Escape From Beacon Rock
Escape From Beacon Rock
“For me, it was a way to stay connected—literally: tied to my free-range daughter by a length of 10-millimeter climbing rope, and connected to my own dream of being an adventurer,” says David Altschul. “And that was how I found myself, a few days later, on a ledge, high above the Columbia River, in the dark.”
For the past decade, David has told the story of the infamous “Escape From Beacon Rock”–a failed attempt to climb a basalt monolith with his daughter, our producer, Jen. At age 72, it dawned on him that, rather than continue to tell the story of the failed climb, he could connect with his daughter by actually climbing Beacon Rock, and doing it this time as a ‘real’ climber.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • The Fallen by MC Cullah • Thicker than Water by Jason Tyler Burton • Caterpillar by Little Glass Men • Pale Horse Rider by Vienna Ditto • Save My Soul by MC Cullah • Blazing Day by MC Cullah • Tightrope Walker by Jason Tyler Burton • Carried Away by Jason Tyler Burton
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Shorts — Aloha Life
Aloha Life
“Here I was, a professional wilderness instructor with no food or water, a sopping wet tent and wetter sleeping bag, no way to banish the chills or signal that I needed help,” says Emma Walker. “For the first time in my career, I began to think I might need a rescue.”
Emma’s husband Bix has also worked for years as an outdoor guide and educator. So, when the two of them set out on an overnight backpacking trip to a beach on Hawaii’s big island, they were unconcerned–maybe a little too unconcerned.
You can find more of Emma’s writing at myalaskanodyssey.com or listen to her other two Shorts, “I Poo: A Love Story” and “Exit Strategy”
Music: Simplify by Little Glass Men • Waiting for Gyrotron by Little Glass Men • Biolumina by Little Glass Men • Double Helix by nisei23 • Wake Me Up by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Punk Rockers of Ski Mountaineering
The Punk Rockers of Ski Mountaineering
“The notion that there’s one dream that we’re all after and agreed upon ways in which you can verify that you are indeed living that dream drives me crazy,” says Forest McBrian. “Everyone’s dream is a little bit different. If there is a dream that we all lust after, then we’re all just trying to do what’s pushed by the media. So, yeah, this trip felt like an act of rebellion. Like, ‘This is what we think is cool. We’re going to do what we think is cool’.”
In May of 2017, Forest and his friend and fellow ski-guide Trevor Kostanich spent a month traversing the North Cascades from Snoqualmie Pass to the Canadian Border (well, almost) in a style that broke all the rules of an epic mountain expedition–in the best way possible.
Music: Zombie Dandies by The Zombie Dandies • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Procreation by Little Glass Men • Living in the Darkness by The Zombie Dandies • Mary by The Zombie Dandies • Nocturnal Blues by Fog Lake • A Happy Car is a Stolen Car by Vienna Ditto
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive.
Endangered Spaces — Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
“It’s like being caught in a spiderweb. You’ll find yourself pushing with every part of your body, and no part of your body will be able to move. You’re totally trapped by–held by plants,” says Elsa Sebastian, describing what it’s like to bushwhack through a 25-year old clear cut in Southeast Alaska. It’s something the lady fisherman did a lot of this past summer in an effort to defend the remaining old growth on her home island, Prince of Wales.
In January of 2017, Alaska Representative Don Young introduced a bill that would transfer up to two million acres of the Tongass National Forest to the State of Alaska for timber harvest. Much of that land would come from Prince of Wales.
For the fourth installment of our Endangered Spaces series, we travel with Elsa and her companions, botanical illustrator Mara Menahan and biologist Natalie Dawson, as they trek through the areas on the island selected for transfer to see for themselves what’s been lost and what remains to be saved.
Learn more about the project at laststands.org
Find Mara’s illustrations at maramenahan.com
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Whatever Comes My Way by Vienna Ditto • Loops to Aviemore by The Freeharmonic Orchestra • novocaine by Fog Lake • Passages by Kai Engel • The Cuckoo by Jason Tyler Burton • Belly of the Whale by Jason Tyler Burton • daemones by Kai Engel • Fog by Sergey Cheremisinov • Something by Kai Engel • rattlesnake by Fog Lake • The Fallen by MC Cullah • One Day by Bradley Carter • love letters lost by Fog Lake • Clinchfield Rail by Jeff Przech
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
The Year of Big Ideas 2018
The Year of Big Ideas 2018
“I think the jack of all trades gets a bum rap. The jack is the master of none, but I think the jack probably has a lot of fun,” says Fitz Cahall.
This year, we open our annual Year of Big Ideas with an ode to “mediocrity” from Fitz, then turn, as always, to our community for inspiration for the coming year. Happy 2018!
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Auroras by John Berry • Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon • Underdog by Bradley Carter • Desert Castles by Little Glass Men • Primary Colors by Ken Christianson
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
