Welcome to mid-spring here at The High Route Podcast. Here in the Pacific Northwest, ski crampon season. It is also the season to unearth an interview with Fay Manners, a British alpinist and ski mountaineer, recorded late last summer. 

Manners caught my attention for one reason: she practices the aforementioned mountain disciplines at a high level. To optimize mountain conditions in winter and the shoulder seasons, it helps to be skilled at rock, ice, and mixed climbing, and when the snow is stable and conditions prime, slapping skis or a snowboard on the feet makes sense, too. 

Over the years, British alpinist/ski-alpinist Fay Manners has built up a reputation as a go-getter. Which is to say that Manners comes with the full mountain-skills package.

In 2024, Manners and Tom Lafaille opened up the Stratonspherique ski line on the Aiguille d’Argentière. 

On the alpinism side, Manners has the first female ascent of the Phantom Direct route on the south face of the Grand Jorasses. She also climbed the North Face of the Eiger, the American Direct on the Dru, and the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses.

Far from exuding the vibe of an adrenaline junkie, Manners imparts an ethos of building skills, becoming fit, and knowing when one is at their limits, and using those skills to—and again, we’ll emphasize multi-disciplinarian skills—to move efficiently and safely in the hills.

Manners has had her share of close calls. Having recorded this interview last summer, we had kept an eye on Manners and her adventures. When this headline came across a newsfeed, there was a sinking feeling: Two climbers go missing. 

These stories often don’t end well. Manners and her partner, American alpinist Michelle Dvorak, were rescued three days later. The pair lost much of their gear, including their shelter, when rockfall severed a haul line. For those of us following thousands of miles away, the rescue came as a huge relief. 

On flat ground, Manners is trained and has worked as a data analyst; on less flat ground, she’s come into her own as a mountain athlete. But for those just being introduced to the mountains, Manners is a reminder that mountain pedigree is what you make of it. In her twenties, Manners began tapping into snow and climbing while working as a data analyst in New York City. From Vermont’s Jay Peak to New York’s Gunks, she’s lived a full-value life in Alaska, Pakistan, and near her adopted home in Chamonix. 

Thanks for listening, and have a good day, 

The High Route Team.   

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is shipping. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

For those of you keen on backcountry skiing podcasts, you will hear a familiar voice on this episoide. Doug Stenclik is our guest—he’s part owner of Cripple Creek Backcountry and the host of Totally Deep, Cripple Creek’s podcast. 

The past several years have seen a topsy-turvy world generally and a boom-bust cycle regarding backcountry skiing/riding business. Stenclik offers insight into the business operations of selling items like touring boots and bindings. Business, when it comes to skins and skimo, for example, isn’t always rainbows and unicorns. There are supply chain snafus, dry winters, and the undeniable fact that backcountry touring requires some know how and elevated heart rates.   

Thanks for listening, and have a good day, 

The High Route Team.   

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is shipping. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Before we roll into this episode full steam, here’s some basic information: this interview was recorded in the fall of 2023. That was when a group from the US, including Jimmy Chin and Jim Morrison, planned to approach Mount Everest’s north side to attempt to ski the Hornbein Couloir. The project was part of a larger documentary project. This past fall, in 2024, that team made another attempt but was reportedly stymied by poor conditions. 

All this is to say that back in 2023, skiing the Hornbein popped up in the news cycle. Around then, I reached out to Jeremy Evans for an interview. He’s the author of an excellent book I read titled See You Tomorrow: The Disappearance of Snowboarder Marco Siffredi on Everest. 

This episode of The High Route podcast is that interview with Jeremy Evans, the Tahoe-based author of this good read. We mostly discuss the book and the protagonist, Macro Siffredi. 

Siffredi was a Chamonix-based snowboarder who arrived on the extreme descent scene with extraordinary flare in the late 1990s. In 2002, Siffredi disappeared as he descended the Hornbein Couloir on Everest’s North Side. He was 23 years old at the time. 

Although the podcast is not a book review if you enjoy climbing and ski/ride adventures and examinations of human nature and what motivates us in the mountains if you pick up the book, you’ll find it doesn’t disappoint.
 

Further, Thanks to Evans for his incredible patience as we sat on this episode—we got caught up in life and building out The High Route, but we are deeply appreciative of his time and for making the efforts to illuminate more about Siffredi’s life.

Thanks for listening, and have a good day, 

The High Route Team.   

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is shipping. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Retirement. It is a word with notes of one chapter solidly shutting down and, with good fortune, another opening up—a transition in chapters we expect to manifest later in life. 

Hadley Hammer, in her late thirties, is in such a transition. Hammer sent out a notice today, Feb. 17th, marking her retirement from performance skiing. In other words, from being a pro skier. 

In her retirement statement, she writes, "I am walking away from peak performance, but not from the mountains nor the outdoor community and certainly not from skiing, which I still think is the most delightful way to spend time. My aim isto take all my experience, be it growing up and living in mountain towns to professional athletics, and combine them with my love and adoration of storytelling. I want to use my words to shape culture and habits. To celebrate play, delight, partnerships, and the natural world.”

At The High Route, we primarily know Hammer as a fine writer. Someone whose sentences take time to craft and whose narrative arcs speak truths. She's got a solid essay on fashion style in the backcountry in issue 1 of The High Route magazine. (For more of Hammer’s writing on style, check out her Substack, TOGS. 
 

For someone soon to be pushing into her fourth decade, Hammer has lived a full-spectrum existence. And we explore those ups and downs (but mostly the ups) in this episode. We are grateful for her time and look forward to working with her in the future. 

For now, we'll link to a snazzy short-film released today, filmed and produced by Sophie Danison, titled Fortune."Fortune is a short film—an incantation to see our own fortune by observing closely the beauty of the world around you.”

Thanks for listening, and have a good day, 

The High Route Team.   

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is shipping. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Sometimes, the eyes go wide, the mind quiets and thoughts turn to the realization that you might be watching mastery. Chamonix-based skier, Vivian Bruchez illicites these expressions. For some time now, he has captured the imaginations of steep-skiing fans. Many skiers and riders open new lines, climb, and descend in good style: they break on through a mental, physical, or terrain barrier and make something audacious look possible. This is, in many ways, Bruchez's signature. No matter how steep or exposed, he pivots on a dime, dry skis with aplomb, and exudes joy. Whether it's his disheveled signature hair or his easy-going vibe, Bruchez is likable and at the pinnacle of the rarified ski-mountaineering scene in the Alps and beyond. 

His list of first descents runs deep.

In this episode of The High Route Podcast, we connect with Bruchez after his day on Chamonix's slopes, teaching a class for ENSA, the French National School of Skiing and Mountaineering. While we don't discuss specific lines he's opened, we do dive into his thoughts on his mental preparedness, how he tries to see life through a child's eyes, and, of course, for the gear folks out there, we discuss his choice in equipment for the steeps.

Those looking to watch and learn more about Bruchez can find links in our THR Curates series.  

Thanks for listening, and have a good day, 

The High Route Team.   

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is shipping. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

On this episode of The High Route Podcast, we do some exploring with Andy Sovick. If you are unfamiliar with Sovick, he is the humble founder of Beacon Guidebooks. Several years ago, Beacon released a few high-quality ski atlases that generated some buzz. The business has grown, yet the company remains dedicated to core values that promote safety while providing ski-run information to the community.

Go on most, if not all, outdoor-oriented online forums, and somewhere, without much filtering, you land on threads dealing with gatekeeping. Here at The High Route, we discuss and think about this a lot—how much information disclosure relates to ski zones is too much and how much is just enough. Likewise, Sovick has thought about this a bunch, too. He possesses a good perspective on blending information that allows others to enjoy the backcountry while being deeply grounded in creating a product that informs potential users about the pitfalls in and around the terrain described in their ski atlases.

And if you love maps, Sovick has a few book recommendations.

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is ready to ship. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Thanks for listening,

The High Route Team   

One of the best parts of liking to ask questions and running The High Route is the opportunity to speak to folks we admire and want to learn from. With this in mind, photographer Drew Smith is the guest on this episode. 

Smith’s work spans the spectrum from outdoor-related commercial work to full-value expedition photography. We are drawn to his images for many reasons. First and foremost, there’s his documentarian style and vibe. In short, Smith is along for the ride, documenting rather than staging, keeping up with rather than slowing the tempo down. He’s a high-level climber and snowboarder who is often along on an expedition as an equal: he’ll lead ice and rock pitches, set a booter, crampon up a face with his snow sliding tools in tow, and camera ready. 

Born and raised in rural Montana, low-key and modest are Smith’s hallmarks as he’d rather draw attention to his art and craft than to himself. We are excited to close out the 2024 podcast year with his interview.

You find find Smith's photography here at Drew Smith Media.

You can find Smith's written musing's here at Drew's Plan.

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is in the works. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Thanks for listening,

The High Route Team   

It has been more than a minute since our last episode. Over here at The High Route, there has been a bit of burying our heads in the sand as we focus on sending out our final proofs for our print version of The High Route. In the spirit of print, we have Michael Levy as our guest on the podcast. 

Levy is the driving force behind the resurrection of Summit Journal—an esteemed print magazine last printed in 1996. The history of Summit Journal is pretty fascinating, and Levy speaks about that legacy in more detail on The Run Out. If you do not read or subscribe to Summit Journal and enjoy climbing-related stories, we suggest you try it. Levy has combined his keen editor's sensibilities to produce a large-format magazine that borders on art. No matter how you approach it, Levy's vision has moved the needle positively regarding print offerings in the adventure scene. 

Joining Levy is the regular host and our THR mainstay based in Anchorage, Alaska, Alex Lee. The conversation is part self-serving; we have a ton to learn from folks like Levy as we go into the deep end with our print venture.

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is in the works. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Thanks for listening,

The High Route Team   

The first snows have fallen. And if the local webcams have anything to say about it, it might as well be winter. Snow sliding and keeping bases intact—that's another story. 

The story today, on The High Route podcast comes from Salt Lake based Mali Noyes. Let's see where to begin.

Catching up with Noyes is, and was, part of the problem. Not unlike many of us, she is busy. She is also on the move. Energy. Motion. Mountains. Running. Skinning. Skiing. Nursing. 

She grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho, and became part of a speedy crew of nordic racers at the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. Kilometer after kilometer, season after season, year after year, you can imagine the incredible base fitness. She went on to ski at the University of Utah and, once free from the constraints of school, took that drive and fitness into the backcountry. 

Noyes is an accomplished mountain runner, earned a spot on the Freeride World Tour in 2016, and is a Salomon athlete. After years in the mountains gaining experience, she has ventured into the Alaska Range and beyond. All the while, she took the time to attend nursing school. When she is not in the hills, she works as an oncology nurse.

There's also something else to know—we don't really explore how she skied this or that line. Which, we think, is OK. We take the time on the podcast to get a little deeper and discuss things like how annoying it might be to answer questions like "What's it like to be the only girl on an expedition?" We also explore how Noyes expanded her avalanche education and now takes more ownership over assessing where and when she skis. 

All this is to say that we had an excellent time during the interview—we learned a ton.  

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is in the works. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Thanks for listening,

The High Route Team   

Bonjour listeners of The High Route Podcast. On this steeps and slogs episode, we feature Aurélien Lardy.

Good energy and ceaseless energy are two key qualities for those making a life for themselves in the hills. Aurélien Lardy, a prolific ski mountaineer based out of Chamonix, has been on a tear for the past few years. If first descents or rare repeats are a benchmark, Lardy, who goes by "Aurel" for short, has notched plenty of them. For example, he and Gaspard Ravanel repeated a sought-after ski/snowboard descent of the L’éperon des Jumeaux on the north side of the Aiguille du Midi this past May. 

Did we bury the lead here? In this episode of The High Route Podcast, Lardy takes a breather from the alpine as we catch him in Chamonix. (We recorded the interview this summer.) A former ski racer, and lover of both front flips and easy-access Cham-steeps, the San Antonio Spurs, and slow churn expeditions, we are psyched to have Lardy as our guest. 

There is something about Lardy's style that belies the very exposed positions he finds himself in. If you are a visual learner keen on mastering steep turns, Lardy's utterly smooth technique is the opposite of what we may conceive of as a jump turn. It is a high-alpine meditative practice: ski tips remain in contact with the snow, knees remain slightly bent, releasing just the right amount of kinetic energy, ski tails swing around, completing the turn. Mathematicians, surely, could derive an elegant equation to explain what we see. Then again, it could be pure art—steep-turning ballet.
 

Lardy and his steep skiing and ski traversing clan will also surely make an appearance at an adventure film fest touring near you. He's featured in films about skiing in Argentine Patagonia (Painting the Mountains) and a mega-traverse in the Alaska Range (Les Jours Sauvages). If you still need to get your fill, the film Chronoception chronicles his adventures in Kyrgyzstan—it should be available online soon. 

No doubt, Lardy and his people are prolific. Let's focus on the Alaska Range ski traverse for a moment. 50+ days. And as noted in Les Jours Sauvages, the style is heavy and slow. The ski party enters the range in the low-lying bush, weighed down by sleds and a fair share of cigarettes; they slog into the heart of the Central Alaska Range via the Peters Glacier. They ski Denali and Sultana (Foraker), ski traverse and muddle out the range, and eventually pack raft back to Anchorage. Mon Dieu!

Conversely, Painting the Mountains is a film about expressing the extrême. Photographer/filmmaker Matthew Tufts helps frame the narrative as Lardy, Vivian Bruchez, and Jules Socié repeat the Whillans-Cochrane on Aguja Poincenot—a line first skied by Andreas Fransson.

You can follow his high-octane adventures on the socials. 

If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real deal calorie burning to piece it all together.

We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is in the works. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.

The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

Thanks for listening,

The High Route Team