Fresh Corduroy - for skiers

Hig Roberts took an unconventional path to the top of alpine skiing.

From growing up in Steamboat Springs to skiing at Middlebury and earning a spot on the U.S. Ski Team, Hig reached the World Cup through persistence, technical development, and a nontraditional route.

In this episode, we go inside life on the World Cup circuit—the pressure, travel, and mental challenges of competing at the highest level. Hig shares how personal loss and identity struggles shaped his career, and what led him to step away from professional ski racing.

He also discusses coming out as gay after his career, why he didn’t feel ready during his time on the World Cup, and how the response from the ski community changed his perspective.

Finally, we explore the business of ski racing. Hig breaks down how athletes make money, his experience as a sports agent at Wasserman, and what skiing can learn from larger professional sports. Now working in business development with the NHL Players’ Association, he offers a unique perspective on athlete careers, sponsorships, and long-term planning.

A candid conversation about World Cup skiing, identity, and life after elite sport.

Three-time Olympian Resi Stiegler grew up skiing in Jackson Hole, the daughter of Olympic slalom champion Pepi Stiegler. From those early days roaming the mountain as a kid, she went on to make the U.S. Ski Team at just 15, race on the FIS Alpine World Cup, and represent the United States at three Winter Olympic Games.

In this episode of Fresh Corduroy, Resi joins host Craig Zolan to talk about the journey from a Jackson Hole childhood to the highest level of ski racing. She shares what it actually feels like to step into the start gate at a World Cup race, the unique pressure of the Olympics, and how she navigated the injuries and setbacks that are part of a long career in alpine racing.

They also discuss the mindset that helped her stay positive through difficult stretches, why free skiing played such an important role in her development, and what she’s doing now—raising a family in Jackson Hole and helping the next generation of racers through the Stiegler ski camps.

In this episode:

• Growing up skiing in Jackson Hole

• Making the U.S. Ski Team at 15

• What World Cup racing really feels like

• Olympic pressure vs. World Cup racing

• Injuries, resilience, and longevity in the sport

• Passing skiing on to the next generation

If you enjoy conversations with the people who shape ski culture, follow Fresh Corduroy and share the episode with a friend who loves skiing as much as you do.

What does it take to build one of the most successful programs in NCAA ski racing?

In this episode of Fresh Corduroy, host Craig Zolan sits down with legendary Dartmouth coach Peter Dodge for an inside look at the world of college ski racing, athlete development, and the pathway from junior racing to the World Cup.

Peter grew up skiing in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, rose through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, narrowly missed the 1980 Olympics, and then spent nearly a decade on Bob Beattie’s World Pro Tour—winning both Rookie of the Year and Pro Skier of the Year. He later spent 33 years as head coach of the Dartmouth ski team, helping develop generations of NCAA champions, Olympians, and World Cup racers.

In this conversation, Peter shares how collegiate skiing really works behind the scenes—and what ski parents and young racers often misunderstand about the path to racing in college.

In this episode:

• How Dartmouth became a destination for U.S. Ski Team athletes like Tommy Ford, AJ Hurt, Nina O’Brien, and Olympic gold medalist Tanguy Neff

• The truth about NCAA ski recruiting and how athletes actually get noticed by college coaches

• Why ski academies have become central to the U.S. ski racing development pipeline

• The relationship between college ski programs and the U.S. Ski Team—and how it could work better

• Peter Dodge’s coaching philosophy and how he helped athletes reach peak performance

• The story behind Dartmouth winning five consecutive NCAA slalom championships

• The future of college skiing and NCAA alpine racing

If you're a ski racer, ski parent, coach, or fan of the sport, this episode offers rare insight into how collegiate ski racing works—and why it remains one of the most important pathways in American skiing.

Follow Fresh Corduroy on Apple Podcasts to hear more conversations with the athletes, coaches, and innovators shaping the future of skiing.

What does ski racing really look like outside the World Cup spotlight?

In this episode, Craig sits down with Elsa Powell, creator of the YouTube channel Fall Liners, which documents the unfiltered journey of British athletes chasing Europa Cup starts, FIS points, and long-term Olympic goals.

Elsa shares how she went from racer to filmmaker, why she launched the project in 2024, and what it takes to follow self-funded athletes across Europe — from van rides and wax rooms to the emotional volatility of a sport where a podium doesn’t always mean progress.

They discuss:

• The structure of British ski racing and funding realities

• The brutal competitiveness of Europa Cup

• FIS points, ranking systems, and why finishing 70th can be a win

• Filming vulnerable moments without crossing the line

• Building a niche sports media platform from scratch

If you care about ski racing, athlete development, or the behind-the-scenes realities of high-performance sport, this conversation offers a rare inside look at the level just below the World Cup.

Follow Fresh Corduroy and share the episode with someone who loves the journey behind the results.

When people think about collegiate ski racing, they think NCAA.

But every winter, nearly 5,000 athletes compete through the U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) — across alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and freeski disciplines.

In this episode, Executive Director Meegan Moszynski and VP of Academic Affairs Jay Moyer break down:

• How USCSA differs from NCAA ski programs
• Why its team-based format keeps athletes engaged
• What a 700-athlete National Championship looks like
• Club vs varsity competition
• What high school athletes and families should know during the college application process

If you’re a skier, snowboarder, parent, or coach exploring college competition pathways, this episode will expand your options — and might change how you think about collegiate snow sports.

Ski patrollers are there before the lifts spin and long after they stop — often invisible on the best days and indispensable on the hardest ones.

In this episode, Craig sits down with Stephanie Cox, CEO of the National Ski Patrol, to pull back the curtain on what ski patrol really does.

They discuss:

• What it takes to become a ski patroller — from medical training to high-stakes toboggan rescues

• The difference between volunteer and paid patrol models

• Why most patrollers stay involved for 20+ years

• How NSP supports mental health and resilience after traumatic incidents

• The recent headlines around ski patrol labor disputes — and where NSP fits in

• Efforts to recruit the next generation of patrollers

Whether you’ve never needed ski patrol — or you’ll never forget the day you did — this conversation will give you a new appreciation for the red jackets on your home mountain.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a fellow skier and don’t forget to thank a ski patroller next time you’re on snow.

In her return to Fresh Corduroy, Annika Hunt reflects on a whirlwind stretch of her career—making her first World Cup starts, racing on the sport’s biggest stage, managing nerves and expectations, and navigating injury just as momentum was building.

Annika opens up about what it really feels like to arrive at the highest level: lining up against her role models, dealing with DNFs, racing at home in front of family and fans, and learning how mindset and flow play a central role in performance.

We also talk about recovery, visualization, and confidence, and how stepping back—sometimes forcibly—can clarify what matters most when you’re chasing long-term goals at the top of the sport.

Raphael Lessard’s path to the World Cup wasn’t linear—and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.

In this episode of Fresh Corduroy, World Cup speed skier Raphael Lessard joins the show to break down his journey from ski racing in Quebec, through Burke Mountain Academy, formative years racing in Europe, and a deliberate return to North America to ski for the University of Utah. Along the way, he balanced NCAA competition, international racing, and a demanding academic path that included internships in financial services.

We talk about winning the overall NorAm title, earning a full slate of World Cup starts, scoring his first World Cup points with a top-20 Super-G in Val Gardena, and navigating the mental and physical challenges of injury and recovery. Raphael also offers rare insight into speed-ski development—covering intentional training, visualization, race-day preparation, and why college skiing can be a powerful part of a World Cup trajectory.

A thoughtful, honest conversation with an athlete who approaches ski racing with both patience and purpose.

Former Division I ski racer Kelly Brush joins Fresh Corduroy for a powerful conversation about ski racing safety, adaptive sports access, and how culture—not just equipment—shapes risk on snow.

After a 2006 collegiate racing accident left her paralyzed from the chest down, Kelly turned her focus to preventing avoidable injuries and expanding access to sport for people with spinal cord injuries. As founder of the Kelly Brush Foundation, she has helped drive major improvements in U.S. ski racing safety through education, grants, and advocacy—while also funding adaptive sports equipment and access nationwide.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why safety culture matters more than checklists

• How ski racing in the U.S. has changed—and where it still needs work

• The rise of laceration injuries and stop-the-bleed response on snow

• Sit-skiing, adaptive equipment costs, and access to chairlifts

• Why international safety education is the next frontier

This is an essential listen for ski racers, coaches, parents, mountain operators, and anyone who believes skiing should be both challenging and responsible.

Theme music by Eric Zolan from the album Calder's Universe

Tricia Mangan is an active World Cup alpine ski racer for the United States — but her path to the highest level looks very different from what most people expect.

Growing up skiing a small hill in western New York, Tricia didn’t attend a ski academy or chase a predefined elite pipeline. Instead, she developed through local racing, skied collegiately at Dartmouth, stepped on and off the U.S. Ski Team, and ultimately rebuilt her career as an independent athlete competing on the World Cup circuit.

In this conversation, Tricia talks candidly about:

• Developing as a racer outside traditional systems

• College skiing vs. the full-time World Cup path

• Competing independently and returning to the U.S. Ski Team

• Her evolution as a Super-G and downhill skier

• How she thinks about World Cup success versus Olympic success

• The mental, financial, and personal realities of elite ski racing

This episode is an honest look at what it takes to keep going at the top of the sport — and a reminder that there’s more than one way to get there.