This week, Kenton speaks to Dr Sarah Ruggins who, it is fair to say, leaves him lost for words a few times! Sarah embraced academia when she was younger and she holds four degrees in four different subjects. Her interest in philosophy and economics led her to a career in finance where she now holds a senior position in one of the biggest wealth management companies in the UK.

Sarah is also a phenomenal athlete. As a junior, she ran Junior Olympic qualifying times in the 10,000m and had a promising future until a horrific illness left her bedridden for a very long time. Since recovering, she has learnt to ride a bike and has recently completed the epic Transcontinental Race (TCR) from Roubaix in Paris to Istanbul in Turkey. She covered 4,400km in 13 days over multiple mountain ranges, and with very little sleep. Her determination, passion and resilience shine through very strongly in this conversation – enjoy!

Benny Lieber is an accomplished climber and is also described by Kenton as 'the next generation of high-altitude mountain guides'. Benny and Kenton met at Everest Base Camp earlier this year and hit it off immediately with Kenton feeding off Benny's unquenchable energy.

Benny is a product developer by trade, but gave it up for a life in the mountains back in 2016. He moved to Alaska and lived for several years in his car before being able to afford an apartment, but he has now found his niche and is a full-time mountain guide. He has many summits to his name including Everest, Lhotse, K2, Manaslu and Vinson and we are certain there are more to come.

Kenton and Benny discuss the changing world of mountain guiding, they compare stories of different mountains, and Benny describes the luxury of absolute wilderness in Alaska. Listen now to this high-energy episode!

A fellow mountain guide and mountaineer, Brent Bishop first summited Everest in 1994 and now describes himself as an 'aging climber'. He talks with Kenton about many of his mountain expeditions and how his family history helped to frame his experiences.

Brent is a successful businessman and has juggled life in the mountains with his businesses. Last year he suffered a huge heart attack at his local climbing centre, despite being fit and healthy, but that hasn't stopped him!

This episode is a classic Cool Conversations - lots of interesting topics covered and a few previously unknown facts uncovered!