Next Level Skiing S8E5: Skiing For the Right Reasons with Josh Daiek
Next Level Skiing Podcast, S8 E5: Skiing For the Right Reasons with Josh Daiek
Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. Josh Daiek skis remote, highly technical terrain with jaw-dropping speed and flow. After a decade competing on the Freeride World Tour, he’s moved into ripping the loneliest lines in the lower 48, snowmobiling deep into Nevada’s Sierra and Ruby ranges and skiing down steep, rock-choked chutes far from anywhere. The 42-year-old Salomon-sponsored skier has made two movies — Mountain State and Mountain State 2.0 — detailing his crew’s exploration of overlooked terrain in Nevada. You’ve seen his clips in the Gram and they are scroll-stoppers.
Photo credit: Leah Evans
Listen in as Josh connects his high-speed, fast-twitch ski style with exploration and patience, the role of repetition in dynamic skiing, using speed to navigate consequential terrain and learning from mistakes on this illuminating episode of Next Level Skiing.
TOPICS
2:30 - The holiday ski family in Michigan, “like the East Coast minus the mountains.”
4:30 - Moving to Tahoe
5:34 - “Rat-packing” at Kirkwood
7:18 - 10 years on the Freeride World Tour
8:00 - Getting serious about training
9:30 - Squats, dead lifts, core, shoulders and bike for cardio
12:00 - Keeping the mind in-tune with fast-twitch reactions: “bang, bang, bang, react, react, react”
14:00 - Time in the saddle and the role of repetition
14:00 - Skiing every day all winter
15:20 - Learning from mistakes and experience
16:20 - The biggest mistakes
17:30 - “You’ll never catch me wearing ear pods in the mountains”
22:00 - Exploring remote lines in Nevada
26:20 - Melding a fast ski style with making movies and exploring unasked lines in Nevada
30:00 - Using speed as an asset in consequential terrain
32:00 - All about the fall line, fast and fluid. Straight and to the point. No bullshit.
34:10 - Skiing for Salomon for 13 years
35:00 - Best piece of advice: Ask yourself ‘Why are you doing this?’
QUOTES
“When [I] wanted to give up, competition really kept me motivated.” - Josh
“That’s what’s more important to me is making split-second decisions.” - Josh
“When I’m in the mountains, and I’m in nature, I really want to be there.” - Josh
“Be present in that moment. That’s what works for me.” - Josh
RESOURCES
For more listening, check out our full collection of "Next Level Skiing" podcasts here.
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Next Level Skiing Recorded by Jason Blevins.
Jason Blevins is a Colorado journalist and co-founder of The Colorado Sun who has been writing about mountain towns -- and skiing -- for nearly 30 years. Every week Jason's Outsider newsletter from The Colorado Sun delivers news and insights into the changing American West, with articles covering the businesses, industries, policies, characters, and of course ski news, that shape communities and cultures on the evolving Western Slope of Colorado. Jason lives in Crested Butte with his wife and a dog named Gravy. Click over to coloradosun.com/outsider to learn more.
