Jack Beighle is our guest on Episode 5 of The Gear Shed Podcast. For those who don't know Jack, here's some background. He's a CU Boulder grad, bumped to Jackson for some post-college living focused around mountains and skiing. He then left Jackson and bumped black to Boulder, where he began working for Backcountry Access. Currently, Jack is the Brand and Community Manager at Ombraz Glasses.
More than that, Jack wrote a manifesto. His thoughts and words are a message declaring heavier touring gear is better touring gear. Published in VOL. 1 of the TGR Journal, The Heavyweight Manifesto is razor sharp. Jack makes three suggestions for those obsessed with grams and carbon and minimalist skis better suited for the Lycra set.
1. try kale
2. do a single squat before starting the winter
3. stop complaining
No matter where you stand on issues of gear weight, doing any of the three life-affirming pieces of advice Jack lays down is a good start. (Editor's note: roast the kale with some olive oil and salt—so good.)
The interesting thing about the species is we learn and evolve. Maybe the gear you hauled up when you were 22 and spry and fresh off of watching some ski stoke film where the crew reaches a high point with a heli-assist isn't the gear you want when you're a bit older and going deep into the mountain's to drink quietude and find good turns.
As he nears 30 years old, Jack is reconsidering his manifesto's hard stance—and he's seeking Gavin and Slator's input for figuring out where he can cut some weight but still enjoy himself on the ups and downs. We also get insight into how Slator and Gavin have evolved their gear preferences. True folks, they are enjoying heavier gear, but not too heavy.
In short, the podcast is a lively discussion about how three skiers, two from the light side and one from the heavy side, find some common gear ground in the middle.
You can find us at the-high-route.com: Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. And according to Barry Wicks, don't-fear-the-hyphens®.
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 begin with.