A moonlit push up Mount Hood lit a lifelong fire—and it didn’t stop at the summit. Arlene Blum opens up about how a strict, postwar childhood, overprotective grandparents, and one ecstatic first climb shaped her habit of choosing new routes when the obvious path was closed to women. From organizing the first all-women ascent of Denali and leading a death-defying rescue, to launching a 15‑month “Endless Winter” of high altitude ascents, she shares how grief, sexism, and logistics became fuel rather than walls.

Arlene explains how the death of her friend Bruce Carson motivated her to focus on children’s pajamas contaminated with carcinogenic flame retardants, and how one scientific paper—paired with national media—sparked sweeping change within months. Then came tougher terrain: outdated furniture and vehicle flammability standards that pushed toxic chemicals into couches and car seats with little fire safety benefit.

As founder of the Green Science Policy Institute, Arlene breaks down the playbook that works: rigorous research, clear recommendations, unlikely alliances with firefighters and consumer advocates, and a focus on safer design that stops fires before foam ignites.

You’ll come away with a mountaineer’s approach to public health: define the summit, build a resilient team, pace for the long haul, and know when to change tactics. Arlene offers practical steps to cut exposure today—think fresh air in the car instead of recirculating—and offers several resources (listed below) for smarter choices and up-to-date science. It’s a conversation about optimism as a survival skill and how extraordinary persistence can out climb entrenched systems. If the episode resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who loves mountains or public health, and leave a review to help more listeners find these stories.

Links to more resources:
www.ArleneBlum.com : Arlene's personal website with a photo library of her expeditions as well as links to her resources and talks related to both mountaineering and science
www.SixClasses.org : four-minute videos that explain the six classes of chemicals of concern and how to avoid their use
www.GreenSciencePolicy.org : facilitates safer use of chemicals to protect human and ecological health
PFAScentral.org : all things PFAS chemicals, including a list of PFAS-free products

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Episode hosted by Broad Beta co-founder Jeannie Wall and Cat Coe

Episode produced and edited by Cat Coe

Music by Holizna Radio (intro) and Kirk Osomayo (conclusion). Music sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com

Amity Warme joined a short list of climbers when she free climbed the PreMuir Wall (33 pitches, 5.13c/d) on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park this November. She joins us as a follow up to her full length interview and tells us all about it. Check out her full bio in the show notes of her interview. In summary, she's a badass!

Congratulations, Amity!

www. broadbeta.com

Does anyone know how to give'r more than Amity Warme? For a lesson in try-hard, search Book of Hate, Amity Warme on Youtube...right after you listen to this inspiring interview. Amity oozes with love for climbing and love for her fellow climbers, and if you see her at the crag, she wants you to come talk to her. And we can guarantee that if you do, she won't disappoint, she won't intimidate, and she will be psyched that you're outside, sharing in her boundless love for trying hard on rock. In this episode, Amity talks about climbing as a mirror for how we deal with hard things in life, being a role model for others as a sponsored climber, and drops some much-appreciated wisdom about nutrition for athletes.

Amity grew up in Colorado and began climbing in college in Texas. She has since free climbed mega routes like Freerider (5.13a, 31 pitches), El Nino (5.13c, 25 pitches), Golden Gate (5.13a, 33 pitches), and the list goes on. With multiple 5.13+ and 5.14a sends on trad gear, she is easily one of the most impressive climbers on the planet.

Speaking of impressive feats, just last month Amity joined a short list of climbers who have freed the PreMuir Wall on El Cap: a 33 pitch 5.13c/d. Check out our short bonus episode where she tells us all about the unexpected ups and downs.

When Amity isn't absolutely crushing hard trad routes, she is helping others do so as a Registered Dietician with a Master's in Sports Nutrition. Contact her via her website if you're interested in fueling to send like Amity!

AmityWarme.com - athlete and dietician website

Book of Hate video - don't miss this incredible short film of Amity sending Book of Hate (5.13d) (we refer to it several times in the interview)

Cover photo courtesy of Ian Dzilenski @iandzilenski

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Episode hosted by Broad Beta co-founder Jeannie Wall and Cat Coe

Episode produced and edited by Cat Coe

Music by Holizna Radio (intro) and Kirk Osomayo (conclusion). Music sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com

Cheyenne grew up in Shelby, Montana, and found climbing in Bozeman. She now calls Truckee home and spends her time chasing big linkups, trail running, skiing, and pursuing any adventure that asks her to dig deep. With roots in conservation and community, she leads with kindness and grit, always finding joy in good people and good company.

This story was originally published on the Broad Beta website in September of 2025. In it, Cheyenne digs into fear - of missteps in the mountains and of being ourselves in the world - against the backdrop of a climb in the Beartooths with a good friend.

Click here to see beautiful photos from her trip after you listen.

Follow Cheyenne's photography on Instagram @cheystirling

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Story read by Cheyenne Stirling

Episode edited and produced by Cat Coe

Music by Holizna Radio and Ketsa, respectively. All music sourced from freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com

In this episode you'll hear 93-year-old Roswitha "Ros" McIntosh read her story, which was originally published on the Broad Beta website in May of 2025 (check it out here to see the photos of her skiing in Germany as a child). Ros was born in Germany during the Hitler years, and when she was a child they spent most nights in cold damp cellars while bombs leveled the city. Eventually, she and her family were allowed to move to their cabin. From their serene mountain top they witnessed the burning cities - the insanity of war - in stark contrast to the beauty of nature.

Years later, Ros came to the United States on a scholarship. She graduated from Smith College and the Harvard/Radcliffe Program of Business Administration. Eventually, she turned her love of skiing into a job when she became the first woman to join the Squaw Valley ski patrol.

Ros is now retired after 25 years working as a consultant and writing for The Risk Management Manual. She lives on the Pacific Coast in Alameda, California, and cherishes her daily two-mile walk along the beach, her regular ping pong and bridge games, and playing the piano. The first thing she does every morning is 40 minutes of Duolingo to practice French. But most important to her are her frequent trips to the mountains. At 93, she is still skiing, inspiring us all to never stop pursuing our love of the mountains.

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Story read by Roswitha McIntosh

Episode produced and edited by Cat Coe

Music by Holizna Radio (intro), Kirk Osomayo (segue) and Ketsa (conclusion), respectively. Music sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com

Kate Kelleghan is on the cutting edge of big wall speed climbing, and this spring she and Laura Pineau became the first female team to complete the Triple Crown in Yosemite. The Triple Crown consists of climbing El Capitan, Mt. Watkins, and Half Dome, all in under 24 hours. Prior to June of this year, only 10 parties of men (and Alex Honnold alone) had completed the Triple Crown which was established 24 years ago by Dean Potter and Timmy O'Neill.

Kate has progressed incredibly fast from climbing the Flatirons as a newbie to pushing the limits of trad climbing. In this interview, she shares about how she found climbing after being an artsy teen who didn't love the outdoors and how she survived an epic rescue during one of her first early big wall attempts. She talks about her partnership with Pineau, the evolution of her own risk tolerance, and her tactics for dealing with pain and fear. Her sense of humor and determination are infectious and will leave you inspired and thinking about your own personal limits and what goals to set next.

Cover photo courtesy of Jacek Wejster

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Episode hosted by Broad Beta co-founder Jeannie Wall and Cat Coe

Episode produced and edited by Cat Coe

Music by Holizna Radio (intro and first segue), Kirk Osomayo, and Ketsa (conclusion), respectively. Music sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com

The story on today's episode was written and read by Jenna Malone and published on the Broad Beta website in February of 2025 (originally published in The Avalanche Review 43.3). Check it out to see photos courtesy of Ben Vandenbos. Jenna sets an amazing example of an intelligent, driven, talented avalanche educator; we hope you'll enjoy her story which is chock full of interesting insights around the psychology of backcountry skiing.

Jenna works as a PA in Trauma and Critical Care at Intermountain Medical Center. In her spare time, she works at Alta Ski Resort outside of Salt Lake City as a part time ski patroller. There's more! She also teaches for the American Avalanche Institute, guides for Wasatch Powderbird Guides and Utah Mountain Adventures, and has spent multiple seasons as a medical provider for Denali Rescue Volunteers...and is on the Denali Rescue Volunteers board. She has presented at multiple Snow and Avalanche Workshops and has contributed to The Avalanche Review and Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal. We are so grateful that Jenna took the time out of her incredibly busy schedule to record her story so our audience can hear her thoughtful, beautiful voice.

Please refer to her story for citations to the studies if you want to enjoy further reading on this topic.

Check out Jenna on Wyoming Public Radio and on the Utah Avalanche Center podcast

Follow Jenna's adventures on Instagram @jmaloneski

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Story read by Jenna Malone

Intro music by Holizna Radio and Kirk Osamayo, respectively, and conclusion music by Ketsa. All music sourced from freemusicarchive.org.

Episode produced by Cat Coe

www. broadbeta.com

Steph Abegg has become well known in the alpine climbing world for her detailed trip reports and route overlays on high quality photos of multipitch rock climbs. She describes herself as a climber, photographer, adventurer, and a math and data nerd, with a passion for displaying data in creative ways. Steph's background in math and data analysis are evident in her well-organized trip reports, which she aims to make as objective as possible. Recently, Steph redesigned her website, which started as blog-style reports back in 2006, to make the trip reports more user friendly and printable, in an ever-growing database of routes from all over the world.

Steph was raised in a family of climbers, and she and her sister Jenny have both emerged as notable women in the climbing world. In this episode, Steph tells us about how she began information sharing in the climbing world, how a major injury almost sidelined her and the years'-long comeback that followed, and so much more. Her passion for the wilderness, adventure, climbing, and data sharing are infectious. We're so grateful to her for sharing her story with us.

Check out Steph's trip reports here

Follow Steph on Instagram @stephabegg_com

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Episode hosted by Broad Beta co-founder Jeannie Wall and Cat Coe

Episode produced and edited by Cat Coe

Conclusion music by Ketsa and Intro music by Holizna Radio. Music sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org.

www. broadbeta.com