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Dave Faux
Age / 42 Location / Forest Hills, NY (Queens)
What is your core sport(s)?
Running and hiking
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
Bicycling and weights. I'd like to return to developing my nascent mountain (more precisely: gym) climbing. I'd also like to return to skiing, as I was once hitting the double diamonds at places like Sun Valley.
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
When I was 10 years old I went to Camp Dudley in West Port, NY., and I will never forget the first time I hiked to the top of a mountain in the Adirondacks, smelling the pines and dry dust, feeling bathed in the July sun.
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
I spent a week off of Scott Lake in Oregon's Willamette National Forest—not the Scott Lake Campground. I was off-trail. And it was just me. Maybe it was not epic in terms of physical rigor, but definitely epic in the Thoreau-esque sense of getting to know one's place on the planet and in the world.
Favorite food?
Ask me again if I end up on Death Row.
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
I currently rotate listening among the following three:
1. Deadpod, a podcast by “The Professor,” which features a different entire set of live Grateful Dead music every week;
2. Audio Dharma, another podcast, this one sponsored by the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA., mostly given by Gil Fronsdale;
3. An audio course called “The Story of Medieval England: From King Arthur to the Tudors,” by Professor Jennifor Paxton.
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Ski and climb mountains internationally. Go into outer space.
How do you take your coffee?
Black, no suger.
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
Easily the Kid Comfort III. This absolutely re-invigorated hiking for my wife Kaori and me. Ironically, we hadn't really hiked together. We had a typical city-centered romance of museums, movies, and fine dining. Then we got married and had a kid. I got the KCIII without consulting her and prought it home for use during my Saturday Daddy-Daycare shift. But Kaori has come on every hike and it has been an unexpected boon, adding to an already fulfilling marriage.
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
If by nightlife you mean decompressing in front of my hi-def TV and watching the Rangers, then yes. But I eschew the boogie. And if you saw me attempt to boogie, you would agree. It looks like I'm teasting a car seat belt with my entire torso and is quite horrific.
Jonathan Hill
Age / 37 Location / Denver, CO Nickname / Jon
What is your core sport(s)?
Backpacking / Fly Fishing
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
Snowboarding / Tennis / Bowling
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
In the Boy Scouts at age eight and my dad accompanying us on a weekend camping trip in Canada.
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
Five days in the BWCA
Favorite food?
New York style pizza
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
Jack Johnson, Eric Clapton, Eminem, The Black Keys
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Run my own outdoor guide service.
How do you take your coffee?
Sugar
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
Futura Pro 42
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
I’ve been known to put back a few beers and shoot a little pool.
Kirstin Peterson
Age / 45 Location / Moab Nickname / KP
What is your core sport(s)?
Biking – mt & road; kayaking
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
Hiking, swimming
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
Hiking hut to hut in the Presidential range in New Hampshire
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
Hard to pick one... 1 day climb of Grand Teton; 7 Day off road bike tour from Boulder, UT to Moab
Favorite food?
Food, I love almost all of it, particularly fresh veggies out of the garden & eggs from my chickens
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
Old and new mixes, no rap or heavy metal
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Work less, play more
How do you take your coffee?
Light and sweet – dessert anytime of day
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
I love my Trans Alpine 26 SL pack for all my big adventures
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
`So long as I’m in bed by 11...
Luke Mehall
Age / 33 Location / Durango, Colorado
Nickname / Crepe de la Noche
What is your core sport(s)?
First and foremost: rock climbing. I also love running, mountain biking, and breakdancing (is that a sport?)
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
We love our camp site dance offs, which happen anywhere one can camp and really get wild. Dumpster diving is a pastime, though I don’t partake much as I’ve been on a schedule of living somewhere different every two months, and trying to keep my possessions to a minimum. I’ll watch some basketball or football if I’m feeling domestic. Poetry, girls, and beer are also three things I love, though not necessarily in that order.
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
A high ropes course at “family camp” in Minnesota.
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
Probably some experience when I was a beginner climber; one time in Taylor Canyon, located in the Gunnison Valley, Colorado I dropped my rope while setting up a rappel. Instead of doing something rational, like having my partner pull it, and hike up and give it to me, I free soloed some fifth class choss to the top of the wall. I also survived rappelling off the ends of my rope on the Royal Arches rappel because I had to poop and was in a hurry. Luckily I was in a chimney and barely fell an inch.
I still make beginner’s mistakes, leading to some near epics. On a recent climb of the Painted Wall in the Black Canyon (the tallest wall in Colorado) my partner and I got stuck some 500 feet below the rim, huddled together for a very frigid, October night.
Favorite food?
Camping, I’m a sucker for eggs and bacon. In society, sushi is the bomb. Green smoothies are essential to balance out all the eggs, bacon and coffee.
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
LMFAO (for the dance parties) Jay Z, Blu, Bob Seger, Ryan Mountbleu, I think I still have a stash of Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan tapes at my parent’s house.
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Get my book project (“Climbing Out of Bed”) out of my computer and onto the shelves of the bookstores (and e-readers) of the world.
How do you take your coffee?
Murderous
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
Guide 35+
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
I do, as probably made clear already. Though most nights I go to bed relatively early, so I can drink coffee and write in the morning with a clear mind.
Melissa Nerone Fletcher
Age / 49 yrs young Location / Moab, UT (Day Tour Mgr at Rim Mt Bike Tours)
Nickname / Mel, and I still get “Fletch” from some of my pals in San Diego
What is your core sport(s)?
Mountain Biking
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
I used to dabble in the occasional multi-sport (adventure races and triathlons, preferably off-road) and endurance mt bike events; I still hike, jog, swim a bit, rappel, and play around on our high ropes course in Moab (I actually get paid for the ropes course gig – yep, life is good!). In my “spare time”, I respond to Search & Rescue incidents to help injured, stranded and/or lost mt bikers, hikers, ATVers, base jumpers, jeepers, river rafters/kayakers.
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
I’m originally a girl from Jersey (if ya can believe it!), also known as the “Garden State” (ya better believe that!) As a young teen, my adventure pal Robyn and I would jump on our bikes, ride out to the woods, and do our own exploration hikes. When we were 14, I remember riding our Schwinn 10 speeds to Ramapo Valley Park, I think it was 8 or 9 miles each way, then trekking around with our little bags of homemade gorp. Most of our other girlfriends at the time were hanging out at the mall. I’m not sure if they ever figured out what they were missing!
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
In 2006 I did a 5-day bike tour on the Colorado Trail between Telluride and Durango. Not only was there a lot of time spent near 12,000 ft, but four of the five days had rain and/or hail. What a hoot! Nothing like riding above tree line on talus slopes with Mother Nature showing you who’s boss.
Favorite food?
Most Mexican food, especially a Machaca Burrito, accompanied by an appropriate Mexican style, cold beverage.
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
Led Zeppelin, When the Levee Breaks. Oh yeah – I had this on vinyl in my youth! That trumps cassettes, doesn’t it?
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Travel in New Zealand for an entire winter (summer time in the southern hemisphere).
How do you take your coffee?
Is it a bad thing to dilute my coffee with French vanilla creamer?
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
Gotta be digging the Futura 22 for a full day out on the trail.
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
Don’t get me started; although, I usually play all my cards at the annual Ho Down and Halloween Party in Moab, sponsored by the Chile Pepper Bike Shop. Three days of mt bike events, townie rides, a movie festival, and costume-a-thon. Otherwise, put me to bed early so I can enjoy the daylight -- I’m really a solar-energized person.
The Raja-Durbs
Name / Aparna, Jamie and their son Kieran (4 years old) Rajagopal-Durbin
Location / Lander, Wyoming
Nickname / The Raja-Durbs
What is your core sport(s)?
Jamie and Aparna: Rock climbing.
Kieran: Swinging on a rope 20 feet up in the air and asking mom and dad to lower me every once in a while so I can eat some snacks
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
Hiking
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
Aparna: The Grand Canyon - hiking to the bottom when I was 7
Jamie: I was a "Hood in the Woods" when I was a teenager - 40 days in Montana with an amazing program
Kieran: I don't remember my first outdoor experience because I've been outside since I can remember!
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
Aparna: 33 days in the Wind River Range on my NOLS Instructor Course, 130 miles of hiking, climbing, hiking, mountaineering, river crossing, and braving what was probably the highest altitude tornado ever reported (11,500 feet!).
Jamie: An unexpected solo bivouac on Leaning Tower in Yosemite - that meant spending the night suspended thousands of feet above the ground on my rope with my harness on and no sleeping gear.
Kieran: Camping at Indian Creek while I was running a 103 degree fever. Grandma is never going to forgive my parents for that one!
Favorite food?
Aparna and Jamie: You can't go wrong with any combination of meat, cheese, beans, tortillas, avocados, and salsa. And beer.
Kieran: Watermelon. I can eat an entire watermelon in one sitting.
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
Aparna: Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros - Home
Jamie: Tom Waits - Long Way Home
Kieran: Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Aparna: Be mosquito-bite proof!
Jamie: Raise my son on a beautiful ranch or farm somewhere in the world
Kieran: Meet Fergie or Beyonce
How do you take your coffee?
Aparna: Cream and sugar
Jamie: No coffee, just beer
Kieran: Milk, hold the coffee
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
The NOLS backpack - simple, funcitonal, elegant.
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
Kieran (4 years old) is quite the partier, and his parents try hard to keep up
Melissa Nerone Fletcher
Age / 42 Location / Albuquerque NM Nickname / "The 505"
What is your core sport(s)?
Rock Climbing, Artificial Wall Climbing, Bouldering
What other sports do you participate in or sort of fun do you enjoy?
Running, Gymnastic Ring Training, Soccer
When/what was your first memorable "outdoor" experience?
Being pulled up a low angle 15’ frozen waterfall with my little brother (only 2yrs old) in the Sandia Mountains by my uncle at age 5 – what an adventure! That was my Uncle’s idea of going for a hike.
What is your most epic outdoor adventure to date?
Nothing is as epic as the training sessions on my private climbing wall – The Gameroom!
Favorite food?
Dark Chocolate, Mediterranean food, Wild game, Green Chile, Sushi, Young Coconut, Wheatgrass...Dark Chocolate.
What is currently playing in your iPod or cassette deck...because cassettes are coming back, you know?
MC Solaar, La Brigade, Black Marche, I AM, NTM, 50 Cent, Dead Prez, DMX, Too Short, Ludacris, Nelly, Dr. Dre, DJ Shadow, Fugazi, Minor Threat, The Marsalis Family, Coltrane, Redman, Agent Orange, Old Metallica, Alice in Videoland, Son Kite, Beastie Boys, Bloc Party, Silversun Pickups, Ky-Mani Marley, Proteje, Peter Tosh, Limp Bizkit, Band of Horses, Unit 7 Drain, Mazzy Star, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky.
If I could do anything, I would most likely...
Travel back in time to the early 20th century to experience the innovative industrial design, performance art and music – and those cute short-haired girls swingin’ along!
How do you take your coffee?
Like a Jihadist – strong, dark, untainted and served in a Cezve / Ibrik.
What is your "go-to" Deuter product?
Freerider Pro 30.
Do you like the nightlife? Do you like to boogie?
My nocturnal hours are spent plotting and executing complex heists, museum break-ins and other schemes!
1. Loosen all straps |
2. Place hip belt over the hip bones |
3. Loosen all straps |
4. Ideal position |
5. Height adjustable sternum strap |
6. Tighten the hip belt stabiliser straps |
