Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast

What’s it feel like to drop into Corbet’s Couloir? Alta locals Tristen Lilly and Piper Kunst know. This year, they took home King and Queen of Corbet’s, earning their place on one of skiing’s biggest stages. In the Last Chair Season 7 finale, they sit down with Tom Kelly to talk about their paths to big mountain skiing, meeting in a lift line at Alta, and what goes through your head when you’re st...

Meg Wandishin Last Chair guest Meg Wandishin grew up skiing the slopes of Shawnee Peak (now Pleasant Mountain), a Maine ski area that dates back to 1938, and then moved up to Sunday River. Today, she serves as recruiting manager for Deer Valley Resort, where, among her tasks, is overseeing the resort’s popular J-1 visa program for international workers. Wandishin’s pathway into recruiting came by...

A tear came to Utah photographer Re Wikstrom’s eyes as she paged through Backcountry Magazine. There she was, her career splashed over the pages of Heather Hansman’s Opening the Lens story, profiling Wikstrom and how she has singlehandedly elevated the image of women in skiing. Wikstrom joined Last Chair from the High West Studio, reminiscing her start in photography, the love of passion to the Ro...

Salt Lake City native Marcus Caston grew up in the Wasatch, developing a passion for ski racing. After a stint as an aspiring alpine ski racer with the Snowbird race team, he found his pathway skiing big mountains around the world, becoming a star of Warren Miller films and beyond. Today, Caston is a professional skier and content creator who promotes appreciation for the art of skiing through his...

A rising star and the next generation of U.S. Ski Team speed skiers, Lauren Macuga is Park City native who rose through the development pipeline on the NorAm tour and is now among the best downhill and super G racers in the world. Her breakthrough 2024-25 season saw her on the downhill podium in Kvitfjell, Norway, and taking her first World Cup victory in a super G at St. Anton. She is known for h...

Walking through the new Inn at Sundance Mountain Resort feels like stepping into the enduring vision of Robert Redford. In this episode of Last Chair , Ski Utah sits down with Sundance President and General Manager Chad Linebaugh for an intimate conversation at the heart of the Inn. Linebaugh reflects on Redford’s legacy, the resort’s deep connection to nature, and how the new Inn, along with new...

EMILY FISHER: BRINGING KIDS TO THE SPORT The 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games left a legacy of venues across Utah. But they also left a culture that motivates kids to get into sport. Each winter, the Youth Sports Alliance in Park City leads thousands of boys and girls into winter sport. And today, YSA is bringing its expertise to Ski Utah’s popular 4th Grade School Program. Last Chair sat...

shorten it a bit Skis, speed, and charging horses collide in Skijoring , a winter sport rooted in Scandinavian tradition and reborn in the American West. In this episode, lifelong friends and Utah cowboys Joe Loveridge and Brian Gardner share how they turned their passions for skiing, horses, and ranching into Pro Skijor , a new pro tour spanning Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Recorded at the High West...

Nearly a quarter century after the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Utah’s venues are more active than ever and getting kids into sport year-round. At the center of that legacy is Colin Hilton, President and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation. In this episode of Last Chair by Ski Utah, Colin shares how Utah planned for Olympic legacy long before 2002, why its venues are now four ti...

Growing up at the mouth of the Cottonwood Canyons, Chase Thomason went from deep powder kid to full-blown weather nerd after Twister hit screens. Now he’s a meteorologist at KUTV Channel 2 who still finds time to snowboard powder at Snowbird Ski Resort. In this episode of Last Chair by Ski Utah, Chase explains the science behind the Greatest Snow on Earth including snowflakes, storms and Utah’s wi...

Legendary resort designer Chris Cushing joins Last Chair to share stories from a lifetime spent shaping ski areas around the world, including Deer Valley’s new East Village. From learning the craft alongside his father to watching families enjoy the terrain he built, Chris offers a rare look into the art and heart behind designing the mountains we love to ski

Celebrate 50 years of Utah skiing with Ski Utah and the Last Chair Podcast presented by High West. Host Tom Kelly sits down with President and CEO Nathan Rafferty and early leader Danny Richardson to share stories about Utah powder, the Interconnect Tour, and what makes skiing in Utah truly legendary. Recorded at the Whiskey Library at High West Distillery in Park City, this episode dives into the...

What’s happening with America’s largest ski resort expansion in decades? Deer Valley Resort is upping the game with 10 new lifts, 80+ new ski runs, and the debut of the all-new Deer Valley East Village, only 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport. In this episode of Last Chair presented by High West, we ride high atop Bald Mountain at Snowshoe Tommy’s Cabin with: - Steve Graff, VP of...

If you love skiing, take 30 minutes to listen to this conversation with Marge from family owned, Beaver Mountain. This episode of Last Chair exudes what the lifestyle of skiing is about. It’s something you simply don’t find in other sports. It’s a special place in Utah with some mighty fine skiing and riding, and the most celebrated ticket manager in the state: Marge!

From their favorite Utah ski runs to their 2002 Olympic memories, Fraser Bullock and Nathan Rafferty provide great insights about Utah's 2034 Winter Olympic Games and everything in between. 

This April, Raelene Davis will celebrate 40 years with the organization. She has served in her current role as Vice President of Marketing and Operations for 10 of those 40 years. Her face lights up with the biggest smiles as she recalls all of Ski Utah's creative marketing campaigns as well as the impressive and innovative engagement programs that she started from the ground up. Most of all, she...

The lifts are spinning now at Deer Valley East Village! The first major destination ski resort to be built in America in over 40 years is taking shape with the opening of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. How did this pairing of a Manhattan skyscraper developer and one of America’s most renowned resorts come to be? Ski Utah’s Last Chair sat down with Extell Development Founder and President Gary Barnet...

On this episode,  Last Chair grabbed veteran UTA ski bus driver Doug Malmborg for a ride on the 972 line up to Solitude and Brighton. Malmborg shared his vast knowledge of the UTA ski bus service, plus some fascinating ski and mining history that he has gleaned growing up in the Cottonwoods.

David Miller, director of operations at Ski Utah partner Wasatch Squatters Brewing, has long had a passion for brewing beer. But also for doing it in a sustainable way. The popular Utah brewery, born in the resort town of Park City in 1986, has put innovative practices in place to recycle cans, used grain, water, and more. Last Chair headed to the Wasatch Squatters taproom in Salt Lake City to get...

Steven Clark enjoyed the ideal skier’s lifestyle as a young boy living at the mouth of the Cottonwood Canyons. Today, he’s the avalanche safety program manager for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). As skiers and riders wind their way up Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of the most avalanche-intensive sections of highway in the world, he’s the one leading efforts to help keep us safe. Clar...

When Dr. Jeffrey Rosenbluth left med school for his first job at the University of Utah in 2001, he already had a vision in mind. A skier himself, he wanted to bring that wind-in-your-face sensation of the sport to those who didn’t have the same personal mobility. Fast forward to today, Dr. Rosenbluth's pioneering initiative has led to TetraSki – a device that combines medical science with enginee...

When it comes to the lifestyle of a ski town, Utah is a real pioneer. When High West began distilling in Utah nearly 20 years ago, it was the first ski town distillery in America. Ritual Chocolate followed suit, moving to Utah in 2015. In this episode, Last Chair explores the magic of whiskey and chocolate, and the unique experiences these two Utah companies are offering visitors. Back in season o...

Bill Rock is at home on the mountain. He skis. He snowboards. He remembers that first day his kids passed him on a ski run. He counts his blessings for being able to spend his life on ski mountains around the country – around the world! Today, as president of the mountain division of Vail Resorts, he is one of the most influential leaders in our sport. In his conversation with Ski Utah’s Last Chai...

It’s now official! The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are returning to Utah in 2034. The International Olympic Committee made the call on July 24. In this episode of Last Chair, we’ll explore the games to come looking at a few venues outside of the traditional skiing and snowboarding realm. With all of the 2002 Olympic venues still in place and operating, the 2034 edition will require no perm...