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Ricardo Kaljouw is a Dutch adventurer and mountaineer from Flushing (Vlissingen) in Zeeland, Netherlands — a province that sits below sea level, making his obsession with the world's highest volcanoes all the more fitting. By day he works in military shipbuilding, constructing frigates for governments around the world. By adventure, he has just become the first person from the Benelux to complete the Volcanic 7 Summits — a challenge so rare that only around 68 people in the world have ever achieved it.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: A Dangerous Encounter
01:28 – Welcome to The Adventure Diaries
01:50 – Meet Ricardo Kaljouw: Volcanic Seven Summits
04:35 – Growing Up Below Sea Level
06:39 – Navy Life: Battling Pirates in Somalia
09:13 – Inspiration: Climbing Kilimanjaro
12:16 – Inside the Crater: Virunga's Lava Lake
17:19 – Mount Damavand: Winter Climbing in Iran
23:41 – Mountaineering Lessons: Snow Blindness
28:04 – Papua New Guinea: Jungle Trekking Challenges
31:49 – Close Call: Mistaken for a Witch
33:07 – Survival Story: Stranded on Ojos del Salado
41:00 – Romance on the Peak: Pico de Orizaba
42:33 – Antarctica: The Ultimate Expedition
45:40 – Landing on the Frozen Continent
1:00:25 – Summiting Mount Sidley: A Historic Feat
1:13:26 – What's Next: The Volcanic Grand Slam
1:17:16 – Book Launch: A Million Steps on Lava
Key Topics Covered
Growing up in the flattest country on earth and joining a walking club as a kid
Serving in the Royal Dutch Navy, including an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden in 2010
How a safari to Kenya and a first glimpse of Kilimanjaro sparked a lifelong obsession
The Virunga documentary that sent him to the Democratic Republic of Congo — and sleeping on the rim of Nyiragongo, home to the world's largest lava lake
Climbing Damavand (Iran) in winter and going snow blind on the descent
Surviving near-starvation and a machete encounter in the jungles of Papua New Guinea
Getting stranded alone at 6,600m on Ojos del Salado (Chile/Argentina) in whiteout conditions
Mount Elbrus (Russia, 2017) — his first experience on glaciers, roped teams and crampons
Carrying his proposal ring to the summit of Pico de Orizaba (Mexico) and the Aztec legend behind it
The full Antarctica chapter — flying to Union Glacier, a 1,000km internal flight to Mount Sidley, two weeks in a 10-metre safe zone, a guide evacuated with pulmonary oedema, and a last-gasp summit window in minus 42°C
Reflecting on what it means to finish a multi-year, multi-continent challenge
Lessons from the Mountains
You're only at 70% when you think you're at 100% — but know where the real limit is
The descent is where most accidents happen; the summit is only halfway
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The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering
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