EP17: Izzy Lynch and Tessa Treadway—What is the MOTHERLOAD?
Explore Magazine's Live The Adventure PodcastShow Notes
What load do you carry? Is it, at times, too heavy to lift? How do you balance a yearning for adventure with what can seem like an ever-building load of responsibilities: parenthood, career, mental health… Do you ever look back to simpler times and wish you were there? And what role does outdoor adventure play in your personal growth, and perhaps the development of your family? Heady topics right? Well don't worry—my guests are good at making this stuff fun. Today, I'm talking to Izzy Lynch and Tessa Treadway. They are British Columbia-based pro skiers, and mothers. Izzy, along with her sister Zoya Lynch, recently made a documentary called "Motherload." It follows Izzy and Tessa as they wrangle with topics like grief, personal growth and a yearning for adventure—all framed around family life, and the "load" they must carry, as mothers, to guide their families through the life they are striving for. The documentary is available for free on YouTube, and it's a 14-minute film that's at times comical, at times gut-wrenching, at times inspiring as it looks at subjects of loss—Tessa lost her husband, famed skier Dave Treadway, to a backcountry accident three years ago, and Izzy's marriage dissolved, a loss of a different kind—as well as the absurd reality that any parent who's tried to get young kids outdoors can relate to. So let's jump into conversation with Tessa treadway and Izzy Lynch!
More from Explore Magazine's Live The Adventure Podcast
Welcome to episode 58 of Explore's Podcast! Today we are excited to welcome Jenn Gardiner, PWHL player for the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Jenn's life has revolved around hockey, and this passion has paid off—from youth excellence, to NCAA success, to a PWHL draft and even representing Canada at the Olympics. But it's not all hockey all the time. Jenn is an active outdoor enthusiast who spends tons of time during the off-season exploring the trails, mountains and lakes of BC and beyond. And she shares this love of nature on Instagram, inspiring fans, and even getting her teammates out on the trail! So how does she balance this? How did she manifest her dream life? Let's dig in and uncover the secret of success with Jenn Gardiner.
Welcome to episode 57 of Explore's Podcast! It's peak hiking season right now—so we have a special guest today who's going to talk to us all about hiking safety. But don't worry—we'll make it interesting and fun. Today, we are chatting with Dr. Rob Scanlon, author of "Surviving the Trail: Five Essential Skills to Prepare Every Hiker for Adventure's Most Common Perils." Rob's an ICU doctor and an avid hiker. He blended those skills and passions and became an author so he could educate hikers on how to PREVENT injury on the trail, not just respond to it. Framed around real-world case studies and organized in a digestible and newbie-friendly format, this book is an outdoors-person's must have. So, let's find out more about Rob—and really dig into why he wrote this book—so we can all survive the trail this season (and have more fun outdoors).
Episode 56 is live now! On this episode, we're joined by Jason Crowley—founder of the outdoor apparel brand Northern Sun. Jason's been a friend of Explore's for a few years, as we found our values and our passion for the Canadian outdoors aligned. Explore inspires and educates; Northern Sun makes the apparel. So, we joined forces to create Explore's first-ever technical apparel collab, on sale until September 30, 2026. But there's so much more to the story that this. We wanted to dig into Jason's story and uncover exactly how he was able to launch an apparel brand in a competitive market, what goes into creating these pieces and why leaning into the brand's Canadian identity is so important to him. It's an inspiring chat—we know you'll enjoy it.
Welcome to episode 55 of Explore Magazine's "Live the Adventure" Podcast. Our guest this week is Martin Sampson, CEO of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA), a national leader championing the mental, physical and communal benefits of getting outside. Martin joins us to talk about Everyone Outdoors Together, CPRA's national movement culminating in the Great Canadian Sunset on July 18—aimed at uniting communities from coast-to-coast in one shared moment outdoors. What sparked this initiative? Why does it matter now more than ever? And how can Canadians get involved? Let's find out with this inspiring episode, streaming now.
We have a special (return) guest on this week's episode—Kevin Callan, also known as "The Happy Camper." Kevin is the author of 20 books, a columnist for Explore Magazine and he's written a weekly blog on our website for a staggering 20 years. He's also at an interesting transition in his life, as the media landscape changes and he looks to expanding and growing in different areas of his "Happy Camper" career. So what motivates Kevin? How did he get here? What's next? Let's find out with this lively and fun episode, streaming now.