Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast

SE5:EP9 - Junior Bounous: Living the History of Skiing

The red tram pulled out of the station, heading up to Hidden Peak on its seven-minute run. Perched along the front left window was the legendary Junior Bounous, looking down and surveying the ski runs he plotted out 53 seasons ago. From his base at the Lodge at Snowbird, the 98-1/2-year-old Bounous still gets out to Snowbird and Alta two or three days a week. In this historic interview, Ski Utah’s Last Chair spent a day at Snowbird with Bounous, who regaled us with stories of his ne...

SE5:EP8 - OurSundays: Finding the Joy in Skiing

A big part of the history of skiing is the fellowship of ski clubs. And before you write it off as a thing of the past, meet the OurSundays Ski & Board Club. This started out to be a podcast on diversity, exploring OurSundays’ affiliation with the National Brotherhood of Snowsports. But it quickly became a celebration of why we all love to ski and ride – a culture shared by all.  Domeda Duncan and Mark Giles are two transplants to Utah. Domeda skied as a child in Detroit. The close...

SE5:EP7 - 2034 Winter Games: Will the Olympics Return to Utah?

The spirit of the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City still resonates across the state. This July, there will be more cause for excitement as it’s anticipated that the International Olympic Committee may name Salt Lake City-Utah as the 2034 host for the Winter Games. To learn more, Last Chair gathered in the Governor’s Mansion to hear from Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, and SLC-UT 2034 Board Chair Catherine Raney Norman. One ...

SE5:EP6 - Craig Gordon: Helping Others Understand the Danger

The Christmas blizzard of 2003 still ranks as one of the biggest winter storms in Utah’s history – legendary enough to have its own Wikipedia page. It dumped four feet of snow in the valley and upwards of twice that in the mountains, closing resorts. But it also brought tragedy. On Dec. 26, 2003 an entire mountainside of snow broke off the flanks of Mt. Timpanogos, roaring down out of the clouds towards a dozen skiers, riders, hikers, and snowshoers. Five were buried, with three not...

SE5:EP5 - Evan Thayer: Bringing Us Utah Powder

It’s early season at Alta. OpenSnow forecaster Evan Thayer has left his meteorological screens in the hotel and is bashing his way down some fresh powder under the Collins chair. Life is good. If there is anyone we tens of thousands of Utah skiers owe a ‘thank you’ to, it would be Thayer, a weather nerd who hadn’t really planned his career path this way, but is thankful his former powder alert email list has turned into life as Utah’s snow forecaster. The tools we have today to for...

SE5:EP4 - James Coleman: The Freedom to Ski

SE5:EP3 - Chris 'Gunny' Gunnarson: Building on Progression

Head to any Woodward Mountain Center and you’ll immediately be drawn to the kids in the Jib Park and Peace Park pushing themselves to new heights. Since Woodward’s humble beginning over 50 years ago as a gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania, progression has been central to its mission. Today, Woodward centers span the globe including Utah’s Woodward Park City. In this episode of Last Chair, we catch up with a legend in action sports, Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson. Now the president of Woodward...

SE5:EP2 - Alex Schlopy: Rollercoaster Ride of X Games Champion

Thinking back on it today, X Games champion Alex Schlopy still shakes his head. A homegrown product of Park City, Utah, in a month-long span in 2011 he won an X Games title in Aspen, became a world champion on his home hill at Park City Mountain and soared to Dew Tour gold in Snowbasin. In a roller coaster decade that saw the highest of highs and lowest of lows, today Schlopy is the happiest he’s ever been – an athlete ambassador for Ski Utah and looking forward to his first runs of...

SE5:EP1 - Sophie Goldschmidt: America's Best in Utah

It was a typical day at the USANA Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah as Olympic and Paralympic athletes were sweating it out on the training center floor, preparing for their winter competition seasons ahead. Sophie Goldschmidt, the president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, talked to Last Chair from a meeting room looking out at some of the greatest ski and snowboard athletes in America. The U.S. Ski Team moved to Park City in 1974, initially setting up shop in the old Silver...

SE4:EP13 - Big Snow: Jim Steenburgh & Chase Thomason

The 2022-23 ski season was the biggest on record in Utah! So, just how big was the snowfall? And what’s the science behind it all? Last Chair got together with Professor Powder himself, Jim Steenburgh, along with KUTV2 meteorologist Chase Thomason to review the records and share their own stories of skiing and riding Utah’s Greatest Snow on Earth.

SE4:EP12 - Sandy Flint: Stio on Sustainability

Over the past few years you’ve probably noticed the brand Stio on the slopes. Born in the Mountain West, the company has become known for its extensive colors and a serious focus on technical materials that are sustainable. Last Chair did a visit with Stio Senior Materials Manager Sandy Flint to learn more about its products, which are both revolutionizing outdoor clothing performance and utilizing technology which is more friendly to the environment we all love so much. Stio was f...

SE4EP11 (Bonus) - Cottonwoods Plow Team: Ride-along with Shawn Wright

The Ski Utah Last Chair podcast takes a ride all the way up to Solitude and Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon with UDOT Cottonwood plow driver Shawn Wright. A veteran drive, Wright takes us up in a snowstorm riding shotgun in a 30-ton Mack plow truck as he talks about the life of a plow driver and how exhilarating it can be riding the canyons in the dark at 4:00 a.m. on snow mornings.

SE4EP11 - Cottonwoods Plow Team: Keeping Our Canyons Open

Utah gets a lot of snow! And as skiers and riders, our objective is to get up to the resorts as quickly as possible. But who takes care of that 30 inches of snow that fell overnight? And who mitigates that cornice hanging a thousand of feet above the highway? Last Chair took a ride with the Utah Department of Transportation Cottonwoods plow team, talking with Jake Brown and riding with Shawn Walker on a snowy Big Cottonwood morning. It’s just 13 miles up Little Cottonwood to Alta, ...

SE4:EP10 - Dr. McKenzie Skiles: Science of Snowmelt

As skiers and riders, we hate to think of melting snow. But to Dr. McKenzie Skiles, snow melt is the lifeblood of existence in the mountain west. Last Chair ventured up Little Cottonwood Canyon to join Dr. Skiles in a three-meter deep snow pit to talk about snow melt, the impact of desert dust and what the future holds in store. An Alaskan native who started skiing when she was two, Skiles had a long fascination with snow. She chose the University of Utah for college because of the...

SE4:EP9 - Henri Rivers: Diversity in the Mountains

Since the day he found an old pair of skis in his family’s hotel attic, Henri Rivers has found a special joy in skiing. It didn’t matter to him that he was the only black skier on his high school ski team. He just loved to ski. Today, as president of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS), Rivers is making a difference helping the ski industry better understand how to embrace black skiers with programs like Ski Utah’s Discover Winter. The first thing that strikes you when you mee...

SE4:EP8 - Drew Hardesty: Conversation in a Snow Pit

With each successive two-foot snowfall, skiers and riders at resorts rejoice. But in the Utah backcountry with no avalanche mitigation, that fresh snow often sits on a sugary, crusty weak layer and can be prone to sliding. Last Chair headed into the Utah backcountry with Utah Avalanche Center pro Drew Hardesty for a conversation in a snow pit, analyzing those weak layers from storms going back to October and talking avalanche safety. A seasoned avalanche safety veteran, Hardesty wa...

SE4:EP7 - Special Snowfall Edition

In October it started snowing in Utah. And it really hasn’t stopped, with over 225 inches in Little Cottonwood Canyon by mid-December. So, what’s going on? Last Chair invited Open Snow forecaster Evan Thayer and atmospheric scientist Jim Steenburgh for a Special Snowfall Edition podcast to dive into the continuous powder forecast and share a few stories of their own. Deep powder is nothing new in Utah. But the 2022-23 season kicked off with a bang, starting in late October and cont...

SE4:EP6 - Bill Wyatt: Gateway to Utah - The New SLC

The new Salt Lake City International airport provides the closest gateway in the world to such a diversity of skiing and riding. Opened in September 2020, the new SLC is one of the world’s most innovative and eco-friendly airports, providing a welcome mat for upwards of 30,000 passengers a day. Last Chair sat down with Executive Director Bill Wyatt to learn more about why SLC is turning heads with visitors from around the world. Wyatt, who grew up in Oregon where he ran the Portlan...

SE4:EP5 - Tim Hawkes: Saving the Great Salt Lake

When you fly into Salt Lake City from the north, you get a poignant view of the vanishing water in the Great Salt Lake. The problem is real. So what is Utah doing about it? Last Chair traveled to Antelope Island, in the heart of the lake, to speak with Utah state representative Tim Hawkes, a passionate advocate, on the very realistic steps the state is already taking to save the Great Salt Lake. In today’s world of polarized politics, Hawkes stands out as a leader who works across ...

SE4:EP4 - America's Ski Town

With two world class resorts boasting nearly 10,000 lift-served skiable acres, all nestled around an historic old mining town, Utah’s ski town of Park City truly is unlike anything in North America. Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain will open this season with new captains at the helm. Deer Valley’s Todd Bennett and Park City’s Deirdra Walsh represent a new generation of resort leaders who bring fresh enthusiasm to their respective mountains, and a keen sense of the uniquenes...

SE4:EP3 - Peter Landsman: Our Love of Lifts

As skiers, we love ski lifts. They get us quickly to the top of mountains so we can slide back down. But what would you think about visiting every single ski lift in America? 2,381 of them! Well, that has been the life of Peter Landsman, a lift supervisor and founder of liftblog, a popular website and network of social channels. Today Last Chair chats with Peter about his adventure across America, the unique lifts he found and what we can expect for new lifts this winter. Growing u...

Peter Landsman: Our Love of Lifts

As skiers, we love ski lifts. They get us quickly to the top of mountains so we can slide back down. But what would you think about visiting every single ski lift in America? 2,381 of them! Well, that has been the life of Peter Landsman, a lift supervisor and founder of liftblog, a popular website and network of social channels. Today Last Chair chats with Peter about his adventure across America, the unique lifts he found and what we can expect for new lifts this winter. Growing u...

SE4:EP2 - Nick Sargent: Industry Focused on Change

Across an industry that is rapidly changing, Utah-based Snowsports Industries America is leading the way. Nick Sargent, a former ski racer, World Cup ski tuner and marketing chief for Burton, is pioneering efforts to change SIA from a trade show company to a global leader in data-based marketing, sustainability and diversity to grow the equipment industry across America. He joins Last Chair to dive into the story and how a 2016 move of SIA to Utah was pivotal to its evolution. Sarg...

SE4:EP1 - Snowbird Tram: Taking an Icon into the Future

It was an early autumn day in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the new futuristic Snowbird tram, we could see all the way down to the Salt Lake Valley. To the north was Mount Superior. In the distance, Jupiter Peak on the Park City ridgeline stood against the blue morning sky. After 50 years, the old red and blue cabins are being replaced with new floor-to-ceiling windowed cabins. To celebrate its debut, Last Chair hung out in the new tram 350-feet ...

SE3:EP15 - Ruby Forsyth: Finding Joy in Skiing

When Utah nurse Melody Forsyth learned her baby-to-be had Down syndrome, she and her family thought it would change their lives. And it did - for the better. Ruby, now six, has led the Forsyth family into a world of outdoor recreation, including skiing. Watching Ruby ride the Chickadee lift at Snowbird and ski down with her Wasatch Adaptive Sports guide is a life-changing experience seeing the joy that skiing brings to this young girl and her family. Before Ruby was born, Melody, h...

SE3:EP14 - SOS Outreach: Diversity and Inclusion in Sport

Visit any western resort town and you’ll find a robust LatinX community, sometimes making up 30% of the population. It’s a robust part of community culture. But oftentimes, it’s a segment that doesn’t ski. SOS Outreach, a nonprofit serving 15 resort and urban communities nationwide including Utah, is seeking to change that. Today, Last Chair will visit an SOS Outreach ski day at Park City Mountain to speak with leaders, mentors and participants about the engaging program. SOS Outre...

SE3:EP13 - Bill Jensen: New Look at Sundance

Visitors to Sundance Mountain Resort this winter have found a wonderful new experience at one of Utah’s great hidden gems. Working with the experienced Sundance team, legendary ski industry leader Bill Jensen has helped them transform the resort with new lifts, terrain, snowmaking and much more. Jensen, a longtime visionary who has led some of North America’s most notable resorts, talked to Ski Utah’s Last Chair about his storied career and the fun he’s having coaching the team at S...

SE3EP13 - Bill Jensen: New Look at Sundance

Visitors to Sundance Mountain Resort this winter have found a wonderful new experience at one of Utah’s great hidden gems. Working with the experienced Sundance team, legendary ski industry leader Bill Jensen has helped them transform the resort with new lifts, terrain, snowmaking and much more. Jensen, a longtime visionary who has led some of North America’s most notable resorts, talked to Ski Utah’s Last Chair about his storied career and the fun he’s having coaching the team at S...

SE3:EP:12 - Lexi Dowdall: Utah Snow in Watercolors

Utah’s 15 resorts paint a majestic portrait amidst the winter landscape. So what if someone painted them all, with watercolors based in snow melt from each resort. That’s what passionate Utah skier Lexi Dowdall has set out to do with her Paint by Powder Project! Dowdall is a snow-loving outdoor enthusiast who actively seeks out the Greatest Snow on Earth in every corner of the state. But her skiing career got off to a rocky start. At her first lesson as a little girl, she became fr...

SE3:EP12 - Lexi Dowdall: Utah Snow in Watercolors

Utah’s 15 resorts paint a majestic portrait amidst the winter landscape. So what if someone painted them all, with watercolors based in snow melt from each resort. That’s what passionate Utah skier Lexi Dowdall has set out to do with her Paint by Powder Project! Dowdall is a snow-loving outdoor enthusiast who actively seeks out the Greatest Snow on Earth in every corner of the state. But her skiing career got off to a rocky start. At her first lesson as a little girl, she became fr...

SE3:EP11 - Lee Cohen: Utah's Ski Photographer

Cohen grew up in the east, hopping around small New York ski hills like Stony Point and Silver Mine. His father took him on trips to Vermont, skiing Stratton, Stowe, Killington, Mt. Snow and more. Mondays were a day off for his father, who owned a bakery, so it wasn’t unusual for young Lee to play hooky and head off to Hunter Mountain or other day destinations. Along the way, he started thinking about skiing out west. A friend brought back a trail map from Aspen Highlands. Then in ...

Utah's Olympians - Utah Goes to the Olympics

“I'm so thankful for the people in town who founded the Youth Sports Alliance after the 2002 games,” said Fisher. “It was a community effort to get all of the youth from Summit and Wasatch counties out using these amazing Olympic venues and getting as many kids out and active in our community playground. The legacy absolutely still lives on.” And it has worked. Some, like nordic combined skier Jared Shumate and cross country skier Rosie Brennan grew up in [service name="park-city-m...

SE3:EP10 - Utah's Olympians - Utah Goes to the Olympics

“I'm so thankful for the people in town who founded the Youth Sports Alliance after the 2002 games,” said Fisher. “It was a community effort to get all of the youth from Summit and Wasatch counties out using these amazing Olympic venues and getting as many kids out and active in our community playground. The legacy absolutely still lives on.” And it has worked. Some, like nordic combined skier Jared Shumate and cross country skier Rosie Brennan grew up in [service name="park-city-m...

SE3:EP9 - Fraser Bullock: Utah's Olympic Legacy

The 2002 Olympics transformed Salt Lake City and its neighboring venue communities into a stage that welcomed the world. For 17 days, the Games captivated spectators and television viewers as athletes dazzled fans and shed tears of joy. The Games also brought a richness to Utah communities that is very much still alive today. When now Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who headed the 2002 organizing committee, needed a right hand man, he tabbed his colleague Fraser Bullock for the job. It w...

SE3:EP8 - Alf Engen: Legend of Alta

The legend of Alf Engen goes back to the 1920s when Alf brought his brothers to America from Norway. In the midwest and later out in the mountains, they found a home in America as skiers. Alf became a great ski jumping champion and world record holder at Ecker Hill, near Park City. He spent time at Sun Valley but ultimately settled in Utah. In the 1930s, he was hired by the U.S. Forest Service to scout potential ski areas as the sport was booming. That led him to the mining town of ...

SE3:EP7 - Katharina Schmitz - Future of Ski Lifts

What do ski lifts mean to skiers? Ask Doppelmayr USA President Katharina Schmitz and she’ll tell you ‘freedom.’ In this episode, Last Chair host Tom Kelly chats with the leader of Utah-based Doppelmayr USA to explore the evolution of ski lifts and future trends, not only at resorts but as a vital form of mountain and urban transportation. Doppelmayr, which is located not far from the Salt Lake City International Airport, has a  history in Utah going back to the 1970s. One of its pr...

SE3:EP6 - Kristen Ulmer: Embracing Fear

A New Hampshire native, Ulmer discovered skiing as a young girl, skipping school to hit the slopes at lunch time. Friends told her about skiing in Utah. Her mom found a $40 one-way airline ticket. And she headed west, making Salt Lake City her home. She spent every waking moment skiing the bumps at Snowbird. Her breakthrough came after an all-day drive out I-80 to California, sleeping overnight freezing in her car in a ski area parking lot, then hucking herself off a huge cliff doi...

SE3:EP5 - Tony Gill: Joy of the Backcountry

Cruising through knee deep powder in the peace and solitude of the Utah backcountry is  pure joy. It’s alluring. It can also be dangerous if you are not well prepared. Journalist Tony Gill grew up skiing on 300-foot ski hills in the midwest. Today, you’ll find him on his telemark skis in the Utah backcountry. He’ll talk us through the joy of having a powder slope to yourself, as well as how to best prepare.

SE3:EP4 - James Niehues: Man Behind the Maps

We’ve all fantasized about our trips to the mountain by poring over detailed trail maps, plotting out each run of our ski vacation. The man behind those maps, James Niehues, has become somewhat of a cult hero in the sport after three decades documenting hundreds of resorts worldwide, painting each and every tree and showcasing perspective to make mountains bigger than life. Last Chair caught up with him at his art studio to learn more about his fascinating career and new book, Man B...

SE3:EP3 - Zane Holmquist: Active Lifestyle Chef

From wild game chili to Stein Burgers and Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, Chef Zane Holmquist has served it all. The Stein Eriksen Lodge VP of food and beverage, who grew up in Utah, oversees one of the most highly acclaimed dining rooms in skiing, but is just as much at home on his mountain bike, skis or in triathlons around the world.

SE3:EP2 - Jeremy Jones: Passion for Protecting Winter

Growing up on Cape Cod, it may seem unusual that young Jeremy Jones gravitated towards sliding on snow. But family ski outings led to his passion for snowboarding. Today, Jones is one of the world’s most well known names in big mountain snowboarding.  But as he saw his season shortened and glaciers receding, he decided to fight back. He started Protect Our Winters in 2007, uniting skiers and snowboarders in the fight against climate change. Today, POW has become a driving force for...

S3:EP1 - Ted Ligety: Back Home in Utah

Over the past two decades, Utah native Ted Ligety has hopscotched across five continents every year, collecting World Cup crystal globes and Olympic gold medals. This winter, he's back home in Utah! Last Chair kicks off season three with an in-depth interview with Utah's own Olympic champion. Check out these stats: 25 World Cup wins, five crystal globes, five World Championship titles and two Olympic gold medals. Not a bad career for the Utah native. With a growing family (wife Mi...

S2:EP16 - David Perry: A Sustainable Future

As skiers, we all have a responsibility to be good stewards of the mountains we ride. Sustainability is vital for our future. David Perry, one the ski industry's most knowledgeable advocates for preservation of our mountain resources, sees a true sustainable future - if we can all work together! Ski Utah's Last Chair takes a look into our future and the vital steps we must take now. Perry has spent his entire career on the tops of mountains, from the Canadian Rockies to Colorado. T...

S2:EP15 - Kym Buttschardt: Ogden’s Ski Town Renaissance

A group of skiers sat at the bar in the Rooster's B Street Brewery and Taproom, exchanging war stories about their big pow day up at Powder Mountain. On the brightly colored chalk board were the beers of the day, most brewed up in the huge tanks behind the taproom. It was a boisterous atmosphere with a nice blend of skiers, snowboarders and just plain locals all enjoying the lifestyle of the sport. A century ago Ogden was the crossroads of the west as a vital rail junction. Today, ...

S2:Ep 14 -Sandy Melville: Silver to Slopes

A century and a half ago, Utah's mountains were the home of boomtowns as silver mining flourished across the Wasatch from Little Cottonwood to Big Cottonwood and over Guardsman Pass to Park City. Today, the same slopes that harbored valuable ore are the home of some of the worlds greatest ski resorts. In this episode of Last Chair, skier and mining historian Sandy Melville takes us on a virtual tour of the amazing mining structures that still exist at Park City Mountain. The Bonanz...

S2:Ep13 - Steve Sullivan: Stio - A Brand for the Mountain West

The outdoor adventure clothing brand Stio has been showing up more and more at Utah ski resorts. Founder Steve ‘Sulli' Sullivan grew up in neighboring Colorado but spent a lot of time in Utah's red rock desert and snow-covered mountains. Today, he puts his passion for the mountain west into the fast-rising  Stio brand. He spoke to Last Chair about his love for the outdoors and how it's embodied in his brand. Sullivan was born in the midwest but moved to western Colorado when he was...

S2:Ep12 - Jeremy Jones: Progressing Sport at Woodward

Growing up in the Salt Lake Valley in the '80s, Jeremy Jones developed a knack for searching out urban skate and snowboard venues to feed his passion. Today, the sport legend has found it all under one roof as snow manager at Woodward Park City. Founded as a gymnastics camp in the hills of Pennsylvania a half century ago, today the  Woodward brand is bringing progression in sport for kids of all ages to snow-covered mountains across America. This episode of Last Chair: The Ski Utah...

S2:Ep11 - Chris McCandless: Little Cottonwood Via Gondola

Chris McCandless grew up in Little Cottonwood Canyon, dropping powder lines as a kid and hiking Superior in the summertime. It's a place near and dear to his heart. Three or four days a week you might find him driving up the canyon where the decision of the morning is Alta, Snowbird or backcountry - all the way up just soaking in the scenery. Chris is like many of us and certainly not immune to having those moments of solitude soaked up by traffic jams on SR210. But amidst a broad ...

S2:Ep10 - The Seeholzers: Family Story of Beaver Mountain

Mountain manager Travis Seeholzer and I slid off the Harry's Dream Lift at Beaver Mountain, looking out on the vast expanse of state and national forest between Logan and Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau. It's a magical view, with hoar frost on the trees and three to four inches of fluffy powder blanketing the mountainside. You instantly know you're at a unique place when random skiing guests come up to say hi to the resort owner by name. It's a midweek morning and we have,...

S2:Ep9. Greg Schirf: Evolution of Ski Town Breweries

If you're a skier or snowboarder, there's a pretty good chance you've been in a brew pub be it for a draft beer, hamburger or a pizza. Today we take ski town brew pubs for granted. Where did it all begin? Well, right here in Utah! Craft brewery visionary Greg Schirf started it all in 1985 with Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City. In this episode of Last Chair, Schirf walks through the evolution of ski town breweries sharing some laughs about his ingenious PR stunts and taking us on a tou...