Big Picture Skiing Podcast

I first met Alex Hackel in Austria filming a video where I taught him to improve his short turns, tracked by CARV, the digital ski coach. What struck me most was how good a learner he was — focused, determined, and genuinely humble. That’s a big part of why I wanted him on the podcast.

Two-time X Games medalist Alex Hackel didn’t get here by being the most naturally talented kid on the mountain — he got here by getting rejected, picked last, and told by a coach he’d never make it pro.

In this episode we go back to that moment at Sunday River, how he found the coach (Mike Hanley) who changed everything, the story behind his triple cork 1080, and how that same “figure it out and go again” mindset led him into filmmaking, freeride, co-founding his own ski company (1000 Skis), and starting a YouTube channel from scratch that’s since taken off.

If you’ve ever felt written off before you even got started, this one’s for you.

Get 20% off Big Picture Skiing membership with code PODCAST at bigpictureskiing.com

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:56 Why Alex is successful in so many different ways

01:24 The Sunday River story — judged and picked last

02:52 Growing up with idiopathic short stature

04:23 What kept him from giving up

06:29 Finding support in the terrain park (meeting Curtis)

07:38 Convincing his parents to send him to Windells Academy

09:03 Meeting coach Mike Hanley

11:10 The triple cork 1080 story — a coach who believed in him first

13:00 Advice on learning bigger spins and takeoffs

16:16 Managing fear and nerves on big tricks

18:08 How airbags changed trick progression

19:04 Getting into filmmaking

21:47 What it actually takes to grow a YouTube channel

25:19 The “White Rush” video and why it stood out

30:34 Why he started his own ski company, 1000 Skis

37:41 Sleep, routine, and shifting to long-term thinking

41:17 Final words and mutual respect

42:34 Where to find Alex Hackel + 1000 Skis

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Are your ski boots holding you back from the performance your skis are capable of? In this episode I sit down with Master Boot Fitter Brent Amsbury to break down everything you need to know about plug boots — the type of ski boot most top level technical skiers are wearing.

Brent is a Master Boot Fitter at Park City Ski Boot in Park City, Utah, where he sets up plug boots for racers, instructors, and high-performance skiers. If you’re chasing higher carve scores, driving race skis, or pushing toward your highest instructor certification, this conversation will save you a lot of trial and error.

We cover:

• What a plug boot actually is and who it’s really for

• Why they’re called “plug” boots (the internal construction explained)

• Forward lean, cuff height, and why these boots feel so much more powerful

• Ramp angle adjustability and why most racers reduce it

• The thick sole and torsional rigidity that sets plug boots apart

• Why plug boots are a “project in a box” — not a boot you just heat mold and go

• The best time of year to buy (and why waiting until the season starts is a mistake)

• Pricing, and how to get into a great plug boot for a fraction of retail

• Longevity — how many days you can actually get out of one

• Brand-by-brand differences: Lange/Rossignol, Head, Atomic, Fischer, Nordica/Technica, Dalbello

• Fitting advice for wide, low-arch, or fleshy feet

• How to choose your flex (110 vs 130 vs 140+)

• How manufacturers actually create different flex ratings

• Junior and shorter-cuff options

• Why heated socks or boot heaters are non-negotiable in these boots

• Why the pain isn’t mandatory — proper fitting makes these boots comfortable

• DIY boot work vs. working with a fitter

⛷️ Enjoyed this podcast? Frustrated with staying at the same level of skiing for the past few years? To change your skiing you need a systematic approach that covers all aspects of skiing. That’s exactly why I built my learning platform, Big Picture Skiing. It’s not this YouTube channel, it’s where skiers go to find more than just tips. If you are ready to finally take your skiing to the next level go to www.bigpictureskiing.com

Podcast listeners get 20% off using code PODCAST. So why wait when you could be getting started today.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:54 What is a plug boot & who's it for

4:23 Why it's called a "plug" boot

5:33 Forward lean, cuff height & power vs. freeride boots

7:01 Ramp angle & boot board adjustability

8:05 Thick sole, torsional rigidity & weight

9:45 Plastic type & retail price ($1,000-$1,300)

10:26 It's a "project in a box"

12:53 Checking flatness out of the box

13:32 Cuff canting, liners & fine-tuning

15:42 Best time of year to buy

17:18 Pricing & buying older/discounted models

20:21 Lifespan, durability & upgrading liners

21:06 Brand differences (Lange, Rossignol, Head, Atomic, Fischer, Nordica, Technica, Dalbello)

25:01 Fitting for low arch or wider feet

27:04 Grinding, shaping & sizing tips

28:56 Choosing your flex (110 vs 130 vs 140+)

30:15 How flex ratings are actually made

31:50 Junior & shorter-cuff options

32:44 Wrap-up: which route to take

33:19 Heated socks & boot heaters

34:16 Plug boots don't have to be painful

35:03 DIY boot work vs. going to a fitter

36:26 Find Brent / Park City Ski Boot

37:17 Leave your local boot fitter recommendation

38:19 Outro

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If moguls intimidate you this episode is going to change that. You’ll learn a clear, repeatable method for going from avoiding bumps entirely to skiing 60 in a row with control and actually enjoying it. Expect practical handholds: how to control your speed and direction, why “just get small and absorb” quietly sabotages most people, and the mindset shift that turns a scary bump field into a series of solvable problems.

My guest is Geri Tumbasz — Hungarian-born, Austria-based, and one of the most highly certified ski coaches in the world. What makes him the right person for this is that he wasn’t a natural at moguls either. He struggled, got frustrated, went looking for answers, and reverse-engineered a progression that now gets terrified skiers skiing bump lines in a single camp.

Here’s what we cover:

✅ The full beginner-to-confident progression — wedge-parallel turns in a corridor, then building a real mogul line with gates

✅ Why you find the round line before the direct line (and how that kills the fear)

✅ The “just get small and absorb” myth — and what to do instead

✅ The heel-up / hamstring-as-a-hinge move for releasing your tail in steep zipper lines

✅ Where pole-plant timing actually wins you control

✅ The mindset shift: hunting for the solution instead of staring at the problem

✅ Geri’s bouncy low transition and where his style comes from

✅ The ideas he stole from Japanese and Korean technical skiers

✅ Why he deliberately overdoes a movement to find its limits

✅ How telemark transformed his feel for pressure and dorsiflexion in alpine skiing

⛷️ Geri’s online Mogul course (founder/lifetime access offer mentioned in the episode): https://www.snowsportsgeri.com/offers/m7hSgEVq/checkout

🌐 Geri’s Ski Camps: www.snowsportsgeri.com

🏕️ Geri’s Cold Candy ski school: www.cold-candy.com

For everything I do on carving, short turns, body prep, mobility and mogul skiing, it’s all in one place:

👉 https://bigpictureskiing.com (use code PODCAST for 20% off any membership)

🎿 Ski camps with me: https://skicoachcollective.com

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 Intro – why moguls scare people

01:20 How Geri became the go-to mogul coach

05:30 Where the progression starts: the wedge & corridor drill

13:00 Moving from groomers into real bumps

15:00 The "get small and absorb" myth

16:20 Finding the round line before the direct line

21:30 Reading the line & looking for solutions, not problems

25:00 Steep, long bumps and over-skied lines

32:15 The steep rut line: the heel-up hamstring release

40:30 Pole plant: timing, prep & targeting the next bump

45:40 What he learned from World Cup mogul skiers

51:40 Mogul waves: the easy way in

54:50 Who the camps are for & "booking your line"

57:15 Moguls and your knees

01:00:45 What makes Geri tick: the low position & overdoing movements

01:09:00 Japanese & Korean inspiration + favourite drills

01:14:30 Telemark: what it taught him about alpine skiing

01:24:15 How to ski with Geri – camps & course

01:29:20 Wrap-up

🎧 Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

👍 Enjoyed it? Subscribe and tell me — what trips you up most in the bumps?

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Mark Sedgwick finished this winter as #1 on the CARV global leaderboard 

for short turns, with a Ski IQ of 180 — the highest recorded this season. 

In this episode, I sit down with Mark to find out exactly how he got there.

Mark is an Australian-born ski professional who started at age 10 and never 

looked back. He's worked through the APSI, CSIA, and Austrian instructor 

systems, raced in Europe, ran ski resorts, and now plays a senior role in 

the PSIC (Professional Ski Instructors of Canada) — including integrating 

CARV data into Level 4 certification exams.

This is one of the most practical, data-rich ski improvement conversations 

I've had on the show. We cover:

→ The difference between play, purposeful practice, and deliberate practice

→ Why just trying harder keeps you stuck at the same score

→ The #1 and #2 metrics that drive short turn Ski IQ

→ Mark's philosophy: make something exist before you make it better

→ Turn-by-turn breakdowns of parallel, carving, short turns, and moguls

→ Why function before form is reshaping how ski instructors are trained

→ A live coaching session using my real CARV data

→ How Mark used AI to reverse-engineer the CARV scoring algorithm

→ The future of CARV: stivets, one-ski skiing, and community features

Whether you're a recreational skier trying to level up or a ski professional 

looking for a new lens on performance, this conversation is packed with 

actionable insights.

——————————————————————————

🎿 FREE SKIING VIDEO

Get a premium level Big Picture Skiing Tutorial here:

https://bigpictureskiing.com/get/perpendicular

📱 DOWNLOAD CARV

Try CARV for yourself:

https://getcarv.com

🌐 BIG PICTURE SKIING

Website: https://bigpictureskiing.com

——————————————————————————

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 How Mark Hit Ski IQ 180

3:15 Meet Mark Sedgwick

5:14 From Aussie Kid to Ski Pro

7:52 The Austrian Influence

12:56 Why Most Practice Doesn't Work

23:55 The Ugly Skiing Breakthrough

32:39 Function Over Form

37:12 Style Still Matters

45:50 Make It Exist, Then Make It Better

54:48 How to Improve Your Parallel Score

1:04:45 Parallel — The Most Overlooked Turn Type

1:13:42 Carving: The Metrics That Actually Matter

1:27:44 Ski Sharpening & The Pole Secret

1:31:25 Short Turns — How to Break Your Ceiling

1:45:43 Moguls, Tempo & Keeping the Joy

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Another season done. And like always, by the time the lifts close Demelza and I find ourselves deep in conversation about what we actually learned out there — not just what we taught, but what shifted in our own thinking.

This episode is that conversation. We each had a big coaching theme this season that we kept coming back to with clients, and in this one we unpack both of them — plus a few other things that came up along the way.

We get into turn shape and why it’s the foundation everything else is built on, ankle and knee mechanics and where they actually belong in the turn, the push vs pull debate and what’s really happening with pressure, why a “stable upper body” is honestly an optical illusion, and what it means to unfreeze — and why loose is actually stable.

There’s also a moment where Demelza highsides herself at about 3 feet in the air at Hintertux while I’m watching from the bottom. That one’s worth it alone.

If you’re a skier who wants to understand the why behind good technique, this one’s for you.

Interested in joining Tom’s upcoming Deep Dive Webinars? See below

📅 Big Picture Skiing upcoming webinars → https://bigpictureskiing.com/programs/deep-dive-3

Want to join a ski camps with Tom, Demelza and Jason? Checkout

🎿 Ski camps with Tom & Demelza → https://www.skicoachcollective.com

Want a free deep dive on a concept that will improve linking of your ski turns?

🎥 Free video → https://bigpictureskiing.com/get/perpendicular

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction to Skiing Insights

00:01:13 Exploring Turn Shape

00:02:53 Coaching Themes for the Season

00:06:55 Understanding Turn Dynamics

00:08:38 The Joy of Speed in Skiing

00:12:14 Engaging Advanced Skiers

00:17:04 The Push-Pull Concept

00:28:28 Balancing Between Techniques

00:31:35 The Importance of Timing

00:38:05 Skiing for Fun vs. Competition

00:46:21 Reflecting on Personal Growth

00:59:23 Enhancing Skiing Techniques

01:06:37 The Journey of Unfreezing Movements

01:16:01 Preparing for Future Topics

01:28:52 Conclusion and Future Conversations

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Most skiers only think about their boots when something hurts.

In this episode, I sit down with expert boot fitter Brent Armsbury to unpack the art and science of ski boot fitting — and why every skier should take more ownership of their setup.

We talk about the mindset shift from “my boots don’t feel right” to actively experimenting and giving better feedback. Brent shares the most common issues he sees in the shop, why feeling disconnected from your boots doesn’t always mean you need a new pair, and how small adjustments can restore performance.

We cover practical, mid-season tweaks including:

• Padding and shimming the liner tongue and shin area

• Using simple materials like neoprene, foam and even duct tape to fill voids

• Spoilers, heel lifts and forward lean experiments

• How to self diagnose fit issues starting from the front of the boot

The big takeaway: boot fitting is collaborative. The more you understand and experiment, the better the outcome.

If you want to go deeper on technique, equipment setup and skiing performance, check out the Big Picture Skiing learning platform. https://bigpictureskiing.com/

Podcast listeners can use the code PODCAST to take 20% off.

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Ski bindings are one of the most important — and least understood — parts of our equipment.

In this episode, I talk with Phil Pugliese from SkiTalk.com to better understand how ski bindings work, where they came from, and how they balance performance with safety. Phil has spent decades reviewing and testing ski equipment, and his depth of knowledge really shows.

We cover the evolution of bindings, the role of elasticity, DIN settings, race vs recreational designs, GripWalk compatibility, and why understanding your equipment matters more than most skiers realise.

This conversation helped me make more informed decisions about bindings for myself and my family, and it’s one I think any skier who enjoys learning about their craft will appreciate.

Want to see the bindings Phil is talking about check the YouTube version of the podcast https://youtu.be/JalwwxcNvts

Want to improve your skiing further?

Check out Big Picture Skiing, my online coaching platform with a huge library of in-depth ski technique and equipment videos designed to help you ski better — and enjoy it more.

Podcast listeners get a 25% off Discount Code. Use code PODCAST when you checkout

Learn more at bigpictureskiing.com

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I have to admit that one of my core beliefs about moguls was challenged during this most recent conversation with Olympic Moguls silver medalist Matt Graham. For a long time, I believed that more ski snow contact was the ultimate sign of a good bump skierl. But in this open and honest conversation, Matt explains why the opposite is true when you want speed and rhythm in a mogul course.

I was working with Carv at Hintertux when I met up with him, and he talked me through the key ideas the best bump skiers in the world rely on plus a whole lot more 👇

The Mogul Paradox

One of the biggest concepts he shares is something called bridging. It is the ability to absorb the terrain so well that the skis do not press unnecessarily into the bumps. By bridging at the right moment, the skier reduces friction, avoids braking, and keeps the ideal turn tempo flowing. Once Matt explained it, the whole approach made a lot more sense.

The Boot Alignment Breakthrough

Matt also speaks openly about the long journey he had getting his equipment right. He explains the exact alignment change that finally let him ski with more comfort and less fight. Hearing that from someone at his level shows how important the right setup really is.

Carv

We also talk about Carv’s data in moguls. Matt tried CARV for the first time this November and currently he is the number 1 skier on the global Carv leaderboard. Yes higher than Ted Ligety and some of the best carvers in the world. It’s very cool because Carv now has separate Ski IQs for Moguls, Carving, Short Turns and Powder. We find out that elite mogul skiers have an insanely high tempo or rhythm of turns way above even expert skiers.

A quick note about Big Picture Skiing

If you want help improving your skiing this season, I would love to guide you. The Big Picture Skiing learning platform gives you a clear, structured way to progress instead of trying to piece things together from random YouTube tips. You will find step by step skill progressions, deep dive videos on topics like hip position and outside ski balance, and a learning pathway built from my 20 years of coaching skiers at every level.

Podcast listeners can use code PODCAST for 25 percent off any membership.

Thanks for listening skiers. See you out on the slopes.

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This is a remastered release (2018) of one of the most eye-opening conversations I’ve ever had about skiing.

Before I had proper mics or a real podcast setup, I sat down with Jurij Franko - the physicist, former racer, and engineer behind the original shaped-ski revolution at Elan. The audio is now cleaned up, and I’m thrilled to bring this episode back because it genuinely changed how I understand skis.

Jurij’s story starts in the late 80s, when he became the first person to apply mathematics to ski design. His work validated the idea of sidecut and helped spark the carving era we now take for granted. In this episode, he explains the thinking and experiments that shifted skiing from tradition to science — and the breakthroughs that came from asking the questions no one else was asking.

We dive into ski behaviour in a way few people can articulate:

• why a ski carves vs. skids

• how torsional stiffness and center of mass influence grip

• the real physics behind vibration and “feel”

• and why so many long-standing beliefs in skiing were never grounded in science.

What I appreciate most is how Jurij connects design to human movement. He explains how great skiers adapt their body position, predict what the ski will do, and make thousands of small decisions based on feel and repetition. His way of cutting through jargon and simplifying the essentials is refreshing - especially for instructors.

We also challenge a lot of myths: flex, vibration, “performance characteristics,” and the tendency to overteach. Jurij’s view is that skiing improves when people are given the space to explore, develop awareness, and feel how the ski interacts with the snow.

This conversation blends physics, history, technique, and genuine passion. It’s a rare look inside the mind of someone who shaped the modern ski - and for me, it’s still one of the episodes that permanently shifted how I think about skiing. Enjoy.

Improve your skiing with me as your coach. I own an online learning platform that will teach you to become a better skier It’s Called Big Picture Skiing and is my way of being able to share everything I have learnt about ski technique, equipment and becoming a better skier. There are over 250 videos sorted into categories for simple learning. If you’ve enjoyed my YouTube and podcast then I think you would get even more out of the BPS learning platform

Podcast listeners can take 25% off any membership with code: PODCAST

CHECK OUT BIG PICTURE SKIING

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If you’ve ever wondered whether tighter, stiffer, more precise ski boots could actually make you a better skier — this episode is for you.

In this conversation, I chat with Brent Amsbury, owner of Park City Bootfit in Utah and one of the most respected boot fitters in the US. Brent and I dive into the world of what he calls “Ultra Performance Ski Boots.”

These aren’t full plug race boots, but they sit just below that level — designed for serious skiers who want more precision, better energy transfer, and a stronger connection to their skis. We talk about:

 • What defines an ultra performance ski boot

 • Why many modern ski boots have swung too far towards comfort at the expense of performance

 • How to tell if this style of boot is right for you

 • The fitting process: punching, stretching, and fine-tuning for your foot

 • Common mistakes skiers make when switching to a closer-fitting boot

 • The pros and cons — from control and sensitivity to comfort and practicality

If you’ve been feeling like your current boots are holding you back — or you’re ready to step up to a higher-performing setup — this chat will help you understand what to expect and how to get it right.

🎧 Listen to more interviews on the Big Picture Skiing Podcast

📺 Watch more ski technique and equipment videos at www.bigpictureskiing.com 

Podcast listeners can use code: PODCAST to take 25% off

Chapters 

00:00 – Intro

00:06 – Ultra Performance Ski Boots

00:11 – The Resurgence of Boot Design

01:48 – Rental Boots vs Performance Boots

03:15 – Customer Feedback and Trends

04:59 – New Models and Boot Innovations

08:42 – Fit and Boot Work Insights

11:21 – Brand Recommendations for 96mm Boots

16:24 – Comfort vs Performance Expectations

22:07 – The Importance of Boot Fitting

33:23 – Investment in Quality Boot Fitting

52:49 – Safety with GripWalk Soles

54:28 – Preparing for Ski Season

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