In 2004 my wife, Rachel, and I decided to take a 6 month climbing trip. Rachel actually bought a camera with the intention of using it to document our travels. My father who's an amateur photographer helped show us both how to use the camera. By the end of that 6-month trip, Rachel had lost interest in the camera. But I kept wanting to use it. Slowly but surely I found myself taking more and more photos of friends and colleagues while playing around in the Wasatch mountains. At the time I thought to myself, "If I could just sell a couple of these and help pay for more trips, I'd be stoked." Eventually, I decided to send some photos off for consideration in a gear catalog printed by Granite Peaks. They bought a couple photos and the rest is history!

When it comes to winter activities I'm a dual-sporter. Meaning, I'm both a skier and snowboarder. I've found through trial and error that I much prefer snowboarding as my backcountry travel style while I reserve my skiing for resort days. I could have maximized my enjoyment of some of the earlier on-snow adventures had I understood better how my personal style was better served by using the various systems.

So I'm currently planning what will be my 8th trip to Japan for this coming 2023_24 Winter season. I'm totally hooked. The legendary snow that falls in areas like Hokkaido by the meter is a real thing! And, to make it all even better, I absolutely love the food, the culture, the architecture and the people. I'm 10 months into learning Japanese. 日本が大好きです