This is the last run of The Mountain Podcast.  It will be rebranded as, Mountain Works.  We are not going back into previous episodes to change titles/edits.  Consider them the archive. More episodes will be coming in 2022 on the same feed.  Just with a new name now, and a little more integration into the ski area staff scene in the Upper Left.  www.pnsaa.org ..read more

The Next Generation of Lift Technician Training.  Partner episode with Oregon State University.  Course brochure HERE Follow along with THIS SLIDE DECK Sign up for the course HERE   ..read more

The Mountain talks staff mental health with Matt Troskey, VP of People and Learning @Mt. Hood Meadows.  Why Deaths by Suicide Are So High in Ski and Snowboard Towns (nationalgeographic.com) Seattle was the saddest metro area in the nation last month, survey shows | The Seattle Times For Some, Suicide May Be The Price Of Living In A Ski Town Paradise | Colorado Public Radio (cpr.org) Episode Sponsor: Betterhelp.com/themountain ..read more

PNW ski industry adjusts to covid-19.  Mt. Baker CEO, Gwyn Howat.  Wear your mask.  ..read more

Mountain Operations. Company Structures. Career path conversations with Mountain Ops Leaders; Scott Bowen, Crystal Mountain Resort and Jake Smith, Hoodoo.  Chair lift talks at Mt. Baker.  ..read more

A ski area general manager, a mid-level manager, a ski patroller, and an industry rookie walk into...... a room full of 450 people. Origin stories unfold. Greg Pack, Cody Howe, Hannah Besso, and Megan Keating talk about their career paths in the US ski industry.   Collaboration episode with Ski Area Management's podcast, PodSAM.  SAM editor, Dave Meeker, leads this panel discussion at the 2022 Mountain Works Conference.   ..read more

Climate scientists Dr. Sarah Myhre and Dr. Nick Siler are joined by Gwyn Howat, CEO of Mt. Baker Ski Area, and Adrienne Saia Isaac from the National Ski Areas Association to talk about ocean health and the ski industry's risk management efforts in regard to climate change. Accompanied by PNSAA president, Jordan Elliott, and emcee extraordinaire,  SHANAN KELLEY. Recorded LIVE at the 2022 Mountain Works Conference.  Supplemental Graph: Earth Temperature Timeline.  NSAA's Sustainable Slopes program info > HERE ..read more

Insider intel on how ski areas happen. By and for ski area employees in the Northwest. Interview with Annie Fast of Ski Oregon, former editor of Transworld Snowboarding Magazine. Chair Lift thoughts inspired by Goggy Foggles. Lift Ops. Ski Patrol. Lift Maintenance.  Grooming. Rentals. Retail. Ski and Ride School. Food and Beverage. Hospitality.  Parking lots.  Accounting.  Human Resources.  Marketing.  The list goes on.   ..read more

Chris Hagar (Backcountry Hunters & Anglers) presents the history of public lands in the US. Shawnee Hinman (USFS Region 6) presents a history of how ski areas came to be part of the public land system. Finally, Kent Sharpe (SE Group) joins Shawnee and PNSAA President Jordan Elliott on the couch to talk about how ski area special use permits are administered within the national forest system. Recorded Live at the 2022 Mountain Works Conference.  Chris Hagar's Slide Deck HERE  Shawnee Hinman's Slide Deck HERE Skijoring Storyboard HERE ..read more

The Oregon employment department's Damon Runberg details the vocational makeup of the region's ski industry workforce. He provides data on what COVID-19 did to the macro hospitality workforce and then follows us through industry type, time, and space while highlighting the "other season" jobs that also rely on water.  Recorded live in front of nearly 500 PNW ski area staff members at the 2022 Mountain Works Conference.  Special emcee shoutout to Shanan Kelley. Damon's slide deck is here   ..read more