BLISTER Podcast

Last week at our monthly Blister Speaker Series at Western Colorado University, in Gunnison, Tommy Caldwell spoke in front of a packed auditorium about speed climbing & setting the speed record on the Nose with Alex Honnold; strength vs. experience; how he focuses on climbing projects while also having more disparate responsibilities than ever; and how and why he’s become increasingly involved with environmental causes; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Breaking the Nose Speed Record (4:25)Thoughts on speed climbing (6:20)The film, “Free Solo” (7:27)Tommy’s book, “The Push” (10:50)Bandwidth & Focus (14:11)Strength vs. Experience (21:05)Getting involved in environmental activism (22:30)Protect Our Winters & a Call to Action (25:55)Audience questions (31:20) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Mars 202058min

We talk to IFMGA / AMGA mountain guide, Rob Coppolillo (author of The Mountain Guide Manual and the new book, The Ski Guide Manual) about how he got into guiding; the current state of backcountry and avalanche education; his take on the pros and cons of avalanche airbag packs; the fundamental question of the most effective way to travel in the backcountry; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:The story behind Rob’s family name (2:03)Growing up: skiing, hiking, climbing (3:40)When did you start guiding? (5:33)Rob’s first book: Holy Spokes (7:22)2nd Book: The Mountain Guide Manual (8:49)New Book: The Ski Guide Manual (10:10)“Decision Making” vs. “Snow Science” (16:27)Most common “flawed decisions”? (23:00)Avi packs & risk perception (28:36)Most effective way to travel in the backcountry (36:30)Where are you guiding most these days? (43:35)57 Hours as a backcountry safety tool (48:35) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Feb 202056min

Wendy Fisher is one of the all-time greats. She is a two-time World Extreme Skiing Champion; was on the U.S. Ski Team; filmed with Warren Miller and MSP; and played a huge role in showing the world what women could do in big-mountain arenas. We spoke to Wendy about all of this and more (including a few fantastic Shane McConkey and Seth Morrison stories).TOPICS & TIMES:Growing up racing (1:40)From Squaw to Burke Ski Academy (3:15)Thoughts on different learning styles (7:17)Highlights & lessons from the US Ski Team (15:06) Meeting Kristen Ulmer (19:30)Big Mtn Comp at Crested Butte with Shane McConkey (22:00)Ski Filming (30:20)Making Seth Morrison’s short list (33:50)Thinking with your heart, not your head (35:00)The fear of failure (37:55)Western vs. Proust - Q&A (45:50) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Jan 20201h 9min

In the world of ski and ski boot design, Thor Verdonk is well known and very well respected. So we talked to Thor about his background, his 25+ year career with the Rossignol Group and how he became the Global Brand Director for Lange. Then we discuss the history of ski design and ski boot design, including the pendulum swings we see in the ski industry; the biggest advancements in skis and ski boots; developing the Rossi S7; and we get Thor’s predictions about what the ski industry will look like 10 years from now. And to hear Thor talk about the brand-new Lange XT3 and the future of Lange, check out our GEAR:30 conversation.TOPICS & TIMES:Growing up in Vermont (3:45)Coaching ski racing (7:20)Getting connected with Rossignol (9:10)Pendulum swings in product design (16:40)Biggest advancements in skis? (24:25)Biggest advancements in ski boots? (27:25)Developing the Rossignol S7 (35:27)Most overlooked ski boot developments (42:06)Thor’s industry predictions for the decade (50:05) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Jan 202059min

Geoff McFetridge is an iconic designer and visual artist who’s worked with the Beastie Boys, Pharrell Williams, Spike Jonez and Rick Rubin, and companies ranging from Patagonia, Nike, the New York Times, Oreo, and many more. Geoff is also a passionate skateboarder and skier, and a big fan of … BLISTER (?!?!?).So Jonathan Ellsworth and Geoff tell the story of how they first got connected; how Geoff went from being a sponsored skater to starting a skateboard company to doing design work for some of the biggest companies, bands, musicians, and directors in the world. They discuss Skate vs. Ski vs. Snowboard culture; being a “conflicted” telemarker; and a whole lot more.VIDEO: SEE GEOFF & HIS WORKTOPICS & TIMES:How Jonathan & Geoff connected (2:34)Which came first: art or skating? (7:56)Art directing the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal (18:26)Working on the Spike Jonze film, “Her” (28:31)When did you get into skiing? (47:48)How much time do you spend telemarking? (50:49)Ski vs. Snowboard vs. Skate culture (58:45)“High” vs. “Low” Culture (1:07:47)What art forms are you currently most interested in? (1:14:33)Favorite albums, films, and books? (1:18:38)Designing for outdoor brands (1:27:36)Your dream project? (1:33:30)What’s the best question I haven’t asked you? (1:44:16)Predictions? (1:50:01) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Jan 20201h 57min

What will the ski & snowboard industry look like 10 years from now? Will backcountry skiing and splitboarding keep growing? Will indoor ski areas become more common? Will there be fewer or more ski companies in existence 10 years from now? Paul Forward, Sam Shaheen, Luke Koppa and I offer our thoughts on all of these questions and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Backcountry Skiing (1:50)Backcountry Splitboarding (11:30)Backcountry Telemarking (14:30)Inbounds Skiing (17:43)Inbounds Snowboarding (21:25)Inbounds Telemarking (23:37)Monoskiing vs. Ski Blading (26:17)Park Skiing (29:50)Indoor Ski Areas? (34:25)General Industry Trends (41:59)Wildest Predictions (1:06:00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Jan 20201h 10min

We’ve been thinking and talking about New Year’s Resolutions, so in this episode, we ask a number of BLISTER reviewers what they’re pursuing in this new year and new decade.And we’d love to hear what your plans are for 2020 and beyond, so let us know in the Comments section below what your thoughts are on New Year’s resolutions and what you have planned for 2020. TOPICS & TIMES:Kristin Sinnott (1:30)Paul Forward (17:51)Maddie Hart (21:51)Luke Koppa (31:19)Sascha Anastas (39:06)Noah Bodman (49:31)David Golay (56:40)Sam Shaheen (1:03:00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Dec 20191h 17min

New Year’s Resolutions — are you into them, or do you avoid them like the plague? A recent conversation with Brendan Leonard (semi-rad.com) got us thinking that we should take a more creative approach to New Year’s Resolutions and goals, and see if they might become more than a guilt-inducing chore.Specifically what prompted all of this is that Brendan had committed himself before the start of 2019 to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks — and he did it. So we are reposting here the conversation I had with Brendan on our Off The Couch podcast, and then very soon, we’ll be posting a series of short interviews with some Blister reviewers and other folks we like about their own take on new year’s resolutions, and some of their own creative goals.Please enjoy, and let us know in the show notes to this episode what goals or resolutions you are setting for yourself for this brand new decade we’re quickly approaching.TOPICS & TIMES:What did you just do, and why? (3:00)Defining the rules for these ‘marathons’? (9:20)Eating donuts & running (21:01)Why did you tell so few people about your goal? (23:10)Injuries? (30:35)What was the hardest part of the project? (33:18)What was the best part? (35:45)Funniest moment? (41:10)Goals for 2020? (46:20) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Dec 201952min