Breaking Trail

Hi everyone, we are BACK.

After taking the past two months off the show to take some time to interview a whole bunch of new guests, I'm excited to bring you episode 33.

I have been having so much fun talking to outdoor active professionals and athletes about what makes them tick, how they overcome hurdles and make ideas happen. The only reason, after a year that I'm on episode 33 and not 52 is because of the time it takes to source and schedule interesting guests. If you know of someone who should be on the show, please send them my way. you can reach me on twitter @lisagerber or via email: lisa at big leap creative dot com.

We have a great round of episodes lined up for the coming weeks. Dina Mishev, a top travel writer for magazines like Sunset, Washington Post, Ashley Rankin, the founder of Shredly mountain bike shorts, the former avalanche forecaster for the Little Cottonwood Canyon highway. lots of interesting topics and people.

But first, today, it's just me sharing an experience I had last month at Selkirk Mountain Experience, a trip that pushed me beyond my limits. It's was scary. it was awe-inspiring. It was amazing, after I knew I would survive it.

This is about more than a 7-day backcountry ski trip. It's about how I disconnected, got outside into the great silence, found some new emotions, new ideas, raised the bar on existing, you know, big deal shit like that.

If you are considering a trip like this, you'll learn more about what to expect. Whether you are or not, there is something to be said for doing your own thing that scares the hell out of you.

I do want to underscore the importance of subjectivity here. at times, it might seem like I'm making a big deal out of the impact this trip had on me. It was a big deal on me. For many. this trip would have been a cake walk. for others, it's out of the question. These things are purely subjective. what matters is we do something that scares us, that raises the bar. If nothing else, according to a friend, it wards off dementia as you get older. So there's that.

Resources mentioned in the episode

Leg blasters workout

Skimo co

Selkirk Mountain Experience

I have some year- end/year-beginning inspiration for you today!

Ash started Roam Events with her savings and retirement plan. She was literally all in. And she took some calculated risks along the way to bring something new to the market - women specific bike events held around the country partnering with the top outdoor and bicycle brands. We're going to take a peek into how she thought creatively to make things happen, what goes into creating and managing events, and building no BS, values-driven business along with a pretty rich and fulfilling life.

Life lessons in today's conversation:

• Unique companies bring a unique combination of experiences to them.
• Say yes to adventure
• Come from a genuine place in business in whatever you do - seriously, the good guys (gals) do come out on top.

You can find Ash at Roam Events.

Social media

• Facebook
• Instagram

Podcast

• Roam Rydes

Want to do me a huge favor?

Reviewing and sharing are the most helpful ways to get this in front of new listeners.

Also, I really want to hear from you – questions, topic and guest suggestions, anything.

Thanks!

Lisa

Learn more at www.thegearshow.com

Mark Paulsen took an NFL career and evolved it into a passion - nutrition to not only improve athletic performance, but so we can all have a long and productive life. He founded The Wilderness Athlete, the authority on Outdoor Performance Nutrition®, to accomplish this mission and he has a great deal of wisdom to drop on us today.

We start by going behind the scenes in launching a nutrition and supplements products company from scratch and what that looks like, get a peek into the good and bad in that industry and what to look for. He's going to talk about muscle management and throwing the scale away. Wait for the discount code for listeners of this podcast - he wants to give all gear show fans a 20% discount. ok, i won't make you wait. The code is GEARSHOW. After our conversation, he sent me a few things - the green infusion which tastes really good and makes me feel like I'm getting tons of nutrients. The hydrate and recover drink is strawberry pomegranate and is awesome.

One last thing, I wanted to thank our mutual friend Steve Mckee for introducing us - if you have a guest or topic suggestion, please visit me at www.thegearshow.com

Let's listen on and gear up for what's next

Where to find Mark:

The Wilderness Athlete

Learn more at:

The Gear Show

Listen, the first thing when it comes to comfort zones are your feet. Because if you don't have happy feet, how can you possible be happy?

Today due to some technical difficulties but far from being a "backup plan," we are rerunning one the very first episodes of The Gear Show, a nice chat with friend and former Exum mountain guide Brian Harder about backcountry skiing, exiting out of the comfort zone and the most brutal of all tasks, finding the right alpine touring boots -

What features should you look for given your objectives? Do number of buckles matter? What about weight? He also shares some trusted resources and great boot shops.

We'll also discuss:

• More on weird feet and what to do.
• Skiing ability and objectives
• Features like buckles, weight, warmth
• Favorite shop and resources to discuss boots

This is part one in a series of three so if you like it, scroll back to episode 2 and 3 for discussions on skis and bindings.

With that, let's listen up and gear up for what's next.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Skimo Co in Salt Lake City, Utah

Find Brian at:

Instagram

His blog

Learn more at www.thegearshow.com

Hiking and playing in the mountains of Europe is so civilized and Dan Fogarty is here to talk to us about it.

Dan Fogarty is a brand consultant who has created a flexible lifestyle that allows him to travel the world. He has worked for brands you just might have heard of: Chipotle, Potbelly, Dig In (originally The Pump in NY) and Noodles and Company. Today we're going to learn how overthinking is overrated and by simply letting go just a tad of control and having faith all will work out. Your career and your next adventure will be far richer for it.

Things we talk about:

• Hiking in the European mountains and forgive us as we gush just a bit but sorry not sorry. We can't help it.
• The beauty and the risk of truly getting off the beaten path. Just because you've never heard of it, doesn't mean it's not worth visiting.

What Dan forgot to mention but sent me later: The whole region (in the Dolomites in Italy) is starting to market themselves as Sud Tyrol. (South Tyrol, as opposed to Tyrol in Austria)

Each has something like a ski map for summer trails, showing lifts, refugi (huts) and towns and the connections between everything. (You can see that map here.)

So listen on and lets gear up for what's next.

Where to Find Dan:

• Youshouldgohere on Instagram
• His blog: YouShouldGoHere

Resources:

• Camellas-Lloret maison d'hôtes

Learn more at www.thegearshow.com

Who wants to dream with me of skiing in faraway places?

I have a long conversation with Tracey Creedon, an Australian-born ski guide based in Hokkaido, Japan and New Zealand. And Australia depending on the time of year. Tracey is a soul sister, so to speak, who loves snow as much, if not more, than I do. Maybe more because she's figured out a life where much of it is spent on snow. I met Tracey in Hokkaido, where she took Patrick and me on one of the best ski tours of our lives. You'll have to listen on to hear that story.

Today we'll learn about how she pursued a life on snow, overcame a battle with cancer and now works and travels the world to ski. Most of all, if you've been considering going to New Zealand, Australia or Japan to ski, her information is far deeper and more informative than any guide book is.

So listen on and lets gear up for what's next:

Where to find Tracey Instagram

Facebook

Guides at Shinsetsu Mountain Guides

Learn more:

The Gear Show

I really enjoyed talking to today's guest Chris Ruben - a professional skier whom you'll find in many ski movies if you just search for him on Youtube.

Today you'll get a cool perspective into what it's like to be in the ski movies, what it takes to get there, and how to train for ski season. Chris is also out to deliver a message - and his projects reflect that.

Watch for his upcoming film, produced by Salomon with his partner in adventure (and last week's guest) Greg Hill - The Curve of Time - and how they both strive to be environmentally responsible athletes.

Because there is often a life metaphor in these discussion, it was interesting to hear Chris' viewpoint on a good partnership/team mate. Listen to how they each talk about the other not only with respect but recognizing where their partner excels vs where they do. This is important in the mountains as well as in the office.

So listen on and let's gear up.

Find more at www.thegearshow.com

Resources:

• Greg Hill's Youtube channel and the Facebook page.
• Chris Rubens' Facebook page
• How Chris Rubens and Greg Hill train for ski season
• Chris Rubens on Instagram

Revelstoke-based Greg Hill's linkedin profile simply states "Adventurer" He is sponsored by many brands such as Arc'teryx , Salomon, Suunto and Gore-Tex. You can find him skiing in Salmon Freeski movies and in 2010, he skied 2 million feet - was . That's a lot.

Greg has had a dilemma - he's felt guilty about loving the wilderness to death. Those adventures are bad for the planet as it turns out. So he's been doing what he can to reduce his carbon footprint. By shifting to a plant0-based diet most of the time, using electric vehicle instead of gas, taking fewer plane rides. You ever feel guilty about something and don't really act on it? yeah me too. Maybe after this episode, you'll be more likely to do something about it.

\While I had the chance, I asked him what it's like skiing that big mountain stuff we see in the movies. Cause he's the guy skiing that stuff. We talked about fear, surrounding yourself with the right people to push you, but also that you feel comfortable saying - no hang on guys, are you sure we should be doing this?

So listen on and let's gear up.

This was recorded at the Boston Convention Center - so there is some ambient noise

Life lessons

• Do things without waiting for policy change
• Surrounding yourself with the right people and feeling comfortable expressing your fears and concerns. Being able to.

Links:

• Graham Hill Ted Talk:
• The Curve of Time
• Treehugger

Role models

• Graham Hill - his brother
• Conrad Anker
• Laird Hamitlon

Where to find Greg

• ElectricAdventures.ca
• Salomon Freeski - watch the movies

Last March, Seattlite Kelly Herron fought off an attacker (a registered sex offender she later learned) in the middle of her mid-day run. I read this in the news and was rattled to the core by the story - that could have been me, that could have been any of millions of women who go for a run on any given day. It turns out, she used the skills she had just learned in a self-defense workshop she had taken the week before taught by todays guest Jordan Giarratano . You should go read the details of her fight - I was awestruck by her power and might.

As I said, what happened to Kelly could have just as easily happened to any of us. And we tend to think bad things won't happen to us. But they can. and this doesn't mean we should instead stay home and stay up to date on Netflix. It means we should be appropriately prepared.

Today's episode is for both men and women because we all have a role to play in the conversation on sexual harassment and assault. When the #metoo campaign picked up steam with women sharing their stories, I noticed many men reacted with shock at the prevalence of abuse. Upon my own reflection, at first I thought I don't have any stories, I have not been a victim of abuse, and then I remembered a few incidents, like the time I had to duck into a café on a late night walk home to my apartment because I was being stalked by a man who kept changing direction every time I changed direction. And that's just one of a few I could share. I didn't give those a thought at first because it's become normalized. As a woman, we have to assess situations from a different perspective than men. That's a reality that will hopefully one day go away with more conversation, listening, and action.

So I'm happy to have Jordan on our episode today. I learned so much from him. We talk about the role men can play in the national conversation when it comes to awareness, empathy, and listening. Jordan will share with us his philosophy on self-defense (vs. martial arts) and the importance of empowering women rather than operating from a place of fear.

About 35 minutes into it, he shares some physical tips for protecting yourself. I found myself standing up and practicing the moves. If you can, I suggest you do the same.

Other themes that came up in our conversation:

• Building a values-based business: Filling the gap between stating the values and living the values.
• Using fear as intuition to give us information on how to act.
• We tend to look outside ourselves to get help. We have so much power within ourselves. This applies in anything with life. Kelly's story proves it.
• There are no rules when it comes to fighting for your life (vs. martial arts)

Resources mentioned:

• Seattle Runner Attacked Midrun Fought Like Hell to Defeat Her Offender
• The Gift of Fear (using fear as intuition to give us information on how to act)

Where to find Jordan:

• New site is coming out soon. For now: Fighting Chance Seattle
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @KarateWithoutArmor
• Twitter: @BudoPunk

Continue the conversation at The Gear Show

Shopping season has arrived and if you're like me, maybe you hate shopping. Not only does the change of the seasons come with the need for new gear but also? it's time to find gifts for the holidays. I cajoled my good friend Jason Munzke, former river guide, to share with us some of his best shopping tips because he my friends, is a professional dirtbag shopper and he's going to open up his tool kit for us today.

Links:

Ski specific

TGR Gear swap

Bikes

MTBr

Pinkbike

Deal and Sales sites

Deal News

Active Junky for rebates

Steep and Cheap

Clean Snipe

Sierra Trading Post

Learn more at www.thegearshow.com