Episode 63 opens with Adrian and Sam's conversation on the devastating Nepal-China border flood at Gyirong Port, and a nod to Laura Rogora's blazing six-day ascent of Bibliographie, before settling into a wide-ranging interview with viral Minecraft-YouTuber-turned-mountaineer Ryan Mitchell.

Ryan built a following of millions making Minecraft videos before walking away to chase Mount Everest — a goal he set purely because he thought it would make a good video title. 

• With no outdoor background and guidance from Everest expert Alan Arnette, he trained for a year and a half and summited in 2024. 

• He quickly found himself hooked and a brutal, storm-battered K2 season in 2025 left him hungry to go bigger.

• This spring he set out to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, but a botched tonsil infection and a rushed return to altitude triggered HAPE at base camp, ending the attempt and sparking a season-long debate over what counts as a "legitimate" no-oxygen ascent. 

• Ryan talks candidly about getting rescued, tuning out online criticism, and the hard lesson that ego, not fitness, is usually what gets climbers killed.

He's already looking ahead: Ryan is currently attempting Manaslu, aiming for another no-oxygen summit with a snowboard descent, and lays out a longer-term goal of climbing all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen.

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 https://alpenglowexpeditions.com/ or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

Episode 62 opens with quick hits on T-Mobile's satellite phone service and a run of Alps headlines — climbers requesting paid rescue after ignoring a Mont Blanc closure, a family of 36 rescued in the Austrian high country, and Kilian Jornet's viral post on the range's fast-changing climate — before Sam and Adrian sit down with Cody Townsend and Tommy Caldwell to talk through their spring traverse of Norman's 13.

Norman's 13 links the Sierra's thirteen 14,000-foot peaks from Mt. Langley to North Palisade, a route of over 100 miles and 40,000 vertical feet that had never been done in winter. 

• Townsend, a self-described "5.9 climber and 5.14 skier," recruited Caldwell — the inverse — after cold-emailing him with the idea; a day of simul-climbing at Lover's Leap and some recon skiing on Mt. Sill convinced them their risk tolerances matched well enough to commit. 

• Traveling south to north over eight days with cameraman Bjarne Salén, they broke the route into three distinct stretches: a technical run through the Whitney-area peaks, a 50-mile bushwhack and river-forge through John Muir Trail sequoia groves, and a final rope-and-crampons push across the notoriously exposed Palisades Traverse.

• The trip nearly broke both of them. Townsend fought a lung infection and food poisoning through the early days, and a 25-hour closing push through isothermic snow — on a catastrophically failed ski boot — tested everyone's limits. 

• The two talk candidly about reading the line between suffering and real danger, the odd role reversal of a rock climber staying calm on exposed skiing while a skier plunge-steps nervously on rock, and how the trip changed the way Townsend plans traverses going forward. 

• A film on the expedition, shot largely on iPhone after their camera batteries mysteriously died, is due out this fall.

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 https://alpenglowexpeditions.com/ or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.

Sam and Adrian are joined on Episode 37 by Amie Engerbretson, a Tahoe local who shares her non-traditional path to becoming a professional skier. One could say being a skier is in Amie's blood, or you could argue that the career found her, but nonetheless, Amie has been a staple in magazine's and movies for more than a decade. 

Amie was born and raised in Tahoe, and as the daughter of a professional skier, she was surrounded by the industry from the very start. As Amie grew up, she pursued dance and ballet, and went off to college to study film. But the mountains called her back and before she knew it she was on magazine covers and in ski films. 

- Amie talks about a film she directed, and starred in, a couple years back. The Hypocrite highlights the intersection between her work as a professional skier and her advocacy work with Protect Our Winters. 

- With more than a dozen trips to ski in South America in the late summer, Amie shares some of her experiences, and the realities of skiing in the Southern Hemisphere. 

- Amie shares all that she pursue's to make the professional skiing life work, from training insights to her work in activism and her recent foray into film production. 

You can learn more about Amie on her website www.amieski.com, and follow her on Instagram @amieski. 

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.

After discussing the three Piolets d'Or winners, and 60 finalists, Sam and Adrian jump into the complicated topic of high altitude climbing. The two share stories of their early experiences with altitude and talk about the basics of acclimatization and what a typical schedule might look at. Finally, they dive into the "aids" that are used for altitude climbing, from Diamox and Dexamethasone to Oxygen. A future episode will discuss the topic of Pre-Acclimatization using hypoxic tents, and what the Rapid Ascent system that Adrian has pioneered looks like.

Adrian and Sam chat about what it means to be a mountain guide. From introducing the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations (IFMGA) to discussing the decades of guides who came before the AMGA path was the standard, this episode is a great starting point for those curious about the training and business side of the  guiding industry.

Sam and Adrian sit down with Cody Townsend. The three discuss Cody's transition to the world of ski mountaineering, and his 50 Project which has taken the world of backcountry skiing by storm. With only 4 lines remaining, Cody discusses his progress and his attempts this past spring on University Peak and Mount St. Elias. Cody also shares his newest project, The 50 Plus, which will debut in October.

Professional Ski Mountaineer Jim Morrison joins Sam and Adrian for Episode 6.

The three talk about Jim's recent exploits in the Karakoram: a successful descent of the Great Trango Tower after he was unsuccessful the year prior.

Jim talks about enduring some of life's lowest lows and highest highs, and consistently coming back to the joy he experiences from any adventure, near or far.

In Episode 3 of The Duffel Shuffle, Adrian and Sam sit down with ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich. The start off talking about one of Caroline's most notable accomplishments, becoming the fourth person and first woman to ski all lines in Andrew McLean's book, The Chuting Gallery. Following this accomplishment, Caroline set her sights on the greater ranges. With Everest as a goal, Caroline gained experience at altitude in places like Ecuador and Peru, before ultimately finding success on the tallest mountain in the world. Finally, Caroline talks about her current climb, running for a Senate seat in Utah.

The Duffel Shuffle Podcast welcomes their first guest, Emily Harrington. Emily is known for her technical rock climbing prowess, but her accomplishments span much farther. From summiting and skiing 8,000m peaks to new routes, big walls, and more, Emily is truly one of the leading all-around mountain athletes in the industry.

The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is your ultimate expedition partner for all pursuits of mountaineering, rock climbing, and skiing, offering a thrilling blend of adventure, expertise, and inspiration. Hosted by IFMGA Guide Adrian Ballinger and AMGA Guide Sam Kieckhefer, each episode delves into the world of mountain sports from seasoned mountain guides’ perspectives.