BLISTER Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

“When we’re out there putting our bodies on the line, the last thing we want to be thinking is, am I going to be looked after if this goes wrong?” — Atomic athlete, Jossi Wells

Today we’re talking with Atomic skiers Jossi Wells, Tonje Kvivik, and Noah Wallace about a topic that almost never gets discussed publicly, yet it’s an issue that most sponsored outdoor athletes have to deal with: as a professional athlete, it’s your job to go out there and push yourself and try to push the limits of your sport, while also having to take responsibility for the consequence when things go wrong.

It’s been a longstanding issue in the freeski world, across snowboarding, biking, climbing, and other sports, and while we all love watching athletes put themselves on the line, when injuries happen in that pursuit of pushing what’s possible, most of us then can only offer these athletes our best wishes on social media and our hopes that they heal up soon.

But today, I’m happy to announce a new development that we think will set a new standard in the outdoor industry. Atomic has committed to covering their international freeski athletes with BLISTER+ outdoor injury insurance, and Atomic is the first outdoor brand to provide this level of coverage to their sponsored athletes.

RELATED LINKS:

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Noah Wallace’s Story (3:21)

Tonje Kvivik’s Story (7:33)

Jossi Wells’ Story (8:32)

Atomic’s Decision to Cover Their Athletes (10:06)

Tonje’s Experience with Insurance (12:01)

Jossi on Trying to Get Coverage (14:27)

Getting Hurt When You Least Expect It (19:50)

Jonathan’s Injuries (32:50)

GofundMe Culture (43:43)

How Do We Create a Culture Shift? (46:46)

Tonje, Jossi, & Noah’s Plans for The Season (52:54)

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

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We talk with 7x world champion and 2x Hall of Fame inductee, Rebecca Rusch, and Bike Monkey founder, Carlos Perez, about mountain biking in the 2024 Olympics; whether gravel biking ought to be an Olympic sport; the the new Potato Olympics, and her signature event, Rebecca’s Private Idaho.

RELATED LINKS:

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

Listener Code for Rebecca’s Private Idaho: BLISTER RPI

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast

Off The Couch

TOPICS & TIMES:

Rebecca’s Thoughts on the Olympics (4:36)

Should Gravel Biking be in the Olympics? (11:43)

Differentiating Gravel vs. Mountain Biking (13:52)

Origins of Rebecca’s Private Idaho (19:20)

Rebecca’s Dive into Endurance Sports (32:34)

Race Events: Why Do People Sign Up? (38:05)

More Details re: Rebecca’s Private Idaho (46:38)

The Potato Olympics (51:30)

The Be Good Foundation (52:47)

Logistics of Putting on Race Events (57:37)

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We talk with U.S. Ski Hall of Famer, Mike Hattrup, about his days as a competitive mogul skier; being featured in iconic ski films like ‘The Blizzard of AAHHH’s’; his decades working in gear testing and development; and his latest role with Eleven Experience.

RELATED LINKS:

Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+

Eleven Experience

TOPICS & TIMES:

Sun Valley, Idaho (3:25)

Mogul Skiing (7:41)

Filming with Greg Stump (13:31)

From Moguls to the Aiguille du Midi (16:45)

Backcountry Safety Back Then (18:30)

Mountain Guiding (21:21)

Gear Nerdery (24:19)

Mcconkey & the Pontoon (36:55)

Mike’s New Role w/ Eleven Experience (42:57)

Remaining Bucket List Ski Destinations? (53:38)

More on being the “Director Of Skiing” (55:22)

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Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED 

GEAR:30

Bikes & Big Ideas

Off The Couch

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This week Jonathan is talking with our very own Kara Williard, who, when she’s not testing skis or doing a million other things for us at BLISTER, is raising chickens and growing food in the Gunnison Valley. We discuss what it means to build and support local food systems in mountain towns; the best practices for growing food in these cold climates; chicken tractors and therapy chickens; and the many ways that you can get involved with local food in your community.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Kara’s Background (2:06)
• Tim’s Question (9:04)
• What’s a Local Food System? (10:39)
• Who are the players? (11:47)
• Food Insecurity & Mountain Towns (18:31)
• Growing participation in CSA’s (21:52)
• Farmers’ Markets (27:03)
• What else individuals can do (28:40)
• Greenhouses (31:43)
• Eating Regionally & Food Literacy (35:47)
• Other methods & technologies(37:23)
• Local Food & Environmental Health (40:55)
• Kara’s farm: Sunny Sage Farm (45:55)

RELATED LINKS:

• Reviewing the News w/ Cody Townsend (July 2022)
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30 podcast

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Cody and Jonathan cover Gunstock Mountain Resort’s fight to operate; access issues & potential solutions; WC DH MTBers forming a union; mountain-town advice; what we’re reading & watching (answer: TOP GUN) and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Hunters, Skiers, & Offroaders: Cody on the onX meetup (4:58)

Gunstock ski area’s fight to operate (13:38)

Update: New info on Gunstock after we recorded

Access Issues & Solutions: Red Rock Canyon (28:26)

WC DH MTB racers forming a union (38:53)

Most / Least Canadian News Story (46:50)

Mountain Town Advice (50:17)

What We’re Reading & Watching (1:04:44)

RELATED LINKS:

Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide

Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Bikes & Big Ideas

Off The Couch

GEAR:30 podcast

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How do we grow participation in snowsports, support rural mountain communities, and produce more Olympic skiers and snowboarders? We sat down with Will Brandenburg of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation to discuss all of the above.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Will’s title & the work of SVSEF (2:16)
• From a small ski hill to the Olympics (6:32)
• Hockey rinks & ski areas (30:27)
• Increasing snowsports participation *and* high-level racers (35:22)
• Building communities through small ski areas (54:58)
• How do we make this happen? (58:20)

RELATED LINKS:

• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30 podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another brief attempt to wrap our heads around the images — and the significance — of the James Webb Space Telescope, with a few recommendations for further reading & listening.

RELATED LINKS:

• The Daily: A View of the Beginning of Time
• Ars Tecnica on James Webb
• GEAR:30 conversation with Drew Kelly

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Jonathan and Blister Summit Director, Kristin Sinnott, discuss the new format for our next Blister Summit (February 2023, Mt. Crested Butte, CO). We also discuss how to get the best pricing; what we learned from past Blister Summits; and who ought to come to our next one.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Blister Summit ‘23 Details & Dates (2:50)
• What Is It / Who’s It For? (6:52) 
• Gear Demos & Testing (12:06)
• More on the programming (18:03)
• Backcountry Touring (19:18)
• Why 1 Summit This Year? (25:00)
• Pricing & Blister Membership Details (27:26)
• Snowboarding? (33:27)
• Previous Summit Takeaways (35:38)

RELATED LINKS:

• Blister Summit Info & Registration
• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30 podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cody and Jonathan discuss the Mountain Gazette story about outdoor influencers & accountability; Matthew Fairbrother’s bikepacking — and enduro racing — across Europe; the ‘most Canadian’ news story; what we’re reading & watching; recent Supreme Court rulings; mountain-town advice; & more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Reviewing the News vs. White Noise (2:19)
• Accountability & Outdoor Influencers (4:17)
• Stop the Progression (37:07)
• Bikepacking & Enduro Racing across Europe (54:00)
• The most Canadian News Story (59:40)
• Mountain Town Advice (1:01:26)
• What We’re Reading & Watching (1:08:19)
• Ezra Klein: Supreme Court Rulings (1:14:44)
• Ezra Klein: The Ethics of Abortion
• Plain English: End of Roe vs Wade
• Potomac Watch: Roe is Overturned
• The Daily: Roe v Wade is Overturned

RELATED LINKS:

• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30 podcast

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Kimmy Fasani is a pioneer of women’s snowboarding, mother of two, partner of Chris Benchetler, author, and (among other things) someone who has been dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis. So we checked in with Kimmy to talk about how she’s doing, what she’s been learning, and what we can learn from her.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Being diagnosed with breast cancer (1:10)
• Paying attention to signals (5:17)
• Growing up, getting into snowboarding (12:03)
• Meeting Chris Benchetler (14:48)
• Current state of snowboarding (15:47)
• Self care (19:05)
• How has this diagnosis affected your priorities? (23:00)
• Dealing with anger & curveballs (28:39)
• How do you feel today?? (32:47)
• Body Transformations (38:18)
• What else should we know?? (47:36)
• What can we do to help? (49:48)
• The Benchetler Fasani Foundation (50:46)

RELATED LINKS:

• Become a Blister Member / Get our Buyer’s Guide
• Subscribe to our Gear Giveaways & Newsletter

OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

• Bikes & Big Ideas
• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30 podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.