Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast

On any given day, Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell will be riding his road bike to work, taking the mountain bike up onto nearby singletrack, slipping into a climbing harness, clicking into alpine touring gear for a backcountry outing or sliding onto a chairlift for an day at nearby Snowbasin, Nordic Valley or Powder Mountain. This week Last Chair brings you to the top floor of the elegant art deco Ogden Municipal Building, overlooking towering Mount Ogden, for a conversation with Mike Caldwell - a mayor who has eight bikes and five pairs of skis hanging in the garage. He’ll explore Ogden’s rich history and entice you up with a look at the hidden gem among Utah’s ski towns and the home of 40+ outdoor brands.

Show Notes

The affable Mike Caldwell bursts into his office, a welcoming smile on his face. Wearing a Salomon vest, he looks a lot different than the portraits of a century of mayors on the wall of his Ogden City office, embodying the active, outdoor lifestyle that has become the trademark of Utah’s second largest city.

Eight years in, the third-term mayor has built a strong city by focusing on Utah’s geographical location. A century ago, Ogden’s forefathers capitalized on the Junction City’s location as a railway crossroads. Today, Caldwell has seized on its proximity to the mountains and outdoor recreation. From the 40+ outdoor brand logos with a corporate footprint in Ogden to the thousands of skiers reveling on 25th Street, Ogden truly has become one of America’s great outdoor recreation towns.

On any given day, he’ll be riding his road bike to work, taking the mountain bike up onto nearby singletrack, slipping into a climbing harness, clicking into alpine touring gear for a backcountry outing or sliding onto a chairlift for an day at nearby Snowbasin, Nordic Valley or Powder Mountain.

This week Last Chair brings you to the top floor of the elegant art deco Ogden Municipal Building, overlooking towering Mount Ogden, for a conversation with Mike Caldwell - a mayor who has eight bikes and five pairs of skis hanging in the garage. He’ll explore Ogden’s rich history and entice you up with a look at the hidden gem among Utah’s ski towns.

What is Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast?

Ski Utah's new Last Chair will take you inside Utah's resorts for the story behind the Greatest Snow on Earth®. In a weekly series of audio features, host Tom Kelly will bring you behind the scenes with resort leaders, athletes and fascinating figures who are the stories inside Utah skiing and snowboarding. Whether you're a passionate local snow rider, or a guest to the Utah mountain landscape, you'll learn about mountain life through the stories of the men and women who shape the Ski Utah experience. Each Last Chair episode is 30-40 minutes, with insightful questions and fun anecdotal facts. As a career communicator, Kelly weaves stories with ease bringing listeners inside the mountain tales of Utah skiing and snowboarding.