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  • The Boot That Shouldn't Be: A Guide's Fatal Shortcut on Veld Peak

    The Boot That Shouldn't Be: A Guide's Fatal Shortcut on Veld Peak
    2026/10/28
    The Boot That Shouldn't Be: A Guide's Fatal Shortcut on Veld Peak

    A single mountaineering boot stood upright between granite slabs at 9,200 feet with a wilderness permit card for Janet Draper dated December 6 - eight days after Draper arrived at Base Camp with only one boot. A certified guide took an unauthorized descent from the 13,400-foot summit into an unanchored east couloir that would end in a fatal fracture of events; what caused the sequence that left a survivor with almost no memory?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Advanced Camp at 03:47 through summit at 12:51 to the decision at 13:04 and the first signs of failure around 14:00, laying out the people, the devices, and the single object that pulled four investigations together - could one shortcut explain a missing boot and a near-amnesiac survivor?

    Person: Janet Draper
    Person: Christine Morgan
    Person: Kevin Stroud
    Person: Douglas Paine
    Date: December 6, 2019

    - Boot found at 09:51 on December 14 at 9,200 feet on the south flank of Veld Peak
    - Wilderness permit card inside boot bears name Janet Draper and date December 6
    - Summit reached at 12:51 at 13,400 feet; Kevin's communicator logged "Summit. All four. Wind increasing."
    - Kevin's log at 13:04 recorded the decision: "couloir is faster. We have time."
    - Couloir drops approximately 800 feet in less than half a mile and has no fixed anchors

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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.
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    18 分
  • She Wrote Her Collapse: Minute-by-Minute on Greyhorn's Last Ascent

    She Wrote Her Collapse: Minute-by-Minute on Greyhorn's Last Ascent
    2026/10/27
    She Wrote Her Collapse: Minute-by-Minute on Greyhorn's Last Ascent

    A physician wrote a minute-by-minute log of her own neurological collapse in pencil, above 12,000 feet, and the last line ends mid-word when the wind tore the page away - why would a trained doctor keep climbing after noting headache 7/10 and early ataxia? What does the five-day journey of that polypropylene notebook, recovered three miles from the Sentinel Range, reveal about the choices made on Greyhorn?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events recorded by Frances Padgett on November 14th: her observations, times, equipment choices, and the moments others recall, leading up to the descent and the moment she stopped writing at 4:17 p.m. What in the log explains her decision to continue?

    Person: Frances Padgett
    Date: November 14
    Location: Greyhorn, Sentinel Range, northwestern Montana
    Recovered by: Nicole Romano
    Last entry time: 16:17

    - At 06:17 Frances recorded "headache, seven out of ten" and "minor ataxia" in her notebook.
    - Frances noted a left crampon buckle failure at Camp Two and left the crampons in her tent before ascent.
    - The team of five reached Greyhorn's summit at 09:41 and radioed base camp within twelve minutes.
    - Frances stopped and said she could not feel her feet between the summit and the 12,400-foot mark; Mercer observed anisocoria.
    - The recovered notebook was found in a drainage ditch three miles west of the Sentinel Range five days after the ascent.

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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.
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    18 分
  • The Axe Head in the Snow: Why He Kept It and Survived

    The Axe Head in the Snow: Why He Kept It and Survived
    2026/10/26
    The Axe Head in the Snow: Why He Kept It and Survived

    The image that circulated through climbing forums was a single ice axe head planted in snow sixty meters above where anyone last saw Alan Jensen alive - no shaft, no climber, and an unused sleeping bag still sealed at high camp. How did a broken tool, a sealed sleeping bag, and a burned survival fire become the clues that rewrote the reconstruction of his final night?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events and the concrete evidence recovered from the climb to show what happened on October 15th and why keeping that axe head mattered; what do those details tell us about the choices Jensen made in the storm and the night he spent below minus thirty Celsius?

    Person: Alan Jensen
    Date: October 15, 2011
    Location: Dharpanu, high camp and summit ridge above 7,900 meters
    Status: Last seen alive on ascent; axe head found 60 meters above last sighting
    Occupation: Civil engineer from Bozeman, Montana

    - Four climbers left high camp at 00:40 on October 15th.
    - Jensen was 53 years old at the time of the climb.
    - High camp was approximately 7,900 meters when they departed.
    - An ice axe head was found embedded in the snow 60 meters above the last recorded sighting of Jensen.
    - One of the two sleeping bags at high camp remained sealed in its compression sack when the recovery team arrived.

    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.
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    20 分
  • The Wrong Stick: How One Bamboo Marker Broke a Mountain Party

    The Wrong Stick: How One Bamboo Marker Broke a Mountain Party
    2026/10/25
    The Wrong Stick: How One Bamboo Marker Broke a Mountain Party

    Cold, precise mistakes can turn routine decisions into life-or-death problems: a bamboo stick planted two hundred and thirty meters from the intended cache left four climbers exposed to a storm that arrived six hours early. One woman walked eight miles through a mountain storm with a dead headlamp; four fingers on one foot and three on one hand were permanently lost-how did a single misplaced marker lead to that outcome?

    In this episode, we tell what happened on Arrowhead Spire from the clear afternoon when the cache was set through the sudden storm that pinned the team at twelve thousand eight hundred feet, and we follow Amanda Wilson's descent and rescue to ask how planning and a small error intersected to produce such consequences.

    Person: Amanda Wilson
    Age: 44
    Date: September 14, 2011 (discovery); September 11-14, 2011 (expedition)
    Location: Arrowhead Spire, summit at 12,800 feet; cache targeted at northwest col 11,900 feet
    Event: Cache marker placed 230 meters northeast into a false col

    - Amanda Wilson walked eight miles alone through a mountain storm with a dead headlamp and was found alive in a culvert at 5:12 AM.
    - The storm arrived about six hours earlier than forecast and reduced visibility to thirty feet within twenty minutes.
    - Wind exceeded fifty miles per hour during the storm; summit journal listed wind 12 mph northwest and temperature about 18°F at 11:22 AM on September 11.
    - Frank Overton planted a bamboo wand and stacked three stones as a cairn, but the marker ended up 230 meters northeast of the actual cache location.
    - Amanda's injuries included frostbite resulting in loss of four fingers on her left foot and three on her right hand.

    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.
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    18 分
  • Stranger in the Frame: The Stormwall Mountain Survival

    Stranger in the Frame: The Stormwall Mountain Survival
    2026/10/24
    Stranger in the Frame: The Stormwall Mountain Survival

    A boot stood upright in the middle of a county road with a human foot still inside - no blood, no drag marks, no trail - and yet the man it belonged to was alive in a hospital bed. A 35mm film frame shows a dark, unidentifiable figure 15 meters behind climbers on Stormwall's summit; how did that image and the boot end up in the same story?

    In this episode, we present the recorded facts of the Stormwall Mountain expedition and its aftermath, outlining the sequence of events from camp to descent, the damaged film, and the physical evidence left on the road, and ask how these concrete clues fit together into a single account of what happened.

    Person: Ralph Anderson
    Person: Donald Morris
    Person: Susan Hale
    Date: August 22, 2019
    Location: Mineral County, Colorado

    - County road grader made its fourth pass over the gravel access road on the morning of August 22, 2019.
    - A left Scarpa hiking boot, size 10.5, with a wool sock and a human foot inside, was found sitting upright in the center of the road.
    - The summit photo roll was Kodak Portra 400, 36 frames loaded the day before; 22 of 36 frames were recovered after moisture damage.
    - The third recovered frame showed a dark, unidentifiable figure standing 15 meters behind the climbers with its back to the camera.
    - Ralph Anderson delayed sharing his account for four months and the damaged film was developed in December 2019 in Grand Junction.

    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.
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    20 分
  • The Ice Screw on a Power Pole: Rescue Through the Dark

    The Ice Screw on a Power Pole: Rescue Through the Dark
    2026/10/23
    The Ice Screw on a Power Pole: Rescue Through the Dark

    Cold proof of a mountain night: an electrician finds a Black Diamond ice screw lodged in a concrete power pole 11 miles from the nearest trailhead, while the closest glacier sits 22 miles away. Who left technical ice gear on a forest road - and how did that single object point investigators toward a desperate nine-hour nocturnal rescue?

    In this episode, we follow the official reconstruction built from investigative records, summit logs, and four formal interviews with Roger Campbell. The episode covers the climb on Corvin Spire, the equipment inventory discrepancies, and the sequence of events that left one climber suspended and another with a fractured fibula - how did a routine lead turn into a night of carrying two injured people through darkness?

    Person: Marvin Coleman
    Date: July 22 (call to Mineral County dispatch at 09:14)
    Location: eleven miles from nearest trailhead on a dirt service road
    Mountain: Corvin Spire, southwest face
    Injuries: Sandra Hirsch fractured fibula after a 40-foot fall

    - Coleman photographed a Black Diamond ice screw wedged into the concrete base of a utility pole 11 miles from the nearest trailhead.
    - The closest glacier to that road location was 22 miles away.
    - Mineral County dispatch received Coleman’s call at 9:14 AM on July 22.
    - The climbing team left for the summit at 2:40 AM on July 17 after establishing high camp at approximately 10,800 feet on July 16.
    - Bauer fell 25 feet when a dinner-plate ice failure occurred; Hirsch fell 40 feet when her single ice screw anchor pulled.

    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.
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    16 分
  • The Notebook, the Fixed Line, and Christine's Last Deliberate Choice

    The Notebook, the Fixed Line, and Christine's Last Deliberate Choice
    2026/10/22
    The Notebook, the Fixed Line, and Christine's Last Deliberate Choice

    Cold, calculated choices on a high ridge: a 22-year-old left a jacket empty against a boulder at 9,200 feet and a notebook frozen in the pocket that took 11 weeks to reconstruct - and one four-word entry written at 13,000 feet would upend the official timeline. What did Christine’s last recorded decision reveal about that day on Vantage Peak?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the pre-dawn couloir note to the summit push, the 40-foot fall, and the puzzling gear swap back at camp to ask whether Christine’s actions were deliberate steps or part of something else that morning. What does a methodical volunteer’s handwriting tell us about the choices she made in her final hours?

    Person: Christine Quinn
    Date: June 19, 2014
    Location: Vantage Peak, 9,200-13,000 feet
    Event: Summit push and accident on June 16, 2014
    Notebook reconstruction time: 11 weeks

    - Christine wrote “Neve is bomber. T. made the right call.” at approximately 4:00 AM on June 16 in blue ballpoint ink.
    - Tim Lacey fell about 40 feet at 13,350 feet at approximately 9:22 AM, sustaining a severe ankle injury.
    - The summit push left upper camp (12,600 ft) at 2:47 AM with 12 mph northwest wind and -4°C temperature.
    - Christine had filled four spiral-bound notebooks in the first six months of 2014; the recovered notebook was her fourth of the year.
    - Christine gave her sleeping bag to Brian Foust on June 14; it was found compressed in Foust’s tent when Christine and Foust returned to upper camp at 11:45 AM.

    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.
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    19 分
  • Dry Crampon, Wet Parking Lot: How a Silent Fault Nearly Killed Them

    Dry Crampon, Wet Parking Lot: How a Silent Fault Nearly Killed Them
    2026/10/21
    Dry Crampon, Wet Parking Lot: How a Silent Fault Nearly Killed Them

    A dry crampon on a rainy morning outside unit forty-seven hinted at a failure no one expected: a size nine steel-framed crampon found untouched on wet pavement while the padlock remained in place. One silent equipment fault, four days of above-freezing afternoons at 12,000 feet, and a snow bridge that had been called "reliable" set the stage - how did a sequence of small, defensible choices nearly become a catastrophe?

    In this episode, we tell the events around the Crestwall Peak expedition and follow the team from Base Camp to the Ashmer Shelf, tracing what each recorded decision and condition contributed to the outcome. Who noticed the dry crampon, what did the expedition logs record, and why did the "reliable" snow bridge fail when it mattered most?

    Person: Dawn Rogers
    Person: Bruce Cook
    Person: Joel Pratt
    Location: Ashmer Shelf
    Date: May 16-19

    - The crampon found by Diane Russo was size nine, steel-framed, photographed outside unit forty-seven on May 23.
    - Base Camp assembled on May 14 at 11,200 feet on the western approach to the Ashmer Shelf.
    - Crestwall Peak's summit elevation is roughly 13,700 feet; the Ashmer Shelf sits at approximately 12,400 feet.
    - Guide Bruce Cook tested the snow bridge on May 15 and logged it as "reliable" after personally testing it.
    - Expedition temperature logs show afternoon temperatures above freezing at the Ashmer Shelf on May 16 and May 17.

    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.
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    18 分