30+ Years Covering Mountain Towns — Jason Blevins on Big Changes in Small Towns

Jason Blevins has been writing about mountain towns and the ski resort industry for over 30 years. Jason is a co-founder and reporter of The Colorado Sun and has rightly become one of the most revered and bonafide experts on many of the most relevant, pressing topics in mountain towns: housing, public lands, economics, and mental health.Rather than just interview Jason about a specific story he’s currently reporting on, I wanted to get to know him as a human a little better, so I asked him about the perspective and lessons he’s learned through his experience. While Jason is an exceptional reporter and journalist, I think any loyal reader will also attest that he puts a noticeable passion into his work.Jason has interviewed me countless times in the past handful of years about the mental health crisis of the Rocky Mountain West. I really appreciate the effort and interest he has put into reporting on this reality, and it’s part of what we choose to talk about for the interview.—This episode is brought to you by Salomon. To check out the QST line of skis, and all Salomon ski gear, visit https://salomon.pxf.io/DPP—Listen / watch / subscribe:YouTubeSpotifyApple Podcasts—Read & subscribe to The Colorado Sun: coloradosun.comSign up for Jason's newsletter The Outsider: coloradosun.com/outsiderRecent story by Jason about the current mental health reality in mountain towns this spring: coloradosun.com/2026/04/13/mental-health-mountain-towns-offseason/—Follow me/the show on Instagram: instagram.com/drewpeterskiSign up for my Substack/the podcast newsletter: substack.com/@drewpetersen—Score discounts and connect with all of the podcast’s sponsors any time at https://drew-petersen.com/podcast.