MtnMeister

On Saturday, April 25th, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Kathmandu and caused multiple avalanches on Mt. Everest. At the time of this recording, 22 climbers are reported dead and over 3500 people total. These numbers will almost certainly rise. In this time of crisis, donations are needed to help in the recovery effort. Coincidentally, we at MTNmeister were planning on launching a "support" page for the podcast's benefit that we had been planning for the last couple of months. Asking for listener donations seems wrong when we compare it to donations to Nepal. Should we still do it? How should we think about charitable giving? This episode addresses these difficult questions.

Shelton Johnson is a ranger with the National Park Service and has worked for the National Parks for 28 years. After growing up in inner-city Detroit, he found his way to Yellowstone and now Yosemite, where he has been for the past 22 years. He is the author of Gloryland and has shaken hands with both Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama.

Shawn Forry may in fact be the most interesting man in the world. As an Outward Bound wilderness instructor, he takes both children and adults on backpacking and climbing expeditions. During the winter, he runs scenic interpretive tours with 10 dog sled teams. He’s also a hiker. This past winter he and Justin Lichter became the first people ever to thru hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the winter.

Doug Bishop is the general manager of Newschoolers, an online community with some of the most passionate freeskiers out there. Doug was an aspiring professional skier for six years and joined Newschoolers in the early, early days. Some fellow Newschoolers contributors describe Doug as "Old. Nice. Nerdy. The face of NS" and say "Damn, I wish I could count as high as his Karma (NS forum point system)." 

Renan Ozturk does a lot of different things. He’s an artist, cinematographer, professional athlete, high altitude mountaineer, explorer, entrepreneur, and probably many other things. If he was a podcast host, he’d have it all. Renan is the co-founder of Camp4Collective, an adventure film and commercial production company. He is a 2013 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and a 2015 MTNmeister.

Faith Dickey is a professional slackliner who specializes in highlining, longlining, and free soloing. She set the female world record for Highlining length at 345ft (105m) in Moab, Utah. She is also the first female to surpass the 100 meter mark in highlining. Her record for height was in the Swiss Alps at 4000ft (1200m) from the valley. Faith has more than 30 free solos (walking without a safety leash), the longest of which is 28m, also a female world record.

Jason Haas is a math teacher, co-owner of Fixed Pin Publishing, and a rock climber (free solo climbing on occasion). He has done climbing in Alaska, Africa, Asia, South America and all over the continental US. Jason has completed over 550 first ascents, many of which are done to create guidebooks for Fixed Pin.

Roy Tuscany is the founder of High Fives Foundation, which works to provide grants and recovery options to injured athletes from the action sports world. To date, they have helped raise funds, secure treatments, and aid in the recover of 70 athletes. In 2006, Roy was aspiring to be a professional skier but became paralyzed from the waist down after overshooting a jump. In less than two years after the accident, Roy was back on skis.

Lynn Hill is a legendary American rock climber. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, she was widely regarded as one of the best sport climbers in the world, and in 1993 she became the first person ever to free-climb The Nose on El Cap. The following year, she did it again in less than 24 hours. She is the author of Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World.