S2E10: Sean Whitehead - 'Somebody 'Alp' Me'

Fear is a paralyzing emotion, but, in the end, it can truly be your best motivator, and Sean Whitehead has firsthand experience with both ends of that double-edged sword. Sean is not only a friend of Hayden’s and the singer of the band that Hayden and previous guest Guy Earnshaw were once in, but he is also an avid traveler. Sean wants to share his story of traveling in the Alps, and how fear, a good friend, and a bar of Snickers got him to the top of a nearly sheer-faced mountain.

First, Sean shares a tale of traveling to Brazil and ending up in a weird, dodgy neighborhood, where he was served an Americana pizza that came, not with meat and cheese on it, as you would expect; no, instead, it came with egg and peas on it. It was in Brazil that Sean learned that there is more to life than just doing things the easy way. He found that doing things you have never done before can only lead to adventure. He also tells a story about a self-drive tour he took with his friends in Iceland, how they took their own route around the country, and the amazing place in the mountains they found to watch the Northern Lights from. Sean shares what he thinks on talking to new people when you’re in a new place in order to figure out where to go and what to do while you’re there, and when you should follow their advice.

He also discusses how to decide what you are going to do when you are traveling. The highlight of Sean’s episode, however, is his story from Austria, aptly titled “Somebody ‘Alp’ Me,” a predictably punny name from Sean. Along the way, he and his friend John end up hiking in the Alps with no gear, a bottle of water, and a Snickers. Between them, they hike a kilometer and a half upwards, eat their one Snickers, drink their one bottle of water, have two panic attacks, but they manage to make it to the top alive. Though the fear was like nothing Sean had ever experienced, the adventure influenced his decisions in future travel, and he thinks he would not be the same now had it not been for that day.

• 0:45 - Hayden shares a letter he got from a listener, and sends out a call for podcasts that discuss what there is to do in Boston.
• 4:54 - Sean Whitehead comes into play after a long intro; he is a traveler, a friend of Hayden’s, and the singer of the band that Hayden and Guy Earnshaw were in.
• 7:21 - Sean shares a tale of traveling to Brazil, his language barrier, ending up in a weird, dodgy neighborhood, and eating an Americana pizza that was not quite right.
• 12:45 - Sean starts telling a story about a self-drive tour he took with his friends in Iceland. During the trip, they took their own route around the country, and found this amazing place in the mountains to watch the Northern Lights.
• 14:53 - Sean discusses what he thinks about talking to new people when you’re in a new place in order to figure out where to go and what to do while you’re there, and when you should follow their advice.
• 17:47 - Sean starts to share his story from Austria, which he calls “Somebody ‘Alp’ Me.”

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