Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. On today’s episode, I have the pleasure of talking with powder photographer extraordinaire, Lee Cohen. Lee came to Utah in the 1980s as a ski bum and found his calling. He and his friends traveled from Utah down to California and beyond, chasing the snow and powder and photographing the experience. Today we’re talking about how Lee got his start in skiing and photography as well as his journey to being one of the most well-known foremost photographers the snow has ever seen. He also talks about how he first pushed back on the transition to digital photography and his thoughts on it now. Lee shares some tips on how to get the best pictures when you’re out on the slopes and tips on skiing which he’d gleaned from the pros. Topics: [00:24] Lee Cohen’s introduction to skiing [08:57] Salt Lake City [10:00] Lee’s start in photography  [12:46] Lee’s first cover photo [13:29] Lee’s ah-ha moment in photography [14:32] The transition to digital [17:37] Tips for big snow [23:40] How to shoot better skiing photos [32:10] What excites Lee about skiing 

Lee Cohen: The Cosmic Release

Next Level Skiing is a podcast about skiing. Your skiing. Longtime ski journalist Jason Blevins talks to the sport’s luminaries and behind-the-scenes bosses about strategies and hacks for stepping your skiing up a notch. Sure, the key to getting better at skiing is to go skiing. A lot. If it was only that easy. This podcast will offer some shortcuts to becoming the skier you want to be, without having to quit your job and move to a ski town. Subscribe where ever you get your podcasts by searching for “Next Level Skiing.” Learn more at wagnerskis.com/nextlevel.

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 Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis!     A few years ago I got to join Kim Beekman on a ski trip to the San Juans. We skied at and around Telluride and all over Red Mountain Pass. I don’t think she ever wondered why everyone always wanted to ski those backcountry lines before her. It was because we all wanted to get down and watch her ski.     Few ski with more grace, ease, and power than Kim. She is a flawless skier. And an incredible writer. As the editor at Skiing and a longtime ski journalist, she has shepherded years of ski reviews, charting the evolution of ski design for decades. She’s raised an amazing daughter who rips and has all sorts of insights into making the most of our time on snow. Tune in and learn from a master.     Thanks for listening to Next Level Skiing.   Topics:    3:40 Growing up chasing her older brother    2:50 The secret sauce of being a good skier: having a ripping older sibling    3:55 Honing her writing chops at the Jackson Hole Guide in the 1990s    6:36 What makes a good ski story?    7:50 Her new children’s book about Hilaree Nelson    11:10 The emergence of rocker and shape in skis    18:30 Her favorite ski designs    21:50 Raising young rippers. Candy bribery.    26:00 When ski skills spill over into life    30:30 Hands up!      Resources:    Kimberly Beekman    Wagner Custom Skis  

Keep it Fun With Your Hands up with Kim Beekman

 Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis.     I love watching Aaron Blunck ski the pipe. The Crested Butte native has spent 26 of his 27 years on skis and it shows, with amazing airs and unrivaled style. Earlier this season I got to see Aaron ski in the Copper pipe and he was throwing this ridiculously cool pipe-grinding, snow-spraying slash in the middle of his run, and the crowd loved it.    This is a fun chat with the three-time Olympian who grew up dreaming of competing in the X Games, which he won in 2017. He spent his younger years chasing his older brother Nolan around the steeps of Crested Butte Mtn Resort, where he honed his aerial prowess in gnarly cliffs and trees.    Listen and learn from one of Colorado’s best as Aaron shares insights into bouncing back from injuries, the relentless pursuit of new challenges in skiing, celebrating every turn, and embracing gratitude on snow. Thanks for listening to Next Level Skiing.    Topics:    2:00 - Copper performance    4:49 - Skiing at 18 months    5:24 - Chasing his older brother    7:21 - Unlocking a new wave of younger rippers at Crested Butte    9:10 - Big mountain laps with pipe and terrain park to finish    11:00 - Still living the dream    13:40 - Not just skiing: hockey, baseball, soccer    17:25 - Pay to play: injuries and recovery    22:00 - Mind over matter to bounce back from injuries    24:24 - Overcoming the life-changing injury    26:00 - Why not go skiing?    28:00 - This is my purpose    30:00 - Never stop learning new things    32:00 - Little-kid cruising and embracing gratitude    Resources:    Aaron Blunck Instagram    Wagner Custom Skis  

This is My Purpose with Aaron Blunck

 Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis.     Reggie Crist keeps turning the page on one skiing’s most illustrious careers. A decade on the U.S. Ski Team. Pioneer in the Olympic spot of Ski Cross. One of the first to helicopter skiers into Alaska’s Chugachs. And now a globe-trotting ski guide whose Stellar Adventure brings skiers to Japan, South America, Alaska and the backcountry of Idaho.    Tune in as Reggie tells us where he would take us if we win the lottery and want to spend an entire year crushing powder.    Topics:    2:30 - Raised in California and Idaho    3:30 - Earning a PhD in skiing on the U.S. Ski Team    5:10 - Ski Cross and a second ski racing career    6:20 - Ski Cross is more intense than downhill racing Kitzbuhel    7:00 - Stellar Adventure    11:00 - Bringing ski racing technique to the big mountains of Alaska    12:30 - A year in powder    16:49 - Best way to prepare for a month in Alaska    18:30 - Alaska off the couch    22:32 - Catching the Santa Rosa storm in the Andes    26:50 - The rewards of helping people find their best ski day    29:30 - Follow your passion and be a stoke broker      Resources:    Stella Adventure Travel    Wagner Custom Skis  

Reggie Crist is The Stoke Broker

 It’s difficult to overstate the role of Scot Schmidt in big-mountain freeskiing. He pretty much invented the niche with his explosive, airborne exploits. His signature tucked-knees hop turn and high-speed hip-check smear on 223 downhill skis defined a style that changed skiing. Scot’s style inspired untold hordes of skiers in the 80s and early 90s, before skis got wide and rockered. His breakout role in Greg Stump’s seminal “Blizzard of Ahhs” ushered in a now 30-year-old era of ski porn.    Scot at age 62 is still skiing 100 days a year on big, stiff skis, spending his winters in Montana as an ambassador for the Yellowstone Club. In this episode of Next Level Skiing, the legend himself shares insights into his longevity, his ski style, starring in a movie that captured entire generations of skiers, and “flowing like water” on skis.    Topics:    2:00 - Growing up in Montana City, Montana    4:30 - Moving to Squaw Valley, melding with ski racers and speed skiers    9:30 - Idolizing Ingemar Stenmark    11:00 - About that smear turn    14:40 - Put your turns in the sweet spot    19:30 - Still riding a 195 115mm-underfoot Stockli    23:40 - Never been smoother than now    25:30 - The impact of “Blizzard of Ahhs”    28:50 - Keep it smooth and flow like water      Resources:    Master the Smooth with Scot Schmidt    Wagner Custom Skis  

Master The Smooth with Scot Schmidt

 There are a lot of great ski movies out there. But only one ranks as the most important. In a year when U.S. suicides reached record highs and many mountain towns are reporting the highest suicide rates in the country, Drew Peterson’s “Ups + Downs” exposes the professional skier’s anguished struggle with suicidal thoughts.    Mental health is at a critical crossroads in mountain valleys and Peterson’s willingness to step up and reveal his own battles with overwhelming darkness is one of the most consequential moves in the history of ski movies. Skiing is awesome. It can help people learn how to be mindful and present. It can recharge weary souls. But it cannot heal mental illness. Drew’s turn toward therapy and the hard work required to deflect demons is a guiding light for people who can’t escape the darkness. Drew’s upcoming movie details his turn toward 100-mile ultramarathons as he continues his journey.    This is a special Next Level Skiing podcast where Colorado-born Drew shares how skiing is only one tool for rebuilding a life. If you or anyone you know is in need of immediate help, call 988 to reach trained crisis workers at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or text HOME to 741741.     Topics:    2:00 - The 20-year overnight success story    6:40 - Ski the Wild West    11:00 - Raw expose with “Ups + Downs”    12:30 - The falling rock that “changed the track of my life.”    18:00 - Skiing can’t be the only thing    20:40 - Let skiing just be skiing and find childhood joy    21:40 - The destination fallacy    24:45 - Finding mindfulness and presence on skis    28:05 - Shining the light in a darker corner of mountain culture    33:35 - Ski and enjoy      Resources:    Ups + Downs    If you or anyone you know is in need of immediate help, call 988 to reach trained crisis workers at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or text HOME to 741741.     Wagner Custom Skis  

Lee Cohen: The Cosmic Release

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