Ep. 190: John Barklow: They Needed a Mountain Warfare Expert. They Picked a Diver.

Ep. 190: John Barklow: They Needed a Mountain Warfare Expert. They Picked a Diver.

July 14, 2026 · 1h 43m · Season 6 · Episode 190

About this episode

John Barklow shares his experiences and insights on mountain warfare and survival training after serving in the U.S. Navy.

John Barklow spent 26 years in the U.S. Navy, most of it teaching Naval Special Warfare how to survive the coldest, most unforgiving mountains on earth. After 9/11 the military needed mountain warfare experts and almost none were left. They picked a diver from Cleveland, Ohio, and his work went on to reshape cold weather survival training for a generation of special operators. In this conversation, Travis Bader and John go far past gear. They get into the mindset that keeps you alive when things go wrong, the difference between chasing happiness and building satisfaction, and why the hunting and firearms communities are so quick to turn on their own. John breaks down his famous rewarming drill in full: what to do if you fall in cold water in the backcountry, why you keep your wet clothes on instead of stripping them off, and how your own body heat dries your system from the inside. He explains how to train it safely in your own backyard before your life depends on it. He also tells the story of a British Columbia horseback hunt that nearly ended under 1,400 pounds of falling horse in the dark, opens up about two hip replacements and refusing to let the old man in, and shares, for…

People in this episode

Host: Travis Bader

Guest: John Barklow

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Navy, Naval Special Warfare

Products: Knowledge from Storms

More episodes of The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Silvercore Podcast with Travis Bader podcast page.