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Our Mission: Encourage and help facilitate personal growth, curiosity, and respect for the outdoors for Alaskan locals and visitors of all ages through outdoor educational and experiential outings.
Photo: Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range, Alaska
Travis Russell
Owner & Instructor
Travis grew up in Fairbanks with a fairly rustic, "classic Alaskan" childhood. Living in a teepee, to a bus, to finally a house his family built, he grew up subsistence hunting, fishing, trapping, and managing sled dogs. He builds, can fix most things, and if he doesn't know how, he will find out. Although working years as a roofing foreman, he found his passion was actually in coaching and mentoring the UAF Youth Climbing Program's team. He has been rock climbing for 16 years in world renown places both in the US and abroad, and pushes the limits of his abilities in the hopes of gaining inner strength and insight. However, he is most happy when sharing the love of climbing and the outdoors with others. When he isn't climbing, hunting, building cabins, or coaching, he is planning the next climbing trip.
Credentials: Wilderness First Responder, AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, AMGA Rock Guide Apprentice, PCIA CWI-L (expired, but the knowledge is not). A.A. in Process Technology from UAF.
Ethan Wilson
Assistant Instructor
Although born in Oregon, Ethan has called Fairbanks his home for the majority of his life. Growing up hunting, trapping out of his family’s cabin near the Deltas, and eventually climbing, skiing, and mountaineering, he has developed his passion for outdoor activities. Ethan loves Fairbanks, and is planning to put his construction and fabrication skills to use next summer and build himself a house. When not working or attending class, he spends his time climbing, skiing, and sharing his love for the outdoors with his friends.
Credentials: Wilderness First Responder, avalanche level one, college mountaineering classes, three years of auto tech and fabrication classes.