Evan Leonard
My original life plan was pursuing a degree in Commercial Photography back home in Ohio. Rather inconveniently, a few weeks before graduation I realized I had no intention of actually becoming a career photographer. Bummer, I know. I still graduated with a B.S. in Visual Communication before rather spontaneously leaving the midwest to join a chainsaw crew in Nevada. I had a blast helping with all sorts of conservation work in Great Basin National Park under the umbrella of the Great Basin Institute. After that summer, I became a crew lead working out of Reno and Las Vegas, restoring Sage Grouse habitat, felling hazard snags and having a blast in the high deserts of the west.
That winter I ended up in Lake Tahoe working in the rental shop at Alpine Meadows ski resort, a gem of the Sierra. I taught myself to ski and did a LOT of shoveling, as it ended up being one of the snowiest winters on record. Immediately, I was hooked. I never pictured myself a skier, but I fell in love and have dedicated my winters to it ever since. A few years later I started ski patrolling at Mt. Rose, one of the last local mountains left in Tahoe where I became an avalanche forecaster and training coordinator. This winter I’m starting a new job as the Assistant Patrol Director at Brundage Mountain in McCall, Idaho.
I live in my fully built out Toyota Siesta and occupy much of my time moseying around the mountains. I spent much of my 20s on long hikes, most of which are featured on this very website. Take a gander and enjoy!