SkiTalk Live: SkiTalk Live with Dan Egan, Episode 7: Marcus Caston, Tim Smith, Alan Schoenberger, and Phil Pugliese (Nov. 4, 2020, 48 min).

In this episode, host and extreme skiing pioneer Dan Egan is joined by

• Marcus Caston, professional skier
• Tim Smith, general manager, Waterville Valley, NH
• Alan Schoenberger, ski ballet champion
• Phil Pugliese, cofounder and owner, SkiTalk.com

This episode includes three video clips featuring the history of Waterville Valley, the career of Alan Schoenberger, and the skiing of Marcus Caston. Dan kicks things off by leading a discussion with Phil Pugliese on preparing for ski season. Tim Smith describes the rich ski competition history of Waterville Valley and shares a video extolling the virtues of the 54-year-old resort. Legendary ballet skier Alan Schoenberger is introduced, and his eclectic talents are featured in a biographical video clip. Marcus Caston, Utahn ski-legend-in-the-making, joins the conversation and provides a humorous perspective from one of the millennial generation's most creative big mountain skiers.

Alan describes skiing as a dance and freestyle as his stage. He is passionate about working with youth and has taken his ski ballet performances indoors by skiing on a ramp on a stage. Phil displays a rare, vintage pair of The Ski "Puppets," the same type Alan used back in the day. Alan has autographed these skis, which will be auctioned on SkiTalk.com for the benefit of the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Marcus leads a nice segue from Alan's ballet to his own thoughts about the individual expression of skiing and the thrill of improvisation on snow. The episode closes with Marcus's fun little video Return of the Turn, a light-hearted take on mogul skiing with Jonny Moseley. It features some crazy skiing as Marcus floats between troughs seeking the reward of a good transition.