On Thin Ice Iceworm Media

Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, faces an environmental crisis, giving us a preview of the devastating effects of climate change. While the ice on its glaciers is melting at a record pace, increasing the risk of floods and other disasters, mass tourism has brought garbage and other pollution issues for local populations.


Climbers Conrad Anker and Dawa Steven Sherpa have worked together in the Everest Valley. Today, they are both taking action. In this episode of On Thin Ice, they discuss how climbers and local communities can work together to protect the mountain and its people from climate threats.


Conrad is one of the most iconic alpinists of the past three decades, and he has witnessed the dramatic transformations brought by climate change to mountain environments everywhere; he is now working with local communities and experienced Sherpa mountaineers to help make ice climbing safer in the region, as the glaciers become more unpredictable. 


Dawa, a board member of the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, is a famed mountaineer, serial entrepreneur and climate advocate, representing a new generation of Nepalis who are trying to develop a sustainable tourism industry–one that respects local traditions as well as the mountains they live off. Dawa has worked relentlessly to develop programs such as “Carry me back”, one of the key projects supported by the foundation, to reduce pollution and other negative impacts of tourism in the Everest Valley.


How can the local Sherpa communities handle the tons of trash left behind by tourism? How can climbers mitigate the risks of glacier collapses and avalanches? These are some of the vital questions they address on the mountain on a daily basis, as they look for answers that could also help other alpinists around the world.  

On Thin Ice is produced in partnership with the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation.

Head to ballypeakoutlook.org/  to learn more about the foundation, which is on a mission to safeguard the world's fragile mountain habitats from the adverse effects of global warming and excessive tourism. 
Production credits: 
Original Music: Nadir Cassim
Editorial advisor: Dave Vetter
Graphic Design: Guillaume Ory
Video editing: Iceworm team


Would you like to suggest guests and projects that we should cover? Do you have feedback or questions? Email paolo@iceworm.media

Superstar climber Sasha DiGiulian and Ethiopian technologist Kidus Asfaw have one big thing in common: both are entrepreneurs with a focus on sustainability and ethical products. Every day they face the challenge of making money with their green startups, while also helping to solve some of the big environmental issues of our time. 


In this episode of On Thin Ice, a podcast by Iceworm Media in partnership with the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, they share their respective experiences and tips for aspiring founders and pioneers who want to create companies with a purpose.


Sasha is a climbing world champion, a professional first-ascender holding a series of records, book author, influencer and the founder of SEND bars, a vegan food company based in Colorado. Kidus is a Time Climate 100 entrepreneur who won many awards, helped UNICEF build schools from trash, and founded Kubik, a startup that turns plastic waste from Ethiopia’s high-altitude cities into low-carbon buildings. 


In North America, Africa and elsewhere, Sasha and Kidus have witnessed dramatic changes in the environment and the impact of pollution and urbanization on mountain landscapes. After explaining what prompted them to launch their ventures, the guests offer valuable insights into their industries.


Kidus talks about plastic waste–a hot topic also for the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation–the challenges of decarbonizing real-estate by moving away from cement, the crucial importance of factoring sustainability into the conceptual phase of your startup, and a key issue with the mindset of venture capitalists.


Sasha explains why natural, healthy foods are more expensive than highly processed, conventional ones, and how she developed her own vision for developing nutritional bars made with locally farmed ingredients, including adaptogens, benefitting health and athletic performance. She also looks back at her expedition to Alaska with a microplastics scientist, and updates us on her lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., with the Explore Act and her other climate-related initiatives.


Join host Paolo Bosonin for an action-focused conversation about what it means to be a green entrepreneur, and some of the realities of launching and running a green business today.


On Thin Ice is produced in partnership with the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation.


Head to ballypeakoutlook.org/  to learn more about the foundation, which is on a mission to safeguard the world's fragile mountain habitats from the adverse effects of global warming and excessive tourism. 


Production credits: 


Original Music: Nadir Cassim
Editorial advisor: Dave Vetter
Graphic Design: Guillaume Ory
Video editing: Iceworm team
Would you like to suggest guests and projects that we should cover? Do you have feedback or questions? Email paolo@iceworm.media

Airports and airlines broke new traffic records in 2023, and pollution from tourism is set to increase massively in the next five years. So what can we do to make aviation–and our own long-distance travels–more sustainable in the near future, reducing air travel’s contribution to global warming?


Join host Paolo Bosonin as he picks the brains of Alex Honnold, superstar climber of the Oscar-winning movie Free Solo, and Nanna Baldvinsdottir, Icelandic energy entrepreneur developing aircraft fuels made with hydrogen. 


Alex shares his philosophy for offsetting carbon emissions by installing solar panels, and reflects on modern-day exploration, based on what he learned while working with scientists during expeditions to Guyana and Greenland, with National Geographic.


The guests discuss the best strategies to decarbonize air travel in the short term, starting with putting an end to subsidies for fossil fuels. Nanna explains her plan for scaling up the production of sustainable aviation fuels, which come with some trade-offs and the challenges of sourcing the CO2 and water necessary to make e-SAF.


On Thin Ice is produced by Iceworm Media, in partnership with the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation.


Head to ballypeakoutlook.org/  to learn more about the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, which is on a mission to safeguard the world's fragile mountain habitats from the adverse effects of global warming and excessive tourism. 


Production credits: 


Original Music: Nadir Cassim
Editorial advisor: Dave Vetter
Graphic Design: Guillaume Ory
Video editing: Mohsin Ali


Would you like to suggest guests and projects that we should cover? Do you have feedback or questions? Email paolo@iceworm.media

We all live in a new climate reality. Now, what are our best options? 

On Thin Ice is the podcast that highlights the contradictions of the climate debate, bringing together influential guests and innovators to explore solutions that can help us build a more sustainable economy and lifestyle–right now.
Free Solo climber Alex Honnold and Icelandic energy entrepreneur Nanna Baldvinsdottir are the guests featured in the first episode, dropping February 2.

This series is hosted by award-winning journalist Paolo Bosonin and produced by Iceworm Media, in partnership with the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation.

Head to  ballypeakoutlook.org/  to learn more about the Bally Peak Outlook Foundation, which is on a mission to safeguard the world's fragile mountain habitats from the adverse effects of global warming and excessive tourism. 

Original Music: Nadir Cassim
Editorial advisor: Dave Vetter
Series cover and banner: Guillaume Ory
Video editing: Mohsin Ali


Would you like to suggest guests and projects that we should cover? Do you have feedback or questions? Email paolo@iceworm.media