How Penticton’s Athletic Community is Staying in the Adventure

In Penticton, British Columbia, there is no age limit to living life adventurously. 

Stay in the Adventure, a STORYHIVE Voices series created by Deirdre O’Neill and Finbar O’Sullivan, highlights athletes in their 70s and 80s who are still skiing, climbing, mountain biking and paddling and plenty more. It’s a series that is deeply curious about the question, “How do we keep doing what we’ve spent our lives doing even as we get older?” 

Redefining aging

Finbar and Deirdre noticed that many people begin to fear aging as their milestone birthdays approach. “They turn 50 or 60 and say, ‘I can’t do that anymore because I’m old,’” Finbar explains. But in Penticton, they see something different.

“We know people in their mid-70s who are still very active. They’ve adapted their sport, but they haven’t stopped.”

Each episode of their series, Stay in the Adventure, starts with an in-depth interview—the “seed,” as Finbar describes it. From there, the story grows organically, incorporating family members, teammates and community voices who share their experiences and journeys in sports and thrill-seeking.

“We typically have one main character,” Deirdre explains, “and then support people around them who help bring the story together.”

The first episode features Don Mulhall, who brought dragon boating to Interior B.C. in the 1990s. Beyond his own athletic achievements, Don works with breast cancer survivors and paddles with the Golden Dragons, a team for athletes 70 and older.

One featured athlete on Stay in the Adventure is a mountain biker in his 80s who rides several times a week and builds trails for the community. Another is Howie Richardson, now 84, who discovered one of North America’s top climbing areas. Arthritis may have slowed him down, the series shares, but his legacy lives on through his children, accomplished climbers and mountaineers in their own right.

“It’s about encouraging people to get out there,” Finbar says. “Life doesn’t end at 60—or 50, or even 40 or 30. Don’t be scared of getting older.”

Learning the craft

A regular at Apex Mountain just outside Penticton, Finbar’s entry into filmmaking began unexpectedly, with a knee replacement.

“As you can tell by the colour of my hair, I’m not a youngster,” he says. “But I’ve been fortunate to live a very active lifestyle. Last year I had a new knee, and this year I’ll probably get another. These are the kinds of things you have to do to stay in the adventure.”

Neither Finbar nor Deirdre came from a professional filming background. Finbar, who has long worked in still photography, took a basic video course while recovering from surgery.

“Filming something like this is totally different from photography,” he says. “With stills, you set your exposure and press the button. Video is continuous; movement, depth of field and an exposure triangle in your head at all times.”

“The biggest unexpected challenge has been the editing,” Deirdre says, particularly managing active B-roll and navigating professional software. “We set out to produce the best quality we possibly could. It’s far more time than we expected, in the best way.”

STORYHIVE’s financial support allowed them to hire young filmmakers in their mid-20s, creating an unexpected cross-generational collaboration.

“They’ve helped elevate the creative risks we could take,” Deirdre says. “Without that support, we wouldn’t have brought in additional crew.”

What it means to stay in the adventure

What struck both Finbar and Deirdre most isn’t a single quote from a particular episode but the reaction to the title itself. Stay in the Adventure has become somewhat of a mirror, reflecting something people already believe but haven’t put into words.

“There are a lot of young people on the ski hill,” Finbar says. “They’re always fascinated. And then the question becomes: how do you stay in the adventure?”

That question tells him the message of the series is landing. “If someone asks me that,” he says, “I know we’re doing something right.”

In a culture that often frames aging as decline, Stay in the Adventure offers a counter-narrative. It’s not about pretending bodies don’t age or denying injury or limitation. It’s about an adventure that may evolve, sure, but it doesn’t have to disappear. 

“I've been rock climbing since I was a kid,” Finbar says. “I’ve had to slow down. I’ve had to give some things up. But that doesn’t mean I can’t ski. It doesn’t mean I can’t mountain bike.”

Growing older simply means finding new ways to keep going. 

Stay in the Adventure premieres in fall 2026—stay tuned! Follow Deirdre and Finbar on Instagram at @stayintheadventure.