Uphill Athlete Podcast

A fascinating chat with three of our Female Uphill Athlete coaches. This time they dive into considerations for training with their reproductive cycle. The panel consists of three female  coaches each in their 20’s, 30’s, or 50’s.

In the mountain environment women often feel they are the odd-ones out. Here coaches Carolyn Parker, Maya Seckinger, and Karen Bockel openly share their own drives to not only do everything the men can do, but to do it better. Years of competitive sport, coaching, mountain guiding have given this remarkable group of coaches some wonderful wisdom and insights which they share here. Well worth a  listen for any Uphill Athlete, male or female.

David Goettler has been coached by Scott Johnston for more than 6 years.   Kilian Jornet  was the impetus for and co-authored with UA cofounders Steve House and Scott Johnston in the writing of Training for the Uphill Athlete.  David and Kilian recently returned from a failed attempt at an unassisted, oxygen-less speed ascent of Everest.  Scott Johnston unpacks their experiences of acclimatization, and training cycles at altitude; the unique situation of climbing big mountains post-lockdown; and the influences of social media on the projection and attainment of goals. 

For over a decade UA coach Scott Johnston was focused on the training of junior Cross Country skiers (with a side gig of advising Steve House on his training for alpinism).  During those years Scott had to tackle a myriad of issues from parents to high school distractions while learning to deal with the unique demands of coaching young athletes. In this episode, Scott is joined by fellow Uphill Athlete coach Maya Seckinger as they discuss training for juniors: how junior training differs from that of adults; tailoring training to the needs of kids; age-appropriate training for specific levels of development; and their personal experiences of training as juniors themselves.

When Art first approached UA for coaching he was woefully unprepared for an attempt on Mt Everest.  He not only didn't have the fitness needed he greatly underestimated the undertaking.  Despite warnings from his coach that he was not ready to tackle this huge objective  Art went anyway.  What ensured on the mountain nearly cost him his life.  Chastened, he returned to coaching with a realistic understanding of what it was going to take to succeed on the highest mountain  In May, at 75 years old,  Art summited Mt. Everest, making him the third-oldest person to have attained this feat. In this episode, Scott, Art, and his coach Seth Keena recap Art's experiences on the expedition, and the training process leading up to his summit bid, going back 2 plus years.  We captured this interview while are was still in Kathmandu, fresh off the climb with emotions still close to the surface.  

In this episode, Scott Johnston and Sam Naney discuss the subject of speed, an often overlooked element in endurance sports. 

In this episode Steve House is joined by Hillary Allen. Hillary endured a tragic accident while competing in Sky Running (an ultra distance technical ridge running race). She and Steve recap her experiences of this accident, the grief and unexpected loss of sense of self that  arose, and Hillary's path to recovery. Hillary documents this process in her book: Out and Back: A Runner's Story of Survival Against All Odds.

Scott Johnston is once again joined by Phil Maffetone as they discuss  over training — particularly the common misconceptions, and social factors that perpetuate this unfortunate phenomenon.

In this episode, Steve House is joined by his longtime friend and climbing parter Barry Blanchard. As they exchange stories about coping with the aftermath of tragedies amongst the peaks they reflect on the ways specific events have shaped their experiences moving forward, and how they, and others they know, have worked through these events as individuals. For more information on Mountain MuskOx, please visit:https://www.mountainmuskox.com/

Steve House and Sky Yardeni, therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund, explore the process of living with grief,  integrating the new reality of life that comes after the loss of a friend, partner, or loved one.  In conclusions they summarize their discussions around loss, trauma, and grief within the mountain community.  Thank you for being a part of this important conversation.