Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast

The bright red PistenBully wound its way up the switchbacks to the top of San Mateo Ridge. Inside, guide Ron Baldis joined the joyous revelry of his guests as they regaled each other with stories of their last run through the trees.Baldis grew up skiing in California, making first runs at Big Bear and joining his family for long trips up to Mammoth. In the early 2000s, he got a call to help a fledgling cat skiing manage its business. He ended up buying the company and now, 16 years later, he still gets the same good feeling as he leads skiers and riders across the 43,000 acres of Thousand Peaks he services with his fleet of cats.PC Powder Cats and Heli-Ski makes dreams come true. On the day we skied with Ron, we joined a group of old high school buddies from Minneapolis. Last summer they got a text chain going, rallying each other to come out to Utah for a guys reunion trip and a weekend of cat skiing.It was a stormy, wet morning when we arrived at the lodge at the head of Weber Canyon. Soon the cats were charging up hill. That first run is full of apprehension. Then you realize, ‘hey, I can do this.’ Dipping off the ridgeline your skis carve into the snow, kicking up snow plumes.Tom Kelly takes the Last Chair podcast to Thousand Peaks, getting to know Park City Powder Cats owner Ron Baldis from the cab of a PistenBully. Listen in as Baldis tells the story of Thousand Peaks ranch and what makes cat skiing such a social affair.

Imagine climbing Mount Everest. Then think about swimming the English Channel. If that's not enough, how about riding your bike across America. That was last summer for Park City triathlete Rob Lea. Oh, and let's not forget the August wedding!Rob Lea and Caroline Gleich are Utah's true adventure couple. Gleich, a noted ski mountaineer, joined fiancé Rob for the Everest climb. On May 24, they stood together atop the world's highest peak, gazing out across the vast expanse of the Himalayas. Just six weeks later, Caroline was in the boat documenting Rob's swim from Britain to France - the first time anyone had done Everest and the English Channel in that short a span of time. Lea wrapped up his Ultimate World Triathlon in September, riding from the Pacific Ocean to Nantucket.It all began when Lea learned that an injury was going to cause him to give up his passion for triathletes. So he wanted to go out with a bang. And, along the way, help raise awareness for gender equality.Last Chair's Tom Kelly will explore Rob and Caroline's ultimate summer adventure, as well as diving into her own passion for big mountain skiing in the Wasatch. The couple will share their backcountry outing in Little Cottonwood earlier that day, plus fun things they love in the show-closing lightning round.

This was one of those ‘man dreams’ - to be riding in a big piece of machinery, conquering the steeps and sculpting the snow, riding in Prinoth Bison, nearly 10 tons of machinery with over 400 horsepower of Caterpillar energy pushing the treads. Deer Valley Resort groomer Laura Sexton was in command, her left hand deftly managing the track control levers, her right fingers flicking buttons on a joystick like an experienced gamer, expertly controlling the hydraulics.A midwest native (Ski Sundown in Dubuque, Iowa), Sexton has been grooming Deer Valley’s mountains for neary 30 years - 27 of which she doubled up as a corpsman in the Naval Reserve. She’s one of the resort’s veterans on a crew with well over 100 years of experience on any given shift. And she still loves it.In this episode of Last Chair from Ski Utah, Tom Kelly explores the mountain on skis with Sexton as she personally inspects the snow surface in the late afternoon hours, before sending her first shift crew up onto the mountain.Snow grooming is an art form. Heading up the hill, Laura flicked the hydraulics to push the blade into the snow, snapping the wings out to gain maximum width. The snow looped up and circled back to the ground, while the treads compacted it. She set the tillers to aerate the snow behind the cat, with bars carving pristine corduroy into the snow.It’s a labor of love for Laura and her team, tracking hour after hour in the mountain solitude to put down precision corduroy for all of us to enjoy the next morning.

When you look at Sundance Mountain Resort, you need to view it as much more than a ski area. When Robert Redford moved to this peaceful valley in the early 1960s, his dream was to preserve this very special place. Today, Sundance is a wonderful blend of art, nature and skiing.Sundance may be a small ski area, but it skis big. Originally known as Timp Haven, Redford purchased the land in 1968, and the Sundance era egan.Last Chair, the Ski Utah Podcast traveled to the scenic valley to speak with President and General Manager Chad Linebaugh. He’ll take you on a tour of Sundance runs in his conversation with host Tom Kelly, even sharing his favorite Robert Redford movie, some little known facts about the famous actor and some insider tips about the Sundance Film Festival. Check it out in this week’s episode of Last Chair.

Sometimes you just have to follow your heart. In the early 1980s, Kim Mayhew did just that. Mayhew and her husband reevaluated their lives, deciding to head west, hopscotching between resorts like ski bums until landing in Utah. Today, Mayhew is one of the most highly regarded resort leaders in America, serving as president and chief operating officer of Solitude Mountain Resort - one of the gems of the Alterra Mountain Company. Shares her story of success and her approach to the challenges presented leading a Cottonwood Canyon resort.

Utah may seem like an unlikely spot to pioneer a distillery. But biochemist and lifelong skier David Perkins saw an opportunity. Perkins opened High West Distillery inside an old Park City garage in 2006, ushering in a unique new element to the lifestyle of skiing. In this episode of Last Chair, the Ski Utah Podcast, Perkins shares the story of how he and wife Jane conceived High West one day in Kentucky and then brought a distillery to Utah.

There’s never a dull moment in the life of Shannon Bahrke Happe: athlete (two-time Olympic medalist), entrepreneur (her Team Empower Hour brings Olympians together to motivate) business leaders and mom (young Zoe and Tucker, both literally born on skis, and husband Matt).Life is a blend for Bahrke, a Lake Tahoe native who made Utah her home in 1998 to train for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. It worked, as she won silver in moguls skiing at Deer Valley Resort. She won another medal - this one bronze - eight years later in Vancouver.The Christmas holidays will find her skiing with guests as a part of Deer Valley’s Ski With a Champion program. But what’s especially important for her is her family.“I love this time of year because I get to ski with my favorite families,” she said. “But, most of all, I look forward to being out there with my own family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’ll be skiing, sledding, playing in the snow and hoping for a giant snowstorm so we can build a gi-normous snowman.”Known for her trademark pink-accented hair, Shannon remains a bubbly personality and one of skiing’s biggest ambassador.Ski Utah’s Last Chair episode features a fascinating conversation with the two-time Olympic medalist - her favorite run, a noted celebrity with whom she’s skied (it’s a perfect match) and even her favorite ski outfit (she has a few). Take a listen - it will be an exhilarating experience.

Talk about finding your passion - snow forecaster Evan Thayer is living his dream! As a kid growing up in the mountains around Lake Tahoe, young Evan just loved to ski. But he was also fascinated with weather. Today, Thayer is truly living out his fantasy job spending his days hopscotching across Utah resorts and his early morning hours bringing you the day’s powder forecast through his role at OpenSnow.com.Following his time at college in Colorado, Thayer was working as a computer programmer. Then fate stepped in when his wife got a job in Utah. Just for fun, he started an email list among new Utah friends with his daily forecasts. That blossomed to a blog, Wasatch Snow Forecast, then a job at Ski Utah. The rest is history as Thayer spends most of his winter days on skis, doing on-mountain forecasts and keeping an index of his favorite runs.Tune in to Last Chair to hear Evan’s story and pick up a few tips on what to watch and where to ski or ride.

Dave Richards is a part of the culture and fabric of Alta, one of Utah’s most beloved ski areas. As snow safety director, he’s your most important friend on the mountain - helping to keep you safe. December is that time of year when everyone’s asking, ‘why can’t I ski there?’ Getting a bit alpine mountain ready for the ski season is a challenge, with everyone itching to get back to their favorite line. Richards, affectionately known as Grom, is at the forefront of seasonal preparation as a team of professionals prepares lifts, snowmaking and other infrastructure for the season. Most importantly, as the snowfall comes his team of patrollers work night and day to ensure the safety of guests.Richards literally grew up on the mountain at Alta with his father a patrol leader. The Wasatch backcountry was his home and remains deep in his heart. Last Chair will explore Alta through the eyes of the ultimate Alta local - the values he holds and the importance of keeping skiers safe. Grom will be ever philosophical as he tells us about his favorite mountain stash and how you can find your own!Listen in this week on Last Chair for a locals tour of Alta, one of America’s most magical mountains.

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Dave Fields loved to make turns in Utah's fluffy powder. After an early career as a journalist, he saw how excited his wife was to work at a ski area. He quickly realized, 'hey, that's what I want to do!' He signed on as an assistant in the Snowbird PR department and his pathway began. Now, nearly two decades later, he's the president and CEO responsible for running one of America's greatest ski resorts. Ski Utah's Last Chair will take you inside Dave's life on the mountain from overseeing a dedicated team of mountain ops professionals or giving out sunscreen to happy Fourth of July skiers in the tram line. You might be surprised by his choice of on-mountain lunch or favorite beer. And you just might learn a few tips on where Snowbird's boss likes to ski. Listen in on this week's Last Chair with Snowbird leader Dave Fields to learn more as we take you inside the story of the Greatest Snow on Earth.