Philip has a long history with the Central Sierra Nevada. As a kid, his family took him on extended backcountry campouts. For many years they spent the entire summer living by the river at the end of a rugged jeep trail. Natural history, geography and environmental ethics were threaded into Philip’s growing passion for hiking, skiing, and climbing. After high school he made a solo trip north on the John Muir Trail. Since then the Central Sierra has been his permanent home.
Over the years Philip planted trees, worked in the ski industry, also taught and guided rock climbing. This has afforded him the opportunity to develop an abiding kinship with the watersheds of the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers. These drainages encompass the shining walls of Yosemite, Columbia’s labyrinthian boulder fields, idyllic peaks of Alpine County and the steep escarpments of Table Mountain. Philip has spent a great deal of time exploring the region and establishing new climbing routes.
Engaging in outdoor education has given him the chance to share his sense of place with youth groups, families, and outdoor enthusiasts with diverse backgrounds and goals. He has found a wealth of pure joy to be tapped into in this environment. He believes time spent in the mountains is more than recreation. “The Sierra is the kind of place which can inspire re-creation of our innate capacity for wonder and belonging.”