Building a Life of Adventure with Ryan Waters
EPISODE SUMMARY
In today's episode we are joined by Ryan Waters, owner of Mountain Professionals, mountaineer, polar explorer, guide, and soon to be author. Ryan shares a glimpse of his journey over the past 15 years as a guide and explorer that have taken him all over the world and led him to set new records. Ryan is the first American to complete the True Adventurers Grand Slam with unsupported and unassisted full ski trips to the North and South poles. He is the first American to ski unsupported/unassisted full length trips to both poles and has also guided clients twice on unsupported full South Pole trips. You might be wondering what keeps Ryan going on all of these extremely challenging adventures and lifestyle; he shares how each started with a personal commitment to himself or partners versus a goal.
We dive into the importance of making commitments to yourself and sticking with them, helping others reach their dreams, taking risks to follow our truth, learning to recharge in order to avoid burnout, reassessing what happiness means for us at different stages of life, and listening to that inner voice that's asking you to go for it. Ryan shares the importance of mental wellbeing and stamina as he is left with himself and his thoughts skiing across Antarctica or the North Pole for 70 or 50 plus days at a time in some of the world's harshest conditions.
An episode to help you remember anything you commit to can be possible and also be a step closer to your truth.
EPISODE NOTES
LINKS:
ABOUT RYAN:
Working in the professional guiding and outdoor education field for seventeen years has taken him all over the world. His resume includes guiding the Seven Summits on over 50 occasions to the various summits. His background includes well over 35 expeditions in the Andes Range and 24 expeditions to the Himalayas. He is a veteran of seven expeditions to Mt. Everest, leading groups to the summit via both the Tibet and Nepal sides and three expeditions to Cho Oyu in Tibet. He has led expeditions to K2, Broad Peak (2 times), and Gasherbrum II in the Karakoram Himalaya of Pakistan and Lhotse (2 times), Manaslu (3 times), Dhaulagiri and the Southeast Ridge of 7,200 meter Pumo Ri in Nepal.
A team unsupported West to East ski traverse of Greenland expanded his interests into the polar regions. In 2010, Ryan and Cecilie Skog completed a 1,117 mile/1,800 kilometer Antarctic ski expedition over 70 days from Berkner Island in the Ronne/Filchner Sea to the South Pole, continuing to the Ross Sea to complete the first ski traverse of Antarctica without resupplies or the use of kites to the ice shelf. He and Eric Larsen skied unsupported to the North Pole in Spring 2014, completing the journey in 53 days, making Ryan the first American to complete the True Adventurers Grand Slam with unsupported and unassisted full ski trips to both poles. He is the first American to ski unsupported/unassisted full length trips to both poles and has also guided clients twice on unsupported full South Pole trips. A 44 day full trip to the South Pole via the Messner/Fuchs route and a 53 day full trip to the South Pole via the Hercules Inlet route.
Ryan has a Master Polar Guide certification with the International Polar Guides Association (IPGA), has a Wilderness First Responder certification, the American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Level II certification. He has a B.S. degree in Geology.
