The Oak Podcast

Mark Smiley, IFMGA guide and self-confessed gear tinkerer from British Columbia, joins Dave Searle for a proper gear nerd episode.

Mark walks through the lightweight kit he builds for heavy problems, including a rescue tarp that doubles as a sled and shelter, a Dyneema ski bungee and a 40-tool repair kit. Mark and Dave then discuss risk management: why fatigue may be the most underrated hazard in the mountains, how cutting weight frees up headspace for better decisions, and what “safe enough” really means.

Tom is absent this time, because the gear talk was too nerdy for him!

Follow Mark on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smileysproject

Follow Dave on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davejsearle

Download Oak (free): https://click.getoak.app/download

Dave Searle and Tom Baxter interview Jënni, a speed alpinist and social media manager for Mammut. The discussion revolves around the risk and achievements of speed alpinism, and how to balance a professional and personal life in the mountains.

Glaciologist Marie Schroeder joins Dave and Tom to talk about this summer's record glacier melt, the job of a glaciologist, and what a changing Alps means for skiers and mountaineers this winter. Plus a quick conditions report and this week's news from Chamonix.

🔗 Marie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marie.schrooeder/
📱 Download Oak (free): https://click.getoak.app/download
🎓 Dave's alpine course: https://courses.davesearleguiding.com/offers/C4BRsQpX/checkout?coupon_code=OAKAPP (use code OAKAPP for 25% off)

Marie has left us with some interesting resources, here they are:

•⁠ ⁠Projection for different glaciers in the Alps and around the world and when we will have to say goodbye to them: https://goodbye-glaciers.info/

•⁠ ⁠⁠Interactive dashboard to explore the latest science about climate change: https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch/

•⁠ ⁠Chatbot to ask all your climate related questions, based on scientific knowledge: ⁠https://www.chatclimate.ai/

•⁠ ⁠⁠Comparison pictures of many glaciers in the Alps: https://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/big_melt/index-en.html

Is mountaineering worth the risk? Ebba Forsgren shares a traumatic mountaineering story and discusses how she was able to mentally process such an event.

Episode 1 of the Oak Podcast, hosted by Dave Searle and Tom Baxter, joined by Ebba Forsgren.

In this pilot episode, co-host Tom Baxter, freeride skier and social media manager at Oak, shares the story of the time he skied down the Aiguille du Midi north face with a stranger he met online. Also in this episode: paragliding incidents and risks in the mountains.