The High Route Podcast

In this episode, we are excited to speak with Ryan Griffiths, an accomplished ski mountaineer and alpinist who, along with his partner Spencer Gray, was awarded a Piolet d’Or in 2025 for their climb of Kaqur Kangri’s Southwest Arête in Western Nepal.  Ryan is a 28-year-old IFMGA guide who lives in Bozeman, Montana. The backstory is that Ryan was born and raised in Bend, Oregon, and at 14 began cut...

In this episode we speak with journalist Mitch Tobin. Tobin co-directs the Water Desk at CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, and he also publishes his own excellent newsletter, Snow. News . I first learned about Tobin’s work while seeking resources to better understand climate change and its impacts in the West. As skiers and riders, we like snow, and without it, well, life simply is...

While this is the first episode of the new season, it’s part two of an interview we did with Zahan Billimoria earlier in the summer. (That episode focused more on training, so if you are feeling out of sorts coming into the new season— give it a listen .) (While Zahan still occasionally guides, he runs Samsara Experience which features their Big Mountain Snow Safety Workshop . A class some of our...

In this episode, we connect with Teton-based IFMGA guide and founder/coach at Samsara Experience , Zahan Billimoria. Samsara offers online and in-person training for aspiring and well-established mountain athletes.  Over the years, whenever I’ve engaged with a story, film, or post about Zahan, I’ve been drawn in. There’s something about his message that is motivating. Having heard about Zahan for...

In this episode, we connect with the never-fatigued duo, the Dorais brothers…Andy and Jason Dorais. The brief backstory is this: Andy and Jason are both ER doctors in Salt Lake City. Which means that, through all their adventures, past and present, they were educating themselves, working long, strenuous hours in a stressful job, running on fumes, eventually juggling partners, kids, and their clan...

In this episode, we have the good fortune of speaking with all-around world-class mountain traveler, IFMGA guide, and dad, Vince Anderson. For those of you keen on high-end alpinism, in 2005, Anderson, along with his partner Steve House, climbed a direct, technical route on Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face . For their cutting-edge alpine ascent, they were awarded Piolets d'Or. Now, well into his 50s, And...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with the two folks behind the climbing skins at Big Sky Mountain Products , Jackson Keogh and Eric Haferman. These upstanding young men run the business from Bozeman, Montana, where they build their manufacturing equipment, and, yup, manufacture climbing skins. Many things drew us to the company, which we'll cover in the episode, but first and fore...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Tina Haver Currin. Here’s some background. Currin is a crusher when it comes to long-distance thru-hikes…and that may be redundant, as we assume, lacking the background knowledge, that all thru-hikes are long. Currin has completed many epic hikes, including the Triple Crown: the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Appalachian Tr...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Matthew Tufts , a touring focused ski journalist and storyteller and photographer. To be clear, he is Vermont-raised, but at least for some of the year, he calls Revelstoke home. Tufts has roamed the dirtbag scene as a denizen in what he calls a 'cab over camper Ford," and along the way has documented the scenes and his adventures. If you have...

In this episode of The High Route Podcast, we feature part two of our interview with Ptor Spricenieks, a noted adventure skier, cosmic traveler, and family man who resides in La Grave, France.     Be forewarned, for the best results, please listen to part 1 of our interview, because we jump right into it in this episode. Part II of the interview jumps off after we had been discussing Spricenieks’...

In this episode of The High Route Podcast, we connect with Ptor Spricenieks, a noted ski mountaineer, husband, father, cosmic traveler, guide, and Canadian of Latvian descent, who has lived with his family in La Grave, France, since 2007. There, Spricenieks has carved a life for himself with some consistent themes. And in learning about Spricenieks, who is a contrarian, anti-establishment, thought...

Let’s put this out there up front. Before you listen to this episode, we don’t want any spoilers. We’ve got a conversation with Norway’s Nikolai Schirmer lined up, and we'll discuss, in some detail, his ski movie titled “ The Greatest Ski Tour of all Time .” Although Schirmer is well known for his 10-15 minute short ski docs (they feel more than just YouTube videos), the movie referenced above run...

In this episode, which comes fast on the heels of our last episode (we’re getting a bit ambitious over here), we explore some new research about the Safeback SBX system . The research paper we explore is titled "Respiratory Gas Shifts to Delay Asphyxiation in Critical Avalanche Burial." The research paper was published in the esteemed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Our residen...

This episode goes deep with Andy Lewicky. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve likely, over the years, come across his ski touring blog, SierraDescents , which, as the name suggests, covers touring and ski mountaineering in California, and more specifically, in and around Southern California. If Lewicky is new to you, his writing and thoughts are well worth the time.  We ran an interview last w...

On this podcast episode, we are going all in on... ZipFit liners. Specifically, we’ll be speaking with Jeff Colt, marketing and design go-to for the company. I’m going to lead with this and then make a quick exit. This November, ZipFit will release a new touring-specific liner called the Espresso. Ok. The exit.  ZipFit: What does it stand for? And what is it good for? The easy part first. Evidentl...

In this episode, Chris Kussmaul is our guest. I’ve been aware of Chirs for a few years—a friend of a friend kind of thing. He is based in Bozeman, Montana and for the part of the year when snow is not on the ground, which is actually a limited time of year in Southwestern, Montana, he works as a geology consultant. When he’s not officially working during the late fall and winter, he’s ski touring,...

One thing was clear a few years back when watching the film “ Mind Over Mountain .” That film documents a team of three women on the classic Bugs to Rogers traverse, and Madleine Martin-Preney was pure fuel. This storied traverse presents a fine backdrop for a fine narrative arc, but much of the time, it is downright brutally hard work in an arena, if the weather cooperates, that is rewarded with...

Here at The High Route Podcast we’ve come to the conclusion of season 2 here on the podcast. We’ll pick back up again with season three in late summer.   On this episode, we have the privilege of checking in with Billy Haas.  Haas is an IFMGA guide, professional avalanche educator, and ski mountaineer. If you are someone who skims the surface of the ski mountaineering scene, it’s easy to see how H...

There’s something a bit different on today’s episode. It all started back in March when I Googled a general term like “backcountry skiing in the news.” A February article from the LA Times was indexed. The piece was by LA Times writer Jack Dolan, and it was titled:  “ Backcountry skiing is growing in popularity, but experts warn it’s more dangerous than you think .” LINK TO VIDEO Dolan wrote a sto...

Welcome to mid-spring here at The High Route Podcast. Here in the Pacific Northwest, ski crampon season. It is also the season to unearth an interview with Fay Manners, a British alpinist and ski mountaineer, recorded late last summer.  Manners caught my attention for one reason: she practices the aforementioned mountain disciplines at a high level. To optimize mountain conditions in winter and th...

For those of you keen on backcountry skiing podcasts, you will hear a familiar voice on this episoide. Doug Stenclik is our guest—he’s part owner of Cripple Creek Backcountry and the host of Totally Deep , Cripple Creek’s podcast.  The past several years have seen a topsy-turvy world generally and a boom-bust cycle regarding backcountry skiing/riding business. Stenclik offers insight into the busi...

Before we roll into this episode full steam, here’s some basic information: this interview was recorded in the fall of 2023. That was when a group from the US, including Jimmy Chin and Jim Morrison, planned to approach Mount Everest’s north side to attempt to ski the Hornbein Couloir. The project was part of a larger documentary project. This past fall, in 2024, that team made another attempt but...

Retirement. It is a word with notes of one chapter solidly shutting down and, with good fortune, another opening up—a transition in chapters we expect to manifest later in life.  Hadley Hammer, in her late thirties, is in such a transition. Hammer sent out a notice today, Feb. 17th, marking her retirement from performance skiing. In other words, from being a pro skier.  In her retirement statement...

Sometimes, the eyes go wide, the mind quiets and thoughts turn to the realization that you might be watching mastery. Chamonix-based skier, Vivian Bruchez illicites these expressions. For some time now, he has captured the imaginations of steep-skiing fans. Many skiers and riders open new lines, climb, and descend in good style: they break on through a mental, physical, or terrain barrier and make...

On this episode of The High Route Podcast, we do some exploring with Andy Sovick. If you are unfamiliar with Sovick, he is the humble founder of Beacon Guidebooks. Several years ago, Beacon released a few high-quality ski atlases that generated some buzz. The business has grown, yet the company remains dedicated to core values that promote safety while providing ski-run information to the communit...