Podcasts about skiing magazine

What happens when life takes an unexpected turn and you're forced to redefine everything? Chris Waddell was a competitive skier in college when a devastating accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Less than a year later, he was back on the mountain—this time as a monoskier—beginning a journey that would make him the most decorated male mono-skier in U.S. history. But Chris's story isn't just about athletic triumph; it's about the reinvention that happens when you decide to show up fully for your own life. In this episode, Chris shares how recovery was just the first step in his healing journey. That accident and his resilience took him places he never imagined: from the Paralympics podium to being a published author and from the ski slopes to a soap opera set. He reminds us that our best self isn't a fixed point—it is who we become in response to life's hardest moments. This conversation is about grit, possibility, and the magic of saying yes to the unexpected. Bio Chris Waddell's 12 Paralympic skiing medals are more than any man in US history. He's a Hall of Famer, a World Champion in wheelchair track, and the first “nearly unassisted” paraplegic to summit 19,340-foot Mt Kilimanjaro. His ski popped off competing in college, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. 362 days later, Chris monoskied and soon became the fastest in the world. The Dalai Lama honored him as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion,” Skiing Magazine dubbed him one of 25 Greatest Skiers in North America and People Magazine named him one of “The 50 Most Beautiful People.” https://chriswaddellinc.com/ 

On this episode Clay Newcomb is joined by Brent Reaves, Drew Stoecklein, Lake Pickle of OnX, Jordan Blissett of Open Season Properties, and Mike Amden. The crew discusses Clay and Brent's recent 250-mile trip down the Mississippi River and Bear Grease's most recent poaching episode. Mike gives some insight into catfishing the Mississippi River, while Brent relays the frustrations of having Clay as the Cub Pilot of their SeaArk boat. The last section highlights many of the questions raised in the Donnie Baker episode in which a 204-inch buck was illegally taken on the Fort Leonard Wood Military base in 2009. This episode is full of laughs and serious moments, and in the final story, Drew shares about his professional skiing career and how he landed a cover photo on Skiing Magazine when he jumped over a semi-truck at Loveland Pass in Colorado.  Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Shop Bear Grease MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About This EpisodeAs a professional climber, entrepreneur, and author, Majka Burhardt describes boldness through what she considers to be the three pillars of self-expansion: emotional, physical, and mental. She begins by tracing her path from her early climbing days to how her passion for adventure has shaped her career. Majka also describes her journey through motherhood, from the surprising news that she was having twins to finding alignment in her life as a mother and climber, the inspiration behind her new book, More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood. You'll also get to hear about the pivotal role her organization Legado plays in advocating for climate justice and the importance of community partnerships in creating a sustainable future. So tune in for an engaging episode around the adventures of climbing, parenthood, self-discovery, and being bold. About Majka BurhardtMajka Burhardt is a professional climber, conservation entrepreneur, author, and filmmaker. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Legado and the author of Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, which was short-listed for the Banff Book Award, as well as her latest book, More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood, a Next Big Idea Club must-read. Her work and projects have been featured in The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and more, and her articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men's Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women's Adventure, The Explorers Journal, and Climbing. Majka is a climber and ambassador with Patagonia and an American Mountain Guides Association Rock Guide and Ice Instructor. She graduated from Princeton University cum laude and received a MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She and her husband, Peter Doucette, an internationally certified (AMGA/IFMGA) mountain guide, live in Jackson, New Hampshire with their twin children. Additional Resources Website: https://www.majkaburhardt.com/Learn More About Legado: http://www.legadoinitiative.org/Instagram: @MajkaBurhardtOrder Her New Book, More: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1639363491?tag=simonsayscom

Majka Burhardt is a professional climber, conservation entrepreneur, author, and filmmaker. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Legado and the author of Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, which was short-listed for the Banff Book Award. Her work and projects have been featured in The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and more, and her articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men's Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women's Adventure, The Explorers Journal, and Climbing. Majka is a climber and ambassador with Patagonia and an American Mountain Guides Association Rock Guide and Ice Instructor. She graduated from Princeton University cum laude and received a MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She and her husband, Peter Doucette, an internationally certified (AMGA/IFMGA) mountain guide, live in Jackson, New Hampshire with their twin children. Full show notes at https://northstarunplugged.kristenrainey.com/

In this episode, we talk with Majka Burhardt, a professional climber, social entrepreneur, author, mother of twins, filmmaker, and so much more. Majka has just written a new book titled, "More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood," which is an intense and authentic memoir written in a unique style that combines letters to her children, reflections on motherhood and daughterhood, adventure, career, marriage, and so much more.  Majka shares the story of writing "More," including the challenges of being a professional climber, digging into her family's past, and society's expectations of women pursuing a unique adventure path. She also talks about the mental health impacts of being a high-risk adventurer and how that has changed as she ages. Majka shares her journey into the outdoor field, including several pivots. She discusses the origins and purpose of the Legado Initiative, her most recent social entrepreneur project, and other organizations she has developed over the years.  Overall, Majka's story is inspiring and thought-provoking. Her dedication to her passions and ability to create meaningful connections is remarkable. You are going to enjoy this story! Season 16 is focused on how high-risk adventure impacts mental health and is underwritten by wmai.org Majka's bio from her website:  Majka Burhardt has a passion for creating unusual connections. As a professional climber, social entrepreneur, author, mother of twins, and filmmaker Majka has spent more than two decades leading multi-stage international ventures focused on current issues of environmental and cultural significance spanning Africa, Europe, South, and North America. Majka is the Founder and Executive Director of Legado, an international organization that helps secure Thriving Futures for both people and the places they call home. Legado originated in 2011 during a pioneering climbing and conservation research expedition to Mozambique and is supported today by some of the world's most influential social change funders and decision-makers. Majka is the author of More: Life at the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood (Pegasus Books '23), a Next Big Idea Club Must Read. More is an intense and emotional journey born at the confluence of motherhood, adventure, career, and marriage. Raw, candid, and galvanizing, the book is a passionate and poignant testament to the enduring power of love and our lifelong journey to understand ourselves as we strive to always pursue more. Majka's first book Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa (2008) was short‑listed for the Banff Book Award. Her second book, Coffee Story: Ethiopia, was released in August 2011 and featured by Starbucks in 2013, and re-released as a second edition in 2018.  In 2010, Majka produced Waypoint Namibia and the film was featured at international film festivals and shown on NBC's Universal Sports. Majka was nominated for an EPIC Emerging Artist Award for her work as the Executive Producer.  Her 2016 film Namuli was released to acclaim at over 50 international film festivals and across the US on PBS. Namuli tells the story of Majka's climbing and conservation research Mount Namuli, Mozambique's second highest mountain and a critical target for conservation in southeast Africa— and of the origins of Legado. As a keynote speaker, Majka addresses a diverse group of organizations and companies. Her clients have included Google, Nespresso, the Commonwealth Club, Banff Film and Book Festival, Colorado Environmental Coalition, universities and colleges throughout North America, and many others. Her work and projects have been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and many other major international media outlets. Majka's articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men's Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women's Adventure, The Explorers Journal, and Climbing, where her column “Whipped,” ran for six years. Concurrent with her role as Executive Director of Legado, Majka is a professional climber and ambassador with top outdoor company Patagonia. She is an American Mountain Guides Association Rock Guide and Ice Instructor and also former two-term member of the organizations' Board of Directors. Majka is a Mulago Foundation Henry Arnhold Fellow for her work in conservation entrepreneurship, graduated from Princeton University cum laude, and received a MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. Majka lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Peter Doucette, and their twin children.  

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Feb. 22. It dropped for free subscribers on Feb. 25. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoDave Scanlan, General Manager of Eaglecrest, AlaskaRecorded onFebruary 13, 2023About EaglecrestClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The City of JuneauLocated in: Juneau, AlaskaYear founded: 1975Pass affiliations: Indy Pass, Powder Alliance, Freedom PassReciprocal partners:* 3 days each at: Anthony Lakes, Diamond Peak, Hilltop, Hogadon Basin, Lookout Pass, Monarch Mountain, Mount Bohemia, Mount Sima, Mount Ashland, Skeetawk, Skiland* 1 unguided day at Silverton* Eaglecrest has one of the most extensive reciprocal networks in America. Here's an overview of everything that's included in a season pass, which debuted for this season at $576. While there's a ton of overlap, adding an Indy Pass onto this would give you another 50-plus ski areas:Closest neighboring ski areas: Eaglecrest's website reminds us that “There are no roads into Juneau, Alaska— you have to live here, fly, or ferry to experience this powder paradise.” There are no other ski areas nearby. So stay for a few days and enjoy it.Base elevation: 1,130 feetSummit elevation: 2,750 feetVertical drop: 1,620 feetSkiable Acres: 640Average annual snowfall: 350 inchesTrail count: 36 (40% advanced/expert, 40% intermediate, 20% beginner)Lift count: 4 doubles – Eaglecrest also plans to add a pulse gondola, which will likely be ready for the 2025 summer season and 2025-26 ski season.Why I interviewed himThis podcast started, as so many of them do, with me asking one question: what is going on here?Every ski area is different, but some are more different than others. Mount Bohemia, with its complete absence of grooming and snowmaking and $109 season pass. Perfect North, which sits on southern Indiana farmland but processes more than 10,000 skiers on a busy day and employs 1,200 workers in the winter – bigger numbers than some Western alphas. Black Mountain of Maine, which, over the past decade, has undergone the largest expansion of any New England ski area – with zero promotion, masterplanning, or fanfare.And here's Eaglecrest. This ski area up in Alaska. But not just regular Alaska. Isolated coastal Alaska. Where roads don't go. You have to fly or take a ferry. There, for some reason, is where the 49th state chose to locate its capital, Juneau. The state's residents have voted many times to move the capital. But it remains. It is a gorgeous place, mountains launching dramatically from the water. There are 31,000 people there. And one ski area. Eaglecrest is big enough to stir curiosity, but not big enough to draw skiers in volume from the mainland, who have dozens of larger ski areas to bounce between. It is an Indy Pass member, a Freedom Pass member, a Powder Alliance member. It has a dozen reciprocal partnerships besides. Almost anyone can ski there – almost no one does. So what is this place? This city-owned ski area at the end of civilization? And what does it want to be? And how does it plan to get there?I had questions. Scanlan had answers. This is a good one.What we talked aboutFifteen straight days of snow is just how they roll in Southern Alaska; the Pineapple Express; if you think Alaska is all dark and subzero weather, think again; skiing in fishing gear; “we don't have the big testosterone bro-brah attitude”; is Juneau ski bum paradise?; where a crowd on a Saturday pow day is a dozen early-risers ahead of you in the maze; Midwest pride; bump skiing at Wilmot; when “you fall in love with it not for the hype of a powder day, but for the feeling you get when you're on your skis or snowboard”; a young vagabond in the ‘90s; Hope Alaska; founding the Mountain Rider's Alliance to help small ski areas; the potential for resurrecting the long-lost Manitoba Mountain, Alaska; Skeetawk (Hatcher Pass); moving to and running Mt. Abram, Maine; what it's like to compete with Sunday River; hardcore New England; Maine nice; landing a dream job at Eaglecrest; reworking the primitive snowmaking system; the pros and cons of running a city-owned ski area; whether Eaglecrest could ever survive without city subsidies; massive summer potential; easier to get to than you think: “If you live in Seattle, you can be sitting on the chair at Eaglecrest before most days you could be sitting on the chair at Crystal”; fly and ski free with your boarding pass; pushing back against locals who want to keep the place secret; why Eaglecrest has so many reciprocal partners and how effectively that's drawing skiers to Alaska; why you saw an Eaglecrest booth at the Snowbound Festival in Boston; Indy Pass; comparing the coming Eaglecrest gondola installation with how the Lone Peak Tram transformed Big Sky in the 1990s; 20,000 daily summer visitors to a town that has 30,000 residents; “how do I take advantage of this amazing opportunity to put the cash in the pocket that I need to turn Eaglecrest into the best ski area in the world?”; why low-capacity lifts will continue to be Eaglecrest's default; the drive to begin relocating quality used ski lifts from Europe to North America; breaking down Eaglecrest's soon-to-be-installed fixed-grip pulse gondola; where the gondola's top, bottom, and midstations will sit; how much larger Eaglecrest's trail footprint will get; “I do carry some guilt of polarizing our ski community” by putting a lift into what's now hike-in terrain; why the ski area needs investment to survive; thoughts on the future of the four double chairs; visiting and riding the future Eaglecrest gondola in Europe; massive upgrades for the lift; how the gondola will work with the Mt. Roberts Tram; a gondy timeline; potential for a beginner carpet; and how much the official count of 36 trails undersells the resort's terrain.   Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewEaglecrest is, as noted above, one of the continent's most aggressive Megapass-Reciprocity players. That makes it an important mountain in an important Storm sub-narrative: how can you ski as much as possible, at as many ski areas as possible, for as little money as possible? While Eaglecrest's network (50-ish partners), and pass price-point ($576 early-bird for 2022-23) don't quite drop it into the Ski Cooper realm ($329 early-bird for this season and 61 partner ski areas), it nonetheless acts as a powerful enabling device for skiers with an adventurous bent and a small degree of logistical savvy.The question, of course, is why Eaglecrest bothers. The place is marooned along the North American coast, one of the few non-island cities unreachable by road from the rest of the landmass. I'm sure some Eaglecrest locals journey south by plane and orchestrate a ski loop through the continental West. But I'm not sure if that's the point here. Rather, Eaglecrest is trying to get skiers to come to them, to realize that if they hop a plane two-and-a-half hours north, they can land in the Great Unspoiled and have a powder-draped ski area to themselves.The goal is to create long-term skiers. Tourists, you know. And once they've seen what the place is now, they'll be revved up to return once Eaglecrest runs a new-used pulse gondola from its base to the top of Pittman's Ridge. That will bring lift service to the ski area's full 1,620-foot vertical drop for the first time and, more importantly, open hundreds of new acres of terrain skier's left of the current boundary.If you're not familiar with a pulse gondola, you may have seen them at Snowmass or Steamboat – they run with little groups of cabins together, and are typically used in America more as transit lifts than ski lifts (the Snowmass lift mostly takes passengers up the village, and Steamboat's lift moves skiers up from a cluster of condos down the mountain). These are fixed-grip lifts, but travel at tram speeds – Scanlan estimates the base-to-summit ride at around seven minutes. The lift will travel in three pods of 15-passenger cabins and will have a mid-station, off of which Eaglecrest could eventually build a learning area with carpets, Scanlan tells me. The yellow line here shows where the gondola will run on the mountain - the red lines represent the current lifts:The lift has been controversial. It's 34 years old, and operated at Austria's Galsterberg Ski Area until last April. It cost approximately $2.5 million to purchase and transport, and will cost an additional $5.5 million to install. It will operate at a far lower capacity than a modern detachable gondola, which is what most U.S. ski areas use. Critics say the gondola competes with the private sector – in particular, the Mount Roberts Tramway.Scanlan addresses each of these points in our conversation, with a nuanced analysis of Juneau's thumping summer tourism season and how Eaglecrest can both act as a relief valve and boost its own long-term goal of financial independence.Questions I wish I'd askedTwo points I wanted to discuss that I didn't get to: how much the gondola will cost, and Eaglecrest's very low lift ticket prices, which top out at $68. The ski area breaks down the cost in an FAQ on its website:Q: I've heard about a $2 million cost and a $7.5 million cost. Which amount is correct?$2 million [it ended up being $2.5 million] covers the initial purchase, transportation, and preliminary engineering of the Austrian pulse gondola. The funding ordinance currently under review is for this sum.$5.5 million covers the cost of installation and additional infrastructure. Eaglecrest may eventually seek this sum as a loan to be paid back by summer operations. This number will be refined in the months ahead as we continue work with the Eaglecrest Board and Eaglecrest Summer Task Force to examine the business case and evaluate future costs.Why you should ski EaglecrestBecause this might be it. Survey the West: it's full. Colorado High Country, the Wasatch, Tahoe, the Seattle and Portland day-drivers, Jackson, Mammoth, Big Sky – it's traffic or it's ticket limits or it's sticker-shock pricing or it's rivers of people or it's the raw cost of living and everything else. Or it's several or all of these factors, blended, to frustrate the romance of mountain-town living.Not that rustic snowy backwaters don't remain. But they are backwaters. Places like Turner, Montana, 2,110 vertical feet and 1,000 acres but lodged in the wilderness between Schweitzer and Whitefish. Sunrise Park, Arizona, 1,800 feet of vert and 1,200 acres, but marooned 90 miles from the nearest interstate highway and so dysfunctional that a huge chunk of the mountain sat inaccessible for five years after their monster triple chair broke down (it now takes three lift rides to reach that same terrain).But look north. Look at this:If you haven't watched yet, let me pull one stat: Scanlan says on this video that a busy day at Eaglecrest – a weekend powder day, for instance – might draw 900 skiers. For the day. There's more people waiting in the average McDonald's drive-through line than that.“Yeah Brah but it's small.”Watch the video, Brah.“Yeah but it gets like half the snow of Mt. Tahoe, where my boys ride Brah.”Watch the video.“Yeah but it's in Alaska and I don't see the point of skiing in Europe when I can ski right here in U.S. America.”Brah, watch the video.As mainland Western U.S. skiing boils over, Eaglecrest remains on a low simmer. And while you'll need an airplane to get there, you land in a state capital, with all the infrastructure and life conveniences that attend such a place. Juneau is a small city – 31,000 people – but an important one, with abundant stable government and industrial fishing jobs. It's big enough to host a woo-hoo walkable downtown and all the standard American big-box claptrap on the outskirts, small enough that unloading every skier in the valley onto Eaglecrest's access road won't be enough to clog the drain. And when you arrive, you just ski. No parking drama. No lines. No Powder Day Death Matches. Just. Ski.Yes, the lifts are old and slow: four fixed-grip doubles. Yes, accessing the full vert requires some hiking. Yes, coastal snow is not Wasatch snow. And yes, the total skiable acreage does not match your big-mountain Western destinations. But: recalibrate. Reset your expectations. Stripped of the hoards and the Hunger Games mentality they inspire, skiing is something different. A 10-minute lift ride is not so intolerable when you ski right onto the chair. Six hundred forty acres is plenty when it's mostly ungroomed faces sparsely cut by the local bombers. Three hundred fifty inches is sufficient when it tumbles over the mountain in lake-effect patterns, a few inches every day for weeks at a time, refreshing and resetting the incline day after day.Eaglecrest is going to get bigger, better, and, probably, busier. That gondola will change how Eaglecrest skis and, eventually, who skis there. It's not a destination yet, not really. But it could be. And it probably should be – we're rapidly moving past the era in which it makes sense for city tax dollars to subsidize a ski area. There are plenty of examples of publicly owned ski areas operating at a profit, and Eaglecrest should too. Go there now, before the transformation, to see it, to say you were there, to try that different thing that gets at what you're probably looking for in the mountains already.Podcast NotesOn the gondolaWe referenced a note Scanlan penned shortly after taking delivery of the gondola. Read it in full here.On Manitoba MountainScanlan tells the story of trying to resurrect a small ski area called Manitoba Mountain near Hope Alaska. It had operated with up to three ropetows from World War II until the lodge burned down in 1960. Skimap.org has archived a handful of concept maps circa 2011, but Scanlan moved to Maine to take over Mt. Abram before he could re-open the ski area:On Skeetawk/Hatcher PassScanlan and I discuss a recently opened Alaska ski area that he refers to as “Hatcher Pass.” This is Skeetawk, a 300-vertical-foot bump that finally opened in 2020 after decades of failed plans. Here's the ski area today:And here's a circa 2018 concept map, which shows where a future high-speed quad could run, connecting, in turn, to a high-alpine lift that would transport skiers to 4,068 feet. That would give the ski area a 2,618-foot vertical drop.On the impact of the Big Sky tramIt's hard to imagine, but Big Sky was sort of Small Sky before the ski area broke out the Lone Peak Tram in 1995. That project, which acted as a gateway to all-American pants-shitting terrain, transformed the way skiers perceived the mountain. But the tram was bigger than that: the lift accelerated the rapid late-90s/early-2000s evolution of U.S. skiing as a whole. An excerpt from this excellent history by Marc Peruzzi:As unpolished, friendly, and authentic as Big Sky was in the early 1980s, it was a timid place known within Montana for stunning views, but exceedingly gentle pitches. Big Sky was the yin to rowdy, chute-striped Bridger Bowl's yang. And it was struggling. Annual skier visits hovered around 80,000. The mountain wasn't on the destination circuit. The business was losing money. Bound up skiing wasn't working. …it's easy to overlook the fact that the Lone Peak Tram was and is the most audacious lift in North American skiing history. It was such a bold idea in fact, that John Kircher had to agree to the purchase without the approval of his father, and Boyne Resorts founder, Everett who disapproved vehemently with the project. The audacious claim is not hyperbole. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola in Whistler (it came 20 years later) might sport a longer span, but it was a far more straightforward installation and it's more of a people mover than a ski lift. The Jackson and Snowbird trams serve serious terrain, but they run over a series of towers like traditional lifts. The Lone Peak Tram is an anomaly. Because it ascends a sheer face, the lift features a continuous span that's unique in North America. No other design would work. Beyond the challenges of the cliff, the routine 120mph hour winds in the alpine would rip chairs off cables and smash tram cars into towers. …By 1996, the year the tram opened, the skiing nanny state was crumbling. … At the forefront of this change was the Lone Peak Tram. It changed the mindset of the ski industry. But that change was bigger than the sheer audacity of the lift and the terrain it served—or even the fact that Big Sky's patrol had figured out how to manage it. The Lone Peak Tram didn't just make for good skiing, it made good business sense. Whereas Kircher is quick to credit Montana's frontier culture for the actual construction of the tram, Middleton discounts the cowboy element and insists it was a strategic long-term business play to elevate the ski experience. But two things can be true at the same time, and that's the case with the Lone Peak Tram. …In the years after the Lone Peak Tram opened, expansion into steep terrain became commonplace again. Sunshine Village's Delirium Dive opened in 1998. Then came the hike-to terrain of Aspen Highlands' Highland Bowl; Crystal Mountain's “inbounds sidecountry” in the Southback zone, and its 2007 Northway expansion; and more recently Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico finally strung a lift to Kachina Peak, which as with Lone Peak had been hiked for years. Any skier worth their weight would add the Headwaters at Moonlight to that list.This video tells the story just as well:The context in the podcast was the incoming Eaglecrest gondola, and whether that lift could have the same transformative impact on Eaglecrest. While the terrain that the new-used Alaskan lift will serve is not quite as dramatic as that strafing Big Sky, it will reframe the ski area in the popular conversation.On ski pornI don't write a lot about athletes, obviously, but Scanlan mentions several that he skied with at summer camps on the Blackcomb Glacier back in the ‘90s. One is Candide Thovex, who is like from another galaxy or a CG bot or something:On old-school Park CityScanlan talks about the summer he helped yank out the “old-school” Park City gondola and install the “Payday six-packs.” He was referring to the Payday and Bonanza sixers, which replaced the mountain's two-stage, four-passenger gondola in the summer of 1997. Here's the 1996 trailmap, showing the gondy, which had run since 1963:And here's the 1997-98 trailmap, calling out the new six-packs as only a 1990s trailmap can:On old-school AltaModern Alta – the one that most of you know, with its blazing fast lifts and Ikon Pass partnership – is a version of Alta that would have been sacrilege to the powder monks who haunted the place for decades. “The ski area for traditionalists, ascetics, and cheapskates,” read one Skiing Magazine review in 1994. “The lifts are slow and creaky, the accommodations are spartan, but the lift tickets are the best deal in skiing, especially when Alta's fabled powder comes with them.” Here's what Alta looked like in 2000, the year before Sugarloaf gave way to the resort's first high-speed chairlift:This is the Alta of Scanlan's ski-bum days, “before the high-speeders came in,” as he puts it. Before the two-stage Collins lift took out Germania (which lives on at Beaver Mountain, Utah), a longer Supreme killed Cecret, and a new Sunnyside sixer deleted Albion, which served Alta's boring side. Before a peak-day walk-up lift ticket ran $179 (throw in another $40 if you want to connect to Snowbird). They do, however, still have the stupid snowboard ban, so there's that.On previous GM Matt LillardScanlan and I discuss his immediate predecessor, Matt Lillard, who is now running Vermont's Mad River Glen. Lillard joined me on the podcast three years ago, and we briefly discussed Eaglecrest:On GunstockScanlan compares Eaglecrest's operating and ownership models to Gunstock, noting, “we've all seen how that can go.” We sure have:On Eaglecrest's fly-and-ski-free programHere are details on how to cash in your boarding pass for an Eaglecrest lift ticket on the day you land in Juneau. Alaska Airlines offers similar deals at Alyeska, Bogus Basin, Red Lodge, Red Mountain, Schweitzer, Marmot Basin, and, shockingly, Steamboat, where a one-day lift ticket can cost as much as a 747.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 14/100 in 2023, and number 400 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing all year long. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Chris was Recently inducted into the US Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame, won more medals than any male monoskier in history, was also a World Champion and Paralympic medalist in wheelchair track and in 2009 became the first “nearly unassisted” paraplegic to summit the 19k-foot Mt Kilimanjaro. With 13 Paralympic medals, he is a Hall of Famer for US Ski and Snowboard Association and the Paralympics. He began to ski race at six and was competing for Middlebury College when his ski popped off in the middle of a turn. The resulting fall left him paralyzed from the waist down. Less than a year later, he started to monoski and soon became the fastest in the world. The Dalai Lama honored him as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion,” Skiing Magazine put him on their list of 25 Greatest Skiers in North America and People Magazine named him one of “The 50 Most Beautiful People.” https://chriswaddellspeaking.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/executiveathletes/support

Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist - Part 2 | Brought to you by Alta Ski Area Disclaimer: So, right off the bat, I wanna let our listeners know that Andrew and I are friends and that we've spent weeks together confined in small sailboats in Svalbard, Norway and well-spaced from each other in big boats in Antarctica so this conversation is gonna be fun, it's gonna be frank, and I'm excited to have this venue to really dig in and ask tougher questions than normal - so watch out... “The style of the writing came about because I never expected it to be a real book [The Chuting Gallery]. It was gonna be like 'here Miles, here's this book you can read on the toilet and get a laugh out of.'” - Andrew McLean in Part 2 Andrew McLean is a legendary ski mountaineer, author, inventor, and Big Mountain Scientist. In 2017, Powder Magazine voted Andrew as one of the "48 Most Influential Skiers of All Time". Andrew is one of the best ski mountaineers on the planet having skied first descents on every continent and has been featured in a myriad of ski movies including the Big Mountain Skiing documentary: "Steep." Andrew is the inventor of the "Whippet Self Arrest Ski Pole" among many other groundbreaking inventions in the mountaineering universe. Andrew has skied over 100 first descents all over the world. Andrew graduated from the very prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and went on to become a product designer for Black Diamond in Salt Lake City, UT for 14-years. Andrew was even an avalanche forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center for a year. Andrew wrote the most legendary, hilarious guide book ever created called "The Chuting Gallery - A Guide To Steep Skiing in the Wasatch" that is simultaneously considered The Bible & Holy Grail of steep skiing in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Andrew is a gifted writer and has written articles for Powder Magazine, Backcountry Magazine, Skiing Magazine and many other publications. Andrew is most likely the very first professional ski mountaineer on Earth. Andrew McLean lives in Park City, Utah with his wife Polly, their 2 daughters, and 2 poorly behaved canines. 2 PART PODCAST: Andrew McLean is so goddamn interesting, he has so much to teach us, and has so many hilarious stories that we had to break this interview into 2 Parts. This is Part 2 of Andrew McLean, the Big Mountain Scientist - we pick up where we left off with phase 6 of Andrew McLean's exotic life. In this episode, Andrew & Miles talk about how "The Chuting Gallery - A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch" came to be, accidents in the mountains, the explosion of backcountry skiing & riding, winning many ski mountaineering races, favorite ski mountaineering expeditions, Andrew's unique avalanche philosophy, Andrew's favorite places to ski guide, conservation efforts in the Wasatch Mountains, being a professional avalanche forecaster, and how Andrew became one of the first-ever professional ski mountaineers. Andrew McLean answers these meddlesome questions in Part 2: What drove you to write "The Chuting Gallery - A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch"? How did winning many ski mountaineering races change your life's direction and how did it feel to win? What was being a professional avalanche forecaster like and why didn't you continue in that career direction? How did you become one of the first-ever professional ski mountaineers? You have a unique avalanche philosophy, don't you? What is it? What is it about expedition skiing that calls to you? What is it about steep skiing that makes you crazy? Where's your favorite place to ski guide? Please tell us about the types of accidents you've seen out there and which ones have affected you the most. Backcountry skiing and riding has exploded in the past few years - what have you seen out there and how do you feel about the growth? Please tell us about your conservation efforts in Utah, what you're fighting against, what you're fighting for, and what your level of involvement is. When did family happen for you and how has it affected your decision-making in the mountains. Many more... Please enjoy! *** This episode is brought to you by Alta Ski Area. Alta averages 40 snow events each winter with 18 of those storms dropping at least a foot of snow on Alta. *** If you enjoyed this podcast, please share with friends & family and please subscribe. Follow SnowBrains: SnowBrains.com Facebook: facebook.com/snowbrains Instagram: instagram.com/snowbrains Twitter: twitter.com/snowbrains The SnowBrains Podcast Episode #7 - Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist Recorded on October 29th, 2020 in Santa Cruz, CA (Miles Clark) and Park City, UT (Andrew McLean). This episode was edited by Robert Wilkinson. Music by Chad Crouch. Host, producer, and creator = Miles Clark.

Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist - Part 1 | Brought to you by Alta Ski Area Disclaimer: So, right off the bat, I wanna let our listeners know that Andrew and I are friends and that we've spent weeks together confined in small sailboats in Svalbard, Norway and well-spaced from each other in big boats in Antarctica so this conversation is gonna be fun, it's gonna be frank, and I'm excited to have this venue to really dig in and ask tougher questions than normal - so watch out... “We had a lot of snow and I went to dig out the outhouse, and the whole thing collapsed and I fell into it [& human poop]…. I had to use a pancake scraper to basically scrape my pants off. It was totally disgusting” - Andrew McLean in Part 1 Andrew McLean is a legendary ski mountaineer, author, inventor, and Big Mountain Scientist. In 2017, Powder Magazine voted Andrew as one of the "48 Most Influential Skiers of All Time". Andrew is one of the best ski mountaineers on the planet having skied first descents on every continent and has been featured in a myriad of ski movies including the Big Mountain Skiing documentary: "Steep." Andrew is the inventor of the "Whippet Self Arrest Ski Pole" among many other groundbreaking inventions in the mountaineering universe. Andrew has skied over 100 first descents all over the world. Andrew graduated from the very prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and went on to become a product designer for Black Diamond in Salt Lake City, UT for 14-years. Andrew was even an avalanche forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center for a year. Andrew wrote the most legendary, hilarious guide book ever created called "The Chuting Gallery - A Guide To Steep Skiing in the Wasatch" that is simultaneously considered The Bible & Holy Grail of steep skiing in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Andrew is a gifted writer and has written articles for Powder Magazine, Backcountry Magazine, Skiing Magazine and many other publications. Andrew is most likely the very first professional ski mountaineer on Earth. Andrew McLean lives in Park City, Utah with his wife Polly, their 2 daughters, and 2 poorly behaved canines. 2 PART PODCAST: Andrew McLean is so goddamn interesting, he has so much to teach us, and has so many hilarious stories that we had to break this interview into 2 Parts. This is Part 1 of Andrew McLean, the Big Mountain Scientist. In this episode, Andrew & Miles talk about surviving a 500-foot fall, being covered in human poop on a glacier, being on the Colbert Report TV show, being the first professional ski mountaineer, mountain unicycling, getting arrested, getting caught in avalanches, losing friends in the mountains, and Andrew's favorite mountain ranges to ski. Andrew McLean answers these invasive questions in Part 1: How the hell did you become the first professional ski mountaineer ever? You and your friends coined the very popular term "Dawn Patrol," how did that happen? Why did you get arrested twice while attending the Rhode Island School of Design? What was your experience being on the Colbert Report TV show? How did you invent the wire-gate carabiner and the "Whippet Self Arrest Ski Pole? What's the funniest accident you've had in the mountains? The New Yorker called you a "Mountain Scientist," do you think that's an accurate portrayal - Mountain Scientist? Many more... Please enjoy! *** Join us next week for Part 2 of Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist where we discuss the explosive growth of backcountry skiing and riding, Accidents in the mountains, losing friends in the mountains, & Andrew's battle-hardened sense of humor. "The style of the writing came about because I never really expected it [The Chuting Gallery] to be a real book. It's just gonna be like 'here Miles, here's this book you can read on the toilet and get a laugh out of.'" - Andrew McLean in Part 2 Join us, won't you? This episode is brought to you by Alta Ski Area. 8.5%? Nope, we aint talkin' 'bout beer... We're talking about the average density of Alta's snow. The density that provides perfect powder flotation. *** If you enjoyed this podcast, please share with friends & family and please subscribe. Follow SnowBrains: SnowBrains.com Facebook: facebook.com/snowbrains Instagram: instagram.com/snowbrains Twitter: twitter.com/snowbrains The SnowBrains Podcast Episode #7 - Andrew McLean, The Big Mountain Scientist Recorded on October 29th, 2020 in Santa Cruz, CA (Miles Clark) and Park City, UT (Andrew McLean). This episode was edited by Robert Wilkinson. Music by Chad Crouch. Host, producer, and creator = Miles Clark.

Michael Finkel is a journalist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Men's Journal, The Atlantic, and Skiing Magazine, among others. He is the author of Stranger in the Woods and True Story, which was turned into a major motion picture starring Jonah Hill and James Franco. He sat down with Writers Who Don't Write to discuss his work, his career, and one story he's always struggled to tell.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colter Hinchliffe is a freeskier from Aspen, Colorado. Competitive skiing was never one of Colter’s interests, instead he focused on photography and films. His first film experience came on a trip he went on to Alaska with some friends. While there, Teton Gravity was filming, they had a seat open up and Colter was given the spot. He now spends a good portion of his winters filming with TGR as well as Stellar Media and Vital Films and has traveled all around the world for films. He’s also been featured on the covers of both POWDER Magazine and Skiing Magazine as well as profiles in FREESKIER Magazine and a segment in one of Warren Miller’s films.

Majka Burhardt has a passion for creating unusual connections. As an author, professional climber, filmmaker, and entrepreneur, Majka has spent two decades exploring the globe—usually by hand and foot—and her stories of challenge, humanity, and the fine line between extreme and acceptable risk continue to inspire audiences around the world. As a keynote speaker and writer Majka champions “Additive Adventure” — when adventure goes beyond exploration to cultural and environmental connections that create a larger conversation of singular and collective human meaning. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and she’s had articles in Men’s Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, and numerous other publications. 

July 10, 2014 - Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/U4RYHb. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Chris Waddell, world-class athlete and founder of One Revolution, is turning perceptions of disability upside-down. Chris was a competitive skier in college when he broke his back, rising to become the most decorated mono-skier in men’s Paralympic history. He launched One Revolution to redefine disability. More about Chris: Chris Waddell always thought that the lessons he learned in sports would provide the foundation for later success. As a ski racer at Middlebury College in 1988, he had no idea how profoundly one moment could change and paradoxically enhance that conviction. On December 20th his ski popped off in the middle of a turn. He fell, broke two vertebrae, and damaged the spinal cord. Paralyzed from the waist down he learned and achieved more than he could have imagined. He returned to college just two months after the accident, started monoskiing in less than a year and was named to the US Disabled Ski Team a little more than two years after that paradoxical moment. With 12 Paralympic medals, he became the most decorated male monoskier in history. Also a track athlete, he’s one of a handful to have won World Championships in both the winter and the summer. He competed in four Winter Paralympics winning 12 medals and three Summer Paralympics winning a silver medal in the 200 meters in Sydney. In World Championship competition, Waddell won 9 total medals: four gold, one silver, one bronze; six in the winter and three in the summer. Waddell was inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and the Paralympics Hall of Fame. The Dalai Lama honored him as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion”. People Magazine named him one of the “Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World.” Skiing Magazine placed him amongst the “25 Greatest Skiers in North America.” Middlebury College presented him with a Doctorate in Humane Letters. In September of 2009 Waddell became the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro almost entirely under his own power. His team carried him for approximately 100 feet of the 19,340 mountain. The film documenting the climb has won awards throughout the world. He has appeared on Dateline, Oprah and 20/20. He is the founder of the One Revolution Foundation and speaks throughout the country sharing his universal message, “It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with what happens to you.” Currently Waddell resides in Park City, Utah where he can be seen out and about keeping fit on his hand cycle and racer. He travels the country year round presenting the Foundation’s Nametags school program, speaking to corporate groups and screening the documentary. Waddell is working on a book to chronicle his journey while also planning his newest adventure – a cross country bike tour to highlight the foundation. He also continues to be actively involved with the Paralympics as an ambassador for the International Paralympic Committee and is a color analyst for the Games. Highlights Dalai Lama Unsung Hero of Compassion Thirteen Paralympic medals World Champion in both winter and summer sports Most medals of any American male Paralympic skier Doctor of Humane Letters, Middlebury College First Ambassador International Paralympic Committee Founder One Revolution Foundation First unassisted paraplegic to summit Mt Kilimanjaro Paralympic Hall of Fame US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame People Magazine “50 Most Beautiful People” Skiing Magazine “25 Greatest Skiers in North America”