Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend (August 2021)

We’re talking with Renan Ozturk, an expedition climber, landscape artist, filmmaker, co-founder of Camp4 Collective, and the principal cinematographer of the very powerful film, “MOUNTAIN.” MOUNTAIN is an epic meditation on our relationship to and fascination with mountains. Directed by Jennifer Peedom and narrated by Willem Dafoe, the script is based on Robert Macfarlane's, "Mountains of the Mind," and the film features many of the best mountain sports athletes in the world — Alex Honnold, Candide Thovex, Conrad Anker, Tommy Caldwell, Hilaree O’Neil, Danny MacAskill, Travis Rice, and Renan Ozturk himself. You can learn more about screening dates and locations at mountainthefilm.com.Renan and I discuss his work on the film and what makes MOUNTAIN unique, his own evolving relationship with the mountains, and what's next for him.TOPICS & TIMES:How would you attempt to describe this film? (2:15)How did the idea for this film originate? (8:14)Logistics: How was all of this put together? (11:16)The intended audience for this film (13:52)Willem Dafoe's narration of the film (16:32)How working in the mountains affects or informs Renan's love of the mountains (19:08)Blending historical and contemporary experiences of the mountains in "Mountain" (22:04) Rethinking mountain "mastery" and exploration (25:15)What authors or films have been most influential in your own relationship to mountain pursuits? (28:44)What Renan hopes people will take away from MOUNTAIN (35:20)Renan's other current projects, including his Sanctity of Space (38:19) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Maj 201844min

We have been receiving more and more questions about Sego Skis and requests to review them, so today, you’re going to get the backstory. Sego was founded by two brothers, Tim and Peter Wells, and Sego is headquartered in the small mountain town of Victor, Idaho. So we talked to Tim and Peter about starting a ski company (actually, how they started two ski companies) and why they decided to set up shop in Victor to build skis.Then we go over some particular Sego skis, working with Lynsey Dyer, the snowblades they’re producing, and why they have a ski called the Condor that has nothing on it other than … an avocado.You can check out now our First Look at the Condor, and, if you become a Blister member, you can also read our Flash Review of the Condor and get our initial on-snow impressions of the ski.TOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Sego's founders, Tim & Peter Wells (1:33)Starting their 1st ski company + lessons learned (4:08)Starting their 2nd ski company, Sego (13:19)Why the name Sego? (16:49)Exactly what are you building in Victor, Idaho? (17:35)Advantages and challenges of manufacturing in Victor (21:30)Demo days & the Sego school bus (29:19)Becoming a "premier North American manufacturer" (33:08)Sego's best selling skis: the Cleaver 102 & Lynsey Dyer's pro models, the UP Pro 110 & UP Pro 92 (34:35)Sego's women's lineup & working with Lynsey Dyer 36:15)The ski Peter's most proud of - Tim's personal ski (39:17)Sego's 18/19 lineup - including the Condor (aka, the Avocado) (42:40)Sego snowblades! (51:30) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Apr 201857min

We stopped by the headquarters of Venture Snowboards in Silverton, Colorado, to talk to Venture’s founders, Lisa and Klem Branner. As you’ll hear, Venture does a lot of things different than most snowboard companies. For example, very few companies are manufacturing snowboards here in the U.S., and even fewer of those companies are starting from scratch — literally building boards starting with raw lumber.So we talked to Lisa and Klem about why they do what they do, why they chose to build in the tiny town of Silverton, and why it all matters. We also discuss why Klem really dislikes using the term “sustainable” when it comes to building snowboards; why he thinks it’s a bad idea to build snowboards with traditional camber; which current trends in snowboard design he thinks are stupid; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:When & where did you two meet? (03:00)Klem on making the first board he ever rode (5:04)From grad school to starting Venture Snowboards (7:22)The decision to set up shop in Silverton, Colorado (10:26)Why start a snowboard company? (15:10)Real talk about “greenwashing” in the snowboard industry (16:26)What sets Venture apart: building their boards from scratch (21:56)Advantages & challenges of manufacturing in Silverton (25:42)Why Klem thinks traditional camber sucks and is unnecessary (27:53)Craft beer + craft boards: Venture’s collab with Ska Brewing (38:08)What current trends in board design do you like or dislike? (41:27)The rise of splitboarding and backcountry riding (46:16)Venture’s 18/19 lineup — and why they don’t overhaul their line all the time (48:33)Why should anyone care that Venture boards are built in Silverton? (53:06) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Apr 201858min

Cyrus Schenck is the founder of the company, Renoun, and a ski designer with an award-winning technology that's used by no other ski manufacturer in the world. Cyrus is thinking big. And definitely outside of the box. And definitely not just about skis.So we talk to Cyrus about building skis with non-Newtonian polymers, and everything else he's working on — both inside and outside the world of skiing.TOPICS & TIMES:Cyrus’ background (2:50)Starting Renoun & working with “Non-Newtonian Polymers” (6:25)So what is the on-snow advantage of using “HDT” in a ski? (16:14)How does HDT work? (18:23)If HDT is so great, why don’t more companies use it? (34:11)Other applications for HDT - like NBA flooring?? (36:03)Why expanding into other industries could be great for skiing (39:36)Who is “Renoun” — you and who else? (41:49)Renoun’s current ski lineup (42:16)Renoun’s new ski - The Citadel - with carbon + HDT (45:16)Why Renoun’s 100-Day Guarantee is the smartest thing any indie could offer (49:14)What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (53:54) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Feb 20181h

This week we're talking to Greg Hill and Chris Rubens. Greg is probably best known for his feats in ski touring, including his accomplishment in 2010 of skiing 2 million vertical feet in a year. And Chris Rubens is probably best known for being dumb enough to try to keep up with Greg.We sat down with Greg and Chris in Denver to talk about how the two became the unofficial power couple of Revelstoke, and to learn more about the logistics of their latest Electric Adventure which took them from Revy to Colorado in an electric car for a screening of their new film, The Curve of Time.Greg and Chris talk about what inspired the film, how it embodies both their love of the outdoors and their continued efforts to consider the impact that each of us is having on the environment — and what we might do about that. So I really hope their new film and our conversation here stimulate some new thoughts that get each of us to take some new actions.TOPICS & TIMES:When did you guys meet? (2:10)Greg’s background & trajectory (5:35)How long have you guys been adventuring together? (8:45)The Salomon film, Guilt Trip (11:12)Chris & Gregs' Electric Adventures - the logistics of journeying in various electric cars (15:25)Recognizing our footprints, taking steps to reduce it (22:38)Taking action & the charges of hypocrisy (26:08)The new film by Jordan Manley, The Curve of Time (30:45) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Jan 201835min

Today we’re talking with New York Times sportswriter, Karen Crouse, about her new book, Norwich.Norwich is a tiny town in Vermont that has produced eleven Olympians, and Karen’s extremely well-written book looks into how it is that this little town has managed to produce so many successful athletes.But Karen is also exploring far bigger, universal questions about the relationship of athletic achievement and personal well-being, and really, I think her book Norwich is best understood as a blueprint for how to raise and train athletes to be more than mere medal-winning machines. Norwich is a book about community, about parenting, and how to go about helping kids become fully-developed people who are well positioned to lead happy, healthy lives.Karen and I also discuss the current state of the Olympic Games, since Karen has been to and has covered a bunch of them and will be at the Olympics again next month, and she and I talk about how her time spent with all-time achievers like Michael Phelps and Tiger Woods has informed her thoughts on the price of greatness.TOPICS & TIMES:How do you sum up what this book is about? (1:55)How do you view the state of the Olympics today? (4:17)Some of the principles of Norwich that are worth emulating / cultivating (8:51)Takeaways from the experience of Olympic moguls skier, Hannah Kearney (13:53)Ford Sayre & Norwich’s culture of volunteering (23:38)Replicating elsewhere the connection between Dartmouth College & Norwich (28:09)Praising Effort vs. Praising Results (31:07)Cultivating Happiness, Cultivating Greatness (on Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, & Hannah Kearney) (34:04)Placing the Person before the Performer - shifting our priorities (51:14)Connect with Karen on Twitter at: @bykaren Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 201859min

Black Crows is one of the hottest brands in the entire ski world, and today we’re talking with their co-founder, Camille Jaccoux, and head ski designer, Julien Regnier, about the origins and design principles of the brand, a few of the important skis in the history of the company, and what's next.TOPICS & TIMES:When did Black Crows start, and talk a bit about what was going on at the time in skiing? (2:58)When & how Julien and Camille met (9:17)Chamonix’s particular impact on the company and the skis they were making (12:29)The 1st Black Crows ski: the Corvus (13:30)The 2nd Black Crows ski: the Navis (14:45)The origin of the Black Crows name & the Black Crows logo (16:00)If someone were to ask, “What do Black Crows skis ski like?”, what would your answer be? (22:03)Julien on the new-for-this-season Black Crows Daemon (23:25)Which are your personal favorite skis in the lineup? (29:35)Outside of the ski world, what areas of design are you interested in? (34:10)Julien on the Japanese architect, Tadao Ando (34:55)Camille on the designer, Yorgo Tloupas (36:30)On the move from making only skis to making other hardgoods, and now, Black Crows apparel (41:10) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 201848min

So how does a kid from a little town in New York end up becoming a global product manager at one of the largest ski and boot manufacturers in the world, and living in Austria? And why does he believe that studying philosophy in college and in grad school turned out to be the ideal preparation for his day-to-day responsibilities at Atomic?We’re talking to Matt Manser about his background, his studies in philosophy, his experience as a bootfitter, and the design decisions that go into the creation of every ski boot he works on, including the current Atomic Hawx Ultra and Hawx Ultra XTD.Matt and I cover a lot of topics, so if you want to dip in and out of our conversation, check the show notes on the website or on your phone to see a list of the topics and times.Also, if you’d like to ask Matt a question or give him some feedback, you can hit him up on instagram at: @onenerdykid — and if he isn’t too busy playing video games or reading Aristotle, you will probably get a reply back pretty quickly.TOPICS & TIMES:Where do you currently live, and what is your title at Atomic? (1:35)Background: where did you grow up & when did you start skiing? (4:13)College: discovering philosophy (9:03)Why study philosophy & logic? (11:48)Philosophy, bootfitting, and bootfitting for Doug Coombs and other athletes (23:40)Matt’s job: taking a boot from concept to finished product (36:42)What do you consider to be the three main aspects of making a great ski boot? (39:51)Managing the different expectations of skiers in different parts of the world (44:26)Trivia Question: Guess which company sells the most World Cup race boots? (47:23)On the Atomic Hawx Ultra — developing a lightweight alpine boot (51:45)Why it’s so difficult to build lightweight ski boots with a progressive flex (55:10)Marcel Hirscher: what it's like working with one of the greatest ski racers of all time (1:06:26)On the different intentions behind the Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 120 vs. XTD 130 (1:11:33) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Jan 20181h 24min