In 2005, Lorraine McCall left her house to 'go for a walk' on her 40th birthday and didn't stop until she had walked up, and between, all 284 Munros in Scotland (2 Munros have since been downgraded, so there are now officially only 282!) This was a journey of 1,500 miles on foot. Ten years later, Lorraine tackled all 222 Corbetts to celebrate her 50th birthday, and most recently, Lorraine became the first woman to summit all 231 Grahams in a single push in 2024 (she's about to turn 60!)

We think you will agree that Lorraine is Kenton's most under-stated, humble, unassuming guest so far. She has walked, cycled and kayaked thousands of miles across Scotland purely for the love of it. She shuns technology and her footprint on social media is tiny.

In this episode we learn all about the classification of hills in Scotland and the challenges of getting up some of them, but mostly we come away with an appreciation for Lorraine who found her chosen adventures and embraced them wholeheartedly, overcoming the difficulties and continually finding joy in them.

What's Lorraine reading? Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson

What's Lorraine listening to? Celtic Connections playlist

This week Kenton dives into (excuse the pun!) a fascinating conversation with wild swimmer, author and journalist, Ella Foote.

Ella has been swimming outside since her childhood, when her parents used to take her to the seaside and they spent hours in the sea. These days she is editor of Outdoor Swimmer magazine, she is founder of Dip Advisor - a company that takes people on swim adventures - and she is author of 'How to Wild Swim'. Kenton and Ella discuss everything from kit and equipment, to water quality and community.

Ella's love for swimming outdoors is quite simply infectious and we challenge you to not want to dip your toe in the water after listening to this episode.

What Ella's reading: Breaking Waves by Emma Simpson

What Ella's listening to: The Cure's new album, Songs of a Lost World

This week's podcast guest is Lise Wortley who has been on some fascinating journeys, conceived out of her curiosity about adventurous women from history.

Lise has chosen to follow in the footsteps of women who 'pushed the boundaries' in the world of adventure in the early 20th century and who unwittingly played a huge part in making adventure accessible to women today.

She tells Kenton about the depth of her research, the clothing she has sourced, and the people she has met whilst following in the footsteps of some remarkable women in India, Scotland, Iran and France.

What's Lise reading? Climbing Days by Dorothy Pilley

What's Lise listening to? Drum and Base, and The Guardian podcast every morning

It's the first episode of 2025 and we have a spectacular Tales from the Trails (TFTT) for you! Kenton recorded this whilst he was trekking to Everest Base Camp in November and it is the perfect way to brighten up a cold January day. 

Kenton shares colourful descriptions of the people, valleys, rivers, views, animals and landmarks that he passes as he treks from Namche Bazaar to Everest Base Camp with a small team of trekkers. From the evocative sounds of prayer wheels to the rushing of rivers and the breathlessness of hiking at altitude, you will get a real taste of life in the Khumbu Valley and we hope that it will set your tastebuds tingling for the adventures that lie ahead in 2025!

Whilst trekking in the Khumbu region recently, Kenton bumped into 'super guide' Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and took the opportunity to interview him for the podcast. Lakpa Rita was born in Thame, a small village high in the Himalayas, and followed in his father's footsteps becoming a mountain guide and Sirdar.

Lakpa Rita has lived in Seattle since 2000 and has led multiple expeditions all over the world. He first summited Everest in 1990 and has stood atop the world's highest mountain 17 times. Lakpa Rita now runs his own guiding company, Khangri Experience, and personally prefers to climb 'smaller' mountains these days, as well as leading treks in Nepal, the USA and elsewhere.

Kenton learns things about Lakpa Rita that he didn't know during this conversation, so we're sure that you will too. Enjoy!

Follow Kenton on Instagram: @kentoncool

Follow Lakpa Rita on Instagram: @lrsherpa

Find Lakpa Rita's guiding company here: www.khangriexperience.com

Melissa Arnot is a mountain guide, Everest summiteer, adventurer and co-founder of The Juniper Fund. More recently, she has taken up ultra-running and in this episode of Cool Conversations, Kenton talks to her about her experiences in the 450km Tor des Glaciers race a few months ago.

Melissa didn't finish the race and has taken a lot of learnings from her unfortunate DNF. She continued for far longer than many of us would believe possible yet still struggled to process her 'failure' for several weeks afterwards.

This is the second time that Melissa has been on the pod, and we think you will quickly understand why she is welcome anytime!

This episode of Cool Conversations is a very special one because Kenton sits down with his close friend and Number One Sherpa, Dorjee Gyelzen.

Dorjee grew up in Pangboche, Nepal which sits at 4,000m altitude. Life in the high Himalayas is challenging, but through hard work and commitment Dorjee has forged a career in mountaineering and Kenton rates him as one of the best!

Dorjee has climbed Mount Everest 23 times and he has summited Ama Dablam (his favourite mountain) an astonishing 27 times.

Listen now to hear about Dorjee's childhood and his journey into mountaineering, and to learn about his Buddhist faith and his deep love and sense of responsibility for his family.

This week, we welcome rugby legend, Lewis Moody, to Cool Conversations! Lewis was a member of the 2003 World Cup winning England rugby squad and he amassed 71 caps for England during his career. Lewis talks to Kenton fresh from a 2003 team reunion, which, we learn, do not happen very regularly at all!

Lewis talks quite openly about the stigma that was attached to showing vulnerability or weakness in his early days as a player and how he now recognises that it is so important to take the time to ask how someone is, or to ask for help. He now runs a successful coaching business and borrows many lessons from his playing days when working with executives.

Lewis tells Kenton about The Lewis Moody Foundation which raises money for the Brain Tumour Charity, and about his love for difficult physical challenges.

It's a good one, we hope you enjoy it!

This week, Kenton talks to Sequoia Schmidt who is a remarkable business woman, climber, base-jumper, author and philanthropist.

Sequoia started her business at 17 years old after an 'unstable' childhood that she discusses with Kenton. After nearly 20 years, she has now taken herself back to school and is fully embracing the Global Executive Leadership course at Yale, sharing her own experiences of running a company with her peers and learning a huge amount from each of them too.

Sequoia talks very openly about the tough times she has experienced in her life and how she uses her strength, learnt from her late father, to navigate through these times.

This is an emotionally charged conversation, and one that has both Sequoia and Kenton. in tears at one point, so be prepared!

Sid is a high-altitude mountain guide, a heli-ski guide and more recently a self-taught builder! Sid lives in The Cascades in Washington State and he is currently building a house in the middle of nowhere and thoroughly enjoying the process.

Sid and Kenton met at Everest Basecamp in 2018 when they were both guiding there. Sid has summited Everest three times, from both the South Side and the North Side, and they share stories about their experiences in this week’s episode of Cool Conversations.

Sid spends a lot of his time heli-ski guiding and has built up a base of loyal clients who return to ski with him year after year. He talks about the importance of building their trust and also understanding skill levels of the group to keep everyone safe on the mountain. Kenton describes him as a renegade or a non-conformist, which he agrees with, but not at the expense of safety.

This is a Cool Conversation between two friends that touches on many different subjects, so be prepared for the conversation to go anywhere!