The Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast

Replacing my worn-out trail shoes got me thinking about how much I spent on kit when I first started guiding, and what I’d do differently now. In this episode, I share where I’d invest, where I’d save and which items I’d hire for a first expedition. We cover: Hiking boots versus trail shoes, and why fit matters. What you get from a more expensive waterproof. Building a layering system using clothi...

What should actually be in your first aid kit for an adventure trek? And what happens if you get ill halfway up a mountain? This week, I’m breaking down the health and medical side of adventure travel, based on what I’ve learnt from years of leading expeditions. We cover: • What to pack in your personal first aid kit • Blisters and foot care • Hydration and electrolytes • Stomach problems • Sun pr...

What actually makes an expedition easier? Often, it’s the little things you sort out before you leave. In this episode, I’m bringing together the tips I’ve picked up over eight years of leading trips around the world. Some are practical lessons I learned the hard way, including what happened when my water froze on a Kilimanjaro summit night. Others are things I see travellers overlook again and ag...

What if you could trek through the Sahara Desert, learn genuine survival skills and then finish the expedition on the summit of North Africa’s highest mountain? In this episode, Jake announces a brand-new eight-day expedition created by Ultimate Adventure Travel in partnership with the Bear Grylls Survival Academy. Departing on 3 May 2027 , Sahara to Summit will take a limited group into two drama...

Lewis has reached the Continental Divide, expecting to find a river that will carry the expedition towards the Pacific. Instead, he looks out across mountain range after mountain range. The route they were sent to find does not exist. In the second half of the Lewis and Clark story, the Corps of Discovery must find horses, cross the Rocky Mountains before winter and somehow survive as its food beg...

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off across an America that remained largely unknown to the government sending them. Their mission was to follow the Missouri River, find a practical route to the Pacific Ocean and return with maps, scientific discoveries and information about the lands and people they encountered. The problem was that nobody knew whether the route they were searching...

Before hundreds of climbers can begin their attempt on Everest, somebody has to find a way through the Khumbu Icefall. That responsibility belongs to the Icefall Doctors, a specialist team of highly experienced Sherpa climbers who establish and maintain the route between Everest Base Camp and Camp One. They carry ladders into the icefall, bridge enormous crevasses, install fixed ropes and repair s...

For almost 30 years, a climber wearing a distinctive pair of green mountaineering boots has been one of the most infamous landmarks on Mount Everest. Known simply as Green Boots , his body has remained high on Everest's Northeast Ridge since the disastrous 1996 climbing season. Thousands of climbers have passed the spot, the rocky shelter became known as "Green Boots Cave", and his...

Kilimanjaro is usually discussed as a physical challenge. How fit do you need to be? Which route should you take? What does altitude feel like? And just how difficult is summit night? But Africa’s highest mountain has a story stretching back millions of years. In this episode, Jake explores the complete history of Kilimanjaro, beginning with the volcanic forces that created Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo...

India does not gently introduce itself. The traffic, the noise, the food, the colours and the crowds all arrive at once. But beneath the apparent chaos is one of the most fascinating and rewarding journeys you can experience. In this episode, I take you through India’s famous Golden Triangle, connecting Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Drawing on my experience of leading a group through India earlier this...

What makes someone the greatest explorer of all time? Is it standing on the summit of Everest? Reaching the North Pole? Surviving against impossible odds? In this episode of The Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast , we're diving into the remarkable life of Sir Ranulph Fiennes , a man widely regarded as the world's greatest living explorer. From losing his father before he was born to becom...

Think you know what to expect from Machu Picchu? Think again. In this episode, I share everything I wish more people knew before visiting one of the world's most iconic destinations. From altitude and weather to permits, crowds and the reality of hiking the Inca Trail, these are the things that rarely make it into guidebooks but can completely change your experience. Having led multiple trips...

What is it really like to spend four days trekking through the Sahara Desert? In this episode of the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast, I take you behind the scenes of one of the world's most iconic landscapes and explain why the Sahara is so much more than endless sand dunes. From sleeping beneath some of the darkest skies on Earth to sharing tea with local Berber guides, this isn't abo...

What does it really take to climb the highest mountain on every continent? In this episode of The Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast , we're exploring one of the most famous challenges in adventure travel: The Seven Summits . From the frozen wilderness of Antarctica to the rainforests of Papua, we travel across all seven continents to discover the mountains that have inspired explorers for dec...

Most people researching Everest Base Camp hear the same things. "It's tough." "The views are incredible." "Watch out for altitude." But what is it actually like to spend two weeks trekking through the Himalayas? After leading multiple expeditions to Everest Base Camp, I'm sharing the things that rarely make it into the brochures, YouTube videos, or social me...

Shackleton: The Greatest Survival Story Ever Told What would you do if your ship became trapped in Antarctic ice, hundreds of miles from land, with no rescue coming? This week on The Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast, we're diving into one of the most remarkable survival stories in human history. The story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the doomed Endurance Expedition wasn't supposed to be...

What would you do if your climbing partner's survival meant risking your own life? In this episode of the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast, we dive into one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told. The story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates has become legendary in mountaineering circles and inspired the bestselling book and award-winning film Touching the Void . After successfully...

This week on the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast, we're doing something a little different. Rather than interviewing an expedition leader after the event, you're joining a real Kilimanjaro preparation call with James, who is just a few months away from attempting Africa's highest mountain. We discuss the questions that almost every future Kilimanjaro climber asks:  How fit do you...

One year ago, I sat down and recorded the very first episode of the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast. At the time, I had no idea whether anyone would listen. I didn't know if I would enjoy podcasting, whether I could stay consistent, or whether I would still be recording episodes 12 months later. Fast forward a year, and we're celebrating 55 episodes, countless hours of conversations, i...

Hidden high in the Andes Mountains, surrounded by cloud forest and towering peaks, sits one of the most famous archaeological sites on Earth: Machu Picchu. In this episode of the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast, Jake dives into the fascinating story behind the discovery of Machu Picchu, the rise and fall of the Inca Empire, and the legendary 1911 expedition led by Hiram Bingham III. From ancient...

Jake Field and Seb discuss the 1996 Everest disaster, including Rob Hall, Scott Fischer, Adventure Consultants, Mountain Madness, summit fever, commercial guiding, the deadly storm, and how Everest changed forever. Key Topics Covered  The rise of commercial guiding on Mount Everest   Who Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were   Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness   Jon Krakauer and Into Thin Air  ...

Who really conquered Everest first? In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first confirmed climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. But the reality is far more complex than two men standing on top of the world. This episode breaks down:  The British obsession with Everest   The Swiss expedition that nearly beat them   The scale of the 1953 operation   The failed first summit a...

In this episode of The Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast , Jake is joined by his friend Seb to explore one of the greatest mysteries in adventure history: did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, nearly 30 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s confirmed ascent? After the previous episode on Scott and Amundsen, this conversation continues the theme o...

The truth about climbing Kilimanjaro: altitude, routes, and what actually determines summit success Thinking about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2026? Most people underestimate this mountain. They assume it’s “just a hike”… but Kilimanjaro is a high-altitude expedition reaching 5,895 metres , where success depends far more on preparation, acclimatisation, and decision-making than raw fitness. In t...

What does it take to survive… and win… in the harshest place on Earth? In 1911, two men set out to answer that question. Same destination. Same continent. Same brutal conditions. But only one made it back. In this episode of the Ultimate Adventure Travel Podcast , Jake breaks down one of the greatest expedition stories ever told — the race between Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen to the Sout...