About

The campfire tale—it’s ubiquitous in mountain culture. As long as we’ve climbed, skied, boated or traveled, we’ve been telling stories. In March of 2007, Fitz launched The Dirtbag Diaries, a grassroots podcast dedicated to the sometimes serious, often humorous stories from wild places. What began as a solitary experiment has evolved into collaboration between writers, photographers, artists and listeners to produce the type of stories that rarely find homes in the glossy pages of magazines.

With over 300 episodes, The Dirtbag Diaries has developed a passionate listener base, cultivated relationships with outdoor sports’ online hubs, and turned listeners into writers as part of an ongoing media experiment. Outside Magazine named it the best podcast. We’ve celebrated 17 years and the show has been downloaded over 20 million times—numbers we never dreamed of when we first hit “publish.”

The Dirtbag Diaries has found its niche. We love working on it. Have a listen.

Contact Us:

Duct Tape then Beer
1314 NE 43^rd Street, Suite 212
Seattle, WA 98105

editor (at) dirtbagdiaries.com

Who We Are:

Fitz Cahall
Creator

In 2007, I was a struggling outdoor writer about to give up on my dream. I’d spent the previous seven years of my life living out of cars, chasing stories and immersed in my community of climbers, skiers, wanderers and dreamers. The stories I cared the most about never sold and work was getting more sporadic. It was part forward thinking and part last ditch effort, but I decided to start an online radio show dedicated to adventure and the people who call it a lifestyle. Within three weeks, I’d reached more people than I had in all my print writing combined. I realized technology had given me a second chance as a storyteller. Eight years later, The Dirtbag Diaries has a loyal following that continues to grow. My passion has grown to encompass filmmaking, community storytelling and social media. The West’s mountains, deserts and forests are my office. My goal is to nurture, strengthen and empower connections with the natural world. Simply put, I want people to shut their laptops and turn off their iPhones and go live the life they daydream about.

Becca Cahall
Executive Producer

Detail lover? Yep. Invoice sender? Check. Brainstorm partner? Why certainly. Ready to get outside? Hell yeah!

Becca keeps the gears greased and i’s dotted behind the scenes at The Dirtbag Diaries and Duct Tape Then Beer. At the Diaries, she keeps the creative vision of the show moving forward by collaborating with the producers and editors. After nine years counting songbirds seasonally throughout the West, she and Fitz decided to take this adventure in business together. It turns out organization, pragmatism and calmness are as important to the creative process as they are in academic research.

Ashlee Langholz
Managing Editor and Producer

This unusually awesome creature was born in the plains of Iowa. She moved her inquisitive, giant brain first to the interior west and, lucky for us, is now Seattle-based. Always positive, always direct, always smiling, Ashlee is a human antenna that sensitively receives and processes seemingly disparate (and important) information that is necessary for any creative project. She loves moving in the mountains, feeling the rhythm of rivers, good conversations, morning dance parties, and losing cell phone reception. What a dreamboat.

Lauren DeLauney Miller celebrating at the top of El Cap in Yosemite

Lauren DeLaunay Miller
Producer

After spending years on YOSAR, Lauren’s fully embracing writing about climbing and the environment. She even wrote a book! Lauren loves hand jams, gardening, and she likely owns the longest Nose In A Day record (23h59m). Since she’s entirely solar powered, California will be her forever home.

Walker Cahall
Artist

A practicing artist since he could hold a crayon, Walker is a designer and print maker intent on fostering change in the world. After earning his BFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007, he is happy to call Portland home. When he’s not at his studio, teaching young artists or creating artwork for The Dirtbag Diaries, he draws inspiration from robots, national parks, fractals, riding bikes and woodblock printing. And yes, we call him brother.

Cordelia Zars
Adjunct Producer

Having grown up on a strict diet of outdoor gnar served by her father, Cordelia has been marching through the wilderness since she could walk — and telling adventure stories since she could talk. After 5 years telling tantalizing tales on the Diaries, you can now find her running Empathy Theatre Project.