Rescued: An Outdoor Podcast for Hikers & Adventurers

30/06/2025

With one of the best beards in climbing, Macca is one of the Blue Mountains climbing community's true characters. Many of us locals heard the news of a big rescue underway near Blackheath, but we didn't know the details. Once it hit the news, we knew it was going to be a long one, we just didn't realise how long. Listen as Macca is joined by Sergeant Dal Atkinson, Team Leader of the Blue Mountains Police Rescue Squad, as they share their perspectives and learnings from what was to become one of Australia's longest and most challenging cliff rescues. https://open.spotify.com/episode/21KrVP34cLTjAXURheC6Cd?si=f4Ie991URbG0_mHQCNRrvg

11/02/2025

Dr Paul Luckin is an anaesthetist, with a very unique background.

As an authority on human survivability, he’s a medical advisor to the Police Search and Rescue teams and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (that’s AMSA), providing time-frames for human survival during Search and Rescue operations.

He teaches the medical aspects of Search and Rescue and is on the directing staff of the National Police Search and Rescue Managers Course.

A humble and highly trained specialist clinician and expert in search and rescue, he has served as a Captain in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in Bougainville, East Timor, in the Resuscitation and Retrieval Team for the victims of the first Bali bombing, and in the first foreign medical team into Banda Aceh following the 2004 tsunami, and much, much more.

A true insider's view to search and rescue.

Available on all good podcast platforms.

11/02/2025

According to the World Health Organisation, roughly 1 to 2 people die from snakebite in Australia each year.

The good news is this is significantly lower than the 1920’s when the Sydney Morning Herald reported about 13 people were dying each year.

In this episode, we hear from Joyce, who bucks modern statistics which tell us that 74% of victims are male, with an average age of 46, and interestingly, with around 54% of bites happened at home.

She’s joined by her friend Frances and together, they share the story of what happened when along a spectacular, grade 5 track, over 3 hours from the nearest road, she describes what felt like a sharp stick hit her ankle.

Available on all good podcast platforms.

The Sydney Bush Walkers Club Inc. Bushwalking NSW

11/02/2025

Dr Kate Baecher is a clinical psychologist specialising in trauma in high-risk or complex environments.

Behind all her training and experience serving with the military and working in civilian life supporting critical incidents, she is somebody deeply connected to nature, where the wild place is her happy place.

She joins me today, and shares about the time she witnessed the death of another climber while on a mountaineering holiday to Mont Blanc, on the border of France and Italy… and how that event led her to develop models for dealing with trauma and psychological first aid in remote and rugged environments.

She’ll walk us through those models and give us some really practical tools on how we can deal with traumatic incidents should we ever come across them when out on our adventures.

Available on all good podcast platforms.

11/02/2025

My guest for ep. 11 has a long history of working and playing in some of the most rugged and remote parts of NSW, Australia. So, with a few days up his sleeve, a bit of research and the right kind of skills and experience behind him, he set off for another steep n’ deep trip through Kanangra Boyd National Park, bound for Katoomba on the traditional K2K route.

Listen to what happened when things didn't go to plan and what we can all learn from it on all good podcast platforms.

19/06/2024

There's something about the immense power of lightning that has fascinated cultures and people throughout the centuries.
How it behaves, how it moves through the sky and the force and damage that it can bring.

If news reports are anything to go by, it would be easy to think that being struck by lightning only happens to golfers or beach anglers.

My guest today is neither of those and shares her story of being struck by lightning while leading an outdoor activity on a school camp.

Checkout this resource from Outdoors NSW & ACT: https://www.outdoorsnswact.org/post/lightning-and-outdoor-activities-update


Lessons for being around lightning:

* Current advice based on Australian Standard Lightning protection AS 1768:2021; Clause 6.4.2. is: all outdoor activities should stop once thunder is heard, or in the event of weather tracking devices, the storm is 15 kilometres away regardless of the timing of the thunder and lightning.

* Understand the previous advice [https://www.outdoorsnswact.org/post/lightning-safety-has-changed] of the 30:30 rule and how that has changed

* If in a group, don't stay together - spread out

* Get down from high points like ridges and knolls-be low on the landscape

* Don't shelter in overhangs or caves

* Realise that 'taking shelter' means shelter from the lightning, not the rain

* Always check forecasts

13/05/2024

At just under 2000m, Mt Bogong is the highest peak in Victoria. It looms over the small township of Mount Beauty, not too far from Falls Creek, and is a classic multiday trip for bushwalkers - who don’t mind over 1200 metres of vertical ascent - or in snow - for keen backcountry skiers.

Sitting within what’s called the “Bogong Remote and Natural Area” of the Alpine National Park, it’s a place of great natural beauty, whatever the season, and for the well-prepared adventurer, a place of exceptional wildness and epic tales.

In this episode, experienced outdoorsy type, Hilary, takes us along on her journey snow camping and cross-country skiing, when her skis stopped moving forward… but her body kept going.

Available on all podcast platforms. See show notes in the link for learnings and more!
https://lotsafreshair.com/rescued-podcast-ep-009-hilarys-xcski-boot-was-facing-backwards/

With thanks to Paddy Pallin for sponsoring this episode.

24/06/2023

In this episode of RESCUED, experienced hiker Jane takes us high up into the Rio Chilla, a beautiful, clear water walk-in canyon on Spain's southern coastline. It's popular with families and tourists with a name that translates as Screaming River. It's a trip that should have taken about 4 hours, but as you'll hear, took much, much more. Well-prepared and loaded with research, Jane shares her story of what she learned from a long, painful and lonely night when she found herself waking up to a dog licking her face, the threat of wild boar and what items she's added to her packing list since. Available on Apple, Spotify, Google or listen here: https://zencastr.com/z/wYA1_QpA

02/05/2023

Episode 3 is now live, where former Blue Mountains Police Rescue - NSW Police Force operator, Matt U'Brien, takes us into Empress Canyon where he found himself moving from rescuer, to needing rescue. https://zencastr.com/z/lQFmUycC

08/04/2023

And we’re live! Thanks to Matt U’Brien for trusting me with his story. Listen and subscribe here: https://zencastr.com/Rescued-An-Outdoor-Podcast-for-Hikers-and-Adventurers

08/04/2023

08/04/2023