With the 2026 Everest season officially underway, Sam and Adrian kick off what will be four consecutive episodes of armchair mountaineering — a first for Adrian, who for most of the last two decades has been on the mountain rather than watching from home. It's a unique vantage point, and one he's leaning into fully.

Before diving into Everest, the guys pay tribute to Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest in 1963, whose passing was announced recently at the age of 97. Adrian reflects on Whittaker's outsized influence on American mountain guiding culture — from his early days at REI to his brother Lou's founding of RMI, the institution that shaped a generation of guides and guide companies across the country. Sam also circles back on a story that slipped through the cracks last episode: Cody Townsend and Tommy Caldwell's first ski-climb winter traverse of Norman's 13 in the Eastern Sierra — an eight-day, 40,000-foot suffer fest that Adrian and Sam dig into with obvious admiration.

From there, Sam and Adrian cover the following topics from the opening weeks of the 2026 Everest season:

• Early Summits on Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Makalu: What's driving the trend of climbers targeting multiple 8,000-meter peaks in a single season, and what the logistical and safety implications of that strategy actually look like on the ground.

• Khumbu Icefall Delays: A threatening serac has delayed route fixing through the icefall, pushing the season's timeline later than ideal. Adrian provides important context on where the serac likely is, why the media narrative may be off, and what the icefall doctors' cautious approach actually signals.

• Topo Mena on the South Side: Alpenglow guide Topo Mena is heading to Everest's south side with a small, fast team through Pemba Gelje's Expeditions High Mountain — and Adrian explains why this trip is as much an information-gathering mission for Alpenglow's future south side decision-making as it is a personal guiding trip for Topo and Carla. 

• Ryan Mitchell and the Oxygen Debate: A Minecraft-turned-mountaineer's medical emergency at base camp sparks a broader conversation about what it actually means to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, where the line is, and how oxygen compares to other forms of aid on the mountain.

Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about us and our guests. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list. The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit www.alpenglowexpeditions.com or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

David Goettler has been a professional alpinist for nearly 3 decades, and part of The North Face athlete team his entire career. With a focus on classical alpine style climbing on the highest peaks of the world, David has set out on a quest to climb in the way that suits him.

For David, climbing the tallest peaks of the world is a dream, and the challenge is in their height. Climbing without supplemental oxygen and Sherpa support above basecamp is the only way for him to truly test his abilities.

- David has successfully summited seven 8,000m peaks without supplemental oxygen, many of which required multiple attempts. On his fifth attempt of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan in 2025, David summited via the Schell Route and descended by Paraglider from 7,700m on the mountain.

- David has gone on expeditions with countless partners, and the list includes some of the most notable alpinists in the last 3 decades. For David, finding the right partners for his objectives is almost as calculated as the climb itself.

- While David believes that all professional alpinists should be climbing without supplemental oxygen and sherpa support, he recognizes that for non-professionals, just being in the mountains is what's important, and style should be chosen based on what each individual is seeking.

To learn more about David Goettler, follow him on Instagram @david_goettler.

Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about us and our guests. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list. The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit www.alpenglowexpeditions.com or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

The sixth in our series on the Seven Summits, Carstensz Pyramid, is the tallest peak within Oceania. While some Seven Summits lists include Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, most modern lists acknowledge Carstensz Pyramid due to its higher altitude and increased technical challenge. Locally known as Puncak Jaya, the peak sits at 4,884m or 16,024 feet above sea level, on the island of New Guinea.

Unlike all other peaks on the list of seven summits, Carstensz Pyramid is a true rock climb, where climbers ascend a limestone ridgeline with both vertical walls and exposed traverses.

- Much of the climb has been fixed with ropes, including a span which now has a cable bridge, to accommodate the number of climbers looking to climb the mountain and prevent issues of overcrowding.

- Due to it's relatively low altitude, as compared to it's counterparts, climbing Carstensz is generally quite quick, and much of the true adventure lies in the many-day trek through the jungle to reach the base of the peak.

- Unfortunately, with a long history of unrest in the jungle, it has become standard to heli into basecamp for your climb. With ethnic tribal conflicts and civil disturbances, it's no longer feasible to trek through the jungle.

Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about our guests and us. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list. The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit www.alpenglowexpeditions.com or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

Sam and Adrian connect for Episode 39 of the Duffel Shuffle Podcast to discuss the fall season in the Himalaya and, in particular, two athletes with specific objectives on Everest. 

With a break in guests for the show, Sam and Adrian used this week’s episode to catch up on a few items.

- Adrian is tuning in while attending the Black Diamond Athlete Summit, so we took the opportunity to learn more. Athlete Summit’s are a popular event among brands, but there’s not much info about them for the average consumer, so we use this opportunity to deep dive and learn more. 

- With the Autumn season on Everest wrapping up, Sam and Adrian discuss the two special projects that took place this season; Tyler Andrews was unfortunately unsuccessful in two attempts to set the FKT on Everest while Andrzej Bargeil successfully submitted and skied off Everest, without supplemental oxygen, in his third attempt. 

- Despite a tricky season with short weather window's other fall 8,000ers in the Himalaya, many commercial operators had success on Manaslu, with fewer successful on Cho Oyu due to fewer climbers for political reasons. 

Upcoming, we’ll be launching a 7 episode series to deep-dive into all aspects of each of the seven summits. We’ll be following the format of Episode 36 “K2: The Savage Mountain” and unpacking all the important information about the tallest peaks on every continent. Stay tuned!

Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about us and our guests. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list. The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit www.alpenglowexpeditions.com or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

Cory Richards joins Sam and Adrian on this episode of The Duffel Shuffle. After publishing his memoir, The Color of Everything, Cory talks about his fond memories of exploring the worlds tallest mountains, his ongoing struggles with Bipolar 2 and mental health, and what he’s up to today to feed his soul. To check out Cory’s new book, visit a local bookstore, or order it online at amazon.com

Sam and Adrian are joined by author Will Cockrell to discuss his new book titled Everest, Inc. Will, who has covered the Mt Everest climbing season as a journalist for nearly 2 decades, chronicles the development of an industry that, each spring, becomes a focal point of the outdoor media.

Featuring original interviews with mountain guides and climbers—including Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker—this vivid and authoritative adventure history chronicles one of the least likely industries on guided climbing on Mount Everest.