Rebroadcasting our intimate conversation with backcountry skier Melissa Gill about loss, grief, nature, and the beauty of life.

May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, a time that calls for reflecting, learning, and engaging in meaningful dialogues about the complex world of mental health. To honor this month, we're reaching into our podcast archives to bring back a conversation that beautifully intertwines grief, mental wellbeing, and the healing power of outdoor pursuits. This is an older conversation that’s worth a re-listen.

Since we last published this episode last May, the Patagonia film The Meaningless Pursuit of Snow, which Mel references in this conversation, is now available. And it’s really beautiful, y’all. Worth a watch.

Content notice: This episode contains real and honest depictions of grief and death.

If you are reading this and you're grieving, know that your pain is valid, irrespective of what prompted it—be it the death of a loved one, a relationship at its end, or the loss of employment. It's a journey without a map, and what works for one person may prove futile for another. Einstein once said, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." That certainly has been the case for us.

Melissa Gill is a woodworker, meditation teacher, Head of Operations for SimplyMTB and a lover of anything outdoors. She sees backcountry skiing as a playground for adventure and self development and in the summer months, can be found trail running or sleeping in a hammock in the middle of a forest. Of all things in life, she is most is passionate about mental health and creating safe spaces for healing for both her and her community. As a mindfulness meditation teacher, she believes most things in life can be solved, healed and made more beautiful with a heavy dose of self compassion.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Meditation teachers Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

Danielle has written about the loss she describes in this episode for the Medium publication Age of Empathy.

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