Chris Davenport is a professional skier, ski guide, and true legend of the sport. The multifactorial chapters of his career—from winning the World Extreme Ski Championships in 1996 all the way to his film career, skiing Everest, numerous first descents around the world, authoring the Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America, and more led to him being inducted into the US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Dav is one of my biggest childhood heroes. I personally most vividly remember when he became the first person to ski all of the fourteeners in Colorado in one year. Like he was one of my childhood heroes, in the interview he exhibits the joy in still living out his childhood dreams.

Over the past two decades since then, the longevity and evolution of his career and skiing lifestyle has inspired me to continue learning from Dav. Through conversation, he shows that longevity comes from an evolved relationship with risk, keeping pursuit rooted in passion, and finding purpose in facilitating experiences for others. Connecting with him for this conversation was also a joy because we linked up at Aspen Highlands last spring, and in the time since, I’ve moved to the Roaring Fork Valley and made Aspen my new home mountain.

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This episode is brought to you by Salomon. To check out the QST line of skis, and Salomon ski gear, click here.

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This chairlift chat on The Drew Petersen Podcast is with Caroline Gleich, a professional ski mountaineer who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024. As an athlete activist, she has climbed Everest, was the first woman to ski all 90 lines in the Chuting Gallery, a guidebook to skiing in the Wasatch Mountains, climbed and skied Cho Oyu, and is pursuing her goal of climbing the Seven Summits.

But in 2024, she pursued her most audacious goal yet: running for U.S. Senate in the 2024 election. As the Democratic candidate in deeply red Utah, the odds were stacked against her but she committed with full resolve. Personally, I was amazed seeing her at her first campaign fundraiser to watching her consistently show up through the election.

Naturally, I was curious to hear what that whirlwind was really like. We linked up for this conversation in April of 2025, far enough removed from the election, but fresh enough that her takeaways were poignant and inspiring.

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This chairlift chat episode is brought to you by Protect Our Winters. To learn more and to join Team POW, visit protectourwinters.org.

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In the winter of 1972/73, Powder Magazine was founded by Jake and Dave Moe. In the decades since, Powder became the Bible of skiing, defining the culture and helping shape the track of the sport. Fortunately for us, Jake also just happens to be one of the most passionate skiers I have ever met.

This episode felt like the right fit to kick off the podcast. First, Jake is hilarious and so joyful. In a broad sense, this episode feels reflective of my relationship with the sport of skiing, media, and my professional career. I idolized Powder Magazine as a kid, interned in the office a decade ago, and now, here I am, starting this podcast as a continued exploration of storytelling blended into my ski career. So of course, I had to interview the Founder of Powder himself.

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This episode is brought to you by Salomon. To check out the Arcane Prime MIPS helmet, and all Salomon ski gear, click here.

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Watch the full video version on YouTube

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Score discounts and connect with all of the podcasts sponsors any time at drew-petersen.com/podcast