Best Realskiers With Jackson Hogen Podcasts (2025)

1
BOA Takes Control 10:21

Play Pause

4h ago10:21

10:21

Today’s episode takes a big picture look at the phenomenal success of the BOA cable fit system that has found its way into virtually every alpine boot line sold in America. It’s a tremendous achievement in co-branding, considering that BOA doesn’t have an alpine boot of its own, and must develop a symbiotic relationship with every brand it works wi…

1
The Impact of Tariffs 10:58

5h ago10:58

10:58

Inconsistent U.S. tariff policy hurt an already wounded U.S. ski market.By Jackson Hogen

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On Being Light 9:08

2d ago9:08

9:08

On Being Light is Chapter 8 of Snowbird Secrets, a collection of 22 meditations on what it means to be a skier, authored by "Guru" Dave Powers and Jackson Hogen. There is no other instruction manual that teaches the lessons found in Snowbird Secrets. The best technical skier of his generation who also happens to be a world-class instructor, Mike Ro…

1
Another Cornerstone Wobbles v2 10:48

29d ago10:48

10:48

Another Cornerstone Wobbles v2 by Jackson HogenBy Jackson Hogen

1
A Change in Plans 8:50

3M ago8:50

8:50

Seismic changes to the American ski market in recent seasons has made it impossible for Realskiers.com to continue to gather enough test data to generate a meaningful result. So we won’t be reviewing individual ski models and ranking them as we have since the site’s inception. But we haven’t lost our ability to analyze any given skier’s situation a…

1
Swimming Against the Tide 13:14

8M ago13:14

13:14

Swimming Against the Tide by Jackson HogenBy Jackson Hogen

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Catching Up 9:32

9M ago9:32

9:32

Our current ski season got off to a rocky start due to a serious over-supply of skis. It’s taken until now to transfer most of this backlog from supplier’s shelves to their constituent retailers, creating a robust buyer’s market for new skis.By Jackson Hogen

1
The Fly in the Ointment 11:44

11M ago11:44

11:44

The ski market in America has devolved into a hot mess. One of the manifestations of its dysfunction is a clog in the pipeline from supplier to skier. This podcast takes a look at how we got into this predicament and invites my Dear Listeners' to share their thoughts on the subject. You can log your vision of how we get out this mess via the Member…

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At Our Wits End 6:47

12M ago6:47

6:47

In the spirit of rank commercialism, I’m offering to you, my Dear Listeners, the opportunity to donate some of your hard-earned revenue to Realskiers.com. I realize that most Black Friday offers arrive in the form of some sort of discounted goods or services, a trend this special offer reverses. I’m going to instead give you several good reasons wh…

1
Bloomberg is Bankrupt 14:06

1y ago14:06

14:06

The following bit of tripe was recently re-published by Apple News after first appearing in the pages of Bloomberg’s online publication. It consists of unreadable drivel from end to end, and certainly isn’t worth paying to peek behind the Apple News pay-wall to investigate, so I’ve reiterated the text, verbatim, in this week’s edition of Realskiers…

1
Suspended Animation 10:15

1y ago10:15

10:15

Skiing isn’t for the faint of heart. Neither is subjecting oneself to what is coyly referred to as “America’s Health Care System.” Hold that thought while I elaborate on point one, that a lifetime devoted to skiing is hard to navigate without occasionally experiencing a consequential impact with the planet or some other immovable object attached to…

1
Stu Winchester Revisited 1:04:04

1y ago1:04:04

1:04:04

Welcome to another insightful conversation with Stu Winchester, who not only publishes the most thorough resort coverage in North America in his Storm Skiing Journal, he is perhaps the only true journalist reporting on the contemporary ski resort scene.Most resort reviews are rubbish, full of gushing praise lest the “journalist” lose his or her all…

1
There Will Never Be a Better Time to Buy Boots 6:23

1y ago6:23

6:23

As far as I know, October isn’t “National Buy Your Ski Boots Now” Month, but it should be. Carryover stock will never be more abundant, and new models will still have a full range of sizes, which won’t be true forever. Perhaps most importantly, bootfitters are also in relatively strong supply, so with any luck the one waiting on you won’t be juggli…

1
Prof. John Seifert Reveals Ski Injury Dynamics 59:33

1y ago59:33

59:33

Prof. John Seifert of Montana State University first popped up on my radar when I saw a video of a lecture he gave to the PSIA National Academy in 2019. That year, I published what I could glean from his presentation in a Revelation titled, Why Wide Skis Aren’t Good for Your Knees. Prof. Seifert went on sabbatical at the end of that school year and…

1
AI Ski Reviews Revisited 20:30

1y ago20:30

20:30

In today’s belated contribution to my podcast library, I’ll hew to my usual custom of reciting today’s Revelation verbatim. As penance for missing my customary Tuesday posting, I’ve added a bonus contribution to today’s podcast, namely the four full, 300-word reviews cited in today’s Revelation, annotated for your edification and amusement.…

1
Dan Chalfant & Liberty 36:53

1y ago36:53

36:53

Liberty Skis, the brainchild of Dan Chalfant and Jim Satloff, was born 20 years ago - over après ski beers - in Beaver Creek, Colorado, from the urge to develop a lighter ski that would reduce fatigue and return more energy to the skier than the relatively dead planks of the day. They were on the leading edge of the Lighter is Better movement in co…

1
The Fog of War 9:01

1y ago9:01

9:01

This installment of The Making of a Skier doesn't have much to do with skiing, but it does cover a formative period of my youth which has informed my life ever since. It is timely in that it references a time in our nation's past when we seemed as divided as we are today. I offer it as a balm to our national wounds.…

1
Pam Fletcher 57:14

1y ago57:14

57:14

My very special guest today has known the highest high and the lowest low a ski racer can experience, and handled both moments with style and grace. She pulled off the run of a lifetime at the perfect venue, the roars of the home-country crowd exhorting her to victory in Vail, crushing the field despite starting 30th. There were no crowds - no witn…

1
Frontside Models 10:42

1y ago10:42

10:42

In today’s Revelation on Realskiers.com, I extol the virtues of the 2025 season’s finest Frontside models, skis with a much more expansive performance envelope than they are usually given credit for. My ultimate objective in celebrating Frontside models above all others is to help create a safer mountain for all skiers. The greatest danger to the o…

1
Bob Gleason 48:23

1y ago48:23

48:23

Bob Gleason assisted at the birth of the rear-entry boot when he worked alongside Denny Hanson in the early days of what would become a huge phenomenon. He is one of the founding savants who taught bootfitting in an era of anything-goes designs. He’s been teaching bootfitting skills, from the rudiments to the exotic, for 45 years, and counting.…

1
A Dearth of Data 8:40

1y ago8:40

8:40

Realskiers.com has a long history of publishing its ski test data on our members' site - until this year. Simply put, there isn't enough data to justify publishing it. Here's the story behind the story...By Jackson Hogen

1
The Reckoning To Come 13:39

1y ago13:39

13:39

The ski trade is in a period of radical change, from brand ownership to dealer relationships. In my opening Revelation of the 2025 season, I take a snapshot of the current turbulent situation.By Jackson Hogen

1
Gary Fleming: An Insider's View of Today's Ski Market Dynamics 45:43

1+ y ago45:43

45:43

In today's edition of Realskiers with Jackson Hogen - the final installment of the 23/24 season - I explore the current crisis facing the ski retail community in collaboration with today's guest, Gary Fleming, the newly anointed president of Winter Sports Retailers, an organization that represents over 300 locations in the U.S.…

1
Is Skiing Getting Better or Worse? 10:47

1+ y ago10:47

10:47

There's no going back to the good old days, no matter how much we may miss them. This tidy excursion into the past asks the pertinent question, is skiing better today, or worse?By Jackson Hogen

1
The Incomparable Jonny Moseley 1:05:35

1+ y ago1:05:35

1:05:35

Jonny Moseley’s Olympic gold medal at the Nagano Games in 1998 set the stage for a post-competition career that would be the envy of any athlete. Of course, a lot of athletes have followed a victory with a spot on late-night TV, as Moseley did on the David Letterman show, but not many are invited back, and even fewer go on to host their own show, a…

1
Snowbird Secrets Isn't About Snowbird 12:32

2y ago12:32

12:32

It’s the New Year, often touted as a time for resolutions, for filing an amended flight plan for the trajectory of one’s life. It is in this spirit that today I’ve chosen to give voice to the Introduction to Snowbird Secrets, a pithy block of background information that isn’t included in its e-book version, and for all I know is routinely skipped o…

1
Dave Bertoni, Product Launch Maestro 53:36

2y ago53:36

53:36

My guest today is Dave Bertoni, a curious choice, in that Dave currently has nothing whatsoever to do with the ski business, but today’s podcast isn’t about today’s ski trade, but explores its roots in the not-so-distant past. Did you ever wonder what became of the legendary Salomon rear-entry boot design that drove the two-piece overlap to the bri…

1
Seth Masia, World's Foremost Ski Historian 28:36

2y ago28:36

28:36

Today I’m interviewing the world’s foremost ski historian, Seth Masia, who is President of the International Skiing History Association and the Publisher of Skiing History since 2014, and its Editor since 2002. He is perhaps best known for his 20 years of service at SKI (from 1974 to 1993), mostly on the equipment beat, where he was a pillar of the…

1
Robin Barnes, An Instructor for Life 47:42

2y ago47:42

47:42

Robin Barnes is a 4-term member of the PSIA National Alpine Team, and the Director of Skier Services at Heavenly Mountain resort, and the former Director of the Ski and Snowboard School in Portillo, Chile. Robin also serves as a Contributing Author and Reviewer for 32 Degrees Magazine, the official publication of the Professional Ski Instructors of…

1
Thor Verdonk, The Man Behind the Shadow 49:12

2y ago49:12

49:12

My guest today is Thor Verdonk, the Technical Product Director for the Rossignol Group. You’ve probably never heard of him, but you’ve heard of the products he has helped to shepherd into the market, most recently the Lange Shadow. The Shadow is unquestionably the biggest story in Alpine ski gear this winter. Bear in mind that Lange has been the ep…

1
JimSchaffner 1:01:46

2y ago1:01:46

1:01:46

There’s no way to answer the rhetorical question posed by this podcast’s title, but that Schaffner belongs on the short list of the world’s best bootfitters is irrefutable. His resume is bulletproof: he began modifying race boots for Salomon when its flagship boot was the rear-entry SX 90 Equipe, and he continues plying this arcane craft to this da…

1
Guru Dave Powers 57:19

2y ago57:19

57:19

Guru Dave Powers is my cherished co-author of Snowbird Secrets, a modern mystic with a way of looking at the world that is both whimsical and profound. He shares his intimate knowledge of Snowbird in his daily snow reports at Gurudavepowers.com, a must-read for anyone who wants to catch the best snow on this magnificent mountain. He is, in a word, …

1
Snowbird Secrets: On Traverses 10:33

2y ago10:33

10:33

On Traverses is Chapter 9 of Snowbird Secrets, 22 meditations about what it means to ski this cosmically connected mountain. I'm posting it today to commemorate this coming Thursday's podcast with Guru Dave Powers, whose work you can find at gurudavepowers.com. Enjoy!By Jackson Hogen

1
Mike Bisner, The Best Networker in Skiing 1:01:17

2y ago1:01:17

1:01:17

You’ve probably never heard of my guest today, but Mike Bisner might be the most well-connected person in our sport. He has covered every base at an executive level, as general manager of one of the largest specialty chains in the retail sector, as marketing director at Salomon when the French juggernaut was riding high, and he later played a simil…

1
Kim Reichhelm Queen of Extreme 42:43

2y ago42:43

42:43

Kim and I are going reminisce about our time together at the Snow Country Magazine ski test in the early ‘90’s, but oddly that wasn’t the high point of her career. She is best known as the creator of the first and still longest-running women’s ski camps, which came after a career in ski racing that landed her on the U.S. Ski Team. She is notorious …

1
The Boot Buying Decision Tree 7:59

2y ago7:59

7:59

A few simple guidelines to guide you through the maze of new ski boots so you'll end up in the best boot for you and your beleaguered feet.By Jackson Hogen

1
Wayne Wong Needs No Further Introduction 56:12

2y ago56:12

56:12

No one embodies the spirit of hot dog skiing as completely as the incomparable Wayne Wong. A living legend, he continues to rock the free(style) world!By Jackson Hogen

1
Price Is No Object 5:55

2y ago5:55

5:55

Consumers waste a lot of time scouring the Internet for deals on skis, when in fact for a given category, chances are all the top models will be priced within $50 of one another. Of course there is a robust sale market, but its focus are the skis of yesteryear, particularly the recently obsoleted 2023 vintage.…

1
Mike Adams Tells it Like It Is 1:03:18

2y ago1:03:18

1:03:18

Mike Adams has been a force to reckon with since he assumed the reins at Elan's U.S. distributorship in the early 1990's, raising their U.S. presence and richening their mix. He was the engine behind Salomon's renaissance at the end of that decade before accepting the role of running Atomic in this country. He's had his finger on the pulse of the s…

1
The Con is On! 14:29

2y ago14:29

14:29

The Internet was already a cesspool of misinformation, then along came AI-driven content creation to turbo-charge the amount of uniformed rubbish available to a vulnerable public. In this episode, I expose the tendency to fraudulence that seems baked into AI.By Jackson Hogen

1
Stuart Winchester & The Storm Skiing Journal 52:38

2y ago52:38

52:38

In only 4 scant seasons, Stuart Winchester has metamorphosed from avid citizen skier to one of the most well-informed (and therefore well-respected) sources of information about ski areas of every stripe, particularly in America. His Storm Skiing Journal is a must-read for anyone who wants a granular view of American skiing. We love his byline: “Ev…

1
Boots Matter Most 7:56

2y ago7:56

7:56

Boots are not only the most important part of a skier's ensemble, the ability to fit boots is a specialty ski shop's most important asset. A shop's best assurance of survival in today's turbulent market is to field a team of bootfitters trained to match boots to their customers, optimizing both comfort and performance.…

1
The Legend, C.B. Vaughan, Jr. 39:34

2y ago39:34

39:34

My guest on this week’s edition of Realskiers with Jackson Hogen is a member of a couple of ultra-exclusive fraternities, as he was both a world speed record holder and a man so highly regarded that he can still be identified with just two tidy initials, C.B. C.B. Vaughan set a world record in speed skiing in 1963, going 106.89 mph on regular downh…

1
Why On Earth am I Doing This? 9:22

2y ago9:22

9:22

The ski world is coming apart at the seams. The quality of advice offered by most ski media is rubbish, just when an objective, well-informed ski media is needed most. This is why I fight on, despite the obvious futility of my quest.By Jackson Hogen

1
Tim Kohl Tells All 40:50

2y ago40:50

40:50

Tim Kohl is both a bon vivant who skis over 100 days a year at his home resort of Alta and a long-standing member of the ski hard goods community, going back to the days when he owned and operated RD skis and snowboards. His keen mind and lively wit have been observing our little world at close range for decades. A contrarian by nature, he always h…

1
All That's New in 23/24 16:35

2y ago16:35

16:35

This hasn't been a big year for new model introductions as the pace of innovation has definitely slowed, but there are nonetheless significant developments in the ski world that are relatively new, and they aren't good.By Jackson Hogen

1
The 2022/23 Season in Retrospect 16:13

2+ y ago16:13

16:13

This is the final podcast of the 22/23 ski season, in which I underscore the major stories of the season now attempting, unsuccessfully, to draw to a close. The podcast includes a thumbnail of each of this year's 26 Revelations on Realskiers.com. Hope you enjoyed the 40 podcasts I contributed to the cause. I'll be back before you know it...…

1
Groundhog Year 9:39

2+ y ago9:39

9:39

This week’s Revelation provides a snapshot of where the American Alpine ski market stands at this stage of its evolution. My central premise is that, from a product standpoint, the two seasons will be mostly the same, which is why this week’s Revelation is titled, "Groundhog Year."By Jackson Hogen