Wild West
A window into the movers and shakers of the natural places where we love to play. Hosted by San Francisco Chronicle Travel Editor Greg Thomas, the show features in-depth interviews with world-class professional athletes pushing the bounds of human achievement, as well as the influencers and advocates shaping our ideas about the outdoors.
1
Pro Skier Hazel Birnbaum on Retiring at 33
Lake Tahoe skier Hazel Birnbaum has traveled the globe on the freeskiing circuit for most of a decade, but this winter decided to officially retire from the sport. What does that look like for a 33-year-old?
35 min
2
Rock Climber Pete Whittaker on the Magic of Suf...
Pete Whittaker stops by to talk about his unique approach to rock climbing, why he loves suffering and his new book, Crack Climbing, out in January.
42 min
3
Lake Tahoe’s First Private Ski Area
White Wolf would be Northern California's first private ski area -- like a gated community for skiing in Lake Tahoe. Owner Troy Caldwell sits down to run through how the whole thing would work and how his project represents the future of skiing in Lake Tahoe.
24 min
4
Big-Wave Surfer Grant Washburn
San Francisco surfer Grant Washburn comes on to talk surfing culture in the city. We cover the uncertainty around the future of the famous Mavericks surfing contest, the closing of SF's 50-year-old surfing shop Wise, and the emergence of the City Surf Project.
30 min
5
California's Secret BASE Jumpers
BASE jumper Daniel Ristow is on a mission to pioneer legal BASE jumping spots in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. We discuss the state's secretive base community, Daniel's first jump and much more.
35 min
6
Corey Rich on Photography, Yosemite Climbing an...
Adventure photographer Corey Rich stopped by to talk about shooting rock climbers on El Capitan, South Lake Tahoe's exciting future, and his new book, "Stories Behind the Images."
45 min
7
A Year Alone at Sea with Sailor Randall Reeves
Randall Reeves has been at sea for 12 months and counting and is days away from completing a solo circumnavigation of Antarctica and the Americas. He traveled the Northwest Passage, the fierce Southern Ocean and contended with gales and icebergs. We talk challenges of the trip and Randall’s next challenge of reintegrating into society.
36 min
8
Swimming in Garbage with Ben Lecomte
Ocean swimmer Ben Lecomte recently swam from Hawaii to San Francisco, making sure to pass through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. What he found is pretty depressing: plastic trash everywhere. We talk about what he saw, what he learned, and how he psyched himself up each morning to hop back into an ocean of trash.
38 min
9
The Future of California's Coast
Economist Jason Scorse runs the Center for the Blue Economy, a think tank dedicated to finding a healthy, sustainable equilibrium between society and the ocean. We cover the outlook for living on the coast, commercial fishing and other fun, thorny subjects.
32 min
10
Ski-Mountaineer Kit DesLauriers on Mindfulness,...
As the first person to ski off the world's highest peaks on all 7 continents, Kit DesLauriers has explored some of Earth's wildest places. We talk about finding freedom in the mountains, exploration in the 21st century, and her efforts to preserve a wildlife refuge in Alaska.
39 min
11
Creating Offshore Island-States with Patri Frie...
Patri Friedman is the founder of the Seasteading Institute in San Francisco and the festival called Ephemerisle in the Sacramento River Delta. He consults with countries around the world that want to create new experimental governments at sea.
39 min
12
Should We Drain Hetch Hetchy?
A new report says the valley beneath Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite would be worth $100 billion if we were to drain the reservoir and let the valley return to its natural state. Chronicle reporter Kurtis Alexander and I chop up the pros, cons and feasibility of the idea, which has been percolating for more than a century.
31 min
13
Big-Wave Surfer Mark "Doc" Renneker
San Francisco surfing legend Doc Renneker doesn't mince words when giving his opinions on surfing culture. Surf memoirs? Cliche. Surfing in the Olympics? "Oh, God no!" We talk surfing literature and movies, the Mavericks big-wave contest, and how surfing is like jazz music.
36 min
14
Photographer Chris Burkard on Exploring Iceland...
Chris Burkard got his start as a surfing photographer and has parlayed that into a full-blown media brand. We talk about his love of Iceland, his fraught relationship with Instagram, and how he came to own and love a pair of pet alpacas.
35 min
15
Debunking Fitness Myths with Scott Johnston & S...
Pro climber and mountain guide Steve House and Olympic ski coach Scott Johnston cut through the B.S. of all the fitness fads out there and talk about the bad and good of our cultural obsession with exercise.
53 min
16
Climbing Everest with Roxanne Vogel
Vogel is the nutrition and performance research director at Gu Energy Labs and recently completed a rapid ascent of Mount Everest. We cover the how she prepared to take on the world's highest mountain, what lucky charms she brought with her, and why Everest gets a bad rap.
45 min
17
Wolf Therapy with Teo Alfero
Alfero is the founder of Wolf Connection, a wolf sanctuary in the mountains above L.A. where he offers "wolf therapy" to troubled teens, Hollywood big wigs, and anyone else looking to open their minds to the ancient bond between humans and wolves.
34 min
18
Raising Alex Honnold with Dierdre Wolownick
Dierdre Wolownick's new memoir, "The Sharp End of Life," chronicles her life as the mother of world-class rock climber Alex Honnold as well as her journey to overcome fear and push her personal limits by learning to climb herself. At age 66, she became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan, the 3,000-foot wall in Yosemite Valley.
41 min
19
Filmmaker Pablo Durana on Shooting Documentaries
When he's not filming the world's top adventure athletes in action, Pablo Durana is shooting documentaries around the world, from Greenland to Chile. We discuss shooting in extreme environments, his award-winning films, and his latest passion project.
39 min
20
The Future of Skiing with Author Porter Fox
With climate change threatening to make our winters shorter and warmer, writer Porter Fox looks to ski areas around California to understand how higher temperatures are already changing how resorts operate.
32 min
21
The North Face's Matt Sharkey on Managing Pro A...
Matt Sharkey is the global sports marketing director for The North Face, which means he helps decide who gets on the company's roster of sponsored athletes, what is expected of them, and how to expand the company brand.
33 min
22
Rue Mapp of Outdoor Afro on Diversity in the Ou...
Rue Mapp is the founder and CEO of Oakland's Outdoor Afro, a group that encourages people of color to get out and explore the outdoors. It's not as simple a task as you might expect.
38 min
23
Conrad Anker on Climbing Everest, Mentorship, a...
Mountaineer Conrad Anker has summited Everest several times, set first ascents on peaks around the world, mentored Alex Honnold, and been a pro mountaineer for more than 30 years.
28 min
24
Tahoe Snow Forecaster Bryan Allegretto of OpenSnow
As a pre-eminent winter weather forecaster for OpenSnow, Bryan Allegretto knows more about how snowstorms hit Lake Tahoe than anyone. We talk Tahoe snowfall, the best places to ski, and more.
50 min
25
Shark Diver Ron Elliott & Filmmaker Josh Berry
Ron Elliott has had more encounters with great white sharks that perhaps anyone on the planet -- and he was recently attacked by one while filming sharks off the coast of San Francisco.
36 min