kevinlandolt.blogspot.com
On Episode 26, we sit down in Denver, Colorado with young alpinist Keven Landolt. Kevin is facing down leukemia and still dreaming of the mountains. He fills us in on what goes through his mind as he fights to keep his dignity as his body fails him. From diagnosis through a bone marrow transplant and a failed remission, Kevin has used his experiences climbing as motivation and a bulwark against the void . This episode may begin to answer one of the ultimate alpine questions: does climbing really matter?
Sign up to save lives at Be The Match
Gregory Crouch’s Enduring Patagonia
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Very inspirational. I listened to half of podcast and then checked out Kevin’s website and saw that he had passed. The rest of the interview was hard to listen to after than. I am sure he kept his positive attitude until the end. Thanks for having this Chris!
I’ve been meaning to put an addendum at the end letting people know that he passed. I think I talk about it in a podcast a few months later. The whole experience went into the foundation of why I keep doing this. Inspiration.
You do mention it in your interview with Duane Raleigh.
Inspiring. Joined Be The Match after listening. Thank you for giving Kevin an opportunity to tell his story.
This is an incredible piece. You handled this subject so well Chris, not afraid to get to the heart of it, compassionate, honest, real. And Kevin is certainly a man of honor and brave as f. It was difficult to listen to knowing that he has passed, but I think this along with the words on his blog are gold. It’s a time capsule, because he’s so articulate you get to understand just a little bit what life is like on the edge of dying. Perspective in the truest sense. I’m very thankful that you got to talk to him when you did and that you guys really delved in deep. Excellent work. And so much admiration for Kevin.
Thanks Whit. That was a heavy one. In person, Kevin was even more impressive. The elephant in the room was that his odds were pretty dismal, but he was still optimistic. I know he left behind a huge amount of people that loved and admired him.
I signed up as a donor on bethematch.org after listening to this. Please do this! Kevin died on March 15, 2013 as you can read on his blog. If you still need convincing to sign up to be a donor, read this article from today’s LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-nina-cancer-20130711-dto,0,1774085.htmlstory
Right on! Young and healthy climbers need to do this. It takes very little time and could save a life for real, directly.
Wow. Great episode and it is one that will stay with me for awhile. I wish Kevin all the best and a speedy recovery.
Thank you for the podcast. This one made me think a bit and put some perspective on what is important. Wishing Kevin the best.
Last Friday was the end to my wicked Enormocast Marathon. I am officially caught up on every episode and raring to listen to more. Keep it up. I’m loving it. Your podcasts keep me alive during some of the monotonous tasks at work.
I never recommend that kind of binge, but thanks for listening!
Nice piece. Kevin is a stud. The bit about his awful July 4 is bleakly hilarious in a “Jesus H. F’in Christ, could it get any worse?” kind of way. Hope he beats that shit with a big stick.
G,
Thanks for piping in. I’m glad you found the show evocative. I decided to use your text at the last minute and I’d seen your post in response to Kelly’s blog, so I figured you wouldn’t mind. Kevin certainly finds Enduring Patagonia supremely inspiring.
You are always welcome on the show, by the way. We can discuss your writing, climbing, service , or whatever else.
CK
Got about halfway through listening to it, having been putting off my run all morning and then realised what a lame-ass I was being. Went out, hit 10 miles of hills, and then came back to listen to the rest.
A really great pod-cast Chris – nicely done; rates up there with the Craig DeMartino one.
Love the new Defiant Bean promo Chris. Also I wish the best for Kevin, stay strong man.
Been wanting to do a new commercial for a while. Maybe a little comedy to lighten the mood.
Been following Kevin’s progress on his Facebook page. Nothing particularly good or bad to report. Just a struggle.
It was really difficult to wrap my head around interviewing Kevin when he first proposed it and I was pretty nervous just because I didn’t want to fuck it up. I glad it turned out as well as it did. Now we are wrapped up in his struggle, though, and that’s kind of a responsibility that I don’t really know what to do with. But I’m better for meeting him, and glad it happened. We can only hope now that he beats the odds and we meet him out in the mountains down the road.
Thanks for listening.