Next Level Skiing is a podcast about skiing. Your skiing. Longtime ski journalist Jason Blevins talks to the sport's luminaries and behind-the-scenes bosses about strategies and hacks for stepping your skiing up a notch. Sure, the key to getting better at skiing is to go skiing. A lot. If it was only that easy. This podcast will offer some shortcuts to becoming the skier you want to be, without having to quit your job and move to a ski town. Subscribe where ever you get your podcasts by searching for "Next Level Skiing." Learn more at wagnerskis.com/nextlevel.
This wrap-up episode compiles wisdom and insights from skiing luminaries like Chris Tatsuno, Lee Cohen, and many others, offering strategies to elevate every skier's performance on the slopes.
2 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT
Smarter and harder skiing with Ingrid Backstrom
Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. For more than 20 years, Ingrid Backstrom has been championing women in freeskiing, through more than 20 ski movie appearances, pioneering first descents, coaching and teaching avalanche awareness classes. The mother of two who grew up skiing in Washington's Cascades continues to plow a path for women in skiing, encouraging up-and-comers to find their creative voice through skiing. Listen in as Ingrid shares insights into coaching, shifting mindsets in the backcountry, balancing life as a pro skier and parent, changing training tactics as you age and the importance of getting out of control on skis. Thanks for listening to Next Level Skiing.
Topics:
2:30 Winter weekends in a 1954 Bookmobile at Crystal Mountain
3:15 First move appearance in Matchstick Productions "Yearbook" in 2004
4:30 Carrying the torch for women in freeskiing
5:10 The new generation of female rippers. "The level has just gone exponentially higher."
7:30 Challenges of coming up as a pro skier 20 years ago versus today
9:40 Twenty years coaching with the Superstars Camp in Portillo Chile
11:00 "The best ways of learning something is to turn around and teach it."
12:30 Personality and style in skiing
13:00 Being able to read the front of a sweatshirt from downhill perspective
13:30 The power position
16:30 Lack of industry support for moms in pro skiing
19:10 "If you want to grow, get more women on skis."
21:00 Training shifts as you age. "Play On: The new science of elite performance at any age."
22:10 Nightly mobility exercises for 15 minutes
24:00 Diet and cooking for recovery
27:00 Mental preparation and the "75% rule."
27:40 Tuning in and asking "Why am I doing this?"
28:20 Task driven versus ego driven
30:00 Shifting mindsets in the backcountry
32:10 "Let's ask the stupid questions because there is no stupid question."
33:20 Go into the backcountry like a robot
33:50 Best advice: Get out of control
Quotes:
"My contracts got cut when I got pregnant. There wasn't really, at the time, a marketing demand for moms as pro skiers."
"If you want to grow, get more women on skiis."
"Just the maintenance becomes so much more important, training smarter and not harder."
"Taking away that ego piece of [asking questions] has led to a lot better discussions and, frankly, a lot better education."
Resources:
Ingrd Backstrom Website (https://www.ingridbackstrom.com/)
Ingrid on Instagram
Wagner Custom Skis (https://www.wagnerskis.com/)
26 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Marcus Goguen's Body is his Armor
Freeride World Tour champion Marcus Goguen details his Adrenaline Performance program, which uses structured training and daily routines to help skiers avoid injuries and improve performance, making their bodies their armor in this interview.
Inside a recent episode
Wrap-Up Episode
Published 25 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] I think like my biggest advice when it comes to like preseason training is I think a lot of people think squat squats squats quads quads quads quads and for me it's oh my gosh also hamstrings and core there's so much your back takes a lot of action in skiing so your core and especially your inner core so things not so much like sit -offs but things like planks and leg lifts and that kind of stuff is really important and then just not neglecting your hamstrings because what protects your knees is balanced strength throughout your legs. […]
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