The Joy Trip Project

An interview with Rick Ridgeway

In 1978 Rick Ridgeway was on the first American team to reach the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world. After a long career as a professional adventurer Ridgeway is now vice president of environmental initiatives at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Today he’s devoting his life to the preservation of wildlife corridors across North America. Working with a coalition of environmental protection groups and major corporations Ridgeway is helping to establish and maintain clear pathways that allow animal species to travel freely from one habitat to another. Called Freedom To Roam this program aims to raise awareness for the importance of wildlife protection by telling the stories of the animals themselves. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="322"] M3's Route to the summit of Mount Cleveland[/caption] Like humans animals have the same inherent need to move from place to place. Species such as caribou, wolves, elk and mountain lions traverse the landscape traveling hundreds of miles between grounds used for breading, hunting or grazing. And in some cases just like humans, to simply live out their lives in the joyful pursuit of happiness. But in our rush to develop and civilize the natural world human beings are disrupting wildlife corridors through which these animals pass from one habitat to the next. And in the process we’re putting at risk our own future on the planet. In this edition of the Joy Trip Project environmental activist Rick Ridgeway shares the story behind his work to protect these passageways while defending our Freedom to Roam.