Uphill Athlete Podcast

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.

Steve House and Sky Yardeni, the therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund continue their discussion about integrating stress, and most often how that relates to risk-taking and grief. Specifically how grief is not necessarily linked to loss and death, but may come from other forms of loss. This conversation traces an arc which moves towards creating and manifesting an attitude of wholeness, as individuals and as a community. Integrating the good and the bad. Lastly we discuss the stress continuum, PTSD and it's context, and the spiral of guilt that is so common in accident survivors and responders.Links we reference:https://www.responderalliance.com/https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund

Mental health challenges, particularly the areas around trauma, loss, grief, and depression are a part of life for many mountain athletes.  Steve House begins this much-needed discussion with Sky Yardeni, the therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund. The two share their personal experiences and Sky shares insights from his extensive professional background in working as a psycho-therapist as well as his time in, and after,  combat as Special Forces solider.This is the first of a multi-part series addressing our shared mental health challenges head-on as we explore strategies to help us navigate this landscape as individuals and as a community. Today's episode sets the stage for the topic and dives deeper into an exploration of resilience. Specifically the how to nurture and prepare your personal reservoir of resilience for the times you need it most.