Gwendolyn Bounds: Building Fitness for Life

On this week's episode of Cool Conversations, Kenton speaks to award winning journalist and champion Obstacle Course Racer, Gwendolyn Bounds. Wendy, as she is known, took up Obstacle Course Racing at 45 years old and has built her fitness to such an extent that she now competes for podium places in Spartan races around the world. But this hasn't always been the case. Wendy discovered Spartan when she realised that she was sitting in contented inertia - in a high-pressure, yet successful career, with a busy personal life and no time for anything else. However, she decided to make time and she started building the physical foundation that now underpins everything she does. And she's never looked back. Wendy is the author of two books: Little Chapel on the River and Not Too Late Reading: The Formula by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg Listening to: Eric Church, a country music artist, and Peter Attia on a Bone Health Podcast

This week's Cool Conversations guest is adventurer and safety expert, Aldo Kane. Aldo tells Kenton that he was a Royal Marines Commando for 10 years before finding his way into TV and film where he looks after safety and logistics in extreme, remote, hostile environments. Prompted by Aldo's work, this conversation delves into the changing world of TV and streaming services, and the difficulties of balancing time outdoors with technology. This conversation delivers very differently to what you might expect and is definitely worth a listen! What's Aldo reading? Check Engine Light by Rob Wilson What's Aldo listening to? Moonshots podcast

In this week's episode, Kenton continues his climb up Laila Peak in Pakistan, providing real-time updates as he and the team move up the mountain from Basecamp, and then all the way back to Islamabad. He describes ice towers, snow slopes, glaciers and rock formations. He explains the challenging terrain, and shares his thoughts and feelings both on the way up and on the way back down. All expeditions need space for reflection - this one perhaps more than most. A night sleeping under the stars helped Kenton to do this, as well as the ever-present Pakistani hospitality. If you are yearning for the mountains, this episode is for you!

The popular Tales from the Trails is back and this week Kenton is taking us on a journey through Pakistan. Starting in Islamabad, Kenton and his team fly to Skardu (not without drama!), then take 4x4s to Hushe, high in the Hushe Valley, before they continue on foot to Laila Peak's Basecamp. As always, Kenton provides vivid descriptions of the landscape unfolding around him as he travels deeper into the mountains. This episode is recorded on the go, so please forgive us the background noise!

Kenton's guest on this episode of Cool Conversations is Hannah Cox who is about to launch herself into a 4,200km run, having only started running last year. Why? You will learn that Hannah is obsessed with a hedge that formed an inland customs line across India about 150 years ago. It was used to enforce a salt tax and resulted in a widespread famine in which millions died. Hannah is re-tracing the line of the hedge and will be running 100 marathons in 100 days to do so. It's a bold undertaking for anyone, especially a non-runner! But Hannah's 'Why' is strong. She is passionate about environmental sustainability and has founded two businesses with sustainability at their core - Better Not Stop and The Better Business Network. She aims to raise £1m for environmental charities through the project. Through her work building communities, businesses and bold adventures, Hannah’s mission is to prove that together we can achieve the impossible. Find out more: www.projectsaltrun.com Support the crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/project-salt-run

We have another outdoor special for you this week, recorded near Chamonix in Servos. Kenton chats to Sev Garo, an artist and sculptor who is inspired by glaciers. Sev explains how he aims to capture the energy of glaciers through his art and how he hopes his work helps to start conversations about climate change and glacial melt. Sev tells Kenton how he initially came up with the idea to design unique pieces of jewellery from the surface detail of glaciers and the process he follows to create this wearable art. Take a look at Sev's work on his website: www.garogosi.com

Tales from the Trails (TFTT) is back and this time Kenton is on the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. Kenton talks us through his ascent of the 3,967m Eiger, with his client Marco. They ascend via the Mittellegi ridge and descend via the South Ridge on an absolutely beautiful summer's day with views for miles. Having not done this particular climb since 2009, Kenton is reminded that it is not a walk in the park! Listen now to experience the Eiger through Kenton's eyes.

Welcome to a previously untested podcast format (for us!) - a walk and talk. Kenton recorded this episode with adventurer, writer and super-mum, Anna McNuff, whilst walking on Leckhampton Hill in Gloucestershire, and it really is a cool conversation! Anna and her husband, Jamie McDonald (another adventurer), have recently decided to sell their house in Gloucester and live a more nomadic lifestyle with their three children. As you will hear, Anna has undertaken many adventures and she wants her children to experience life a bit differently. Kenton and Anna discuss her thinking behind this big change, and they also cover a broad range of subjects including Madagascar (the film!), squats, Mum duty, trains, unschooling, mini-adventures, big adventures and Gloucestershire geography... You're in for a treat! This conversation is interspersed with dog chats, hellos to other walkers, and some wind noise - we hope you don't mind. Let us know what you think of the format!

This week's Cool Conversation is between Kenton and Richard Pyne, CEO of British clothing brand Páramo. Right from the offset, we understand that Páramo is unique: Richard describes himself as the Custodian of the brand, rather than the CEO; he tells us that the company is employee-owned; he tells us they have been repairing garments for customers for 30 years, whilst most others have only recently started to offer this; and he tells us that they designed their products by mimicking mammals - how does an otter stay dry and warm, even when his fur is soaked through? Most remarkable of all, Richard explains how the brand got its name from a range of mountains in the Andes and how the unlikely pairing of a nun and an entrepreneur has created untold opportunities for women and families in Colombia. This is the story of a brand that holds on tight to its values, that lobbies much bigger industry players to contribute to the circular economy, and that cares about people.

Recorded at 6,400m on Everest, is this the highest altitude podcast recording ever? We don’t know but we do know that you’re going to love it! Kenton speaks to University of Leeds based Professor of Glaciology, Duncan Quincey, about his current research project on the Khumbu glacier. Whilst Kenton was climbing Everest, Duncan and his team were installing some impressive, solar-powered equipment at Camp 2 to monitor changing glacial temperatures over the coming months. In this episode, Duncan explains his hypothesis to Kenton and talks about the early data they are collecting. He is clearly passionate about what he does and they cover glaciers, melt rates, radiation, snowfall, precipitation, temperatures and livelihoods in this fascinating conversation. There’s more to glacial research than you might imagine!