BLISTER Podcast

On December 27, 2025, the Telluride Ski Patrol went on strike. Chuck Horning, the owner of Telluride Ski Resort, then closed the ski area indefinitely. So what is going on in Telluride? What does it mean for the town and residents of Telluride? And what does this strike — and others — say about the current state of mountain towns and the ski-resort industry? To discuss all of these things and more, we are talking with ski-industry reporter, Jason Blevins, the co-founder of the Colorado Sun, and the man behind Blevins’ Corner on our ‘Reviewing the News’ series.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: GetCARV.comBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredBLISTER+ Questions: contact@blisterplus.comGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:BLISTER+ Changes starting January 1st (1:30)Get CARV (1:56)What’s Going On in Telluride? (3:00)How Did We Get Here? (5:19)What is Telluride Ski Patrol Asking For? (7:10)Who is Being Unreasonable? (8:46)The Numbers Behind the Request (11:58)Other Potential Costs (18:16)Is Crazy still Better than Corporate? (21:39)Why Won’t Chuck Just Sell the Ski Area? (23:19)What is the Community Saying? (26:17)Will We See more Strikes in the Industry? (32:10)Billionaires & Ski Towns (33:34)Blevins’ Prediction for Telluride (39:29)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Starting January 1, 2026, we’ve got some big BLISTER+ updates: we’ve heard your requests, and we’ve been able to add an additional 20 outdoor activities to BLISTER+, bringing the number up to 50 outdoor activities that are covered globally. So Jonathan Ellsworth and Kristin Sinnott discuss that, then talk about the 2026 Blister Summit that’s happening at Snowbird on April 13, 2026.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredBLISTER+ Questions: contact@blisterplus.comGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:New BLISTER+ Members (1:58)BLISTER+ Changes starting January 1st (5:38)Blister Summit 2026 Updates (26:28)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

It’s hard to believe, but this week marks the 10th anniversary of the Blister Podcast. So to celebrate this milestone, we thought we’d share some of the highlights, lowlights, and crazy factoids about how this podcast came to be; how it led to the creation of the Blister Podcast Network; and what the next 10 years might look like.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Origin Story of the Blister Podcast (3:29)The Original Blister Podcast Intro (5:33)Ep 1: Ski Designer, Jed Yeiser (6:42)Ep 6: First Podcast w/ Cody Townsend (12:37)Ep 21: Xavier de le Rue (23:08)Ep 41: Sage Cattabriga-Alosa on Skiing Spines (30:38)Ep 45: Tommy Caldwell on Obsessive Focus vs Balance (39:02)Ep 47: My Nearly Fatal Birthday in the Backcountry (47:15)Ep 87: Alex Honnold’s Mom, Deirdre Wolownick (52:19)Ep 107: Rachel Burks on Skiing & Shakespeare (1:12:36)Ep 116: Geoff McFetridge, Wu Tang, & The RZA (1:22:30)Ep 150: The 1st ‘Reviewing the News’ Episode (1:31:42)Ep 189: Angel Collinson on Retiring from Skiing (1:34:23)Ep 310: Hall of Famer, Bill Walton (1:43:47)Ep 332: Ted Ligety on Lindsey Vonn’s Comeback (1:52:21)What’s Next? (1:58:59)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Cody and Jonathan discuss our national parks’ new passes; why president Trump pardoned a trail runner; the Most Canadian News; they rate your takes; and share what they’ve been reading & watching.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Why JE Froze While Skiing Yesterday (00:49)New BLISTER+ Members (2:38)Cody’s Travel Updates (3:45)FIFTY+ Talk & A Near Fatal Rappel!! (8:26)New National Park Passes (17:38)Trump Pardons Trail Runner?? (28:45)Most Canadian News (41:44)Rate My Take: Backcountry Licenses (44:59)Blevins’ Corner: Keep Colorado Wild Pass (51:45) Mountain Town Advice? (55:49)What We’re Reading & Watching (56:28)NFL Talk (1:10:32)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Today we’ve got Joel Gratz, the founding meteorologist & CEO of OpenSnow, back on the show to talk about … snow! And snow forecasting. And what’s new in the world of weather modeling. And how AI is changing virtually everything in this space. So if you like snow and you like to know when & where the snow will fly, listen up!Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: OpenSnow.comBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysEp. 336: Joel Gratz on AI & Weather ModelingEp. 268: Best Practices for Adventuring OutdoorsEp. 237: Founder’s Story: Joel on OpenSnowCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (new channel)Blister Review (original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Colorado’s dry start & being back in the swing of things (3:26)Is it busy at OpenSnow these days? (5:24)What should we expect this season? (6:55)Timing trips (10:28)East Coast's amazing start to winter (13:21)AI & forecasting (18:42)What else is going on at OpenSnow? (29:41)Forecasting for the resort vs the backcountry (43:48)Current state of the ski industry (50:47)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Jonathan talks with Atomic athletes Daron Rahlves and Janelle Yip, and Noah Wallace, the global manager for the Atomic freeski program. We get into what Daron and Janelle are doing just before ski season kicks off; the return of a beloved event put on by Daron; and Janelle tells the story of her gnarly crash this past winter. That then segues into why Atomic decided to cover their entire global freeski team with BLISTER+, and why we all want to see companies continue to take better care of their athletes.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Intros & Snow Reports (2:06)Pre-Season Training (5:49)Upcoming Season & the Return of Bonzai (13:59)Why Atomic Covers Their Athletes w/ BLISTER+ (23:36)Industry Responses to Team Coverage (27:43)The Culture of the Ski Industry (35:56)Janelle’s Crash & Recovery Story (39:42)Eliminating “Gotcha” Clauses & Providing Coverage (48:07)Coverage For All — Not Just Pro Athletes (53:02)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Jonathan shares some highlights and updates from the whirlwind of a trip he’s currently on.TOPICS & TIMES:1: LA / Santa Monica: Movie Premiere (1:00)2: Climbing / Climbing Shoes (6:18)3: Snowbound Expo: Ferreol, CARV, Burton (12:25)4: Robots: Boston Dynamics (16:26)5: Walden Pond (18:33)6: Burlington: Burton, J Skis, & Snowbeast (20:16)7: Back to CB, Skiing NEXT WEEK (22:33)8: Blister Studios (23:20)9: Our Mtn Bike Buyer’s Guide (24:56)10: Best Skis of the Century (27:36)

How do you get everyone from cattle ranchers to cyclists, snowmobilers, hunters, wildlife biologists, indigenous tribes, and politicians from both sides of the aisle to agree on how to best manage, protect, and utilize our public lands? It ain’t easy.But the GORP Act took on this challenge, and its collaborative approach could serve as a blueprint for the future. So, we sat down with Jon Hare, Advocacy Director for High Country Conservation Advocates, to get the full story. We discuss why they’re trying to use federal legislation to implement local land management policies; the challenges (and rewards) of working closely with so many different public land users with different priorities; and much more.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGORP Act: Learn MoreGORP Act: Interactive MapGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel) TOPICS & TIMES: New BLISTER+ Members (2:35)John’s Background (3:43)GORP Act Backstory (6:14)Who Was Involved? (10:42)‘Future-Proofing’ Public Lands (15:11)Addressing Extractive Uses (21:33)Motorized vs. Non-Motorized Recreation (25:45)Achieving Bipartisan Support (33:06)Future of the GORP Act (35:29)Federal Management vs. Local Impacts (38:55)Similar Legislation in Other Locations? (45:55)Learn More About the GORP Act (52:36)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30

Cody and Jonathan discuss CT’s most recent travel horror story; ski industry cartels?; Jim Morrison’s Everest ski descent; Kilian Jornet’s ‘States of Elevation’ project; Red Bull Rampage; Balin Miller; the extreme insurance premium hikes at Timberline Lodge; and what we’re reading & watching.Note: We Want to Hear From You!We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredGet Our 25/26 Winter Buyer’s GuideDiscounted Summit Registration for BLISTER+ MembersNon-Member Registration: Blister Summit 2026Get Our Newsletter & Weekly Gear GiveawaysCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Cody’s Latest Travel Nightmare (3:10)More on Suffering & Baseball & the NFL (14:18)Ski Industry Cartels? (20:16)Jim Morrison’s Mt. Everest Achievement (27:28)Kilian Jornet’s ‘States of Elevation’ Project (36:57)Red Bull Rampage (42:25)Balin Miller (1:00:31)Timeline Lodge & Premium Increases (1:16:20)What We’re Reading & Watching (1:20:41)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30