Explorer, conservationist, mountaineer and author Rick Ridgeway has lived a life that is best summed up in the subhead of his seventh book, "Life Lived Wild:" Adventures at the Edge of the Map." Each chapter of this book covers a different adventure, all of them told in Rick's compelling style. 

These adventures included climbing uncharted peaks in the Himalayas, searching the rivers of eastern Siberia for tigers, crossing the remote fastnesses of the Chang Tang Plateau in Tibet in search of the calving grounds of the enigmatic and endangered chiru - an antelope-like goat prized for its fur and now protected, and returning to the site of a tragic avalanche to bring closure and comfort to a grieving daughter. He also talks about his efforts helping two CEOs tackle the formidable Seven Summits, climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents. Rick served the expedition leader for perhaps the most grueling climb - summitting Antarctica's Mount Vinson. Rick also talks about the death of his close friend Doug Tompkins, founder of North Face and a visionary conservationist, on a kayak trip which nearly claimed Rick's life as well.

Part of a legendary group of adventurers, "the Do Boys," which includes Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and Tompkins, Ridgeway's love of the outdoors and testing himself in the most extreme situations came to him at an early age and has never let up.

Besides his incredible life of extreme adventure, we talk about his beautiful Ojai home which he shared with his recently deceased wife Jennifer, which was built by famed black architect Paul Revere Williams. We also talk about Ojai's backcountry, what he would say were he to run into Elon Musk, and how man is not the only species with an exploratory urge.

A long-time Ojai resident, he serves on the board of the Ojai Turtle Conservancy as well as the Tompkins Conservancy, carrying on the work of Tompkins with Doug's widow Kris. We did not talk about Boethius' imprisonment, worm holes or Japanese wood block prints.

(This is a repost of our conversation from 2021)