Big Picture Skiing Podcast

Can you safely learn to ski freestyle when you’re an adult? Yes!

I sat down with the Jens from Stomp it Tutorials and asked him to explain to us how he coaches his students to achieve their first jumps, 180s, 360s and even slide boxes and rails. This episode is about inspiring you to add a little freestyle fun to your skiing not matter what your age.

We also cover why piste skiers struggle to jump, how slope spins protect your knees, managing fear, and the easiest freestyle tricks you can add to your everyday skiing.

🎿 FOLLOW JENS & STOMP IT

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StompItTutorials

Website: https://stompittutorials.com

Camps: https://stompitcamps.com

Stomp It app: https://stompit.app

🎥 THE VIDEO WE MADE TOGETHER

Watch me coach Jens to hip-to-snow carving: https://youtu.be/jmfs0W97_is?si=XkUtZEJ6ruUKx4_I

⛷️ JOIN BIG PICTURE SKIING

If you're stuck at a plateau or want to make real improvements this season, I built Big Picture Skiing for skiers just like you. It has in-depth tutorials you won't find on YouTube, covering moguls, carving, steeper terrain, and right down to your pole plant and ski boot setup.

Podcast listeners get 25% off with code PODCAST

👉 https://bigpictureskiing.com

CHAPTERS

0:00 Is it too late to learn freestyle?

1:17 Can 30–50 year olds really learn it?

2:33 Why piste skiers can't jump in ski boots

4:30 The perfect takeoff and landing position

7:33 Pop drills: skis off, boots unbuckled

13:33 Timing the pop off your toes, not your ski tips

14:26 Using side hits as practice jumps

16:16 Your first tabletop jump

19:29 Slope spins, and why they protect your knees

22:39 How Jens built Stomp It

34:29 Why adults get hooked on freestyle

38:30 Learn to ski switch before you spin

39:49 First 90s and 180s off side hits

43:55 Spinning on a jump: hips locked and arms out wide

46:29 Look at the landing or up the hill?

49:14 The checklist before you try a 360

54:06 360s and backflips in your 40s and 50s

55:23 Fear, and how to manage it

58:24 Visualise the trick first

59:11 Skis for boxes and rails

1:02:04 Your first box slide

1:11:00 Boxes vs rails

1:13:44 The easiest tricks for piste skiers

1:18:06 Where to find Jens

1:22:06 Narrower stance for hip-to-snow carving

1:23:34 You get worse before you get better

#freestyleskiing #skiing #skitips #stompit #bigpictureskiing

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Demelza Clay (Stoke Lab Skiing) and I have worked together and skied together for years. This episode is a casual pre-season catch-up, the kind of chat you'd hear if you jumped in the car with us on the transfer from the airport to a ski resort.

We cover how to get your body ready before the season (and what helped us come back from injuries), why your ski and binding setup matters more than you think, and what CARV told the pros and instructors is changing this season, including how short turn Ski IQ is now weighted.

In this episode:

→ Coming back from injuries and what actually helped

→ Why body prep before the season matters (especially in your 40s)

→ What Demelza and I are each working on this winter

→ Split plates, binding flex and why ski setup changes how a ski feels

→ Why carving skis are back, and why a skinnier ski speeds up your learning

→ CARV's new app: terrain-based scores, challenges, heat maps and lift line times

→ How CARV's short turn weighting has changed: G-force, edge similarity, edge angle, tempo and more

→ The Ski Mash project: 80 instructors, 11,000 videos, and how it shapes the algorithm

→ Life as ski instructors turned content creators, and how we approach sponsored content

If you're the kind of skier who loves their turns and the nitty gritty of getting better, there's plenty in here for you.

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🎿 BIG PICTURE SKIING

Podcast listeners can use code PODCAST for 25% off. Tutorials you won't find on YouTube, with a 7-day free trial:

https://bigpictureskiing.com/

📱 CARV get $50 off your first pass

https://getcarv.com/refer/9c6b60a2-ff39-4ee4-8e74-1a0e11a92a9a?utm_source=carv25&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=referral&utm_content=sharesheet

❄️ DEMELZA CLAY, STOKE SKIING LAB

https://www.demelzaclay.com

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⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro: what's in this episode

1:12 Coming back from injuries

10:38 Does skiing slow down as we age? Why body prep matters

16:15 Demelza's season goals: ankle timing, stance and moguls

23:10 Ski and binding setup: why split plates and flex matter

31:55 Carving skis are back (and why the right ski speeds up learning)

39:23 My goals: hand drags, moguls and faster short turns

43:37 CARV's new app: terrain scores and challenges

49:14 Heat maps and lift line wait times

53:00 CARV's scoring changes: short turn weighting

1:05:21 From ski instructors to content creators

1:12:31 Sponsored content and staying authentic

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Have you ever wondered why your ski boots feel great in the shop but don’t quite work on the mountain? Or why your legs feel cooked by lunchtime, you struggle to find a balanced stance, or you can’t seem to get the performance you want from your skis?

The answer might be hiding in your boot setup.

In this episode, I sit down with Phil from SkiTalk to explore three often-overlooked aspects of ski boot geometry: binding delta, boot board ramp angle, and forward lean.

We discuss what these angles actually mean, how they influence your stance and movement on skis, and why the same boot setup can work brilliantly for one skier but feel completely wrong for another.

We also explore how calf size, ankle range of motion, and individual body proportions influence the forward lean that works best for you.

In this episode, we cover:

• What binding delta is and how it can influence your stance

• Boot board ramp angle and why it matters

• Forward lean: finding a setup that works with your body

• How calf size and ankle mobility influence boot fit

• Why a boot setup that works for someone else might not work for you

• What to consider before changing your boot setup

Want to improve your skiing?

Big Picture Skiing is an online learning platform packed with practical video lessons to help you understand your technique, improve your skiing, and become a more independent learner.

Visit https://bigpictureskiing.com/

Use code PODCAST for 25% off your membership.

Enjoy the episode!

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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.

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🎿 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

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⏱ 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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