Mt. Hood Podcast
The geology, history, people, and news of Mt. Hood, Oregon.
Making Corduroy - Life of a Trail Groomer with Hunter Bissler and John Vermaas
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Today we talk to John Vermaas and Hunter Bissler about grooming the trails, tech, and snow science. If you've ever wondered how that trail was turned from moguls and ice to silky smooth corduroy, well, take a listen.
Sorry for the delay - Been super busy with non-podcast life action. And I'm skiing again so that takes precedence over typing and recording!
Thanks to Skibowl again for letting me see how the sausage is made from the inside.
As always, shoot your ideas to poormana@hotmail.com
"The Mountain Times" with Matt Nelson
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Matt Nelson talks to us about his local newspaper for Mt. Hood, The Mountain Times. It’s an interesting look inside publishing and how his paper is thriving when other major papers are dying off.
Find it online at https://mountaintimesoregon.com/
Shoot me feedback, requests, or money at poormana@hotmail.com
Thanks!
Ski and Snowboard Racing for Grownups on Mt. Hood
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If you are interested in ski and snowboard racing on Mt. Hood there are several groups and teams you can join. All the groups I talk to today have websites – I recommend getting in touch if you want to go fast!
https://www.schneevogeli.com/
https://www.skiyente.com/
https://pacrats.org/
And as always, love to hear what you would love to hear about! poormana@hotmail.com
Mt. Hood book of the Year! "11,239, A Skiing and Snowboarding Guide from the Summit of Mt. Hood" with Asit Rathod
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Today I’m so stoked to introduce Asit Rathod to those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing him. We talk life of a pro skier, our beloved mountain, and his new book “11,239, a Skiing and Snowboarding guide from the summit of Mt. Hood” It’s a good talk, some great stories, and quite of bit of swearing so warn the kiddos.
Book can be bought here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AAsit%2BRathod&s=relevancerank&text=Asit+Rathod&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
Find Asit...
Living and Working in Govy with Zach Kelvington
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If you ever wondered what it would be like to live and work full time on the mountain, todays guest has some great insights. Zach Kelvington has been a full time Govy resident for several years. Today he shares his experiences and the pros and cons of living and working up in our winter wonderland.
Find Zach at https://mthoodoutfitters.com/
As always, love to hear about what you would love to hear about! Poormana@hotmail.com.
Ski the Glade 2025
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All about the Ski The Glade Event this last weekend. To find out about the event for next year, keep an eye on the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum website or join as a member and get on the distro list!
https://mthoodmuseum.org/events/
Sorry about the sound jumping around. First time with new portable mics. Turn the volume down after the sound warning.
Love to know what you want to hear about! poormana@hotmail.com
History of Oregon High School Ski Racing with Chris Dawkins
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Chris is a legend. He's retired and skis more and better than most people I know.
While looking for results to Oregon High School Ski races, he noticed there was a big gap prior to 2001. He took it upon himself to research the results and fill in the history books. His knowledge is unmatched and he chats with us today to share the history of High School Racing in the state of Oregon.
Find his project at: https://www.skifastskilong.com/
See Chris live April 19th at the Mt. H...
Announcement: Mt. Hood Podcast Live at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center Feb 15, 2025
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If you would like to come meet me, correct me, or buy me a beer, this Saturday is your chance. I'll be speaking at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum's "Social History Happy Hour" on Saturday, Feb 15, 2025 from 7-8pm.
$5 at the door donation. Drinks available for purchase.
https://mthoodmuseum.org/event/social-history-happy-hour-3/
Book excerpt of "On Mt. Hood" and interview with author Jon Bell
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Jon Bell is an Author, climber, hiker, skier and lover of Mt. Hood. His 2012 book “On Mt. Hood” should be on the bookshelf of any fan of our beloved volcano. He reads an excerpt from the book and then is nice enough to answer my dumb questions. Please buy his book and read it on the next powder day. You won’t be disappointed.
Find Jon at: https://onmounthood.com/
Find me at https://trailmapvideos.com/
Love to hear your ideas for episodes! Shoot me an email poormana@hotma
1964 Flood with Stephen Imeson
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In 1964 a massive flood did damage to the PNW. The Mt. Hood Corridor was hit especially hard. Stephen Imeson was living in Government Camp at the time and went to school down the mountain in Welches. He tells us his memory of the event and what Govy was like in the 1960s.
I quote a lot of wikipedia and Oregonian articles for this episode. Sorry you all have to listen to me but there was a bunch of info I felt was relevent.
https://www.oregonlive.com/search/?q=1964%20flood
...
Charlie's Mountain View with Charlie Sperr
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I’d like to start a series about the restaurants and lodging on Mt. Hood. First off in the series is Charlie’s Mtn View. It’s a great place to start due to it’s history in the town, it’s location (dead center of Government Camp) and it’s reputation as the de facto living room in Govy. Charlie Sperr is the second generation owner and a town local. He grew up in town and probably knows as much about the town and it’s residents as anyone. He joins us today to talk about th...
Mt. Hood SkiBowl with Mike Quinn
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Today on the Mt. Hood podcast I’m talking to Mike Quinn. He’s the general manager at Mt. Hood Skibowl. Now, the Mt. Hood podcast strongly recommends you avoid Skibowl on powder days, but if you are interested in Skibowl and it’s future happenings have a listen. It’s also an interesting interview on the path to making a career on the mountain. As always, love your feedback and hopefully I’ll see you on the snow soon!
https://skibowl.com/about-winter/trail-map/
https://trailmapvideos.com/
Snowvana with Quinn McIntyre
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SnowVana is in Portland Nov 1-3, 2024. See their website for more information. Quinn was nice enough to give us some insight into the event.
https://snowvana.com/
As always, send me feedback at poormana@hotmail.com. Snow is flying on the mountain! See you all up there soon!!!!!!!!
Nutrition and Training with the US Ski Team's Hunter Baum
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Hunter is a certified nutritionist for the US Ski and Snowboard team. He gives us an inside look at nutrition and training for the elite skiers of the US.
"Ruff Life" A new film about the Avi Dog program at Mt. Hood Meadows by Jordan Hartman
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This week’s episode and the first episode of season 2 has Jordan Hartman telling us about the Avi Dog Program at Meadows and the film he helped make to give a behind the scenes look at it. Be sure to see the film at EVO Portland on Wednesday, September 25 at 6PM. More info, RSVP and vote at https://trewtoyouportland925.splashthat.com/?A360=31336095&=
The Meating Place is actually amazing and you should see if their raw dog food is a good fit for your pup. Don’t mention this podcast if you go. htt...
Mt. Hood Ski Patrol with Dave Winterling
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Dave Winterling is one of the biggest experts on the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol. He has been a patroller for 8 seasons, been the Chief Patroller, and is currently serving as the President of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol. He joins us today for some skiing and a two part interview about the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol.
Please donate to the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol at https://mthoodskipatrol.org/www/pmwiki.php/Main/Donate
To find out more about the National Ski Areas Association Skier’s code click here: https://www.nsaa...
The Seven Summits (plus Mt. Hood) with Scott Wazny
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Scott Wazny is a member of the elite Seven Summits Club. He’s climbed the highest peak on each continent. He also is a Mt. Hood regular and did a lot of his training and learning on the south side of Hood. I sit him down and chat about his experiences, what set his expeditions apart, and how Hood formed a foundation for his elite skills. Enjoy!
As always, please reach out with an questions, comments, concerns, or corrections. poormana@hotmail.com
A wolverine at Crater Rock? Flora and Fauna of Mt. Hood with Jeff Goldberg
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In today’s episode we have Jeff Goldberg. Jeff is a biologist with the National Forest Service for the West side of Mt. Hood. He answers my questions about critters in the Mt. Hood National Forest and talks about challenges facing them. We also talk mountaineering wolverines and how the Beaver protects the forest from forest fires. Find out more at www.fs.usda.gov/mthood.
As always, love your feedback. Reach out at trailmapvideos.com or shoot me an email at poormana@hotmail.com
"Cabin in the Sky" and "Ranger, the Canine Alpinist." Short Mt. Hood documentaries with Ned Thanhouser and Jeff Thomas.
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I'm honored to have a couple real historians and filmmakers with me this week. Ned Thanhouser and Jeff Thomas talk about their two Mt. Hood shorts: “Cabin in the Sky” and “Ranger, the Canine Alpinist.” Before you listen, go to https://oregonrockthepioneers.com/ and watch them both. I’ll wait.
Glad you came back, enjoy my interview about the movies!
As always, love to get your feedback and ideas for future shows.
Andy
poormana@hotmail.com
Youth Ski Teams of Mt. Hood with Mike Greenslade, Shana Sweitzer, and John Rust
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We talk to reps from three of the major ski teams on Mt. Hood. Mike Greenslade is the son of the founders of Mt. Hood Academy and Race Team. It is an accredited High School that focuses on preparing athletes for FIS level racing while providing a live in High School. Cooper Spur Race Team is represented by Shana Sweitzer and Mt. Hood Meadow’s Race and Big Mountain Team are represented by John Rust. All are great programs – if you are or have a youth interested in racing or big mountain competition, I highly r...
First Ski Base Jump off Mississippi Head with Matthias Giraud
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On February 28, 2008, Mt. Hood history was made. Matthias Giraud intentionally skied off Mississippi head for the first time in history. Seconds after getting airborne, he deployed his chute, glided gracefully down into the canyon, and skied into the history books as the first ski base jump on Mt. Hood. Today on the Mt Hood Podcast we are honored to hear living history straight from the Super Frenchie’s mouth. Hope you enjoy my conversation with pro skier Matthias Giraud.”
To see the GoPro of this event go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Ski Movies with Greg Stump (mentions Mt. Hood actually...)
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This was a fun interview for me. I’ve been a huge fan of Greg Stump’s movies for the last 35 years. His films had a big impact on my skiing and where I wanted to go with it. He’s a truly revolutionary filmmaker that changed the genre forever.
We talk about his one shoot on Mt. Hood, the movies that were his favorites, Tom Brady, Scot Schmidt, Seal, and so many others.
If you haven’t seen any of his films start with License To Thrill. Just my opinion, but it...
Winter Cars and Tires with Doug Newcomb and TJ Campbell
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Getting to the ski resort is half the battle. Today we break down what kind of car you need and what tires to put on it with a couple experts.
Doug Newcomb is a contributor for Popular Mechanics. One of his areas of expertise is vehicles and he’s tested over a thousand. Find him at
https://www.popularmechanics.com/author/7343/doug-newcomb/
TJ Campbell is lead tire tester for tirerack.com. He breaks down what makes a good winter tire, the different categories, top models, and how they test them...
High School Racing and Being a Coach with Jason Rogers and Kiara Green
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Two of my favorite people join me on the Pod.
Jason Rogers wears a few different hats supporting High School Racing and the Club racing on Mt. Hood. He gives a great breakdown of the different groups and options for kids to race on the mountain.
Kiara Green is the most popular coach on the mountain for anyone under 12. She also coaches at Sunset High School and gives some great insight into coaching at the different levels.
In addition to these two, my daughter hops on to do some...
Boots and Skis with Greg Coulter and Barry Galvin
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It's a long one, sorry!
In this episode I talk to my two most trusted gear gurus. Greg owns Boots and More (www.bootsandmore.ski) in Portland, OR. He is a master boot fitter and ski tech that will help you find the right boot and fit it to your foot. We talk about boot fitting, the importance of the boot, and the future of ski boots. He was Army so this episode is labeled explicit. Sorry, not sorry.
Barry is a former US Ski Team member and the PNW sales...
Weather of Mt. Hood with KGW TV's Rod Hill
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Rod Hill is the Chief Meteorologist for KGW TV, a local TV station in Portland, OR. He has been forecasting weather in Portland for over 25 years and is an expert on our local micro-climates, including Mt. Hood.
We start off talking about the Mt. Hood weather, how El Nino's and La Nina's affect it, what climate change is doing to our snowpack, then diverge into a deep dive of how he forecasts and what it is like to be a TV meteorologist and local celebrity.
Huge thanks to Rod for...
History of Mt. Hood with Lloyd Musser
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Lloyd Musser is the curator of the Mt. Hood Museum in Government Camp, OR. He is retired from the Forest Service and has spent more than a few decades roaming the mountain and collecting its history.
We talk about the pre-settler history, the Oregon trail, and some of today's well known figures on the mountain.
My favorite story he told was that of Joel Palmer and his contribution to the Barlow Road. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Palmer
Please visit the Mt. Hood Museum sometime in Governm...
Episode Zero - Introduction to the Mt. Hood Podcast

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I introduce myself a bit and describe the reason for the podcast.
Geology of Mt. Hood with Liz Westby
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Liz Westby is a geologist with the Cascade Volcano Observatory. She covers geologic history of the mountain, some features and formations, and eruption history.
It was my first recording and done with a crappy mic setup. Promise it will get better.
Send questions or comments to poormana@hotmail.com
See our companion site trailmapvideos.com for more info.