Michael has been chasing adventure all over the west coast for the last twenty years. He works as a mountain guide year round. When he?s not at work you can find him surfing, ski touring, climbing, mountain biking or practicing yoga anywhere from B.C. to Baja. Michael's lived half of his life in Western Washington and half on California's central coast. Born in Santa Cruz, he grew up mostly on Bainbridge Island playing competitive soccer, skiing, climbing and mountain bike racing. The Sierras, Surfing, and Academics lured him to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo where he earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology and got out to train everyday. During school Michael took a job as a guide for Rainier Mountaineering Inc. and began commuting back to Washington for the summer months. That same year he started working for Mountain Link Inc. guiding international expeditions between courses. He has been guiding with both companies for five years now and has successfully led climbers to the summit of Peaks all over North and South America. Michael?s passion for a multitude of sports keeps him cross training, happy and ready to climb. This past summer he and three other guides, including Ground athlete Cathy Caenepeel, were approached to form a team and compete in a world class adventure race; Subaru Primal Quest. In their first Adventure race ever Michael and teammates placed 18th while competing for the largest prize purse in Adventure racing history.

Currently living in Seattle, Michael can be found this winter guiding in South America, ski touring all over the West Coast or training for the next Primal Quest.