BLISTER Podcast

Last Sunday, Cam Smith and Tom Goth set a new record at the Grand Traverse , which is a point-to-point ski race from Crested Butte to Aspen. Starting at midnight, racers travel 40 miles across the Elk Mountain range, climbing over 6,800 vertical feet. Cam is also a repeat winner of the Triple Crown of The Grand Traverse, so we talked to Cam about his record-setting night; skiing vs. skimo; his Wor...

Cody and Jonathan discuss the new rule changes re: filming in National Parks; lift-line etiquette; the future of freeride comps; the record number of avalanche fatalities in the U.S. this season; a new development in backcountry skiing; the shocking story of Dean Cummings; and we share some music, tv, and book recommendations. TOPICS & TIMES: The Blister Summit (2:20) Clarification on Nim’s K2...

Today we’re talking about the science of snow, the art of avalanche forecasting, and what every backcountry traveler can be sending in to their local avy center to help them produce more accurate forecasts. Our guest is Zach Guy, who is the lead forecaster for the Crested Butte Avalanche Center . Zach has a master’s degree in snow science from Montana State University, he’s served as the director...

Cody Townsend and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the first Winter Summit of K2 by the Sherpa and Nepali team, including Nirmal Purja ; TNF x Gucci collab; mountain-town dynamics; Sam Anthamatten vs Cody on the SHIFT binding; our inaugural Blister Summit ; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Surviving Girdwood, going skate skiing (2:59) The 1st Winter Summit of K2 (6:49) TNF | Gucci Collab (12:57) Mountain T...

Andrew Alexander King is an explorer, alpinist, climber, and surfer who was born in Detroit, Michigan. Andrew has climbed over 50 different mountains around the world from Kilimanjaro to the highest mountain in the Atlantic, Indian, and the Pacific Ocean, and is currently training and aiming to become the first African American to climb the highest mountain and volcano on each continent. Andrew’s...

Sam Anthamatten does things in the mountains that very few skiers do, and in this conversation, you’ll get a better sense of the background and the trajectory that helped Sam get to where he is today. We also get an update from Sam on the status of La Liste 2 (watch La Liste if you haven’t seen it); we talk about the process of flashing massive, big-mountain lines; and more. TOPICS & TIMES:&nb...

For our first Blister Podcast of 2021, we asked a few of our reviewers to share one highlight of the past year; one thing they’re most looking forward to in 2021; and one new year’s resolution. We got quite a range of answers, and apparently Kristin Sinnott and Jonathan Ellsworth will be starting up a new reality TV show?? Please enjoy, and Happy New Year! TOPICS & TIMES Kristin Sinnott (1:02)...

Cody Towsend and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about chess & The Queen’s Gambit; savants & skier savants; ski media; political appointees; avalanche accidents; Cody’s new film, The Mountain Why ; and more. TOPICS & TIMES Cody versus the people of Girdwood, AK (2:15) The Queen’s Gambit & Savants (4:36) Spoiler Alerts for the Queen’s Gambit (6:29 - 19:21) Magnus Carlsen , & Skier Savan...

Elena Hight is an X Games Gold Medalist, two-time Olympian, and a person who everyone in our world describes first and foremost as … a badass. We talked with Elena about her new film project, Blank Canvas ; competitive drive; how similar or different it is preparing to ride a big backcountry line versus a half-pipe contest run; her time in the mountains with the likes of Hana Beaman, Travis Rice,...

Bode Miller is not only one of the greatest ski racers of all time, he’s also working on a number of interesting projects. So we have a very wide-ranging conversation with Bode about his involvement in rethinking education with the Institute for Civic Leadership ; the use of technology and data to make skiing easier ( SKEO ); the crucial lesson his grandmother taught him at a young age; his greate...

We talk with Moosejaw CEO, Eoin Comerford, about how to increase diversity and inclusivity in the outdoor industry; the Moosejaw Outdoor Accelerator — which we hope that a number of you will apply for; what Moosejaw’s aims are today, and how those aims are informed by Moosejaw’s parent company, Walmart; and more. TOPICS & TIMES Moosejaw’s history (3:18) Being backed by Walmart (9:24) The Moose...

Sales of backcountry guide books are up, and more and more people are venturing out. So we talked with Beacon Guidebooks founder, Andy Sovick (who Cody Townsend and I recently talked about on episode #150 ), about how he got into publishing guidebooks; why he dislikes the term “guidebooks”; whether backcountry guidebooks should even exist; the responsibilities that come with publishing them; why A...

Athletic Brewing Company is a fast-growing brand in an emerging category that is about to blow up: non-alcoholic craft beer. So we talked to Athletic Brewing’s founder about why he started the company; the stigma of not drinking; why “near beer” has been so bad; why there’s such a need for products like this in the outdoors community; Athletic’s brewing process; how he feels about the emerging com...

Today we are launching a new segment on the Blister Podcast. Each month, Cody Townsend and Jonathan Ellsworth will discuss some of the biggest stories and most interesting news headlines from the world of outdoor sports, and on occasion, the broader world, too. Then we’ll conclude each episode by talking about some of the best things we’ve watched, read, or listened to. Check it out, and let us kn...

Did you know that 1 out of 5 people in the United States have a disability? 20 percent. And that is just one of the reasons why those of us who love and care about outdoor recreation really ought to know about all that is happening in the world of adaptive sports. So to get an overview of the past, present, and future of adaptive sports and recreation, we sat down with Chris Read and Betty Philbin...

The Wurl — The Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup — has gained quite a lot of attention in the trail running and climbing worlds, but it had never been done in the winter , and Mali Noyes and Lani Bruntz set out to change that. So we recently talked with Mali and Lani about their respective backgrounds, the origins of this idea to ski The Wurl, and then we dive into the planning and logistics and scout...

This is another installment in our series on food, food systems, and food movements, and we have included links below to all of the really interesting and diverse range of conversations we’ve had this year on these topics. Our guest today was first introduced to me by Blister reviewer, Paul Forward. Mahting Putelis is the founder of Hunt to Eat , which is an organization that exists to: “Find mode...

Last week Cody Townsend came to Western Colorado University for our Blister Speaker Series and spoke about why his education has been so beneficial to his career; social media and the new responsibilities of athletes today; starting & growing a business ( Arcade Belts ); The Fifty Project and all of the behind-the-scenes work; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Why Cody studied linguistics (5:19) R...

We’ve got a really fun one for you today — Alexi Godbout and Stan Rey are on the show talking about their new film, Follow the Forecast , which features a bunch of good friends who happen to be really good at skiing. We also talk about potential alternate titles for the film; what’s harder: ski mountaineering or skiing pillows?; who won the movie?; and yes, Stan’s spit cup. RELATED LINKS: icelab.c...

Our guest today is Camille Jaccoux, the co-founder of Black Crows Skis . This is Camille’s 2nd time on the Blister Podcast, and you should check out Blister Podcast ep. 64 , where I talked to Camille and Black Crows head ski designer, Julien Regnier, about the history of Black Crows.  This time, we talk about growing up in Chamonix and Camille’s background in skiing; what Black Crows is doing...

Will Gadd has established a number of the hardest mixed ice climbing lines in the world; set the world distance record for paragliding (twice); kayaked down dozens of first ascents across North America; and won the Canadian National Sport-Climbing Championships four times. And yet, the most extraordinary thing about Will might just be his passion level for doing just about anything outdoors, coupl...

We talk to snowboarder & Protect Our Winters founder, Jeremy Jones , about his new film, Purple Mountains ; the importance of reviving a lost art; and more. Watch a video of this conversation on our YouTube channel Watch the trailer for Purple Mountains TOPICS & TIMES: The title of the film (1:59) Social media (7:05) Common ground / consensus (9:28) The art of conversation (11:28) Bes...

Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, is a lifelong hunter. Jonathan Ellsworth has been a vegetarian for over 20 years. So how much common ground do they share? We discuss that plus Paul’s latest solo hunt; why he only hunts with a bow; what the broader hunting community might learn from skiers & mtn bikers in terms of climate advocacy; and what skiers & mtn bikers could stand to learn from the...

On January 6, 2018, Chris Bombardier became the first person with hemophilia to complete all Seven Summits, and tomorrow, a film comes out called Bombardier Blood that tells Chris’ story and homes in on his attempt to summit Mt. Everest.    Chris is also now the executive director of the organization, Save One Life , whose mission is to improve the quality of life and future for people w...

“Camping” is a massive industry, and a lot goes on under that one name. So today we discuss who’s doing it; what, exactly, people are doing; the different segments of camping; the most important trends; some of the current problems and challenges in the space; and some of the potential solutions.   To walk us through it all we sat down with Sam Degenhard, founder of campfireranch.co . TOPICS...