas, you'd probably never guess it.Wildcat could feel tame only beside Mount Washington, that open-faced deathtrap hunched against 231-mile-per-hour winds. Just, I suppose, as feisty New Jersey could only seem placid across the Hudson from ever-broiling Manhattan. To call Wildcat the New Jersey of ski areas would seem to imply some sort of down-tiering of the thing, but over two decades on the East Coast, I've come to appreciate oft-abused NJ as something other than New York City overflow. Ignore the terrible drivers and the concrete-bisected arterials and the clusters of third-world industry and you have a patchwork of small towns and beach towns, blending, to the west and north, with the edges of rolling Appalachia, to the south with the sweeping Pine Barrens, to the east with the wild Atlantic.It's actually pretty nice here across the street, is my point. Even if it's not quite as cozy as it looks. This is a place as raw and wild and real as any in the world, a thing that, while forever shadowed by its stormy neighbor, stands just fine on its own.*It's not like living in New Jersey is some kind of bargain. It's like paying Club Thump Thump prices for grocery store Miller Lite. Or at least that was my stance until I moved my smug ass to Brooklyn.What we talked aboutMountain cleanup day; what it took to get back to long seasons at Wildcat and why they were truncated for a handful of winters; post-Vail-acquisition snowmaking upgrades; the impact of a $20-an-hour minimum wage on rural New Hampshire; various bargain-basement Epic Pass options; living through major resort acquisitions; “there is no intention to make us all one and the same”; a brief history of Wildcat; how skiers lapped Wildcat before mechanical lifts; why Wildcat Express no longer transforms from a chairlift to a gondola for summer ops; contemplating Wildcat Express replacements; retroactively assessing the removal of the Catapult lift; the biggest consideration in determining the future of Wildcat's lift fleet; when a loaded chair fell off the Snowcat lift in 2022; potential base area development; and Attitash as sister resort.   Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewSince it's impossible to discuss any Vail mountain without discussing Vail Resorts, I'll go ahead and start there. The Colorado-based company's 2019 acquisition of wild Wildcat (along with 16 other Peak resorts), met the same sort of gasp-oh-how-can-corporate-Vail-ever-possibly-manage-a-mountain-that-doesn't-move-skiers-around-like-the-fat-humans-on-the-space-base-in-Wall-E that greeted the acquisitions of cantankerous Crested Butte (2018), Whistler (2016), and Kirkwood (2012). It's the same sort of worry-warting that Alterra is up against as it tries to close the acquisition of Arapahoe Basin. But, as I detailed in a recent podcast episode on Kirkwood, the surprising thing is how little can change at these Rad Brah outposts even a dozen years after The Consumption Event.But, well. At first the Angry Ski Bros of upper New England seemed validated. Vail really didn't do a great job of running Wildcat from 2019 to 2022-ish. The confluence of Covid, inherited deferred maintenance, unfamiliarity with the niceties of East Coast operations, labor shortages, Wal-Mart-priced passes, and the distractions caused by digesting 20 new ski areas in one year contributed to shortened seasons, limited terrain, understaffed operations, and annoyed customers. It didn't help when a loaded chair fell off the Snowcat triple in 2022. Vail may have run ski resorts for decades, but the company had never encountered anything like the brash, opinionated East, where ski areas are laced tightly together, comparisons are easy, and migrations to another mountain if yours starts to suck are as easy as a five-minute drive down the road.But Vail is settling into the Northeast, making major lift upgrades at Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo, Attitash, and Hunter since 2021. Mandatory parking reservations have helped calm once-unmanageable traffic around Stowe and Mount Snow. The Epic Pass – particularly the northeast-specific versions – has helped to moderate region-wide season pass prices that had soared to well over $1,000 at many ski areas. The company now seems to understand that this isn't Keystone, where you can make snow in October and turn the system off for 11 months. While Vail still seems plodding in Pennsylvania and the lower Midwest, where seasons are too short and the snowmaking efforts often underwhelming, they appear to have cracked New England – operationally if not always necessarily culturally.That's clear at Wildcat, where seasons are once again running approximately five months, operations are fully staffed, and the pitchforks are mostly down. Wildcat has returned to the fringe, where it belongs, to being an end-of-the-road day-trip alternative for people who prefer ski areas to ski resorts (and this is probably the best ski-area-with-no-public-onsite lodging in New England). Locals I speak with are generally happy with the place, which, this being New England, means they only complain about it most of the time, rather than all of the time. Short of moving the mountain out of its tempestuous microclimate and into Little Cottonwood Canyon, there isn't much Vail could do to change that, so I'd suggest taking the win.What I got wrongWhen discussing the installation of the Wildcat Express and the decommissioning of the Catapult triple, I made a throwaway reference to “whoever owned the mountain in the late ‘90s.” The Franchi family owned Wildcat from 1986 until selling the mountain to Peak Resorts in 2010.Why you should ski WildcatThere isn't much to Wildcat other than skiing. A parking lot, a baselodge, scattered small buildings of unclear utility - all of them weather-beaten and slightly ramshackle, humanity's sad ornaments on nature's spectacle.But the skiing. It's the only thing there is and it's the only thing that matters. One high-speed lift straight to the top. There are other lifts but if the 2,041-vertical-foot Wildcat Express is spinning you probably won't even notice, let alone ride, them. Straight up, straight down. All day long or until your fingers fall off, which will probably take about 45 minutes.The mountain doesn't look big but it is big. Just a few trails off the top but these quickly branch infinitely like some wild seaside mangrove, funneling skiers, whatever their intent, into various savage channels of its bell-shaped footprint. Descending the steepness, Mount Washington, so prominent from the top, disappears, somehow too big to be seen, a paradox you could think more about if you weren't so preoccupied with the skiing.It's not that the skiing is great, necessarily. When it's great it's amazing. But it's almost never amazing. It's also almost never terrible. What it is, just about all the time, is a fight, a mottled, potholed, landmine-laced mother-bleeper of a mountain that will not cede a single turn without a little backtalk. This is not an implication of the mountain ops team. Wildcat is about as close to an un-tamable mountain as you'll find in the over-groomed East. If you've ever tried building a sandcastle in a rising tide, you have a sense of what it's like trying to manage this cantankerous beast with its impossible weather and relentless pitch.We talk a bit, on the podcast, about Wildcat's better-than-you'd-suppose beginner terrain and top-to-bottom green trail. But no one goes there for that. The easy stuff is a fringe benefit for edgier families, who don't want to pinch off the rapids just because they're pontooning on the lake. Anyone who truly wants to coast knows to go to Bretton Woods or Cranmore. Wildcat packs the rowdies like jacket-flask whisky, at hand for the quick hit or the bender, for as dicey a day as you care to make it.Podcast NotesOn long seasons at WildcatWildcat, both under the Franchi family (1986 to 2010), and Peak Resorts, had made a habit of opening early and closing late. During Vail Resorts' first three years running the mountain, those traditions slipped, with later-than-normal openings and earlier-than-usual closings. Obviously we toss out the 2020 early close, but fall 2020 to spring 2022 were below historical standards. Per New England Ski History:On Big Lifts: New England EditionI noted that the Wildcat Express quad delivered one of the longest continuous vertical rises of any New England lift. I didn't actually know where the machine ranked, however, so I made this chart. The quad lands at an impressive number five among all lifts, and is third among chairlifts, in the six-state region:Kind of funny that, even in 2024, two of the 10 biggest vertical drops in New England still belong to fixed-grip chairs (also arguably the two best terrain pods in Vermont, with Madonna at Smuggs and the single at MRG).The tallest lifts are not always the longest lifts, and Wildcat Express ranks as just the 13th-longest lift in New England. A surprise entrant in the top 15 is Stowe's humble Toll House double, a 6,400-foot-long chairlift that rises just 890 vertical feet. Another inconspicuous double chair – Sugarloaf's older West Mountain lift – would have, at 6,968 feet, have made this list (at No. 10) before the resort shortened it last year (to 4,130 feet). It's worth noting that, as far as I know, Sugarbush's Slide Brook Express is the longest chairlift in the world.On Herman MountainCrichton grew up skiing at Hermon Mountain, a 300-ish footer outside of Bangor, Maine. The bump still runs the 1966 Poma T-bar that he skied off of as a kid, as well as a Stadeli double moved over from Pleasant Mountain in 1998 (and first installed there, according to Lift Blog, in 1967. The most recent Hermon Mountain trailmap that I can find dates to 2007:On the Epic Northeast Value Pass versus other New England season passes Vail's Epic Northeast Value Pass is a stupid good deal: $613 for unlimited access to the company's four New Hampshire ski areas (Wildcat, Attitash, Mount Sunapee, Crotched), non-holiday access to Mount Snow and Okemo, and 10 non-holiday days at Stowe (plus access to Hunter and everything Vail operates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan). Surveying New England's 25 largest ski areas, the Northeast Value Pass is less-expensive than all but Smugglers' Notch ($599), Black Mountain of Maine ($465), Pico ($539), and Ragged ($529). All of those save Ragged's are single-mountain passes.On the Epic Day PassYes I am still hung up on the Epic Day Pass, and here's why:On consolidationI referenced Powdr's acquisition of Copper Mountain in 2009 and Vail's purchase of Crested Butte in 2018. Here's an inventory all the U.S. ski areas owned by a company with two or more resorts:On Wildcat's old Catapult liftWhen Wildcat installed its current summit chair in 1997, they removed the Catapult triple, a shorter summit lift (Lift F below) that had provided redundancy to the summit alongside the old gondola (Lift A):Interestingly, the old gondy, which dated to 1957, remained in place for two more years. Here's a circa 1999 trailmap, showing both the Wildcat Express and the gondola running parallel from base to summit:It's unclear how often both lifts actually ran simultaneously in the winter, but the gondola died with the 20th Century. The Wildcat Express was a novel transformer lift, which converted from a high-speed quad chair in the winter to a four-passenger gondola in the summer. Vail, for reasons Crichton explains in the podcast, abandoned that configuration and appears to have no intentions of restoring it.On the Snowcat lift incidentA bit more on the January 2022 chairlift accident at Wildcat, per SAM:On Saturday, Jan. 8, a chair carrying a 22-year-old snowboarder on the Snowcat triple at Wildcat Mountain, N.H., detached from the haul rope and fell nearly 10 feet to the ground. Wildcat The guest was taken to a nearby hospital with serious rib injuries.According to state fire marshal Sean Toomey, the incident began after the chair was misloaded—meaning the guest was not properly seated on the chair as it continued moving out of the loading area. The chair began to swing as it traveled uphill, struck a lift tower and detached from the haul rope, falling to the ground. Snowcat is a still-active Riblet triple, and attaches to the haulrope with a device called an “insert clip.” I found this description of these novel devices on a random blog from 2010, so maybe don't include this in a report to Congress on the state of the nation's lift fleet:[Riblet] closed down in 2003. There are still quite a few around; from the three that originally were at The Canyons, only the Golden Eagle chair survives today. Riblet built some 500 lifts. The particularities of the Riblet chair are their grips, which are called insert clips. It is a very ingenious device and it is very safe too. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, You'll see a sketch below showing the detail of the clip.… One big benefit of the clip is that it provides a very smooth ride over the sheave trains, particularly under the compression sheaves, something that traditional clam/jaw grips cannot match. The drawback is that the clip cannot be visually inspected at it is the case with other grips. Also, the code required to move the grip every 2 years or 2,000 hours, whichever comes first. This is the same with traditional grips.This is a labor-intensive job and a special tool has been developed: The Riblet "Grip Detensioner." It's showed on a second picture representing the tool in action. You can see the cable in the middle with the strands separated, which allows the insertion of the clip. Also, the fiber or plastic core of the wire rope has to be cut where the clip is inserted. When the clip is moved to another location of the cable, a plastic part has to be placed into the cable to replace the missing piece of the core. Finally, the Riblet clip cannot be placed on the spliced section of the rope.Loaded chairs utilizing insert clips also detached from lifts at Snowriver (2021) and 49 Degrees North (2020). An unoccupied, moving chair fell from Heavenly's now-retired North Bowl triple in 2016.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 44/100 in 2024, and number 544 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

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You can also subscribe to the free tier below:Who* Scott Bender, operations and business advisor to Blue Knob ownership* Donna Himes, Blue Knob Marketing Manager* Sam Wiley, part owner of Blue Knob* Gary Dietke, Blue Knob Mountain ManagerRecorded onMay 13, 2024About Blue KnobClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Majority owned by the Wiley familyLocated in: Claysburg, PennsylvaniaYear founded: 1963Pass affiliations: Indy Pass and Indy+ Pass – 2 days, no blackouts (access not yet set for 2024-25 ski season)Closest neighboring ski areas: Laurel (1:02), Tussey (1:13), Hidden Valley (1:14), Seven Springs (1:23)Base elevation: 2,100 feetSummit elevation: 3,172 feetVertical drop: 1,072 feetSkiable Acres: 100Average annual snowfall: 120 inchesTrail count: 33 (5 beginner, 10 intermediate, 4 advanced intermediate, 5 advanced, 9 expert) + 1 terrain parkLift count: 5 (2 triples, 2 doubles, 1 carpet – view Lift Blog's inventory of Blue Knob's lift fleet)Why I interviewed themI've not always written favorably about Blue Knob. In a state where shock-and-awe snowmaking is a baseline operational requirement, the mountain's system is underwhelming and bogged down by antiquated equipment. The lower-mountain terrain – Blue Knob's best – opens sporadically, sometimes remaining mysteriously shuttered after heavy local snows. The website at one time seemed determined to set the world record for the most exclamation points in a single place. They may have succeeded (this has since been cleaned up):I've always tried to couch these critiques in a but-damn-if-only context, because Blue Knob, considered purely as a ski area, is an absolute killer. It needs what any Pennsylvania ski area needs – modern, efficient, variable-weather-capable, overwhelming snowmaking and killer grooming. No one, in this temperamental state of freeze-thaws and frequent winter rains, can hope to survive long term without those things. So what's the holdup?My goal with The Storm is to be incisive but fair. Everyone deserves a chance to respond to critiques, and offering them that opportunity is a tenant of good journalism. But because this is a high-volume, high-frequency operation, and because my beat covers hundreds of ski areas, I'm not always able to gather reactions to every post in the moment. I counterbalance that reality with this: every ski area's story is a long-term, ongoing one. What they mess up today, they may get right tomorrow. And reality, while inarguable, does not always capture intentions. Eventually, I need to gather and share their perspective.And so it was Blue Knob's turn to talk. And I challenge you to find a more good-natured and nicer group of folks anywhere. I went off format with this one, hosting four people instead of the usual one (I've done multiples a few times before, with Plattekill, West Mountain, Bousquet, Boyne Mountain, and Big Sky). The group chat was Blue Knob's idea, and frankly I loved it. It's not easy to run a ski area in 2024 in the State of Pennsylvania, and it's especially not easy to run this ski area, for reasons I outline below. And while Blue Knob has been slower to get to the future than its competitors, I believe they're at least walking in that direction.What we talked about“This was probably one of our worst seasons”; ownership; this doesn't feel like PA; former owner Dick Gauthier's legacy; reminiscing on the “crazy fun” of the bygone community atop the ski hill; Blue Knob's history as an Air Force station and how the mountain became a ski area; Blue Knob's interesting lease arrangement with the state; the remarkable evolution of Seven Springs and how those lessons could fuel Blue Knob's growth; competing against Vail's trio of nearby mountains; should Vail be allowed to own eight ski areas in one state?; Indy Pass sales limits; Indy Pass as customer-acquisition tool; could Blue Knob ever upgrade its top-to-bottom doubles to a high-speed quad?; how one triple chair multiplied into two; why Blue Knob built a mile-long lift and almost immediately shortened it; how Wolf Creek is “like Blue Knob”; beginner lifts; the best ski terrain in Pennsylvania; why Mine Shaft and Boneyard Glades disappeared from Blue Knob's trailmap, and whether they could ever return; unmarked glades; Blue Knob's unique microclimate and how that impacts snowmaking; why the mountain isn't open top-to-bottom more and why it's important to change that; PA snowmaking and how Blue Knob can catch up; that wild access road and what could be done to improve it; and the surprising amount of housing on Blue Knob's slopes.    Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewSo here's something that's absolutely stupid:That's southeastern Pennsylvania. Vail Resorts operates all of the ski areas in blue font. Ski areas in red are independent. Tussey, a local bump serving State College and its armies of sad co-eds who need a distraction because their football team can't beat Michigan, is not really relevant here. Blue Knob is basically surrounded by ski areas that all draw on the same well of out-of-state corporate resources and are stapled to the gumball-machine-priced Epic Pass. If this were a military map, we'd all say, “Yeah they're fucked.” Blue Knob is Berlin in 1945, with U.S. forces closing in from the west and the Russians driving from the east. There's no way they're winning this war.How did this happen? Which bureaucrat in sub-basement 17 of Justice Department HQ in D.C. looked at Vail's 2021 deal to acquire Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, and Laurel and said, “Cool”? This was just two years after Vail had picked up Whitetail, Liberty, and Roundtop, along with Jack Frost and Big Boulder in eastern Pennsylvania, in the Peak Resorts acquisition. How does allowing one company to acquire eight of the 22 public ski resorts in one state not violate some antitrust statute? Especially when six of them essentially surround one independent competitor.I don't know. When a similar situation materialized in Colorado in 1997, Justice said, “No, Vail Resorts, you can not buy Keystone and Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin from this dog food company. Sell one.” And so A-Basin went to a real estate conglomerate out of Toronto, which gut-renovated the mountain and then flipped it, earlier this year, to Vail arch-frenemy Alterra. And an independent ski area operator told me that, at some point during this ongoing sales process, the Justice Department reached out to ask them if they were OK with Alterra – which already operates Winter Park, owns Steamboat, and has wrapped Copper, Eldora, and the four Aspen mountains into its Ikon Pass – owning A-Basin (which has been on the Ikon Pass since 2019). Justice made no such phone call, Blue Knob officials tell me on this podcast, when Vail was purchasing the Seven Springs resorts.This is where Colorad-Bro reminds me that Pennsylvania skiing is nothing compared to Colorado. And yes, Colorado is unquestionably the epicenter of American skiing, home to some of our most iconic resorts and responsible for approximately one in four U.S. skier visits each winter. But where do you suppose all those skiers come from? Not solely from Colorado, ranked 21st by U.S. population with just 5.9 million residents. Pennsylvania, with Philly and Pittsburgh and dozens of mid-sized cities in-between, ranks fifth in the nation by population, with nearly 13 million people. And with cold winters, ski areas near every large city, and some of the best snowmaking systems on the planet, PA is a skier printing press, responsible not just for millions of in-state skier visits annually, but for minting skiers that drive the loaded U-Haul west so they can brag about being Summit County locals five minutes after signing their lease. That one company controls more than one-third of the ski areas – which, combined, certainly account for more than half of the state's skier visits – strikes me as unfair in a nation that supposedly maintains robust antitrust laws.But whatever. We're locked in here. Vail Resorts is not Ticketmaster, and no one is coming to dismantle this siege. Blue Knob is surrounded. And it's worse than it looks on this map, which does not illuminate that Blue Knob sits in a vast wilderness, far from most population centers, and that all of Vail's resorts scoop up skiers flowing west-northwest from Philadelphia/Baltimore/D.C. and east from Pittsburgh.  So how is Blue Knob not completely screwed? Answering that question was basically the point of this podcast. The mountain's best argument for continued existence in the maw of this Epic Pass blitzkrieg is that Blue Knob is a better pure ski area than any of the six Vail mountains that surround it (see trailmap above). The terrain is, in fact, the best in the State of Pennsylvania, and arguably in the entire Mid-Atlantic (sorry Elk Mountain partisans, but that ski area, fine as it is, is locked out of the conversation as long as they maintain that stupid tree-skiing ban). But this fact of mountain superiority is no guarantee of long-term resilience, because the truth is that Blue Knob has often, in recent years, been unable to open top to bottom, running only the upper-mountain triple chairs and leaving the best terrain out of reach.They have to fix that. And they know it. But this is a feisty mountain in a devilish microclimate with some antiquated infrastructure and a beast of an access road. Nothing about this renovation has been, or likely will be, fast or easy.But it can be done. Blue Knob can survive. I believe it after hosting the team on this podcast. Maybe you will too once you hear it.What I got wrong* When describing the trail network, I said that the runs were cut “across the fall line” in a really logical way – I meant, of course, to say they were cut down the fall line.* I said that I thought the plants that sprouted between the trees in the mothballed Mine Shaft and Boneyard Glades were positioned “to keep people out.” It's more likely, however, based upon what the crew told us, that those plants are intended to control the erosion that shuttered the glades several years ago.* I mentioned “six-packs going up in the Poconos at the KSL-owned mountains.” To clarify: those would be Camelback and Blue Mountain, which each added six-packs in 2022, one year before joining the Ikon Pass.* I also said that high-speed lifts were “becoming the standard” in Pennsylvania. That isn't quite accurate, as a follow-up inventory clarified. The state is home to just nine high-speed lifts, concentrated at five ski areas. So yeah, not exactly taking over Brah.* I intimated that Blue Knob shortened the Beginners CTEC triple, built in 1983, and stood up the Expressway triple in 1985 with some of the commandeered parts. This does not appear to be the case, as the longer Beginners lift and Expressway co-exist on several vintage trailmaps, including the one below from circa 1989. The longer lift continues to appear on Blue Knob trailmaps through the mid-1990s, but at some point, the resort shortened the lift by thousands of linear feet. We discuss why in the pod.Why you should ski Blue KnobIf we took every mountain, fully open, with bomber conditions, I would rank Blue Knob as one of the best small- to mid-sized ski areas in the Northeast. From a rough-and-tumble terrain perspective, it's right there with Berkshire East, Plattekill, Hickory, Black Mountain of Maine, Ragged, Black Mountain (New Hampshire), Bolton Valley, and Magic Mountain. But with its Pennsylvania address, it never makes that list.It should. This is a serious mountain, with serious terrain that will thrill and challenge any skier. Each trail is distinct and memorable, with quirk and character. Even the groomers are interesting, winding nearly 1,100 vertical feet through the trees, dipping and banking, crisscrossing one another and the lifts above. Lower Shortway, a steep and narrow bumper cut along a powerline, may be my favorite trail in Pennsylvania. Or maybe it's Ditch Glades, a natural halfpipe rolling below Stembogan Bowl. Or maybe it's the unmarked trees of East Wall Traverse down to the marked East Wall Glades. Or maybe it's Lower Extrovert, a wide but ungroomed and mostly unskied trail where I found wind-blown pow at 3 p.m. Every trail is playful and punchy, and they are numerous enough that it's difficult to ski them all in a single day.Which of course takes us to the reality of skiing Blue Knob, which is that the ski area's workhorse top-to-bottom lift is the 61-year-old Route 66 double chair. The lift is gorgeous and charming, trenched through the forest on a narrow and picturesque wilderness line (until the mid-station, when the view suddenly shifts to that of oddly gigantic houses strung along the hillside). While it runs fast for a fixed-grip lift, the ride is quite long (I didn't time it; I'll guess 10 to 12 minutes). It stops a lot because, well, Pennsylvania. There are a lot of novice skiers here. There is a mid-station that will drop expert skiers back at the top of the best terrain, but this portal, where beginners load to avoid the suicidal runs below, contributes to those frequent stops.And that's the reality when that lift is running, which it often is not. And that, again, is because the lower-mountain terrain is frequently closed. This is a point of frustration for locals and, I'll point out, for the mountain operators themselves. A half-open Blue Knob is not the same as, say, a half-open Sugarbush, where you'll still have access to lots of great terrain. A half-open Blue Knob is just the Expressway (Lift 4) triple chair (plus the beginner zone), mostly groomers, mostly greens and blues. It's OK, but it's not what we were promised on the trailmap.That operational inconsistency is why Blue Knob remains mostly unheralded by the sort of skiers who are most drawn to this newsletter – adventurous, curious, ready for a challenge – even though it is the perfect Storm mountain: raw and wild and secretive and full of guard dog energy. But if you're anywhere in the region, watch their Instagram account, which usually flashes the emergency lights when Route 66 spins. And go there when that happens. You're welcome.Podcast NotesOn crisscrossing chairliftsChairlifts are cool. Crisscrossing chairlifts are even cooler. Riding them always gives me the sense of being part of a giant Goldbergian machine. Check out the triple crossing over the doubles at Blue Knob (all videos by Stuart Winchester):Wiley mentions a similar setup at Attitash, where the Yankee Flyer high-speed quad crosses beneath the summit lift. Here's a pic I took of the old Summit Triple at the crossover junction in 2021:Vail Resorts replaced the triple with the Mountaineer high-speed quad this past winter. I intended to go visit the resort in early February, but then I got busy trying not to drop dead, so I cancelled that trip and don't have any pics of the new lift. Lift Blog made it there, because of course he did, and his pics show the crossover modified but intact. I did, however, discuss the new lift extensively with Attitash GM Brandon Swartz last November.I also snagged this rad footage of Whistler's new Fitzsimmons eight-pack flying beneath the Whistler Village Gondola in February:And the Porcupine triple passing beneath the Needles Gondola at Snowbasin in March:Oh, and Lift 2 passing beneath the lower Panorama Gondola at Mammoth:Brah I could do this all day. Here's Far East six-pack passing beneath the Red Dog sixer at Palisades Tahoe:Palisades' Base-to-Base Gondola actually passes over two chairlifts on its way over to Alpine Meadows: the Exhibition quad (foreground), and the KT-22 Express, visible in the distance:And what the hell, let's make it a party:On Blue Knob as Air Force baseIt's wild and wildly interesting that Blue Knob – one of the highest points in Pennsylvania – originally hosted an Air Force radar station. All the old buildings are visible in this undated photo. You can see the lifts carrying skiers on the left. Most of these buildings have since been demolished.On Ski Denton and LaurelThe State of Pennsylvania owns two ski areas: Laurel Mountain and Ski Denton (Blue Knob is located in a state park, and we discuss how that arrangement works in the podcast). Vail Resorts, of course, operates Laurel, which came packaged with Seven Springs. Denton hasn't spun the lifts in a decade. Late last year, a group called Denton Go won a bid to re-open and operate the ski area, with a mix of state and private investment.And it will need a lot of investment. Since this is a state park, it's open to anyone, and I hiked Denton in October 2022. The lifts – a double, a triple, and a Poma – are intact, but the triple is getting swallowed by fast-growing trees in one spot (top two photos):I'm no engineer, but these things are going to need a lot of work. The trail network hasn't grown over too much, and the base lodge looks pristine, the grasses around it mowed. Here's the old trailmap if you're curious:And here's the proposed upgrade blueprint:I connected briefly with the folks running Denton GO last fall, but never wrote a story on it. I'll check in with them soon for an update.On Herman Dupre and the evolution of Seven SpringsBender spent much of his career at Seven Springs, and we reminisce a bit about the Dupre family and the ski area's evolution into one of the finest mountains in the East. You can learn more about Seven Springs' history in my podcast conversation with the resort's current GM, Brett Cook, from last year.On Ski magazine's top 20 in the EastSki magazine – which is no longer a physical magazine but a collection of digital bits entrusted to the robots' care – has been publishing its reader resort rankings for decades. The list in the West is fairly static and predictable, filled largely with the Epkonic monsters you would expect (though Pow Mow won the top place this year). But the East list is always a bit more surprising. This year, for example, Mad River Glen and Smugglers' Notch claimed the top two spots. They're both excellent ski areas and personal favorites, with some of the most unique terrain in the country, but neither is on a megapass, and neither owns a high-speed lift, which is perhaps proof that the Colorado Machine hasn't swallowed our collective souls just yet.But the context in which we discuss the list is this: each year, three small ski areas punch their way into an Eastern lineup that's otherwise filled with monsters like Stowe and Sugarbush. Those are: Seven Springs; Holiday Valley, New York; and Wachusett, Massachusetts. These improbable ski centers all make the list because their owners (or former owners, in Seven Springs' case), worked for decades to transform small, backwater ski areas into major regional destinations.On Vail's Northeast Value Epic PassesThe most frightening factor in the abovementioned difficulties that Blue Knob faces in its cagefight with Vail is the introduction, in 2020, of Northeast-specific Epic Passes. There are two versions. The Northeast Value Pass grants passholders unlimited access to all eight Vail Resorts in Pennsylvania and all four in neighboring Ohio, which is a crucial feeder for the Seven Springs resorts. It also includes unlimited access to Vail's four New Hampshire resorts; unlimited access with holiday blackouts at Hunter, Okemo, and Mount Snow; and 10 non-holiday days at Stowe. And it's only $613 (early-bird price was $600):The second version is a midweek pass that includes all the same resorts, with five Stowe days, for just $459 ($450 early-bird):And you can also, of course, pick up an Epic ($1,004) or Epic Local ($746) pass, which still includes unlimited Pennsylvania access and adds everything in the West and in Europe.Blue Knob's season pass costs $465 ($429 early-bird), and is only good at Blue Knob. That's a very fair price, and skiers who acted early could have added an Indy Pass on at a pretty big discount. But Indy is off sale, and PA skiers weighing their pass options are going to find that Epic Pass awfully tempting.On comparisons to the liftline at MRGErf, I may have activated the Brobots at Mad Brother Glen when I compared the Route 66 liftline with the one beneath their precious single chair. But I mean it's not the worst comparison you could think of:Here's another Blue Knob shot that shows how low the chairs fly over the trail:And here's a video that gives a bit more perspective on Blue Knob's liftline:I don't know if I fully buy the comparison myself, but Blue Knob is the closest thing you'll find to MRG this far south.On Wolf Creek's old summit PomaHimes reminisced on her time working at Wolf Creek, Colorado, and the rattletrap Poma that would carry skiers up a 45-degree face to the summit. I was shocked to discover that the old lift is actually still there, running alongside the Treasure Stoke high-speed quad (the two lifts running parallel up the gut of the mountain). I have no idea how often it actually spins:Lift Blog has pics, and notes that the lift “very rarely operates for historic purposes.”On defunct gladesThe Mine Shaft and Bone Yard glades disappeared from Blue Knob's trailmap more than a decade ago, but this sign at the top of Lower Shortway still points toward them:Then there's this sign, a little ways down, where the Bone Yard Glade entrance used to be:And here are the glades, marked on a circa 2007 trailmap, between Deer Run and Lower Shortway:It would be rad if Blue Knob could resurrect these. We discuss the possibility on the podcast.On Blue Knob's base being higher than Killington'sSomewhat unbelievably, Blue Knob's 2,100-foot base elevation is higher than that of every ski area in New England save Saddleback, which launches from a 2,460-foot base. The five next highest are Bolton Valley (2,035 feet), Stowe (2,035), Cannon (2,034), Pico (2,000), and Waterville Valley (1,984). Blue Knob's Vail-owned neighbors would fit right into this group: Hidden Valley sits at 2,405 feet, Seven Springs at 2,240, and Laurel at 2,000. Head south and the bases get even higher: in West Virginia, Canaan Valley sits at 3,430 feet; Snowshoe at 3,348-foot base (skiers have to drive to 4,848, as this is an upside-down ski area); and Timberline at 3,268. But the real whoppers are in North Carolina: Beech Mountain sits at 4,675, Cataloochee at 4,660, Sugar Mountain at 4,100, and Hatley Pointe at 4,000. I probably should have made a chart, but damn it, I have to get this podcast out before I turn 90.On Blue Knob's antique snowmaking equipmentLook, I'm no snowmaking expert, but some of the stuff dotting Blue Knob's slopes looks like straight-up World War II surplus:The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 41/100 in 2024, and number 541 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

On the second part of my interview with Adam Coomber and my co-host Adam Gendall aka MrG we chat more DVC, Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland Paris this was a real treat to chat with yet another DVC enthusiast and complete Disney addict.

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This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Dec. 28. It dropped for free subscribers on Jan. 4. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoJon Schaefer, Owner and General Manager of Berkshire East, Massachusetts and Catamount, straddling the border of Massachusetts and New YorkRecorded onDecember 6, 2023About the mountainsBerkshire EastClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Schaefer familyLocated in: Charlemont, MassachusettsYear founded: 1960Pass affiliations:* Berkshire Summit Pass: Unlimited Access* Indy Base Pass: 2 days with blackouts (reservations required)* Indy+ Pass: 2 days, no blackouts (reservations required)Closest neighboring ski areas: Eaglebrook School (:36), Brattleboro (:48), Hermitage Club (:48), Mt. Greylock Ski Club (:52), Mount Snow (:55), Jiminy Peak (:56), Bousquet (:56); Catamount is approximately 90 minutes south of Berkshire EastBase elevation: 660 feetSummit elevation: 1,840 feetVertical drop: 1,180 feetSkiable Acres: 180Average annual snowfall: 110 inchesTrail count: 45Lift count: 7 (1 high-speed quad, 2 fixed-grip quads, 1 triple, 1 double, 2 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Berkshire East's lift fleet)View historic Berkshire East trailmaps on skimap.org.CatamountClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Schaefer familyLocated in: Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts (the resort straddles the state line, and generally seems to use the New York address as its location of record)Year founded: 1939Pass affiliations:* Berkshire Summit Pass: Unlimited Access* Indy Base Pass and Indy+ Pass: 2 days, no blackouts (reservations required)Closest neighboring ski areas: Butternut (:19), Otis Ridge (:35), Bousquet (:40), Mohawk Mountain (:46), Jiminy Peak (:50), Mount Lakeridge (:55), Mt. Greylock Ski Club (1:02); Berkshire East sits approximately 90 minutes north of CatamountBase elevation: 1,000 feetSummit elevation: 2,000 feetVertical drop: 1,000 feetSkiable Acres: 133 acresAverage annual snowfall: 108 inchesTrail count: 44 (35% green, 42% blue, 23% black/double-black)Lift count: 8 (2 fixed-grip quads, 3 triples, 3 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Catamount's lift fleet)View historic Catamount trailmaps on skimap.org.Why I interviewed himMight I nominate Massachusetts as America's most underappreciated ski state? It's easy to understand the oversight. Bordered by three major ski states that are home to a combined 107 ski areas (50 in New York, 27 in Vermont, and 30 in New Hampshire), Massachusetts contains just 13 active lift-served mountains. Two (Easton School and Mount Greylock Ski Club) are private. Five of the remainder deliver vertical drops of 400 feet or fewer. The state's entire lift-served skiable area clocks in at around 1,300 acres, which is smaller than Killington and just a touch larger than Solitude.But the code and character of those 11 public ski areas is what I'm interested in here. Winnowed from some 200 bumps that once ran ropetows up the incline, these survivors are super-adapters, the Darwinian capstones to a century-long puzzle: how to consistently offer skiing in a hostile world that hates you.New England is a rumbler, and always has been. Outside of northern Vermont's Green Mountain Spine (Sugarbush, MRG, Bolton, Stowe, Smuggs, Jay), which snags 200-plus inches of almost automatic annual snowfall, the region's six states can, on any given day from November to April, stage double as Santa's Village or serve as props for sad brown Christmas pining. Immersive reading of the New England Ski History website suggests this contemporary reality reflects historical norms: prior to the widespread introduction of snowmaking, ski areas could sometimes offer just a single-digit number of ski days in particularly difficult winters. Even now, even in good winters, the freeze-thaw cycle is relentless. The rain-snow line is a thing during big storms. Several times in recent years, including this one, furious December rainstorms have washed out weeks of early-season snow and snowmaking.And yet, like sharks, hanging on for hundreds of millions of years as mass extinctions rolled most of the rest of life into the fossil record, the surviving Massachusetts ski area operators found a way to keep moving forward. But these are not sharks – the Colorado- and Utah-based operators haven't plundered the hills rolling west of Boston just yet. Every one of these ski areas (with the exception of investment fund-owned Bousquet), is still family-owned and operated. And these families are among the smartest ski area operators in America.In October, tiny Ski Ward, owned for decades by the LaCroix family, was the first North American ski area to spin lifts for the 2023-24 ski season. Wachusett, a thousand-footer run by the Crowley family since 1968, is a model home for volume urban skiing efficiency. The Fairbank family transformed Jiminy Peak from tadpole (in the 1960s) to alligator before expanding their small empire into New England (the family now runs Bromley, Vermont and owns Cranmore, New Hampshire). The Murdock family has run Butternut since its 1963 founding, and likely saved nearby Otis Ridge from extinction by purchasing the ski area in 2016 (the Murdocks also purchased, but later closed, another nearby ski area, Ski Blandford).The Schaefers, of Charlemont by way of Michigan, are as wiley and wired as any of them. Patriarch Roy Schaefer drove in from the Midwest with a station wagon full of kids in 1978. He stapled then-bankrupt Berkshire East together with the refuse of dead and dying ski areas from all over America. Some time in the mid- to late-aughts, Roy's son Jon took over daily operations and rapidly modernized the lifts, snowmaking, and trail network. Roy's other son Jim, a Wall-Streeter, helped the family take full ownership of the ski area. In 2018, they bought Catamount, a left-behind bump with fantastic fall lines but dated lifts and snowmaking.None of this is new or news to anyone who pays attention to Massachusetts skiing. In fact, Jon Schaefer has appeared on my podcasts twice before (and I've been on his). But in the four years since he joined me for episode nine, a lot has changed at Berkshire, at Catamount, in New England, and across skiing. Daily, the narrative grows that consolidation and megapasses are squeezing family operators out of skiing. My daily work suggests that the opposite may be happening, that independent operators, who have outlasted skiing's extinction event of the low-snow decades and perfected their mad alchemy through decades of swinging the pickaxe into the same mountain, have never had a better story to tell. And Jon Schaefer has one of the better ways of telling it.What we talked aboutEarly openings for both ski areas; what it means that Catamount opened before Berkshire East this season; snowmaking metaphors that I can guarantee you haven't heard before; letting go of things you love as you take on more responsibility; the power of ropetows; Berkshire East's new T-Bar Express, the ski area's first high-speed quad; why Schaefer finally came around on detachable lift technology; the unique dynamics of a multi-generational, family-owned mountain; the long-term plan for the three current top-to-bottom chairlifts; the potential Berkshire East expansion; yes Berkshire is getting busier; the strange math of high-speed versus fixed-grip quads; that balance between modernizing and retaining atmosphere; the Indy Pass' impact on Berkshire and the industry as a whole; whether more mountains could join the Berkshire Summit Pass; whether the Schaefers could buy another ski area; whether they considered buying Jay Peak or are considering buying Burke; assessing the overhaul of Catamount's lift fleet; talking through the clear-cutting of Catamount's frontside trails; parking at Catamount; expansion potential for Catamount; and Catamount being “one of the best small ski areas in the country.”Below: first chair on the new T-Bar Express at Berkshire East:Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewIf I could somehow itemize and sort the thousands of Storm-related emails and Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook messages that I've read over the past four years, a top-10 request would be some form of this: get Schaefer back on the podcast.There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that Jon is, in my opinion, one of the more unfiltered and original thinkers in skiing. His dad moved the family to Berkshire in 1978. Jon was born in 1980. That means he grew up on the mountain and he lives at the mountain and he holds its past, present, and future in his vision like some shaman of the Berkshires, orchestrating its machinations in a hallucinogenic flow state, crafting, from the ether, a ski area like no other in America.Which leads to the second reason. Because Schaefer is so willful and effective, it can often be difficult for outsiders to see into the eye of the hurricane. You kind of have to let the storm pass. And the past four years have been a bit of a storm, particularly at Catamount, where Covid and supply-chain issues collided with an ambitious but protracted lift-fleet upgrade.But that's all done. Catamount has five functioning chairlifts (all of which, remarkably, were relocated from somewhere else). Berkshire just opened its first high-speed quad, the T-Bar Express. Both mountains are busier than ever, and Berkshire is a perennial Indy Pass top 10 by number of redemptions. And while expansion and a lift shuffle likely loom at Berkshire, both ski areas are, essentially, what the Schaefers want them to be.Which doesn't mean they are ever finished. Schaefer and I touch on this existential reality in the podcast, but we also discuss the other obvious question: now that Catamount's gut-renovation is wrapping up, what's next? Could this ski family, with their popular Berkshire Summit Pass (which is also good at Bousquet), expand with more owned or partner mountains? There are, after all, only so many people in America who know how to capably operate a ski area. You can learn, sure, but most people suck at it, which is (one reason) why there are more lost ski areas than active ones. While I don't root for consolidation necessarily, if ski areas are going to transfer ownership, I'd rather someone proven sign the deed than an unknown. And when it comes to proven, the Schaefers have proven as much as anyone in the country.Questions I wish I'd askedAt some point over the past few years, the Schaefers purchased a Rossland, B.C.-based Cat skiing operation called Big Red Cats. Their terrain covers 20,000 acres on eight peaks. I'm not sure why we didn't get into it.What I got wrongI said that Indy Pass had 130 alpine partners. That was correct on Dec. 6, when we conducted the interview, but the pass has since added Moose Mountain, Alaska and Hudson Bay Mountain, B.C., bringing the total up to 132.Why you should ski Berkshire East and CatamountWhile age, injuries, perspective, volume, skiing with children, and this newsletter have all changed my approach to where and what I ski on any given day, the thing I still love most is the fight. Riding the snowy mountain, in its bruising earthly form, through its trees and drops and undulations, feeling part of something raw and wild. I don't like speed. I like technical and varied terrain that requires deliberate, thoughtful turns. This I find profoundly interesting, like a book that offers, with each page, a captivating new thing.Massachusetts is a great ski state, but it doesn't have a lot of what I just described, that sort of ever-rolling wickedness you'll find clinging to certain mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire. But the state does have one such ski area: Berkshire East. She's ready to fight. Glades and bumps and little cliffs in the woods. Jiminy and Wachusett give you high-speed lifts and operational excellence, but they don't give you (more than nominal) trees. For a skier looking to summon a little Mad River Glen but save themselves a three-hour drive, Berkshire East goes on the storm-chase list.But unlike MRG, Berkshire is a top-to-bottom snowmaking house, and it has to be. While the glades are amazing when you can get them, the operating assumption here is that, more often than not, you can't. And that means the vast majority of skiers – those who prefer groomers to whatever frolics you find in the trees – can head to Berkshire knowing a good day awaits.Catamount, less-snowy and closer to New York City, gives you a more traditional Massachusetts ski experience. More people (it seems), less exploring in the trees (though you can do this a bit). What it has in common with Berkshire is that Catamount is an excellent natural ski mountain. Fall lines, headwalls, winders through the trees. A thousand vert gives you a good run. Head there on a weekday in March, when the whole joint is open, and let them run.Podcast NotesOn Schaefer's previous podcast appearancesSchaefer was the first person to ever agree to join me on The Storm Skiing Podcast, answering my cold email in about four seconds. “Let's do it,” he wrote. It took us a few months to make it happen, but he joined me for episode nine. While he showed up huge, the episode also doubles as a showcase for how much better my own production quality has gotten over the past four years. The intro is sorta… flat:A few months later, Schaefer became the first operator in America to shutter his mountains to help stop the spread of Covid-19. He almost immediately launched an organization called Goggles for Docs, and he joined me on my “Covid-19 & Skiing” miniseries to discuss the initiative:The next year, I joined Jon on his Berkshire Sessions podcast, where we discussed his mountains and Northeast skiing in general:On historic opening and closing dates at Berkshire East and CatamountWe discussed Berkshire and Catamount's historical opening and closing dates. Here's what the past 10 years looked like (the Schaefers took over Catamount starting with the 2018-19 ski season):On Berkshire SnowbasinSchaefer discussed the now-defunct Berkshire Basin ski area in nearby Cummington. The ski area operated from 1949 to 1989, according to New England Ski History, and counted a 550-foot vertical drop (though the map below says 500). Here's a circa 1984 trailmap:Schaefer references efforts to re-open this ski area as a backcountry center, though I couldn't find any reporting on the topic.Stan Brown, whom Schaefer cites for his insight that skiers “are more interested in how they get up the mountain than how they get down” founded Berkshire Snow Basin with his wife, Ruth.On high-speed ropetowsI'll never stop yelling about these things until everyone installs one – these high-speed ropetows can move 4,000 skiers per hour and cost all of $50,000. A more perfect terrain park lift does not exist. This one is at Spirit Mountain, Minnesota (video by me):On when the T-bar came out of Berkshire EastSchaefer refers to the old T-bar that occupied the line where the new high-speed quad now sits. The lift did not extend to the summit, but ran 1,800 feet up from the base, along the run that is still known as Competition (lift F below):On Schaefer's past resistance to high-speed liftsShaun Sutner, a longtime snowsports reporter who has appeared on this podcast three times – most recently in November – summarized Schaefer's onetime resistance to detachable lifts in a 2015 Worcester Telegram & Gazette article:The start of the 2014-15 ski season came with the B-East's first-ever summit quad, a $2 million fixed-grip "medium-speed" lift from Skytrac, a new U.S.-owned lift company. The low-maintenance, elegantly simple conveyance will save millions of dollars over the years. Not only was it less than half the cost of a high-speed detachable quad, but it also eliminates the need for $300,000-$500,000 grip replacements that high-speed lifts need every three or four years.So what changed Schaefer's mind? We discussed in the podcast.On the potential Berkshire East expansionWhile Berkshire East has teased an expansion for several years, details remain scarce (rumors, unfortunately, do not). Schaefer tells us what he's willing to on the podcast, and this image, which the resort presented to a local planning board last year, shows the approximate location of the new terrain pod (around the red dotted line labeled “4”):While this plan suggests the Mountain Top Triple would move to serve the expansion, that may not necessarily be the final plan, Schaefer confirms.On “the gondola side of Stowe” When Schaefer says that the Berkshire expansion will ski like “the gondola side of Stowe,” he's referring to the terrain pod indicated below:Stowe has two gondolas, one of which connects Stowe proper to Spruce Peak, but that's not the terrain he's referring to. The double chair side of Plattekill also skis in the way Schaefer describes, as a series of figure-eights that delightfully frazzles the senses, making the ski area feel far larger than it actually is:On Indy Pass rankingsBerkshire East has finished as a top-10 mountain in number of Indy Pass redemptions every season:On LiftopiaSchaefer references Liftopia, a former online lift ticket broker whose legacy is fading. At one time, I was a huge fan of this Expedia-of-skiing site, where you could score substantial discounts to most major non-Vail ski areas. I hosted founder and CEO Evan Reece way back on podcast number 8:Sadly, the company collapsed with the onset of Covid, as I documented back in 2020:…the industry's most-prominent pure tech entity – Liftopia – has been teetering on existential collapse since failing to pay significant numbers of its partners following the March shutdown. A group of ski area operators tried forcing Liftopia into bankruptcy to recoup their funds. They failed, then appealed, then withdrew that appeal. Outside of the public record, bitter and betrayed ski area operators fumed about the loss of revenues that, as Aspen Snowmass CFO Matt Jones wrote in emails filed in federal court, “were never yours to begin with.” In August, Liftopia CEO Evan Reece announced that he had signed a letter of intent to sell the company.That new owner, Liftopia announced Friday, would be Skitude, a European tech outfit specializing in mobile apps. “The proceeds from the sale will be used to pay creditors,” SAM reported. In an email to an independent ski area operator that was shared with The Storm Skiing Journal Reece wrote that “…all claims will be treated equally,” without specifying whether partners could expect a full or partial repayment. The message also indicated that the new owner may “prioritize ongoing partners,” though it was unclear whether that indicated preference in future business terms or payback of owed funds, or something else altogether.Whatever the outcome, this unsatisfying story is a tale of enormous missed opportunity. No company was better positioned to help lift-served skiing adapt to the social-distancing age than Liftopia. It could have easily expanded and adapted its highly regarded technology to accommodate the almost universal shift to online-only sales for lift tickets, rental reservations, ski lessons, and even appointment times in the lodge. It had 15 years of brand recognition with customers and deep relationships within the ski industry.But ski areas, uncertain about Liftopia's future, have spent an offseason when they could have been building out their presence on a familiar platform scrambling for replacement tech solutions. In addition to the Liftopia-branded site, many ski areas used Liftopia's Cloud Store platform to sell day tickets, season passes, rentals, and more. While it is unclear how many former partners shifted to another point-of-sale system this offseason, several have confirmed to The Storm Skiing Journal that they have done so.I'm not sure how Liftopia would have faired against the modern version of the Indy Pass, but more choice is almost always better for consumers, and I'm still bitter about how this one collapsed.On CaddyshackMovie quotes are generally lost on me, but Schaefer references this one from Caddyshack, so I looked it up and this is what the robots fed me:On the majority of skier visits now being on a season passAccording to the National Ski Areas Association, season pass holders have surpassed day-ticket buyers for total number of skier visits for four consecutive seasons. Without question, this is simply because the industry has gotten very good at incentivizing season pass sales by rolling the most well-known ski areas onto the Epic and Ikon passes. It is unclear whether the NSAA counts the Indy or Mountain Collective passes as season passes, but the number of each of those sold is small in comparison to Epic and Ikon.On the Berkshire Summit PassThe Schaefers have been leaders in establishing compelling regional multimountain ski passes. The Berkshire Summit Pass has, since 2020, delivered access to three solid western Massachusetts ski areas: Berkshire East, Catamount, and partner mountain Bousquet (on the unlimited version only). It is available in unlimited, Sunday through Friday, midweek, and nights-only versions. An Indy Pass add-on makes this a badass cross-New England ski product.On Burke being great and accessible even though it looks as though it's parked at the ass-end of nowhereThe first piece of ski writing I ever published was a New York Ski Blog recap of a Burke ski day in 2019:Last week, winter seemed to be winding down, with above-freezing temps forecast clear up to Canada before St. Patrick's Day. Desperate to extend winter, I had my sights on a storm forecast to dump nearly a foot of new snow across northern Vermont. After considering my options, I locked onto a hill I'd overlooked in 20 years of skiing Vermont: Burke.I'd read the online commentary: steep, funky, heavily gladed, classic New England twisty with high-quality snow well-preserved by cold temps and a lack of crowds. But to get there you have to drive past some big-name ski areas, most with equal or greater vertical drop, skiable acreage and average annual snowfall.Further research uncovered a secret Burke advantage over its better-known neighbors: unlike other mountains that require a post-expressway slog of 30-plus miles on local roads, Burke sits just seven miles off Interstate 91, meaning it was actually the closest northern Vermont option by drive time.As 10 inches of snow piled up Sunday and Monday and areas to the south teeter-tottered along a freeze-thaw cycle that would turn ungroomed trails to granite, Burke looked like my last best shot at mid-winter conditions.Two days after the storm, on the last day of below-freezing temps, I left Brooklyn at 4 am and arrived at 9:15. Read the rest…On Burke's (mostly) hapless ownership historyWe talk quite a bit about Burke Mountain, one of those good New England ski areas with a really terrible business record. Schaefer refers to the unusually huge number of former owners, which, according to New England Ski History, include:* 1964: Burke Mountain Recreation (Doug Kitchel) buys area; eventually went bankrupt* 1987: Paul D. Quinn buys, eventually sells to bank after his bank goes bankrupt* 1990: Hilco, Inc., a bank, takes ownership, then sells to…* 1991: Bernd Schaefers (no relation to Jon), under whom the ski area eventually went bankrupt (for the second time)* 1995: Northern Star Ski Corporation (five owners) buys the ski area, but it eventually goes bankrupt for a third time* 2000: Unidentified auction winner buys Burke and sells it to…* 2000: Burke Mountain Academy, who never wanted to be long-term owner, and sold to…* 2005: Laubert-Adler and the Ginn Corporation, who sold to…* 2012: Aerial Quiros, who engaged in all kinds of shadiness* 2016: Burke becomes the property of U.S. America, as court-appointed receiver takes control of this and Jay Peak. While Jay sold last year, Burke remains for saleOn media reports indicating that there is a bid on BurkeI got excited earlier this year, when the excellent Vermont Digger reported that the sales process for Burke appeared to be underway:Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver in charge of overseeing Burke Mountain ski resort for more than seven years, has an offer to buy the scandal-plagued ski resort in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.News of the bid came from a recent court filing submitted by Goldberg, predicting that a sale of the property would take place “later this year.”The filing does not name the bidder or the amount of the bid, but the document stated that Goldberg wants to continue to seek qualified buyers, and if a matching or higher price is offered, an auction would be held to sell the resort. …“The Receiver has received an initial offer, and expects to file a motion with the Court in the next month recommending an identical sales process to the Jay Peak sale – a ‘stalking horse' bid, followed by an auction and a subsequent motion asking the Court to approve a final sale,” Goldberg stated in his recent court filing regarding Burke.Well, nothing happened, though the bid remains active, as far as I know. So who knows. I hope whoever buys Burke next, this place can finally stabilize and build.On the West Mountain expansion at CatamountSchaefer discusses a potential expansion at Catamount. New England Ski History hosts a summary page for this one as well:A lift and a variety of trails are proposed for the west side of the ski area, crossing over the Lower Sidewinder trail. The lift would climb 650 vertical feet from a new parking lot to the junction of Upper and Lower Sidewinder. 6 trail segments would be cut above and below the lower switchback of the Lower Sidewinder Trail. All of the terrain would be located in New York state.Here's a circa 2014 map, showing the proposed expansion looker's right:The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 113/100 in 2023, and number 498 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

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Welcome to our vibrant journey of intentional living! I'm Caroline Thor, joined by fellow KonMari Consultant Mrg Simon, and together, we're diving into the power of setting goals for the upcoming year using the KonMari method. Join us as we unravel the magic of decluttering and setting intentions, sharing personal stories that highlight the transformative impact this practice can have on our lives.We'll explore the art of envisioning your goals, discussing how this isn't just wishful thinking but a powerful tool for creating a life filled with joy and purpose. Let's delve into 'My Intentional Year: Organizing My Life for Joy and Meaning,' a planner designed by Mrg to infuse creativity into your strategies, ensuring your living space embodies your passions.As we approach the end of the year, Mrg and I are excited to unwrap the process of setting a purposeful theme for 2024. We'll share insights on reflection and the thrill of planning ahead, inviting our audience to contribute their personal themes and journey alongside us. Let's embrace an intentionally organized 2024, supporting each other's triumphs along the way! Share your themes with us, and let's build a vibrant network cheering for each other's successes!"Links from this episode:My Intentional Year (my-intentional-year.com)www.My-Intentional-Year.com/PurchaseDESIGNED 2 STICK - Designed 2 Stick Home PageCoaching classes for those who buy the book: send an email to hello@my-intentional-year.com with your name and email address so Mrg can get you the information for the January 2, 2024 Zoom class.Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources visit my website www.caroline-thor.com, or come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor, or on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Sign up for Vendoo ⁠https://vendoo.co/register?via=adhdave-reseller-event⁠ Sign up for MRG: https://www.myresellergenie.com/?ref=adhdave Join our patreon https://patreon.com/trashtocash?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Attend the Trash To Cash Orlando Bash https://app.promotix.com/events/details/Trash-To-Cash-Winter-Bash-tickets?referrer=event Shop our marketplace https://district.net/dibdit --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/trashtocash/support

Em novembro desse ano aconteceu a Blizzcon 2023, e nela a Blizzard, que lançou o recente Diablo IV neste ano, disse estão empolgados para experimentar outros formatos de gameplay na franquia que é bem estabelecida como um excelente dungeon crawler! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostariam de um Diablo em 1ª pessoa? Ou um Diablo em 3ª pessoa no estilo Uncharted? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre o anúncio do novo anime de John Wick e o Taika Waititi provocando os fãs de Star Wars!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Será que a Netflix, a Paramount, a HBO, a Disney Plus e outros grandes serviços de streaming estão mesmo desencorajando o público a ir aos Cinemas? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e Didi Braguinha convidam o amigo Michel Arouca, do Série Maníacos, para debater como (e se!) as salas de cinema vão sobreviver aos novos tempos!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MRG NA CCXP! Estaremos presentes todos os dias na CCXP (Magic Market)! Aguardamos vocês lá! A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo mega talentoso Chris Polifônico! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Recentemente a nova adaptação live-action do desenho animado "Avatar: O Último Mestre do Ar" ganhou seu primeiro trailer na Netflix! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ficaram empolgados para assistir essa obra depois desse trailer? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre Rebel Moon, o novo universo de ficção científica de Zack Snyder e o anime de Exterminador do Futuro que também será lançado pela Netflix!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

"Guerra... A guerra nunca muda"... ou será que muda? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠ e Beto Duque Estrada recebem os amigos Phoenix, do Flow Games, e Gabriel Sotobello para debater se a pancadaria entre as gigantes dos videogames Sony, Microsoft e Nintendo está mudando; e se nós, jogadores, é quem realmente está ganhando!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo gogó do Solano! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Jonathan Majors é o ator que vem interpretando o Kang dentro do MCU que promete ser o grande vilão dessa fase pós Thanos, porém o ator esteve envolvido em polêmicas com uma acusação de violência doméstica, e por conta disso a Marvel pensa em substituir o ator, ou até mesmo mudar o personagem que será o vilão dessa nova fase! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostariam de ver outro ator interpretando Kang? Ou será que preferem um outro vilão como o Dr. Destino no lugar dele? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre o filme musical inspirado no fenômeno cultural do Barbienheimer e a Marvel trazendo o conceito do seu selo Spotlight para dentro do MCU!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Continuações e remakes ruins são capazes de matar franquias de sucesso do Cinema? Matrix, Indiana Jones, Star Wars e o MCU estão entre as muitas debatidas neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, onde ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠ e Beto Duque Estrada recebem o amigo e semideus da cultura pop Érico Borgo!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Gustavo Leiva! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Garanta sua vaga no curso do Érico Borgo! Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Já foi anunciado há um tempo que teremos um reboot da série de filmes clássica dos anos 80, Highlander, e que teremos o cotado Henry Cavill para interpretar o protagonista dessa série de filmes nesse reboot! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostam da ideia de termos o ator interpretando esse personagem clássico do cinema? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre Jean-Claude Van Damme tendo a sua participação em Velozes e Furiosos cortada por Vin Diesel e as produtoras proibindo os cinemas de fazer um intervalo durante sessões de filmes longos!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Comemorando o 20º aniversário de Call of Duty, neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠⁠⁠Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠ convidam o escritor e ancião do entretenimento André Gordirro para decidir, de uma vez por todas, qual o melhor videogame FPS de Segunda Guerra Mundial!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Caio Ritter! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Em uma entrevista para um podcast, o diretor Matthew Vaughn(Kickasss e X-men primeira classe) disse que adoraria ver o ator Taron Egerton para interpretar o grande vilão e um dos mais icônicos da DC, o Lex Luthor! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ acham que mesmo sendo um excelente ator, ele vai conseguir entregar um bom vilão para esse universo? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre Os Fantasmas de Divertem 2 terem a mesma roupa dos personagens do primeiro e filme e também sobre se os filmes estão ficando cada vez mais longos!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spiderman 2? Batman Arkham Knight? Marvel vs Capcom? Afinal, qual o melhor videogame de super-heróis já feito até hoje? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠⁠Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada e⁠⁠ ⁠Affonso Solano⁠ traçam uma longa linha do tempo dos anos 70 até a atualidade em busca da experiência definitiva dos Quadrinhos para os jogos eletrônicos!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Solano! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Após a conclusão da compra da Activision Blizzard King pela Microsoft tivemos a notícia que dentro dos planos da empresa foi mencionada uma possível volta de Guitar Hero! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostam da ideia do retorno da franquia para os dias de hoje? No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre sobre a Kevin Feige cancelando as gravações de Demolidor durante a produção do projeto para refazer o projeto do zero!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Star Wars tem sido uma montanha russa de euforia e decepção para os fãs desde muito tempo, e após uma trilogia duvidosa e algumas séries que encheram os nossos corações de esperança, fica a pergunta: qual o futuro da franquia? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada e⁠ Affonso Solano recebem Lucas Moll e Norton Domingues para debater se rumaremos a uma nova galáxia muito distante dos problemas atuais!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo talentoso Tito Izaías! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Vazou recentemente através de uma atualização do Linkedin de um dos funcionários da Naughty Dog, descobrimos que teremos um possível remaster do jovem clássico The Last of Us part II! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ acham boa a ideia de um remaster após 3 anos do seu lançamento?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre a continuação de Cyberpunk 2077 sendo com visão em terceira pessoa e modelos de controles diferentes para os consoles da nova geração!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Assassin's Creed Mirage é mais um salto de fé em direção aos corações dos fãs da franquia, levando-os até a Bagdá do século IX. Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e ⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠ recebem o querido Norton para debater a jornada de Basim Ibn Ishaq de ladrão de rua até membro da Irmandade dos Assassinos!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelos ouvintes Caciano Gabriel e Dandára Leite! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

In this episode of the Curious Freedom podcast, Kirsty Farrugia welcomes Mrg Simon, a professional organiser and author. Meg shares her journey from being a lawyer for 30 years to becoming a certified KonMari organiser. She specialises in helping clients transform their spaces into joyful and purposeful environments, particularly lawyers who appreciate her understanding of confidentiality.Mrg introduces her planner, "My Intentional Year: Organizing My Life for Joy and Meaning." The book focuses on intentional living, applying the KonMari philosophy not only to physical spaces but also to mental and life aspects. It features unique elements like illustrations for colouring, articles, tips, and inspiration. Mrg emphasises the importance of habits, routines, and maintaining a lifestyle aligned with one's vision and purpose.Listeners who purchase the book before March 15th 2024, gain access to a private Facebook group and monthly Zoom calls to foster community, accountability, and inspiration.This episode highlights the significance of living intentionally, fostering creativity, and finding joy and meaning in one's life.The resources mentioned in this episode are:● Designed to Stick - Mrg's website● My Intentional Year - Book● Designed to Stick Facebook page● My Intentional Year Instagram pageThanks Deirdre Tshien for your kind review!Join our community ● Follow us on Instagram & Facebook● Join our Facebook group● Leave a review on Apple PodcastThanks to our incredible sound engineer, Kris Wright from Mumble & Pop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Prime Vídeo anunciou que teremos um remake de um das séries mais clássicas de comédia da TV americana que é The Office! Será que ⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostam da ideia de um remake da série com novos personagens?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre o remake de Max Payne 1 e 2 feitos pela Remedy juntamente com a Microsoft e o terceiro jogo da Franquia Star Wars desenvolvida pela EA!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Castlevania: Noturno chega na Netflix estalando mais uma vez o chicote da família Belmont, mas será que a ausência do Warren Ellis prejudicou a continuação? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠Affonso Solano⁠, ⁠⁠Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠ e ⁠Beto Estrada⁠ debatem os novos rumos desta série animada baseada na amada franquia de videogames!⁠⁠⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo ouvinte Alex Damaceno! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Recentemente tivemos um grande vazamento na Microsoft de onde saíram diversas informações da empresa, e uma delas foi que a Bethesda está como The Elder Scrolls VI com expectativa de lançamento para 2026 e que ele sairá apenas para Xbox e PC! Será que ⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Beto Estrada⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ matam a ideia da continuação de Skyrim não sair para Playstation?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre Ubisoft informando que The Division 3 está em desenvolvimento e Star Wars dirigido por Guillermo del Toro e com roteiro de David Goyer!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

2023 é um ano espetacular para quem ama jogar. Mas alguns jogadores entusiasmados estão se questionando se este é o melhor ano da história dos videogames - Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3 e Starfield puxam esse debate que chega ao podcast do Matando Robôs Gigantes. Didi Braguinha e Beto Estrada recebem Phoenix e Gabriel Sotobello para que juntos eles tragam um olhar sobre os melhores anos dos jogos e comparem com o atual. A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo ouvinte e compositor musical @RodCuston⁠! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Tivemos recentemente a gamescom e teve um vazamento que de um trailer que foi exibido em portas fechadas da série em live-action de Fallout que está sendo produzida pela Amazon Prime Video e teremos Jonathan Nolan e Lisa Joy na produção da série! Será que Beto Estrada e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostaram do resultado que viram nesse trailer vazado?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre possível continuação da franquia Titanfall e a volta do NSYNC lançando um álbum novo!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

A Warner revelou o teaser de Aquaman 2: O Reino Perdido, o sequencia que tem sua estreia programada para 20 de setembro nos EUA! Será que ⁠⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠⁠ Beto Estrada e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ficaram animados para ver esse filme mesmo sabendo que não dará continuidade ao DCU que temos visto no cinema?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre a adaptação para cinema do Stray, o famoso jogo do gatinho, e a possível aquisição da Disney pela Apple!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Starfield, o novo game da gigante Bethesda (Skyrim, Fallout) chega ao Xbox Series X/S e PCs com a promessa de uma aventura espacial como nenhuma outra... mas será que as promessas foram cumpridas? É por isso que neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, Affonso Solano, ⁠Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠ e Beto Estrada convidam o amigo Phoenix, do Flow Games, para debater!⁠ A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo ouvinte e compositor musical Thiago Blend! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Receitas Piratas de One Piece: por Sanji é o novo anúncio da panini para esse ano, um livro que terá 40 receitas culinárias baseadas nas que o cozinheiro prepara para Luffy e seus amigos! Será que ⁠⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠⁠ Beto Estrada e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ estão curiosos para provar essas deliciosas receitas?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre novo filme de Hellboy com Ron Perlman e o criador de Starfield afirmando que os fãs da franquia são mais inteligentes!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

One Piece, a série de mangá escrita e ilustrada por Eiichiro Oda e amada por milhões finalmente ganha sua esperada (e temida) adaptação live-action (ou seja, com atores de carne e osso) pela Netflix. Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, Didi Braguinha⁠⁠ e Beto Estrada debatem se este barco afunda ou flutua rumo ao horizonte do Rei dos Piratas! EVENTO: Dia 10/9/23 o Solano estará com Eduardo Spohr, Ronize Aline e André Vianco na BIENAL DO LIVRO do Rio de Janeiro. Mais detalhes AQUI! A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo ouvinte João Lucas! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Em um nova atualização no site oficial de Star Wars na Disney Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic foi incluído com umas das eras canônicas para esse universo que acompanhamos no cinema e nas séries! Será que ⁠⁠Affonso Solano⁠⁠ e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ gostariam que essa história fosse recontada pelo universo da Disney?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre a continuação de Distrito 9 sem Neill Blomkamp e o prequel cancelado pela Disney de 20000 léguas submarinas!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Veja o Black Manta no aquaman 2 citado pelo Didi Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ahsoka, a ex-padawan de Anakin finalmente ganha sua série própria no streaming Disney Plus... mas será que na montanha-russa de qualidade das séries e filmes recentes de Star Wars a personagem pode trazer o equilíbrio à Força? Neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, ⁠Affonso Solano⁠, ⁠Didi Braguinha⁠, Lucas Moll e Phoenix, do Flow Games, debatem! A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Solano! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Em meio dessa greve que está acontecendo em Hollywood alguns rumores estão rodando por aí, e um deles é que teremos John Krasinski, o lendário Jim de The Office como o novo Batman do DCU de James Gunn! Será que ⁠Affonso Solano⁠, ⁠Beto Estrada e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ acham que o ator funcionaria bem como o homem morcego na telinha do cinema?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre o homem aranha do Andrew Garfield no próximo filme dos vingadores da MCU e o possível o remake da série clássica de Star Trek!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

É TRETA? Baldur's Gate 3 parece estar irritando alguns desenvolvedores da indústria dos Games por ser considerado... muito bom? Pois neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, Affonso Solano, Didi Braguinha e Roberto Duque Estrada convidam a querida Barbara Gutierrez para debater se é utopia esperar um jogo completo e sem bugs no seu lançamento! A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Solano! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com

Em setembro teremos o lançamento da série The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon só que dessa vez a trama se passará na França e vamos descobrir como que o Daryl foi parar lá! Será que Affonso Solano, Lucas Moll e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Didi Braguinha⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ estão empolgados para ver o resultado desse spin-of?  No Mata ou Pilota de hoje, quadro do podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, debatemos ainda sobre personagens de desenhos animados se tornando filmes de terror Slasher!  Ouça o podcast, compartilhe e bata um papo conosco nas nossas redes sociais – incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! ⁠Musica do Eminen com Ice Tea⁠ Que tal suas paródias musicais na entrada do MRG? Envie-nos a sua: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

A Inteligência Artificial está transformando a humanidade, e como toda transformação relevante é dolorosa, o entretenimento está reclamando em forma de GREVE! Mas o que exatamente os atores e roteiristas temem com relação a I.A. em seus trabalhos em Hollywood e no streaming? Para debater essa treta, neste podcast Matando Robôs Gigantes, Affonso Solano, Didi Braguinha e Roberto Duque Estrada convidam o amigo e Mago dos Efeitos Visuais da ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) Delcio Gomes! A paródia musical de hoje foi feita pelo Solano! Envie-nos a sua: matandorobosgigantes@matandorobosgigantes.com Participe da conversa conosco nas redes sociais, incluindo o ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter do MRG!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Contato comercial: comercial@matandorobosgigantes.com