Words by Tyson Newell | February 13, 2024

We’ve rounded up a few relevant episodes of the Low Pressure Podcast for you to stoke your skiing fire. This includes interviews with two of CMH’s finest, a professional athlete who’s turning that term on its head, and a filmmaker with a big-time feature film from a quaint, little ski town you might have heard of.  

Since 2013, the Low Pressure Podcast has been serving up conversations with the people who dedicate their lives to skiing. From skiers and riders to photographers and creatives, all the way to folks working for brands, resorts, and destinations alike.  

DON’T MISS THESE SKI PODCAST EPISODES

As it happens, the Low Pressure Podcast made its way to CMH Bobbie Burns a few Aprils ago. Keen to understand what goes on behind the scenes, host Mark Warner got talking to two CMH staff members who make things happen out at the lodge: longtime lead guide Lindsay Andersen, and area manager, Matt Dellow.  

LINDSAY ANDERSEN 

By the age of 15, Lindsay Andersen knew she wanted to be a ski guide.  

“It was pretty simple. I just loved to ski.”  

She grew up in Banff, Alberta, after all, where she was introduced to the idea of pursuing a career as a ski guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) by her guidance counsellor in grade 11. Fortunately for us, she’s been guiding at CMH for more than 20 years.  

In this episode, she shares her path to becoming a ski guide from her time as a rookie patroller at Lake Louise straight out of high school to becoming an ACMG Apprentice Ski Guide, getting hired at CMH, and building a career with skis on her feet. If you’re curious how Lindsay likes to spend her days off during the winter and guessed, “Probably skiing,” you’re not wrong.  

She’s guided at most of our lodges, but Bobbie Burns remains her home, both for its terrain (we mentioned she loves skiing, right?) and the tight-knit crew of people working there. Lean in and enjoy this episode with CMH Bobbie Burns stalwart Lindsay Andersen.    

Or, listen on Apple Podcasts >

MATT DELLOW 

Ever wondered how often the helicopters need to fuel up during a typical day of heli-skiing? What about avalanche bombing work in a remote backcountry environment? How does one go from tending the bar at the Bugaboos lodge to becoming a guide and eventually area manager of Bobbie Burns?     

All good questions. Few are better placed to answer them than Bobbie Burns area manager and guide, Matt Dellow. A near two-decade CMH veteran, Matt shares insight into the lodge’s daily operations that might not be immediately obvious when visiting as a guest. He touches on the safety protocols that guide him and his team all year, leading into a conversation about the similarities (and differences) between winter and summer operations.  

And given his tenure up at the Bobbie Burns, Matt has seen both sides of the historic renovation in 2019. A renovation that included faster wireless internet than most of the town of Golden? The largest wine cellar out of all CMH lodges? Indeed. There’s plenty for the heli lodge faithful and curious alike to dig into in this episode, so grab a seat and tune in with Matt.   

Or, listen on Apple Podcasts >

BROOKLYN BELL 

A professional skier. A professional biker. A professional artist.  

“I just like doing whatever’s good and feels right.” 

Meet Brooklyn Bell, an uber-talented multihyphenate hailing from the Pacific Northwest. She gained confidence as an athlete growing up near Mount Baker and exploring Bellingham’s iconic bike trails, but as a member of the BIPOC community, now she wants to expand the definition of “professional athlete.”        

That’s why much of what Brooklyn does is at the heart of an essential movement: bringing more women and people of colour into the fold of outdoor sports. She is intent on expressing herself as authentically as she can on her skis, bike, and through her art to make that happen.  

In this conversation, Brooklyn explains what it means to be a member of the BIPOC community in the world of adventure sports. She discusses what awareness and inclusivity has looked like, and the responsibility she feels towards moving that forward in the years to come.  

With Brooklyn being willing to share her experiences and perspective, this episode traverses through the highs and lows of navigating an industry where too few people look like her, and how she hopes that the future will be different.  

Or, listen on Apple Podcasts and YouTube >

KATIE BURRELL  

To Hollywood, from Revelstoke. That’s what they say, right?  

Maybe not, but it’s certainly true in the case of Revelstoke-based Katie Burrell. The comedian, actor, and professional leisure athlete has recently added ‘feature director’ to her list of titles, with her film, ‘Weak Layers,’ making the rounds in theatres and streaming online across North America.  

But given her experience living in a near-mythical ski town, working in the ski industry, and delivering a brand of humour that lovingly mocks many of the industry’s tired tropes and cliches, it was important to her that Weak Layers was an authentic ski film.     

“It has to feel like the ski industry made a movie for Hollywood… not, Hollywood made a movie for the ski industry.”  

Throughout this conversation, Katie dives into the details of how the film came to be, what the creative process looked like writing the script, and getting the whole thing produced in the meantime. As Katie describes in the episode, it was “… like drinking from a firehose.” 

Or, listen on Apple Podcasts and YouTube >

 

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