The RibCo '04 Expedition Team

At age 62, Steve is the oldest member of the RibCo ‘04 expedition team. He grew up in Wisconsin where he learned rock climbing in the early 1960s; he traveled most summers to Grand Teton National Park and Wyoming’s Wind River Range (where he’s climbed all the major Teton Peaks, including several summits of the Grand Teton via the Exum Ridge, as well as Gannett Peak). His first Colorado 14er was South Maroon Peak (1962), and he’s subsequently summitted the 14ers approximately 150 times and has also been to the tops of many of the state’s higher 13ers. Steve’s successfully climbed Mount Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helen’s (before it blew its top off!), and several other glaciated peaks in the Pacific Northwest.

Examples of non-climbing outdoor adventures include leading the first whitewater canoe trip down the Churchill River (50 days, 1,200 miles from the Alberta-Saskatchewan border to Hudson Bay) in 1964; finishing in good time in the Turquoise Lake Snowshoe Race (20 miles, involving 2,700 feet of elevation gain) near Leadville; running the Grand Canyon South Rim to North Rim to South Rim route (about 50 miles, 10,500 feet elevation gain) at age 62 in less than 18 hours; leading and/or participating in bird watching expeditions to more than 40 countries, many to remote reaches of underdeveloped countries that required primitive living conditions. He has seen more than 5,000 species of birds around the world. He enjoys long-distance endurance biking and other outdoor endurance challenges and is active in the Colorado Mountain Club. He was a high school state champion wrestler, and wrestled on the varsity team at the University of Wisconsin.

Steve moved to Colorado in 1970 when he joined the faculty at Colorado State University to teach the Animal Ecology curriculum. His major career involved administering environmental consulting companies and leading environmental projects across the U.S. and around the globe, and participating as an outside director on the boards of several banks and scientific companies. During his career he received three national awards for his research contributions to environmental science. Now retired from consulting, he serves as Chairman of the Board of SECOR International, Inc., an environmental engineering firm headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Steve’s wife, KathyAnne, has always given her strong support and encouragement for his outdoor adventures, and he is extremely grateful for Kathy’s understanding and commitment to his activities! He continuously keeps Kathy’s anxiety levels above healthy norms! They reside near Wellington, Colorado and have two adult children and a granddaughter, all living in Colorado. Steve is excited to be associated with the fine RibCo ‘04 team; as co-leader, he is dedicated to participating with them on a safe, successful expedition to Alaska. Steve is also thankful to his two special outdoor buddies, Bill O’Halloran and Pam Sollazzo, for giving up their other opportunities in order to “push” him on his endurance training for the Denali climb!

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