BLISTER Podcast

Jonathan talks with Will Cockrell about his excellent book, Everest, Inc.: The Renegades & Rogues who Built an Industry at the Top of the World. They discuss the fascinating history of guiding on Everest, the evolution of the industry, and the broader topic of ethics, principles, and parameters of guiding in general, anywhere.Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to share the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News, your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or your spiciest hot takes for us to rate. Email those to us at info@blisterreview.comRELATED LINKSBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredEverest, Inc.Mountain Words Festival in CBBlister Pod #313: Adrian BallingerBlister Pod #12: Dave HahnTOPICS & TIMES:Why a Pioneer of Big Mtn Skiing Got BLISTER+ (1:45)Current Feats on Everest (3:16)The Topic of Everest (5:34)Why Does Everest Cause Such Strong Feelings? (8:10)The Business of Everest (19:23)The Ethics & Art of Guiding (23:05)The Name ‘Everest’ (31:53)Nims (35:28)The fame of Everest (43:18)Innovations in Guiding & Technology (50:10)What’s Next for Everest? (55:17)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Cody and Jonathan discuss Rob Katz’s return as the CEO of Vail; what’s going on with REI; the sale of Pieps; the latest way to speed up Mt. Everest; the Most Canadian News; the return of the Blister Book Club; what we’re reading & watching; and more.Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to share the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; your most pressing mountain town advice questions; or you spiciest hot takes for us to rate. Email those to us at info@blisterreview.comRELATED LINKSSkratch Labs: Fuel SmartBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Jonathan’s Mtn Bike Fuel (1:34)Does BLISTER+ Cover Owl Attacks? (2:32)Blevins’ Corner: Katz Back as CEO of Vail (5:26)REI: What’s Going On? (18:42)New Ways to Get Up Everest Fast (31:51)The Sale of Pieps (42:08)EV Battery Breakthrough? (47:58)Most Canadian News (57:28)What We’re Reading & Watching: (57:28)Alex Hutchinson, The Explorer’s Gene (57:37)Will Cockrell, Everest, Inc. (1:01:44)Blister Book Club is back (1:05:14)The Last of Us (1:06:20)The NFL Draft / Peak Optimism (1:14:03)Mountainhead (1:17:14)Andor (1:23:10)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Public lands are one of the few unifiers for a huge number of Americans — but they’re currently under attack.On this episode, Luke Koppa talks with Blister reviewer and conservation advocate, Paul Forward, about these developments and why anyone who enjoys the outdoors should be concerned about some recent legislation. We cover several worrying provisions in the U.S. Budget Reconciliation bill; how the outdoor community helped get some of the worst additions removed from the current version; and why there’s still a need for all of us to take action to ensure that our public lands are responsibly managed and utilized in the future.RELATED LINKS:Contact Your SenatorsGet Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Details on the Budget BillSenate Energy & Natural Resources Committee: MembersMore Info on Ambler RoadAnalysis from Outdoor AlliancePublic Land Use Polling DataTOPICS & TIMES:New BLISTER+ Members (2:07)Recent Developments re: Public Lands (4:33)Ambler Road Development (13:18)What’s Still In This Bill & the Boundary Waters Mine (18:06)Mandatory Oil, Gas, & Coal Leasing + Lower Royalty Fees (20:30)Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (22:51)Pay-To-Play Environmental Review Changes (28:04)Calling Your Representatives (37:37)Public Lands Are A Bipartisan Issue (41:25)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Lots of people dream of starting a ski or snowboard or some type of company in the outdoor industry. But how do you go about actually doing that, and really getting a company off the ground? At Blister Summit 2025, I talked with four individuals who had the dream — and the audacity — to start their own companies: Klem Branner, Venture Snowboards; Will Ritter, Spark R&D; Jamie Grant, CARV; and Cobey Nash, AlpenFlow Design. Today you’ll hear them talk about the highs, the lows, and the breakthroughs that come with starting a company — and the arguably even more challenging work of keeping a company going.RELATED LINKS:Get Covered: BLISTER+TOPICS & TIMES:New Blister Cinematic Ep w/ Cody (1:00)New BLISTER+ Members (2:01)Founder Introductions (3:42)How Long from Idea to Launch? (5:46)How Did You Move from Idea to Launch? (14:41)Starting 25 Years Ago vs Starting Today (23:45)Funding: To Take or Not to Take? (34:01)Audience Questions:How did you know people would want your products? (45:33)Tell us about your first order? (47:03)Concerns about the future? (48:29)How did you know this was a product worth building? (50:02)What was your darkest moment? (52:11)How can we best support small brands? (57:04)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Jonathan talks about Natural Selection’s first ski comp with Craig ‘Weazy’ Murray, winner of the men’s division. Craig blew minds in AK with his style and massive transfer gaps, and it’s all even more impressive when you consider the ludicrous talent level at the comp, as well as the fact that Craig was dealing with a knee injury that had him questioning whether he’d even be able to compete.Weazy takes us behind the scenes of Natural Selection; what differentiates it the most from other comps; and we also talk about Craig’s other passions, including riding mountain bikes at an increasingly high level, and the work he and his friends are doing with their organization, GRITT, which is providing pathways for kids to get into the outdoors and action sports, with a focus on snowsports, climbing, and mountain biking.RELATED LINKS:Get Covered: BLISTER+Craig’s Organization: GRITTCraig’s Natural Selection Runs:* Run 1 (first round)* Run 2 (Semi-Final run 1 w/ the ridiculous transfer gap)* Run 3 (Semi-Final run 2)* Run 4 (Final run 1)* Run 5 (Final run 2)MSP Behind the Scenes: Craig’s Dub-FlatArc’teryx Film, WeazyPivot Cycles: Holiday w/ a PurposeTOPICS & TIMES:News: BLISTER+ and Physical Therapy (1:15)Winning the 1st Natural Selection Ski comp (4:03)Getting Contacted about NST? (5:15)Dealing with a Knee Injury (7:39)What Differentiates NST from Other Comps? (12:52)Your Strategy for the Comp (15:51)Communication Between the Athletes (18:20)Approaching Comps vs Filming Lines (29:37)Kiwis and Style (31:42)GRITT: Why it Matters so Much to Craig (38:20)Racing Bikes as Prep for Skiing (46:51)What Do You Do in Your Free Time? (53:19)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Mali Noyes just pulled off a mind-blowing feat in the ski world: completing the Chuting Gallery in 47 days. That’s 93 chutes (she actually did more than that) around the Wasatch in 47 days, with over 200,000 feet of vert climbed, while navigating tricky conditions, complex terrain, incredible physical demands, and mental and emotional fatigue. And she pulled it all off in a time that seems almost unfathomable. So how did she do it? And what led her to take it on? Jonathan Ellsworth talks with Mali about all of it, including some of the best advice she received from Greg Hill, Cody Townsend, Janelle Smiley, and Sam Smoothy.RELATED LINKS:Episode Sponsor: Skratch LabsGet Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Mali’s YouTube ChannelTOPICS & TIMES:Skratch Labs: JE’s favorite product (1:14)New BLISTER+ Members (2:13)History of The Chuting Gallery (3:47)What Were Your Goals? (7:59)When Did You First Have this Idea? (9:52)When Did You Start? (11:26)Your Fitness Heading into This? (13:17)17 Chutes (actually, 18) in 1 Day (24:09)Biggest / Hardest Day? (28:44)Navigating Avalanche Risk (32:09)Earliest Wakeup? (39:52)Success of the Project (46:24)Injuries? (53:21)Your Gear (55:11)What are You Most Proud Of? (1:00:37)The Upcoming Film Series: Rapid Fire (1:02:01)Where to Find Mali’s Videos (1:06:07)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

At our Blister Summit 2025, we had an all-star lineup of guests share their stories of times when things went wrong in the mountains, and also share some of their best advice and tips to respond to such moments — or, ideally, avoid them altogether. If you recreate in the mountains, please listen.RELATED LINKS:Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+TOPICS & TIMES:New BLISTER+ Members (2:33)Dr. Gloria Beim Intro (4:54)Bjarne Salen Intro (8:48)Nick Russell Intro (10:29)Drew Petersen Intro (10:49)Stories: When Things Went Wrong (13:14)Injuries in Skiing & Snowboarding (33:26)Drew’s Hand Injury (37:52)Insurance Craziness & BLISTER+ (43:41)Other Tips on Recreating Responsibility (48:21)Mental Health Toolkit (53:52)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Mountain Gazette owner & editor, Mike Rogge, is back to talk about Travis Rice’s Natural Selection SKI comp and the importance of being “stewards of the culture.” We also talk about the virtues of crappy old gear; Jim Morrison’s excellent trip report in the new issue of Mountain Gazette; Mike’s unorthodox picks for movies to cover on Blister Cinematic; and more.RELATED LINKS:Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Mountain Gazette TOPICS & TIMES:New BLISTER+ Members (1:21)MG’s Ski Portillo Giveaway (3:54)Travis Rice’s NST Ski Comp (10:46)Jim Morrison’s Trip Report in MG #203 (19:13)The Jaded Local on Old Gear (27:06)Other Stories from the Issue (40:58)Mike’s Movie Picks for Blister Cinematic (47:55)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Cody and Jonathan discuss tariff zaniness and the goal of manufacturing more in America; the state of outdoor-sports comps; whether it’s a good thing when big companies move into outdoor sports (Nike & snowboarding?); and more. They also rate your takes, talk about Cody’s trips to Norway & Utah, and share what they’ve been reading & watching.RELATED LINKS:Get Covered: BLISTER+TOPICS & TIMES:BLISTER+ (1:36)Cody’s Trips: Norway & Utah (4:06)Tariffs & Effects on Outdoors Companies (10:12)The State of Comps: FWT (20:44)Natural Selection’s 1st Ski Comp (23:41)Podium Changes for Bike World Cup (30:57)Sun Valley / FIS World Cup Finals (38:03)Nike Coming Back into Snowboarding? (51:51)Road Gap Death (1:02:23)Mountain Town Advice / Rate My Take (1:17:16)What We’re Reading & Watching (1:29:43)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTED Bikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30