Live It Up with Mountain Life

This week, Colin Field talks to SUP adventurer, photographer and filmmaker Scott Parent.  Back before people were routinely doing SUP crossings, Parent paddled across Georgian Bay—something no one had done before.  It took 18 hours from stepping off land until he stepped back on land. No one has repeated that feat. 

He's continued to do incredible things. From his winter crossing of Georgian Bay in 2016 to his 500-kilometre SUP trip in which his then 9-year-old daughter joined him on the board, the homegrown adventures continue. 

As a photographer and filmmaker, he's a passionate defender of Georgian Bay and the Great Lakes. He says he'll continue to "show up for the Bay, to serve it and protect it, in any way that I can."

Award-winning filmmaker Lara Shea isn't afraid to tackle some of the rawest emotions and situations imaginable in her work and shine a bit of light into the darker corners of outdoor culture. Feet Banks catches up with Lara just days before her second short documentary Star in the Sky premieres in her hometown of Revelstoke, BC. larashea.com

This week, Colin Field talks to Mario Rigby, an explorer who simply comes up with an idea and goes for it. Whether he knows how to do it or not.

Mario walked the length of Africa from south to north in 2015. He kayaked the entire length of Lake Ontario in 2020. He drove an electric car across Canada in 2022.

He’s not doing these things the fastest. He’s not the first to do them, nor does he pick the most difficult route, but as a Black explorer in the outdoor space, Mario’s adventures are getting attention. A member of the Explorer’s Club and a
fellow at the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Mario’s passion is to have BIPOC representation in the outdoors—while also advocating for the environment. Real change is not always easy but Mario’s resilience, patience and determination make him the perfect person for the job. Learn more on Mario's website.

A reformed couch potato, Adam Hart is the author of a book called The Power of Food—100 Essential Recipes for Abundant Health and Happiness, but these days he puts most of his focus into helping people—mostly busy parents—find the flow, break bad habits, kick unhealthy behaviours, and overcome their sandbaggy mindsets in order to enhance the quality of life for themselves and their loved ones. Check out his site: clearimpact.io 

Host: Feet Banks

OG Mountain Lifer Colin Field hosts this episode of "Live it Up" and he connects with Kari Medig, a photographer and adventurer whose images of skiing, mountain biking and exploring have graced the pages of outdoor magazines around the globe, including Mountain Life. Known for capturing ski culture in the least likely of places, his images of skiers in India, Israel and the UK have produced some of his most memorable work. He captures portraits of jean-clad skiers on the slopes of Africa that somehow get you more stoked to go skiing than an epic, waist-deep image from Japan. Check out his work at karimedigphoto.com.

Avis is an indigenous weaver, teacher, dancer, singer and a Land-Based Cultural Empowerment Facilitator who comes from a family of notable snowboarders. Her Kwakwaka'wakw name N’alaga translates to "woman of light", or "bringer of light”, and that is exactly what she does through her work, which includes introducing indigenous people to their traditional arts, land and culture through workshops that focus on topics including suicide prevention, addiction and helping heal some of the inter-generational trauma that comes from centuries of genocide and colonization. Learn more about Avis at her N'alaga Consulting page. 

Host: Feet Banks

There are few as significant in the freeskiing world as Glen Plake, and perhaps none as well suited to share the stoke of simply sliding around on a pair of boards and having a blast. One of a handful of people who helped “save skiing” and make it cool again in the late 1980s when a lot of the energy of the Hot Dog era was starting to fade, Glen talks about his life on skis, becoming a ski instructor and why fresh powder is not the only thing that matters.

Host: Feet Banks

Writer and adventurer Meghan J Ward takes the time to talk about her life both as an adventurer and a parent, and especially as an adventuring parent, in her new book Lights to Guide Me Home.  The book tracks young Meghan’s undeniable pull towards the mountains and the wilderness and then goes into how she and her husband, renowned mountain landscape and photographer Paul Zizka, kept the good times, the travel, and the adventure rolling even after they had not one, but two kids! (Spoiler alert—it wasn’t all good times.) Check her website to learn more about Meghan and her words.

Host: Feet Banks

Jeremy Evans is a lifelong hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman from Alberta who ended up on the wrong end of a grizzly bear encounter in 2017. Attacked multiple times, Jeremy suffered massive injuries but managed to drag himself out of the bush—a crazy far distance—and, with the help of some incredible rescue and medical staff, lived to fish and hunt another day. And to co-author a book about the experience and its ramifications on his life and perspective. The book is called Mauled, Lessons Learned from a Grizzly Bear Attack. Get it here.

(Trigger warning: a tiny bit of profanity in this episode and some descriptions of trauma and injuries.)

Host: Feet Banks

Jeff Holden is one of the most iconic skiers in Whistler history. He found lines no one else would see, dropped cliffs no one else would consider. A true artist, seeker, and soul skier, Jeff took a few victories on the 1998-99 international Freeskiing circuit, won the overall championship and, with the help of one of the best-remembered Powder covers of all time, was launched into ski superstardom. After some non-ski-related injuries and the loss of a hugely important mentor and friend, Holdy stepped off the ski-star express and retreated into a path of healing, studying and discovering how to mentor young freeskiers to express their passions while always remembering to "keep the vibe high."