The Backcountry Podcast

Paralympic ski racer, Tanner Hopson, first connected with Backcountry through our partnership with the National Ability Center. Just three and a half years after becoming a bilateral above-knee amputee, Tanner has committed himself to his career in skiing, and finding the strength to grow amidst adversity.   Backcountry Podcast host Nils Mindnich and Tanner confront many of life’s hard truths, and...

Caroline Gleich is a ski mountaineer, climate activist, Backcountry athlete, and all-around badass. She finds her awe on nature’s most prolific peaks and aims to inspire climate activism through storytelling.   In this true-to-life conversation with Nils Mindnich, the pair discuss longevity and recovery—Caroline even tells us about summiting Mt. Everest with a torn ACL. She also dives into what it...

Backcountry athlete Melissa Riitano spent much of her snowboarding season here in Utah to enjoy our historic snow year. Melissa has been a pro snowboarder for over a decade, and she’s currently shifting her focus from street riding to backcountry snowboarding in deep powder.   Trusty host Nils Mindnich talks through Melissa’s snowboarding journey and her mental process for progression. Melissa has...

Matt Bluher is the director of brand marketing here at Backcountry. This dedicated skier and fly fisherman has been working in the outdoor industry for 15 years, and while he’s new to the Herd, he embodies our core values to the fullest.   Our host Nils Mindnich plunges into Matt’s professional career in sports marketing, including a modest beginning working in ski shops and retail stores. They di...

This week we invited Backcountry ambassador Kait VanHoff on the podcast to show you all what it looks like to rep the Goat. Kait is a familiar face to anyone who engages with our content—whether she’s on the board or the bike she always inspires us.   We cover a lot in this episode, from being a new dog mom, to the ins and outs of social media, and more. Kait is self-employed and she approaches co...

It’s official, the first episode of the Backcountry Podcast is live! We’re kicking things off by providing some insight into the ski and climb worlds with our very own Alex Quitiquit. Quiti is a merchandise manager here at Backcountry, a well-seasoned trad climber, and renowned backcountry skier. Our in-house pro snowboarder and podcast host Nils Mindnich gets into it with Quiti about keeping secr...