Carpe Diem: Live Your Dream

I appreciate meeting people who achieve way more than I believe I ever could. It gives me inspiration to strive harder to get there myself. This episode profiles a 75 year old who joined me in last week’s Arrowhead 135 Ultra winter trail race and became the oldest finisher in the race’s 22 year history. It was a tough race, but listen to the end and you'll discover he doesn't plan to stop there.

The author of “Tough Broad” and “Gutsy Girl” knows a thing or two about adventure herself. She talks about the benefits of getting outdoors for adventure, about the power of awe, about leading with bravery in life rather than with fear, and about the 5 dimensions necessary for a long and fulfilling life. She’s inspirational for all, but is especially encouraging for women, old and young.

When I first met him, this doctor seemed like just a normal guy. It turns out he has climbed the Seven Summits while managing a career, raising a family, and maintaining a fantastic blog. His summiting of the Vinson Massif in Antartica was impressive, but so too were his two seasons on Mt. Everest – especially the first. Hear why, and how he squeezed so much into his life.

An annual Great Norse Run across Iceland. Another across Tajikistan. A bicycle adventure from the UK to India. A charity relay across the U.S.  All with energy posing out at the seams. That's the kind of stuff a Chief Vibe Maker would do, and that's exactly what my guest this episode is - a Chief Vibe Maker. Tune in and hear what that's like. 

Four friends decide to try a new way to explore the Brooks Range above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. They stuff small whitewater rafts in their backpacks and spend a month pack-rafting hundreds of miles through seldom-seen wilderness. Listening to all four of them in this episode, it’s clear they had a great time!

My guest for this episode hiked, paddled, and skied the entire Trans-Canadian Trail connecting three oceans. She created a spectacular documentary film “500 Days in the Wild” from that adventure, naming the film before she realized her journey would actually require 6 years! Listen to this episode to hear why.

Here’s a dynamic, fascinating individual who picked up photography in his 30’s and has now had three National Geographic magazine cover stories. He’s roamed the Arctic and so many other far-flung places, capturing the essence of wildlife, scenery, and the indigenous cultures. If you think it just takes being a guru behind a camera lens to make it big with Nat Geo, listen in to this episode to hear the real story.

Ann Bancroft has a lifetime of amazing firsts in the world of polar exploration: first woman to reach the North Pole, first woman to reach both the North and South Pole, first woman to ski across the Antarctic continent, and many other big adventures. She has also accomplished so many other achievements in her life through her curiosity and determination. Hear about them in this episode.

Smoke jumping is an adventure disguised as a job. Afterall, who jumps out of airplanes to live a week or two in the wild fighting a forest fire with little more than a pulaski and the clothes on their back? It’s an occupation few of us know much about – until you listen to this episode where my guest explains the lingo, techniques, and experience of smoke jumping.

The Badwater 135 ultra-marathon is viewed as one of the toughest running races in the world, starting in Death Valley in 120 degree F temps and including 14,000+ feet of elevation gain. This 2-guest episode was so fun to record with both the youngest person and oldest person ever to finish the race. While they each describe the same race from very different perspectives, they are equally inspirational.

Rafting expeditions on white water rivers can be addictive – or so says my guest in this episode. His repertoire of rafting adventures was built over a decades-long habit of an expedition every year or two and includes dozens of rivers around the world, including Zambia, India, Bhutan, Peru, Chile, Siberia, China, and Ecuador to name a few. What a great way to see the wild places of the world while enjoying friends and family!

This episode is a conversation with Scott Shawyer, the President and Skipper of the Canada Ocean Racing team, shortly after he and his team completed the 5,000+ mile Ocean Race Europe in their IMOCA 60 foiling ocean racer. That race was just a warm-up for Scott’s ultimate ambition of being the first Canadian to complete the Vendee Globe solo, non-stop, around-the-world race.

Do you ever have an itch for adventure? To explore? To try something new? My guest for this episode literally wrote the book on why that is (or isn’t, for some people). He also wrote the book on human endurance. What a fascinating combo of topics that helps explain what's behind the accomplishments of my various podcast guests.