Sasha Rearick has coached Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Andrew Weibrecht…and most of the U.S. Men’s Team over an 18 year career. Now he’s at Apex2100 in France and more motivated than ever. We talk wacky courses, Sasha’s three core components to going fast, “expressing yourself” through skiing, the mind of Bode Miller, team dynamics, the role of coaches, leading the Apex2100 program, and—as always—so much more. The Skiing History Nugget is about one of the biggest comeback stories in ski racing. Questions, suggestions, and grievances always welcome: arccityjimmy@gmail.com or on Instagram @jimmy_who ..read more

There is the potential for an age-limit rule change in NCAA skiing. So I got three veterans of the American ski racing world to help talk through it, and we ended up discussing far more than that. We briefly walked through the history of college ski racing in the US, then we talked about statistics, average ages, the international wave of skiers, the proposed age-limit rule, the balance between the U.S. Ski Team pipeline and college, the former U.S. University Team, high school post-graduate years, the difficulty of college race courses, supplementing training in the off-season, and more. Woof ..read more

We might as well talk about it, right? Austrian speed skier and climate advocate Julian Schütter visits Arc City (1:57) to work through this often-polarizing topic. We start from the very basic “Is climate change real?” and progress through every tough question I can muster. Julian does not pretend to be a scientist, but he’s well-read on the subject and has conversed deeply about this before, which is partly why I chose to interview him. I also chose him because he is helping lead the movement that is demanding the International Ski Federation (FIS) try harder to reduce emissions. No matter y ..read more

Three years after the world engaged in deep conversations about diversity and inclusion, the topic may have faded for some—but certainly not for the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS). In August, nine young Black athletes supported by the NBS attended an elite conditioning and performance education camp at U.S. Ski Snowboard headquarters in Park City, UT. I Zoomed with three athletes on their last night at the camp: alpine skier Fantaye Gilbertson, mogul skier Kennedy Hicks, and Red Bull-sponsored snowboarder LJ Henriquez. We dove right into it and had a conversation that was sometimes deep ..read more

Well folks, this is a big one. Olympic champion, World Champion, and 69-time World Cup winner Mikaela Shiffrin gives us a chunk of her very-busy, Olympic-prepping schedule to talk over Zoom (2:34). First and importantly, we talk about the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund (keeptheflamealive.org), which gives direct aid to National Team athletes. The fund is named after Mikaela’s late father, and I ask her a bit about him. Then we try to figure out who Mikaela would be if she didn’t ski race, what it’s like being the person that’s supposed to win every single race, and how she handles the t ..read more

Ralph Green is a Paralympian and one of the best one-legged ski racers ever (1:14). We talk about his incredible back story, from his humble beginnings in Brooklyn to his introduction to skiing and his miraculous, hard-work-pays-off leap to the U.S Ski Team. I ask him about his unique experience jumping into the ski racing world after growing up so far removed from the sport. We dive into the tough questions, like how to bring more diversity to skiing and what it's like being a Black man in a very white sport. For our five-minute call, we dial up Doug Lewis, an Olympian who knows a few things ..read more

The population of Arc City continues to grow. After the headlines (2:00), we check in with the ever-cool Tommy Ford to ask him about his recent GS podium finish (3:13). Then we a get full, in-depth interview with Lucas Braathen (7:19). The conversation starts with Lucas' latest race performances, and ends with learning who the 20-year-old kid is behind the skier. We cover all that we can in between, including his team dynamic (excluding one key Norwegian), his "new-school" technique, and the lack of media content in ski racing, among other things. Be sure to stick around, as our resident ski-r ..read more

In his first episode back in the booth, Jimmy talks with Olympian extraordinaire Julia Mancuso (2:12). We touch on everything from Julia’s early years in Tahoe, to the relationship between surfing and skiing. We discuss Julia’s incredible talent for winning medals and go in-depth on the mental and emotional side of competition. We talk retirement, what Julia’s up to now, and finally get a good explanation of her and Lindsey Vonn’s complicated, but strong, friendship. Jimmy also rolls out a fun little Skiing History segment (54:50). (For questions, comments, and grievances, email ArcCityJimmy@g ..read more

We visit Alice Robinson in New Zealand to kick off Arc City's fourth (!) winter. Alice and I sat with a view of Coronet Peak, her home mountain, and hashed it out about everything from her beginnings as a young wide-eyed skier to being a breakout star. Alice also talks about switching ski companies, the struggle to win World Cup races again, and Red Bull’s support. We also have some fun talking about Instagram messages, among other things. Afterwards: some ski racing headlines to get you caught up (40:16).Questions, suggestions, and grievances always welcome: arccityjimmy@gmail.com or on Insta ..read more

To close out the season the recently-crowned World Champion in slalom, Laurence St. Germain, visits The City. She tells us the story of winning that race—and what it’s like to beat Mikaela Shiffrin. Her story of skiing a World Cup race with no shin guards is another fascinating tale. We talk about her approach to training, which draws on her background as a currently-studying engineer. We discuss the successes—and shortcomings—of Alpine Canada, the difference between men’s and women’s skiing, and much more. The Skiing History Nugget (52:12) is about the (insane) first Quebec Kandahar downhill ..read more