Blister Podcast

Art Clay is the co-founder of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, and he and his NBS co-founder, Ben Finley, are the first African Americans to be inducted into the US Ski-Snowboard Hall of Fame. This past weekend, Jonathan Ellswoth sat down with Art at his home in Chicago to talk about growing up in Chicago in the 1940s; his first time skiing; the idea to start the National Brotherhood of Skiers; cutie pies; the Black Summit; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Growing up in Chicago in the 1940s (3:52)College at Clark (12:51)Serving in the army, learning about skiing (15:34)Ski Club meeting in Chicago (20:28)1st time you went skiing (23:05)The long coats of “The Gang” (32:24)When did you start thinking about creating a national organization (37:16)Black Ski Summit (39:39)NBS’ Olympic Scholarship Fund (46:24)LINKS:Website: National Brotherhood of SkiersFilm: Brotherhood of SkiingApplication: NBS Olympic Scholarship Fund See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Whether or not you’re a runner, you ought to know about the Skid Row Running Club and the Skid Row Marathon. We talk to the club founder, Judge Craig Mitchell, about why he started the club; his background; the duty of police officers to protect and serve; the need for minimum sentencing reform; and much more.TOPICS & TIMES The judge’s running background (7:09)The Midnight Mission & the running club (10:05)What / where is Skid Row? (12:22)Who are the club members? (15:58)The club’s international marathons (17:26)Stories of specific members (22:39)Police & the duty to Protect & to Serve (31:59)Mandatory minimum sentencing reform (37:32)The importance of jury duty service (41:53)Best ways to support the running club? (43:54)Do you have a dream race for the club (46:33) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dotsie Bausch is a 7-time USA Cycling National Champion, an Olympic medalist, a featured athlete in the film, The Game Changers, and the executive director of Switch4Good. We talked to Dotsie about her very unusual path to an Olympic podium; her work at Swith4Good; and what we ought to understand about dairy products and the dairy industry.TOPICS & TIMESDotsie’s athletic background (1:44)When did you start cycling? (7:55)Mental toughness vs. natural ability (12:50)Getting into Track Cycling & Team Pursuit (16:07)2012 Olympics (19:19Mountain biking (22:29)What is Switch4Good? (24:18)Why focus on dairy? (38:04)Where to follow Switch4Good (1:00:50) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You are probably familiar with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but what do you know about the arguably more important National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)? NEPA is a critical piece of legislation, and each of us needs to understand what it does and why it matters so much. And currently, some major changes to NEPA are being proposed that could have extremely serious environmental and human rights consequences.So to help us understand the high stakes of the changes being proposed, we spoke to Hilary Eisen, the policy director for the Winter Wildlands Alliance. TOPICS & TIMES:What is the Winter Wildlands Alliance? (3:15)NEPA: It’s History & What It Does (4:09)NEPA & the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) (8:36)The Trump administration & NEPA (14:33)NEPA, Human Health, & People of Color (37:25)What We Can Do (42:02) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

BlackAFinSTEM was started to encourage and support Black individuals who are working in — or who are just passionate about — the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and also to encourage, support, and increase the visibility of Black naturalists and Black people who recreate and work outdoors. So we talk to Tyler Jones, the co-organizer of Black Birders Week, about all of the above, plus the difference between a bird and a trash bag; Taco Bell & STEM; her graduate work on bees (!!!); and more.TOPICS & TIMESWhat is BlackAFinSTEM? (3:01)BlackAFinSTEM’s objectives (10:05)Black Birders Week (17:15)Tyler’s background, Taco Bell, & STEM (29:32)Bees (34:33)What’s next for Tyler? (4:31)Best ways to support BLackAFinSTEM (55:12) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week on the show we talked to Sanjay Rawal about his new film, Gather, which examines the growing food sovereignty movement among Native American tribes across the United States.And this week, we are talking about why and how we need to re-invent the way that food is being grown and farmed, and the critical role that bees play in all of this.Our guests are Peter Nelson and Sally Roy who have made the film, The Pollinators, which tells the fascinating story of bees and beekeeping and soil and farming practices and pesticides and the EPA and almonds and why the perfect apple is not the perfect apple, and why we need to change the way we produce food — literally from the ground up — and what each of us can do to help the cause. The Pollinators comes out tomorrow, June 16, on most digital platforms, including iTunes / AppleTV, amazon, GooglePlay, VimeoOnDemand.TOPICS & TIMESPeter & Sally’s background (2:57)What is The Pollinators about? (5:48)Why are bees so important? (7:27)The process of polli

Today we are talking with our friend, Sanjay Rawal, about his new film, Gather. Sanjay is a fantastic story teller and a maker of films that might seem to have a pretty specific focus, but actually have wide-ranging applicability and relevance.And this is most definitely true of his latest film, Gather, which Sanjay directed, and Renan Ozturk served as the cinematographer.Gather tells the story of the growing food sovereignty movement among Native American tribes across the U.S. — which is a historical and a current cultural development that I suspect too many of us know too little about. I promise that this film will make you re-evaluate your own relationship to food and land and a lot of other things.Gather can be found here and viewed online this Thursday, June 11th through June 20th, and you can get news about the film and future releases on social media @gatherfilm.Other podcast conversations we’ve had with Sanjay and Renan Ozturk:Sanjay Rawal, Off The Couch, ep. 2Sanjay Rawal, Off The Couch, ep. 33Renan

As a number of locations are beginning to relax travel restrictions and are able to welcome visitors back, we wanted to discuss some important reminders and best practices for recreating responsibly in this time of COVID.If you do not have time to listen to the full conversation, then we strongly encourage you to check out the show notes to this episode to ensure that you are up-to-date on state and local ordinances.So let’s all commit to doing things the right way, setting a good example, and not making our current situation harder on our local communities or the communities we might visit.IMPORTANT LINKS:* https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html* https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/visitors.html* https://www.nps.gov/index.htm* https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map* https://gunnisoncrestedbutte.com/TOPICS & TIMES:Recreating Responsibly (5:53)Trail Etiquette (9:02)Camping Etiquette (12:37)Parking Lot Etiquette (14:53)Constant Mindfulness + An Analogy

In the latest installment of our Blister Book Club, we talk with the artist, Geoff McFetridge, about Jack Turner’s book, The Abstract Wild. We discuss why Geoff selected this book; why it isn’t designed to be a comfortable read; why we need to get clear on the distinction between “the wild” and “wilderness”; and why we think that every reader of BLISTER ought to read this book.TOPICS & TIMES:Why did you select this book? (2:50)McFetridge on Art (11:44)Geoff’s stand out parts of the book (23:17)Turner’s influences and style (31:20)Ideas and intentions of the book (36:48)“The Wild” vs “Wilderness” (47:20)Implications of this book for all of us (53:28) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henry Munter is a lead heli guide and the general manager of Chugach Powder Guides in Girdwood, AK. We talk with him about making the call to shut down operations right as the heli season was in full swing; the evolution of heli skiing over the past 20-30 years; decision making, memory, and some of the tools and practices and books that Henry uses in forecasting, guiding clients, and handling all types of different aspects of the business; and we discuss environmentalism and heli skiing, and how Henry and others at CPG are thinking about those two things.TOPICS & TIMES:COVID & this past season (4:00)How long have you been at CPG? (9:50)How & when did you meet Paul Forward? (14:57)Growing up (17:28)The evolution of heli skiing (24:18)Safety assessment tools & advances (32:12)Decision making (39:03)Bad Decisions vs Wrong Decisions (45:31)Fear / Stress Meter (53:01)Memory, Hans Georg Gadamer, & Winnie the Pooh (54:50)Environmentalism, Sustainability, & Heli Skiing (1:05:17)Projectdrawdown

The X Games Real Ski competition is an invitation-only event, where some of the top skiers in the world go out and put together a 90-second street edit. The creativity and talent on display in real ski is always bonkers, and we’ve talked with past X Games winners and fan favorites, like Magnus Graner (Blister Podcast #36) and LJ Strenio (Blister Podcast #94).And today, we’re talking with Jake Mageau, who in 2019 was voted the Real Ski fan favorite, and then this year, Jake took home the Real Ski 2020 gold medal.Jake walks us through what really goes into filming a 90-second submission to Real Ski; scouting and settling on locations; the insane “Mind Flip” he puts down in this edit, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Jake’s approach to Real Ski 2019 vs 2020 (10:07)Finding locations (14:21)The Roof (17:58)The Dam (20:27)What’s your headspace like before filming a shot (28:17)Do you have a favorite moment from the edit? (33:46)The Mind Flip (36:05)Thoughts on “Style” (44:25)Fishing (46:52)Jake’s Real Ski 2020 EditJake’

The ski industry has undergone rapid changes in the past several years, and we are currently in another unprecedented moment with the COVID-19 pandemic. So to help us better understand the past, present, and future of the ski industry, we talked to industry veteran and author of SKI INC, and SKI INC. 2020, Chris Diamond, about the rise of the EPIC and IKON passes; this recent era of rampant ski resort acquisitions; the state (and fate) of independent ski areas; whether COVID-19 will likely have lasting impacts on the ski industry; and more.TOPICS & TIMESBackground: from bartender to CEO (3:26)What led you to write SKI INC? (14:24)Why did you write SKI INC. 2020? (26:30)Chess Match: Vail / EPIC Pass vs. Alterra / IKON (35:38)How will COVID-19 affect the ski industry? (44:02)The future of independent ski resorts? (49:54)Predictions: future acquisitions & industry trends (55:22) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Baby giraffes? Organic bamboo scissors? Superman? Since we now have to learn how to tele ski and shoot a tele video (we’ll explain in the episode), we’re crowdsourcing a crash course in what we need to know to avoid embarrassing and / or killing ourselves. So here in Part 1, we solicited the best tips and advice from artist and telemarker, Geoff McFetridge; Flylow Gear co-founder and president, Dan Abrams; and Blister reviewers Paul Forward and Kristin Sinnott.TOPICS & TIMES:Geoff McFetridge (4:10)Dan Abrams (36:45)Paul Forward (55:50)Kristin Sinnott (1:05:30) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all probably need more Caite Zeliff in our lives. (And if you didn’t already know this, you definitely need to listen to this conversation.) Caite is a former ski racer turned big mountain skier. She won the first ever Kings & Queens of Corbet’s competition in 2018, then won again in 2019, then was on the podium this past year. She’s filmed with Warren Miller and TGR, she is equally fun to ski with and to shoot the breeze with, and, while she’s already accomplished a lot, it still seems like Caite is just getting started.So we caught up with Caite on her birthday (our first birthday-edition podcast!) to discuss skiing; filming vs photo shoots; her best Marcus Caston story; her music and podcast recommendations; and we somehow got into food and astrology, too.TOPICS & TIMES:Quarantine & Healing Up (1:55)Kings & Queens of Corbet’s (9:53)On the pressure to perform (16:32)Trip to Engelberg, Switzerland (18:56) Your Best Marcus Caston story? (25:55)Photo Shoots vs Filming (29:28)Growing up:

As part of our Up & Coming Series, we had intended to talk to Isaac Freeland, because he is a very good skier and he was definitely on his way up. But then Isaac threw us a curve ball by not only winning the 2020 Freeride World Tour Rookie of the Year award… he went and won the whole thing.So even if “Up & Comer” now feels like a bit of an understatement, we asked Isaac to take us through his first season on the Freeride World Tour and walk us through each stop. We also discuss what it was like competing against some of the biggest names in skiing; how he approached each particular comp; the rather surreal — and abrupt — end to this comp season, and more.TOPICS & TIMESEarthquakes & COVID-19 (2:11)Background, injuries, & finding his style (4:10)2020 FWT 1st stop: Hakuba, Japan (12:15)2nd stop: Kicking Horse, BC (17:55)3rd stop: Andorra (22:45)4th stop: Fieberbrunn, Austria (29:28)5th stop: Verbier, Switzerland (35:19)Isaac’s comp skis (41:49)Change or keep the current comp format? (47:20)Fr

This past weekend, something happened that has never happened in the history of resort skiing: in the span of 12 hours, most ski areas abruptly suspended operations. So on our latest #blisterpodcast, we talked to veteran ski industry reporter, Jason Blevins of the Colorado Sun, about the COVID-19 pandemic and the historic mass closure of ski areas. We discuss what, exactly, is going on; what is likely to come next; the impact on ski towns; and what each of us should and should not be doing right now.TOPICS & TIMES:Have you ever seen anything like this before? (1:36)Explain what’s going on? (3:51)The Executive Order from the Governor of Colorado (6:30)What does this mean for mountain towns? (15:18)What should we be doing? (26:00) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bobby Brown is one of the best slopestyle and big-air comp skiers of all time, but he’s currently focused on finding out what he’s capable of in the backcountry. So I talked to Bobby about his trajectory; the art of landings, air awareness, and making mid-air adjustments; who he most enjoys watching these days; what’s next for him; and more.TOPICS & TIMESBobby’s film, Dynamic Medium (1:44)Landings & air awareness (8:57)Mid-air adjustments (14:34)“Perfect Pop” (17:31)Bobby’s one-run follow-cam edits (20:30)Bobby’s relationship with his brother Peter (25:15)Adapting to change in the industry (29:37)T Rice, Candide, Henrik, Tanner, & Alex Hall (32:33)Non ski-related interest (40:43)Working with different sponsors (45:30) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week at our monthly Blister Speaker Series at Western Colorado University, in Gunnison, Tommy Caldwell spoke in front of a packed auditorium about speed climbing & setting the speed record on the Nose with Alex Honnold; strength vs. experience; how he focuses on climbing projects while also having more disparate responsibilities than ever; and how and why he’s become increasingly involved with environmental causes; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Breaking the Nose Speed Record (4:25)Thoughts on speed climbing (6:20)The film, “Free Solo” (7:27)Tommy’s book, “The Push” (10:50)Bandwidth & Focus (14:11)Strength vs. Experience (21:05)Getting involved in environmental activism (22:30)Protect Our Winters & a Call to Action (25:55)Audience questions (31:20) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to IFMGA / AMGA mountain guide, Rob Coppolillo (author of The Mountain Guide Manual and the new book, The Ski Guide Manual) about how he got into guiding; the current state of backcountry and avalanche education; his take on the pros and cons of avalanche airbag packs; the fundamental question of the most effective way to travel in the backcountry; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:The story behind Rob’s family name (2:03)Growing up: skiing, hiking, climbing (3:40)When did you start guiding? (5:33)Rob’s first book: Holy Spokes (7:22)2nd Book: The Mountain Guide Manual (8:49)New Book: The Ski Guide Manual (10:10)“Decision Making” vs. “Snow Science” (16:27)Most common “flawed decisions”? (23:00)Avi packs & risk perception (28:36)Most effective way to travel in the backcountry (36:30)Where are you guiding most these days? (43:35)57 Hours as a backcountry safety tool (48:35) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wendy Fisher is one of the all-time greats. She is a two-time World Extreme Skiing Champion; was on the U.S. Ski Team; filmed with Warren Miller and MSP; and played a huge role in showing the world what women could do in big-mountain arenas. We spoke to Wendy about all of this and more (including a few fantastic Shane McConkey and Seth Morrison stories).TOPICS & TIMES:Growing up racing (1:40)From Squaw to Burke Ski Academy (3:15)Thoughts on different learning styles (7:17)Highlights & lessons from the US Ski Team (15:06) Meeting Kristen Ulmer (19:30)Big Mtn Comp at Crested Butte with Shane McConkey (22:00)Ski Filming (30:20)Making Seth Morrison’s short list (33:50)Thinking with your heart, not your head (35:00)The fear of failure (37:55)Western vs. Proust - Q&A (45:50) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.