Behind The Passion

Hear about the hidden gem that is Black Rock, OR & how to travel, stay and ride in Whistler for a month. Check out the details on the website at behindthepassion.com

I give you my two cents on a few more all-mtn Helmets for 2017 -  Smith Rover, Giro Hex and Troy Lee A2 

A full review of a few top helmets in the 2017 all-mtn line up.  Be sure to check out the website for more details. 

May is Mental Health month - this episode will bring more awareness and how to deal with these issues while traveling in the mountains. Mental health issues ranging from heightened stress to episodes of anxiety, depression, mania, psychosis, or drug reactions can and do occur on wilderness expeditions. Anxiety, mild depression, some post traumatic stress responses and mild drug reactions can often be defused without having to end the wilderness experience. 

It's springtime and that means the corn cycle is here and wet snow in motion becomes a higher concern.  In this episode I talk in detail about wet snow avalanches, scale, size, and impact forces. This is the time of year where you really need to keep your guard up and don't become complacent just because the sun is out and the stoked level is high - the mountains are always changing.

 I discuss the types of shock (hypovolemic, cardiogenic, vasogenic). Signs and symptoms and treatments. Go over head injury (mild, serious and skull fracture) Signs, symptoms and treatment principles for all. I touch on cold injury/illness (mild moderate, severe) Hypothermia signs, symptoms and treatment principles - plus evacuation guidelines for all. 

A review of snow grain decomposition and fragmentation. I'll cover how heat exchange drives metamorphic processes and the importance of the relationship between temperature and water vapor. The concepts of temperature gradients and regimes, conditions that promote rounding and faceting, and snow grain sintering are covered. 

I'm currently in Alaska attempting to successfully become a HeliSki GUide with H2O Heliskiing - Dean Cummings.  Peter is starting his first year Lead Guide roll.  He has traveling all over the world skiing and climbing.  His insight to life, having compassion and living with life with passion, is as real as anyone I have ever met.  Enjoy!

NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) Wilderness Medicine.  I just finished up a 9 day WFR course so figured I'd provide you an Intro into a few course details. If you spend any amount of time in the mountains I highly recommend taking this course. You can never be more prepared for an incident/accident in the backcountry. 

A little insight for traveling through the mountains on a snowmobile, or skis, and making decisions in avalanche terrain. I'll provide you with detail about AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) Risk management, preparing, planning, riding and debriefing. I talk briefly about companion rescue.

On Jan 6 our dear friend, Andrew Cho, suffered a serious spinal cord injury which resulted in paralysis.  I interviewed Cho a few months back and I must say it's still one of my favorite interviews to date.  He has such great insight into the industry and is so passionate about life. This interview has a ton of value so please check it out.  I would like to bring awareness to this tragic story and more importantly, support Andrew during this difficult time.    https://www.gofundme.com/andrew-chos-medical-fund

Hear the stories behind the passion of a man that rode a 1950's motorcycle across Tibet & Nepal, crushed world paragliding records and believes that passion is a suspension of reality, that meditative practice is what draws us deeper and deeper into these sports. He talks about the Cloudbase foundation and raising over 800 thousand dollars in aid.  

Lauren is a professional mtn biker and van-lifer that traveled over 17,000 miles this past summer racing her bike. She started riding bikes at the ripe age of 17 yrs old and has her own business Turnloose.  We talk about what scares her and what inspires her in this world. She also talks about the her goals for 2017 and how intimidated she is about racing the World Enduro Series. I ask her if she could alter one change in this world what would it be - her answer is priceless. 

Tyler grew up in Colorado but now resides in Chula Vista, CA where he manages the local BMX track. He's so thankful that he found the bike at a young age because his life would've been drastically different and probably not for the good. WE talk about how he grew up with a single mom and how much she supported him. Tyler has some great insight to the BMX world and gives some great advice on how to stay motivated through rough times. 

In this episode Wyn tells a few great stories about living and riding in New Zealand and how much mtn biking has grown in the past 4-5 years.  We discuss social media and how being engaging with your fans is important. He talks about concussion awareness and how people don't understand nor know enough in the sport of mtn biking - he's pushing the sport to bring in new protocols. 

Hear the story behind the passion of former Red Bull Rampage podium rider and GRT champ. Hear how he stays focused on both freeride and racing, plus racing a few EWS in 2017. We discuss Rampage this year and how the vibe of athletes are all on different levels. He opens up about his crash 16 hours before finals. 

We discuss his career from street to slope to now all the adventure riding. Eric talks about self doubt and having perseverance to keep going. When you get comfortable in life is when you need to start working harder. We discuss his worst injury that stopped him from competing in the full slopestyle global circuit. He gives us a glimpse into an upcoming trip to Cuba. 

Nico is one of the nicest humans on the planet. He owns a trail building company with a good friend so his passion for creating truly influences his riding style. He grew up surrounded by bikes and his parents fully supported his passion. This year he was a judge a Red Bull Rampage and he talk about how strange it was not having his bike. We talk about those tough days when motivation is tough and how to deal with it. Make sure and follow the Fest Series to see there 2017 schedule. 

He broke the record set by Greg Hill for the most self propelled vertical feet in a year on October 23, 2016.  He's now on track to reach 2.5 million by December 30, 2016. He explains a few systems that he has in place to keep him on track and healthy. He opens up about being physically and mentally exhausted and the challenges to push through. Aaron is very inspiring so follow him on Instagram and see the stories behind the passion. 

learn about how Andrew evolved from being a professional athlete at GT Bicycles to over seeing the digital media/content development at GT Bicycles. He explains how balance is really how you find happiness. We discuss how ebikes are becoming a hot topic in North America. He talks about a few of the greatest places he has ever been on his bike - New Zealand being one of the locations.