Jul

The First Time

I want you to think back to the first time you touched granite, rolled a kayak or linked ski turns. Whether you’re pushing your sport to new heights or daydream about first tracks during your rush hour commute, those first experiences are something we all have in common. It probably felt a little daring, slightly awkward, but absolutely wonderful, and while the waves may get bigger, the routes bolder, they never get rawer.

This week the Dirtbag Diaries brings you the First Time–stories about people’s initial experiences in the outdoors. Instead of one big episode, we’ve gone ahead and split this week’s broadcast into five parts. We’ve got some very special guests. Some you may recognize. Others, we are proud to introduce.

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Music: There Comes a Time by Trolls Cottage • Napoleon Says by Pheonix • Holding the Pilot by Foundry Fields Recording

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99428690″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Part Two: Pro kayaker Tanya Shuman tells us about her search for the perfect wave. It’s a journey that took her around the globe before leading her back to the place where it all began–Skookumchuck Narrows.

Music: Your Ex-lover is Dead by Stars • Um, Circles and Squares by Dosh • Good Vibe by Mr. Anonymous

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99429684″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Part Three: For Erin Shea, February 14th will always be linked to cold, darkness and the sound of falling ice. Now that’s our kind of love affair! We bring you the story of a lonely M.I.T. undergrad who has a very special Valentine’s Day.

Music: I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me by New Buffalo • Nature of the Experiment by Toyko Police Club • Hope the Light by The Furze

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99429999″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Part Four: In the last decade, Steve House has pulled off some incredible ascents in the Canadian Rockies, Alaska and the Himalaya. Today, we’re going to look back through the eyes of an 11-year old boy as House tells us about the day his pursuit of high places began, and very nearly ended.

Music: Cold Days by The Twilight Sad • Ballad of Douglas Chin by Three More Shallows • A Lie for a Lie by Built to Spill

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99430695″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Part Five: Snowboarding can’t change your life. Snow melts, but life doesn’t get any easier. Deep seeded change can only come from within. Today, we’re traveling from NYC’s notorious Bushwick neighborhood to Whistler Blackcomb’s ski slopes to discover how snowboarding helped transform a young woman headed for trouble. Stephanie McLawerence, a self-described bookworm, brings us her story about finding a second chance in a first time.

Music: Night at the Knight School by Three More Shallows • 45 by The Saturday Knights

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Jun

No Big Deal

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99426715″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]In 1996, photographer John Burcham and three friends completed the first foot traverse of the 650-mile long Alaska Range. Together, they forded streams, chased off curious grizzlies and crossed crevassed glaciers. After 75 days, they had become a single unit. After delays mounted, Burcham decided to leave the group at the very end of the trip in order to make it to his sister’s wedding. He said goodbye and parted ways. He was alone in the continent’s last great wilderness with a sobering realization–crevasses, hungry wildlife and hypothermia can kill you, but loneliness can drive you crazy.

Check out the photo enhanced version.

Music: Turning Back to You by Keith Anderson • Keep You Kimi by Hird • Do You Suppose? by Velure • Flowering Spade by Sean Hayes

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Jun

Anatomy of an Accident

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99427380″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]In May of 2007, I made a mistake that should have cost me my life when I slipped high on a Central Oregon volcano. I fell between 250-300 feet, over a cliff, through rock bands before grabbing a rock out cropping and stopping my fall. I’m still not sure how I stopped myself. Amazingly, I walked away with a sprained thumb. This week the Dirtbag Diaries presents the Anatomy of an Accident. What do you take away from a near-death experience? Is there meaning in it? If so, what does it say about our relationships with these mountains, these rivers and these oceans.

Music: Engineer Fear by Birdy Nam Nam • Needle in the Hay by Elliot Smith

Above tracks provided by IODA Promonet. Additional music provided by Patagonia’s very own Sus Corez.

May

A Brief Moment in a Beautiful Place

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99424805″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]There is a fine line between a life-lasting memory and disaster. Whatever the discipline–alpinism, big wave surfing, foreign travel–we calculate risk, formulate plans and sometimes we have the spunk to see them through. Today, we’re headed to Laos to recount the story of two friends and one spectacularly bad idea. Join us as we follow Jacob Bain, Colin Brynn and a bamboo raft down a river at the edge of the world. Sometimes, bad ideas work out for the better. Sometimes.

Check out the photo enhanced version.

Music: While he is not traveling the world, the very-talented Jacob Bain also sings and plays in Seattle-based band Trolls Cottage. We’re also very fortunate to have the input of Sus Corez. When she isn’t hard at work in Patagonia’s photo department, Sus is making music with an organic edge.

Apr

A Thousand Words

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99410137″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]There is no textbook on adventure journalism, but if there were one, it would contain one single, steadfast rule — you can’t photograph adventure from a safe distance. There are no sidelines in wilderness. El Capitan doesn’t have a press booth. Even for the most safety-conscious, danger can come in many forms–falling rock, toxic jellyfish, even a bad case of the Itch. This week, adventure photographer Corey Rich gives us photos and the untold stories behind them. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Which words? Find out.

Check out the photo enhanced version.

Music: Born on the Cusp by The American Analog Set • My Sword Hand’s Anger by Apostle of Hustle

Music provided by IODA Promonet.