Women in Wild Places

Gabriella DiGiovanni

Women in Wild Places is a show about women find strength, clarity, and identity in the outdoors. Host Gabriella DiGiovanni sits down with athletes, scientists, artists, mothers, and everyday adventurers to explore ambition, resilience, motherhood, fear, community, and the landscapes that shape us. Recognized by Spotify as a 2025 Instant Hit, WIWP shares honest, long-form conversations about choosing a bold life and protecting the wild places that we love.

Episodes

  1. Hotshotting and the Myth of Control: Wildfire, Community, and Creativity with Amanda Monthei

    JAN 21

    Hotshotting and the Myth of Control: Wildfire, Community, and Creativity with Amanda Monthei

    In this episode of Women in Wild Places, I’m joined by Amanda Monthei, a former hotshot wildland firefighter, writer, and the creator of the Life With Fire podcast, for a deep, thoughtful conversation about wildfire, creativity, and what it means to live and work inside powerful & uncontrollable landscapes. Amanda spent multiple seasons working on fire crews and hotshotting, witnessing massive wildfires most people will never experience up close. Through years on the line, she came to understand something many of us resist: fire is never really “in control,” and the idea that humans can fully control it is largely a myth. We talk about what it’s actually like to live in survival mode all summer, the nervous-system crash that comes in the off season, and the emotional and psychological toll of increasingly long, intense fire seasons. Amanda shares what it means to see communities burn, to work inside catastrophe, and to carry that weight long after the season ends. We also explore her transition from firefighter to storyteller, and her current chapter pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at the University of Montana and returning to craft, attention, and creative practice as a way of making sense of the world. We talk about writing, observation, landscape, and how learning to really see the places we live changes how we tell stories. This episode is about hotshotting, the creative process, and how living with uncontrollable forces shapes the way we pay attention, write, and understand our place in the world. It’s also about humility, limits, fire ecology, and what wildfire teaches us about being human in a changing climate. Connect with Amanda Listen to her podcast: Life With FireFollow her on Instagram: @a_montheiCheck out her website and SubstackConnect with Women in Wild Places Follow us on Instagram: @womeninwildplaces @outsidegabsJoin our SubstackSubscribe to our PatreonIf you loved this episode, please consider following the show, leaving a rating or review, and sharing it with someone who loves wild places, good stories, and thoughtful conversations about the world we live in. Note: Toward the end of the episode, Amanda accidentally say “prescribed fire councils” when she meant to say “prescribed burn associations.”

    57 min
  2. Making Art from Fire and Ice: Glacier Aerialism, Wildfire, and Climate Hope with Sasha Galitzki

    JAN 6

    Making Art from Fire and Ice: Glacier Aerialism, Wildfire, and Climate Hope with Sasha Galitzki

    Performing aerial acrobatics suspended over glaciers sounds like a scene from a dream. For aerial artist and climate advocate Sasha Galitzki, it’s home. In frozen landscapes where ice shifts and snow falls, Sasha brings movement to places that are disappearing faster than we can comprehend, using art to help us feel what we can’t ignore. In this episode, we talk about how Sasha stumbled into pole dancing in her twenties, fell in love with the feeling of flying, and eventually combined her two great passions, the outdoors and aerial art, into breathtaking performances on glaciers and ice. She shares the logistics behind climbing anchors, rigging in the cold, and planning choreography down to her fingertips. We talk about risk, safety, and why grace means even more when conditions are harsh. We also dive into the story behind her new film Embers: losing her home in the Jasper wildfire, returning to the ice year after year to witness glaciers recede, and how grief transformed into purpose.  Cover art photo by Kris Andres @kristopherandres Watch + follow Sasha’s work here: Website: https://www.sasha-gali.com/Instagram (Sasha): https://www.instagram.com/sasha_gali/Wild Aerial Film: https://www.wild-aerial.com/wild-aerial-filmEmbers Film & Festival Info: https://www.wild-aerial.com/embers Instagram: womeninwildplaces Host: outsidegabs Support the show + join the community on Patreon Gear lists & episode-inspired kits Substack: https://substack.com/@womeninwildplaces

    44 min
  3. Racing Sled Dogs Through the Alaskan Wilderness with Kristy & Anna Berington

    12/18/2025

    Racing Sled Dogs Through the Alaskan Wilderness with Kristy & Anna Berington

    Kristy and Anna are twin mushers who race sled dogs across Alaska’s most remote wilderness. Racing sled dogs across Alaska’s vast wilderness is one of the most physically demanding and logistically complex endurance sports in the world. It means weeks of preparation, months of training, and days spent moving through snow, wind, darkness, and isolation alongside a team that cannot speak, but communicates constantly. In this episode, I sit down with identical twin sisters Kristy and Anna of Seeing Double Sled Dog Racing. Based in rural Alaska, they live and work together caring for, training, and racing with 32 sled dogs. Kristy and Anna share how a childhood fascination with mushing turned into a full-time lifestyle, how they found their way to Alaska, and why sled dog racing is not just a sport, but a long-term commitment to animals, routine, and place. We talk about what it actually takes to train a sled dog team leading up to hundred-mile days, how race days unfold from the starting line to remote checkpoints, and what it feels like to move through the wilderness when it seems like you might be the only people on earth. Kristy and Anna explain how they communicate with their dogs through body language and instinct, how they make hard decisions in the dogs’ best interest, and why trust is the foundation of everything they do. We also explore what many people misunderstand about sled dog racing, including why the dogs want to do this work, how they live fully in the present, and what it means to survive together as a team. This episode is about endurance, care, sisterhood, and the intelligence required to move responsibly through wild places. Follow Kristy and Anna and meet their dogs here: Website: https://seeingdoublesleddogracing.comInstagram: @seeingdoublesleddogracingFacebook: Seeing Double Sled Dog RacingFollow Women in Wild Places Instagram: @womeninwildplacesHost: @outsidegabsSupport the show & help keep these stories alive through our PatreonJoin our community on Substack

    53 min
  4. Making History on Yosemite's Triple Crown with Kate Kelleghan

    12/11/2025

    Making History on Yosemite's Triple Crown with Kate Kelleghan

    Speed climbing the Yosemite Triple Crown, El Capitan, Half Dome, and Mount Watkins in under 24 hours, has always lived in the realm of legendary, and until recently, it was something dominated entirely by men. In this episode, I sit down with speed climber and designer Kate Kelleghan, who, along with her partner Laura Pineau, became the first women to complete the Yosemite Triple Crown in under 24 hours. We talk about how Kate was once an emo art kid who walked the mile on purpose who became an obsessive trail runner and then a climber. She shares how joining the Colorado Mountain Club and Yosemite Search and Rescue (YoSAR) gave her mentors, partners, and friends who took her big goals seriously. We dig into the nerdy side of speed climbing like spreadsheets, Coros data, gear notes in erasable pen and what it feels like to climb El Cap through the night with only a headlamp bubble around you. We also explore what it means to be a “competitive feminist,” to chase an audacious, history-making goal in a male-dominated space, and how Kate is thinking about mentoring the next wave of women climbers. This one is about big walls, big math, and even bigger belief. She shares updates about the Triple Crown documentary, guiding trips, and plenty of behind-the-scenes moments here: Instagram: @katekelleghan Join her Greece climbing + adventure trip: https://www.sunrise-mindset.com/greece Podcast: Women in Wild Places — all episodes available on every major platform Instagram: @womeninwildplaces Host: @outsidegabs Check out my curated gear lists + episode-inspired kits: Gear & kits: https://shopmy.us/outsidegabs Support the show & the stories you love: WIWP Patreon

    1h 5m

About

Women in Wild Places is a show about women find strength, clarity, and identity in the outdoors. Host Gabriella DiGiovanni sits down with athletes, scientists, artists, mothers, and everyday adventurers to explore ambition, resilience, motherhood, fear, community, and the landscapes that shape us. Recognized by Spotify as a 2025 Instant Hit, WIWP shares honest, long-form conversations about choosing a bold life and protecting the wild places that we love.