https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/lost-to-altitude--7194398
Lost To Altitude offers a respectful yet unflinching look at these high-altitude dramas, providing context, expert analysis, and a deep dive into the historical and human elements behind each catastrophe. We explore the psychology of risk, the allure of the summit, and the stark realities of survival in extreme environments. Each episode is a testament to the bravery and the inherent dangers of pushing human limits.

New episodes arrive daily, every day of the week at 9:00 AM, ensuring a steady stream of compelling narratives. We bring you detailed accounts, often drawing from first-hand reports, survivor testimonies, and historical records to paint a vivid picture of these epic struggles. Expect a narrative-driven format that respects the gravity of each event.

This podcast is for anyone fascinated by the raw power of mountains, the indomitable will of adventurers, and the tragic price sometimes paid for ambition. If you are drawn to true stories of survival, disaster, and the human condition pushed to its absolute breaking point, Lost To Altitude is your essential listen.

Subscribe to Lost To Altitude and hear the stories of those lost to the heights.]]>enPersonal JournalsCopyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENThttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/143cdb2b2a80202d8d46364ac6b110e0.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/lost-to-altitude--7194398Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:02:05 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTcreators@obomedia.comLost To Altitude delves into the harrowing true stories of mountaineering tragedies, exploring the fine line between triumph and disaster in the world's most unforgiving peaks. We meticulously recount the expeditions that went wrong, the fatal...
Lost To Altitude offers a respectful yet unflinching look at these high-altitude dramas, providing context, expert analysis, and a deep dive into the historical and human elements behind each catastrophe. We explore the psychology of risk, the allure of the summit, and the stark realities of survival in extreme environments. Each episode is a testament to the bravery and the inherent dangers of pushing human limits.

New episodes arrive daily, every day of the week at 9:00 AM, ensuring a steady stream of compelling narratives. We bring you detailed accounts, often drawing from first-hand reports, survivor testimonies, and historical records to paint a vivid picture of these epic struggles. Expect a narrative-driven format that respects the gravity of each event.

This podcast is for anyone fascinated by the raw power of mountains, the indomitable will of adventurers, and the tragic price sometimes paid for ambition. If you are drawn to true stories of survival, disaster, and the human condition pushed to its absolute breaking point, Lost To Altitude is your essential listen.

Subscribe to Lost To Altitude and hear the stories of those lost to the heights.]]>falseepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-tent-arrives-alone-the-verada-peak-disaster--73083688
A fully erected orange expedition tent was found at 8,400 ft with its door zipped, two sleeping bags, a stove, and a pot of partially hydrated beef stew frozen solid - and there were no footprints, tire tracks, or people nearby. How did a tent traced back to a 12,600 ft high camp arrive intact at a lower drainage with a meal left mid-preparation, and where were its owners?

In this episode, we narrate the sequence of events from the tent discovery through the prior four days on Verada Peak, following the crew, their gear movements, and decisions that created the central mystery: why a sealed, organized tent and unfinished meal would be found alone at 8,400 ft?

Person: Grant Collins
Person: Wendy Walker
Person: Vernon Ramsey
Date: July 14
Location: 8,400 ft in the lower Sutter Creek drainage

- At 08:30 on July 14, Grant Collins found an orange expedition tent with guy lines taut and the door zipper pulled shut from the outside at 8,400 ft.
- Inside the tent were two neatly rolled sleeping bags, a camp stove, a fuel canister, two folded trekking poles, and an aluminum pot with partially hydrated freeze-dried beef stew frozen solid.
- The nearest trailhead for Verada Peak was twelve miles up the drainage from where the tent was found.
- A high camp at 12,600 ft on the southwest face of Verada Peak held a storage tent left two weeks earlier by Stan Morrow that contained extra supplies and a pot of stew he began hydrating before being called away.
- Guide Vernon Ramsey set a 09:00 turnaround for summit day, transferred the satellite communicator and emergency rations from the damaged storage tent into the main tent, but did not transfer an interior provisions bag containing additional rations.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083688Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Tent Arrives Alone: The Verada Peak Disaster A fully erected orange expedition tent was found at 8,400 ft with its door zipped, two sleeping bags, a stove, and a pot of partially hydrated beef stew frozen solid - and there were no footprints,...
A fully erected orange expedition tent was found at 8,400 ft with its door zipped, two sleeping bags, a stove, and a pot of partially hydrated beef stew frozen solid - and there were no footprints, tire tracks, or people nearby. How did a tent traced back to a 12,600 ft high camp arrive intact at a lower drainage with a meal left mid-preparation, and where were its owners?

In this episode, we narrate the sequence of events from the tent discovery through the prior four days on Verada Peak, following the crew, their gear movements, and decisions that created the central mystery: why a sealed, organized tent and unfinished meal would be found alone at 8,400 ft?

Person: Grant Collins
Person: Wendy Walker
Person: Vernon Ramsey
Date: July 14
Location: 8,400 ft in the lower Sutter Creek drainage

- At 08:30 on July 14, Grant Collins found an orange expedition tent with guy lines taut and the door zipper pulled shut from the outside at 8,400 ft.
- Inside the tent were two neatly rolled sleeping bags, a camp stove, a fuel canister, two folded trekking poles, and an aluminum pot with partially hydrated freeze-dried beef stew frozen solid.
- The nearest trailhead for Verada Peak was twelve miles up the drainage from where the tent was found.
- A high camp at 12,600 ft on the southwest face of Verada Peak held a storage tent left two weeks earlier by Stan Morrow that contained extra supplies and a pot of stew he began hydrating before being called away.
- Guide Vernon Ramsey set a 09:00 turnaround for summit day, transferred the satellite communicator and emergency rations from the damaged storage tent into the main tent, but did not transfer an interior provisions bag containing additional rations.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>915falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/regulator-at-zero-how-four-climbers-vanished-on-morrow-s-throne--73083687
Fear that something small can erase you - an oxygen regulator was found in a ditch eleven miles from the nearest trailhead, its gauge frozen at zero, and no missing-person report matched it. What happened on the southwest face of Morrow's Throne that left a full cylinder gone and three climbers stranded at 13,400 feet?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the June 2019 discovery back to the climb itself, laying out the gear, the decisions, and the single mistake that sent a cylinder over a ledge; can the pieces of a ruined summit day explain how one regulator ended up behind a church?

Date: June 2019
Location: Morrow's Throne, Sutter Range, Montana
Person: Wade Stein; Melvin Clark; Sharon Eck; Tom Burris
Elevation: 13,400 feet summit; push camp at 12,200 feet
Event: Oxygen regulator found in drainage ditch with gauge at zero

- A truck driver found the regulator on the third Tuesday of June 2019 in a drainage ditch behind Harmon Falls Evangelical Church, eleven miles from the nearest trailhead.
- Morrow's Throne summit elevation is 13,400 feet and its southwest face is sustained mixed ice-and-rock climbing with no direct descent line.
- The team hauled two oxygen cylinders to a push camp at 12,200 feet on June 7; a photo on June 8 showed the left cylinder at 2,000 PSI and the right between 800-1,200 PSI.
- Three climbers left the push camp at 4:40 a.m. on June 9 and reached the base of the summit wall around 11:00 a.m.; one climber (Tom Burris) stayed at camp due to illness.
- Melvin’s oxygen system bag dropped about 60 feet after a carabiner gate’s locking collar struck stone and opened, producing a single flat knock as it fell off the southwest face.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083687Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:29 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTRegulator at Zero: How Four Climbers Vanished on Morrow's Throne Fear that something small can erase you - an oxygen regulator was found in a ditch eleven miles from the nearest trailhead, its gauge frozen at zero, and no missing-person report...
Fear that something small can erase you - an oxygen regulator was found in a ditch eleven miles from the nearest trailhead, its gauge frozen at zero, and no missing-person report matched it. What happened on the southwest face of Morrow's Throne that left a full cylinder gone and three climbers stranded at 13,400 feet?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the June 2019 discovery back to the climb itself, laying out the gear, the decisions, and the single mistake that sent a cylinder over a ledge; can the pieces of a ruined summit day explain how one regulator ended up behind a church?

Date: June 2019
Location: Morrow's Throne, Sutter Range, Montana
Person: Wade Stein; Melvin Clark; Sharon Eck; Tom Burris
Elevation: 13,400 feet summit; push camp at 12,200 feet
Event: Oxygen regulator found in drainage ditch with gauge at zero

- A truck driver found the regulator on the third Tuesday of June 2019 in a drainage ditch behind Harmon Falls Evangelical Church, eleven miles from the nearest trailhead.
- Morrow's Throne summit elevation is 13,400 feet and its southwest face is sustained mixed ice-and-rock climbing with no direct descent line.
- The team hauled two oxygen cylinders to a push camp at 12,200 feet on June 7; a photo on June 8 showed the left cylinder at 2,000 PSI and the right between 800-1,200 PSI.
- Three climbers left the push camp at 4:40 a.m. on June 9 and reached the base of the summit wall around 11:00 a.m.; one climber (Tom Burris) stayed at camp due to illness.
- Melvin’s oxygen system bag dropped about 60 feet after a carabiner gate’s locking collar struck stone and opened, producing a single flat knock as it fell off the southwest face.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>989falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-upright-boot-how-small-errors-turned-varden-s-needle-dangerous--73083686
A single climbing boot, upright in three inches of snowmelt with a twelve-point crampon buckled and no blood, no tracks, no foot - and a label with a name, employer and phone number. The calmness of the scene at 6,200 feet on May 19, 2017 contradicts the messy sequence of small miscalculations that preceded it; what tiny choices added up to something deadly?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Connie Weber’s meticulous routine and planting schedule to the May 15 summit push on Varden’s Needle, tracing the decisions, delayed minutes, and conditions that turned a local peak into a hazard. How did thirty-eight minutes on the summit, loose straps, and an eleven-minute slow pace combine to create the unexplained presence of that boot?

Person: Connie Weber
Date: May 19, 2017
Location: Marie Bell trail drainage channel at 6,200 feet
Event: Summit push began at 4:47 AM on May 15, 2017
Guide: Ross Phillips, 49, owner of Ridgeline North

- The boot was upright in three inches of snowmelt with a twelve-point crampon buckled to the sole.
- Petra Gaines found the boot while walking a dog named Clover on the morning of May 19, 2017.
- Connie Weber kept a paper logbook, no social media or GPS-tracked routes, and worked twice weekly at a community garden.
- The summit team reached Ledge camp at 8,700 feet the evening of May 14 and began the summit push at 4:47 AM on May 15.
- The summit stop lasted thirty-eight minutes versus the planned fifteen, with Aaron Finch eleven minutes slower on the upper ridge and a seven-minute stop to resecure Craig Welty’s crampon strap.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083686Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Upright Boot: How Small Errors Turned Varden's Needle Dangerous A single climbing boot, upright in three inches of snowmelt with a twelve-point crampon buckled and no blood, no tracks, no foot - and a label with a name, employer and phone...
A single climbing boot, upright in three inches of snowmelt with a twelve-point crampon buckled and no blood, no tracks, no foot - and a label with a name, employer and phone number. The calmness of the scene at 6,200 feet on May 19, 2017 contradicts the messy sequence of small miscalculations that preceded it; what tiny choices added up to something deadly?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Connie Weber’s meticulous routine and planting schedule to the May 15 summit push on Varden’s Needle, tracing the decisions, delayed minutes, and conditions that turned a local peak into a hazard. How did thirty-eight minutes on the summit, loose straps, and an eleven-minute slow pace combine to create the unexplained presence of that boot?

Person: Connie Weber
Date: May 19, 2017
Location: Marie Bell trail drainage channel at 6,200 feet
Event: Summit push began at 4:47 AM on May 15, 2017
Guide: Ross Phillips, 49, owner of Ridgeline North

- The boot was upright in three inches of snowmelt with a twelve-point crampon buckled to the sole.
- Petra Gaines found the boot while walking a dog named Clover on the morning of May 19, 2017.
- Connie Weber kept a paper logbook, no social media or GPS-tracked routes, and worked twice weekly at a community garden.
- The summit team reached Ledge camp at 8,700 feet the evening of May 14 and began the summit push at 4:47 AM on May 15.
- The summit stop lasted thirty-eight minutes versus the planned fifteen, with Aaron Finch eleven minutes slower on the upper ridge and a seven-minute stop to resecure Craig Welty’s crampon strap.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>892falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-crampon-in-the-river-when-a-climber-vanished-from-the-col--73083685
Cold, ordinary water in a river nine miles from the nearest mountain delivered a crampon-buckled and strap threaded-removed deliberately from a climber who never returned. A methodical twenty-eight-year-old vanished after a controlled descent from a 9,000-foot summit; why was her gear found downstream and not on the mountain?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from base camp to the col: the morning radio noise, the summit push, a fall that injured two climbers, and the last confirmed contact reporting mild altitude sickness-then silence. What happened to Valerie Pruitt between the col and the river where her crampon appeared?

Person: Valerie Pruitt
Date: April 11-14, 2017
Location: Brennan Spire col, ~9,000 feet; Solace Fork river nine miles from nearest mountain
Status: Missing; crampon recovered in river
Event: Fall on West Rib, summit reached April 11; storm and two-night survival of teammates

- Valerie Pruitt was 28 years old and worked as a lab technician in Boise.
- The team reached the true summit at 9,000 feet at approximately 8:51 AM and left the summit within an hour.
- A four-second radio transmission was recorded at 11:47 PM the night before the summit push and later forensically described as possibly containing the name "Wendy."
- After a fall between the false shoulder and the col, two climbers slid about 30 feet before being stopped by Wendy's ice axe arrest.
- A crampon, buckled and with its neoprene strap threaded through the keeper, was recovered from Solace Fork on April 14, 2017, about nine miles from the nearest mountain.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083685Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:23 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Crampon in the River: When a Climber Vanished from the Col Cold, ordinary water in a river nine miles from the nearest mountain delivered a crampon-buckled and strap threaded-removed deliberately from a climber who never returned. A methodical...
Cold, ordinary water in a river nine miles from the nearest mountain delivered a crampon-buckled and strap threaded-removed deliberately from a climber who never returned. A methodical twenty-eight-year-old vanished after a controlled descent from a 9,000-foot summit; why was her gear found downstream and not on the mountain?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from base camp to the col: the morning radio noise, the summit push, a fall that injured two climbers, and the last confirmed contact reporting mild altitude sickness-then silence. What happened to Valerie Pruitt between the col and the river where her crampon appeared?

Person: Valerie Pruitt
Date: April 11-14, 2017
Location: Brennan Spire col, ~9,000 feet; Solace Fork river nine miles from nearest mountain
Status: Missing; crampon recovered in river
Event: Fall on West Rib, summit reached April 11; storm and two-night survival of teammates

- Valerie Pruitt was 28 years old and worked as a lab technician in Boise.
- The team reached the true summit at 9,000 feet at approximately 8:51 AM and left the summit within an hour.
- A four-second radio transmission was recorded at 11:47 PM the night before the summit push and later forensically described as possibly containing the name "Wendy."
- After a fall between the false shoulder and the col, two climbers slid about 30 feet before being stopped by Wendy's ice axe arrest.
- A crampon, buckled and with its neoprene strap threaded through the keeper, was recovered from Solace Fork on April 14, 2017, about nine miles from the nearest mountain.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>845falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-boot-that-walked-out-of-a-glacier-the-rope-decision--73083684
A single orange-and-black double boot emerged upright from a glacier terminus on March 14, 2019, with a human foot inside - six years after Kent Dixon vanished into a crevasse on Arrowbone Ridge. The boot fits Kent’s gear exactly and raises one impossible question: how did a methodical climber who checked his equipment three times end up missing from a rope team that consolidated into one line? What happened in the 1 hour and 47 minutes between the planned 4:00 a.m. departure and the actual start at 5:47 a.m.?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of the Brecken Horn expedition and the facts that led investigators to a single, unsettling decision on the descent. We cover the team composition, the timing of movements, and the rope configuration that created a pendulum risk - and ask whether that rope choice can explain Kent Dixon’s disappearance and the boot’s reappearance.

Person: Kent Dixon
Date: March 11, 2013
Location: Brecken Horn, Brecken Horn talus apron and Arrowbone Ridge
Event: Boot with foot surfaced from glacier terminus on March 14, 2019
Status: Disappeared into a crevasse; body not recovered

- Kent Dixon was 54 years old and had 22 years of climbing experience.
- The expedition reached Camp Two at 11,300 feet and planned a 4:00 a.m. summit push on March 11, 2013.
- The team summited Brecken Horn (12,400 feet) at 11:22 a.m. and began descent into a crevasse field.
- Guide Jean Owens consolidated the party onto a single rope for descent; Kent was last on the line with roughly 30 feet between him and Paul Reiter.
- Paul Reiter’s GPS recorded every position change and provided the primary precise record of the descent and the first unexplained anomaly.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083684Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:21 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Boot That Walked Out of a Glacier: The Rope Decision A single orange-and-black double boot emerged upright from a glacier terminus on March 14, 2019, with a human foot inside - six years after Kent Dixon vanished into a crevasse on Arrowbone...
A single orange-and-black double boot emerged upright from a glacier terminus on March 14, 2019, with a human foot inside - six years after Kent Dixon vanished into a crevasse on Arrowbone Ridge. The boot fits Kent’s gear exactly and raises one impossible question: how did a methodical climber who checked his equipment three times end up missing from a rope team that consolidated into one line? What happened in the 1 hour and 47 minutes between the planned 4:00 a.m. departure and the actual start at 5:47 a.m.?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of the Brecken Horn expedition and the facts that led investigators to a single, unsettling decision on the descent. We cover the team composition, the timing of movements, and the rope configuration that created a pendulum risk - and ask whether that rope choice can explain Kent Dixon’s disappearance and the boot’s reappearance.

Person: Kent Dixon
Date: March 11, 2013
Location: Brecken Horn, Brecken Horn talus apron and Arrowbone Ridge
Event: Boot with foot surfaced from glacier terminus on March 14, 2019
Status: Disappeared into a crevasse; body not recovered

- Kent Dixon was 54 years old and had 22 years of climbing experience.
- The expedition reached Camp Two at 11,300 feet and planned a 4:00 a.m. summit push on March 11, 2013.
- The team summited Brecken Horn (12,400 feet) at 11:22 a.m. and began descent into a crevasse field.
- Guide Jean Owens consolidated the party onto a single rope for descent; Kent was last on the line with roughly 30 feet between him and Paul Reiter.
- Paul Reiter’s GPS recorded every position change and provided the primary precise record of the descent and the first unexplained anomaly.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1019falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-gloves-left-on-alderman-peak-why-he-walked-away--73083682
Cold, precise, and inexplicable: two orange liner gloves sat upright in the snow on a mining access road with no tracks, no vehicle, and a temperature of eleven degrees Fahrenheit - who left them and why did the person walk away? The gloves tied a small sheriff's office, a regional mountaineering safety board, and a hospital trauma team to a chain of decisions made eleven days earlier on Alderman Peak; what did those gloves really mean?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from February 10-21, 2011, that connects a summit push, a missed weather update, and the discovery of those gloves - and why a twenty-three-year-old from Coeur d'Alene walked away from them. What unfolded on the mountain, and how did a dying satellite communicator and a thirty-five-minute, nine-hundred-vertical-foot ascent factor into the outcome?

Person: Donald Smith, 23, Coeur d'Alene
Person: George Vaughn, 44, guide from Millhaven
Person: Brian Kell, 31, electrician from Missoula
Date: February 10, 2011 (summit attempt); February 21, 2011 (gloves found)
Location: Alderman Peak; mining access road in the Clearwater Highlands

- Two orange liner gloves were found upright and side by side in the snow with no boot tracks nearby on February 21, 2011.
- Temperature at the glove discovery was eleven degrees Fahrenheit when Gregory Christensen photographed them.
- The climbing team established high camp at 9,040 feet on February 8, 2011.
- Radio log entries placed the team at 9,700 feet at 9:47 AM and at the summit ridge (10,600 feet) at 10:22 AM on February 10, 2011 - a 35-minute, 900-vertical-foot push.
- George Vaughn’s satellite communicator failed to receive an updated forecast that moved the front’s arrival earlier the morning of February 10.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083682Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Gloves Left on Alderman Peak: Why He Walked Away Cold, precise, and inexplicable: two orange liner gloves sat upright in the snow on a mining access road with no tracks, no vehicle, and a temperature of eleven degrees Fahrenheit - who left them...
Cold, precise, and inexplicable: two orange liner gloves sat upright in the snow on a mining access road with no tracks, no vehicle, and a temperature of eleven degrees Fahrenheit - who left them and why did the person walk away? The gloves tied a small sheriff's office, a regional mountaineering safety board, and a hospital trauma team to a chain of decisions made eleven days earlier on Alderman Peak; what did those gloves really mean?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from February 10-21, 2011, that connects a summit push, a missed weather update, and the discovery of those gloves - and why a twenty-three-year-old from Coeur d'Alene walked away from them. What unfolded on the mountain, and how did a dying satellite communicator and a thirty-five-minute, nine-hundred-vertical-foot ascent factor into the outcome?

Person: Donald Smith, 23, Coeur d'Alene
Person: George Vaughn, 44, guide from Millhaven
Person: Brian Kell, 31, electrician from Missoula
Date: February 10, 2011 (summit attempt); February 21, 2011 (gloves found)
Location: Alderman Peak; mining access road in the Clearwater Highlands

- Two orange liner gloves were found upright and side by side in the snow with no boot tracks nearby on February 21, 2011.
- Temperature at the glove discovery was eleven degrees Fahrenheit when Gregory Christensen photographed them.
- The climbing team established high camp at 9,040 feet on February 8, 2011.
- Radio log entries placed the team at 9,700 feet at 9:47 AM and at the summit ridge (10,600 feet) at 10:22 AM on February 10, 2011 - a 35-minute, 900-vertical-foot push.
- George Vaughn’s satellite communicator failed to receive an updated forecast that moved the front’s arrival earlier the morning of February 10.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>900falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-turnaround-that-cost-toes-the-tindall-override-at-11-400ft--73083681
An orange sleeping bag, fully zipped, wedged into a vertical crack at 11,400 feet-photographed from 9,200 feet with a 400mm lens on January 9-and the mystery took eleven days to decode. A single override of a strict turnaround time left eleven climbers alive but paying with toes and fingertips; what did that one decision actually change?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of January 7 that led to a catastrophic failure inside a professionally assembled expedition, following contemporaneous notes, log entries, and the recovered summit book to ask whether one enforced rule was deliberately broken or quietly undone. How did a guide known for strict turnaround enforcement end up radioing that they were "pushing on," and what consequence did that choice leave behind?

Date: January 7
Location: Tindall massif north face
Person: Jeffrey Campbell
Person: Megan Hensley
Event: Turnaround override

- Douglas Morgan photographed an orange sleeping bag at 11,400 feet on January 9 with a 400mm lens from 9,200 feet.
- Eleven climbers summited Tindall on January 7 at 11:22 a.m., recorded in the summit log.
- Jeffrey Campbell's set turnaround time was exceeded by two hours and twenty-two minutes when the summit occurred.
- Steven Pierce wrote a marginal radio log entry at 9:47 a.m.: "TT already passed. JC says conditions good, pushing on."
- Megan Hensley's logbook entry for December 28 listed route and team size and one word: "Ready."

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083681Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Turnaround That Cost Toes: The Tindall Override at 11,400ft An orange sleeping bag, fully zipped, wedged into a vertical crack at 11,400 feet-photographed from 9,200 feet with a 400mm lens on January 9-and the mystery took eleven days to...
An orange sleeping bag, fully zipped, wedged into a vertical crack at 11,400 feet-photographed from 9,200 feet with a 400mm lens on January 9-and the mystery took eleven days to decode. A single override of a strict turnaround time left eleven climbers alive but paying with toes and fingertips; what did that one decision actually change?

In this episode, we trace the sequence of January 7 that led to a catastrophic failure inside a professionally assembled expedition, following contemporaneous notes, log entries, and the recovered summit book to ask whether one enforced rule was deliberately broken or quietly undone. How did a guide known for strict turnaround enforcement end up radioing that they were "pushing on," and what consequence did that choice leave behind?

Date: January 7
Location: Tindall massif north face
Person: Jeffrey Campbell
Person: Megan Hensley
Event: Turnaround override

- Douglas Morgan photographed an orange sleeping bag at 11,400 feet on January 9 with a 400mm lens from 9,200 feet.
- Eleven climbers summited Tindall on January 7 at 11:22 a.m., recorded in the summit log.
- Jeffrey Campbell's set turnaround time was exceeded by two hours and twenty-two minutes when the summit occurred.
- Steven Pierce wrote a marginal radio log entry at 9:47 a.m.: "TT already passed. JC says conditions good, pushing on."
- Megan Hensley's logbook entry for December 28 listed route and team size and one word: "Ready."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>945falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/boot-left-on-the-bench-the-warm-sole-from-15-100-feet--73083680
A size-eight La Sportiva mountaineering boot, its sole packed with wind-compressed granular ice that only forms above 14,000 feet, was found warm on a bench at 6:40 a.m. - seven hours after it had apparently been left there in 11°F air and stained with blood. How could a boot carry the signature of 15,100 feet and still feel warm at the base of Mount Calden?

In this episode, we follow the morning Curtis Mills discovered the boot and trace the known movements of two climbers on Mount Calden from December 11-14, 2003, to ask whether calculated caution can fail without warning. What exactly happened on the southwest face after a localized wind event at 16,800 feet, and why did April Holmes’s taped heel remain unexplained?

Person: April Holmes
Person: Nicole Tate
Date: December 11-14, 2003
Location: Mount Calden, southwest face and base camp
Event: Boot found at 6:40 a.m. on December 14 with granular ice and bloodstain

- The boot found was a La Sportiva mountaineering boot, size eight women’s, left foot, still laced.
- The boot’s sole contained wind-compressed granular ice that forms only above 14,000 feet.
- Curtis Mills discovered the boot at 6:40 a.m. on December 14, after it had been sitting for roughly seven hours.
- April Holmes was 62 years old and had summited three peaks above 14,000 feet prior to this climb.
- Nicole Tate radioed from the summit at 12:51 p.m. and made a final transmission at 2:14 p.m.; by around 6:14 p.m. she had not returned to high camp as expected.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083680Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:13 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTBoot Left on the Bench: The Warm Sole from 15,100 Feet A size-eight La Sportiva mountaineering boot, its sole packed with wind-compressed granular ice that only forms above 14,000 feet, was found warm on a bench at 6:40 a.m. - seven hours after it...
A size-eight La Sportiva mountaineering boot, its sole packed with wind-compressed granular ice that only forms above 14,000 feet, was found warm on a bench at 6:40 a.m. - seven hours after it had apparently been left there in 11°F air and stained with blood. How could a boot carry the signature of 15,100 feet and still feel warm at the base of Mount Calden?

In this episode, we follow the morning Curtis Mills discovered the boot and trace the known movements of two climbers on Mount Calden from December 11-14, 2003, to ask whether calculated caution can fail without warning. What exactly happened on the southwest face after a localized wind event at 16,800 feet, and why did April Holmes’s taped heel remain unexplained?

Person: April Holmes
Person: Nicole Tate
Date: December 11-14, 2003
Location: Mount Calden, southwest face and base camp
Event: Boot found at 6:40 a.m. on December 14 with granular ice and bloodstain

- The boot found was a La Sportiva mountaineering boot, size eight women’s, left foot, still laced.
- The boot’s sole contained wind-compressed granular ice that forms only above 14,000 feet.
- Curtis Mills discovered the boot at 6:40 a.m. on December 14, after it had been sitting for roughly seven hours.
- April Holmes was 62 years old and had summited three peaks above 14,000 feet prior to this climb.
- Nicole Tate radioed from the summit at 12:51 p.m. and made a final transmission at 2:14 p.m.; by around 6:14 p.m. she had not returned to high camp as expected.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>925falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-logged-every-breath-last-entries-of-a-falling-doctor--73083679
A clinical log found in a road grader's path recorded forty-seven timed entries and a descent that ended without explanation - a doctor kept pulse-ox readings as low as 71% and ordered immediate descent, but her notebook stopped at 5:09 p.m. What do forty-seven consecutive vitals and the distance from high camp reveal about the last hours of this expedition?

In this episode, we follow the notebook's entries and the expedition roster to trace what the episode covers and to ask whether measured data written in real time can tell us why a trained physician vanished from a high-altitude route.

Person: Connie Donnelly
Event: Creston North Face Expedition
Date: November 2, 2009 (entries), notebook found November 14, 2009
Location: Forest Service Road Seven, 13 miles from nearest trailhead; high camp at 19,400 feet
Status: Notebook contained 47 entries; last entry time 5:09 p.m.

- Connie recorded a first entry at 6:17 a.m. and a final written time of 5:09 p.m, on November 2, 2009.
- Her pulse-ox readings dropped from 91% at 6:17 a.m, to 71% at summit at 11:17 a.m.
- At 9:43 a.m. she noted “ataxia?” after a 78% pulse-ox reading.
- She summited at 11:17 a.m., noting head pain 7/10 and “Coordination compromised. Descent immediately.”
- The notebook was found at elevation 6,200 feet, nearly 3,000 vertical feet below a 19,400-foot high camp and 13 miles from the nearest trailhead.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083679Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:10 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Logged Every Breath - Last Entries of a Falling Doctor A clinical log found in a road grader's path recorded forty-seven timed entries and a descent that ended without explanation - a doctor kept pulse-ox readings as low as 71% and ordered...
A clinical log found in a road grader's path recorded forty-seven timed entries and a descent that ended without explanation - a doctor kept pulse-ox readings as low as 71% and ordered immediate descent, but her notebook stopped at 5:09 p.m. What do forty-seven consecutive vitals and the distance from high camp reveal about the last hours of this expedition?

In this episode, we follow the notebook's entries and the expedition roster to trace what the episode covers and to ask whether measured data written in real time can tell us why a trained physician vanished from a high-altitude route.

Person: Connie Donnelly
Event: Creston North Face Expedition
Date: November 2, 2009 (entries), notebook found November 14, 2009
Location: Forest Service Road Seven, 13 miles from nearest trailhead; high camp at 19,400 feet
Status: Notebook contained 47 entries; last entry time 5:09 p.m.

- Connie recorded a first entry at 6:17 a.m. and a final written time of 5:09 p.m, on November 2, 2009.
- Her pulse-ox readings dropped from 91% at 6:17 a.m, to 71% at summit at 11:17 a.m.
- At 9:43 a.m. she noted “ataxia?” after a 78% pulse-ox reading.
- She summited at 11:17 a.m., noting head pain 7/10 and “Coordination compromised. Descent immediately.”
- The notebook was found at elevation 6,200 feet, nearly 3,000 vertical feet below a 19,400-foot high camp and 13 miles from the nearest trailhead.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>840falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-sawed-her-axe-handle-why-the-head-was-left-in-mud--73083678
A single axe head pulled from a culvert led to a scorched ferrule, a missing hickory handle, and a woman airlifted from a mountain with frostbitten fingers - yet no accident was reported and the handle was deliberately sawn away in total darkness at -38°F. How did an eleven-year-old handle, carried on six 7000m summits, end up reduced to ash while the head stayed buried in mud, and why did Sherry Richardson leave it there?

In this episode, we follow the Crenner Valley expedition of 2009 from the trailhead photograph to the drainage where the axe head was found, and trace the decisions, instruments, and storm that shaped the outcome. What did a falling barometer at 10:00 p.m. and a scorched ferrule reveal about the choice Sherry made on that ledge?

Date: October 22, 2009
Person: Sherry Richardson, 48, physical therapist
Location: Crenner Valley; Camp Three; culvert at base of valley
Event: Axe head found in mud; axe handle intentionally sawed and burned
Condition: Sherry airlifted with frostbite on four fingers of left hand

- The axe handle was 58 centimeters of seasoned hickory and had accompanied Sherry on six summits above 7000 meters.
- The ferrule socket was scorched black from the inside out, indicating something burned inside the metal collar.
- Jean Simpson’s wrist altimeter and logger recorded a continuous barometric fall beginning about 10:00 p.m., two hours before others noticed.
- Sherry was airlifted off the mountain eight days before the axe head was found and was recovering in a Billings hospital.
- The last phone call from Sherry to her daughter Paige was on October 7; the expedition left the trailhead on October 9.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083678Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:08 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Sawed Her Axe Handle. Why the Head Was Left in Mud A single axe head pulled from a culvert led to a scorched ferrule, a missing hickory handle, and a woman airlifted from a mountain with frostbitten fingers - yet no accident was reported and...
A single axe head pulled from a culvert led to a scorched ferrule, a missing hickory handle, and a woman airlifted from a mountain with frostbitten fingers - yet no accident was reported and the handle was deliberately sawn away in total darkness at -38°F. How did an eleven-year-old handle, carried on six 7000m summits, end up reduced to ash while the head stayed buried in mud, and why did Sherry Richardson leave it there?

In this episode, we follow the Crenner Valley expedition of 2009 from the trailhead photograph to the drainage where the axe head was found, and trace the decisions, instruments, and storm that shaped the outcome. What did a falling barometer at 10:00 p.m. and a scorched ferrule reveal about the choice Sherry made on that ledge?

Date: October 22, 2009
Person: Sherry Richardson, 48, physical therapist
Location: Crenner Valley; Camp Three; culvert at base of valley
Event: Axe head found in mud; axe handle intentionally sawed and burned
Condition: Sherry airlifted with frostbite on four fingers of left hand

- The axe handle was 58 centimeters of seasoned hickory and had accompanied Sherry on six summits above 7000 meters.
- The ferrule socket was scorched black from the inside out, indicating something burned inside the metal collar.
- Jean Simpson’s wrist altimeter and logger recorded a continuous barometric fall beginning about 10:00 p.m., two hours before others noticed.
- Sherry was airlifted off the mountain eight days before the axe head was found and was recovering in a Billings hospital.
- The last phone call from Sherry to her daughter Paige was on October 7; the expedition left the trailhead on October 9.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>909falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-lost-boot-on-cutler-creek-how-five-climbers-survived-nightfall--73083676
A solitary women's mountaineering boot, size seven, was found upright on a gravel fire road seven miles below Greylock Tooth-dry, laces tucked, as if set down intentionally. Five climbers survived two nights in a hand-dug snow trench after a cascade of failures began with a confident navigational error; what happened between summit photos at 09:51 and the storm that closed visibility at 13:10?

In this episode, we follow the team's timeline from a 23:40 high-camp departure through a summit at 09:51 and the rapid onset of a storm at 13:10, reconstructing the sequence of mistakes, missing gear, and decisions that left a boot on Cutler Creek and five climbers fighting to survive. How did a guide who had led the West Shoulder route four times misidentify a landmark she had passed before?

Date: September 14-15, 2014
Location: Greylock Tooth, Drennan massif
Person: Connie Turner
Person: Carol Bishop
Event: Found boot on September 23, 2014 on Cutler Creek fire road

- The boot found by Jean Parker on September 23, 2014 was a women's mountaineering boot, size seven, sitting upright on the Cutler Creek fire road.
- The team left high camp at 21,200 feet at approximately 23:40 on September 14, 2014.
- All five climbers stood on the summit of Greylock Tooth at 09:51 on September 15, 2014 and were photographed together.
- Visibility closed and the storm was first noted by wind increase at 13:10 on September 15, 2014.
- The spare double-plastic boots packed for Connie were clipped to an anchor 600 vertical feet above the team's descent and were unreachable during the storm.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083676Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:05 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Lost Boot on Cutler Creek: How Five Climbers Survived Nightfall A solitary women's mountaineering boot, size seven, was found upright on a gravel fire road seven miles below Greylock Tooth-dry, laces tucked, as if set down intentionally. Five...
A solitary women's mountaineering boot, size seven, was found upright on a gravel fire road seven miles below Greylock Tooth-dry, laces tucked, as if set down intentionally. Five climbers survived two nights in a hand-dug snow trench after a cascade of failures began with a confident navigational error; what happened between summit photos at 09:51 and the storm that closed visibility at 13:10?

In this episode, we follow the team's timeline from a 23:40 high-camp departure through a summit at 09:51 and the rapid onset of a storm at 13:10, reconstructing the sequence of mistakes, missing gear, and decisions that left a boot on Cutler Creek and five climbers fighting to survive. How did a guide who had led the West Shoulder route four times misidentify a landmark she had passed before?

Date: September 14-15, 2014
Location: Greylock Tooth, Drennan massif
Person: Connie Turner
Person: Carol Bishop
Event: Found boot on September 23, 2014 on Cutler Creek fire road

- The boot found by Jean Parker on September 23, 2014 was a women's mountaineering boot, size seven, sitting upright on the Cutler Creek fire road.
- The team left high camp at 21,200 feet at approximately 23:40 on September 14, 2014.
- All five climbers stood on the summit of Greylock Tooth at 09:51 on September 15, 2014 and were photographed together.
- Visibility closed and the storm was first noted by wind increase at 13:10 on September 15, 2014.
- The spare double-plastic boots packed for Connie were clipped to an anchor 600 vertical feet above the team's descent and were unreachable during the storm.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>915falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-shadow-on-alder-tooth-why-dale-woke-up-not-alone--73083675
A single photograph from 10:29 AM on August 10, 2003 shows Dale Johnson on Alder Tooth - and a second dark-jacketed figure with no pack, helmet, or rope just at the edge of the frame. Eighteen minutes later the guide radioed from a calm summit, and within two hours Dale lay eighty feet below the rappel line with a broken leg and two cracked ribs - so who was captured in that picture and where was that image actually taken?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline, the equipment, and the actions of a four-person expedition on a clear August morning; we present the inconsistencies in time, location, and gear that linger in the record and ask whether the mountain, human error, or something else explains how Dale woke up not alone.

Person: Dale Johnson
Date: August 10, 2003
Location: Alder Tooth, Crestone subrange, southern Colorado
Age: 52
Guide: Ralph Draper, 46

- Photograph timestamped 10:29 AM showing Dale and an unidentified person in a dark softshell jacket with no pack, helmet, or rope.
- Guide radioed the summit at 10:47 AM, creating an 18-minute gap after the photo was taken.
- Dale was found 80 feet below the rappel line with one broken leg and two cracked ribs.
- No other climbing party signed the trailhead register within forty miles on the day of the ascent.
- A piece of equipment was found in the snow at 13,800 feet that did not belong to anyone in the party.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083675Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Shadow on Alder Tooth: Why Dale Woke Up Not Alone A single photograph from 10:29 AM on August 10, 2003 shows Dale Johnson on Alder Tooth - and a second dark-jacketed figure with no pack, helmet, or rope just at the edge of the frame. Eighteen...
A single photograph from 10:29 AM on August 10, 2003 shows Dale Johnson on Alder Tooth - and a second dark-jacketed figure with no pack, helmet, or rope just at the edge of the frame. Eighteen minutes later the guide radioed from a calm summit, and within two hours Dale lay eighty feet below the rappel line with a broken leg and two cracked ribs - so who was captured in that picture and where was that image actually taken?

In this episode, we walk through the timeline, the equipment, and the actions of a four-person expedition on a clear August morning; we present the inconsistencies in time, location, and gear that linger in the record and ask whether the mountain, human error, or something else explains how Dale woke up not alone.

Person: Dale Johnson
Date: August 10, 2003
Location: Alder Tooth, Crestone subrange, southern Colorado
Age: 52
Guide: Ralph Draper, 46

- Photograph timestamped 10:29 AM showing Dale and an unidentified person in a dark softshell jacket with no pack, helmet, or rope.
- Guide radioed the summit at 10:47 AM, creating an 18-minute gap after the photo was taken.
- Dale was found 80 feet below the rappel line with one broken leg and two cracked ribs.
- No other climbing party signed the trailhead register within forty miles on the day of the ascent.
- A piece of equipment was found in the snow at 13,800 feet that did not belong to anyone in the party.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>990falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-screw-that-saved-one-nearly-killed-another-at-harrow-spire--73083674
A soaked climbing harness with unmelted ice was found at 8,000 feet on July 22, 2017 - yet that same screw had spent nearly two days traveling over 3,000 vertical feet from a frozen narrow ribbon of rock above. How did one piece of protection decide which life it would save and which it would almost take?

In this episode, we tell the events on the Northeast Couloir of Harrow Spire from July 17-18, 2017, following three climbers from camp to summit and the descent that followed; what role did a single ice screw and a tightening weather window play in the outcome?

Person: Kenneth Meyer
Person: Brenda Hansen
Person: Patrick Osei
Date: July 17-18, 2017
Location: Northeast Couloir, Harrow Spire

- A harness with unmelted ice was found by Jason Gardner at 8,000 feet on July 22, 2017.
- The ice-bearing screw had traveled more than 3,000 vertical feet through a drainage channel before being found.
- Meyer had reached Harrow Spire summit four times prior and led the team on July 18, 2017.
- The climbers established camp at 9,200 feet on July 17, 2017 and began the couloir at 3:58 AM on July 18.
- The team reached the summit at 11:49 AM at approximately 11,400 feet, with descent called 12 minutes later.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083674Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:51:00 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Screw That Saved One, Nearly Killed Another at Harrow Spire A soaked climbing harness with unmelted ice was found at 8,000 feet on July 22, 2017 - yet that same screw had spent nearly two days traveling over 3,000 vertical feet from a frozen...
A soaked climbing harness with unmelted ice was found at 8,000 feet on July 22, 2017 - yet that same screw had spent nearly two days traveling over 3,000 vertical feet from a frozen narrow ribbon of rock above. How did one piece of protection decide which life it would save and which it would almost take?

In this episode, we tell the events on the Northeast Couloir of Harrow Spire from July 17-18, 2017, following three climbers from camp to summit and the descent that followed; what role did a single ice screw and a tightening weather window play in the outcome?

Person: Kenneth Meyer
Person: Brenda Hansen
Person: Patrick Osei
Date: July 17-18, 2017
Location: Northeast Couloir, Harrow Spire

- A harness with unmelted ice was found by Jason Gardner at 8,000 feet on July 22, 2017.
- The ice-bearing screw had traveled more than 3,000 vertical feet through a drainage channel before being found.
- Meyer had reached Harrow Spire summit four times prior and led the team on July 18, 2017.
- The climbers established camp at 9,200 feet on July 17, 2017 and began the couloir at 3:58 AM on July 18.
- The team reached the summit at 11:49 AM at approximately 11,400 feet, with descent called 12 minutes later.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>962falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-notebook-at-900m-what-vessel-peak-could-not-keep--73083673
She stopped mid-sentence at 3:40 a.m. on June 9, 2017, sitting at 7,400 meters, and five days later a dog found her notebook at 900 meters-three and a half kilometers from Vessel Peak’s east base. A backup altimeter had recorded a pressure drop 18-22 hours before the storm struck; how did a closed, intact notebook travel downhill against logic and leave an unfinished thought behind?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events recorded in Julie Adams’s own pages, the team's timings, and the equipment notes that refuse to add up, asking whether human choice, the mountain, or something else explains the gaps in the record.

Person: Julie Adams
Date: June 9, 2017
Location: Vessel Peak; notebook found at 900 meters in an outbound drainage
Status: Notebook recovered intact five days after disappearance
Team Leader: Rhonda Carlson

- Julie made a logged observation at 2:00 a.m. and another at 3:40 a.m., where her sentence abruptly ends; her scheduled 4:00 a.m. entry is blank.
- High Camp Camp was at 7,400 meters; her last written position corresponds to that camp.
- A backup barometric altimeter left in the tent began recording a pressure drop at 1:00 a.m., 18-22 hours ahead of forecasted deterioration.
- The summit was reached around 9:15 a.m.; descent began at 9:40 a.m.; the storm hit the couloir at 11:15 a.m. with winds above 90 km/h and near-zero visibility.
- The notebook was found three and a half kilometers from the east base of Vessel Peak, in a drainage that runs the opposite direction from the couloir where she was descending.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
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She stopped mid-sentence at 3:40 a.m. on June 9, 2017, sitting at 7,400 meters, and five days later a dog found her notebook at 900 meters-three and a half kilometers from Vessel Peak’s east base. A backup altimeter had recorded a pressure drop 18-22 hours before the storm struck; how did a closed, intact notebook travel downhill against logic and leave an unfinished thought behind?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events recorded in Julie Adams’s own pages, the team's timings, and the equipment notes that refuse to add up, asking whether human choice, the mountain, or something else explains the gaps in the record.

Person: Julie Adams
Date: June 9, 2017
Location: Vessel Peak; notebook found at 900 meters in an outbound drainage
Status: Notebook recovered intact five days after disappearance
Team Leader: Rhonda Carlson

- Julie made a logged observation at 2:00 a.m. and another at 3:40 a.m., where her sentence abruptly ends; her scheduled 4:00 a.m. entry is blank.
- High Camp Camp was at 7,400 meters; her last written position corresponds to that camp.
- A backup barometric altimeter left in the tent began recording a pressure drop at 1:00 a.m., 18-22 hours ahead of forecasted deterioration.
- The summit was reached around 9:15 a.m.; descent began at 9:40 a.m.; the storm hit the couloir at 11:15 a.m. with winds above 90 km/h and near-zero visibility.
- The notebook was found three and a half kilometers from the east base of Vessel Peak, in a drainage that runs the opposite direction from the couloir where she was descending.

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The river called to her long before the storm pinned the rescue team: an ice axe with a dry handle and a clean pick turned up on a sandbar in the Sulphur Fork three days after Sandra Brown vanished from Velasco Peak. How did the most methodical climber on a well-documented rope team end up disconnected from the mountain’s mapped drainages - and what does that lone, deliberately taped tool really prove?

In this episode, we trace the timeline from Sandra’s life in the Sulphur Fork corridor to the Velasco Peak summit at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2011, through the discovery of the axe by Howard Hensley on May 14, 2011. We follow witness testimony, team roles, and the documented route details to ask whether geography, human error, or something else bridges the two impossible facts.

Person: Sandra Brown
Date: May 10-14, 2011
Location: Velasco Peak summit; Sulphur Fork sandbar
Team members: Peggy O'Connor, Al Kovacs, Carl Vollmer, Nate Vollmer, Doug Ferris
Finder: Howard Hensley

- The axe was found on a sandbar in the Sulphur Fork at 7:30 AM on May 14, 2011, with orange tape wrapped twice around the spike.
- The handle of the axe was dry and the pick was clean, despite three days of high, silty river flow.
- Sandra Brown reached the Velasco Peak summit at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2011, and pointed south, saying she saw the upper Sulphur Fork.
- Five of the six climbers who went up had already descended; Sandra was the one who had not returned.
- Peggy O'Connor led the six-person team and had produced a 47-page planning document accounting for three storm scenarios.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083672Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Clean Ice Axe: How Sandra Vanished from Velasco Peak The river called to her long before the storm pinned the rescue team: an ice axe with a dry handle and a clean pick turned up on a sandbar in the Sulphur Fork three days after Sandra Brown...
The river called to her long before the storm pinned the rescue team: an ice axe with a dry handle and a clean pick turned up on a sandbar in the Sulphur Fork three days after Sandra Brown vanished from Velasco Peak. How did the most methodical climber on a well-documented rope team end up disconnected from the mountain’s mapped drainages - and what does that lone, deliberately taped tool really prove?

In this episode, we trace the timeline from Sandra’s life in the Sulphur Fork corridor to the Velasco Peak summit at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2011, through the discovery of the axe by Howard Hensley on May 14, 2011. We follow witness testimony, team roles, and the documented route details to ask whether geography, human error, or something else bridges the two impossible facts.

Person: Sandra Brown
Date: May 10-14, 2011
Location: Velasco Peak summit; Sulphur Fork sandbar
Team members: Peggy O'Connor, Al Kovacs, Carl Vollmer, Nate Vollmer, Doug Ferris
Finder: Howard Hensley

- The axe was found on a sandbar in the Sulphur Fork at 7:30 AM on May 14, 2011, with orange tape wrapped twice around the spike.
- The handle of the axe was dry and the pick was clean, despite three days of high, silty river flow.
- Sandra Brown reached the Velasco Peak summit at 12:47 PM on May 10, 2011, and pointed south, saying she saw the upper Sulphur Fork.
- Five of the six climbers who went up had already descended; Sandra was the one who had not returned.
- Peggy O'Connor led the six-person team and had produced a 47-page planning document accounting for three storm scenarios.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>933falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/he-heard-her-voice-the-radio-that-couldn-t-be-heard--73083669
Cold and precise: a nine-pound Motorola transceiver had its transmit circuit fried by a generator surge, yet a trained radio operator spent six hours sending weather updates that a stranded climber could hear but not reply to-why did a radio that seemed to work become a one-way lifeline?

In this episode, we tell what happened on Mount Ashveil between April 17 and April 19, 2011, following a university climbing team, the base-camp radio operator, and the sequence of decisions that left a 22-year-old geology student alone for fifty hours-could a single damaged transmit circuit explain everything that went wrong?

Person: Alan Fleming
Date: April 17-19, 2011
Location: Mount Ashveil, headwall above 13,800 feet; Sorrow Basin base camp
Person: Beth Corso
Equipment: Motorola base-station transceiver

- Alan Fleming was 22 years old and lay in the boulder field for fifty hours before being found.
- The radio operator, Beth Corso, logged forty-one pages of transmission logs over six hours of weather broadcasts.
- The transceiver weighed roughly nine pounds and had its transmit circuit destroyed by a power surge before 2 a.m, on April 17.
- Alan suffered a fractured left fibula, three frostbitten toes on his right foot, and severe dehydration when found.
- The team began the summit push at 4:45 a.m, on April 17, seventeen minutes ahead of schedule.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083669Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTHe Heard Her Voice-The Radio That Couldn't Be Heard Cold and precise: a nine-pound Motorola transceiver had its transmit circuit fried by a generator surge, yet a trained radio operator spent six hours sending weather updates that a stranded...
Cold and precise: a nine-pound Motorola transceiver had its transmit circuit fried by a generator surge, yet a trained radio operator spent six hours sending weather updates that a stranded climber could hear but not reply to-why did a radio that seemed to work become a one-way lifeline?

In this episode, we tell what happened on Mount Ashveil between April 17 and April 19, 2011, following a university climbing team, the base-camp radio operator, and the sequence of decisions that left a 22-year-old geology student alone for fifty hours-could a single damaged transmit circuit explain everything that went wrong?

Person: Alan Fleming
Date: April 17-19, 2011
Location: Mount Ashveil, headwall above 13,800 feet; Sorrow Basin base camp
Person: Beth Corso
Equipment: Motorola base-station transceiver

- Alan Fleming was 22 years old and lay in the boulder field for fifty hours before being found.
- The radio operator, Beth Corso, logged forty-one pages of transmission logs over six hours of weather broadcasts.
- The transceiver weighed roughly nine pounds and had its transmit circuit destroyed by a power surge before 2 a.m, on April 17.
- Alan suffered a fractured left fibula, three frostbitten toes on his right foot, and severe dehydration when found.
- The team began the summit push at 4:45 a.m, on April 17, seventeen minutes ahead of schedule.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>952falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-upright-boot-how-small-failures-almost-killed-marcia-henderson--73083668
A single climbing boot photographed standing upright in the snow at 7:22 AM led rescuers to a nearly fatal chain of tiny oversights at 13,400 feet that left a 39-year-old climber fighting sixty-mile-per-hour wind with dwindling supplies. How did one uncarried duffel, a missed message, and three days of food become a survival story instead of a disaster?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Boise to Camp Three in the northern Rockies, tracing Marcia Henderson’s preparation, the expedition decisions, and the specific logistical gaps that compounded into a crisis; what choices and omissions turned routine steps into a near-fatal emergency?

Person: Marcia Henderson
Location: Mount Keldrum North, northern Rockies
Date: March 11-12 (expedition movement and discovery)
Age: 39
Role: Supply chain auditor and expedition member

- At 7:22 AM a septic contractor photographed one climbing boot standing upright in the snow outside a remote outfitter facility.
- Marcia renewed a wilderness first aid certification every two years and kept a laminated checklist with three columns: gear, food, medical.
- The north aspect route had been completed only four times before this expedition.
- Camp Three was at 13,400 feet and the team believed they had eight days of food until they discovered they had three.
- Wind reached sixty miles per hour during the event and the team faced thirty-mile-per-hour winds the night they debated proceeding.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083668Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:49 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Upright Boot: How Small Failures Almost Killed Marcia Henderson A single climbing boot photographed standing upright in the snow at 7:22 AM led rescuers to a nearly fatal chain of tiny oversights at 13,400 feet that left a 39-year-old climber...
A single climbing boot photographed standing upright in the snow at 7:22 AM led rescuers to a nearly fatal chain of tiny oversights at 13,400 feet that left a 39-year-old climber fighting sixty-mile-per-hour wind with dwindling supplies. How did one uncarried duffel, a missed message, and three days of food become a survival story instead of a disaster?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Boise to Camp Three in the northern Rockies, tracing Marcia Henderson’s preparation, the expedition decisions, and the specific logistical gaps that compounded into a crisis; what choices and omissions turned routine steps into a near-fatal emergency?

Person: Marcia Henderson
Location: Mount Keldrum North, northern Rockies
Date: March 11-12 (expedition movement and discovery)
Age: 39
Role: Supply chain auditor and expedition member

- At 7:22 AM a septic contractor photographed one climbing boot standing upright in the snow outside a remote outfitter facility.
- Marcia renewed a wilderness first aid certification every two years and kept a laminated checklist with three columns: gear, food, medical.
- The north aspect route had been completed only four times before this expedition.
- Camp Three was at 13,400 feet and the team believed they had eight days of food until they discovered they had three.
- Wind reached sixty miles per hour during the event and the team faced thirty-mile-per-hour winds the night they debated proceeding.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>734falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/glove-clean-two-miles-from-route--73083667
A pristine Black Diamond glove, insulated to -40°F and free of scratches, sat alone in a granite hollow two miles east of any marked route and nine miles from the nearest road - five days after a climber died below. How did one intact glove travel that far in a whiteout, and what three baffling decisions surround the final hours on Mount Callow?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and people tied to the February events on Mount Callow, laying out the movements, equipment notes, and radio calls that form the mystery. Can the sequence of radio reports, a returned climber’s supposedly failed crampon, and a swapped equipment detail explain what happened?

Person: Frank Stewart
Date: February 18-23 (summit attempt Feb 18; glove found Feb 23)
Location: eastern face of Mount Callow, cinder shelf at 9,300 ft, two miles east of marked routes
Status: Frank Stewart deceased (found dead five days before Feb 23)
Person: Tom Griggs

- Frank radioed from the summit shoulder at 9:53 AM on February 18 reporting full whiteout and acceptable pulse oximetry.
- Tom called in at 8:47 AM from 13,000 ft, stating he was turning back due to a failed left crampon.
- Tom arrived back at Camp One at 11:22 AM on February 18 and was met by Bob Crewe.
- Bob inspected Tom’s crampon and found the front point intact with a loose bail wire - fixable in under three minutes.
- The Black Diamond glove was found clean, undamaged, and not frozen in a granite depression at 9,300 ft on the morning of February 23.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083667Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:46 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTglove, clean, two miles from route A pristine Black Diamond glove, insulated to -40°F and free of scratches, sat alone in a granite hollow two miles east of any marked route and nine miles from the nearest road - five days after a climber died...
A pristine Black Diamond glove, insulated to -40°F and free of scratches, sat alone in a granite hollow two miles east of any marked route and nine miles from the nearest road - five days after a climber died below. How did one intact glove travel that far in a whiteout, and what three baffling decisions surround the final hours on Mount Callow?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and people tied to the February events on Mount Callow, laying out the movements, equipment notes, and radio calls that form the mystery. Can the sequence of radio reports, a returned climber’s supposedly failed crampon, and a swapped equipment detail explain what happened?

Person: Frank Stewart
Date: February 18-23 (summit attempt Feb 18; glove found Feb 23)
Location: eastern face of Mount Callow, cinder shelf at 9,300 ft, two miles east of marked routes
Status: Frank Stewart deceased (found dead five days before Feb 23)
Person: Tom Griggs

- Frank radioed from the summit shoulder at 9:53 AM on February 18 reporting full whiteout and acceptable pulse oximetry.
- Tom called in at 8:47 AM from 13,000 ft, stating he was turning back due to a failed left crampon.
- Tom arrived back at Camp One at 11:22 AM on February 18 and was met by Bob Crewe.
- Bob inspected Tom’s crampon and found the front point intact with a loose bail wire - fixable in under three minutes.
- The Black Diamond glove was found clean, undamaged, and not frozen in a granite depression at 9,300 ft on the morning of February 23.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>934falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/wax-sealed-oxygen-and-a-night-the-mountain-refused-to-let-go--73083666
Cold, pre-dawn silence hid six oxygen cylinders with intact red wax seals that hadn't been touched since 1941, and those same cylinders rolled two miles down a hidden drainage chute to a parking lot before the rescue helicopter even launched - what happened on Coldfire Peak that night that links a sixty-two-year-old cache to a modern climb?

In this episode, we follow a guided ascent up Coldfire Peak where a recalibrated barometer, a map that missed a narrow drainage chute, and an alcove stacked with both modern and antique oxygen cylinders converge into two disasters unfolding at once; how did a supposed weather window, six climbers, and sealed 1941 cylinders end up colliding in the predawn dark?

Person: Kelly Marshall
Date: January 14, 2003
Location: Granite Ridge Outfitters parking lot
Event: Summit attempt and storm on Coldfire Peak
Person: Jean Snyder

- At 5:40 AM on January 14, 2003, 16-year-old Kelly Marshall found three upright oxygen cylinders in the Granite Ridge Outfitters parking lot.
- The three cylinders had intact red wax seals and were full, and had been last touched in 1941, sixty-two years earlier.
- The team left the trailhead at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2003, beginning the ascent that would reach the col alcove at 13,100 feet.
- Simpson's hand-recalibrated barometer read 29.4 inches of mercury while the National Weather Service data showed 28.1 inches, a difference indicating a storm arriving about 14 hours earlier.
- The narrow drainage chute from the col ran two miles down to the parking lot and was not visible on standard 1:24,000 scale maps.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083666Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:43 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTWax-Sealed Oxygen and a Night the Mountain Refused to Let Go Cold, pre-dawn silence hid six oxygen cylinders with intact red wax seals that hadn't been touched since 1941, and those same cylinders rolled two miles down a hidden drainage chute to a...
Cold, pre-dawn silence hid six oxygen cylinders with intact red wax seals that hadn't been touched since 1941, and those same cylinders rolled two miles down a hidden drainage chute to a parking lot before the rescue helicopter even launched - what happened on Coldfire Peak that night that links a sixty-two-year-old cache to a modern climb?

In this episode, we follow a guided ascent up Coldfire Peak where a recalibrated barometer, a map that missed a narrow drainage chute, and an alcove stacked with both modern and antique oxygen cylinders converge into two disasters unfolding at once; how did a supposed weather window, six climbers, and sealed 1941 cylinders end up colliding in the predawn dark?

Person: Kelly Marshall
Date: January 14, 2003
Location: Granite Ridge Outfitters parking lot
Event: Summit attempt and storm on Coldfire Peak
Person: Jean Snyder

- At 5:40 AM on January 14, 2003, 16-year-old Kelly Marshall found three upright oxygen cylinders in the Granite Ridge Outfitters parking lot.
- The three cylinders had intact red wax seals and were full, and had been last touched in 1941, sixty-two years earlier.
- The team left the trailhead at 4:00 AM on January 9, 2003, beginning the ascent that would reach the col alcove at 13,100 feet.
- Simpson's hand-recalibrated barometer read 29.4 inches of mercury while the National Weather Service data showed 28.1 inches, a difference indicating a storm arriving about 14 hours earlier.
- The narrow drainage chute from the col ran two miles down to the parking lot and was not visible on standard 1:24,000 scale maps.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>878falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/snow-a-hand-and-a-map-what-mount-orren-took-and-gave-back--73083665
Cold, disorienting facts: a topographic map with shaky, numb handwriting and the name "Orren" scrawled across it was found four miles above a closed road at 4:00 a.m. after an unexpected storm; one of four climbers had come at least this far down. What did that map cost its owner, and how did the same map later save a life?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the team's permit and preparations through the surprise storm, the summit timestamps, and the discovery of the map - asking whether a single annotated sheet can explain the choices that followed and the gap in the timeline.

Person: Megan Erickson
Age: 48
Location: Garnet Pass Road / Mount Orren, Pintler Range, southwestern Montana
Date: December 19, 2011 (map found); storm arrived December 17, 2011
Event: Unexpected storm and whiteout during descent after summit

- Map discovered by Leon Zeller at 4:00 a.m, on December 19, 2011, four miles above Crestwood junction.
- Mount Orren elevation recorded as 11,000 feet above the Pintler Range.
- Team established base camp December 14 and high camp at 9,400 feet on December 15.
- Summit photograph timestamped at 11:59 a.m. on December 16; radio report of descent at 12:47 p.m., leaving a 48-minute gap.
- Night of December 17 reached -22°F at high camp and the storm arrived at approximately 3:00 a.m., eighteen hours earlier than forecasts predicted.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083665Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:41 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTSnow, a Hand, and a Map: What Mount Orren Took and Gave Back Cold, disorienting facts: a topographic map with shaky, numb handwriting and the name "Orren" scrawled across it was found four miles above a closed road at 4:00 a.m. after an unexpected...
Cold, disorienting facts: a topographic map with shaky, numb handwriting and the name "Orren" scrawled across it was found four miles above a closed road at 4:00 a.m. after an unexpected storm; one of four climbers had come at least this far down. What did that map cost its owner, and how did the same map later save a life?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the team's permit and preparations through the surprise storm, the summit timestamps, and the discovery of the map - asking whether a single annotated sheet can explain the choices that followed and the gap in the timeline.

Person: Megan Erickson
Age: 48
Location: Garnet Pass Road / Mount Orren, Pintler Range, southwestern Montana
Date: December 19, 2011 (map found); storm arrived December 17, 2011
Event: Unexpected storm and whiteout during descent after summit

- Map discovered by Leon Zeller at 4:00 a.m, on December 19, 2011, four miles above Crestwood junction.
- Mount Orren elevation recorded as 11,000 feet above the Pintler Range.
- Team established base camp December 14 and high camp at 9,400 feet on December 15.
- Summit photograph timestamped at 11:59 a.m. on December 16; radio report of descent at 12:47 p.m., leaving a 48-minute gap.
- Night of December 17 reached -22°F at high camp and the storm arrived at approximately 3:00 a.m., eighteen hours earlier than forecasts predicted.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>887falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-harness-on-keller-ridge-why-sandra-walked-away-from-four-bodies--73083664
A discarded harness with Sandra Young's name, thirty feet of cleanly cut 11-mm dynamic rope, and a coiled, deliberately knotted loose end were found on an eastern service road twelve miles from the nearest climbing access-yet Sandra was alive. How did a veteran guide who had led five climbers up a technical face at 4:52 AM on November 10th end up walking away from four bodies and leaving gear in gravel on the opposite flank?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the team's departure and the radio silence that followed, through the fragmented transmission placing Sandra on the northwest shoulder, to the discovery of the harness by a lineman on November 14th; what happened between the radio cutoff at roughly 6:44 AM and the harness find at 7,200 feet is the unresolved question we trace.

Person: Sandra Young
Date: November 10, 2019
Location: Northwest shoulder of Keller Ridge
Event: Five climbers ascended, one returned
Discovery Date: November 14, 2019

- Harness found on eastern service road at 7,200 feet with name "Sandra Young" written on inner webbing.
- Attached to harness: 30 feet of 11-mm dynamic rope, cut cleanly and coiled with a deliberately packed knot.
- Team departed at 4:52 AM; radio check at 6:44 AM confirmed serac field passed and all five climbers present.
- Four hours and 33 minutes of radio silence followed the 6:44 AM transmission before a fragmented call at 11:17 AM placing Sandra at approximately 13,800 feet on the northwest shoulder.
- November Face of Keller Ridge had only four successful ascents since 1988 and the team reached a high shelter at 13,200 feet on November 8th.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083664Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:38 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Harness on Keller Ridge: Why Sandra Walked Away from Four Bodies A discarded harness with Sandra Young's name, thirty feet of cleanly cut 11-mm dynamic rope, and a coiled, deliberately knotted loose end were found on an eastern service road...
A discarded harness with Sandra Young's name, thirty feet of cleanly cut 11-mm dynamic rope, and a coiled, deliberately knotted loose end were found on an eastern service road twelve miles from the nearest climbing access-yet Sandra was alive. How did a veteran guide who had led five climbers up a technical face at 4:52 AM on November 10th end up walking away from four bodies and leaving gear in gravel on the opposite flank?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the team's departure and the radio silence that followed, through the fragmented transmission placing Sandra on the northwest shoulder, to the discovery of the harness by a lineman on November 14th; what happened between the radio cutoff at roughly 6:44 AM and the harness find at 7,200 feet is the unresolved question we trace.

Person: Sandra Young
Date: November 10, 2019
Location: Northwest shoulder of Keller Ridge
Event: Five climbers ascended, one returned
Discovery Date: November 14, 2019

- Harness found on eastern service road at 7,200 feet with name "Sandra Young" written on inner webbing.
- Attached to harness: 30 feet of 11-mm dynamic rope, cut cleanly and coiled with a deliberately packed knot.
- Team departed at 4:52 AM; radio check at 6:44 AM confirmed serac field passed and all five climbers present.
- Four hours and 33 minutes of radio silence followed the 6:44 AM transmission before a fragmented call at 11:17 AM placing Sandra at approximately 13,800 feet on the northwest shoulder.
- November Face of Keller Ridge had only four successful ascents since 1988 and the team reached a high shelter at 13,200 feet on November 8th.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>905falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-walked-south-the-engineer-who-vanished-into-the-wrong-valley--73083663
A methodical civil engineer found sitting upright in the snow clutching a thirty-year-old baseplate compass whose needle pointed due south - toward the wrong valley - was already dead when a runner spotted her at 6:08 AM on October 14, 2019. How did a cautious, five-summit climber with functional instruments and a near-perfect attendance record walk nearly forty degrees off course in a whiteout and never return?

In this episode, we follow the documented trail of GPS data, a field log, a medical examiner's report, and eyewitness testimony to reconstruct Judith Osborne’s final hours and ask what the human body at altitude might have done to someone who planned for every contingency but one. What do these pieces, taken together, reveal about how she ended up sitting at the tree line facing the wrong valley?

Person: Judith Osborne
Date: October 13-14, 2019
Location: Aldren Massif; Harker Valley overlook
Occupation: Civil engineer with 23 years' experience
Partner on summit: Lori Shand

- Judith was 52 years old with five summits in six years and a reputation for methodical, conservative climbing.
- At 12:50 PM on October 13, 2019, she slipped on windboard snow on the final pitch but self-arrested and continued.
- At 1:17 PM Judith and Lori stood on the summit; at 1:22 PM Judith radioed Susan Cook and both instruments on her body were fully functional.
- During descent Judith’s GPS track drifted nearly 40 degrees off course in a whiteout, a gradual drift she almost certainly never noticed.
- At 6:08 AM on October 14, Cheryl Whitaker found Judith sitting upright at the tree line holding a thirty-year-old baseplate compass pointing due south; she was already dead.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083663Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:36 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Walked South: The Engineer Who Vanished Into the Wrong Valley A methodical civil engineer found sitting upright in the snow clutching a thirty-year-old baseplate compass whose needle pointed due south - toward the wrong valley - was already...
A methodical civil engineer found sitting upright in the snow clutching a thirty-year-old baseplate compass whose needle pointed due south - toward the wrong valley - was already dead when a runner spotted her at 6:08 AM on October 14, 2019. How did a cautious, five-summit climber with functional instruments and a near-perfect attendance record walk nearly forty degrees off course in a whiteout and never return?

In this episode, we follow the documented trail of GPS data, a field log, a medical examiner's report, and eyewitness testimony to reconstruct Judith Osborne’s final hours and ask what the human body at altitude might have done to someone who planned for every contingency but one. What do these pieces, taken together, reveal about how she ended up sitting at the tree line facing the wrong valley?

Person: Judith Osborne
Date: October 13-14, 2019
Location: Aldren Massif; Harker Valley overlook
Occupation: Civil engineer with 23 years' experience
Partner on summit: Lori Shand

- Judith was 52 years old with five summits in six years and a reputation for methodical, conservative climbing.
- At 12:50 PM on October 13, 2019, she slipped on windboard snow on the final pitch but self-arrested and continued.
- At 1:17 PM Judith and Lori stood on the summit; at 1:22 PM Judith radioed Susan Cook and both instruments on her body were fully functional.
- During descent Judith’s GPS track drifted nearly 40 degrees off course in a whiteout, a gradual drift she almost certainly never noticed.
- At 6:08 AM on October 14, Cheryl Whitaker found Judith sitting upright at the tree line holding a thirty-year-old baseplate compass pointing due south; she was already dead.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>838falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-rope-left-on-a-roof-how-a-single-filament-held-her-life--73083662
Fear and fascination meet on a rooftop and a mountain ridge: a rope left coiled on a mobile-home roof for weeks, a yellow carabiner with a wasp nest, and a fall that should have ended differently-so why did three thin filaments of nylon alone keep her alive? What sequence of small, ordinary decisions turned a routine anchor into the only thing standing between life and worse?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a September fall on Sable Horn to the quiet weeks before and after at Sullen Creek Mobile Home Park, laying out the actions, equipment checks, and moments of trust that shaped the outcome. By the end you will know how a wasp nest inside a carabiner became the central clue and why a rope left untested mattered more than anyone expected.

Date: September 14, 2019
Person: Crystal Hayes
Location: Sullen Creek Mobile Home Park
Event: Fall on Sable Horn
Occupation: Structural inspector

- Crystal Hayes was forty-four years old and had worked twelve years as a structural inspector.
- The rope on unit 47’s roof remained coiled there from August through mid-September and had eleven months left in its recommended service life.
- Crystal fell eight feet down a rock face during a worsening storm and sustained three cracked ribs.
- The rope held her by three surviving filaments of nylon after the fall.
- On September 1, Jeff Soto’s crampon struck a coil of Crystal’s rope during the approach, compressing a section folded inside the coil.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083662Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:33 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Rope Left on a Roof: How a Single Filament Held Her Life Fear and fascination meet on a rooftop and a mountain ridge: a rope left coiled on a mobile-home roof for weeks, a yellow carabiner with a wasp nest, and a fall that should have ended...
Fear and fascination meet on a rooftop and a mountain ridge: a rope left coiled on a mobile-home roof for weeks, a yellow carabiner with a wasp nest, and a fall that should have ended differently-so why did three thin filaments of nylon alone keep her alive? What sequence of small, ordinary decisions turned a routine anchor into the only thing standing between life and worse?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a September fall on Sable Horn to the quiet weeks before and after at Sullen Creek Mobile Home Park, laying out the actions, equipment checks, and moments of trust that shaped the outcome. By the end you will know how a wasp nest inside a carabiner became the central clue and why a rope left untested mattered more than anyone expected.

Date: September 14, 2019
Person: Crystal Hayes
Location: Sullen Creek Mobile Home Park
Event: Fall on Sable Horn
Occupation: Structural inspector

- Crystal Hayes was forty-four years old and had worked twelve years as a structural inspector.
- The rope on unit 47’s roof remained coiled there from August through mid-September and had eleven months left in its recommended service life.
- Crystal fell eight feet down a rock face during a worsening storm and sustained three cracked ribs.
- The rope held her by three surviving filaments of nylon after the fall.
- On September 1, Jeff Soto’s crampon struck a coil of Crystal’s rope during the approach, compressing a section folded inside the coil.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>953falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-footprints-stopped-he-chose-the-ledge-not-the-fall--73083661
A volunteer found two boot-print lines that ended at a frozen eastern ledge and nothing returned - no second set, no pack, just a silver crampon and a folded, half-eaten chocolate energy bar. The missing climber, James Harris, left his rope in his tent and was later found with a fractured ankle and frostbite after summiting West Tooth; did he choose the ledge or was there no time to choose?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of movements from the trailhead register to the scene at Weller Basin, follow the gear evidence left behind, and track the timeline from Harris signing the register to the volunteer’s discovery - asking whether intention or accident best explains the stopped footprints.

Person: James Harris
Date: August 14, 2019 (discovery); August 10, 2019 (summit and injury)
Location: Eastern ledge of Weller Basin, West Tooth area
Status: Missing man found after summit with fractured right ankle and frostbite
Gear: Forty-meter dynamic rope left in tent; rented black crampons with anti-balling plates; found silver crampon without anti-balling plate

- Harris signed the trailhead register at 6:41 AM five days before the discovery.
- The found crampon was silver, at least five years old, and lacked an anti-balling plate.
- Harris had rented black crampons fitted with anti-balling plates from Roger Fitch on August 9.
- He summited West Tooth (9,400 ft) on August 10 and by descent fractured his right ankle at about 8,600 ft.
- A volunteer on a routine cleanup walk discovered the crampon and the half-eaten energy bar on the morning of August 14.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083661Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:30 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Footprints Stopped-He Chose the Ledge, Not the Fall A volunteer found two boot-print lines that ended at a frozen eastern ledge and nothing returned - no second set, no pack, just a silver crampon and a folded, half-eaten chocolate energy bar....
A volunteer found two boot-print lines that ended at a frozen eastern ledge and nothing returned - no second set, no pack, just a silver crampon and a folded, half-eaten chocolate energy bar. The missing climber, James Harris, left his rope in his tent and was later found with a fractured ankle and frostbite after summiting West Tooth; did he choose the ledge or was there no time to choose?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of movements from the trailhead register to the scene at Weller Basin, follow the gear evidence left behind, and track the timeline from Harris signing the register to the volunteer’s discovery - asking whether intention or accident best explains the stopped footprints.

Person: James Harris
Date: August 14, 2019 (discovery); August 10, 2019 (summit and injury)
Location: Eastern ledge of Weller Basin, West Tooth area
Status: Missing man found after summit with fractured right ankle and frostbite
Gear: Forty-meter dynamic rope left in tent; rented black crampons with anti-balling plates; found silver crampon without anti-balling plate

- Harris signed the trailhead register at 6:41 AM five days before the discovery.
- The found crampon was silver, at least five years old, and lacked an anti-balling plate.
- Harris had rented black crampons fitted with anti-balling plates from Roger Fitch on August 9.
- He summited West Tooth (9,400 ft) on August 10 and by descent fractured his right ankle at about 8,600 ft.
- A volunteer on a routine cleanup walk discovered the crampon and the half-eaten energy bar on the morning of August 14.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>805falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-frozen-spoon-why-a-tent-was-found-where-no-one-should-be--73083660
The sight of a spoon frozen at a tilt inside solidified soup at 24,200 feet tells of an abrupt stop high on Varos Sar - a tent rated for 22,600 feet found 1,600+ feet higher, and ten days of silence from the team below. What decisions at altitude, with no radios and no rescue, led to three lives being cost?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events as recorded in radio logs, photographs, and expedition notes, tracing how a tent, a telephoto photograph, and a single neighborly cat routine changed the response timeline - and ask what could force climbers to hold a high camp where no one planned to be.

Person: Nancy Barrett
Person: Diane Coffey
Person: Person: Kevin Marsh
Date: July 8-18, 2019
Location: Varos Sar, Karakoram

- A spoon was found tilted inside frozen soup in a pot at approximately 24,200 feet.
- The tent discovered was a four-season shelter weighing 3.5 kilograms, rated for high camp at 22,600 feet.
- The Barrett team’s last radio transmission was logged on July 8 from the shoulder at 22,600 feet.
- Crystal Walker took 17 photographs on July 14; one showed an orange tent at roughly 24,200 feet.
- Rescue leader Eugene Holt arrived at the district airfield and organized a foot rescue after recognizing no helicopter could operate above 23,600 feet.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083660Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:28 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Frozen Spoon: Why a Tent Was Found Where No One Should Be The sight of a spoon frozen at a tilt inside solidified soup at 24,200 feet tells of an abrupt stop high on Varos Sar - a tent rated for 22,600 feet found 1,600+ feet higher, and ten...
The sight of a spoon frozen at a tilt inside solidified soup at 24,200 feet tells of an abrupt stop high on Varos Sar - a tent rated for 22,600 feet found 1,600+ feet higher, and ten days of silence from the team below. What decisions at altitude, with no radios and no rescue, led to three lives being cost?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events as recorded in radio logs, photographs, and expedition notes, tracing how a tent, a telephoto photograph, and a single neighborly cat routine changed the response timeline - and ask what could force climbers to hold a high camp where no one planned to be.

Person: Nancy Barrett
Person: Diane Coffey
Person: Person: Kevin Marsh
Date: July 8-18, 2019
Location: Varos Sar, Karakoram

- A spoon was found tilted inside frozen soup in a pot at approximately 24,200 feet.
- The tent discovered was a four-season shelter weighing 3.5 kilograms, rated for high camp at 22,600 feet.
- The Barrett team’s last radio transmission was logged on July 8 from the shoulder at 22,600 feet.
- Crystal Walker took 17 photographs on July 14; one showed an orange tent at roughly 24,200 feet.
- Rescue leader Eugene Holt arrived at the district airfield and organized a foot rescue after recognizing no helicopter could operate above 23,600 feet.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>824falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-mask-on-the-moraine-why-shannon-stayed-at-14-000-feet--73083659
A single oxygen mask with a serial number washed up in a 6,200-foot reservoir miles from the nearest road - an item meant for use above 15,000 feet that no climber had reported losing. How did a mask tied to a summit at 17,400 feet end up tangled in the reeds, and what did that serial number force searchers to accept about what did not happen on Varrish North?

In this episode, we tell the confirmed timeline and the documented outcomes surrounding Shannon Boyd’s June 2011 climb and the four-person team’s summit and descent. Listen to how weather forecasts, permits, equipment logs, and one unexpected artifact reshape the central question: what choices were made alone at 14,000 feet?

Person: Shannon Boyd
Date: June 13-14, 2011
Location: Varrish North, summit 17,400 feet; Colder Flats Reservoir 6,200 feet
Team: Heather Thorpe, Carla Minn, Steven Hale, Shannon Boyd
Weather: sudden secondary system with 50 mph winds

- The mask was found by Thomas Bailey on June 14, 2011 in Colder Flats Reservoir at 6,200 feet.
- Varrish North summit elevation recorded at 17,400 feet; the Narrows at 16,800 feet.
- The summit was reached by all four climbers at 9:41 AM on June 13, 2011 with a 25-minute summit time.
- The secondary weather system reduced visibility to under 20 meters and produced sustained winds above 50 mph, dropping temperature 14°C in 40 minutes.
- Two supplemental oxygen systems were logged on the May 27, 2011 permit as emergency descent only.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083659Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:25 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Mask on the Moraine: Why Shannon Stayed at 14,000 Feet A single oxygen mask with a serial number washed up in a 6,200-foot reservoir miles from the nearest road - an item meant for use above 15,000 feet that no climber had reported losing. How...
A single oxygen mask with a serial number washed up in a 6,200-foot reservoir miles from the nearest road - an item meant for use above 15,000 feet that no climber had reported losing. How did a mask tied to a summit at 17,400 feet end up tangled in the reeds, and what did that serial number force searchers to accept about what did not happen on Varrish North?

In this episode, we tell the confirmed timeline and the documented outcomes surrounding Shannon Boyd’s June 2011 climb and the four-person team’s summit and descent. Listen to how weather forecasts, permits, equipment logs, and one unexpected artifact reshape the central question: what choices were made alone at 14,000 feet?

Person: Shannon Boyd
Date: June 13-14, 2011
Location: Varrish North, summit 17,400 feet; Colder Flats Reservoir 6,200 feet
Team: Heather Thorpe, Carla Minn, Steven Hale, Shannon Boyd
Weather: sudden secondary system with 50 mph winds

- The mask was found by Thomas Bailey on June 14, 2011 in Colder Flats Reservoir at 6,200 feet.
- Varrish North summit elevation recorded at 17,400 feet; the Narrows at 16,800 feet.
- The summit was reached by all four climbers at 9:41 AM on June 13, 2011 with a 25-minute summit time.
- The secondary weather system reduced visibility to under 20 meters and produced sustained winds above 50 mph, dropping temperature 14°C in 40 minutes.
- Two supplemental oxygen systems were logged on the May 27, 2011 permit as emergency descent only.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>929falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-oxygen-cylinder-nobody-was-supposed-to-find-on-dorell-peak--73083658
A silver two-liter oxygen cylinder was found at 6,200 feet-nine thousand feet below where supplemental oxygen is used-forty percent full and in perfect working condition; how did it get there, and what did it cost before it was set down? This discovery sits at the center of a chain of decisions, a misread gauge, an eleven-minute binocular pause, and a storm that arrived six hours early-could those linked choices explain an eighteen-hour survival fight on Dorell Peak?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events surrounding the May 14, 2011 discovery and the prior ascent and descent by five climbers plus base support, laying out the factual timeline, the equipment readings, and the roles of each person involved to ask whether the near-disaster was a series of reasonable mistakes or something avoidable.

Person: Pamela Griffin
Person: Scott Green
Person: Person: Mike Vance
Date: May 14, 2011
Location: Dorell Peak, lower Dorell Peak

- The cylinder was found at 6,200 feet elevation between two spruce trunks, forty percent full and in perfect working condition.
- Supplemental oxygen is stated to have no practical use below 14,000 feet; the cylinder was 9,000 feet below where it should have been.
- Pamela Griffin checked a pressure gauge at Camp Two (13,400 feet) the evening of May 8 and recorded the needle between quarter and half, noting a probable slow valve leak and planning overnight monitoring.
- The team’s planned Camp Two elevation was 13,400 feet with a summit push scheduled after a four-day up-and-down itinerary on the standard route via the Cornice Route.
- A reconnaissance flight on May 16 photographed the north couloir, showing it buried under 14 inches of fresh snow, erasing the exact line the team had descended in the dark.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083658Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:23 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Oxygen Cylinder Nobody Was Supposed to Find on Dorell Peak A silver two-liter oxygen cylinder was found at 6,200 feet-nine thousand feet below where supplemental oxygen is used-forty percent full and in perfect working condition; how did it get...
A silver two-liter oxygen cylinder was found at 6,200 feet-nine thousand feet below where supplemental oxygen is used-forty percent full and in perfect working condition; how did it get there, and what did it cost before it was set down? This discovery sits at the center of a chain of decisions, a misread gauge, an eleven-minute binocular pause, and a storm that arrived six hours early-could those linked choices explain an eighteen-hour survival fight on Dorell Peak?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events surrounding the May 14, 2011 discovery and the prior ascent and descent by five climbers plus base support, laying out the factual timeline, the equipment readings, and the roles of each person involved to ask whether the near-disaster was a series of reasonable mistakes or something avoidable.

Person: Pamela Griffin
Person: Scott Green
Person: Person: Mike Vance
Date: May 14, 2011
Location: Dorell Peak, lower Dorell Peak

- The cylinder was found at 6,200 feet elevation between two spruce trunks, forty percent full and in perfect working condition.
- Supplemental oxygen is stated to have no practical use below 14,000 feet; the cylinder was 9,000 feet below where it should have been.
- Pamela Griffin checked a pressure gauge at Camp Two (13,400 feet) the evening of May 8 and recorded the needle between quarter and half, noting a probable slow valve leak and planning overnight monitoring.
- The team’s planned Camp Two elevation was 13,400 feet with a summit push scheduled after a four-day up-and-down itinerary on the standard route via the Cornice Route.
- A reconnaissance flight on May 16 photographed the north couloir, showing it buried under 14 inches of fresh snow, erasing the exact line the team had descended in the dark.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>828falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-last-call-bottle-note-broken-rules-one-dead-line--73083657
A bright orange-wide mouth mountaineering water bottle with a parachute cord was found in a snowmelt runnel eleven miles from the nearest pavement and seven thousand feet below the summit of Corden North - inside was a zip-lock bag with a five-word note: "Don't wait past fourteen hundred" and the initials C.W. Who left that message, and why was the man who kept a ritual call to his brother missing it before this climb?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the people involved: a five-person expedition on Corden North, the discovery of the bottle on April 19, 2011, and the last clear radio contact from the high bivouac on April 16. We piece together the facts around the lower camp in a bowl, the high bivouac at 12,400 feet, and Carl Whitley's unexplained missed call to his brother - what do these details point to?

Person: Carl Whitley
Date: April 19, 2011
Location: Corden North northeast aspect
Event: Bottle containing note found in melt-water runnel
Status: Last radio contact from high bivouac on April 16, 2011

- A wide-mouth aluminum mountaineering water bottle with a parachute cord was found in a melt-water runnel beside a Forest Service road.
- The bottle was located eleven miles from the nearest pavement and seven thousand feet below the summit of Corden North.
- Inside the bottle, sealed in a zip-lock bag on the back of a topographic map section, was a handwritten note: "Don't wait past fourteen hundred." and the initials C.W.
- Carl Whitley, age sixty-three, had a thirty-seven-year climbing history and a habit of calling his brother Walt before leaving cell range but did not make that call before Corden North.
- The high bivouac was at twelve thousand four hundred feet; the lower camp was in a bowl eleven hundred feet below the bivouac where Ben Okafor maintained communications.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083657Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:20 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Last Call: Bottle Note, Broken Rules, One Dead Line A bright orange-wide mouth mountaineering water bottle with a parachute cord was found in a snowmelt runnel eleven miles from the nearest pavement and seven thousand feet below the summit of...
A bright orange-wide mouth mountaineering water bottle with a parachute cord was found in a snowmelt runnel eleven miles from the nearest pavement and seven thousand feet below the summit of Corden North - inside was a zip-lock bag with a five-word note: "Don't wait past fourteen hundred" and the initials C.W. Who left that message, and why was the man who kept a ritual call to his brother missing it before this climb?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the people involved: a five-person expedition on Corden North, the discovery of the bottle on April 19, 2011, and the last clear radio contact from the high bivouac on April 16. We piece together the facts around the lower camp in a bowl, the high bivouac at 12,400 feet, and Carl Whitley's unexplained missed call to his brother - what do these details point to?

Person: Carl Whitley
Date: April 19, 2011
Location: Corden North northeast aspect
Event: Bottle containing note found in melt-water runnel
Status: Last radio contact from high bivouac on April 16, 2011

- A wide-mouth aluminum mountaineering water bottle with a parachute cord was found in a melt-water runnel beside a Forest Service road.
- The bottle was located eleven miles from the nearest pavement and seven thousand feet below the summit of Corden North.
- Inside the bottle, sealed in a zip-lock bag on the back of a topographic map section, was a handwritten note: "Don't wait past fourteen hundred." and the initials C.W.
- Carl Whitley, age sixty-three, had a thirty-seven-year climbing history and a habit of calling his brother Walt before leaving cell range but did not make that call before Corden North.
- The high bivouac was at twelve thousand four hundred feet; the lower camp was in a bowl eleven hundred feet below the bivouac where Ben Okafor maintained communications.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>822falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/tied-laces-at-seven-thousand-feet-the-greyhorn-boot-mystery--73083655
A single double-shell climbing boot was found upright on a bare moraine at 7,200 feet, laces tied in a perfect bow and no matching boot, pack, rope, or person in sight; how did it travel nearly five miles inside a retreating glacier and who did it belong to? The boot was photographed from eleven angles by a 62-year-old bird photographer who then called 911 - but the real question remains: is someone still up there?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that connect one compromised piece of gear to a near-catastrophe on Greyhorn Peak and the choices that followed, including a thirty-seven-minute gap in the record and a decisive four-second decision that defined the incident. What happened between the boot’s discovery and the team’s return that explains its presence and the outcome for the climbers?

Person: Lori Stroud
Date: March 13, 2019
Location: Greyhorn Peak, Hatchett Glacier, Montana
Case Status: Resolved - all five climbers survived; boot identified via manufacturer serial number
Finder: Erin Romano, age 62

- The boot was located at 7,200 feet on a bare glacial moraine and faced directly uphill with laces tied in a standard bow.
- The boot traveled 4.9 miles in 21 months inside a retreating glacier without human assistance.
- Lori Stroud discovered a stress fracture in her boot’s rubber rand approximately two weeks before departure (around Feb 26).
- There was a 37-minute discrepancy between the guide’s written account and GPS data placing the team at the crux at a critical wind-load threshold.
- Stroud’s four-second choice was between cutting the rope and solo-downclimbing with an estimated 40% fall probability or holding and exposing four teammates.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083655Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTTied Laces at Seven Thousand Feet: The Greyhorn Boot Mystery A single double-shell climbing boot was found upright on a bare moraine at 7,200 feet, laces tied in a perfect bow and no matching boot, pack, rope, or person in sight; how did it travel...
A single double-shell climbing boot was found upright on a bare moraine at 7,200 feet, laces tied in a perfect bow and no matching boot, pack, rope, or person in sight; how did it travel nearly five miles inside a retreating glacier and who did it belong to? The boot was photographed from eleven angles by a 62-year-old bird photographer who then called 911 - but the real question remains: is someone still up there?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that connect one compromised piece of gear to a near-catastrophe on Greyhorn Peak and the choices that followed, including a thirty-seven-minute gap in the record and a decisive four-second decision that defined the incident. What happened between the boot’s discovery and the team’s return that explains its presence and the outcome for the climbers?

Person: Lori Stroud
Date: March 13, 2019
Location: Greyhorn Peak, Hatchett Glacier, Montana
Case Status: Resolved - all five climbers survived; boot identified via manufacturer serial number
Finder: Erin Romano, age 62

- The boot was located at 7,200 feet on a bare glacial moraine and faced directly uphill with laces tied in a standard bow.
- The boot traveled 4.9 miles in 21 months inside a retreating glacier without human assistance.
- Lori Stroud discovered a stress fracture in her boot’s rubber rand approximately two weeks before departure (around Feb 26).
- There was a 37-minute discrepancy between the guide’s written account and GPS data placing the team at the crux at a critical wind-load threshold.
- Stroud’s four-second choice was between cutting the rope and solo-downclimbing with an estimated 40% fall probability or holding and exposing four teammates.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>930falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-gloves-at-eleven-degrees-why-rhonda-walked-barehanded-down-ardell--73083654
Cold and irrevocable: at 4:30 a.m. on February 19, 2009, a paperboy found a pair of dry women’s insulated gloves looped on a post at the Ardell Notch trailhead while the temperature read eleven degrees Fahrenheit - yet their owner walked down the mountain barehanded and lost three fingers. How did gloves left dry in subfreezing weather end up abandoned while the wearer descended through a winter storm with fatal exposure?

In this episode, we follow the documented timeline from pre-climb preparations through the summit and descent, tracing decisions, equipment checks, and the minute-by-minute record that led to a permanent, irreversible injury. What single choice before first light set the threshold that fixed Rhonda Christensen’s fate?

Person: Rhonda Christensen
Date: February 19, 2009
Location: Ardell Massif, Advance Station and Ardell Notch trailhead
Status: Lost three fingers; tissue death irreversible when descending past 8,000 feet without gloves
Occupation: Licensed surveying technician

- Gloves found dry and looped on a wooden post at 4:30 a.m, by a paper route teen.
- Ambient temperature at discovery: 11 degrees Fahrenheit with no snow on the glove fabric.
- Rhonda was 47 years old and had volunteered every Thursday at the Missoula Cold Weather Shelter for six years with zero missed shifts.
- One oxygen regulator was found cracked during the February 16 audit, and the defective unit’s slot was assigned to Rhonda.
- The team left the Advance Station before first light on February 17 and reached 12,800 feet by 11:22 a.m.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083654Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTDry Gloves at Eleven Degrees: Why Rhonda Walked Barehanded Down Ardell Cold and irrevocable: at 4:30 a.m. on February 19, 2009, a paperboy found a pair of dry women’s insulated gloves looped on a post at the Ardell Notch trailhead while the...
Cold and irrevocable: at 4:30 a.m. on February 19, 2009, a paperboy found a pair of dry women’s insulated gloves looped on a post at the Ardell Notch trailhead while the temperature read eleven degrees Fahrenheit - yet their owner walked down the mountain barehanded and lost three fingers. How did gloves left dry in subfreezing weather end up abandoned while the wearer descended through a winter storm with fatal exposure?

In this episode, we follow the documented timeline from pre-climb preparations through the summit and descent, tracing decisions, equipment checks, and the minute-by-minute record that led to a permanent, irreversible injury. What single choice before first light set the threshold that fixed Rhonda Christensen’s fate?

Person: Rhonda Christensen
Date: February 19, 2009
Location: Ardell Massif, Advance Station and Ardell Notch trailhead
Status: Lost three fingers; tissue death irreversible when descending past 8,000 feet without gloves
Occupation: Licensed surveying technician

- Gloves found dry and looped on a wooden post at 4:30 a.m, by a paper route teen.
- Ambient temperature at discovery: 11 degrees Fahrenheit with no snow on the glove fabric.
- Rhonda was 47 years old and had volunteered every Thursday at the Missoula Cold Weather Shelter for six years with zero missed shifts.
- One oxygen regulator was found cracked during the February 16 audit, and the defective unit’s slot was assigned to Rhonda.
- The team left the Advance Station before first light on February 17 and reached 12,800 feet by 11:22 a.m.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>837falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/climber-designs-his-own-rescue-from-inside-a-blizzard-the-drevner-peak-disaster--73083653
A single crampon found in a road furrow nine point four miles from the nearest trailhead pointed to a missing climber after eleven days of search - and a deliberately planted ice axe was later found at ten thousand four hundred feet in a blizzard with its wrist loop cleanly cut. How did a methodical science teacher who wrote compass bearings on his skin end up abandoning his primary self-arrest tool in negative twenty-three degrees and fifty-one mph winds - and could that action have been part of a rescue he designed for himself?

In this episode, we chronicle the Drevner Peak expedition from high camp through the sudden storm that struck on January eighth, describe the climbers involved and the sequence of sites found afterward, and follow the mystery raised by Todd McCarthy’s inexplicable choices - was he lost, or was he acting with intent to survive?

Person: Todd McCarthy
Date: January 8 (storm), January 7 (high camp established), January 19 (crampon found)
Location: Drevner Peak high camp at 11,800 feet; crampon found on Hatcher Creek access road 9.4 miles from nearest trailhead
Event: Summit bid, unexpected storm with sustained winds reaching 51 mph in 22 minutes
Status: One climber unaccounted for after eleven days of search

- A county road-grader operator found a twelve-point steel crampon at 6:40 AM on January 19 in -11°F with straps intact and the buckle closed at a precise tension.
- Todd McCarthy was a 32-year-old science teacher who kept a six-year Thursday morning routine at Hartley's diner and wrote his compass bearing on his left wrist in permanent marker before summit attempts.
- High camp was at 11,800 feet; the summit elevation is 14,040 feet and the full team reached 13,200 feet by 9:40 AM on January 8 with winds at 12 mph and temperature -23°F.
- At 11:07 AM on January 8, an unforecast storm arrived from the southwest; within 22 minutes sustained winds reached 51 mph.
- Todd cut the wrist loop off his ice axe in a single deliberate stroke, drove the axe spike-first into the snow at 10,400 feet, planted it upright, and walked away in a blizzard.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083653Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:13 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTClimber Designs His Own Rescue from Inside a Blizzard: The Drevner Peak Disaster A single crampon found in a road furrow nine point four miles from the nearest trailhead pointed to a missing climber after eleven days of search - and a deliberately...
A single crampon found in a road furrow nine point four miles from the nearest trailhead pointed to a missing climber after eleven days of search - and a deliberately planted ice axe was later found at ten thousand four hundred feet in a blizzard with its wrist loop cleanly cut. How did a methodical science teacher who wrote compass bearings on his skin end up abandoning his primary self-arrest tool in negative twenty-three degrees and fifty-one mph winds - and could that action have been part of a rescue he designed for himself?

In this episode, we chronicle the Drevner Peak expedition from high camp through the sudden storm that struck on January eighth, describe the climbers involved and the sequence of sites found afterward, and follow the mystery raised by Todd McCarthy’s inexplicable choices - was he lost, or was he acting with intent to survive?

Person: Todd McCarthy
Date: January 8 (storm), January 7 (high camp established), January 19 (crampon found)
Location: Drevner Peak high camp at 11,800 feet; crampon found on Hatcher Creek access road 9.4 miles from nearest trailhead
Event: Summit bid, unexpected storm with sustained winds reaching 51 mph in 22 minutes
Status: One climber unaccounted for after eleven days of search

- A county road-grader operator found a twelve-point steel crampon at 6:40 AM on January 19 in -11°F with straps intact and the buckle closed at a precise tension.
- Todd McCarthy was a 32-year-old science teacher who kept a six-year Thursday morning routine at Hartley's diner and wrote his compass bearing on his left wrist in permanent marker before summit attempts.
- High camp was at 11,800 feet; the summit elevation is 14,040 feet and the full team reached 13,200 feet by 9:40 AM on January 8 with winds at 12 mph and temperature -23°F.
- At 11:07 AM on January 8, an unforecast storm arrived from the southwest; within 22 minutes sustained winds reached 51 mph.
- Todd cut the wrist loop off his ice axe in a single deliberate stroke, drove the axe spike-first into the snow at 10,400 feet, planted it upright, and walked away in a blizzard.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>928falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-glove-on-the-wrong-slope-what-jerry-couldn-t-remember--73083652
Cold, precise details - a right-hand high-altitude glove rated for 15,000+ feet found at 6,400 feet in timber country with no footprints - promise a near-impossible error on Ardlow Peak. How did a glove from a summit descent end up on the wrong slope, and what could "almost surgical" mean when the climber remembers nothing of his final six hours?

In this episode, we trace the December 2011 Ardlow Peak climb, the decisions that pushed a guide past his own safety deadline, and the mysterious evidence found months later, asking whether a single fourteen-minute delay can explain a baffling scene on the mountain.

Person: Jerry Sheridan
Date: December 17, 2011
Location: Ardlow massif eastern slope at 6,400 feet
Guide: Paul Padgett, age 36
Discovery: Glove found by lineman Bruce Henderson

- The glove was a right-hand, high-altitude mountaineering glove rated for elevations above 15,000 feet.
- The glove was found at 6,400 feet on the eastern slope, a side the standard descent route never touches.
- There were no footprints leading to or away from the glove; two days of wind had erased tracks.
- Jerry Sheridan was 52 years old and had been climbing for 11 years with 17 summits listed on a laminated card.
- Padgett had written a hard turn-back rule: "if we're not at the fixed anchor by eleven, we turn regardless," yet they summited at 11:14.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083652Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:10 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Glove on the Wrong Slope: What Jerry Couldn't Remember Cold, precise details - a right-hand high-altitude glove rated for 15,000+ feet found at 6,400 feet in timber country with no footprints - promise a near-impossible error on Ardlow Peak....
Cold, precise details - a right-hand high-altitude glove rated for 15,000+ feet found at 6,400 feet in timber country with no footprints - promise a near-impossible error on Ardlow Peak. How did a glove from a summit descent end up on the wrong slope, and what could "almost surgical" mean when the climber remembers nothing of his final six hours?

In this episode, we trace the December 2011 Ardlow Peak climb, the decisions that pushed a guide past his own safety deadline, and the mysterious evidence found months later, asking whether a single fourteen-minute delay can explain a baffling scene on the mountain.

Person: Jerry Sheridan
Date: December 17, 2011
Location: Ardlow massif eastern slope at 6,400 feet
Guide: Paul Padgett, age 36
Discovery: Glove found by lineman Bruce Henderson

- The glove was a right-hand, high-altitude mountaineering glove rated for elevations above 15,000 feet.
- The glove was found at 6,400 feet on the eastern slope, a side the standard descent route never touches.
- There were no footprints leading to or away from the glove; two days of wind had erased tracks.
- Jerry Sheridan was 52 years old and had been climbing for 11 years with 17 summits listed on a laminated card.
- Padgett had written a hard turn-back rule: "if we're not at the fixed anchor by eleven, we turn regardless," yet they summited at 11:14.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>943falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/she-wrote-her-last-notes-while-her-brain-melted-on-keldrath--73083651
The orange avalanche airbag sat alone on a trailhead bench at 4,100 feet while a physician was dying at 13,800 feet - and she recorded each failing hour as her mind unraveled. How did a woman who published papers on altitude illness end up descending alone, writing "Ataxia" and other clinical notes as her brain failed?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a November 14, 2011 trailhead discovery back up the north face of Keldrath Peak to the climbers on the summit push, the missing radio checks, and the small green notebook that preserved Dr. Tammy West’s last recorded hours. What do the radio logs, medical details, and that notebook tell us about the decision she never explicitly wrote down?

Person: Dr. Tammy West
Date: November 14, 2011 (discovery at 5:58 AM)
Location: Keldrath Peak north face / trailhead at 4,100 feet
Event: Summit push and subsequent descent with four-hour radio silence
Status: Notebook donated to Sutter Range Historical Society

- The airbag was fully inflated, bright orange, found on a wooden bench at 4,100 feet with no pack attached.
- Radio log first noted a check-in at 2:15 AM and another at 4:20 AM on November 12; next expected check-in at 8:47 AM did not occur.
- Phil Navarro wrote at 6:47 AM in the radio log: "TW voice sounds off."
- West’s last known camp was Camp Three at 13,800 feet, where she had been since at least November 10.
- West’s eleven-hour self-recorded timeline ended with a final entry beginning with the clinical term "Ataxia."

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083651Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:07 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTShe Wrote Her Last Notes While Her Brain Melted on Keldrath The orange avalanche airbag sat alone on a trailhead bench at 4,100 feet while a physician was dying at 13,800 feet - and she recorded each failing hour as her mind unraveled. How did a...
The orange avalanche airbag sat alone on a trailhead bench at 4,100 feet while a physician was dying at 13,800 feet - and she recorded each failing hour as her mind unraveled. How did a woman who published papers on altitude illness end up descending alone, writing "Ataxia" and other clinical notes as her brain failed?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a November 14, 2011 trailhead discovery back up the north face of Keldrath Peak to the climbers on the summit push, the missing radio checks, and the small green notebook that preserved Dr. Tammy West’s last recorded hours. What do the radio logs, medical details, and that notebook tell us about the decision she never explicitly wrote down?

Person: Dr. Tammy West
Date: November 14, 2011 (discovery at 5:58 AM)
Location: Keldrath Peak north face / trailhead at 4,100 feet
Event: Summit push and subsequent descent with four-hour radio silence
Status: Notebook donated to Sutter Range Historical Society

- The airbag was fully inflated, bright orange, found on a wooden bench at 4,100 feet with no pack attached.
- Radio log first noted a check-in at 2:15 AM and another at 4:20 AM on November 12; next expected check-in at 8:47 AM did not occur.
- Phil Navarro wrote at 6:47 AM in the radio log: "TW voice sounds off."
- West’s last known camp was Camp Three at 13,800 feet, where she had been since at least November 10.
- West’s eleven-hour self-recorded timeline ended with a final entry beginning with the clinical term "Ataxia."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>987falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-charred-axe-why-someone-burned-phil-rucker-s-shaft-at-40-c--73083649
Cold and close enough to touch: an ice axe shaft was deliberately burned at -40°C and the blade kept climbing - then the charred head reappeared eleven days later propped against a remote cabin eleven miles from the trailhead. What choice in a storm of 70 km/h winds and temperatures below -30°C leads someone to burn an axe and leave no note?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of people, gear and weather that produced that single inexplicable act. You’ll hear who was on the mountain, the exact weather collapse that surprised forecasts, and the unanswered question about a decision made in the dark.

Person: Valerie Fleming
Person: Phil Rucker
Date: October 8-10, 2011
Location: Fenwick Spire southeast couloir, Flathead Range, northwest Montana
Event: deliberate burning of an ice axe shaft; charred axe head found eleven days later

- Valerie Fleming was twenty-eight in October 2011 and had five years guiding experience, including two prior Fenwick Spire attempts (2009 and 2010).
- Phil Rucker was thirty-one, had been Fleming’s climbing partner for four years, and used a Raven Pro ice axe with a re-wrapped socket in black friction tape.
- High camp was established at 7,800 m on October 8; Emily Morgan logged conditions as “acceptable” before the storm.
- The storm arrived six hours ahead of models on the night of October 9, with gusts over 70 km/h recorded at 01:47 and temperatures dropping below -30°C.
- A charred axe head (socket) with no shaft and no note appeared eleven days later propped against a remote cabin foundation eleven miles from the nearest trailhead.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083649Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:05 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Charred Axe: Why Someone Burned Phil Rucker's Shaft at -40°C Cold and close enough to touch: an ice axe shaft was deliberately burned at -40°C and the blade kept climbing - then the charred head reappeared eleven days later propped against a...
Cold and close enough to touch: an ice axe shaft was deliberately burned at -40°C and the blade kept climbing - then the charred head reappeared eleven days later propped against a remote cabin eleven miles from the trailhead. What choice in a storm of 70 km/h winds and temperatures below -30°C leads someone to burn an axe and leave no note?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of people, gear and weather that produced that single inexplicable act. You’ll hear who was on the mountain, the exact weather collapse that surprised forecasts, and the unanswered question about a decision made in the dark.

Person: Valerie Fleming
Person: Phil Rucker
Date: October 8-10, 2011
Location: Fenwick Spire southeast couloir, Flathead Range, northwest Montana
Event: deliberate burning of an ice axe shaft; charred axe head found eleven days later

- Valerie Fleming was twenty-eight in October 2011 and had five years guiding experience, including two prior Fenwick Spire attempts (2009 and 2010).
- Phil Rucker was thirty-one, had been Fleming’s climbing partner for four years, and used a Raven Pro ice axe with a re-wrapped socket in black friction tape.
- High camp was established at 7,800 m on October 8; Emily Morgan logged conditions as “acceptable” before the storm.
- The storm arrived six hours ahead of models on the night of October 9, with gusts over 70 km/h recorded at 01:47 and temperatures dropping below -30°C.
- A charred axe head (socket) with no shaft and no note appeared eleven days later propped against a remote cabin foundation eleven miles from the nearest trailhead.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>913falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-crampon-on-the-fence-how-four-climbers-survived-a-wrong-col--73083646
A single twelve-point crampon sat alone on a fence post at 4,200 feet, photographed on September 19 with no vehicle, no note, and no second crampon - the first visible sign that something had gone very wrong on Crestfall Peak. How did that crampon end up at the trailhead when its owner was last seen near the 16,000-foot summit, alive after a sixty-foot fall in the dark?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of decisions, written warnings, and a misidentified col that linked a twenty-minute timing discrepancy, a notebook entry, and a late-afternoon descent into a forty-seven-hour ordeal. What combination of small errors and documented doubts led four experienced climbers to the wrong col, and how did they survive?

Person: Connie Johnson
Person: Raymond Hicks
Person: Kevin Ostroff
Person: Phil Arnett
Date: September 8-19

- A twelve-point crampon was photographed on a fence post at 4,200 feet on September 19.
- The summit of Crestfall Peak is roughly 16,000 feet with a North Col at approximately 14,400 feet and South Col about 80 meters lower and 400 meters away horizontally.
- Raymond Hicks recorded a carry taking about twenty minutes less than expected and later added the marginal note "check" in different ink.
- Connie Johnson wrote at 5:40 AM on September 11: "bearing feels slightly left of where I'd expect for NCol approach - asked R. he said it's fine."
- The team was found by search-and-rescue on a trail access road 47 hours after the decision, at 4:47 AM.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083646Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:50:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Crampon on the Fence: How Four Climbers Survived a Wrong Col A single twelve-point crampon sat alone on a fence post at 4,200 feet, photographed on September 19 with no vehicle, no note, and no second crampon - the first visible sign that...
A single twelve-point crampon sat alone on a fence post at 4,200 feet, photographed on September 19 with no vehicle, no note, and no second crampon - the first visible sign that something had gone very wrong on Crestfall Peak. How did that crampon end up at the trailhead when its owner was last seen near the 16,000-foot summit, alive after a sixty-foot fall in the dark?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of decisions, written warnings, and a misidentified col that linked a twenty-minute timing discrepancy, a notebook entry, and a late-afternoon descent into a forty-seven-hour ordeal. What combination of small errors and documented doubts led four experienced climbers to the wrong col, and how did they survive?

Person: Connie Johnson
Person: Raymond Hicks
Person: Kevin Ostroff
Person: Phil Arnett
Date: September 8-19

- A twelve-point crampon was photographed on a fence post at 4,200 feet on September 19.
- The summit of Crestfall Peak is roughly 16,000 feet with a North Col at approximately 14,400 feet and South Col about 80 meters lower and 400 meters away horizontally.
- Raymond Hicks recorded a carry taking about twenty minutes less than expected and later added the marginal note "check" in different ink.
- Connie Johnson wrote at 5:40 AM on September 11: "bearing feels slightly left of where I'd expect for NCol approach - asked R. he said it's fine."
- The team was found by search-and-rescue on a trail access road 47 hours after the decision, at 4:47 AM.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>844falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-summit-photo-no-one-reported-what-it-hid-on-bellard--73083645
Cold film canisters sat rubber-banded in roadside mud for months with no missing persons report and no search - a roll from a high-altitude climb gone unremarked until a groomer found it. The last frame shows a standing, dark shape at the summit edge; who - or what - was left in that photograph, and why did no one report the missing film?

In this episode, we follow the journey of a twenty-two-year-old environmental science student who joined a 2017 Bellard Traverse expedition, the decisions and omissions logged by the team, and the discovery that reopened a quiet, unresolved route of events. What links a disturbed anchor, a surprise navigational move by the least experienced climber, and the unexplained figure captured on film?

Person: Frances Bishop
Date: August 12, 2017 (summit reached at 11:17 a.m.)
Location: High Col / Bellard Traverse
Person: Glen Attley (technical lead, age 41)
Person: Deb Fontaine (logistics and communications specialist, age 35)

- Two rubber-banded film canisters found in drainage mud on a spur off Kettrick Forest access road, discovered by Denise Sawyer on a Tuesday morning in late November.
- Frances Bishop was 22 and a junior at Ellendale State University, studying environmental science, and joined the expedition as the least experienced climber.
- On August 9, Glen Attley noted a fixed anchor below High Col rotated roughly 45 degrees, re-drove and tested it, and did not report the issue to basecamp.
- The summit push began at 3:45 a.m.; the team reached the summit at 11:17 a.m., and the final frame of the canister captured Frances with arms raised and a dark upright shape at the left edge.
- Lisa Owens, field director who stayed at basecamp, later wrote a fourteen-page incident report and relied on radio logs and Glen's personal notes for information.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083645Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:59 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Summit Photo No One Reported - What It Hid on Bellard Cold film canisters sat rubber-banded in roadside mud for months with no missing persons report and no search - a roll from a high-altitude climb gone unremarked until a groomer found it....
Cold film canisters sat rubber-banded in roadside mud for months with no missing persons report and no search - a roll from a high-altitude climb gone unremarked until a groomer found it. The last frame shows a standing, dark shape at the summit edge; who - or what - was left in that photograph, and why did no one report the missing film?

In this episode, we follow the journey of a twenty-two-year-old environmental science student who joined a 2017 Bellard Traverse expedition, the decisions and omissions logged by the team, and the discovery that reopened a quiet, unresolved route of events. What links a disturbed anchor, a surprise navigational move by the least experienced climber, and the unexplained figure captured on film?

Person: Frances Bishop
Date: August 12, 2017 (summit reached at 11:17 a.m.)
Location: High Col / Bellard Traverse
Person: Glen Attley (technical lead, age 41)
Person: Deb Fontaine (logistics and communications specialist, age 35)

- Two rubber-banded film canisters found in drainage mud on a spur off Kettrick Forest access road, discovered by Denise Sawyer on a Tuesday morning in late November.
- Frances Bishop was 22 and a junior at Ellendale State University, studying environmental science, and joined the expedition as the least experienced climber.
- On August 9, Glen Attley noted a fixed anchor below High Col rotated roughly 45 degrees, re-drove and tested it, and did not report the issue to basecamp.
- The summit push began at 3:45 a.m.; the team reached the summit at 11:17 a.m., and the final frame of the canister captured Frances with arms raised and a dark upright shape at the left edge.
- Lisa Owens, field director who stayed at basecamp, later wrote a fourteen-page incident report and relied on radio logs and Glen's personal notes for information.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>614falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/intact-ice-screw-4-100ft-below-how-did-it-escape-kalder-peak--73083644
A single intact ice screw, eight inches long with a blue-and-white sling, was found point-down in gravel 4,100 feet below Kalder Peak - an object built to stop a falling climber, alone and undamaged while three people remained unaccounted for. How could a life-saving device end up in the Callan River with no sign of catastrophic failure, and what does that placement mean for the missing party?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a July 19 morning discovery back through the climb and decisions on July 17-18 to ask whether speed, route choice, or a single split-second action on the descent explains what happened to the team. Could the Porter Route’s “faster” logic and one ninety-second choice on a rope be the key to the mystery?

Person: Sarah Porter
Person: Kimberly Burke
Person: Chris Alderman
Date: July 19, 2011
Location: Callan River gravel bar

- Ice screw found at 6:00 AM on July 19, 2011, measured roughly eight inches long with intact threading and a blue-and-white nylon sling.
- Three climbers (Sarah Porter, Kimberly Burke, Chris Alderman) were overdue after summiting Kalder Peak on July 18; final radio check logged at 7:03 AM July 18.
- Summit photograph timestamped 11:52 AM July 18 shows Porter and Alderman on the summit block unroped and with a gray-green sky to the east.
- Porter had established the Porter Route, a direct sixty-degree ice gully, and had led parties up Kalder West Ridge six times prior.
- Burke’s camera recorded the summit time; she held a Wilderness First Responder certification earned in February 2011 and had been climbing for eleven years.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083644Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:57 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTIntact Ice Screw 4,100ft Below: How Did It Escape Kalder Peak? A single intact ice screw, eight inches long with a blue-and-white sling, was found point-down in gravel 4,100 feet below Kalder Peak - an object built to stop a falling climber, alone...
A single intact ice screw, eight inches long with a blue-and-white sling, was found point-down in gravel 4,100 feet below Kalder Peak - an object built to stop a falling climber, alone and undamaged while three people remained unaccounted for. How could a life-saving device end up in the Callan River with no sign of catastrophic failure, and what does that placement mean for the missing party?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from a July 19 morning discovery back through the climb and decisions on July 17-18 to ask whether speed, route choice, or a single split-second action on the descent explains what happened to the team. Could the Porter Route’s “faster” logic and one ninety-second choice on a rope be the key to the mystery?

Person: Sarah Porter
Person: Kimberly Burke
Person: Chris Alderman
Date: July 19, 2011
Location: Callan River gravel bar

- Ice screw found at 6:00 AM on July 19, 2011, measured roughly eight inches long with intact threading and a blue-and-white nylon sling.
- Three climbers (Sarah Porter, Kimberly Burke, Chris Alderman) were overdue after summiting Kalder Peak on July 18; final radio check logged at 7:03 AM July 18.
- Summit photograph timestamped 11:52 AM July 18 shows Porter and Alderman on the summit block unroped and with a gray-green sky to the east.
- Porter had established the Porter Route, a direct sixty-degree ice gully, and had led parties up Kalder West Ridge six times prior.
- Burke’s camera recorded the summit time; she held a Wilderness First Responder certification earned in February 2011 and had been climbing for eleven years.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>935falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-notebook-on-the-boulder-summit-decisions-that-killed-one-man--73083642
A frost-fused notebook sat open on a boulder at 4,200 meters after being missing for eleven months, its last entry ending mid-sentence three thousand one hundred meters below. How did a twelve-meter anchor deviation and a chain of defensible decisions turn a planned ascent into a fatal timeline that no one saw until it was too late?

In this episode, we follow the Ashcroft Pinnacle expedition through its preparation, the notebook protocol, and the summit push that began at 11:00 PM on June 16; we trace the small, precise choices - anchor placement, oxygen math, and timing - that cascaded into catastrophe and ask whether one altered anchor could change everything.

Person: Heather Novak
Date: June 16-18, 2021
Location: Ashcroft Pinnacle eastern glacier approach
Event: Summit push starting at 11:00 PM on June 16
Duration missing: Notebook absent for eleven months

- Base Camp established at 4,900 meters on June 3, 2021.
- Novak carried a wire-bound 5x7 composition notebook with name and blood type written inside the front cover.
- Craig Sutton fixed the anchor twelve meters higher than the planned position on June 14.
- Twelve meters of extra vertical gain cost approximately forty minutes at altitude with a loaded pack.
- Meteorologist Ed Burwell forecasted a sixty-hour stable window opening June 15, 2021.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083642Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Notebook on the Boulder: Summit Decisions That Killed One Man A frost-fused notebook sat open on a boulder at 4,200 meters after being missing for eleven months, its last entry ending mid-sentence three thousand one hundred meters below. How...
A frost-fused notebook sat open on a boulder at 4,200 meters after being missing for eleven months, its last entry ending mid-sentence three thousand one hundred meters below. How did a twelve-meter anchor deviation and a chain of defensible decisions turn a planned ascent into a fatal timeline that no one saw until it was too late?

In this episode, we follow the Ashcroft Pinnacle expedition through its preparation, the notebook protocol, and the summit push that began at 11:00 PM on June 16; we trace the small, precise choices - anchor placement, oxygen math, and timing - that cascaded into catastrophe and ask whether one altered anchor could change everything.

Person: Heather Novak
Date: June 16-18, 2021
Location: Ashcroft Pinnacle eastern glacier approach
Event: Summit push starting at 11:00 PM on June 16
Duration missing: Notebook absent for eleven months

- Base Camp established at 4,900 meters on June 3, 2021.
- Novak carried a wire-bound 5x7 composition notebook with name and blood type written inside the front cover.
- Craig Sutton fixed the anchor twelve meters higher than the planned position on June 14.
- Twelve meters of extra vertical gain cost approximately forty minutes at altitude with a loaded pack.
- Meteorologist Ed Burwell forecasted a sixty-hour stable window opening June 15, 2021.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1040falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-crampon-at-11-200-feet-why-one-clue-broke-the-search--73083641
A single crampon, photographed bail-down in fresh snow at 11,200 feet, stopped a rescue already eleven days into a search - and its orientation contradicted wind and chance. How could one piece of gear, positioned where guides would never cross after morning, change everything about where the missing climbers must have gone?

In this episode, we follow the team that left high camp on May 9, 2009, the mountain they trusted, and the precise decisions that set their day’s timeline - then consider what that photograph revealed about the descent and the collapse of the route’s safety margins. What did a crampon placed on Harrower’s glacier slopes tell rescuers that eleven days of searching had missed?

Person: Brenda Long
Person: Carol Zimmerman
Person: Phil Acosta
Person: Derek Holst
Date: May 9, 2009

- The party left high camp at 3:45 AM, forty-five minutes behind the filed plan.
- Mount Harrower summit was reached at 9:52 AM, fifty-two minutes past the planned turnaround time of 9:00 AM.
- The crampon was found at approximately 11,200 feet on the slope above Harrower Valley.
- The rescue team had been searching for eleven days before Raymond Casey photographed the crampon.
- Guides' iron rule for May glacier crossings: cross before 8:00 AM and never after 2:00 PM.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083641Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Crampon at 11,200 Feet: Why One Clue Broke the Search A single crampon, photographed bail-down in fresh snow at 11,200 feet, stopped a rescue already eleven days into a search - and its orientation contradicted wind and chance. How could one...
A single crampon, photographed bail-down in fresh snow at 11,200 feet, stopped a rescue already eleven days into a search - and its orientation contradicted wind and chance. How could one piece of gear, positioned where guides would never cross after morning, change everything about where the missing climbers must have gone?

In this episode, we follow the team that left high camp on May 9, 2009, the mountain they trusted, and the precise decisions that set their day’s timeline - then consider what that photograph revealed about the descent and the collapse of the route’s safety margins. What did a crampon placed on Harrower’s glacier slopes tell rescuers that eleven days of searching had missed?

Person: Brenda Long
Person: Carol Zimmerman
Person: Phil Acosta
Person: Derek Holst
Date: May 9, 2009

- The party left high camp at 3:45 AM, forty-five minutes behind the filed plan.
- Mount Harrower summit was reached at 9:52 AM, fifty-two minutes past the planned turnaround time of 9:00 AM.
- The crampon was found at approximately 11,200 feet on the slope above Harrower Valley.
- The rescue team had been searching for eleven days before Raymond Casey photographed the crampon.
- Guides' iron rule for May glacier crossings: cross before 8:00 AM and never after 2:00 PM.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>827falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-day-the-radio-lied-how-one-failure-sent-roy-down--73083640
The worst moments on a mountain are often quiet and small: a cracked component, a crossed signal, a mistaken click. Roy Clark’s radio could receive but not transmit after a fall on April 9, 2019, and a two-click response logged at base camp made it look like four functioning radios - so how did that single hidden failure help strand him fifty-five miles per hour on a rope sixty feet from safety?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events from the stumble in a forested valley to the final GPS stop on Mount Serrath’s west face, and how routine checks, coincidental timing, and one fractured circuit mapped into catastrophe. How did four minor failures combine to leave one man with no way to call for help?

Date: April 13, 2019
Location: Mount Serrath west face
Person: Roy Clark
Event: GPS beacon stopped moving on fixed rope
Finder: Carol Norris

- Roy Clark’s GPS beacon stopped at 5:40 PM on April 13, 2019, while he was sixty feet from a lifesaving rock ledge.
- Clark’s Baofeng UV-5R radio was struck on April 9 when he tripped, fracturing an internal transmit component that left the receive circuit intact.
- Linda Cho logged a radio check on April 10 recording two squelch clicks as Clark’s response, which reconstruction later attributed to a coincidental transmission from Doug Farris’s radio.
- Carol Norris found Clark’s radio three days after the GPS stopped, two thousand feet below the snow line in a boulder field, appearing intact.
- Wind speeds at the time left Clark exposed on a rope in fifty-five-mile-per-hour winds with no way to call for help.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083640Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:49 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Day the Radio Lied: How One Failure Sent Roy Down The worst moments on a mountain are often quiet and small: a cracked component, a crossed signal, a mistaken click. Roy Clark’s radio could receive but not transmit after a fall on April 9,...
The worst moments on a mountain are often quiet and small: a cracked component, a crossed signal, a mistaken click. Roy Clark’s radio could receive but not transmit after a fall on April 9, 2019, and a two-click response logged at base camp made it look like four functioning radios - so how did that single hidden failure help strand him fifty-five miles per hour on a rope sixty feet from safety?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events from the stumble in a forested valley to the final GPS stop on Mount Serrath’s west face, and how routine checks, coincidental timing, and one fractured circuit mapped into catastrophe. How did four minor failures combine to leave one man with no way to call for help?

Date: April 13, 2019
Location: Mount Serrath west face
Person: Roy Clark
Event: GPS beacon stopped moving on fixed rope
Finder: Carol Norris

- Roy Clark’s GPS beacon stopped at 5:40 PM on April 13, 2019, while he was sixty feet from a lifesaving rock ledge.
- Clark’s Baofeng UV-5R radio was struck on April 9 when he tripped, fracturing an internal transmit component that left the receive circuit intact.
- Linda Cho logged a radio check on April 10 recording two squelch clicks as Clark’s response, which reconstruction later attributed to a coincidental transmission from Doug Farris’s radio.
- Carol Norris found Clark’s radio three days after the GPS stopped, two thousand feet below the snow line in a boulder field, appearing intact.
- Wind speeds at the time left Clark exposed on a rope in fifty-five-mile-per-hour winds with no way to call for help.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>886falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-regulator-on-the-bridge-how-mount-carris-almost-killed-them--73083637
Cold metal on a footbridge, a gauge reading zero, and a paper carrier who kept walking - a small regulator labeled TC-7 linked a valley morning to a near-fatal alpine retreat from Mount Carris. Five climbers, a sixty-meter fall, a leader’s late-afternoon decision at 3,600 meters, and one climber alone on a ledge all thread together into a rescue that took weeks to explain - what did that regulator actually mean for what happened on the mountain?

In this episode, we lay out the chronological events recorded in audio logs, porter reports, and gear codes to show how timing, logistics, and a single equipment tag shaped the expedition’s outcome. Listen to follow the decision at 14:30 on March 2 and the overnight action on a ledge that kept an injured climber alive - could either have been avoided?

Person: Teresa Cole
Date: March 1-5
Location: Mount Carris northeast couloir
Event: Summit push and descent with supply cache disruption
Item: Regulator labeled TC-7

- Expedition departed February 22 and established high camp before the summit push.
- Summit push began at 03:00 on March 1 with five climbers moving single-file.
- Porter payment dispute on February 28 halted crew for several hours, thinning the expedition’s schedule buffer.
- At 15:30 on March 2, at 3,600 meters, the expedition leader chose to continue climbing.
- A climber fell 60 meters down a frozen couloir two days before March 5 and survived.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73083637Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:49:46 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Regulator on the Bridge: How Mount Carris Almost Killed Them Cold metal on a footbridge, a gauge reading zero, and a paper carrier who kept walking - a small regulator labeled TC-7 linked a valley morning to a near-fatal alpine retreat from...
Cold metal on a footbridge, a gauge reading zero, and a paper carrier who kept walking - a small regulator labeled TC-7 linked a valley morning to a near-fatal alpine retreat from Mount Carris. Five climbers, a sixty-meter fall, a leader’s late-afternoon decision at 3,600 meters, and one climber alone on a ledge all thread together into a rescue that took weeks to explain - what did that regulator actually mean for what happened on the mountain?

In this episode, we lay out the chronological events recorded in audio logs, porter reports, and gear codes to show how timing, logistics, and a single equipment tag shaped the expedition’s outcome. Listen to follow the decision at 14:30 on March 2 and the overnight action on a ledge that kept an injured climber alive - could either have been avoided?

Person: Teresa Cole
Date: March 1-5
Location: Mount Carris northeast couloir
Event: Summit push and descent with supply cache disruption
Item: Regulator labeled TC-7

- Expedition departed February 22 and established high camp before the summit push.
- Summit push began at 03:00 on March 1 with five climbers moving single-file.
- Porter payment dispute on February 28 halted crew for several hours, thinning the expedition’s schedule buffer.
- At 15:30 on March 2, at 3,600 meters, the expedition leader chose to continue climbing.
- A climber fell 60 meters down a frozen couloir two days before March 5 and survived.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>934falsefull