Arriving in the Banff National Park means you’ve hit Canadas most beautiful mountains and best skiing. The ski areas of Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Norquay have some of the most varied and expansive skiing in the world. Our guest, Ken Read, knows skiing and knows his mountains.

Banff is kind of the center of the action here – it’s a small town about 100 km. or just over an hour due west of Calgary. Keep driving and the first area you come to is Norquay (sort of the town hill of Banff) then comes Sunshine Village – a snow haven, and then you finally come to the final jewel – the town of Lake Louise with its own renown ski resort.

My guest today was one of the Crazy Canuks back in the 1980s and won some serious speed events like Kitzbuehel. Ken Read’s love and passion for the sport and for all sports Canadian has led him to serve in multiple positions to help advance skiing and sports in general. After his professional ski career, he served as the chair of the Canadian Olympic Association Athletes Council, as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission, the FIS Alpine Committee Executive Board where among other things he re-organized youth development programs.

Eagle Valley - Vail

Perhaps the best known of American ski resorts, Vail is about 100 miles due west of Denver. Envisioned by Pete Siebert of the 10th Mountain Division, the mountain opened in December 1962. Today there is some of the best skiing on the planet on over 5,317 acres served by 32 lifts and 278 trails.

My guest today is a legend – literally - we are pleased to have Chris Anthony join us. His love and passion for the sport is real and he skis 5-6 days a week on this hill. Aside from working at Vail Mountain for 38 years, in 2018, Chris was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame and has since been inducted into the United States Army 10th Mt. Div Warrior Legend Hall of Fame.

My Favs

Best Runs - This is a hard call and really depends on the weather and grooming - Prima, Riva and Northstar on the front. Siberia Bowl on the back

Restaurants - Pepis in Vail Village for the Austria flavor and fun. The Minturn Saloon in Minturn for the Margs and Mexican

Find Chris

I've wanted to do this episode for a while.

The Bernese Oberland is like stepping into a picture postcard with the small villages of Wengen, Murren and Grindlewald hosting some amazing skiing. All with the famed Eiger as the backdrop.

Our guest is Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Regez, Ryan grew up in Wengen, has Swiss-British dual citizenship, is a member of the Wengen ski club and is a very fun guest.

Our Favs

Hotel - Arenas Victoria-Lauberhorn - it's close to the train and the Manlichen tram, has great views and has a good breakfast

Dinner - the Eiger - the food is good, traditional Swiss - yes they have fondue and more. Oh yeah, its also reasonable in price.

Apres - The Pickle Bar in Wengen or the Hutte in Kleine Scheigegg

Favorite Run - the run under the WIXI lift

Big Sky Resort is huge, incredible and has something for everyone. 5,850 acres and vertical of 4,350 feet over 3 peaks in are served by 26 lifts (most of them new). It sits halfway down Montana’s Gallatin River Canyon between Bozeman and the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, it’s about an hour drive south from Bozeman airport. Big Sky’s, big runs, amazing vistas – you can’t ski this area in a day – it takes three.

Our guest is Zoe Mavis, Zoe is a legend at Big Sky where she’s been the training manager for the Mountain Sports School for 13 years. She is also a 2-term member of the PSIA-AASI National Team. Zoe has been teaching skiing since she was 15 and has a passion for outdoor education over the years in both skiing and water sports.

There is a ton of skiing right now in August. But – where to Ski? I’m not excited about skiing in lanes on a glacier in between racers and I certainly wasn’t going to try one of the indoor hockey rinks designed for slalom skiers.

We take a look where its actually winter . In Australia there is Threadbo and Perisher; New Zealand has Coronet Peak and Mt Hutt; Chile has Portillo, La Parva, Valle Nevados, and Argentina has the Barriloche area, Las Lenas, Cerro Castor – and that’s just the tip of the resort iceberg.

So, I reached out to a friend who grew up and worked at multiple places south of the equator to bring some sense to my growing list. Grab your skis, let’s jump on a plane and head south.

I’m thrilled to welcome Barney Caddick back to our show, you might remember him from our Arlberg episode. Barney is a senior guide and owner of Ski Like a Pro in St Anton, Austria. With 38 seasons of teaching and guiding on 4 continents, Barney has seen it all. He started his own ski journey in Australia and has spent summers teaching and guiding in Chile, Argentina, and in his home country of Australia.

Resources:

Find Barney at Ski Like a Pro

Ski Weather and snow reports – OpenSnow

Tucked into the end of a box canyon in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah; Alta is known for steep chutes and deep powder - an old-style ski town focused on the skiing and the people who ski there.

Scott Urtel has guided for Wasatch Powderbirds, and for Ski with Kim for a decade. He is currently the lead training officer for the Alta Ski Patrol, and skis this mountain pretty much every day of the season.

Our Favs

• Best Hotel - Goldminers Daughter
• Best Apres - The Peruvian or an Alta bomb at the Goldminer’s Daughter?
• Best Run - that really depends on the day and the snow - pick a chute

Thank you to the Grits Band for the music

@ Copyright 2024 Morgan Global LLC

In this bonus episode we hit on one of my favorite subjects – mountain weather. Nothing worse than planning a trip, getting somewhere, and getting weathered out – either rain, too little snow or even too much snow can affect your day. Weather has a lot to do with my own decision-making process of where to ski.

Our guest is Joel Gratz, Founder and CEO of OpenSnow. Joel really (really) likes three things: Weather, snow, and skiing. I don't know about the skiing but he really knows weather and snow.

Listen to this fun and informative conversation we had with Joel.

Contact Joel www.opensnow.com

This bonus episode is a new twist on Where to Ski where we explore the culture, history, and future of mountain towns. Today’s focus is on what makes skiing in Europe different from skiing in other parts of the world.

Today we talk to the youngest generation of one of the oldest families in St Anton, Austria, our guest today is Anna Schranz.

Anna’s family has lived in this region for 7 generations, she was born and has lived most of her life in St Anton and has seen many of the changes to the town and she is one of many who will be leading St Anton into the future.

Contact Anna - Karl Schranz Hotel https://www.hotelkarlschranz.com/

Thanks to the Grits Band for the music

@copyright 2024 Morgan.Global LLC