When British explorer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he famously replied, “Because it’s there.” But what if the real answer is simpler and potentially more beautiful?

Today on Open Container, Doug explores the deeper meaning behind Kilian Jornet’s “States of Elevation” project, a 3,200-mile, human-powered journey linking all 72 fourteeners in the lower 48 states. Jornet ran, climbed, and biked his way across America’s highest peaks, not to set a record, but to experience the wild beauty of the mountains.

Joining Doug is Bryon Powell, ultrarunner, writer, and founder of iRunFar.com, who ran with Jornet on Colorado’s Handies Peak and witnessed the project firsthand.

Topics include:

• The philosophy behind Jornet’s project: why beauty, not conquest, drives true adventure.
• How the “States of Elevation” linked wilderness, athleticism, and mindfulness.
• The power of community and support in massive endurance undertakings.
• Indigenous and public land connections to the mountains we climb.
• Why projects like this remind us to protect and cherish wild places.
• How everyday runners and hikers can find their own “states of elevation” close to home.

Doug and Bryon also discuss how outdoor storytelling and recreation can spark stewardship and how being out there makes us care more deeply about what’s at stake for public lands.

Thanks for listening! Open Container is a production of Rock Fight, LLC. Let's Get Some!

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Welcome to Open Container, where we unpack the most urgent issues facing the outdoor community - culture, conservation, and the power of nature to heal.

Today, Doug Schnitzspahn sits down with director and photographer Ben Clark to explore a rare story of restoration and resilience on America’s wild lands.

Drawing on his background as an adventurer and filmmaker, Ben shares behind-the-scenes insights from his new documentary, Preserved, which chronicles the ambitious revitalization of Vermejo Park Ranch - a 560,000-acre landscape in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

Doug and Ben discuss environmental destruction and rebirth, reflecting on how even scarred places, whether clear-cut forests in Idaho or polluted beaches of the Jersey Shore, can find new life with hope, hard work, and innovative conservation.

00:00 America's Expanding Environmental Scars

03:28 "Nature's Resilience and Regrowth"

09:21 Collaborative Conservation Efforts

11:37 Science Communication Challenges

13:58 Landscape Filmmaker Focuses on Characters

16:57 Backpacking and Filming in the Rockies

23:01 Indigenous Stewardship and Land Models

26:34 Conservation Success in North America

29:37 "Dividing Vast Wilderness: A Journey"

32:09 Reduce Excessive Spending Habits

35:31 "Open Container: Follow & Engage"

Thanks for listening! Open Container is a production of Rock Fight, LLC. Let's Get Some!

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to Open Container and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Send your feedback, questions, and comments to myrockfight@gmail.com.

Welcome to Open Container, where today we're discussing one of the defining features of the American experience: our public lands.

Host Doug Schnitzspahn kicks things off with a personal reflection on how these wild places are woven into our national identity and the critical roles they play, not just as recreation spaces, but as battlegrounds for conservation, resource extraction, and cultural connection.

Joining Doug is Chris Keyes, former editor in chief of Outside magazine and founder of RE:PUBLIC, a new non-profit newsroom dedicated to covering the politics, people, and future of America's public lands.

Together, they explore what makes the American public lands system unique in the world, how it’s managed, and why it stirs such passionate, bipartisan support.

From the legacy of Indigenous stewardship to the modern pressures of population and politics, the episode asks: Who really owns America's wild places, and how do we ensure their future?

• 00:00 Hope in Public Lands
• 04:35 "Finding Healing on the Road"
• 07:34 Freedom of Camping on Public Lands
• 12:58 Bipartisan Support for Public Land Conservation
• 13:53 Legacy of American Public Lands
• 19:30 Journalism's Advertising Dependency Crisis
• 20:44 Journalism: Navigating Bipartisan Challenges
• 25:42 Nonprofit Media: Partnership Over Competition
• 27:45 Media's Role in Legislative Awareness
• 31:30 "Advertising Threatens Editorial Independence"
• 33:47 Long-Form Journalism's Enduring Appeal
• 37:13 Nature's Restorative Powers: Access Essential

Click here to learn more about RE:PUBLIC.

Thanks for listening! Open Container is a production of Rock Fight, LLC. Let's Get Some!

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to Open Container and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Send your feedback, questions, and comments to myrockfight@gmail.com.