Safety Third

Well, pals. Elizabeth and Paddy are moving on from the show, so Safety Third is closing up shop. But, before we go we’d like to say thank you and goodbye. And remember, Safety Third. Always and forever.

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In our third and final episode of The Love Traverse mini-series we explore how couples have fostered their love through the decades. Marriage counselor Hannah Eaton returns to illuminate the issues couples face and the positive characteristics of long-term partnerships. Mountain guides Adam and Caroline George describe how outdoor pursuits have shaped their 13 year marriage and parenting. After 20 years together, heli ski guides Adrienne and John Schaefer use communication and balancing interdependence to thrive. And snowboarding legends Bonnie and Jim Zellers, who’ve been together since 1984, exemplify how a relationship grows richer and more fulfilling over time.

Love, as it turns out, does not have an expiration date.

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In romantic comedies, the story always begins with a 'meet cute' — a charming first encounter that leads to a wonderfully cheesy romance. But do those really happen in our outdoor community? And after that initial meeting, what’s the reality of building off that first connection? In episode two of our Love Traverse mini series, Real Life Rom Com, climbers Annalissa Purdum and Kris Hampton revisit the beginning of their relationship. Professional matchmaker Annie Mayo and marriage counselor Hannah Eaton illuminate the relationship path and shed light on meet cute truths and myths. And in her first year of marriage, OUT There Adventures founder Elyse Rylander talks about the concrete practices she and her wife use to grow together. Because love is not a movie — real life is much more romantic. 

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We are diving deep into dating, love and relationships in our mini-series, The Love Traverse. Our outdoor community faces a unique set of hurdles when finding and keeping love. The mountain town dating pool can often seem like a murky puddle. Dating is difficult. Apps abound, but do they work? In episode one, Dirtbag Romance, we investigate how outdoor folks are dating. Writer and stand-up comedian Sidni West deploys humor on her hunt for love. After seven years of living in a van, photographer and climber Austin Siadak’s romantic life looks different now that he’s renting a home. And self-described "outdoor adjacent" Nory Emori dissects her fleeting partnership with a van lifer. When you’re devoted to the outdoors, how do you also devote yourself to finding love? And how do you hold on to it? First things first, you try. 

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When Ann Yoshida began physical therapy following an accident that paralyzed her, she was told that the goal of rehabilitation was to 'regain normal function'. But that just didn’t resonate with her. Ann was motivated by goals that went beyond the norm. She became an Paralympian paddler, a World Champion, and the first-ever adapted athlete inductee in Hawai'i’s renowned Waterman Hall of Fame. And she did all of this while earning a Bachelor's degree in speech pathology, a Masters in rehabilitation counseling, and a Doctorate in occupational therapy. She knew she had the ability to go beyond normal. Ann wanted, and earned, the extraordinary.

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The United States' Mountain West region contains eight of the top ten states with the highest suicide rates in our country. The suicide rate in the Rocky Mountains is nearly three times the national per capita average, earning the Rockies the nickname, “The Suicide Belt.” But the mountain community doesn't talk about this. Why? Because mental health struggles don’t fit into the carefully curated "best outdoor life” aesthetic. Longtime Telluride, Colorado resident Ben Marshall knows this all too well. Daily panic attacks, anxiety, and depression derailed Ben’s life in his early twenties. After receiving professional treatment and building positive mental health, Ben began to work for Tri County Health Network, a non profit that focuses on mental health services. Ben’s ongoing goal is to help clear away the stigma that shrouds mental health in the mountains. Because truly, this is a life or death issue. 

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Lincoln Dews is a fourth generation waterman from Queensland, Australia. A champion sailor, surfer and paddler from a young age, it’s a wonder he didn’t actually grow gills. At 14, Lincoln won the state Ironman title in his hometown. At 15, he placed third in the Molakai to Oahu race, a 32-mile marathon paddle considered to be the world’s hardest open ocean contest. In 2015, Lincoln joined the SUP World Tour. In his first year, he was among the world’s twenty best paddlers. And after committing himself to solely focusing on stand up paddling, he won a world championship. He is clearly comfortable with water -- but it takes more than just a fishy upbringing to excel like he has. More than podiums, Lincoln believes his personal pursuit of perfection in the water is his ultimate driver.

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Journalist and author Heather Hansman’s passion for whitewater rafting was first born when she was a greenhorn raft guide in Maine. Her love for the beauty and the importance of rivers deepened when she moved West and began guiding on the 730 mile Green River, which runs through ranches, cities, national parks, endangered fish habitats, natural gas fields, and provides water for 33 million people. With so many competing water demands on rivers, Heather wanted a fresh perspective on water in the west. Her book, Downriver: Into The Future Of Water In The West, tells the story of her solo boat trip down the length of the Green and her conversations with the disparate water users in an age of increasing water demand and drought.

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Professional adventurer Alastair Humphreys has biked 46,000 miles and rowed across the Atlantic. Upon returning from the trips, he noticed an interesting response--your trips are amazing, but I could never do that. While his outdoor exploits were personally fulfilling and inspiring to others, Alastair realized they weren’t necessarily attainable to everyone. So, in 2011, Alastair dedicated a year to Microadventures, bite-sized outdoor fun close to home, like swimming in a river near his house and running in trail races near his hometown. The idea of microadventures took off and Nat Geo named him an Adventurer of the Year in 2012. Alastair challenged, for himself and the outdoor community, how we define adventure and what it means to live adventurously. 

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When conservation comes to mind, thoughts often go to natural resource preservation and land and animal protections. But what other positivity lies within the act of conservation? Scientist, author, and CEO of Conservation X Labs, Alex Dehgan, worked in Kabul from 2006 to 2007 as the head of the Wildlife Conservation Society Afghanistan Program. The work he did helped establish Afghanistan's first national park, Band-E Amir. But the outcome was more than the sheltering of spectacular wildlife and 70,000 acres of beautiful land. Alex realized that conservation is an integral part of nation building, human security, and diplomacy.

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