Nature Untold

Matt Samet is a climber of 35 years based in Boulder, Colorado, where he lives with his family in the plains east of town. He is the former editor of Climbing Magazine as well as the author of the Climbing Dictionary and the memoir Death Grip: A Climber’s Escape from Benzo Madness.

In this episode, John and Matt discuss:

This episode is sponsored by Bigger Life Adventures. Founders and owners, Carrie and Zach, created an amazing retreat company to help folks heal and recover, whether it’s from addiction, trauma, or anything else that ails us. They have scholarships available because they believe that everyone should have access to these types of retreats. If you’re interested in attending a retreat, use code NATUREUNTOLD for $50 off your purchase. Learn more here!

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Kara Hoisington (she/her) is a true New Englander. Growing up on the mountains of Maine and currently living in Vermont, Kara is an All-American ski racer and avid hiker. Her day job is as a Principal Consultant at a leading market research firm. In the past year, she got divorced from her husband of one-year and is on the road to better understanding and forgiving herself to rid the habit of engaging in toxic relationships.

In this episode, Kara and John discuss:

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Spencer Harkins (he/him) is a skier and Brand guy for the infamous Pit Viper. He lives in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and sends the gnar.

In this episode, John and Spencer chat about:

You can follow along with Spencer on Instagram here.

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Karen Schroeder (she/her/hers) is a sober ultra runner, climber, Mother Nature lover who has a passion for wild spaces and raising youth to be good stewards of them.

She is currently working towards being the best version of herself, pushing her limits as she climbs the Rockies of Colorado. She’s training for her first official ultra race, after completing other self-supported endurance pursuits. In her free time, she’s standing on summits, dancing and promoting inclusivity, and getting curious about the rock layers of the Southwest.

In this episode, John and Karen discuss:

If you want to catch up with Karen, you can follow her here.

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Content warning: this episode contains mentions of PTSD and suicidal thoughts and ideation. If that is triggering for you, you may want to skip that one and that’s totally okay! We love you either way.

Drew Petersen (he/him) is a passionate skier, runner, and mountain athlete on a mission to change our culture surrounding mental health. In his career as a professional skier, he blends storytelling with his athletic adventures—ranging from skiing lines in the backcountry to running 100 miles—to bring people along for the ride and to advocate for things he cares about.

In this episode, John and Drew discuss:

Catch up with Drew here.

You can watch the full new film, Ups and Downs.

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Sarah Fountain (she/her) is a marketing director, creative, writer, dog mom, rock climber, and general outdoors enthusiast living in Boulder, Colorado. She recently celebrated 9 years of sobriety. She also describes herself as an aggressive extrovert and empath.

In this episode, John and Sarah discuss:

Catch up with Sarah on Instagram.

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

WELP, we have a little update for you from the Nature Untold Podcast.

As some of you may know, I’m celebrating my two-year soberversary this week and with my second year of sobriety came a lot of changes. I’ve started building my own little business, quitting my 9-5 job, and I’ve been trudging along in this life.

I was noticing that I wasn’t able to bring as much passion to these conversations as I thought was necessary and respectful to our guests’ stories. I feel really good in my sobriety but I felt I would be doing a disservice to this podcast as a host if I went into interviews not feeling like I was giving it everything I had like I had done in the past.

So, I reached out to John Holdmeier, a past guest and current friend. And I asked for some help - I asked him if he would be interested in doing some interviews for the Nature Untold Podcast. And he said yes!

So, from here on out, indefinitely, John will be taking on interviews for the Nature Untold Podcast. You can catch up on his full story from Episode 5, when he was featured as a guest.

I still fully believe in the power of this show and I think there is so much more good we can do together.

And for a second update, we are joining a podcast network, Plug Tone Audio. Go over to their site and check out the awesome podcasts that are already part of this collective. More to come from them!

Finally, as always, thank you so much for your support over the year plus that we’ve been producing and putting out this show. You are all the best.

If you want to connect, feel free to follow us on Instagram or join our private Facebook group. ‘Til next episode!

Emerald LaFortune (she/her) is an outdoor writer, whitewater and flyfishing guide, as well as a community builder. She is based in rural Idaho.

We sit down with Emerald for a follow-up from her first interview with Nature Untold, in which she talks about her year-long experiment without alcohol.

In this episode, we discuss:

Catch up with Emerald:

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Margaret Ward joins the Nature Untold Podcast as a recovery coach, sober woman, runner, mom, lawyer, and much more. She also now owns her own company that helps women in recovery get out, travel, run, and find community together.

During our conversation, we chat about:

and much more!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Catch up with Margaret:

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

An avid alpinist, snowboarder, mountain biker, guide, and life adventurer, Molina previously served as an international director at The Climate Reality Project, where he designed the organization’s climate leadership training and oversaw its post-Paris Agreement international strategy. Prior to his work at Climate Reality, Molina led strategy and programs as deputy director at the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE). He is now the Executive Director of Protect Our Winters.

In this episode, we discuss:

Resources mentioned:

Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.