Today's guest is Maxime Chaya, Lebanon’s foremost adventurer and the first person from his country to stand atop Mount Everest, which he summited in 2006. That Everest climb was actually featured on Discovery Channel's reality series "Everest: Beyond the Limit," but it was just one chapter in an extraordinary career of exploration.

Max went on to complete the Seven Summits—the highest peak on every continent—and then pushed further, adding ski expeditions to the North and South Poles to achieve what's known as the Three Poles or the Explorer’s Grand Slam .

In 2013, he took to the ocean, rowing across the Indian Ocean with two crew mates and setting a Guinness World speed record in the process—covering over 5,800 kilometers in just under 58 days.

But one of Max's most remarkable adventures came on two wheels. He and British ultra-runner Steve Holyoak completed not one, but two bikepacking expeditions across the Rub' al Khali—the Empty Quarter, the world's largest sand desert. Their first crossing in 2016 took them 1,500 kilometers from Abu Dhabi to Salalah, Oman in 21 days. They loved it so much they went back for more, this time riding 2,500 kilometers from Jeddah to Muscat over 33 days.

Back home in Lebanon, Max continues to promote adventure sports throughout the region. He's also a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing his philosophy that "There is an Everest for Everyone."

Please welcome Maxime Chaya.

A conversation with Annalise and Cailynn Klingbeil, the Calgary-based twin sisters behind Go Outside, one of Canada's most influential outdoor newsletters. From their first hike at two months old to building a community of thousands who are discovering that adventure doesn't require epic summits or extreme objectives—it just requires stepping outside.

Annalise Klingbeil is a former daily newspaper journalist, co-founder and principal of Champion Communications, and co-creator of the Go Outside newsletter. Her writing focuses on making Alberta's wilderness accessible to everyone, challenging the notion that outdoor adventure requires specialized skills or elite fitness. She's been featured in CTV Calgary, Calgary Herald, and The Guardian discussing outdoor accessibility and the future of Canada's parks.

Cailynn Klingbeil is a freelance journalist whose stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, and co-creator of Go Outside. Her work explores the intersection of nature, community, and everyday adventure. She brings a generalist's curiosity and a storyteller's eye to the question: how do we help more people fall in love with the outdoors?

gooutside.substack.com

In today’s episode of the Adventure Audio Podcast Laval speaks with his adventure racing teammate and friend, Ben Kwiatkowski.

Ben has a master’s in sustainable forest management, a B.Sc. in cell biology and genetics, is a professional avalanche forecaster, former ski patroller, medical team supervisor for music festivals and one of North America’s top adventure racers and captain of Team Expedition Canada AR. Ben calls Golden, British Columbia home.

Today’s guest is someone who pushes limits—not just in distance, but in grit, landscape, and life. Meet David Calder.

Dave calls Alberta’s Rocky Mountains home now, but his journey begins on Canada’s east coast. A native of Cape Breton, he’s gone from coastal trails to alpine ridge-lines. On LinkedIn, he describes himself as an ultramarathoner living in the mountains—and occasionally “blowing stuff up” in his work as a driller/blaster at a nearby quarry.

In today’s episode, we’ll dive into how David’s background—his grit forged in two coasts—shapes his approach to ultra distance, resilience, terrain strategy, and life beyond finish lines.

From hydrating alpine summits to pacing in storms, you’ll hear how he thinks in kilometres, miles and meters, and why his path might challenge how you see what's possible.

James Allen is an Australian modern-day explorer, speaker, mentor, and storyteller who fuses adventure with deep wisdom. From high peaks to frozen poles, he’s turned extreme environments into laboratories for leadership, resilience, and personal growth.

By the age of 22 (in 1995), James became the youngest person to summit Mount Everest via the North side. Over his career he has completed the Seven Summits, skied to the South Pole, traversed remote jungles, deserts, oceans, and scuba dived in challenging locations around the world.

James holds degrees in Exploration Geology, Economics, and Polar Studies, and has served in senior roles at global organizations including Shell International, Walmart, PA Consulting, Wilkinsons UK and Woolworths Australia. His life is a blend of expeditionary daring and corporate leadership — lessons from one inform the other.

Through his expeditions and business endeavors, James has crafted a unique voice on pushing boundaries: be it physical, mental, or cultural. James inspires people to see that ordinary individuals can accomplish extraordinary things. He now lives in Avalon Beach, Sydney, Australia, yet continues to mount global expeditions, often inviting others to join in discovering more of what we are all capable of.

Explore:%20https%3A//apps.apple.com/us/app/james-allen-explorer/id6449023665

Welcome back to Adventure Audio after a bit of a summer hiatus that involved a whole lot of time in the mountains of southeastern British Columbia where we have a home.

On the topic of hiatuses, my co-host Pete, continues his, but still managed to do a lot of riding and of course put on his brilliant cycling event - The Crowsnest Pass 100, google it and sign-up for next summer, it’s good one.

In this episode I am joined by Tom Babin—author, journalist, cycling advocate, and storyteller. Tom literally wrote the book on winter cycling with the book Frostbike: The Joy, Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling, and he’s spent his career exploring how bikes fit into our lives—not just as a sport, but as a way to connect with cities, nature, and each other.

Through his writing, speaking, and online presence thru his popular Youtube channel, Shifter, he’s become one of the most thoughtful voices on how two wheels can transform how we live.

We’ll talk about why people are so reluctant to be uncomfortable, how e-bikes are changing the fitness conversation, and where cycling is headed in a world that’s more stressed and distracted than ever.

In June 2023, writer Dan Rubinstein lashed camping gear to his stand-up paddleboard and embarked on an improbable solo voyage from Ottawa to Montreal, New York City, Toronto, and back to Ottawa along the rivers, lakes, and canals of a landlocked region. A historic and symbolic voyage along the same inland waterways used by Indigenous peoples, settlers, soldiers, and voyageurs for centuries.

Part physical challenge, part historical pilgrimage, and part personal reckoning, Water Borne reflects Dan’s deep curiosity about how water shapes not only our landscapes but also our culture, politics, and personal lives. A former editor at Canadian Geographic and author of Born to Walk, Dan has spent his career exploring the relationship between movement and meaning—on land and now, on water. This episode dives into what he discovered about history, anxiety, midlife, solitude, and what it really means to travel with and through nature's blue and green spaces.

Dave Greene of Greener Adventures and The Night of Adventure Speaking  series, joins Laval to talk about his recent expedition in March with partners  Chris Giard and Lee Fraser where they skied across 500+ km of remote arctic  Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula. 

Dave is already off on another canoe/cycling expedition in Canada’s Yukon  Territory.

In this episode of Adventure Audio, Laval interviews Yousef Al-Refaie, a record-breaking Kuwaiti mountaineer and explorer. Yousef holds the world record as the youngest person to complete the Volcanic Seven Summits, and now he’s taking on the harshest places inhabited by humans in his new documentary series Earth’s Extremes.

We talk exploration, risk, mindset, and what it takes to push into the planet’s most unforgiving environments.

From summits to salt flats — this is a story of grit, curiosity, and going beyond the edge.

Ihor Verys, is a distinguished ultramarathon runner based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Originally from Chornomorsk, Ukraine, he moved to Canada in 2015 at the age of 20 to pursue studies at Assiniboine College in Brandon, Manitoba. Initially taking up running for mental well-being, Verys transitioned from road running to trail and ultramarathon events during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2024, Verys achieved international recognition by completing the Barkley Marathon in Tennessee, a race notorious for its grueling conditions and high failure rate. He finished in 58 hours, 44 minutes, and 59 seconds, becoming the first Canadian(and Ukranian) to complete the race. In January 2025, UltraRunning Magazine named Verys the 10th UltraRunner of the Year for 2024, acknowledging his rapid ascent in the ultrarunning community and his remarkable achievements within a short timeframe.

Balancing his athletic pursuits with a professional career, Verys works as a Commercial Insurance Account Manager at HUB International.

Follow Ihor:

https://www.instagram.com/ihorverys/

Link to Dr.Chris Bertram (Episode 165) mentioned

https://bit.ly/42bvSG