The Happiness Quotient

Thom Pollard

Thom Dharma Pollard hosts inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire with guests and drawing from his own adventures around the world. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us. read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Everest's INDUSTRIAL Age: Death Toll Rises & Costly Rescues Require Action #everest #mountains
May 19 2023
Everest's INDUSTRIAL Age: Death Toll Rises & Costly Rescues Require Action #everest #mountains
Angela Benavides is a High-Altitude Mountaineering and Climbing journalist for Explorers Web - https://explorersweb.com/PLEASE SUPPORT the families of Sherpa and mountain workers who have died while working in the mountains, check out this video: https://youtu.be/Htd_l89ejJYThe two Polish climbers mentioned in the video who flew in from Kathmandu to rescue Carlos Soria on Dhaulagiri are Bartek Ziemski and Oswald Pereira.As of May 18 there are over 200 summits of Mount Everest with hundreds of others still moving forward to make their attempt to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.There are eight deaths as of May 18th, including for Sherpa, an Indian woman attempting to become the first to climb Everest with a pace maker, a Moldovan climber named Victor Brinza fell ill at South Col and passed away.The weather is holding. Families around the world anxiously await news from their loved ones to hear a report from the mountain And if any of you watch my shorts, you’ve heard about new records Kami Rita Sherpa has summited Everst for the 27th time, he is 53 and the holder of the record for most summits of EverestAnd Kenton Cool has summited Mount Everest for his 17th time, becoming the person with the most summits for a non Nepali.And a 16 year old climber from China….The Chinese girl Sui Cho Yuan successfully reached atop Everest via the south slope at 5:42am on May 15Thank you for visiting. Please consider becoming a Channel Member for access to perks and to become part of a growing community:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/joinSupport the show
SURVIVOR: Everest! The Survivors of Himalayan Mountain Workers & Sherpa Who Die, and What's Being Done to Help
May 11 2023
SURVIVOR: Everest! The Survivors of Himalayan Mountain Workers & Sherpa Who Die, and What's Being Done to Help
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SHERPA OR MOUNTAIN WORKER DIES ON A MOUNTAIN CLIMBING EXPEDITION? TODAY I HAVE DAVID MORTON HERE TO talk about The Juniper Fund, its beginnings,  and the important work they’re doing in Nepal to help the families of Sherpa who have lost their lives guiding and working in the mountains.For Sherpa throughout the Khumbu Region of Nepal, the dangers of guiding climbers to the world’s highest peaks like Mount Everest, with the ever-present possibility of accidents, avalanches and the extremes of weather and altitude became no more evident than last month when a serac fall took the lives of three Sherpa in the Khumbu Icefall of Everest. Ab0ut one-third of the more than 300 deaths on Everest over the past hundred years  have been of Sherpa guides, according to the Himalayan Database, a mountaineering record-keeping body. In 2014 after the tragic avalanche there that claimed the lives of 16 sherpa and high altitude porters, massive strikes in Base Camp and beyond forced the hand of the government to increase the life insurance on a death there to $15000….however, the strength of the Nepal rupee has significantly diminished and that amount is now worth far less since it is paid in rupees. Many times these mostly men who die in the mountains are the sole or primary breadwinners for their families and those survivors have precious few resources to fall back on. In 2014 I visited several families while filming a documentary on Everest  that took a drastic turn after the avalanche. It was a deeply moving experience for me and my friends who were taking part in the expedition. A year before that two longtime friends and Himalayan guides, David Morton and Melissa Arnot Reid, started a non profit organization called The Juniper Fund, set up to help a couple families they knew who had their primary breadwinner lose his life during expeditions they were on.For more information about The Juniper Fund visit their website:https://www.thejuniperfund.orgSupport the show
Everest News! Death & Drama on Annapurna in the Mount Everest Himalaya with Everest Chronicler for Outside Online Alan Arnette #everest #mountains #annapurna
Apr 21 2023
Everest News! Death & Drama on Annapurna in the Mount Everest Himalaya with Everest Chronicler for Outside Online Alan Arnette #everest #mountains #annapurna
HERE'S MY FULL CONVERSATION with Alan Arnette on YouTube:https://youtu.be/WIk67aEg0sIThere’s Been Loss of Life and Intense Drama on Annapurna and in the Mount Everest and 8000 meter peaks region of the Nepal Himalaya. A veteran climber is dead, another miraculously rescued, and multiple others are lucky to be alive after a tragic few days in the Himalayas.As the deadliest of the 8000 meter peaks Annapurna has of late become an object of desire for a wider and larger group of the new era of mountaineers, ticking off peaks on their checklist.In recent years, guides have supplied high levels of support and supplemental oxygen to make the peak more accessible to less experienced climbers. Of the 395 total summits, 129 (33 percent) have occurred in the past three years.HERE'S AN INTERVIEW with one of the world’s most respected chroniclers of Mount Everest, Alan Arnette WHO is reporting on this spring’s Everest and Himalayan climbing season for OUTSIDE ONLINE We’ll talk about the miraculous rescue effort on Annapurna where Indian climber Anurag Maloo was found alive after spending three days inside a crevasse on Annapurna. Angela Benavides of Explorers Web has reported that Maloo was 50 meters in the crevasse, found barely alive by a rescue team led by Adam Bielecki - mind boggling….defying all odds…hope to bring more on that soon.As well as the loss that sent shockwaves through the himalayan climbing community, the ever popular and 10-time Everest summiter, Noel Hanna of Ireland, 56, died in his tent at Camp 4 after summiting without supplemental oxygen. We also discuss the summit of Manaslu by Felix Berg, as well as the sherpas expanding role in the world of 8000 meter peak guiding. And Alan has written a book.YOU CAN FIND ALAN’S BLOG at alanarnette.com Support the show
The Illegal Burial of Ed Abbey & The Fight for the Yellowstone Grizzly - Doug Peacock #grizzly #Patagonia
Mar 24 2023
The Illegal Burial of Ed Abbey & The Fight for the Yellowstone Grizzly - Doug Peacock #grizzly #Patagonia
Doug Peacock's award winning book is: WAS IT WORTH IT? A WILDERNESS WARRIOR'S LONG TRAIL HOMEDoug Peacock is an American naturalist, author, and filmmaker who is best known for his work in conservation and activism on behalf of grizzly bears in the American West.Here is my VIDEO version of the interview with Doug:https://youtu.be/eYltXSGI0LMMORE about Doug Peacock here:https://dougpeacock.net/You need a copy of this book! Find it here:https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwib0r3V1_T9AhW55uMHHbI6BeoYABAAGgJ5bQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESbeD2gisjHru--HzCA31EZbLWoOjL2LZNCxv7-JvbcbdvpqS-3BR21xD02Vv6iOCbNlPelaHdP_9dBSpiconV54SaT4JUr-pB1ppmpYRmIOPVsGSOgOOFWTp8rHa03NWVwSegv5bHzOr_XObSlck&sig=AOD64_3wNJ38YXKpxymm7aJok3Bgvg9OVA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwi897TV1_T9AhUkjIkEHTejBXsQ0Qx6BAgGEAE&nis=8&dct=1For the audio only version of this episode please use this link:https://www.buzzsprout.com/268133/12507653Doug is the founder and chairman of the board of Save the Yellowstone Grizzly. During his service as a Green Beret medic in the Vietnam War. After the war, Doug suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and found solace in the wilderness, much like he did when he was a boy growing up in northern Michigan, exploring swamps and forests and remote places - After the war he devoted himself to observing and documenting grizzly bears in their natural habitat.Doug was a long time friend of the late Edward Abbey, who wrote THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG, where Peacock’s essence and spirit and passion was immortalized in the character known as George Washington Hayduke. Sir Doug, is the author of several books, including "Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness”..... He has also worked as a consultant on several documentaries, including "Grizzly Country" and "In the Path of the Grizzly."  Doug says bringing a gun into grizzly country will get you more into trouble than out of it…just look at the cover of his book, need I say more on that. Suffice it to say, grizzly bears saved his life…he has devoted his life to protecting theirs. Doug is a dog lover, a cat lover, father of two children - his amazing wife and life partner Andrea founded Elk River Books with cousin and friend Marc Beaudin….in Livingston, Montana - where, bye the way, my brother had previously lived, making complete the connection of how Jeff and Doug were pals. …you know, if Jeff had never left Livingston I’d be willing to bet a nickel he’d still be alive….Doug continues to work desperately towards protecting grizzly bears and their habitat through his writing, speaking engagements, and activism….and…talking to guys like me who read his book….and just had to tell everyone about itHere’s my inspiring conversation with Doug Peacock about his book WAS IT WORTH IT: A WILDERNESS WARRIOR’S LONG TRAIL HOME  published by Patagonia.yes that PatagoniaThank you for visiting. Please consider becoming a Channel Member for access to perks and to become part of a growing community:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/joinSupport the show