Like most ski bums, legendary photographer Lee Cohen was only planning on skiing at Alta, Utah, for one season. Forty years later, he’s still there, shooting skiers in the Wasatch. Since his first image was published in the late ’80s in Powder, he continues to be one of the top shooters in the game. One of his favorite subjects is his son, Sam, himself a professional freeskier. It hasn’t always been easy for either of them: Sam admits he had to ski hard to get beyond the old man’s shadow. While their vocation is different, the canvas on which they ply that craft is the same. And they’re tight. If you didn’t know any better, they sound more like brothers than father and son. This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by 10 Barrel Brewing Co. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

Backcountry Magazine Podcast

The Two Cohens: Pro Skier Sam and his Photographing Father Lee

 A 22-year veteran avalanche forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center, Drew Hardesty doesn’t simply give the avalanche forecast for the greater Wasatch. He tells the snowpack’s story. He’s part scientist, part philosopher. Part skier, part poet. What other forecaster might relate a scene from Cormac McCarthy’s book The Crossing to a blown avalanche forecast? How many snow scientists were Naval Intelligence officers during Desert Storm or have received a federal Valor Award for aiding 17 lightning strike victims on the Grand Teton? Drew’s life experiences allow him to see the snow through different eyes.   This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by 10 Barrel Brewing Co. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

The Seer: Avalanche Forecaster and Sage Drew Hardesty

 In April, we reached out to gear and apparel manufacturers to get their take on what the coronavirus pandemic might mean to the outdoor industry. It ended up being our most listened to episode and, in response to the many calls for a follow-up, that’s just what we did. Joining host Adam “Howie” Howard are Thor Verdonk, Alpine Technical Product Director for Lange, Rossignol and Dynastar; Jason Levinthal, founder of Line and J-Skis; and Dan Abrams, cofounder of Flylow. How accurate were their prognostications from the spring? Tune in to find out.   This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by Majesty Skis America. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

The Makers’ Lament: Part 2

 Like all mountain pros, Nancy Bockino has had a lot of gigs to make it all work. Unlike a lot of mountain pros, Nancy seems to do what she loves year-round. Based in Jackson, Wyoming, Nancy spends the winter ski guiding and teaching avalanche classes for Exum Mountain Guides in the Tetons. Come spring she’s off to the Eastern Sierra to ply her craft guiding alpine climbing and ski touring south of Mammoth for International Alpine Guides. Then, in the summer, she’s back in Jackson working as field ecologist in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Wherever she goes, Nancy speaks to the trees.   This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by Majesty Skis America. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.   The Backcountry Podcast is also available on Apple, Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher.

Guide Nancy Bockino: Mother of Trees

 No matter the job, Todd Walton’s work has never taken him far from backcountry terrain, whether stumping for brands, resorts or organizations like Outdoor Research, Crested Butte Mountain Resort or Snowsports Industries America. As the executive director of Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA), Todd’s latest efforts focus on advocating for the very places and experiences he’s known throughout his career. Once a small, grassroots nonprofit focusing on the mountains around Sun Valley, Idaho, WWA today leads advocacy efforts in nearly every western state. In this episode, Walton dishes on WWA’s latest efforts, the Biden administration, “skiing kind” and the radical changes in winter recreation.   This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by Majesty Skis America. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

Keeping Winter Wild

November 20 was a sad day for the ski community. It was the day POWDER magazine officially halted operations after 49 years of production. It was a staggering turn for the magazine many feel influenced the sport like no other. Among those reflecting on the loss are former editor-in-chief Steve Casimiro, former associate editor Mike Rogge and former interns Ingrid Backstrom and Adam Howard. The four look into the crystal ball to see what the future looks like without POWDER.  This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Tourism. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

The Future of Ski Media

Powder, stoke, spines—they’re ski movie staples, but they don’t fully show what goes into a successful day in the mountains. Swedish filmmaker Bjarne Salén is changing that. As he captures Cody Townsend’s The Fifty, a project to ski all the lines in the heralded book 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America, Salén speaks up from behind the camera, giving insight into the role filmmakers play in skiing big lines and, in doing so, breaking down the imaginary fourth wall.  This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Tourism. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

Bjarne Salén: Lensman of Legends

What will backcountry ski travel look like this winter? How will the skiing economy deal with the uncertainty Covid-19 presents? Will trailheads be packed? (Yup!) Backcountry’s Adam Howard joins backcountry pioneer Andrew McLean, film star Mike Hattrup and freelance writer and editor Megan Michelson to discuss what Covid-19 means to the backcountry community and resorts grappling with a booming uphill scene. This episode of the Backcountry Podcast is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Tourism. It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution.

Uphill and Beyond

With supply chains throughout the world interrupted by the Covid-19 crisis, no industry has been left unaffected. And though we’re nearing skiing and riding’s offseason, even next season’s gear—whether that’s boots made in Italy, apparel made in China or skis made domestically—may be on the line. To get a perspective from across the globe and at home, with brands large and small, Adam Howard and Lucy Higgins speak with Thor Verdonk, global brand director of Lange, Dan Abrams, cofounder of Flylow Gear, and Jason Levinthal, the founder of Line Skis who now runs J Skis and 4FRNT.

Plan B - Live: The Maker’s Lament

How have adventurers and adventures been impacted by the current Covid-19 pandemic? And what was it like for those out in the mountains when the crisis emerged? What about those who earn their livelihoods in the backcountry? In this episode, we go out there and back, connecting with Leavenworth, Wash.-based splitboarder Ryan Irvin, who has widely shared the story of his personal battle with coronavirus; photographer and writer Mary McIntyre, who was on a skiing and sailing expedition to Greenland when her ship was turned around by travel restrictions while halfway across the North Sea; and Chamonix-based guides Miles and Liz Smart, who’ve been on lockdown in France through the heart of their guiding season since the middle of March.

Plan B - Live: Out There and Back

These days, we’re seemingly looking at everything through the Covid-19 filter. Today, Backcountry’s Plan B Facebook Live Podcast looks at climate change with Bill McKibben, author, climate activist and founder of 350.org; Sam Killgore, communications manager at Protect Our Winters; and Dr. John Hausdoerffer, director of the Master in Environmental Management Program at Western Colorado University. Along with hosts Adam Howard and Lucy Higgins, they’ll consider what the global pandemic and the resulting economic crisis will teach us about carbon emission reduction.

Plan B - Live: Climate and Covid

After a few weeks of adjusting to the new normal of social distancing and self isolation, host Adam Howard is joined by editor in chief Lucy Higgins to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the backcountry community. Higgins and Howard chat with Nick Sargent, president of SIA (SnowSports Industries America), about the organization’s #curbyourturns social campaign; they’re also joined by Backcountry contributor Heather Hansman, who talks about her recent feature on mental health in the skiing community and how what she’s learned applies to NOT skiing during the COVID-19 crisis; and Dr. Brian Irwin, physician and medical advisor to the Mt. Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol, discusses terrain closures in New Hampshire’s Tuckerman Ravine.

Plan B - Live: The Go/No Go Paradigm

OK, we’re bragging here, but the CEO of Icelantic interned at Backcountry Magazine in 2004. That was just after she earned degrees in Spanish and International Business from UVM and just before she started at a brand-new ski company with her high school friends in Colorado. Through Icelantic’s meteoric rise to near fall, Loevlie found her voice and learned how to make the tough calls.

Annelise Loevlie: Icelantic Dreams

Dana Gleason retired a millionaire after selling his company, the legendary pack manufacturer Dana Designs, in the late ’90s. But he was adrift and having too much fun skiing powder to feel purpose. His daughter changed that with a simple request: build me a minimalist hip pack. Soon after Mystery Ranch was born, and it’s been going strong for 20 years. And, Dana’s still crazy!

Dana Gleason: Pack Man

From making avalanche probes in his Vancouver kitchen, Genuine Guide Gear founder Oliver Steffen has been at the forefront of a slew of trends in backcountry skiing. Known for clean, inspired design, G3 has been a leader in telemark bindings, probes, shovels, skins and, now, tech bindings. We talk to Steffen about the culture of innovation that keeps G3 hopping.

Oliver Steffen: The Genuine Mind of G3

From legendary athletes to iconic product designers, activists to guides, our world is filled with new views, wisdom, determination and crustiness. This is the Backcountry Podcast.

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Backcountry Magazine Podcast

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