In this one, Cody talks to big mountain snowboarder Ashley Call. As a kid, he was familiar with his home mountain, Eaglecrest, because he’d be there pretty much every day from 6:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening. For over 20 years, his dad was the director of ski patrol. So, while he helped ready the mountain for the day, Ashley ran around the lodge and caused trouble. Until the mountain opened and the lifts started spinning. Then it was time for Ashley to ride the mountain all day long.
He started snowboarding at 13. That first year, he went as fast as he could until he fell down. He had to, he was trying to keep up with the Juneau Boys, a group of riders in Juneau who were pushing the boundaries of the sport in the ‘90s and early 2000s. They rode together, traveled for competitions nationally and internationally and filmed video parts. They were a family of exceptional riders who fed off each other. So, to keep up with them, Ashley had to point it. He had to go as fast as he could. Which is something he would become known for. He would go on to have an impressive big mountain career, with wins at Verbier, Arctic Man and King of the Hill.
For the last six or seven years, he’s been focused on powsurfing. Powsurfers are like snowboards, but without bindings. He says it gives him the same rush he used to get with snowboarding, when he’d charge spines and steep lines. So, any chance he gets, that’s what he does. At a ski resort or in the backcountry. As he gets older, that’s where he sees himself putting his energy, being a proponent of powsurfing. That and being a father. He says that his daughter has taught him patience, something he’s lacked until recently. Lift lines and traffic, for example, used to stress him out. But now, with a kid, he’s learning to slow down and that it’s okay if things take a little bit longer.
EP 152 Exonerating Alaskans with Jory Knott
EP 151 Things can get better with Heidi Huppert
EP 150 Furniture, basketball and family with Buddy Bailey
EP 149 Human trafficking in Alaska and decolonizing data with Josie Heyano
Chatter Marks EP 83 Moving home, revitalizing a language and the magic of radio with Shyanne Beatty
Chatter Marks EP 82 A chip on my shoulder with Mario Chalmers
EP 148 Skating Anchorage in the ‘90s with Anthony Black and Jerry Smyth
EP 147 For the glory and the story with IG
Chatter Marks EP 81 Life lessons from fish camp with Angela Gonzalez
EP 146 Searching for understanding and forgiveness with Robert Stark
EP 145 There is no excuse with Andrew Kurka
EP 144 Deconstructing the myth of The Last Frontier with Kaitlin Armstrong
EP 143 A Christmas they’ll never forget
EP 142 The history of slime with Christopher Michlig
EP 141 What we’ve been through is not who we are now with Travante Williams
EP 140 From middle school teacher to pro wrestler with Freya the Slaya
EP 139 Embracing the variance of poker with Adam Hendrix
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 73 Futures thinking, perseverance and climate change with Kristin Alford of the Museum of Discovery at the University of South Australia
EP 138 What happens to Alaska when oil is no longer economically viable for the economy of the state?
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL