A Guide in Life - The Outmap Podcast

Ben Atherton has built a career that proves you don't always have to choose between a conventional profession and an obsession with the mountains. While holding down a traditional career, he carved out opportunities to work at the very highest level of mountain sport, spending years with the Freeride World Tour before becoming involved with the British Ski Mountaineering Team. Along the way he's also become part of the team behind Backdrop Journal, helping tell authentic stories from the backcountry community. In this episode we talk about creating a life that leaves room for adventure, working behind the scenes in elite mountain sports, and why some of the most rewarding careers aren't always the most obvious ones.

Kirra Balmanno is one of those people who seems happiest when she's moving through the mountains. An accomplished ultrarunner and endurance adventurer, she's raced everywhere from the Alps to the Himalayas, but she's also passionate about sharing those experiences with others through her company, Run High, where she leads trail running adventures in some of the world's most spectacular places. Alongside that, she somehow balances life as a veterinarian with a calendar full of ambitious mountain projects. In this conversation we explore why running is such a powerful way to experience wild places, what draws her back to high-altitude adventures time and time again, and why the mountains have a remarkable ability to simplify life.

Sandra Riches has spent years helping keep people safe in the mountains, but her own story starts a long way from British Columbia. After growing up in Ontario, she made the move west and has often said that the moment she arrived in BC, she felt like she'd come home—even though she'd never been there before. That connection to the mountains and the outdoors has shaped everything since. Today she's Executive Director of BC AdventureSmart, part of the BC Search and Rescue Association, leading education programs that help people make better decisions before they head into the backcountry. In this episode we talk about how search and rescue really works, why prevention is just as important as rescue itself, and what every one of us can do to reduce the chances of ever needing that call for help.

On today's episode I'm speaking to Rob Mazenc - the Alpine Club of Canada's Services Director, and a man who has taken a long and winding road to reach a destination that he describes as "a dream come true". Born in France, he now lives in Canmore, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, and does a job which makes a real difference to the mountain community around him. If you want an uplifting, positive and inspiring assessment of why we love mountains so much, this is the episode for you.

Today I'm talking to one of the most competent outdoor all-rounders I've ever met - Troy Becker. A vastly experienced and skilled outdoorsman, Troy has poured 25 years into Adaptive Adventures - an organisation dedicated to getting disabled people into the outdoors. The story of the last quarter century is incredible and inspiring in equal measure.

In this episode of the Outmap Podcast, we sit down with Emilie Mann, an ultrarunner whose approach to endurance is as much about mindset as it is about miles. Emilie shares what draws her to long days in the mountains, how she prepares for the physical and mental demands of ultrarunning, and why moving efficiently through wild terrain is both a skill and an art.
We talk about pacing, resilience, and the quiet discipline required when the distances stretch far beyond what most people consider possible. Emilie also reflects on how running changes the way you see landscapes — reading terrain, managing effort, and learning to stay calm when things inevitably get difficult.
It’s a conversation about endurance in its truest sense: patience, curiosity, and the deep satisfaction that comes from covering ground under your own power.

On today's episode we're talking to Rob Benton (https://www.ecrinscollective.com/), a passionate climber, skier, kayaker and guide. Rob had a great career in the UK but was hungry to spend more time in the mountains, so he took a chance and moved out to the southern French Alps. The plan was to give it a couple of years and see how it went, and 20 years later he's still there, still excited and still passionate. We got into his story, and what it is that keeps him going back to the mountains day after day. 

Today on the Outmap podcast we're talking to Tom Odell - a man with enough passion to power a house! Tom is a smart guy, as his academic qualifications prove, but it's his drive and determination that really stand out. He doesn't know where he's going, he doesn't know how, but he'll get there. Be ready for half an hour or psyche, self-belief and pure joy.

In this episode we dive into Project Sisu with Pyry Hyppölä — a backcountry skier and adventurer who’s got BIG plans in Norway this season. Pyry’s Project Sisu isn’t about chasing aesthetic lines or accumulating vertical meters (though there’s plenty of that in Lyngen) — it’s a mindset rooted in ethics, perseverance, resilience, and the kind of determination the Finns call sisu. 

On today's episode of A Guide In Life I'm talking to guide and professor (that's not a combination you often hear) Jerry Isaak. Jerry is an ACMG/AMGA ski guide and has overseen more than 135 student-led expeditions across 26 countries. His passions include backcountry skiing, avalanche studies, expedition planning, and exploring how culture and decision-making intersect in extreme environments. We talk about Jerry's career, and get into why the "why" matters most!