My Press...Don't Believe It

Mt. McKinley Climb

The Boston Globe wrote a story about my McKinley climb in 1986. I appreciated the story but wished they had mentioned that I used a solo pole to protect me from crevasse falls. Contrary to the way it was reported, I had it all under control.

Download boston_globe_meeting_the_mountain.htm

Alaska's Largest Private Conservation Gift

Protecting Alaska’s wildlands is a cause for which I had tried to raise money for years. One of the happiest moments of my life occurred in 1999. I was presenting land acquisition options to my friend Richard Goldman in his downtown San Francisco office at which point he decided to make a large gift. In retrospect, it’s turned out to be a seminal gift in the history of Alaska conservation. He lent tremendous credibility to the movement, and since then, many other substantial gifts have followed. I don’t know whether I’ll personally ever be in a financial position to make that kind of gift. But if I am, I could only hope to do the kind of good Richard Goldman has done with his wealth. I wish more of America’s wealthy were like him, using their money to help others rather than build monuments to themselves.

First Swim Crossing of Knik Arm

I met Chris Hodel in 2003 when he showed up at our July 4^th celebration on Nancy Lake in his Cessna 206, then put on a swimsuit and swam across the lake. Tall, mild-mannered, and quiet-spoken, Chris comes from a long-standing Anchorage family and is one of the most conservative guys I’ve ever met. Nonetheless, not a year later he somehow managed to coax me into joining him for the first swim crossing of Knik Arm, a treacherous body of water on Anchorage’s shores. The feat ended up on the front page of the paper and in a really fun segment on Channel 2 news.

Patagonia Catalog

There’s no one more competent in the back country or fascinating to spend time with than my friend and adventure partner Roman Dial, at one time referred to as “the ultimate Alaskan off-road vehicle.” It’s true—the guy’s outdoor resume is legendary. Roman is a Stanford-educated PhD with an international reputation as a scientist and adventurer, one of the highest IQ’s of anyone I’ve ever met, and the boyish enthusiasm of a 15-year old. Read his university bio, and you’ll see what I mean; he’s now a professor at Alaska Pacific University. Every time Roman gets my photo in the Patagonia catalog, they send me $100 worth of free gear.

Tom Evans Magazine Shots

I met Tom Evans just months after moving to Alaska in 1990. Tom’s so shy and modest when you first meet him you think you’ve offended him. But put a camera in his hand, and watch out! I think Tom’s the most talented action photographer in the state. Every now and then, shots he’s taken of me show up in magazines, and I feel like I still have a life (even though my ratio of hard core adventure to work has plunged abysmally low in recent years).