The Happiness Quotient

Thom Dharma Pollard
  • 4.8 (47)
  • Documentary
  • Updated Biweekly

Thom Dharma Pollard hosts inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire with guests and drawing from his own adventures around the world. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us. 

  1. 4d ago

    Where is the Outrage? Himlung Avalanche & Commercial Mountaineering’s Darkest Dilemma After 16 Are Buried

    On September 27th, a catastrophic avalanche slammed into base camp on 7126 meter Himlung Hamal at 3:00 in the morning. 16 people - all of them mountain workers - were buried under 4 meters of snow. 15 of the bodies have been recovered. One is still there under the snow.  As of right now, commercial outfitters are arriving at the mountain, staffing the mountain. Over 30 clients will be there soon, ready to climb. It's business as usual.  This morning, I spoke with Angela Benavides of Explorers Web.  **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: Henriette Pi Barbedwire Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y  John V. Mike Nicholson Geoff (mountain climber) RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Manaslu Slams Shut: Why 500 Climbers Were Sent Home: https://youtu.be/zmg-zARF-Wg Manaslu vs. Everest: Who is Winning the Race to the Bottom?: https://youtu.be/Pr25Sf4ESFI The Juniper Fund, Supporting HIMALAYAN mountain workers, their families and communities: https://www.thejuniperfund.org Explorers Web update from Angela Benavides, Himlung Still Open for Tourism Despite Avalanche That Killed 16: https://explorersweb.com/himlung-still-open-for-tourism-despite-avalanche-that-killed-16 Send us Fan Mail If you've been enjoying the podcast and find value in the content, we'd be incredibly grateful for your support. Your monthly contribution helps ensuring that we can continue delivering great content for you to enjoy.Click on the link below:https://www.buzzsprout.com/268133/supportThank you!Thom Dharma Pollard Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  2. Sep 30

    Nepal Avalanche Tragedy: Himlung Himal Base Camp Buried Under Snow (27 Sept) + 16 Dead or Missing

    An avalanche has buried the base camp of Himlung Himal in Nepal. We examine the latest reports from this unfolding disaster. On September 27, 2026, severe reports emerged regarding a massive slide that struck the base camp of Himlung Himal. Teams were actively preparing for guided expeditions to summit the peak when the event occurred. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable risks inherent in Himalayan expeditions, even before climbers reach the higher altitudes. RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Manaslu Slams Shut: Why 500 Climbers Were Sent Home: https://youtu.be/zmg-zARF-Wg Manaslu vs. Everest: Who is Winning the Race to the Bottom?: https://youtu.be/Pr25Sf4ESFI Nims Purja, the Broad Peak Avalanche, and the Questions No One Wants to Ask: https://youtu.be/5GYX_azq_HA The Juniper Fund, Supporting HIMALAYAN mountain workers, their families and communities: https://www.thejuniperfund.org Explorers Web update from Angela Benavides, 28 Sept https://explorersweb.com/himlung-avalanche-four-bodies-found-no-survivors The Kathmandu Post, 28 Sept: https://kathmandupost.com/national/2026/09/28/four-bodies-found-after-himlung-avalanche-12-still-missing Nepal National Mountain Guide Association Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nnmga ======================= Send us Fan Mail Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  3. Sep 21

    ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: How to Avert a Junk Show on the World's Eighth Highest Mountain, Manaslu

    Today on Manaslu, climbing isn't just an expedition—it’s an active conveyor belt. Nearly a thousand people are on the mountain right this second, creating thousands of pounds of waste while operators collect royalties. But this is not a eulogy for the mountain. It’s a blueprint.  **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: Henriette Pi Barbedwire Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y  John V. Mike Nicholson Geoff (mountain climber) Send us Fan Mail Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  4. Sep 16

    THE INTERVIEW "My Guide Left Me to Die": How Russian Climber Survived Makalu Despite His Allegation that His Guide Wanted Him to Die

    Surgery complete. Six of Konstantin Smirnov's fingers are gone. He believes the man whose job was to bring him down Makalu left him to die in the death zone. Today, for the first time, he tells the whole story — and he is not asking for your sympathy. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: Henriette Pi Barbedwire Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y  John V. Mike Nicholson Geoff (mountain climber) Send us Fan Mail If you've been enjoying the podcast and find value in the content, we'd be incredibly grateful for your support. Your monthly contribution helps ensuring that we can continue delivering great content for you to enjoy.Click on the link below:https://www.buzzsprout.com/268133/supportThank you!Thom Dharma Pollard Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  5. Sep 5

    NEPAL FLOODS: The Mountains Are Coming Apart. And No One Is Safe.

    On August 26th, the Himalaya came apart. The disaster began high along the Lende Khola near the Nepal Tibet border, then poured south into the Trishuli River system heading downstream toward the lower valleys of central Nepal. A wall of water and debris. Communities were destroyed. Roads and bridges disappeared. Hydropower facilities were overwhelmed and destroyed and people disappeared with them.  **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: John V. Barbedwire  Lindsey Cameron Henriette Pi Mike Nicholson Tom McLeod Geoff (mountain climber) Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS FOR FLOOD RELIEF IFRC / Nepal Red Cross Society: https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/nepal-flash-floods-2026 Government of Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund: https://www.donate.gov.np UNICEF Nepal: https://www.unicef.org/nepal Provisions For Humanity, expanding access to practical, sustainable solutions that help individuals and communities:  https://www.provisionsforhumanity.org Send us Fan Mail Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  6. Sep 1

    They Want to Rename Annapurna to 'Nimsdai Annapurna'? NOPE! And The Recent Floods and Chaos in China and Nepal

    After the Broad Peak avalanche that took ten lives, the municipality where Nirmal Purja was born proposed renaming Annapurna I in his honor, to Nimsdai Annapurna. In this video I trace the epic of the mountain itself — the 1950 French first ascent and the cost it took from Maurice Herzog — and the right way to honor Nimsdai without un-naming a goddess. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: John V. Barbedwire  Lindsey Cameron Henriette Pi Mike Nicholson Tom McLeod Geoff (mountain climber) Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y RESOURCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Nims Purja, the Broad Peak Avalanche, and the Questions No One Wants to Ask: https://youtu.be/5GYX_azq_HA NEWS FLASH: Nimsdai's Troubles HEAT UP & 2024 Season Recap: https://youtu.be/1mnq5WY0p2I Patreon newsletter August 9, 2014, Broad Peak: Ambition, Ego, and The Questions That Remain After Ten Deaths:  https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery/posts/broad-peak-ego-166132724?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Send us Fan Mail Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  7. Aug 14

    Nims Purja, the Broad Peak Avalanche & Tragedy, and the Questions No One Wants to Ask

    There’s a scene in 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible that tells me almost everything I need to know about the Broad Peak disaster. Ten climbers died on July 30th—but the avalanche is only part of the story. This video asks the harder question: why were they there at all? **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: John V. Barbedwire  Lindsey Cameron Henriette Pi Mike Nicholson Tom McLeod Geoff (mountain climber) Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y Send us Fan Mail Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

  8. Aug 1

    Murder Mystery on Makalu? Konstantin Smrinov Was Left For Dead, Now He's Fighting Back In Court

    "So these uh fingers, they are dead and you  know they they sound like stone, like a piece of bone."  Listeners might want to check out the video version of this podcast episode, found here: https://youtu.be/xBW_6ZNYI8M The fascination with the abandonment on Makalu has resonated profoundly. It may well reshape the guiding industry forever.  Konstantin Smirnov faced the ultimate betrayal on the slopes of Makalu. Abandoned in the death zone, his survival ignited a legal battle that challenges the ethics of commercial mountaineering and could change the guiding industry forever is his court battle is successful.  Be sure to leave a comment in the comment section to join the conversation. Send us Fan Mail If you've been enjoying the podcast and find value in the content, we'd be incredibly grateful for your support. Your monthly contribution helps ensuring that we can continue delivering great content for you to enjoy.Click on the link below:https://www.buzzsprout.com/268133/supportThank you!Thom Dharma Pollard Support the show Here are a few ways you can help support us: Patreon for access to exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/everestmystery EVEREST MYSTERY Membership for access to perks and exclusive content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEk3e_XGyNnqwK2ZlxH7fEA/join Tip Jar for anyone who would like to help support us: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EverestMystery

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Trailer

4.8
out of 5
47 Ratings

About

Thom Dharma Pollard hosts inspirational, intimate and unfiltered Stories That Inspire with guests and drawing from his own adventures around the world. The Happiness Quotient: connected, engaged, passionate people who inspire us. 

Information

  • Creator
    Thom Dharma Pollard
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    177
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Happiness Quotient
  • Show Website
    The Happiness Quotient

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