Outside Podcast

Who do you turn to when life hands you an emotional Rubik's Cube to figure out—who do you trust for advice when the chips are down and you need help remembering what truly matters?

Well, if you're Jimmy Chin, those people include some of the most accomplished people from the worlds of sports, entertainment, and even the military. That's why his new book, "Rules to Live By: How Extraordinary Lives Define What really Matters" includes interview with the likes of surfer Kelly Slater, director Ridley Scott, and former Navy SEALs chief Bill King.

If you think folks with more Olympic medals or Oscars than you have dish ware aren't relatable enough to have advice you can use, Jimmy found that quite the opposite is true: Even the most remarkable lives are built on hopes, doubts, fears, and dreams—you know the stuff that truly matters.

In today's Long Read with Outside Magazine Features Editor Fred Drier, we're revisiting one of the most chilling stories we've ever published. "Murder on the Appalachian Trail" was first published in 2015 and written by Earl Swift, who was compelled to revisit the horrific 1990 murders of thru hikers Geoff Hood and Molly LaRue that took place in the trail's Thelma Marks shelter in Pennsylvania.

We say "revisit," because Earl hiked with the couple during his own thru hike, just a week before their deaths, and he was never able to shake the mystery of the senseless tragedy.

Following today's Long Read, Fred sits down with Earl to learn more about why Earl wrote the story, and what he took away from the experience.

Last year, ski mountaineer Jim Morrison completed what many have called the boldest ski descent in the history of hairball skiing: the direct North Face of Mount Everest. The accomplishment is the subject of Jimmy Chin's new film, "Everest: The Other Side. "

There are few folks on this planet who are in the same realm as Jim when it comes to bold firsts. Luckily, Outside Days has a way of bringing these types together. Jim was joined on the fest's Ideas Stage with Alex Honnold and Fitz Cahall, hosts of the podcast Climbing Gold. Alex has spent his career redefining what is possible on rock walls and Fitz—host of the first outdoor podcast, the Dirtbag Diaries—has spent his career helping us mere mortals make sense of why people do objectively bonkers things.

Alex and Fitz sat down with Jim for a live recording of the Climbing Gold Podcast to discuss Everest, decision-making, risk, why we spend time in the outdoors, and what happens when the margin for error gets very small.

Recorded live at RESET Hotel, presented by Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy

What's on the outside of outer space? Nobody knows, not even a guy who spent 36 years at NASA. 🌌

Paddy heads to Reset Hotel outside Joshua Tree National Park to stargaze with Dr. Gary Blackwood, aerospace engineer, former NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program leader, and (yes) alien hunter. We get into why he’s convinced we’re not alone, how telescopes can sniff out breathing planets from light years away, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, the Belt of Venus, a Hurricane Hilary backpacking mishap, a lightning round (quasars vs. pulsars vs. Jar Jar), and what Gary would ask visiting aliens first.

Plan your stay at RESET, part of Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy: https://www.marriott.com/brands/outdoor-collection.mi

If you’re a skier or snowboarder and you’ve never packed into a movie theater with a few hundred other snow-starved fiends to shout and cheer and ring in the winter season by watching your favorite past time reflected back at you on the big screen, you’re missing one of the best rituals in the outdoors (ironic, given that it happens indoors). This collective act of snow-summoning has become an annual ritual for hundreds of thousands, thanks in large part to one man: Warren Miller. For over 70 years, the films have reliably sent people into autumn evenings around the world glowing and ready to shred. This year, the film’s 77th edition features a new star and, for the first time since Warren himself was at the helm, that star is also the film’s director. Katie Burrell needs no introduction to Outside Podcast fans; this is her third time on the pod in less than three years, but her previous spots were due to her best-in-class comedy chops and massive social presence. This time, the conversation has a bit more heft: You’ve been handed a legendary winter sports franchise … now what?