Season four episode nine

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Leif Whittaker, son of Jim Whittaker who was the first American to  summit Mt. Everest, grew up on a sail boat with his family sailing the  Pacific.  Initially not interested in climbing, that all changed at age  15 when he and his older brother hiked 20 miles into the wilderness  without their parents and climbed Mt. Olympus. Since then, he has  traveled across the globe and climbed some of the world’s highest peaks,  including Aconcagua, Mt. Vinson, Denali, and two ascents of Mt.  Everest.

Leif worked for more than a decade as a Climbing Ranger  for the U. S. Forest Service on Mt. Baker protecting it’s wilderness and  engaging in emergency rescues. He is also a founding member and top  coach for Evoke Endurance where he specializes in coaching  mountaineers.   

His book, My Old Man and the Mountain, was published by Mountaineers Books in 2016 and won several awards.

Follow Leif at his website leifwhittaker.com/

 West Hansen is an ultra marathon canoe racer turned explorer to  undertake paddling the Amazon from its source high in the Andes  mountains to it's end at the Atlantic ocean.  A journey of almost 4,000  miles across the continent of South America.  West is a great story  teller and he does not disappoint in this episode.

Follow West's expeditions at WestHansen.com 

  In this episode of Whiskey and a Map, we are joined by  Jennifer Thomson who shares her stories of the wonders of deep ocean  exploration.  Waters lite up by a multitude of bioluminescent creatures,  giant hammerhead sharks, translucent octopus are among the many  experiences Jennifer shares in this episode.  In addition, she shares  her advice and inspiration for anyone considering the life of an  explorer.  

 Robert Mads Anderson is a mountaineer and adventurer.  His many world  class accomplishments include: first ascents in Antarctica, including  the Rolex Ridge which he made the first ascent of solo and has yet to  see a 2nd ascent; climbing a new route on the Kangshung Face, Everest;  flying across the Arctic in a vintage Russian biplane and many other  adventures.

Robert is the Author of four books: Nine Lives -  Expeditions to Everest, Seven Summits Solo, To Everest via Antarctica  and Antonovs over the Arctic: Flying to the North Pole in a Russian  biplane.  

Steve Elkins is an award winning cinematographer and explorer. He is a  fellow of the Explorer's Club and member of the Adventurer's Club.

In  this episode, Steve recounts the search for the lost and fabled "White  City" known to the indigenous people  as the City of the Monkey God.   Reputed to contain much wealth, but also cursed.  It lay hidden  somewhere in the jungles of Honduras.   Over hundreds of years,  adventurers and explorers have searched and died seeking this legendary  city.  It's secrets lost to time and the jungle, until Steve and his  team took on the challenge.

Matthew Marriott is a fellow of the Royal Geographic society and a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

His  expeditions include walking across the Queensland, Australia tropical  rain forest area, documenting the Cassowary and learning about the Djiru  Aboriginal people and language.  He traversed a transect of the Sahara  from Eastern Morocco to the Algerian border on camel.  Marriott retraced  his great great grandfather's Challenger expedition to Christmas Island  in the Indian Ocean.

Follow Matthew via his Instagram account instagram.com/matthewmarriott/

 James Dorsey returns with more stories from his lifetime of adventure.   James talks about his trip through China encountering Mongolian shaman  and the stone carvings of Genghis Khan.  He then takes us south to the  island of Papua New Guinea and his encounter with the infamous tribe  known as the mud men.  From there to the witch markets of South American  then to encounters with whales. 

Whiskey and a Map podcast opens it's 4th season with Brent Bishop: A  mountaineer and explorer, Brent has climbed the highest peaks around the  world. In the process, he has encountered Chechen mafia, murderous  Papuans and killing avalanches. 

In this episode we get to sit down with world class climber Brent Bishop who shares these experiences and more.

 Brent  Bishop, the son of the late legendary climber Barry Bishop, began  climbing as a child with his father on the east coast and in the Rocky  Mountains. When he was young, his parents moved to and worked in Nepal.   Living among the Sherpa people, Brent developed close ties and personal  friendships with many of them that continue today.

 In 1994 he  became the first American legacy to follow in his father’s footsteps and  summit Mt. Everest.  He reached the summit again in 2002 with the  National Geographic Mt. Everest Expedition that marked the 50th  anniversary of the first ascent of Everest.

An accomplished  climber and explorer in his own right, Brent has climbed and guided  expeditions throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe,  Asia and the Antarctic.  Brent has accomplished difficult first ascents  and pioneered new routes up established peaks.

His climbing and environmental work earned him awards from the prestigious Explorer’s Club and the American Alpine Club.

Brent has a deep love of climbing and of the people and their cultures who live in these remote areas.