The High Route Podcast

In this episode, we are excited to speak with Ryan Griffiths, an accomplished ski mountaineer and alpinist who, along with his partner Spencer Gray, was awarded a Piolet d’Or in 2025 for their climb of Kaqur Kangri’s Southwest Arête in Western Nepal. Ryan is a 28-year-old IFMGA guide who lives in Bozeman, Montana. The backstory is that Ryan was born and raised in Bend, Oregon, and at 14 began cutting his teeth in the backcountry on Ball Butte—a local spot. After high school, Ryan left for the Northern Rockies, fell in love with ice and mixed climbing, and along with a tight crew, gained experience. He went on to climb and ski in the Alaska Range and beyond. And just this season, along with Sam Hennessey, skied Denali's Wickersham Wall, recovered only slightly, then made the second ascent of Mount Foraker’s (Sultana) Terravecchia/Larson Route (VI, WI5 M6)—they climbed in skimo boots with skis on their backs. After clicking into skis, they leapfrogged with another group (Morgan McGlashon, Gavin Hess, Brian Burger, and Aidan Whitelaw) to make the first ski descent of the mountain’s Northwest Ridge. That’s a lot—and you’ll hear more about Ryan’s progression towards the elite level in this podcast. Ryan is a reminder that a good adventure can be out the back door (living in Montana helps) or many time zones and mountain ranges away. Read up on Griffiths’ and Gray’s Kaqur Kangri climb. If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.We’d like to thank Patagonia, CalTopo, ATK, Folkrm Poles, and Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry for supporting us.  We are also excited to announce that you can pre-order Issues 4 and 5 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Bozeman-based band Jampoke. We are psyched to feature young creative folks. Jam and twirl and tour on. 

In this episode we speak with journalist Mitch Tobin. Tobin co-directs the Water Desk at CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, and he also publishes his own excellent newsletter, Snow.News. I first learned about Tobin’s work while seeking resources to better understand climate change and its impacts in the West. As skiers and riders, we like snow, and without it, well, life simply is not as good. After last season’s historically low snow totals, I thought it was time to get a grasp on the broader context of the 2025-2026 snow-water cycle. Also, just like everyone else, I wanted Tobin’s insights into the predicted Super El Nino. However, both Tobin and I are die-hards—we’d love an epic snow season, but Super El Nino or not, we are somewhat easy to please when it comes to snow conditions.  And we should note, we read many resources covering the water and snow scenes when it comes to policy, climate, and weather—Tobin's work has set a very high bar. CU Water DeskTobin's Snow.NewsIf you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.We’d like to thank Patagonia, ATK, Folkrm Poles, and Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry for supporting us.  We are also excited to announce that you can pre-order Issues 4 and 5 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Bozeman-based band Jampoke. We are psyched to feature young creative folks. Jam and twirl and tour on. 

While this is the first episode of the new season, it’s part two of an interview we did with Zahan Billimoria earlier in the summer. (That episode focused more on training, so if you are feeling out of sorts coming into the new season—give it a listen.)(While Zahan still occasionally guides, he runs Samsara Experience which features their Big Mountain Snow Safety Workshop. A class some of our readers and listeners might benefit from.)This episode stems from a talk I heard Zahan gave last winter in Tahoe—he spoke about learning how to become more of a naturalist as moves into and within the mountains. That concept resonated with me for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is that it remains a personal reminder to slow down: to do the listening and looking and hearing. As this is the first episode of the season, and we truly are not here to proselytize or be prescriptive, we do, however, know that despite all the joy touring brings, there is some sorrow. Which is to say, we want you coming home at the end of the day. And if touring more like a naturalist helps support that—all the better.If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.We’d like to thank Patagonia, ATK, Folkrm Poles, and Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry for supporting us.  We are also excited to announce that you can pre-order Issues 4 and 5 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Bozeman-based band Jampoke. We are psyched to feature young creative folks. Jam and twirl and tour on. 

In this episode, we connect with Teton-based IFMGA guide and founder/coach at Samsara Experience, Zahan Billimoria. Samsara offers online and in-person training for aspiring and well-established mountain athletes. Over the years, whenever I’ve engaged with a story, film, or post about Zahan, I’ve been drawn in. There’s something about his message that is motivating. Having heard about Zahan for years, I found that the 2020 film Solving for Z: A Calculus of Risk provided a more complete backstory. (Definitely take the time to watch this film.) What we see in the film is a glimpse into a person’s complex relationship with the mountains. This is a two-part podcast, with this episode primarily focused on Samsara’s training principles. I stopped skiing on June 7th, and promptly began trail running. That, I know, is not a great idea. But maybe I'm stubborn. Anyhow, I needed some schooling about reengaging my body with a higher-impact endeavor and, believe it or not, getting prepped for the next touring season.Part two of my interview with Zahan will drop in early September. This second part explores Zahan's path to ski/ride touring like a naturalist. I saw Zahan speak last spring in Tahoe, and his talk centered on how he evolved as a ski/ride tourist and, many years into his career, ultimately embraced a naturalist's mindset while touring. That, assure you, is good stuff. While listening to Zahan speak about training for mountain sports, there is certainly an element of connectedness, too. It is not simply about a climb, ticking off a higher grade, or the next summit. Which, to be a bit self-serving, was what I needed to hear this offseason, as we begin the reboot.  If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.We’d like to thank Patagonia, Blue Ice, and ATK for supporting us.  We are also excited to announce that you can subscribe to Issues 2 and 3 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with. 

In this episode, we connect with the never-fatigued duo, the Dorais brothers…Andy and Jason Dorais. The brief backstory is this: Andy and Jason are both ER doctors in Salt Lake City. Which means that, through all their adventures, past and present, they were educating themselves, working long, strenuous hours in a stressful job, running on fumes, eventually juggling partners, kids, and their clan of like-minded endurance-junkie devotees in their pursuit of light and fast. For those of us further afield, we could latch onto Jason and Andy’s stories through their respective blogs, which often documented pre- or post-work epics. Back in 2010, when the Dorais brothers began their blogs, I was knee-deep in parenting, which meant real-deal adventures took a back seat to school drop-offs and shuttling kids here and there. For nearly seven years, the Dorais documented their epics in fine fashion and, like many others, offered a heavy dose of inspiration. Through their blogs, I was introduced to the meaning of fast and light: an intersection of ascending and descending, and speed, that melded Euro-fit clothes (yes, sometimes Lycra), skinny skis, and, oftentimes, mostly carbon boots. And a huge dose of lung power. Ultimately, in 2011, along with Jared Inouye, Jason and Andy scored an FKT for a Grand Teton round trip on skis.  They continued their speed missions, culminating in a 2013 Mount Rainier round-trip on-skis FKT (with skis on and off—but mostly on). All this is not to say that Jason and Andy are not only concerned with speed. They enjoy powder snow, mountain running, and climbing…but it should be noted, it is often done at fast tempos relative to us mere mortals. And again, for many of us out there, the Dorais captured lightning in a bottle and helped define an era of moving through the hills lickety split. Links to the Dorais' Blogs:Jason DoraisAndy DoraisIf you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together.We’d like to thank Patagonia, Blue Ice, and ATK for supporting us.  We are also excited to announce that you can subscribe to Issues 2 and 3 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.