High Falutin Ski Bums

It's been a long hot summer and often we spend time, by ourselves pondering life, the previous ski season and the upcoming ski season. As much fun as it is to ponder by oneself, sometimes, it's even more fun to have a conversation with a buddy. This week, that's exactly what we do, as we sat down with our pal Rich from All About Apres. We talk about why we do what we do and where we all want to go.

Sure it's the middle of August and we're all trying to keep from melting, but did you know the next solstice is the winter solstice? Believe the hype, it is true. While most people are shopping for pencils and Trapper Keepers for back to school, you should be thinking about you're kids and when are you going to get them skiing or snowboarding! Don't worry, we've got some articles and thoughts to help you get ready!

Haven't we all dreamed of owning our ski resort? We certainly have and now, low-and-behold, Soldier Mountain in beautiful Fairfield, ID, is on the market. Did you know that Bruce Willis was once the owner? Yipee-ka-yeh-mothafucka. Does it get sweet dumps, yes, then why are the current owners selling? Could be gambling debts, could be they'd rather just move Arizona and phone it in...who knows? We're going to discuss what it would take to actually buy these glorious beast and what it would take to turn her into a winner.

Part 2 of our conversation with our pal, Frank. We discuss the most recent acquisition by Vail Resorts, purchasing Peak Resorts. We discuss the pros and cons and how it will affect skiers and snowboarders.

It's the end of July. As skiers and snowboarders, we're all starting to get a little sick of this hot and humid weather. What are skiers and boarders to do in such times? We talk or our buddy Frank about skiing and whatever other madness manifests when we get together.

It's almost ski season, so what are two ski bums to do? Travel, of course. Even though there is no snow, we both went to countries that are well known skiing and snowboarding hotbeds, Italy and Norway. Now we are back home to discuss.

Freedom, fireworks, independence, bbqs...these are all things people think about when they think of the 4th of July. While all those things are wonderful, your pals are also thinking about skiing. We take a look at where you can still ski or snowboard this 4th of July weekend.

Ahhhhhhh, AlmostSkiSeason, time to kick back and unwind. Our opinions of summer have changed over time, from dread, to embracing what is possible and how to better prepare for ski season. We thought we were going to have nothign to talk about, but this ended up turning into an epic think tank podcast episode. So much so, we had to break it into two part. Here's the first part, we hope you enjoy it!

Ahhhhhhh, AlmostSkiSeason, time to kick back and unwind. Our opinions of summer have changed over time, from dread, to embracing what is possible and how to better prepare for ski season. We thought we were going to have nothing to talk about, but this ended up turning into an epic think tank podcast episode. So much so, we had to break it into two part. Here's the first part, we hope you enjoy it!

It's been over a year since Mario and Brian were together in the same room recording a podcast together. It was no simple feat. Mario had to overcome weather delays, airport drama and a slow train that had police activity due to a drug overdose. None of that could stop him and we were able to hang out and record a podcast before Mario started his NYC mini-vacation.

Some people are born wealthy, some people are born connected and some people are born both. Most of us need to grind our way to the top. Good thing there's services like Kickstarter to help folks with great ideas raise money and connect to new customers. We take a look at some of the cool ski-related (and other) projects that are going on right now.

If you listened to the last two episodes of the podcast, you may be convinced that both Brian and Mario suffer from some sort of brain damage. We cannot completly disagree with your assessment. CTE was big on a lot of radars after a great movie with Will Smith, but the issue doesn't go away after the box office sales go away. Every sport all the time, it's still an issue. We share some information we've found to help you avoid damaging your beautiful brains.

If you missed part 1, you'll want to check out episode 162. You listened and you're still back for more? God bless ya, you're one of us! I'm not sure if I'd say this episode is 'art' in the purest sense of the word, but there is something beautiful about it. In the same way two vintage Ferraris crashed into each other is also beautiful. Take a listen and you'll see what we mean.

As the season winds down we chat with one of the OG pioneers of the podcast. You know him (and love him) from the bean of he week, our pal, Frank.

Every great farmers knows that a bountiful harvest begins with careful preparation. The most critical step in that preparation is planting of seeds. We are metaphorical farmers planning for the methaphorical planting of our ski seeds. Join us on our journey.

As the ski and snowboard season winds down, many of us are starting to battle with seasonal depression. Yes, the plebs say you get that in the winter, but we're different. After seeing all our precious, glorious snow melt away we need to find a way to go on and make it to next season. We're here to help, but first jump in your bathtub and pop a Skialis!

As we start looking at the ski season wrap up, it becomes necessary to start taking a look at what was great, not so great, and what is still on that bucket list. Join us for a stroll through our season and thoughts for making next season that much better.

We talk a lot about cannabis on the show (I mean, we have a whole Gonjola section, every week). It's almost April 20th, pretty much Christmas for cannabis enthusiasts, but do you know why 420 has become synonymous with cannabis? How about why cannabis is illegal in the first place? Why does a skiing podcast care so much? All these questions and more will be answered when you check out this week's episode.

We don't want to say it, but we're all aware that the end of the ski and snowboard season is approaching. The bums aren't ready to hang their skis up yet, so last weekend we went up to Killington to check out the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge. Part serious amateur mogul competition, part serious party atmosphere. We had a great time and want to tell you all about it.

This week we chat with Alicia and Ray from Alba Adventures, a family that creates short films about their on-snow (and off-snow) adventures. Their motto is "A Family That Skis Together Stays Together," and you can see, hear and feel that in the work created by these award-winning filmmakers. We had a wonderful conversation with them and hope you enjoy it!