Podcasts

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.

A Joy Trip Flashback: Remembering Todd Skinner

I got an email from an old friend, Amy Skinner.We hadn’t connected in a while so it really good to hear from her. Her message read, “Thought you might get a kick out of my son's third grade writing assignment. We're going to have to have a little talk about plagiarism, but it's apparent that he has listened to your podcast many times.  I have it on my ipod and he loves to listen to it.” In the body of the message Amy included a scanned image of her son Jake’s writing assignment. Written in pencil on wide ruled paper, the little boy liberally quoted without attribution from a story I produced in 2006. I have to say I didn’t mind at all. In fact I was touched to point where I was almost brought to tears, because Jake’s writing assignment quoted from the story I produced on his father’s memorial service. They say that imitation is the sincerest from of flattery. Jake’s use of my words from this story let me know that in a small way I’ve helped him to remember his father. Todd Skinner was a good friend and three years after his death many people still remember him and what he meant to the outdoor community. And just so we don’t forget in this special edition of the podcast I’m bringing you a Joy Trip flashback, a celebration of a life well lived.

Empowered women like Kim Reynolds call themselves what they like. This Chick runs a business out of Colorado showing other women how to climb rock and ice called Chicks Rock. "It’s fun. I think sharing life experiences, climbing experiences, there’s a certain comradery," Reynolds said. " Someone might have the same challenges or same talents or whatever as I as do and it’s nice to experience that with other women." A few weeks ago Kim, a certified mountain guide and life coach, lead a small group of women on a rock climbing trip to a local crag about 40 miles north of Madison, Wisconsin,  a spot called Devil’s Lake. I only came out for the day to take pictures and ask a few questions. Because on this trip there were no men allowed. "I think men are fun. I don’t want to leave them out, but there’s also a trend toward more and more women’s trips I think," Reynolds said. "And women wanting to do things with other women and learn from other women and have that opportunity." In the world of adventure women are busting out on their own. They’re leaving husbands, boyfriends and children at home to discover their strengths and celebrate the feminine side of the wild. Hear their story in this edition of The Joy Trip Project.