WCH2 Contributors

Ryan Abbott joined the Mazamas in 2017 to find other people who also couldn't sit still. He enjoys assisting BCEP and helping new climbers learn to safely find their adventure.

Tom Bard—no bio submitted.

Charles Barker joined the Mazamas in 1980 and quickly became active in the Mazama Explorer Post Program through the mid-80s. During his early years as a Mazama member, he would volunteer at Mazama Lodge—from helping out in the kitchen to running the rope tow. Charles is a fifth-generation family member to climb Mt. Hood and fourth-generation to be a member of Mazamas. His two kids, Oscar and Chloe, are now fifth-generation Mazama members. Charles has volunteered as a hike leader, Lodge Committee member, and currently serves as the Lodge Manager.

Hana Binder has been a lifelong backpacker and joined the Mazamas in 2018 after completing BCEP. She loves the welcoming and respectful community created by the Mazamas and the opportunity to explore the backcountry and high mountains with wonderful people.

Peter Boag joined the Mazamas in 2018, but long ago, as a child, fell in love with the Cascade Mountains. He is professor of history at Washington State University-Vancouver.

Andrew Bodien has been a member of the Mazamas since 2001. He is a political scientist by education, international trade consultant by profession, and constantly searching for the perfect pun.

Sarah Bradham moved to Oregon in 1998 and immediately fell in love with the mountains. In 2000 I moved to Portland and spent every weekend hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and other remote locations by myself. I hadn't been able to find people who shared my interests in the outdoors. In late 2001 a co-worker put an application for the Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) on my desk and told me to sign up. I did and, as many others have, had an experience that changed my life. I met wonderful people, learned a lot of great skills, and did a LOT of climbing and hiking over the next 8 years. In addition I signed up as a Mazama volunteer and took on roles on the First Aid Committee, Climbing Committee, Education Committee, and Publications Committee.

Mathew Brock joined the staff of the Mazamas as the Library and Historical Collections Manager in February of 2015 and has been a Mazama since 2016. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, cooking meals for friends, and making and building things by hand.

Rick Craycraft has been a Mazama member for 33 years. His second favorite thing to do after climbing is writing articles for the Bulletin and Annual. He has over 400 lifetime summits ... and counting.

Ken DuBois has been active in the Mazamas since 2012, volunteering for the Publications Committee and the Lodge, and enjoying many multi-day hikes, rambles, and snowshoe adventures. He currently works in communications for Catlin Gabel School.

Kate Dunne, originally from Chicago proper, has been living her best life on the west coast since retiring from roller derby in 2015. After three beautiful years in Oregon, she moved to Juneau, Alaska in early 2019, where she is a librarian for both the Alaska State Library and the University of Alaska Southeast. She’s climbed many of the mountains in Oregon and southern Washington, and is slowly making her way up the peaks of Alaska’s capital city. Her favorite mountain in Oregon is Three Fingered Jack. She sincerely hopes she might be able to mountaineer with the Mazamas someday.

Kate Evans, a longtime Mazama climber, hike leader, and Conservation Committee member chose to summarize the year 1994 in this publication since she joined the Mazamas during our centennial year. She started climbing with the Tacoma Mountaineers while in high school and is a retired Portland Community College English instructor.

Diana Forester has been a Mazama since 1990. She climbed a bit in the 90s but mostly loved backpacking, hiking, and outings. She has served on the Trail Trips and Outing Committees.

Sara Gille joined the Mazamas in 2017 after her first summit of Mount St. Helens. She manages health research studies and likes to combine her love of travel and hiking.

Ali Gray, a Mazama since 2015, is a skier at heart who loves anything to do with snow and mountains. She volunteers on the Mazama Backcountry Ski Touring Committee and as a tour leader, as well as on the Mazama Publications Committee as a copyeditor and contributor. She’s currently working on improving her climbing skills, and often second-guesses her life choice to be a web designer stuck at a computer all day.

Dan Hafley started climbing with the Mazamas in 1995 after participating in the Basic and Intermediate school programs. He has worked as a geologist and environmental scientist throughout the western US.

Eric Hall was born and raised in the Midwest. Attracted by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, he arrived in Oregon in 1976. He earned degrees from Reed College and the University of Oregon School of Law and embarked on a 25-year career of public service with the Oregon Judicial Department. An avid hiker and climber from his early teens, he first climbed with the Mazamas in 1986. He joined the Mazamas in 2006 and has been leading hikes and volunteering in the MMC office and the library since 2016.

Nathan Herzog was born and raised in the flatlands of Florida, growing up in Tallahassee and spending some years in Orlando then Tampa. He moved to Portland in December 2012 to go back to school for a career change, studying in the fields of Environmental Studies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He is now a contractor for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, using GIS to delineate all of the stream networks in western Oregon to make this data available to the general public via the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). He completed the Basic Climbing Education Program with the Mazamas in 2015 and continues to climb and adventure with the friends he met in the program.

Eric Jacobson is a city planner, avid cyclist, and bocce enthusiast who began climbing in 2013 and joined the Mazamas in 2014.

Jeff Litwak joined the Mazamas in 1998 under friendly pressure from his work supervisor and climb leader Gerald Itkin. After finishing Basic School with Gerry, they cleared their Friday calendars and spent many pleasant days talking shop while climbing Mt. Hood. Jeff became a climb leader in 2007, but scaled back in 2012 to be a responsible new dad. He is looking forward to his kids dragging him up mountains.

Kati Mayfield joined the Mazama staff in 2012 and proudly became a member after taking BCEP in 2013. She currently lives in Finland where she enjoys wandering through peaceful boreal forests but sorely misses the magnificence (and elevation!) of the Pacific Northwest.

Chelsea Rohweder is an academic advisor and ESL instructor at Mt. Hood Community College. She enjoys making music, gardening, and hiking and camping with her family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Ray Sheldon first climbed Mt. Jefferson in 1954 with a coworker. Before joining the Mazamas in 1959, Ray climbed with both the Chemekatans and Obsidians. Ray became a climb leader in 1964 and has taken Mazama to the summits of the Cascades, Tetons, and Swiss Alps. Ray and Betty, married for over 68 years, have three children, seven grandkids, and eight great-grandkids.

Larry Spiegel is a fifth generation native Oregonian who has always enjoyed the outdoors. His favorite hiking place is a remote lodge in the Canadian Rockies. A Mazama since 1991, he has assisted in the library.

Kim Taylor—no bio submitted.

Claire Tenscher is a member of the Mazama Publication and Nominating Committees. She's an avid hiker, cyclist, and backcountry skier; and is incredibly glad that women can wear pants in public. She can be found swimming in any significantly large body of water, arriving to camp after dusk, and eating cold pizza.

Jeff Thomas started rock climbing in 1969 in the Shawangunks in New York. When he moved to Oregon in 1970 for college he discovered Smith Rock, Beacon Rock, and Yosemite National Park. He has written two climbing guides, contributed to a biography, and co-produced a film on Beacon Rock. He joined the Mazamas in 1984, not because of the climbing, but for the resources in the Mazama Library. One of his favorite climbs is High Exposure, one of his favorite books is Oregon High, and one of his favorite expressions is We Climb High. None of these items can be found in the drug sections of book stores. His favorite mountain in the world is Mt. Huntington although, like Sherpa Tenzing, he believes all mountains are good.

Shannon Wages is a wife, mom, city planner, and outdoor enthusiast. She grew up on the coast of Southern California but fell in love with the mountains while guiding rivers in Colorado one summer during college. She is always up for any adventure and rarely turns down an invitation to do something a little crazy. Whether it’s kayaking to distant islands, rafting new rivers, bike packing and touring off the beaten path, surfing remote breaks, or climbing new peaks, she loves exploring and taking on new challenges. She joined the Mazamas in 2019 and found an amazing community through BCEP. With a 3-year-old in tow and a new one on the way, she’s now focused on planning adventures the whole family can enjoy together, but she always enjoys breaking out on occasion for a solo weekend with the Mazamas.