The Dirtbag Diaries
Episodes
The Shorts -- Yosemite's Next Top Idol
03 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
James Lucas had dreams of rock stardom. He wanted to cast a shadow longer than El Cap. He wanted to live forever in camp fire conversation. He wante...
The Pugilist
18 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
At a quick consideration boxing and alpinism have little in common. Ponder if for a second and you might see the similarities. After years in the ring...
The Shorts-Scars
27 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We've all got them. War wounds. Battle scars. We get them from crashing bikes in the woods, surgeon's scalpels and cheese grating falls on granite. ...
A Successful Life
08 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Aimee Brown got the opportunity of a lifetime a job writing for National Geographic. Excited, she packed her Subaru and moved east. After...
The Shorts--Upward Mobility
17 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Harini Ayer came to the States from Southern India almost a decade ago and fell in love with this country, her research and climbing. If Harini switch...
The Adventures of Beansprout
25 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Nickum was a 20-year-old college athlete with a passion for brutal tackles and body checks. Spring break of his sophomore year, Nickum and his be...
The Shorts -- Trekker's Blues
06 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
When writer Alissa Bohling and her longtime boyfriend Paul set out on the Pacific Crest Trail, they thought a trip of that significance would leave a ...
Fueled By Strawberry Jam
14 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we bring you another Year of Big Ideas -- a time to turn daydreams into concrete goals. Professional athletes, weekend warriors, and full time ...
Forty Miles A Poem
22 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
When Scott Harvey’s poem “40 Miles of Inspiration” showed up in my Inbox, it was a like a breath of fresh air. It’s hard not to smile at thi...
Fun Divided By Three
07 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
There is type one fun and type two fun, but today, we are going to explore type three fun. This is the epic. The suffer fest. What does type three fun...
The Shorts -- Friends In High Places
09 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Two and a half years ago, climber and Diaries contributor, Kelly Cordes, signed up for a Facebook account, promptly forgot the password and found out ...
The New Conservationists
28 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we present three stories. A city girl sheds caution to start a farm. A kayaker becomes a journalist. An adventure photographer forgoes a care...
The Shorts -- Underwriting Adventure
29 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Last summer, climber and writer Majka Burhardt embarked on an adventure two years in the making. In the last moments before leaving, Burhardt decided ...
Seeds
16 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
It was a tough summer in the climbing community. We lost heroes, friends, mentors, legends, sons and parents. We celebrate their lives with stories an...
The Shorts -- Knees and Weather Permitting
24 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
When writer Sarah Wroot took her first hike through Scottland’s craggy hills, she was overwhelmed with a surprising notion. “If I had a pack and a...
Three Eighths to Eternity
14 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Two years ago, Christian Beamish crafted an 18-foot-long sailboat in his San Clemente garage. His obsession with sailboat-assisted surfing began wit...
The Shorts -- Summer Invocation
29 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Up in the Northwest, we say that summer doesn’t actually start until July 4th. Right now, we’re experiencing our annual June gloom. So I thought i...
The Dreamers
18 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Today writer and climber Sarah Garlick presents: The Dreamers — reflections from four generations of the world’s best climbers: Steve House, Henry...
Sixty Meters to Anywhere
27 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A few Christmases back, Brendan Leonard received a rather strange gift from his brother - an old rope. Brendan wasn’t a climber. He had no intention...
The Shorts -- Great White Book
08 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
In 2001, Scott Kennedy and his wife Sophie were living in the States. On weekends, they would meet up to climb in Yosemite’s high country, Tuolumne....
The Cowboy and the Maiden
24 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
In September 2008, Chad Kellogg and climbing partner Dylan Johnson stood atop 6250-meter Siguniang in Western China after completing the 10,000-foot-l...
Beginner's Mind
27 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
In the outdoor world, as we age, we can become picky. We are able to discern choss from splitter granite or hard packed moguls from Utah’s finest sn...
The Adventurer's Parable
12 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Photographers and activists Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson present stories and photos from wild ski terrain and their struggle to become a piece of the ...
731 Days Later...
25 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Two years ago, I was staring fruitlessly at a computer screen. I was sick of daydreaming. I dropped the commissioned piece I was working on that day...
Into the Dark
09 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout his life, Portland rock climber Bob Grunau has struggled with the lingering clouds of depression. Until he discovered climbing, the only wa...
Mister Smart Goes Big
27 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Rangi Smart was riding a small spur of his favorite single-track trail when he stumbled upon a perfectly designed mountain bike jump. The 33-year-old ...
The Peach
09 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Climber and writer, Kelly Cordes had one hell of resume by the time he applied for a position baking bread. It was an ideal job ...
Bedtime Stories for Wanderers
22 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
With his career stalling and idealism flat lining, Ryan Nickum looked into his past to search for the seed of the travel affliction. There was only ...
O Tannenbaum
13 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
For the last five years, I have been stingier than Scrooge when it comes to a Yule Tree. In 2008, I’m a changed man. Armed with a handsaw and empowe...
The Shorts -- Friendship is a Used Bicycle
15 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
“’You should get a bike. It will change your life,’ my friend Nick said. I heard this over and over again like a nagging brake pad rubbing on th...
Fear Squared
28 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate Halloween, we bring you two tales of terror. Contest winner Chris Peters explains why it pays to listen to the safety talk and a very spe...
The Shorts -- Balance
13 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The Bohrer clan isn’t your average Idaho Falls family. Juggling goals in the mountain with parenting is no simple task. Sometimes balancing competin...
No Car No Problem
29 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Recreating without a car might seem impossible, but this summer I set out to test the preconceived notion. What happens when you find yourself trapped...
The Shorts: The Simple Joy of Moving Upward
05 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
After loosing his leg in a climbing accident, Craig DeMartino had to retrain his body and learn his craft all over again. DeMartino takes us to Vail a...
The Shorts -- The Pig
03 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A mythical, semi-secret, surf spot on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast – that’s as descriptive as Australian Duncan McNee would get. This secret brea...
The Crusade
20 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we bring you the Crusade, the story of two stockbrokers, an engineer and a nuclear physicist who, with a little help from the Internet, helped ...
The Shorts: Year of Big Ideas Reprieve
23 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
In the Year of Big Ideas, my childhood friend Brad laid it out – he was going to climb El Cap in 2008. We planned and tried to convince others to jo...
The Human Mule
09 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Through the years, I’ve tried to escape words and journalism, but the writing life always has a funny way of creeping back into my world. This tim...
The Earth Throne
23 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Seventeen years ago, Sean O’Neill – artist athlete and big brother to pro climber Timmy O’Neill – lost the use of his legs. After the accident...
The Shorts -- Indiana Powder Day
15 Apr 2008
Contributed by Lukas
When listener Andy Guinigundo’s email appeared in the inbox on a rainy spring day, I read through it, read it again and thought “Damn, I wish I co...
The Golden Hour
28 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
In spring of 1991, Tom Broxson survived a 200-foot fall off the top of Yosemite Valley’s Washington Column. To this day, Tom, his climbing partner P...
All These Things
09 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Becca Cahall brings us All These Things – a story about getting older and skiing faster. We’re headed for British Columbia’s Selkirk Mo...
Datos Insuficientes
15 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 2007, kayaker and blogger Shane Robinson found himself paddling down Peru’s isolated Apurimac River with Andrew Oberhardt and Bryan...
The Year of Big Ideas
23 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Today we bring you the “Year of Big Ideas? – a show all about goals, some big, some small. We’ve interviewed friends, professional athletes, ran...
A Lifeline Home
06 Dec 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we bring you the tale of Ryan Utz and Micah Helser -- both climbers, both soldiers -- and their quest to create a lifeline back from the frontl...
The Reckoning
17 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In 2005, photographer, writer and avid cyclist Blake Gordon joined the Logsdon brothers in the midst of pedaling 15,000 miles and raising money for th...
Help Wanted
29 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no such thing as a perfect job. What if there was a magical place where you could get paid to climb? At the center of this kingdom is a moun...
Prayer for a Friend
07 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the Dirtbag Diaries, we’re traveling from the halls of a New England boarding school where two boys forged an unlikely friendship to the wi...
No Big Deal
28 Jun 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In 1996, photographer John Burcham and three friends completed the first foot traverse of the 650-mile long Alaska Range. Burcham decided to leave the...
Anatomy of an Accident
02 Jun 2007
Contributed by Lukas
This week the Dirtbag Diaries presents the Anatomy of an Accident. What do you take away from a near-death experience? Is there meaning in it? If so, ...
A Brief Moment in a Beautiful Place
14 May 2007
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're headed for Laos to recount the story of two friends and one spectacularly bad idea. Join us as we follow Jacob Bain, Colin Brynn and...
A Thousand Words
30 Apr 2007
Contributed by Lukas
There is no textbook on adventure journalism, but if there were one, it would contain one single, steadfast rule -- you can't photograph adventure fro...
The Great Big Garage in the Sky
12 Apr 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us associate our vehicles with freedom, independence and youth. But can a hunk of metal have a soul? Fitz presents the sometimes-true tale of ...
The Brotherhood
21 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
On a remote cliff in northern Arizona, we join rock climbers Albert Newman and James Q Martin as they attempt the first free ascent of Tooth Rock.
The Monoboard
01 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Gaper. Touron. Weekend warrior. As mountain people, we can be a cold, hard lot adhering to an "Us and Them" mentality, but at the root, what makes a...