'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' w/ McKenna Peterson & Jed Yeiser (Blister Book Club)

This week we discuss grizzlies, whales, microbes, humankind, & the future of the world with the wildlife biologist & author, Doug Chadwick. All of these are topics in Doug’s excellent new book, Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature that Just Might Save Us All.TOPICS & TIMES:Why did you write this book? (1:12)Recalibrating our behaviors (20:25)What really is progress? (37:06)Igniting curiosity (40:06)On being permeated by nature (49:31)Jellyfish & aging (53:57)The photos in the book (55:21)Recoding the audiobook (58:33)What’s next? (1:04:46) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Juli 20211h 13min

If you’re reading this, then you definitely need to listen to this episode. Because many of us in the outdoor community either don’t have insurance, or have deductibles that we can barely afford to pay when the inevitable accident happens. But Spot is disrupting the insurance industry with an incredible alternative that is actually affordable.We’ve had multiple conversations this week with the co-founder and CEO of Spot, Matt Randall, to discuss exactly how Spot works; why the insurance industry is such a mess; and why we think you and pretty much everyone you know ought to be covered by Spot.TOPICS & TIMES:How Jonathan & Matt connected (2:30)How Spot works (12:48)Who is Spot’s competition? (23:48)Coverage outside of sports accidents? (30:03)How did Spot get started? (39:02)Making Spot common in the outdoor industry (45:51)Who is eligible for Spot coverage? (55:14)Jonathan’s experience signing up for Spot (59:41)RELATED LINKS:blister.getspot.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Juni 20211h 2min

Cody Townsend and Jonathan Ellsworth talk about Cody’s recent adventure in AK; surges in National Park visits; ski patrol unionization; UFOs … and more. TOPICS & TIMES:Cody’s Alaska Update (2:47)When can you claim to have summited? (7:59)Will Gadd on the Ethos of Guiding (20:39)Indoor Ski Areas (25:52)Surge in National Parks visits (36:13)Unionization of Ski Patrol (49:20)Results of backcountry riders facing criminal charges (54:17)UFOs are real?? (56:06)Cody’s Recommendations (1:04:20)Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden (1:04:34)Hail Mary Project, Andy Weir (1:08:09)The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis (1:08:54)The Wayfinders, Wade Davis (1:09:50)The Third Pole, Mark Synnott (1:11:04)The Invention of Nature, Andrea Wulf (1:12:57)The Last Dance, Martin Shoemaker (1:15:12)Jonathan’s Recommendations (1:16:01)Bill Simmons & Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1:16:13)Ultra, Michele Graglia (1:19:04)Fourth Fifths a Grizzly, Doug Chadwick (1:23:48) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Juni 20211h 27min

We talk to the CEO of Alpine-X about his vision of developing indoor snowsports destinations in North American metropolitan markets. Could this have a similar effect that indoor climbing gyms have had on the popularity of climbing? Could such indoor facilities help create a more inclusive and more diverse snowsports demographic? Could this lead to a world where some people only ski indoors?TOPICS & TIMES:What is Alpine-X? (3:44)Development plans (4:55)Opening dates & locations (11:07)Challenges (13:29)Replicating skiing indoors (17:57)Increasing accessibility (27:00)Cost & pass types (32:47)Parallels to indoor climbing gyms? (36:42) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Juni 202145min

We talk with Matthias Giraud and Chase Ogden about their excellent new film, Super Frenchie, which documents Matthias’ exploits as a skier, base jumper, and ski base jumper, while also detailing the philosophy of life that drives his decision to do things like ski base off the Matterhorn. TOPICS & TIMES:The backstory of Super Frenchie (1:22)Matthias’ philosophy of life (8:46)Fear (22:16)Analyzing two ski base attempts (25:49)The art of grabbing the parachute (29:22)Terrifying inrun off the Matterhorn (31:40)Future projects? (34:35)Where to watch Super Frenchie (37:07) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Juni 202139min

We’re firing back up the Blister Book Club with mountaineer, climber, and big-wave surfer, Andrew Alexander King. Andrew and Jonathan discuss the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and why this book written in the 2nd century is still so relevant today when it comes to topics like the pursuit of fame, dealing with criticism, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Andrew’s upcoming Denali mission (1:24)Why the Meditations? (3:54)Relevance of the Meditations today? (16:29)The pursuit of fame (22:01)Dealing with criticism (26:14)Being intentional with time (33:06)RELATED LINKSEp.159: Andrew Alexander King & the Between Worlds Project Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Juni 202145min

It’s time once again to review the outdoor-industry news, and this time around Cody Townsend and I discuss some recent criticism of REI; spraying vs. not spraying the locations of your outdoor adventures; Mt. Bohemia’s plan to incentivize vaccinations; gear libraries & outdoor accessibility; sex and ski touring; & more.TOPICS & TIMES:Sleeping at 14,700 ft — at sea level? (0:00)REI & SUVs (5:21)To Spray or Not to Spray (18:59)The “pointlessness” of outdoor activities? (26:23)Mt. Bohemia & Incentivizing Vaccination (35:10)Gear Libraries & Outdoor Accessibility (43:48)The Pieps / Black Diamond Avy Beacon Recall (51:50)Sex & Ski Touring (1:00:53)Media Recommendations (1:03:34)Black Hawk Down (1:03:39)Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (1:04:38)Rick & Morty? (1:09:25)Drive To Survive (1:11:01)Alone (1:19:13) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Maj 20211h 28min

We’ve talked quite a bit on Blister about the ski season in North America, but today we’re talking with Sebastian Steinbach, the owner of Blacksheep Sports in Munich, Germany, about the European ski season; we revisit some of the predictions that Sebastian had made prior to this ski season, and we get his early predictions for what he thinks this next ski season will look like in Europe.TOPICS & TIMES:Lockdowns in Europe at the start of the season (3:14)Backcountry skiing during Covid (10:18)Avoiding outbreaks moving forward (25:51)The financial state of ski resorts & ski shops (35:55)Predictions for next season (42:41)RELATED LINKS: GEAR:30 ep. 116: Shop Talk w/ Sebastian SteinbachGEAR:30 ep. 6: Blacksheep Sports History & European Freeride Culture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Apr 202150min