May

The Shorts — Let Joy Rule Your Life

Let Joy Rule Your Life

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For many of us, the relationship we have with the outdoors stretches back longer than most of our friendships. But what do we do when what should have been a type one fun day in the mountains turns into the worst day of our lives? How do we redefine our relationships with the activities we love?

Ryan’s family started a scholarship in his name to help underserved youth get outside. You can donate here.

You can find more of Keith’s writing here.

Music today from Jacob Bain with Nis Kotto and with Publish the Quest.

Apr

The Bet

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“When I made this bet, I had maybe two or three pairs of cut off pants that were now shorts — or jorts — a pair of sandals, and maybe six or seven pretty nice Hawaiian shirts,” remembers Matt. “And that was it.”

Today, producer Francesca Fenzi brings you a story of mountain climbing on a budget, friendship and idealism versus realism.

You can find more of Francesca’s work at: francescafenzi.com

Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Aloha Vibes by Warren Thomas Fenzi • I Got a Plan to Rule the World by MC Cullah • Sick & Tired by Publish the Quest • Equatorial Lies by Hayvanlar Alemi • Something by Kai Engel • The Rent is Late by Publish the Quest • Blue by Bradley Carter

Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.

Apr

The Shorts — Catching Hope

Catching Hope

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“Every day on the mountain and every night at the bar, drinking and partying was as much a part of my life as skiing,” remembers Paddy O’Connell. “That is until, of course, they became the only part.”

We’ve heard the stories of addicts who found salvation in the outdoors and the outdoor community, but that’s not the way the narrative arcs for everyone. For Paddy, recovery looked less like slashing pow turns with his ski-bum buddies, and more like a game of catch with his dad on the back lawn of a treatment facility in Minnesota.

You can find more of Paddy’s writing here: Adventure Journal, Freeskier Magazine, Mountain Magazine, The Gear Junkie, Teton Gravity Research, Powder.com, Skiing Magazine, Chatting with Lindsey Vonn

Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Breaking Down by Bradley Carter • Moon Shimmers by John Berry • Stop by Vienna Ditto • Nidra by Quaro • Chasing Trains by Publish the Quest • Streams by Jacob Bain

Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.

Mar

Endangered Spaces — Bears Ears

Bears Ears

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“If you really want to have an adventure that’s not going to be sexy–it’s gonna be dirty and it’s gonna be rowdy–there’s a place a out here for you,” says Josh Ewing. “It’s the chance to do something where you’re not going to see another climber.”

In the beginning, Josh came to Bears Ears, Utah in search of adventure. But the more time he spent there, the less his relationship with the landscape had to do with first ascents, and the more it had to do with connecting to the current people and ancient cultures who call Bears Ears home. Now, Josh is a leader in the fight to protect the 1.9 million acres of wild, history-rich, red sandstone landscape.

For the first episode of our “Endangered Spaces” series, a series about threatened places and the people who care for them, we take you to Bears Ears National Monument to follow Josh’s transformation from climber to climber-activist.

Explore Bears Ears with our 360° virtual reality tour, and take action to help protect your new National Monument.

Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Snowmen by Kai Engel • Grandmaster Blues by MC Cullah • Ambiguous Piano by Bradley Carter • Remedy for Melancholy by Kai Engel • Don’t Point That Gun At Me by Publish the Quest • Low Horizon by Kai Engel • A Language of Its Own by Publish the Quest • Warm of Mechanical Heart by Kai Engel • Destination by Jason Tyler Burton

Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.

Mar

The Fear is Real

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Loosely speaking, there are two kinds of fear. There’s the fear of external, objective hazards–like getting caught in an avalanche, or taking a bad fall climbing or getting mauled by a grizzly bear. Then, there’s the internal, more slippery kind of fear, like the fear of not being pretty enough, or not being popular enough or not being perfect enough.

When Kat Cannell embarked on a 350-mile, solo horse-packing trip through the mountains of Idaho and Montana, across snowy mountain passes and through a large swath of grizzly bear country, she had to confront both kinds of fears. She realized that maybe conquering the fear of having a head on with a grizzly and conquering the fear of not being pretty enough really isn’t all that different.

This April, Kat and activist Katelyn Spradley plan to ride 900-miles from the Washington Coast to Redfish Lake, Idaho, following the path of Idaho’s wild salmon up the Columbia, Snake and Salmon Rivers to their spawning grounds in the Sawtooth Basin. Learn more at RideforRedd.org, or follow the trip on Facebook or Instagram.

Music: Live at Bazillus by Aidan Baker • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Somnolence by Kai Engel • All of the Time by adcBicycle • Freaks by Bradley Carter • The Very Beginning by Bradley Carter • Silver Linings by Jason Tyler Burton • The Last Wild Mountain by Bradley Carter