The Drew Petersen Podcast

Auden Schendler is one of the most influential and impactful leaders on climate and sustainability in the outdoor world and industry. His latest book, Terrible Beauty, does a brilliant job of addressing climate change head-on, in a frank, realistic manner while being shockingly hopeful, personable, and invigorating.

Auden ran sustainability programs at Aspen Skiing Company and Aspen One for 26 years. He was also a Board Member of Protect Our Winters for 10 years, and Board Chair for four of those years. Now, he humbly, confidently, and simply calls himself an author and climate activist. Auden’s leadership within th...

For Sierra Schlag, empowering women looks more like welcoming people in and becoming friends than it does competing for a seat at the table. Sierra Schlag is a Japanese-American professional skier and storyteller who is one of the brilliant minds behind Girl Winter Film Tour, Moonrise Creative, and more.

Sierra has starred in, produced, and created some of my favorite ski films of the past few years, including Advice For Girls, Nisei, That One Friend, Bloom, and more. Success and genius like that doesn’t just arrive, and it’s really who Sierra is as a collaborator and...

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, so I’m joined for a chairlift chat by Kelsey Boyer, founder of Save A Brain, who is channeling her experience to shift the brain health of her community. Save A Brain’s mission is to provide education, encourage prevention, and spread awareness about the long-term mental and physical effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and concussions.

Kelsey’s magnetic energy, firsthand experience, and ability to build community give a unique voice and perspective to such an invisible injury. We talk about her path from starting the nonprofit, her lessons learned along...

Devon O’Neil is a journalist and author of The Way Out. A gripping, consuming read, The Way Out chronicles a 2017 backcountry ski trip in the Colorado Rockies that ended in both tragedy and miracle—and changed a community forever. Set in small towns and towering mountain ranges, it is at once an ode to high-country life and a dissection of what that life costs.

After reading the book, I was left with a profound feeling that it’s a story any member of our outdoor-loving communities should read. Devon’s writing is so much more than a page-t...

Cam Smith just competed in the sport of skimo’s Olympic debut in the Milano Cortina Olympics, including a 4th-place finish in the mixed relay. Cam is an 11-time US Ski Mountaineering national champion, holds course records for The Grand Traverse, Gothic Mountain Tour, and Power of Four, and has also represented Team USA at the Mountain & Trail Running World Championships. As a professional mountain athlete, both in the sport ski mountaineering and as an elite professional trail and mountain runner, Cam has smashed records and established himself as a favorite in the sports for both his performances and ho...

Alan Henceroth has worked at Arapahoe Basin since 1988. Now the President & COO, Al has been a core part of the history of one of North America’s most legendary, unique ski areas. His leadership has helped to shape not just the ski area itself, but also the soul, charisma, and identity that’s given A-Basin its ardent following and community.

Al and I ride Pallavicini, so of course, we talk about the Pali chair. It becomes the vehicle of the conversation into what makes A-Basin what it is and how keeping the soul alive matters, both at A-Ba...

Zoe Atkin is competing for an Olympic medal. She is the reigning 2025 World Champion in the halfpipe and also just grabbed *another* gold medal at X-Games. This week, in Livigno, Italy, Zoe enters the 2026 Olympics as a top contender in the halfpipe.

While her prowess on skis is truly world-class, Zoe is also a student at Stanford and approaches the halfpipe with a conscious approach and wisdom beyond her years. After taking a mental health break following a disappointing 2022 Olympics, Zoe dove into school and also sports psychology. After our conversation, I was left with a devout...

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. Li...

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...

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...

Angel Collinson surprised most everyone when she retired in 2021. She was, and likely always will be, one of the greatest female big mountain skiers of all time. This episode was actually filmed all the way back in February of 2024. It was one of Angel’s first times back on skis.

I’m also choosing to start the podcast with this episode because it illustrates that I’ve been wanting to create this for a very long time. And it’s true to the compass of the podcast: real, genuine conversation and connection with a great human being.

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Welcome to The Drew Petersen Podcast

Recorded on a chairlift with a ski pole microphone, professional skier, runner, and mental health advocate Drew Petersen cuts through the small talk in honest, unfiltered conversations with professional athletes, artists, authors, and more.

Launching February 3 wherever you listen to, or watch, podcasts.

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