Show Notes
In this episode, Chris Kussmaul is our guest. I’ve been aware of Chirs for a few years—a friend of a friend kind of thing. He is based in Bozeman, Montana and for the part of the year when snow is not on the ground, which is actually a limited time of year in Southwestern, Montana, he works as a geology consultant. When he’s not officially working during the late fall and winter, he’s ski touring, and trying to keep his work schedule limited to almost none. But that is not to say Kussmaul isn’t keeping his eyes open, and maybe doing some work, too. He’s the author of the Peaks and Couloirs of Southwest Montana—A Guide to Backcountry Skiing in the Gallatin, Madison, Bridger, Tobacco Root and Montana Absaroka Mountains. Yes, this is a guidebook. Yup, a traditional guidebook, not an atlas, which are guidebook adjacent, and can be supremely useful, but maybe lack the leave it on the coffee-table and pick up and just read it, every now and then.
Peaks & Couloirs, the short title for the book, is now on its second edition, and if it hasn’t been released by the time your listening to this, it certainly is available for order. The main reason I wanted to interview Kussmaul, is that in a very noisy digital environment regarding apps and sites and the socials, it is rare that a touring guidebook comes along that seems to hit a sweet spot. He includes, in my opinion, a good balance between disclosing information and allowing for readers to have their own adventures. This book might help you find a trailhead, understand the human context of a line/objective, it will not get you up or down or back home. That is up to you. I appreciate that a person took the time to organize this information and make a real-deal guidebook: one, I assume, that will stand the test of time.
So bottom line, I wanted to learn about his process, his drive to craft an in depth guidebook that is worthy of the mighty Greater YellowStone landscape, and how he handled the pushback from those in the community who desired to keep this type of touring beta under wraps. If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together. We’d like to thank Patagonia, Blue Ice, and ATK for supporting us. We are also excited to announce that you can subscribe to Issues 2 and 3 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here. The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.
More from The High Route Podcast
In this episode, we chat with mountain athlete—which, in this case, we’ll define as trail running and ski mo’er—Sarah Burke.
In this episode, we are excited to speak with Ryan Griffiths, an accomplished ski mountaineer and alpinist who, along with his partner Spencer Gray, was awarded a Piolet d’Or in 2025 for their climb of Kaqur Kangri’s Southwest Arête in Western Nepal.
In this episode we speak with journalist Mitch Tobin. Tobin co-directs the Water Desk at CU Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism, and he also publishes his own excellent newsletter, Snow.News. I first learned about Tobin’s work while seeking resources to better understand climate change and its impacts in the West. As skiers and riders, we like snow, and without it, well, life simply is not as good. After last season’s historically low snow totals, I thought it was time to get a grasp on the broader context of the 2025-2026 snow-water cycle. Also, just like everyone else, I wanted Tobin’s insights into the predicted Super El Nino. However, both Tobin and I are die-hards—we’d love an epic snow season, but Super El Nino or not, we are somewhat easy to please when it comes to snow conditions. And we should note, we read many resources covering the water and snow scenes when it comes to policy, climate, and weather—Tobin's work has set a very high bar. CU Water Desk Tobin's Snow.News If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader- and listener-supported enterprise focused on human-powered turn-making. Our mission is simple, but it takes real-deal calorie-burning to piece it all together. We’d like to thank Patagonia, ATK, Folkrm Poles, and Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry for supporting us. We are also excited to announce that you can pre-order Issues 4 and 5 of our fine print journal (The High Route journal) on our site. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here. The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Bozeman-based band Jampoke. We are psyched to feature young creative folks. Jam and twirl and tour on.
While this is the first episode of the new season, it’s part two of an interview we did with Zahan Billimoria earlier in the summer. (That episode focused more on training, so if you are feeling out of sorts coming into the new season—give it a listen.) (While Zahan still occasionally guides, he runs Samsara Experience which features their Big Mountain Snow Safety Workshop. A class some of our readers and listeners might benefit from.) This episode stems from a talk I heard Zahan gave last winter in Tahoe—he spoke about learning how to become more of a naturalist as moves into and within the mountains. That concept resonated with me for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is that it remains a personal reminder to slow down: to do the listening and looking and hearing.
In this episode, we connect with Teton-based IFMGA guide and founder/coach at Samsara Experience, Zahan Billimoria. Samsara offers online and in-person training for aspiring and well-established mountain athletes. Over the years, whenever I’ve engaged with a story, film, or post about Zahan, I’ve been drawn in. There’s something about his message that is motivating. Having heard about Zahan for years, I found that the 2020 film Solving for Z: A Calculus of Risk provided a more complete backstory. (Definitely take the time to watch this film.) What we see in the film is a glimpse into a person’s complex relationship with the mountains. This is a two-part podcast, with this episode primarily focused on Samsara’s training principles. I stopped skiing on June 7th, and promptly began trail running. That, I know, is not a great idea. But maybe I'm stubborn. Anyhow, I needed some schooling about reengaging my body with a higher-impact endeavor and, believe it or not, getting prepped for the next touring season. Part two of my interview with Zahan will drop in early September. This second part explores Zahan's path to ski/ride touring like a naturalist. I saw Zahan speak last spring in Tahoe, and his talk centered on how he evolved as a ski/ride tourist and, many years into his career, ultimately embraced a naturalist's mindset while touring. That, assure you, is good stuff. While listening to Zahan speak about training for mountain sports, there is certainly an element of connectedness, too. It is not simply about a climb, ticking off a higher grade, or the next summit. Which, to be a bit self-serving, was what I needed to hear this offseason, as we begin the reboot.