Pro freestyle and big mountain skier Lynsey Dyer shares her perspective on adventure as an athlete, adventurer, podcaster and soon to be mother. Hear her talk about what it’s like to ski off a seventy-five-foot cliff, the mindset that is required to overcome big challenges, and where she hopes adventure will take us.

Key Takeaways

Adventure personality: Mix of humility, determination, perseverance, preparation and assertiveness. You have to see yourself succeeding.

Assertive mindset: If you want to overcome big challenges, you need to adopt an attack mindset.

Power of high-end awareness: One trait of high-end athletes is their ability to process their environment and make good decisions quickly.

Adventure is for everyone: You don’t have to be jumping off of huge cliffs and be taking on super high-risk situations to have an adventure. Adventure is a state that any of us can experience.

Guest Links

You can find Lynsey Dyer at lynseydyer.com

Check out her Podcast: Showing UP with Lynsey Dyer

Check out: Unicorn Picnic and She Jumps

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How does Lindsay face down her fear and how can we do it too? Now, when we talk about accomplishments, it is hard to know where to begin with. Lindsay Dyer, she is a pro freestyle and big mountain skier. Ski movie star, adventure photographer, podcaster, film producer, and entrepreneur. She's appeared in 18 adventure-based ski films.

She was the first female skier to appear on the cover of Free Skier Magazine, and her own photography has appeared in National Geographic. In addition to all of these accomplishments, she has used her experience in creativity to produce and direct the first all female ski movie Pretty Faces. Lindsay has also used her apparel and production company Unicorn Picnic, to encourage women and girls to participate in the outdoors by offering mentorship opportunities and coaching.

In this episode, Lindsay is going to share with us her thoughts on the nature of adventure from her unique and diverse perspective. Jordy, you've worked with Lindsay in the mountains, is that right?

And I, uh, was doing the film safety work, um, for the, that side of it with the, the helicopter and, uh, avalanche assessments. And, uh, Lindsay was there as a pro skier, um, with the film crew. And I, I just remember that she's, she's such a genuine person and incredibly talented, uh, physically, uh, very, very capable person and, uh, and just a joy to be around.

She's just always upbeat and uh, and really enthusiastic about being in the mountains.

Exploring in the mountains, uh, and, and coming up upon whatever you did. You know, I, I still remember, like I said, finding random rope swings and swimming, swinging over, over rivers, uh, hiking up and finding surprise lakes, uh, and swimming in them. And, uh, that, that really built our confidence. And, and you know, that's the first thing that comes to my mind when you ask what it meant growing up.

We're not as strong, blah, blah, blah. And in a lot of ways that made a lot of sense. And, uh, and at the same time, um, I, I questioned that and challenged it with mindset. Uh, and, and it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life to, to really go into my own belief system and every cell of my body and really ask if we could change this, this given.

Um, and find that, that I could, you know, with not, without a lot of training and preparation, um, and by the time I did finally step up to it, it was really was one of the most empowering experiences, which taught me that all limitations are meant to be challenged. And the given is an opportunity to, to, to shift.

Uh, and so that, that bit of that adventure really translated across all aspects of my life. You know, if I could, if I could break this, this boundary, um, you know, what else could I do? Uh, and that's the kind of thing that I try to tell women and, and girls and kids, is that you came here to challenge the, the norm.

And you, you do have within you. Um, That opportunity if you choose to believe something different than, than what everyone else does. Um, and it's not overnight and it's not magic, um, but it is possible. And that's how we expand reality.

And rightfully so. The cliff itself, of course, is a physical obstacle. However, there's another component and that is the fear of what could go wrong. Lindsay, how do you overcome that fear so that you can push past big obstacles like cliffs?

And it's funny cuz I, I speak on this all the time now, um, and I've, I've gotten it into like bullet points of like, what, what really did it take? Um, and, and wondering, you know, making it a game. You know, what if right. Versus, uh, black and white and, and then, um, and then a lot of showing up. Um, and, and you know, it, I can't say that it's incremental.

Like I didn't start with a five foot cliff and then go to a 10 foot cliff . Cause you don't really do, uh, a, a 50 foot clip and then a 60 foot . Um, you know, I, I was reading a lot on, uh, the fact that our, our brains don't know the difference and our bodies don't know the difference between a visualization and reality.

And so, you know, as a young ski racer, I, it, I've been programming these like techniques in for a long time as a young athlete. Um, and, and watching them, them work. So, uh, I've probably been training for this my whole life. Um, on top of. Making sure I was really strong on top of, you know, the physical weight training and hiking every day and having my feet in the snow.

Uh, and the first time I went up to do this, um, the whole mountain came down actually. Uh, it happened to be, uh, I had a friend on the, on the other side of the, the mountain that I didn't even know was there, who, uh, happened to be hiking up the other side. And I was, I was hiking up and just heard that horrible thunder that, that we all know from.

That means there's an avalanche happening. And I knew that a friend was being pulled off a cliff at that moment. Um, and in, on that day, you know, it instantly aborted my vision and then went, uh, what happened to be first on the scene, to dig him out and thought I was, I was gonna be digging out a, a friend, um, a dead friend.

And somehow the, uh, He had been cushioned, um, with all of the, all the snow in the fall. So that was a scary day. Um, but yeah, like I said, visualization and, and belief. You know, that all this scientific research shows that, uh, like I said, our, our bodies don't know the difference between visualization and reality.

Um, but I think that day just, um, you know, I think all of us, uh, Who call ourselves pro athletes at some point or another. Like there, there's definitely some magic time when you, you really are sure that you, you can do anything. And I've been through that too. And it, it is a magical place. and, and, and jumping this clip really added to that.

Um, but sooner or later you do find your limits and, and it breaks you, um, first physically and then mentally. Um, in, in my case it was, I can, that's another story, but I can answer that one later. But I think for him, this, this was that for him is, um, where he got served and, and humbled. Um, and it wasn't worth it after.

You know, maybe it's not always physical, but in that, in those times it's a really difficult client or, um, really difficult weather or you've got a six toe that is crushing you , um, that you can't talk about because you are the guide . Um, so yeah, just humility, I mean, every single time. I can't say I, I mean every, well, I feel like every time I went out with a lot of confidence, that's, that's when I usually got myself in trouble.

So it's, it's going out there every time with humility, expecting it to be incredibly hard, and then hopefully surprising yourself that you were more prepared than you thought. I think that's probably what's kept. Um, I mean, I have learned the hard way a lot of times, um, and, but building that humility is what's kept this career going for as long as it has.

Uh, but you learn those lessons when they, when the mountains. I really crush you, . I mean, there's this scar under my lip. There's one I almost lost my eye. That one was the one for me that, um, that, that that broke me. Um, in, in ways because I saw the, the fear actually on my, on the people around me's face.

It's funny when you're a girl and you hurt yourself, even there could be 15 men around you and they will not help you because they do not wanna see the carnage on a woman's face. , I could get, I got zero help for that. One had to ski myself down, um, take myself to the hospital. So I learned a lot about fear.

So it certainly wasn't something I just like, Oh, that sounds fun, I'm gonna go do it. Um, you know, when it was first introduced to me, uh, it was like, the exact story is, is hiking out. My very first day ever getting an opportunity to film with Teton Gravity Research and hiking out into the back country with Todd Jones, the um, uh, one of the founders of TGR and he points up at this, this rock wall that we're, we're hiking underneath.

And he says, Why don't you hit that? And I literally can't see the top, uh, like it's not, I hit what, Right. So, um, I think the biggest thing is sort of, is. How do we put these? I if there was a message, it's like, you don't even consider sometimes what you, how big you could go, unless some somebody else maybe puts that in your mind because you just, you just wouldn't even consider it.

And uh, and that first day I was like, I, like I said, I couldn't consider it. Um, but over time, and looking at it over time is when I could start to like, expand my perception of what could be possible. And that's where, you know, after that getting into the curiosity of it. Um, and then, and then like I said, just a lot of time, um, wondering and, uh, and just being in the mountains every day and, and listening to the mountains and, and being challenged.

Um, but by the time I finally did get up there, uh, You know, I had, I had researched every shrub and rock on that, um, um, on, on that piece of mountain, right? So I, so that I would know where I was once I got up top. But the truth is, it was so steep once I finally got up there that, you know, I looked below me and I couldn't find any of those references.

All I could see was the valley below. And that was absolutely terrifying, . And that's when I learned for the first time about being gripped. Um, I don't know you guys have that term in Canada, but, uh,

It. Was it, That part was terrifying too. I, I could not move. My body was like, Nope, I don't know what you're doing here, but we're not moving. Um, and that in itself was, was, yeah, terrifying. And luckily I had my best friend up there and he was like, Hey, just take, just take a step, um, a step forward. And I was able to literally take a step forward, you know, slide forward in my boots and that little step.

Um, I've, I, I've since learned, I do a lot of studying around flow states and I've since learned that that's a trigger for getting into flow state. It's literally just a step of movement, and that's a fun conversation to get into too. Um, but I did that and, and all of a sudden, the mountain did open up to me and I did recognize the bent over tiny tree and the tiny rock and like finally recognize where I was.

And, um, in that, Sort of recognition, like everything kind of fell away and immense gratitude came in. And, uh, yeah, that feeling of being, um, I don't know, instant flow kind of came over and I knew I had it. And then skiing, the line was, was in that state of, of pure gratitude, which is the most incredible feeling in the world.

And I think that's also known as flow. And then, um, I had planned hitting this thing as, as fast as I could because I was trying to, um, the best trany at the bottom was pretty far out. Um, and as a ski racer, I always knew that speed was your friend and allowed you to keep control in the air versus just falling off of something, which I've seen other people do off the front Cliff.

Um, and so that was my intention, is to hit this thing with as much speed as possible. And I did, and the only thing that I didn't account for was it was so big that, um, you actually, I hit terminal velocity. Um, and, you know, I've, I'm in the air in, in a good position that I've learned from years and years of downhill skiing and hitting jumps and, and the, the wind caught my skis.

You'll see this. If you ever watch Jamie Pierre like, um, world record, like 250 foot cliff fall , the wind picks your skis up. Um, and that is the only thing I hadn't accounted for in my visualization, and it kind of threw me back a little bit. But the biggest thing I remember is, is the sound. It became so.

um, in that pre-fall of hitting terminal velocity without a parachute on. And, and that's the biggest thing I remember. Um, that is, uh, pretty scary . Um, I didn't have enough time to get afraid, but, um, you know, and you asking what it's like, that is the biggest thing. And then when you're gonna do something like that, um, it's still violent, you know, that landing was violent.

Um, but I was prepared for that. And so it's not, it's not rainbows and butterflies, . Um, but yeah, I was prepared, Yeah.

Um, I've definitely learned the hard way, um, with the wrong people who like to tell you where you're going, um, and decide what you're capable of and not, um, also hard, harsh lessons.

I'm, I'm not making a decision of whether you can or cannot ski off of something. I'm doing more of the avalanche and CVAs danger, safety and, and uh, cornices and that sort of thing in terms of bad things happening while you're on the line. Um, but it's, you're one of the good ones, 

Where we're not necessarily skiing super steep lines all the time, but, you know, we're looking for good snow conditions and, and that sort of thing. Um, which is, you know, sometimes in the films we're doing that too, um, especially when the avalanche dangers a little spicier. But, you know, I'll, I'll be saying thinking as we're flying in, Oh, that looks like a great place for these athletes to ski.

And then you can't see me here on the podcast, but they will point like hard right out to the helicopter and say, Well, can we ski that ? And it's, I'm just not in that mode for the, for the terrain. And I look over and I think, Well, can you, because I'm not concerned of what avalanche is there. You know, it's steep and sloughs all the time and it's, it's up to you if you wanna ski that, but then, yeah, you're gonna have to find where, find your line.

It's so different when you're looking at it from the front, uh, and from the air, and then you get on top of it. And I've always been super impressed where we've done, you know, 10 days of downtime waiting for the right lighting conditions and liability to get into the terrain. And so, you know, the, the athletes are playing ping pong and, you know, kind of, kind of doing shoots down by the river and, and then, then you're in a machine and getting dropped off at the top of a mountain that you've had three seconds to look at.

Cuz you, you're paying for the hell time and you want, you wanna not spin the rotors too much and spend too much time looking at the face. And then you gotta find your way down from the top blind. Essentially it's, it's super impressive and do these athletic feats like jumping off of stuff and twisting and turning and going upside down.

Whereas me as a guide, if my skis are above me, something's generally gone wrong. Yeah. It's, it's very impressive.

Three weeks waiting for sunshine and sitting in. The lodge. Um, but me being the only female, I couldn't actually stay in the lodge. I had to stay, uh, in the, the heli garage, you know them, you know, almost a quarter mile away from everyone else in the employee housing. So you're on your own, you are isolated, you're with people you don't know, you're stuck in the rain, so you can't really move the way you're used to.

And then all of a sudden it's game time and you've gotta go perform and do the scariest thing you've ever done. Uh, looking at maybe having, like you said, maybe 10 seconds to, to make a decision of where you wanna go, then being put down on the top of it and trying to remember, uh, where the line was. It's, it's insane.

It's absolutely insane. And I think the, what it takes there is. And what I see in so many of these guys that just impress us over and over is, I think you just, you gotta want it really, really bad, more than all of the biggest consequences. Um, and that's, that's good and bad ,

And so it's, it's, it's a, it's a really interesting way to, to get that adventure, um, portrayed to the masses.

And I really look forward to the day when there's, when more of that, um, almost spiritual aspect is, is commercialized versus this is kind of the only way we're used to. Um, like you said, those, the heli clients that are the majority of people out there, their experience isn't necessarily reflected in the media cuz it's like not rad enough.

Right. And that's like coming from an ego perspective. So, uh, I try to spend my days like trying to figure out how to, um, Represent in a beautiful way. Um, the, the way that in which anyone can be in the mountains, not just the people that are doing death defying acts and feel welcome and feel like their experience is valid.

Cause that's the stuff that really matters

Um, but it's, it's a, it's a real perception-based thing, right? This, this whole idea of adventure and, you know, if, if you've ramped it up to the point where you have in your career, maybe, maybe you have a different perception of, of adventure. So how, how has your perception changed over time? Uh,

There was just only an opportunity for one aspect of it, which is the extreme right for me. Like I said, since, since I was a little girl, um, nature was a safe place, uh, to go explore and to connect and to dig in the dirt and to, um, uh, you know, have self discovery. And I think that's how most people encounter nature.

But again, it's not necessarily reflected back in our, our current media. Um, and so I, I tried to, in order to be accepted in this world, you know, I tried to mold myself into what it was gonna take to be accepted. And I think that is a huge motivator for a lot of athletes where they, whether they admit it or not, um, if you have the dream of being paid to ski, it's sort of like, this is what you know, you're gonna have to.

Um, you're gonna have to put your life in the line over and over and over, um, to, to try to be accepted and, uh, and for some people that's, that's great. Uh, again, I just, I find it a bit limiting and, um, and exclusionary, and I think now we're really coming into a time where maybe the other aspects of encountering nature are more accepted.

And, uh, and I'm, I'm really excited to see that shift.

And he doesn't do what he does in order to deliver adventure to anyone else. He's on a personal mission to, to see what he can do out there. Um, and I think, you know, when I, when I look at you guys and what you guys are doing and all the guides that I so respect, um, it's, it's different. It's, it's about delivering adventure for other people and creating a safe environment where, where they can have that magical experience and kinda lean on you for the, to feel safe.

Um, So I can't say that I've learned other than, like I said, that having that personal drive to, to be out there and making it work and making a life out of it, um, from my guests, because as much as, again, we're sort of shown in media that it looks so easy and everybody has all this cool gear, um, that amount of self-directed drive to make a life outside is, is massive.

Um, and, and no one ever kind of sees how much work, um, it takes. It's so often perceived as easy and, um, you know, white and, uh, and, and it's all just gifted to you. Um, and I think, again, our culture sort of has taught us that we have to make it look that way. Um, and very few people, unless you're really in it, Recognize , I mean, to, to be a guide.

You basically, it's, it's a doctorate of how much time and, uh, education it takes to, to have the responsibility of taking people into the mountains. Um, and, and most people don't understand that.

I am six months pregnant. And, uh, I thought I was ready, . I thought that, uh, I, I, I, yeah, man, nothing prepares you for this. I thought being an athlete would prepare me, um, in terms of mental challenge, in terms of like, Oh, well I've been injured before. It's like that, right? it's just, uh, it makes you take some time off, uh, and.

Uh, that maybe that's helped. I think being injured just helps you develop as a, as a human in general, um, as a character developer. But this one is, is a whole new level. Um, and like I was telling you guys before we hit record, it challenges you on every single level. You, um, I have all, any insecurities I've ever had or have all come to the surface, any fears, any, um, you know, attachment to, um, my body and, and what it should be able to do or what it should look like is insane.

How much shifting, um, goes, goes on. Um, and also how magical it is. Uh, I was saying to you guys too, and I, I've been telling all my guy friends, I wish you could experience this cuz it is so cool to be a human koala and get to bring your best buddy with you everywhere you go. . Uh, so there is challenge and there is magic and um, and yeah, it is, it's the biggest adventure.

It also comes with so many unknowns. You know, I make my living, um, as an athlete and being able to perform as an athlete. And so, um, it's a giant jump into, um, you know, is, is the world that I know going to accept this because the world that I came into it initially, you know, very much seems like it, it, it liked seeing bubbly blonde girls, young, um, and uh, And doing fluffy powder turns.

And that's, that's where it wanted us to be and to see us develop, um, and still be accepted, um, is, is happening in some reason and other ways. It's still in the past for my experience. Um, I, uh, when I, when I let my sponsors know that I wanted to get pregnant, um, I kind of had thought that we were in a time where that was, that was accepted and celebrated in our industry.

And, um, I actually lost a lot of that support, which was a huge surprise to me. And, um, uh, you know, whether people or not, um, they're not necessarily ready to see this . And then, um, I've had some, some come around. So, um, kind of like everything. I feel like in life you have to choose to make the jump and then see who's coming along with you or not.

So I am seeing it and I'm so grateful for that. That bit of shift. Um, you know, I just re-signed for two more years with Fisher Skis, and so it's really showing me that, um, that that shift there, there is possibility for, you know, uh, developing a real, like, lifelong connection to the outdoors, even as it, um, might, you know, change what it looks like. So grateful for that.

You don't actually need fluffy, fancy products, new products to, to get the benefit. And it's, it can be a place where, uh, it's really creativity and the people you're with, um, can, can make it magic. And for a little kid, that's everything. And that's, that's exactly why I started the non-profit that I did, um, is to, is to help, you know, for people that didn't have that magical parent or aunt or uncle to introduce them.

To the back country spaces to have mentorship and, and friends and education, um, that could fill those gaps and make it a safe, fun, welcoming place.

Uh, and, um, I wasn't seeing that still after all that time in, in the industry. I was just seeing, um, movie after movie being about big stunts. Um, and, and again, that just wasn't, that wasn't to me. What, what made this. World's so special. And so I really, I really wanted to capture, um, those little, those little moments, um, and also highlight women and girls and, and help them see themselves reflected back, uh, in these arenas.

Um, and so that was, it was sort of like, I, it was kind of at a point in my career where I was like, Well, I can continue jumping off another big cliff. Um, but it just didn't have the meaning anymore. And, uh, and, and when I thought back about just how much this support had given me, it was like, all right, well, um, it's time to, what can I give back to the sport?

Um, and it was really scary. Again, you know, I was told it wasn't possible. I was told, uh, the reason there's no women's ski movies is cuz they don't work and they're boring and no one wants to watch them or. You know, the only way I, and I verbatim heard every one of these, only way someone's gonna watch a female ski movie is if you have a naked pillow fight in it.

Um, and it just one thing after another, right? Uh, and it was another, um, again, it was, it was everything that, that Cliff had taught me about visualization and about challenging, um, the given, um, belief system as in, in a sense of curiosity and play versus black and white. Like, what wouldn't it be cool if?

And, um, not really. Uh, I had to let go of attachment to the outcome. Just had to really be present and humble and just know that I was showing up every day, um, with the hopes that this would work. , And, and it ended up, Yeah. Um, Selling out a hundred grassroots shows across the country and is still my intention was if I was gonna do this, I, I wanted it to have staying power, not just be something that you had to do over and over.

Um, and, and it has, you know, it's still selling, um, every day on iTunes, , and, um, even DVDs. Uh, and, and the vision was to show a skier girl, um, from youth to the neatest thing about, I think our sport is that you, you can and do enjoy it for a lifetime. It's not like basketball or something where you have your glory days in high school and then you never do that again.

So, um, and that relationship to the mountains changes. Uh, and so I really wanted to showcase all of that and, and it worked out. It was one of the most, again, um, Pivotal experiences of my life of shifting the norm, um, and finding out that you can. Yep.

So you've had a lot of different coaching. What kind of strategies has you found that have been effective to help you get the best out of yourself in these different situations?

And he said, um, his name is Ruben. He was from South America, Argentina. And he said, As, as scary as the mountain is, you have to be scarier. And that really shifted my skiing. Uh, I was not the best skier. I I was a timid skier early. Um, I never had the great technique. Um, I have, I have childbearing, hips, and a framing is something that I struggle with

Uh, and, and just naturally being aggressive is not my mentality. And so to know and be conscious of, I have to get rev myself up to a level that's not necessarily natural. Um, but I can, and that's what it's gonna take to, you know, to beat your slough, to be bigger and scarier than whatever cliff that you are sizing up and, and what it takes.

You know, there, there can be no hesitation, um, or. Um, gentleness out there in some ways. And, and I think that's, no one really talks about it, but, um, you, you've gotta get yourself to a, a more aggressive place, uh, to kind of tackle some of these big things that, that we're so used to seeing look easy out there.

Um, and, and it requires work to get there. , I listen to a lot of punk rock when it's time to get there. Um, a lot of stomping and just really elevating my energy and drive and focus. Um, and that's not, that's not everyday life. In fact, like when I've spent a lot of time in those places, um, that cliff I was telling you about, that took such an immense level.

Aggression. Um, the person that I had to, to turn into that I didn't actually like that person afterwards. Um, and, and it took some downregulating to get back to a state, um, where I liked who I was. and, and I understand, you know, how you might meet a lot of athletes that they seem so intense and they are, um, and maybe that's their, their general mental, that's where they exist and, and that's why they shine in the outdoors because that's, they finally have an outlet.

But for the rest of us, that, um, that's not our natural state. We have to get ourselves there.

Where asking ourselves, you know, if, what if, Wouldn't it be cool if, uh, and my best friend and I, Vanessa Pierce, uh, we had both been in, in soccer all the way through high school and loved she, I mean, she was big time. She was the, um, captain of her team, uh, in, at Washington State, like not Washington state, like UDub, like big real Division one soccer and.

Played with Hope Solo and whatnot, and just, I really miss the camaraderie of a team. Um, I had grown up, you know, as a ski racer, primarily it's an individual sport. And, um, I loved motivating a team and that camaraderie you felt when in, uh, you know, individual sports, uh, when when someone does really well, you're kind of like, Oh, it's great for them.

But, you know, and in team sports, I loved that you were always cheering on someone else to be their, be them their best self. And in that way, you really felt bigger, um, than yourself. Loved that about team sports, and really wanted to bring that to, especially the women's side of skiing because, um, as it stood there was very few spots for very few people that were highly competitive.

And, and that was it. Um, and just to create a space that was welcoming. Um, So that women and girls felt like they had a place out in, out in the back country beyond how the guys were doing it. And so we would dress up in tutus and be obnoxious and overdo it and, um, bring fun. And I'm a graphic designer and I had been developing, you know, as a skier again, right?

We're still having to do everything. Like I, we all, I, I don't think I've ever not had three jobs as much as, uh, people might assume that this is such a luxurious path. And, um, so I had graphic design degree. I had been making t-shirts and greeting cards, and I had developed this, uh, giraffe horn. Um, today I've got the panda corn on.

Um, and I just thought, well, may, maybe I could fundraise by making these, these t-shirts and stickers. And, uh, to this day, the Girafficorn is one of our greatest fundraising tools. Um, and it, it, you know, when someone's, I would always notice when someone would see it, they would lighten up and they would, they would smile.

And that was, that was my hope for any sort of art that I brought to the world. And so, uh, it naturally became, um, a symbol of, of a spec, specifically women getting outside. And it's really neat to see the stickers on helmets and. Subarus at trailheads and, uh, and creating those, those spaces because we're different than than men.

Uh, and we're incentive guys differently and community really helps. We find, um, and lightning up on ourselves really helps. And so we kind of, it, it started like that and now, um, it's really taken a turn toward, uh, really building inclusivity. Um, beyond, I mean, we're, we've always been trying to fight a, fight's not the right word, but to create more inclusivity in general.

Um, but now really education and finding ways to, to feel like, uh, you have the same set of skills that anyone else does, um, that allows you to feel safe outside. So really proud of where that's come.

It's called Showing Up, and it has, um, like you guys are finding, it's, it's very rewarding and to be able to, to have these kind of conversations. We don't have these conversations in everyday life and we

There you can learn more about some of her initiatives like She Jumps and Unicorn Picnic. She's quite the entrepreneur. We also recommend that you check out her podcast showing up with Lindsay Dyer. And of course, don't forget to check out the many films that she has been in, including, of course Pretty Faces.

Well, Chris, the focus of this episode was in Nature of Adventure. Lindsay definitely covered a lot of ground on that topic. What were your key takeaways from what Lindsay said or things that might have come to mind for you during that discussion?

Two points that I want to touch on are personality and assertiveness. Starting with personality, I thought Lindsay did a great job of role modeling some of the key traits of great adventurers. These included humility, determination, perseverance, and preparation, and of course, assertiveness. When it comes to assertiveness, she mentioned that when we are faced with a big challenge that requires us to perform at our best, we can't be passive.

We have to be assertive. We have to switch into what I think of as our attack. Lynsey noted, this can be difficult as it might not be in our personality to be assertive or aggressive. In fact, as she highlighted, in fact, as you highlighted at the start, Jordy Lynsey is a very nice person. Tapping into this assertive side of herself was admittedly difficult for her, but she has obviously honed that skill pretty well.

This is something that I've noticed that many high end athletes are able to activate in themselves when needed. For our listeners, I wanna share an experience that I had a couple of months ago that might help them to activate their attack mode when they are faced with a big obstacle. I was leading a group on a canoe trip when we got to a more difficult part of the river.

I knew the group who were quite nervous would likely find it intimidating. So I asked each of them to name a ferocious animal. I got answers like tigers and bears and so on, but one of the answers really stuck out. One of the clients named the gerbil as being the most aggressive animal they could think of.

From that point on, anytime we were faced with a spot where we had to focus and be assertive, the seeing became release your inner gerbil. I would say that if you have a hard time being assertive, you can try this strategy. See, your animal is probably not gonna be a gerbil, but whatever it is, imagine yourself being that animal in a attack mode.

Then see yourself succeeding. Linking this back to personality. An important trait of an adventurer is their ability to envision a positive outcome. We tend to go where we look. If you want to overcome big challenges or to make it through high risk or technical terrain, you'll need to see yourself doing it.

I'm pretty sure that when Lindsay is getting ready to ski down steep shoots through tight trees, or when she's hitting big drops, she isn't visualizing herself crashing or even struggling. Instead, she's seeing herself crushing it. If you wanna overcome big obstacles, you have to dream big. If you want to go big, as Lynsey highlighted, for me, adopting a positive but assertive mindset is one important component.

Of experiencing the nature of adventure, Jordy, what

So I, I think, yeah, that's a really important, uh, thing that we, we saw, uh, with, with this, uh, podcast with Lindsay. Some of the things that, uh, really stood out for me where the, this key trait of a high-end athlete and their ability to process their environment around them and make decisions really quickly.

And there's, there's all different levels of athletes and, uh, and people out in the outdoor. Um, and you know, not to say that everybody has to perform at a very high end. Uh, it does seem to be kind of a bit of a theme though, uh, for people performing at that high end. Uh, they are able to process things pretty quickly.

There's a lot of information coming at you, and when it's everything for my hand coordination to what's happening, uh, we're talking about skiing here. So the texture of the snow, um, even like, you know, a rock or something like that, you know, things are, things are happening pretty quickly and your, your safety and survival when you're putting yourself in that environment and moving quickly really relies upon, uh, rapid fire decision making.

And so people who make really good decisions, uh, and, and push forward with confidence, um, that often works in their favor. However, there is this trap of over confide. Too. And I know as, uh, as my time, uh, working, um, with search and rescue teams, that's when we get called in is uh, because of overconfidence at times.

So you really have to, yeah, ride, ride that edge of the sword, uh, where it's like, okay, this, I got this. And then other times where, you know what? I've gotta slow down cuz I don't got this.

So Lindsay referenced the example of being put in the situation where she'd only been able to gain a brief glimpse of the terrain and she'd have to ski through it, but was still able to charge through the terrain in a way that kept her safe. And it did work out, um, for her. And it often does, it has, uh, worked out for her in her career as a pro skier.

Um, but she's also, you have to recognize there's a lot of decision making going on. And there are times where she has decided, she looked before she left, and then she decided not to leave. You don't have to be jumping off huge cliffs and be taking on super high risk situations to have an adventure.

Chris and I really wanna highlight that adventure is a state that any of us can experience. And, you know, we see these adventure films, uh, putting high end risk, uh, risk taking on display. It's just, it isn't necessarily what is normal for most people. So we just, for our listeners out there, we, we just wanna remember that, um, most people who achieve adventure in those sports do it with far lower level of risk.

Uh, they expect to come back safe. And while people wanna get some level of adrenaline rush for most people's success is not being terrified. It's more feeling excited, and for the most part, being pretty in control of their situation. Adventure is for everyone.

What were your key takeaways? You can share your thoughts, stories, and insights with us via our social media feeds or by emailing us. You can find all of our contact information at deliveringadventure.com. And in the show notes we've also posted Lynsey's links in the show notes as well. Please don't forget to click the follow or subscribe button for this podcast in your favorite player so that you don't miss out on future episodes.

Also, if you enjoyed the show, please consider sharing it with your like-minded friends so that they can enjoy it too. Before we finish, we have one last funny story from Lynsey. Thanks for listening.

I think, uh, poop stories in the back country are pretty funny. . I have a friend that, um, I always think of that, uh, you know, so often we, we have to, the, you're getting up at four or 5:00 AM to be on the top of the line, right? At sunrise, which is often, you know, six or seven. And, uh, it's early and, uh, it, and you, you don't get a warmup run.

You have to, uh, you have to send it. And I have a friend that, um, , I'm so sorry if he ever has to hear this, but, um, I wish I could it, his last, his last name, he is a guide and, uh, , uh, his last name is, is Pope. And he, he, in his film Glory Days, um, was on the top of that line and didn't have time to have his morning, um, you know, coffee and, and, uh, Go to the bathroom time and only had time to go hit this big cliff.

And he, he, he went and he went and did it and captured this beautiful line, but at the bottom of it, um, we renamed him Josh, Pope , Josh Poop, . Cause the poor guy had had lost it in the landing , which is totally understandable, but that's the first thing that comes up. Um, and I'll never forget a time, you know, you're always nervous and, uh, peeing in the back country and, and you're, as a woman, you're always used to squatting and, and, um, kind of hearing, hearing things peeing.

Um, and I remember one time get squatting down, going pee, but never really recognizing that I never heard it hit the ground. And as I, um, as I, you know, stood up and, um, I had those gloves that, um, have the little, uh, The little elastic coming off of them so they don't fall off. And what I didn't realize is in holding, you know, my pants in, in the, in the right place, I had perfectly placed my glove under myself and, and completely filled up my glove with pee in the bad country , and had no replacements for that.

So, um, other than like these tiny skinny, you know, little, little liner gloves, so, uh, that, that glove, um, just stayed in the heli basket for the rest of the day. And I skied in my liners, but I'll never forget that. Like, why am I not hearing anything? And then, and then coming around and seeing this like pool literally to the top of my glove full of pee.

So there you go. Yep. So glamorous .