If you love skiing, take 30 minutes to listen to this conversation with Marge from family owned, Beaver Mountain. This episode of Last Chair exudes what the lifestyle of skiing is about. It’s something you simply don’t find in other sports. It’s a special place in Utah with some mighty fine skiing and riding, and the most celebrated ticket manager in the state: Marge!
From their favorite Utah ski runs to their 2002 Olympic memories, Fraser Bullock and Nathan Rafferty provide great insights about Utah's 2034 Winter Olympic Games and everything in between.
This April, Raelene Davis will celebrate 40 years with the organization. She has served in her current role as Vice President of Marketing and Operations for 10 of those 40 years. Her face lights up with the biggest smiles as she recalls all of Ski Utah's creative marketing campaigns as well as the impressive and innovative engagement programs that she started from the ground up. Most of all, she remembers all of the people she’s met along the way.
The lifts are spinning now at Deer Valley East Village! The first major destination ski resort to be built in America in over 40 years is taking shape with the opening of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. How did this pairing of a Manhattan skyscraper developer and one of America’s most renowned resorts come to be? Ski Utah’s Last Chair sat down with Extell Development Founder and President Gary Barnett and Deer Valley President and COO Todd Bennett in the brand-new Grand Hyatt Deer Valley to learn m...
On this episode, Last Chair grabbed veteran UTA ski bus driver Doug Malmborg for a ride on the 972 line up to Solitude and Brighton. Malmborg shared his vast knowledge of the UTA ski bus service, plus some fascinating ski and mining history that he has gleaned growing up in the Cottonwoods.
David Miller, director of operations at Ski Utah partner Wasatch Squatters Brewing, has long had a passion for brewing beer. But also for doing it in a sustainable way. The popular Utah brewery, born in the resort town of Park City in 1986, has put innovative practices in place to recycle cans, used grain, water, and more. Last Chair headed to the Wasatch Squatters taproom in Salt Lake City to get insights from Miller and to enjoy a Last One Down lager, a beer brewed in partnership with Ski Utah...
Steven Clark enjoyed the ideal skier’s lifestyle as a young boy living at the mouth of the Cottonwood Canyons. Today, he’s the avalanche safety program manager for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). As skiers and riders wind their way up Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of the most avalanche-intensive sections of highway in the world, he’s the one leading efforts to help keep us safe. Clark joined this episode of Last Chair from Snowbird to talk about innovative new technology that is he...
When Dr. Jeffrey Rosenbluth left med school for his first job at the University of Utah in 2001, he already had a vision in mind. A skier himself, he wanted to bring that wind-in-your-face sensation of the sport to those who didn’t have the same personal mobility. Fast forward to today, Dr. Rosenbluth's pioneering initiative has led to TetraSki – a device that combines medical science with engineering to create remarkable opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities. In this episode ...
When it comes to the lifestyle of a ski town, Utah is a real pioneer. When High West began distilling in Utah nearly 20 years ago, it was the first ski town distillery in America. Ritual Chocolate followed suit, moving to Utah in 2015. In this episode, Last Chair explores the magic of whiskey and chocolate, and the unique experiences these two Utah companies are offering visitors. Back in season one of Last Chair , we talked with High West founder David Perkins , who told the unique story of how...
Bill Rock is at home on the mountain. He skis. He snowboards. He remembers that first day his kids passed him on a ski run. He counts his blessings for being able to spend his life on ski mountains around the country – around the world! Today, as president of the mountain division of Vail Resorts, he is one of the most influential leaders in our sport. In his conversation with Ski Utah’s Last Chair podcast, he talks about the evolution of his career and the pride he takes in his company’s innova...
It’s now official! The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are returning to Utah in 2034. The International Olympic Committee made the call on July 24. In this episode of Last Chair, we’ll explore the games to come looking at a few venues outside of the traditional skiing and snowboarding realm. With all of the 2002 Olympic venues still in place and operating, the 2034 edition will require no permanent venue construction. The IOC welcomed this sustainable approach. In 2034, around a dozen venues...
Olympians Devin Logan and Caroline Claire are kindred spirits, finishing each other’s sentences and sharing a common passion for hucking themselves off jumps and poofing through powder pillows in the Little Cottonwood backcountry. So how did the two Long Island girls, seven years apart in age, find each other and make their way to Utah? The duo are now telling their story through the lens of filmmakers Sarah Beam Robbins and Iz La Motte in Kindred , set to premier this fall. Last Chair caught up...
The red tram pulled out of the station, heading up to Hidden Peak on its seven-minute run. Perched along the front left window was the legendary Junior Bounous, looking down and surveying the ski runs he plotted out 53 seasons ago. From his base at the Lodge at Snowbird, the 98-1/2-year-old Bounous still gets out to Snowbird and Alta two or three days a week. In this historic interview, Ski Utah’s Last Chair spent a day at Snowbird with Bounous, who regaled us with stories of his nearly a centur...
A big part of the history of skiing is the fellowship of ski clubs. And before you write it off as a thing of the past, meet the OurSundays Ski & Board Club. This started out to be a podcast on diversity, exploring OurSundays’ affiliation with the National Brotherhood of Snowsports . But it quickly became a celebration of why we all love to ski and ride – a culture shared by all. Domeda Duncan and Mark Giles are two transplants to Utah. Domeda skied as a child in Detroit. The closest Mark ca...
The spirit of the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City still resonates across the state. This July, there will be more cause for excitement as it’s anticipated that the International Olympic Committee may name Salt Lake City-Utah as the 2034 host for the Winter Games. To learn more, Last Chair gathered in the Governor’s Mansion to hear from Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, and SLC-UT 2034 Board Chair Catherine Raney Norman. One of the key ass...
The Christmas blizzard of 2003 still ranks as one of the biggest winter storms in Utah’s history – legendary enough to have its own Wikipedia page . It dumped four feet of snow in the valley and upwards of twice that in the mountains, closing resorts. But it also brought tragedy. On Dec. 26, 2003 an entire mountainside of snow broke off the flanks of Mt. Timpanogos, roaring down out of the clouds towards a dozen skiers, riders, hikers, and snowshoers. Five were buried, with three not making it h...
It’s early season at Alta. OpenSnow forecaster Evan Thayer has left his meteorological screens in the hotel and is bashing his way down some fresh powder under the Collins chair. Life is good. If there is anyone we tens of thousands of Utah skiers owe a ‘thank you’ to, it would be Thayer, a weather nerd who hadn’t really planned his career path this way, but is thankful his former powder alert email list has turned into life as Utah’s snow forecaster. The tools we have today to forecast weather ...
Head to any Woodward Mountain Center and you’ll immediately be drawn to the kids in the Jib Park and Peace Park pushing themselves to new heights. Since Woodward’s humble beginning over 50 years ago as a gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania, progression has been central to its mission. Today, Woodward centers span the globe including Utah’s Woodward Park City. In this episode of Last Chair , we catch up with a legend in action sports, Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson. Now the president of Woodward globally, G...
Thinking back on it today, X Games champion Alex Schlopy still shakes his head. A homegrown product of Park City, Utah, in a month-long span in 2011 he won an X Games title in Aspen, became a world champion on his home hill at Park City Mountain and soared to Dew Tour gold in Snowbasin. In a roller coaster decade that saw the highest of highs and lowest of lows, today Schlopy is the happiest he’s ever been – an athlete ambassador for Ski Utah and looking forward to his first runs off Jupiter in ...
It was a typical day at the USANA Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah as Olympic and Paralympic athletes were sweating it out on the training center floor, preparing for their winter competition seasons ahead. Sophie Goldschmidt, the president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, talked to Last Chair from a meeting room looking out at some of the greatest ski and snowboard athletes in America. The U.S. Ski Team moved to Park City in 1974, initially setting up shop in the old Silver King mine...
The 2022-23 ski season was the biggest on record in Utah! So, just how big was the snowfall? And what’s the science behind it all? Last Chair got together with Professor Powder himself, Jim Steenburgh, along with KUTV2 meteorologist Chase Thomason to review the records and share their own stories of skiing and riding Utah’s Greatest Snow on Earth.
Over the past few years you’ve probably noticed the brand Stio on the slopes. Born in the Mountain West, the company has become known for its extensive colors and a serious focus on technical materials that are sustainable. Last Chair did a visit with Stio Senior Materials Manager Sandy Flint to learn more about its products, which are both revolutionizing outdoor clothing performance and utilizing technology which is more friendly to the environment we all love so much. Stio was founded in 2011...
The Ski Utah Last Chair podcast takes a ride all the way up to Solitude and Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon with UDOT Cottonwood plow driver Shawn Wright. A veteran drive, Wright takes us up in a snowstorm riding shotgun in a 30-ton Mack plow truck as he talks about the life of a plow driver and how exhilarating it can be riding the canyons in the dark at 4:00 a.m. on snow mornings.
Utah gets a lot of snow! And as skiers and riders, our objective is to get up to the resorts as quickly as possible. But who takes care of that 30 inches of snow that fell overnight? And who mitigates that cornice hanging a thousand of feet above the highway? Last Chair took a ride with the Utah Department of Transportation Cottonwoods plow team, talking with Jake Brown and riding with Shawn Walker on a snowy Big Cottonwood morning. It’s just 13 miles up Little Cottonwood to Alta, 20 through Big...
As skiers and riders, we hate to think of melting snow. But to Dr. McKenzie Skiles, snow melt is the lifeblood of existence in the mountain west. Last Chair ventured up Little Cottonwood Canyon to join Dr. Skiles in a three-meter deep snow pit to talk about snow melt, the impact of desert dust and what the future holds in store. An Alaskan native who started skiing when she was two, Skiles had a long fascination with snow. She chose the University of Utah for college because of the snow-covered ...
Since the day he found an old pair of skis in his family’s hotel attic, Henri Rivers has found a special joy in skiing. It didn’t matter to him that he was the only black skier on his high school ski team. He just loved to ski. Today, as president of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS), Rivers is making a difference helping the ski industry better understand how to embrace black skiers with programs like Ski Utah’s Discover Winter . The first thing that strikes you when you meet Rivers is n...
With each successive two-foot snowfall, skiers and riders at resorts rejoice. But in the Utah backcountry with no avalanche mitigation, that fresh snow often sits on a sugary, crusty weak layer and can be prone to sliding. Last Chair headed into the Utah backcountry with Utah Avalanche Center pro Drew Hardesty for a conversation in a snow pit, analyzing those weak layers from storms going back to October and talking avalanche safety. A seasoned avalanche safety veteran, Hardesty was a gracious b...
In October it started snowing in Utah. And it really hasn’t stopped, with over 225 inches in Little Cottonwood Canyon by mid-December. So, what’s going on? Last Chair invited Open Snow forecaster Evan Thayer and atmospheric scientist Jim Steenburgh for a Special Snowfall Edition podcast to dive into the continuous powder forecast and share a few stories of their own. Deep powder is nothing new in Utah. But the 2022-23 season kicked off with a bang, starting in late October and continuing incessa...
