All 10 episodes of Season 3 of The Headwaters are out into the world, so if you haven’t discovered them yet, here they all are for your listening pleasure.  Join thousands of listeners from around the Kootenays and beyond, and learn about the creative people, spectacular places, unique issues, and innovative thinking that flows from the Columbia River Basin, one of North America’s most compelling landscapes. The Headwaters is hosted by Mitchell Scott, editor-in-chief of Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine and brought to you by Columbia Basin Trust. 

 

The Basin is awash with pioneers, free-spirits, explorers, adventurers, and innovators. It always has been. We kick off Season 3 with stories that celebrate the trailblazers among us. From inventions that changed the world to what it takes to name a mountain, legendary mountain ascents to harrowing river descents. Grab your pack, favorite pair of boots and let’s hit the trail!

Everywhere you look in the Basin there’s water. Lakes, streams, rivers, springs, wetlands, snowfields, and glaciers—we’ve got it all. But in a world increasingly water challenged, it’s interesting to note that we know very little about the freshwater cycle in the Basin. Like, how much water we actually have, and how much that’s being affected by a warming world. In this episode, meet the people (and animals) working to change that.

Over a century ago, the Basin was experiencing a rush of exploration and industry as pioneers from around the world came in search of riches hidden in the mountains. The discovery of galena ore profoundly changed the landscape, and with it created booming resource towns literally overnight. But as quickly as these bustles centres of commerce were built, they were gone. In this episode we go back in time to hear about some of the Kootenays more legendary ghost towns.

 

Like rain or soil, fire is a crucial part of a healthy forest ecosystem. But as warmer temperatures and longer periods of drought have become the norm in the Columbia Basin—along with the fact that we have suppressed fire to protect trees as a valuable natural resource—we now face bigger, hotter, and more dangerous megafires. Join us as we meet fire experts who are creating a better understanding of what we’re up against and helping us safeguard our homes and communities.

 

It is one of our most ingenious inventions. Nothing gets the blood moving, the smiles grooving, and the kilometres rolling like the almighty bicycle. Over the past two decades, the bike has inspired Basin residents to create thousands of kilometres of cycling paths and trails, drawing international attention to the region. Additionally, bike culture in the Kootenays has had a large impact on action-sports media, technological innovation, and rural economic health. Join us as we explore these stories in our Beautiful Bicycles episode.

 

There’s a lot going on beneath the surface in our corner of the world. The Basin is home to the deepest cave in Canada. Named Bisaro Anima and located just outside of Fernie, we meet the explorer who’s spent many days pioneering its dark and dangerous depths. We also dip into an eerie, once secret cold war bunker in Nelson, and make a Kootenay connection to one of punk music’s more legendary bands, D.O.A. Join us as we go subterranean in our Unexpected Underground episode.

We all need a place to call our own—somewhere we feel safe to relax and refuel—but a recent convergence of circumstances has made finding a home a serious challenge. In this episode, we focus on housing solutions here in the Basin. We start with a “Tale of Two Towns,” an investigation into creative, multi-faceted projects in Rossland and Fernie. Then we jump through Meadow Creek, Kaslo, Procter, and South Slocan to meet Kootenay entrepreneurs who are using surprisingly innovative solutions to address our housing crisis.

In season one of our podcast, we produced a popular episode titled “Young Dreamers” about Basin youth accomplishing extraordinary things. Well, there must be something in the water, because the kids just keep getting after it, and we couldn’t wait to share more of their stories. Meet one of the best female baseball players in the world, 22-year-old Alli Schroder, as well as Keanu Chan, who, at 17 years old, has invented award-winning medical devices—when he’s not shredding on the drums. Enjoy “Young Dreamers: Part 2.”

 

 

A community-focused music festival, a symphony for a glacier, a small-town spoken word artist: what do they all have in common? An intention to make the world a better place through the power of art. In this episode, we’ll talk to writers, visual artists, storytellers and arts professionals, people whose work and creative practices in the Kootenays are helping to inspire systems to change.

Whether climbing mountains or cross-country skiing well into our eighties or outlasting nine other competitors on the world’s most popular survival show, we do a good job of Stayin’ Alive here in the Basin. Meet modern survivalists who make a living by living outdoors, as well as members of the Kimberley Search and Rescue team. You’ll also hear a harrowing account from a survivor of a grizzly-bear attack in this last episode of season three.