Podcast

Charitable Giving, Interview, philanthropy, Podcast / 18.12.2010

In the spirit of charitable giving Robert Egger is leading the charge in America to show that philanthropy and looking out for the best interest of others can be business as usual. Dedicated to feeding the homeless and providing job training for the formerly incarcerated Egger’s work at the D.C. Central Kitchen serves the poor in our nation’s capital.

In cooperation with restaurants and catering business, the D.C. Kitchen collects more than 3,000 pounds of surplus food each day. The non-profit makes 4,500 meals that are distributed to over 100 shelters, transitional housing facilities and rehabilitation centers throughout the Washington D.C. area. And Robert Egger travels the country giving talks on the value of philanthropic giving as an engine for social change. At the D.C. Central Kitchen Egger is using food to build stronger communities, combating hunger while creating opportunities.

BASE Jumping, Interview, Podcast, Skiing / 12.12.2010

After a long career as a professional skier and BASE jumper Karina Hollekim was living her dream. In 2006 at the paragliding world cup in Switzerland she and a group of friends were invited to do an exhibition jump. It was just going to be a routine flight in wing suits sailing away from an airplane to entertain a crowd of thousands below. Flying high overhead Karina couldn’t have been more happy. "I was there with friends I was having fun and everything was just perfect," she said. Karina made the jump from a small plane and carved  turns through the sky in her wing suit. As she flew  she filmed the others with a camera mounted on her helmet. "I could see the smile on the face of my friend and everything was great. I was suppose to open the parachute and land on the grassy field in front of the spectators. I could hear the clapping and roaring from the thousands of spectators underneath," she said. "And then a split second later I realized that something had gone wrong. And 15 seconds later my life was changed forever."
Banff, Climbing, Film Festival, Film Review, Interview, Mountain Film, Podcast / 12.11.2010

An interview with Sender Films producers Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer I just got back from the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Held every year in November at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada this celebration of alpine culture marks the end of one adventure season and the beginning of the next. After putting in time at the MountainFilm Festival Telluride and few other events throughout the year I’ve had the chance to see a lot of movies about athletes and explorers pushing the boundaries of the human experience. But one film in particular hits really close home. Called Point of No Return this movie for television produced by Sender Films depicts of lives of guys I once knew who died tragically in the pursuit of a dream.
Bikes, Charitable Giving, Cycling, Madison, Outdoor Recreation, philanthropy, Podcast / 13.09.2010

An all inclusive adventure for the disabled only

I’m packing my bags and taking this show on the road. And you’re wondering, so what’s new? James you travel all the time. That’s right. I do. The Joy Trip Project is all about venturing out into the wide world and finding those stories about people who are doing what they can to make a difference, to make the world a better place. But this time, it’s just a bit different. This time, I’m going to Africa. You’ll find out why exactly I’m going intercontinental in an upcoming edition. So stay tuned. But yesterday, and I mean while I’m sorting my socks and underwear I get a text message from my friend adventure filmmaker and a true Joy Tripper Dominic Gill. You’ve met him on the show before. Dom’s from the United Kingdom, the UK. He’s riding his bike across the country from LA to New York on a trip he calls The Dom & Ernie Project. And on my iPhone it says: James we just crossed into Wisconsin. We’ll be in Madison tonight. Believe it or not, I dropped everything. Cleared my schedule and made plans, because Dom and I just had to visit. And for you my loyal listeners I just had to bring you his story. Because Dom’s not just riding across the country, that’s been done to death. Just like before in the last story he’s riding a tandem bicycle and all along the way he’s picking up people, random strangers to come along on the ride. Before when he road 20,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina he’d pick up just about anyone. But this time he’s only bringing along people with a disability. "We had Ryan with traumatic brain injury. Then we had Carlos who is visually impaired. The after that we had two brothers, Warren and Chad Woodbury who had muscular dystrophy," Dominic said. "And then 59-year-old Kelly Lane who has Parkinson’s disease, he jumped on. And then he switched out with Rachel who has Cerebral Palsy and she’s just cycled 250-miles from Minneapolis where she lives to here." These are people with profound disabilities, people who under normal circumstances would never have the opportunity to take part in such an amazing adventure. And yet thanks to the Dom & Ernie Project Dominic and his crew Alonzo and Nadia, these disabled cyclists are getting out and experiencing the world. They’re traveling hundreds of miles in a way they may have never dreamed of before.
Climbing, Mountain Film, Podcast / 26.08.2010

An interview with author Jennifer Jordan

In 1939 Dudley Wolfe was on one of the earliest expeditions to reach the summit of K2. An adventurer and one of the wealthiest men in the world he was left for dead with a rescue team of Sherpa after a devastating avalanche. Some say he was the victim of his own foolishness, others say he was abandoned by the members of his climbing party as they fled the mountain to save their own lives. And even though his body has been found there remains a great deal of controversy around Wolfe’s death that continues to this day. In her book “The Last Man on the Mountain” Jennifer Jordan gives us a close look into life of an American adventurer and the first to die on K2.

[caption id="attachment_3683" align="alignright" width="213" caption="Jennifer Jordan"][/caption]

Film Festival, Mountain Film, Podcast / 16.08.2010

I know. It’s been a long time since the last audio edition of The Joy Trip Project. But if you’ve been following the blog and the Facebook page you’ll know that I’ve been traveling on an extend Joy Trip. I just got back. Over the past several weeks of summer I’ve been conducting interviews and collecting stories about people and institutions hard at work making the world a better place. I know that sounds like hyperbole or so vague that it sounds almost meaningless. But there’s really no other way for me to describe the athletes, artist and activists who find their way on this show. Yeah I know we talk a lot about climbing mountains or making movies about people who climb mountains or base jumping or kayaking or whatever, the point is these people work at protecting the planet and improving the lives of others by being actively engaged in the world in which they live. Through their stories about their adventures they stand as an example of how each of us can make a difference in the course our own lives and perhaps do some good. A few weeks ago I was at the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride. And if you’ve ever been you’ll know this annual celebration of adventure culture through cinema is about a lot more than high altitude thrill rides and adrenaline induced mayhem. The collected speakers, authors, and filmmakers give us a look from their perspective into the many complex questions of life. One of the presenters and judge in the film competition was the actress Anna Deavere Smith. And while she’s not a climber or a skier or any type of outdoor professional through the power of storytelling she has the ability show us a glimpse into the lives others who ponder these same questions.