TPM Episode 321: Mike Marolt, Ski Mountaineer, US Ski Hall of Fame Member

While Mike Marolt is a US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Member and a badass ski mountaineer, he never really had a pro ski career. He makes his money as a CPA. Ski-wise, Mike did so many incredible things, at high altitudes-without using oxygen, sherpa, or drugs, but he was always treated like Rodney Dangerfield. He and his crew never got the respect they deserved. On the podcast, we talk about the Marolt family roots in Aspen, his identical twin brother, college baseball, and his incredible resume full of American firsts in ski descents, and more.

Mike Marolt Show Notes:

5:00: Hunter S. Thompson's rocket, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Jordan, and his dad, the Olympian

12:00: Aspen's dark event, having an identical twin, Independence Pass in the summer with his dad, and the Aspen School District Outdoor Education Program and trip

22:15: Best Day Brewing: All of the flavor of your favorite IPA or Kolsch, without the alcohol, the calories, and sugar.

Elan Skis: Over 75 years of innovation that makes you better

24:15: Climbing at Kastle Peak at least 300 times, Jeeps, and being a clean-cut, church-going kid who drank beer

37:00: College baseball, studying accounting, the unwritten rules of climbing from his era, Denali, Logan, and learning how to suffer

38:00: Stanley: Get 30% off sitewide with the code drinkfast

Peter Glenn Ski and Sports: Over 60 years of getting you out there

40:00: First trip to Asia with Ed Viesturs, his first time above 20,000 feet, and Ed inspiring him to bring skis on future trips

49:00: Not cool enough for big-time ski or climbing sponsorships, getting enough hate online that there was a betting pool against them living through Shishapangma, and people questioning him (and his group) being the first North American to ski an 8000-meter peak

55:00: Going got Everest with a chip on their shoulder, how not getting it impacted them, climbing, Choy Oyo pure style and Everest not fully pure style, and then his thoughts on supplemental oxygen (which he doesn't use)

67:00: Not bring his skis on the summit bid, getting stuck in lines, and then getting cold and turning around