Arc City
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★★ - 92 ratingsWelcome to Arc City! Here, American alpine skier Jimmy Krupka talks with anyone and everyone who has a love for alpine ski racing’s parabolic arcs. From gold medalists to industry insiders, this podcast will tell their high-acceleration stories: the successes, the failures, the gritty details, and the humor of it all. Arc City is presented by Ski Racing Media.
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Episodes
Sasha Rearick on Coaching
April 08, 2024 10:01 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBSasha Rearick has coached Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Andrew Weibrecht…and most of the U.S. Men’s Team over an 18 year career. Now he’s at Apex2100 in France and more motivated than ever. We talk wacky courses, Sasha’s three core components to going fast, “expressing yourself” through skiing, the mind of Bode Miller, team dynamics, the role of coaches, leading the Apex2100 program, and—as always—so much more. The Skiing History Nugget is about one of the biggest comeback stories in ski racing. ...
American College Ski Racing
March 12, 2024 10:50 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBThere is the potential for an age-limit rule change in NCAA skiing. So I got three veterans of the American ski racing world to help talk through it, and we ended up discussing far more than that. We briefly walked through the history of college ski racing in the US, then we talked about statistics, average ages, the international wave of skiers, the proposed age-limit rule, the balance between the U.S. Ski Team pipeline and college, the former U.S. University Team, high school post-graduate...
The Art of World Cup Ski Tuning
February 09, 2024 15:40 - 1 hour - 63.4 MBNo one talks about technicians. Which is curious because they perform the most important job in ski racing aside from actually skiing. Bart Mollin is a technician for American tech skiers AJ Hurt and Nina O’Brien, and Ryan Mooney services Paula Moltzan’s skis. Their squad is steadily gaining in momentum on the World Cup these days. I sat down with both Ryan and Bart (another in-person interview!) and they spilled some secrets, told a few funny stories, discussed being married to your co-work...
Atle McGrath, At Long Last
December 08, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBThis episode is a year late. No matter: we overcame the broken SD card and recorded a new interview with Atle Lie McGrath. One of the most fun skiers on the World Cup circuit and wise beyond his years, we had a fantastic conversation. He talked through his knee injury sustained at the 2023 World Champs and his recovery plan. We discussed mental health, his team dynamics (including a funny story involving Lucas Braathen), the Norwegian development system (why is it so good right now?!), and t...
Conversing on Climate Change with Julian Schütter
November 07, 2023 16:23 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBWe might as well talk about it, right? Austrian speed skier and climate advocate Julian Schütter visits Arc City (1:57) to work through this often-polarizing topic. We start from the very basic “Is climate change real?” and progress through every tough question I can muster. Julian does not pretend to be a scientist, but he’s well-read on the subject and has conversed deeply about this before, which is partly why I chose to interview him. I also chose him because he is helping lead the movem...
The National Brotherhood of Skiers is Doing The Work
October 21, 2023 17:34 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MBThree years after the world engaged in deep conversations about diversity and inclusion, the topic may have faded for some—but certainly not for the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS). In August, nine young Black athletes supported by the NBS attended an elite conditioning and performance education camp at U.S. Ski Snowboard headquarters in Park City, UT. I Zoomed with three athletes on their last night at the camp: alpine skier Fantaye Gilbertson, mogul skier Kennedy Hicks, and Red Bull-s...
The Alice Robinson Effect
September 22, 2023 14:10 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBWe visit Alice Robinson in New Zealand to kick off Arc City's fourth (!) winter. Alice and I sat with a view of Coronet Peak, her home mountain, and hashed it out about everything from her beginnings as a young wide-eyed skier to being a breakout star. Alice also talks about switching ski companies, the struggle to win World Cup races again, and Red Bull’s support. We also have some fun talking about Instagram messages, among other things. Afterwards: some ski racing headlines to get you cau...
Laurence St. Germain, World Champ
April 08, 2023 18:12 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBTo close out the season the recently-crowned World Champion in slalom, Laurence St. Germain, visits The City. She tells us the story of winning that race—and what it’s like to beat Mikaela Shiffrin. Her story of skiing a World Cup race with no shin guards is another fascinating tale. We talk about her approach to training, which draws on her background as a currently-studying engineer. We discuss the successes—and shortcomings—of Alpine Canada, the difference between men’s and women’s skiing...
AJ Ginnis adds to Greek History
February 19, 2023 20:39 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBA couple of days ago I interviewed AJ Ginnis about his miraculous second place finish at the Chamonix World Cup slalom…then he went ahead and won the silver medal at the World Ski Championships. From growing up in Greece to his time in Austria, school in the United States, and ultimately representing Greece on the world stage, we cover AJ’s whole story. His telling of his Chamonix race gave me goosebumps. Then we go on to talk about a host of other topics, and to finish it off AJ answers a f...
Dave "The Rocket" Ryding
February 01, 2023 08:03 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBHold onto your biscuits! Dave Ryding, Britain’s pride of the FIS Alpine World Cup, visits Arc City (in person!) to talk about his inspiring World Cup victory, his tuning setup, plastic snow, his team dynamic, his newborn baby, his secret to staying young at age 36, his coach’s wild course set at Wengen, his hobbies outside skiing, some fun questions—from listeners like you—at the end, and much more (2:21). The History Nugget this week is about the development of binding safety (42:22). Send...
A Grassroots Model: Lin-Wood Public School
January 16, 2023 17:27 - 55 minutes - 51 MBOur third season of Arc City opens with a fun, inspiring story about small-town ski racing. We meet Aaron Loukes and Marcus Corey, the high school and middle school coaches at Lin-Wood Public School in Lincoln, New Hampshire (1:54). They have a fantastic model for how to run an affordable public school race program. We discuss everything from the ski swap system in Marcus' attic that helps recycle ski equipment, to the town-owned Kanc Rope Tow, to the vibrant ski racing culture that has been...
A State of the Union with Sophie Goldschmidt
August 26, 2022 12:00 - 46 minutes - 85.9 MBA conversation with President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard marks Arc City’s return from summer break. Sophie Goldschmidt has a long, impressive resume in international sports and marketing, but ski racing is a brand new world for her. Goldschmidt tells us about her first year getting to know the sport, what her goals are, and what her understanding of the problems facing ski racing are. She also answers several specific questions, including former CEO Tiger Shaw’s role in the transition o...
Hip Dragging with River Radamus
March 29, 2022 00:37 - 59 minutes - 108 MBAs the season comes to a close, River Radamus—a rising American GS star—and I talked shop (2:06). River is well-spoken and has some fascinating perspectives. First, we discuss the role media plays in Olympic ski racing. River tells a fun story about skiing on the same Olympic team as Mikaela Shiffrin. We also cover River’s source of motivation, his Olympic dreams, his hip-drags, and his theory—based on personal experience—about talent vs. hard work. He basically gives a pep-talk to young asp...
Luke Winters Is Coming
February 15, 2022 21:24 - 53 minutes - 97.3 MBLuke Winters races tonight at the Olympics, and it is high time you learned his name and his story. He’s leading the charge for the American men’s slalom revival, but his path to the World Cup was a bit different than most. We talk about his upbringing, his ability to lay down fast runs on race day, his skill with heavy machinery, and the little details involved in skiing at a World Cup level. And, of course, we discuss the Olympics. After, I read a piece of mail (44:31), then I share a Skii...
Tommy Ford, the GS Artist
December 09, 2021 05:37 - 43 minutes - 79.4 MBAfter suffering a brutal crash last year, Tommy Ford is back on skis and making GS arcs. So, to start we have Tommy actually describe what a World Cup arc feels like. Then, we get the official update on his recovery status and his timeline on return-to-racing. We talk about his personal journey from a young, energetic kid to the wiser, more balanced man he is now. Tommy is meticulous with his specific ski set-up, which we discuss. But we also go deeper into the mind and motivation of Tommy, ...
The Stories of Tamara McKinney
September 03, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 114 MBIf basketball fans know about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, then ski racing fans absolutely need know about Tamara McKinney: the first American woman to win the World Cup Overall title, and the only, before Lindsey and Mikaela. First, we hear the story of McKinney's gold medal at the 1989 World Championships, a gripping, multifaceted tale full of life, and death. Then we talk about her ’84 Olympic performance that was defined by media hype—and McKinney uses her own experience to comment on t...
Breaking Legs with Sam DuPratt
July 30, 2021 01:14 - 54 minutes - 100 MB(Warning: the crash that broke both Sam's legs will be described (at 5:43). Sam DuPratt (2:45) is a member of the US Ski Team's World Cup speed squad. Despite his horrific injury, Sam maintains a great sense of humor. We talk about everything from the psychology of major injuries, how to best tackle recovery, and some controversial ski technique theories (wait, the fast guys lean back?). Briefly, I ask Sam--who has skied on the National Team, in college, and independently--what the best rout...
Mikaela Shiffrin (and Aleksander Kilde?!)
July 22, 2021 23:09 - 57 minutes - 106 MBWell folks, this is a big one. Olympic champion, World Champion, and 69-time World Cup winner Mikaela Shiffrin gives us a chunk of her very-busy, Olympic-prepping schedule to talk over Zoom (2:34). First and importantly, we talk about the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund (keeptheflamealive.org), which gives direct aid to National Team athletes. The fund is named after Mikaela’s late father, and I ask her a bit about him. Then we try to figure out who Mikaela would be if she didn’t ski r...
Tales From Inside the Ski Industry
June 25, 2021 04:15 - 1 hour - 112 MBFor this episode, a slight change of pace. Instead of an athlete, we talk to someone inside the ski industry (2:55). Jake Stevens spent six years running the North American Race Department at Rossignol Group, and now works at a higher, more general position in the company. He gives us his inside insights on everything from cutting-edge ski technologies to how a World Cup racer develops skis to the actual budgeting of a race department. After, we give two young racers, Doum Rainville and Cam ...
Ralph Green, Paralympian, Badass
March 23, 2021 19:19 - 1 hour - 117 MBRalph Green is a Paralympian and one of the best one-legged ski racers ever (1:14). We talk about his incredible back story, from his humble beginnings in Brooklyn to his introduction to skiing and his miraculous, hard-work-pays-off leap to the U.S Ski Team. I ask him about his unique experience jumping into the ski racing world after growing up so far removed from the sport. We dive into the tough questions, like how to bring more diversity to skiing and what it's like being a Black man in ...
The Fearless Breezy Johnson
February 13, 2021 08:25 - 1 hour - 115 MBThings are heating up here in Arc City. Ted Ligety retires (00:36) and World Champs begins. Breezy Johnson has been on fire this season so we give her a call (4:03), and the first question is, what started this podium streak? The answer involves Breezy’s impressive recovery from back-to-back knee injuries and her fearless mentality, which, we learn isn’t as fearless as it seems. Naturally, I ask about her real name, and also how to ski downhill. We dive deep into the coach-athlete relationsh...
RCS: The Cochran Legend Continues
January 24, 2021 03:14 - 52 minutes - 96.6 MBAmidst a flurry of serious injuries, including that of your faithful host, we carry on! We have an interview with Ryan Cochran-Siegle (2:30) that was recorded before his gnarly Kitzbühel crash. In reverse-chronological style, we begin by talking about his recent success and how things just ‘clicked.’ We touch on his earlier years and his struggle with injury, then we round it off by discussing his formative years skiing in Vermont as a member of the famous Cochran family—a topic which provid...
Lucas "The Next One" Braathen
December 11, 2020 23:00 - 59 minutes - 109 MBThe population of Arc City continues to grow. After the headlines (2:00), we check in with the ever-cool Tommy Ford to ask him about his recent GS podium finish (3:13). Then we a get full, in-depth interview with Lucas Braathen (7:19). The conversation starts with Lucas' latest race performances, and ends with learning who the 20-year-old kid is behind the skier. We cover all that we can in between, including his team dynamic (excluding one key Norwegian), his "new-school" technique, and the...
Steven Nyman, an American Downhiller
December 05, 2020 15:23 - 1 hour - 166 MBWe pick up steam this week, bringing you several fun segments, including the usual headlines (3:20), a quick COVID watch (5:00), a Skiing History nugget (6:15), and a check-in with River Radamus (7:37). Then we get to a full, in-depth interview with the American Downhiller legend himself, Steven Nyman (9:18). He talks of his humble beginnings in Utah and tells a fantastic story about his World Juniors gold medal in slalom. We dive into his relationship with his equipment, his insane ability ...
Julia Mancuso!
November 25, 2020 03:51 - 1 hour - 112 MBIn his first episode back in the booth, Jimmy talks with Olympian extraordinaire Julia Mancuso (2:12). We touch on everything from Julia’s early years in Tahoe, to the relationship between surfing and skiing. We discuss Julia’s incredible talent for winning medals and go in-depth on the mental and emotional side of competition. We talk retirement, what Julia’s up to now, and finally get a good explanation of her and Lindsey Vonn’s complicated, but strong, friendship. Jimmy also rolls out a f...