Adventurer and academic still lives wild
Roman Dial
By MELISSA DeVAUGHN
Anchorage Daily News
Published: March 13th, 2005
Last Modified: March 13th, 2005 at 01:24 AM
OK, so after reading this, many of us will feel like couch potatoes, no matter our outdoor accomplishments. Roman Dial is the type of person whose idea of adventure is not thrilling unless it involves at least one adrenaline-pumping moment, see scariest-moment question to better understand. He has spent most of his life exploring Alaska's most untamed land, pushing his limits further with each adventure.
When not outside, Dial spends his time as an academic at Alaska Pacific University. He has bachelor's and master's degrees of science from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and his doctorate from Stanford University. On his university Web site profile, he juxtaposes these two sides best: "For me the wild side feeds emotion and spirit; the analytic side feeds intellect and family."
ROMAN DIAL
Age: 44
Occupation: professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University
Family: Married to Peggy since 1985; daughter, Jazz, 16, and son, Roman, 18.
Hometown: Anchorage
Q. How long have you been in this current job, and what other jobs have you had in Alaska:
A. I teach courses in ecology, calculus and packrafting and direct a master's program. I've also published photos (in the Patagonia catalog for instance), a few stories (including a short article for National Geographic magazine), and I earned a bit from racing the Eco-Challenge.
Although Alaska Pacific University hired me in 1992, I've made money with academics and adventure since the early 1980s, when I graded papers for the University of Alaska Fairbanks' math department and sold photos to newspapers and magazines. Between university-related work, I did what all 20-somethings do in Alaska when they'd rather climb mountains and raft rivers than work: live cheap, take short-term labor jobs and wait for the Permanent Fund check.
Q. What's your greatest outdoor accomplishment?
A. I don't know. Walking 60 miles from Fort Glenn to Nikolski across the Aleutian Island Umnak with just my 6-year-old? Packrafting with Peggy from the Haul Road to the Arrigetch Peaks across the Gates of the Arctic Park when she was two months pregnant? Both are very significant to me and my family. But before kids there were a number of climbs with Carl Tobin and Chuck Comstock, as well as mountain bike rides, ski trips, adventure races and packraft descents with amazing people that mean a lot to me too. Honestly, I can't pick just one "greatest."
Q. When and how did you end up in Alaska (and where were you raised)?
A. I was born in Seattle and went to high school in northern Virginia. I moved to Fairbanks in 1977 to go to University of Alaska Fairbanks. But the root of my Alaska experiences sprouted in 1970. Three uncles brought me to Usibelli, where they worked digging coal. I was 9 years old, had to take care of myself, and wandered the tundra and taiga with a wolf-dog named Moose and a .22 rifle. Later, during the peak of the Alaska Pipeline construction in 1975, I again visited my Alaska uncles. This time I hitchhiked and backpacked all around the state. Only 14 at the time, I look back and am amazed to have survived.
Q. What do you do if you can't be outdoors?
A. Grow fat.
Q. What's your outdoor passion?
A. Finding and holding game trails in a place I've never been, with people I like, all while carrying a pack that feels too light for the week we're gone.
Q. What was your scariest or most memorable outdoor moment?
A. When Chuck Comstock broke a cornice on McGinnis Peak in the Alaska Range and I had to jump off the other side to save us both. Or when a partner plunged into a bergschrund crevasse and pulled me in with him. Or when I soloed the "Cream-stone Fearstep" and the rest of Keystone Greensteps (a frozen waterfall in Valdez) while listening to a punk band on my Walkman. Or when our tent caught fire at 40-below during a ski trip across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 100 miles from the nearest road. Or when I thought the rain-soaked gale-force winds in the middle of the Harding Icefield were going to rip our tent walls free, leaving Jazz, Roman (his son) and me exposed to a hypothermic death. Or when my son and I both flipped our packrafts in a flooding Talkeetna River with mountain bikes strapped on top. Or the moment I turned 'round to hear what that funny noise was right behind me, only to see the gnashing teeth and reaching claws of a grizzly bearing down. Or when I got bitten on the back of the neck by a 6-inch centipede in the jungle of Borneo. This question is like the "What's your greatest outdoor accomplishment?" I simply don't know. It's like asking, "Who do I love most: my wife, my son, or my daughter?"
Q. What's next?
A. Next summer, Roman and I want to better our three-day, four-hour time in the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic. Within the next couple years I'm planning a traverse the length of the coastal ranges of Alaska. At 25, I went from Kaktovik to Kotzebue, the length of the Brooks Range. When I was 35, Carl Tobin, Paul Adkins and I mountain biked from Canada to Lake Clark, the length of the Alaska Range. It would be satisfying to travel from Ketchikan to Cold Bay at 45 (next year!), but I'm waiting until both my kids are off to college.
Q. Got an Alaska hero?
A. Several. Carl Tobin and Dick Griffith, for their lack of arrogance, and Dave Manzer, Rocky Reifenstuhl and the late Andy Embick, in spite of theirs. Tobin taught me more than how to climb alpine-style. Griffith taught me more than what packrafting could be. Manzer, Reifenstuhl and Embick inspired me through their sheer competitive drive. I also admire Charlie Sassara, Chris Flowers, Bob Kaufman, which in some dictionaries qualifies them as my heroes too. They are all skilled, funny and fun, and have done really amazing things that I can only aspire to do. Besides the wild rivers, big mountain ranges, and wildlife of Alaska, it's the incredible number of heroes in the state that will have me always calling Alaska home.
Daily News reporter Melissa DeVaughn can be reached at [email protected].
Roman Dial
Roman Dial
I found this article when I did a search for Chuck Comstock. In getting ready for the ice climbing festival I'm searching for all the people invovled and posting it here. I hope to let people find out more about the folks involved in the ice climbing and mountaineering community in Alaska.
A bio of Roman Dial
source: http://www.alaska.org/bob/Roman.htm
Canopy Trekking
2004 Douglas-Fir, Washington
2002 Borneo tropical rain forest, 5 days
Australian Eucalyptus regnans, 5 days (National Geographic)
2001 Sequoias, California, 3days
Douglas-Fir, Washington
2000 Northern California Redwoods
Alaskan Sitka Spruce and Hemlock traverses
Chilean temperate rainforest Alerce and Coigue
1999 Northern California Redwood canopy traverse (world’s highest)
1998 Costa Rican tropical lowland rainforest trees
1995, 1996, 1997 Indonesian Borneo tropical lowland rainforest trees
1991 Puerto Rican lower montane rainforest trees
1990 Northern Virginia temperate hardwood forest trees
Adventure Racing
2004 Alaska Wilderness Classic 6th Place w/17 year old son (Talkeetnas)
World Championships of Adventure Racing 8th place (Newfoundland)
2003 Designed course Alaska Wilderness Classic (Talkeetnas)
2002 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Wrangell St. Elias)
Primal Quest (Telluride, CO)
Eco-Challenge (Fiji)
2001 Eco-Challenge 4th place (New Zealand)
Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Wrangell St. Elias)
Designed course for 2001 Armed Forces Eco-Challenge (Alaska)
2000 Designed course for 2000 Armed Forces Eco-Challenge (Alaska)
1999 Eco-Challenge 9th Place finish (Argentina)
Designed course for Beast of the East Alaska (canceled)
1998 Raid Gauloise 24th Place finish (Ecuador)
1997 Eco-Challenge 8th Place (First American) finish (Australia)
Alaska Wilderness Classic 3rd Place finish (Kenai Peninsula)
Dyea to Dawson 7th Place Finish (Yukon)
1996 Eco-Challenge 2nd Place (First American) finish (British Columbia)
X-Games Adventure Race (New England)
1995 Alaska Wilderness Classic 4th Place (Alaska Range)
Iditasport 3rd Place Snowshoe division (Alaska)
1993 Alaska Wilderness Classic 4th Place (Brooks Range)
1989 Iditasport 2nd Place Mountain Bike and Overall (Alaska)
1988 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Wrangell St. Elias)
Alaska Wilderness Ski Classic 1st Place, record (Alaska Range)
Iditasport 4th Place Mountain Bike and Overall (Alaska)
1987 Alaska Wilderness Ski Classic 2nd Place (Chugach Range)
1986 Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Alaska Range)
1985 Iditaski 7th Place (Alaska)
1984 Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Kenai Peninsula)
1982, 1983 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Kenai Peninsula)
Hell Biking
2004 “Eureka to Talkeetna” 160 miles w/17 year old son
1998 100 mile bike + 100 mile raft traverse of Talkeetna Mountains
1996 800 mile traverse of the Alaska Range (National Geographic)
1995 150 mile traverse of Harding Icefield and Kenai Peninsula (Bicycling)
100 mile traverse of the Chugach Mountains
1994 100 mile traverse of the Western Alaska Range (Mountain Bike)
1993 50 mile historic trip to “The Bus” (Into the Wild) with Jon Krakauer
1991 100 mile loop through Canyonlands NP (Utah) with Bill Hatcher
1990 200 mile traverse of Brooks Range (Mountain Bike; Mountain Bike UK)
1989 250 mile traverse of Eastern and Central Alaska Range (Mountain Bike)
1988 150 mile traverse of Wrangell St. Elias (Mountain Bike; Mountain Bike UK)
Pack Rafting and Glacier Skating
2004 “Hula-Hop” 135 miles, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
“Flower Power” 60 miles Girdwood-Knik, Chugach Mtns. w/University class
2003 “Arctic Circle” 110 miles Arrigetch-Noatak-Alatna Rivers, Brooks Range
“Charley-Yukon”, 200 miles with 16 year old son and 12 year old
“Eureka to Talkeetna” 160 miles w/University class
Ship Creek Canyon, class IV, first descent in packraft
Talkeetna River, class IV, first descent in packraft
Six-Mile, class V, first descent in packraft
Little Susitna, , class IV, first descent in packraft
2002 Franklin River, class IV, Tasmania Australia, solo
2001 75 mile loop Harding Icefield w/14 year old son & 12 year old daughter
2000 50 mile trip across Harding Icefield and Kenai Peninsula w/13 year old son
140 mile trip across Wrangell St. Elias w/University class (40 miles no map)
1998 100 mile trip across Kenai Peninsula w/University class
40 mile trip across Arctic Refuge coastal plane w/11 and 9 year old kids
100 mile trip across Kenai Peninsula w/Dr. Tim Laman (40 miles no map)
1994 75 mile pack, raft, and ski from Denali to Talkeetna
100 mile trip in Western Brooks Range w/Jon Krakauer (Smithsonian)
1993 60 mile traverse of Umnak Island (Aleutians) w/6 year old son
1990 125 mile traverse of Talkeetna Mountains
1989 300 mile traverse of Western Alaska Range
Grand Canyon, Whitmore Wash to Diamond Creek, w/mtn bikes
1988 200 mile trip on Charlie Yukon River system
1987 120 mile ski traverse of White Mountains
1986 900 mile traverse of Brooks Range from Canada to Kotzebue
150 mile solo traverse of Wrangell St. Elias
150 mile ski traverse of Central Alaska Range w/Audun Endestadt
Significant Alaskan Climbing
1994 1st ascent “Even Hookers Get the Blues,” Water Ice VI, Chugach
1992 1st ascent “Blow Hard” and “Dirt Ball,” Mixed 4, Valdez
1987 1st ascent “Broken Dreams” and “Star Babies,” Water Ice VI, Wrangells
3rd ascent “Love’s Way,” Water Ice VI, Valdez
1986 Solo ascent Doonerak, Brooks Range
First 1 day ascent of “Keystone Greensteps” and “Bridal Veil,” WI V, Valdez
1985 First solo “Keystone Greensteps,” Water Ice V, Valdez
1st ascent “Cream Stone Fear Step” (aka “Roman’s Candle”), WI VI, Valdez
2nd ascent “Tortilla Flat,” WI V, Valdez
1st ascent “Vug Tor,” Grade IV, 5.9, Kitchatna Spires
1st ascent East Face McGuiness Peak, Grade V, WI V, Alaska Range
1984 Rescue of Carl Tobin from Peak 9448, Alaska Range
1st ascent Southeast Ridge, Hess Mountain, Grade V, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Pump Master,” 5.10, Interior Alaska
1st ascent “Third World,” Water Ice IV, 5.9, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Raw Ivory,” Water Ice V-, Valdez.
1983 1st ascent of “Big Brother,” Water Ice V, Valdez
2nd ascent “Wowie Zowie,” Water Ice VI, Valdez
1982 1st ascent of “Dire Straights,” Water Ice V-, Valdez
New route on West Face Mt. Deborah, Grade IV, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Broken Rope,” 5.11, Interior Alaska
1981 1st ascent of “Glass Onion,” Water Ice V-, Valdez
1980 1st ascent Northeast Face, Peak Ten-Nine-Ten, Grade V, Alaska Range
1979 1st ascent Southeast Buttress Badile, 5.10, A3, Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range
2nd ascent West Ridge Shot Tower, 5.9, A3, Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range
1978 3rd ascent “Bridal Veil Falls,” Water Ice V, Valdez
Roman Dial
Resident of Alaska since 1977
Born in Seattle 1960; Married to Peggy 1985
Father to C. Roman (1987) and Jazz (1989)
Academic Positions
Professor (2004-present), Alaska Pacific University
Department of Environmental Science, Chair (1998-2001)
Associate Professor (1998-2003), Alaska Pacific University
Assistant Professor (1992-1997), Alaska Pacific University
Visiting Assistant Professor (1993, 1994) Stanford University
Education
Ph.D. Stanford University, Biological Sciences 1992
M.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mathematics, 1986
B.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mathematics, 1982
B.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Biology, 1982
Virginia Governor’s School for the Gifted 1976
Personal Essay
Wild nature has always appealed. As a kid, spending weekends on my grandmother’s farm or afternoons in the last wooded fragments inside DC’s Beltway, I chased lizards and snakes, turtles and salamanders. A summer spent with wild uncles in the Alaska Range at age 9 changed me forever and I soon took up the adventure sports. At 16 I left Virginia for college in Alaska.
Alaska’s long winters make ice climbing more attractive than rock climbing, so I soon took to ice. I wanted to visit ranges Dave Roberts described in the American Alpine Journal; shoot photos like Galen Rowell; climb like Yvon Chouinard. But I soon discovered that there was more to mountains than summits. I discovered friendships and landscapes that molded me. I discovered that a climber’s attitudes worked beyond the glacial ranges. Wilderness racing – what I once wrote to Outside Magazine as a “free-form adventure race” in 1985 – captured my attention in the early 80’s. I also met a young girl who had never climbed a mountain, never owned a bike, never learned to swim, nor even camped more than a car’s length from the road. She became my lifelong companion for travel across wildlands worldwide.
Landscape traverses with novel approaches – no trails, pack rafts, tents without floors, cross-country racing skis – accompanied by someone with no pre-defined notions of what was proper -- substituted for a waning interest in big mountain climbs. Then the advent of the mountain bike became a tool for exploring the improbable, culminating in a trip for the Geographic. Family responsibilities sent me back to school to rekindle and formalize my interest in nature. My Ph.D. concerned the ecological interactions in the rainforest canopy where I performed manipulative experiments on the organisms found there. Nine months in the canopy opened up a new realm of possibilities and the opportunity to blend my love for travel with adventure, natural history, and novel movement.
My sabbatical year allowed for the ultimate canopy trek: moving from tree to tree for one week, never coming down until. We developed the technology -- “magic missiles” and “spruce gooses,” lanyards and jugs – and we had two destination: the jungles of Borneo, home of the world’s largest arboreal animal, the Orang-utan and the tallest hardwoods in the world, Australia’s Eucalyptus regnans forests in Victoria and Tasmania.
Canopy Trekking
2004 Douglas-Fir, Washington
2002 Borneo tropical rain forest, 5 days
Australian Eucalyptus regnans, 5 days (National Geographic)
2001 Sequoias, California, 3days
Douglas-Fir, Washington
2000 Northern California Redwoods
Alaskan Sitka Spruce and Hemlock traverses
Chilean temperate rainforest Alerce and Coigue
1999 Northern California Redwood canopy traverse (world’s highest)
1998 Costa Rican tropical lowland rainforest trees
1995, 1996, 1997 Indonesian Borneo tropical lowland rainforest trees
1991 Puerto Rican lower montane rainforest trees
1990 Northern Virginia temperate hardwood forest trees
Adventure Racing
2004 Alaska Wilderness Classic 6th Place w/17 year old son (Talkeetnas)
World Championships of Adventure Racing 8th place (Newfoundland)
2003 Designed course Alaska Wilderness Classic (Talkeetnas)
2002 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Wrangell St. Elias)
Primal Quest (Telluride, CO)
Eco-Challenge (Fiji)
2001 Eco-Challenge 4th place (New Zealand)
Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Wrangell St. Elias)
Designed course for 2001 Armed Forces Eco-Challenge (Alaska)
2000 Designed course for 2000 Armed Forces Eco-Challenge (Alaska)
1999 Eco-Challenge 9th Place finish (Argentina)
Designed course for Beast of the East Alaska (canceled)
1998 Raid Gauloise 24th Place finish (Ecuador)
1997 Eco-Challenge 8th Place (First American) finish (Australia)
Alaska Wilderness Classic 3rd Place finish (Kenai Peninsula)
Dyea to Dawson 7th Place Finish (Yukon)
1996 Eco-Challenge 2nd Place (First American) finish (British Columbia)
X-Games Adventure Race (New England)
1995 Alaska Wilderness Classic 4th Place (Alaska Range)
Iditasport 3rd Place Snowshoe division (Alaska)
1993 Alaska Wilderness Classic 4th Place (Brooks Range)
1989 Iditasport 2nd Place Mountain Bike and Overall (Alaska)
1988 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Wrangell St. Elias)
Alaska Wilderness Ski Classic 1st Place, record (Alaska Range)
Iditasport 4th Place Mountain Bike and Overall (Alaska)
1987 Alaska Wilderness Ski Classic 2nd Place (Chugach Range)
1986 Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Alaska Range)
1985 Iditaski 7th Place (Alaska)
1984 Alaska Wilderness Classic 2nd Place (Kenai Peninsula)
1982, 1983 Alaska Wilderness Classic 1st Place, record (Kenai Peninsula)
Hell Biking
2004 “Eureka to Talkeetna” 160 miles w/17 year old son
1998 100 mile bike + 100 mile raft traverse of Talkeetna Mountains
1996 800 mile traverse of the Alaska Range (National Geographic)
1995 150 mile traverse of Harding Icefield and Kenai Peninsula (Bicycling)
100 mile traverse of the Chugach Mountains
1994 100 mile traverse of the Western Alaska Range (Mountain Bike)
1993 50 mile historic trip to “The Bus” (Into the Wild) with Jon Krakauer
1991 100 mile loop through Canyonlands NP (Utah) with Bill Hatcher
1990 200 mile traverse of Brooks Range (Mountain Bike; Mountain Bike UK)
1989 250 mile traverse of Eastern and Central Alaska Range (Mountain Bike)
1988 150 mile traverse of Wrangell St. Elias (Mountain Bike; Mountain Bike UK)
Pack Rafting and Glacier Skating
2004 “Hula-Hop” 135 miles, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
“Flower Power” 60 miles Girdwood-Knik, Chugach Mtns. w/University class
2003 “Arctic Circle” 110 miles Arrigetch-Noatak-Alatna Rivers, Brooks Range
“Charley-Yukon”, 200 miles with 16 year old son and 12 year old
“Eureka to Talkeetna” 160 miles w/University class
Ship Creek Canyon, class IV, first descent in packraft
Talkeetna River, class IV, first descent in packraft
Six-Mile, class V, first descent in packraft
Little Susitna, , class IV, first descent in packraft
2002 Franklin River, class IV, Tasmania Australia, solo
2001 75 mile loop Harding Icefield w/14 year old son & 12 year old daughter
2000 50 mile trip across Harding Icefield and Kenai Peninsula w/13 year old son
140 mile trip across Wrangell St. Elias w/University class (40 miles no map)
1998 100 mile trip across Kenai Peninsula w/University class
40 mile trip across Arctic Refuge coastal plane w/11 and 9 year old kids
100 mile trip across Kenai Peninsula w/Dr. Tim Laman (40 miles no map)
1994 75 mile pack, raft, and ski from Denali to Talkeetna
100 mile trip in Western Brooks Range w/Jon Krakauer (Smithsonian)
1993 60 mile traverse of Umnak Island (Aleutians) w/6 year old son
1990 125 mile traverse of Talkeetna Mountains
1989 300 mile traverse of Western Alaska Range
Grand Canyon, Whitmore Wash to Diamond Creek, w/mtn bikes
1988 200 mile trip on Charlie Yukon River system
1987 120 mile ski traverse of White Mountains
1986 900 mile traverse of Brooks Range from Canada to Kotzebue
150 mile solo traverse of Wrangell St. Elias
150 mile ski traverse of Central Alaska Range w/Audun Endestadt
Significant Alaskan Climbing
1994 1st ascent “Even Hookers Get the Blues,” Water Ice VI, Chugach
1992 1st ascent “Blow Hard” and “Dirt Ball,” Mixed 4, Valdez
1987 1st ascent “Broken Dreams” and “Star Babies,” Water Ice VI, Wrangells
3rd ascent “Love’s Way,” Water Ice VI, Valdez
1986 Solo ascent Doonerak, Brooks Range
First 1 day ascent of “Keystone Greensteps” and “Bridal Veil,” WI V, Valdez
1985 First solo “Keystone Greensteps,” Water Ice V, Valdez
1st ascent “Cream Stone Fear Step” (aka “Roman’s Candle”), WI VI, Valdez
2nd ascent “Tortilla Flat,” WI V, Valdez
1st ascent “Vug Tor,” Grade IV, 5.9, Kitchatna Spires
1st ascent East Face McGuiness Peak, Grade V, WI V, Alaska Range
1984 Rescue of Carl Tobin from Peak 9448, Alaska Range
1st ascent Southeast Ridge, Hess Mountain, Grade V, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Pump Master,” 5.10, Interior Alaska
1st ascent “Third World,” Water Ice IV, 5.9, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Raw Ivory,” Water Ice V-, Valdez.
1983 1st ascent of “Big Brother,” Water Ice V, Valdez
2nd ascent “Wowie Zowie,” Water Ice VI, Valdez
1982 1st ascent of “Dire Straights,” Water Ice V-, Valdez
New route on West Face Mt. Deborah, Grade IV, Alaska Range
1st ascent “Broken Rope,” 5.11, Interior Alaska
1981 1st ascent of “Glass Onion,” Water Ice V-, Valdez
1980 1st ascent Northeast Face, Peak Ten-Nine-Ten, Grade V, Alaska Range
1979 1st ascent Southeast Buttress Badile, 5.10, A3, Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range
2nd ascent West Ridge Shot Tower, 5.9, A3, Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range
1978 3rd ascent “Bridal Veil Falls,” Water Ice V, Valdez
Roman Dial
Resident of Alaska since 1977
Born in Seattle 1960; Married to Peggy 1985
Father to C. Roman (1987) and Jazz (1989)
Academic Positions
Professor (2004-present), Alaska Pacific University
Department of Environmental Science, Chair (1998-2001)
Associate Professor (1998-2003), Alaska Pacific University
Assistant Professor (1992-1997), Alaska Pacific University
Visiting Assistant Professor (1993, 1994) Stanford University
Education
Ph.D. Stanford University, Biological Sciences 1992
M.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mathematics, 1986
B.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mathematics, 1982
B.S. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Biology, 1982
Virginia Governor’s School for the Gifted 1976
Personal Essay
Wild nature has always appealed. As a kid, spending weekends on my grandmother’s farm or afternoons in the last wooded fragments inside DC’s Beltway, I chased lizards and snakes, turtles and salamanders. A summer spent with wild uncles in the Alaska Range at age 9 changed me forever and I soon took up the adventure sports. At 16 I left Virginia for college in Alaska.
Alaska’s long winters make ice climbing more attractive than rock climbing, so I soon took to ice. I wanted to visit ranges Dave Roberts described in the American Alpine Journal; shoot photos like Galen Rowell; climb like Yvon Chouinard. But I soon discovered that there was more to mountains than summits. I discovered friendships and landscapes that molded me. I discovered that a climber’s attitudes worked beyond the glacial ranges. Wilderness racing – what I once wrote to Outside Magazine as a “free-form adventure race” in 1985 – captured my attention in the early 80’s. I also met a young girl who had never climbed a mountain, never owned a bike, never learned to swim, nor even camped more than a car’s length from the road. She became my lifelong companion for travel across wildlands worldwide.
Landscape traverses with novel approaches – no trails, pack rafts, tents without floors, cross-country racing skis – accompanied by someone with no pre-defined notions of what was proper -- substituted for a waning interest in big mountain climbs. Then the advent of the mountain bike became a tool for exploring the improbable, culminating in a trip for the Geographic. Family responsibilities sent me back to school to rekindle and formalize my interest in nature. My Ph.D. concerned the ecological interactions in the rainforest canopy where I performed manipulative experiments on the organisms found there. Nine months in the canopy opened up a new realm of possibilities and the opportunity to blend my love for travel with adventure, natural history, and novel movement.
My sabbatical year allowed for the ultimate canopy trek: moving from tree to tree for one week, never coming down until. We developed the technology -- “magic missiles” and “spruce gooses,” lanyards and jugs – and we had two destination: the jungles of Borneo, home of the world’s largest arboreal animal, the Orang-utan and the tallest hardwoods in the world, Australia’s Eucalyptus regnans forests in Victoria and Tasmania.