CONNECT: Summiting Denali, Living the Dream

In this episode, we had Live Your Dream grant recipient John Thomson on the pod to tell us all about his trip to Denali! Our Live Your Dream grant is our most popular grant, and it’s powered by The North Face. John’s LYD story is about feeling a sense of urgency–how now is the time to explore and pursue big adventures, a strong sense of carpe diem really. After nearly a decade away from Denali, John returned, only to get caught up in helping with a rescue, and not getting to pursue his goal route because of weather conditions. We sat down with John to hear about his grant experience, the rescue he helped with, his journey falling away from climbing and coming back to it, how guiding shaped his climbing, and why it meant so much to be standing on the top of Denali once again.

Om Podcasten

We’re climbers. Gym climbers and trad climbers. Sport climbers and mountaineers. Boulderers, backcountry skiers, and alpinists. We’re the largest community of rock-scaling misfits in the country—and you belong here. ——— That’s right. You can now take a deep dive into your favorite American Alpine Club content via your headphones, car stereo, and more. The drive to work—or your favorite hang board routine—just got way more interesting. Episodes will typically fall into four categories: Climb; Protect; Educate; Connect. “Climb” episodes are just that—about climbs big and small, and the things they make us realize, in conversation with AAC community members. “Protect” episodes dive into the nuances of policy and advocacy issues that matter most to climbers. “Educate” episodes span the logistics of safety and accidents, as well as the history of climbing and how it can inform our present. “Connect” episodes cover the social side of our climbing community, including important conversations about equity and inclusion that have emerged from our work with the Climb United initiative.