I have the great pleasure of working with this staff of young leaders and cleaning up from their adventures. I have directed the Outback for a good number of years now and the job just keeps getting better. I keep coming back because nothing compares to the thrill of sharing the joy of river running or dropping a knee on a slope you just climbed. I have gone 33 days without a shower but I have always enjoyed to benefits of bathing in rivers, oceans or soaking in hot springs on long trips.

Rowan Toomey

Assistant Director, Pacific Outback

When between adventures in the back yard, I like to eat and sleep. My latest exploit has been climbing on chairs and trying to ride them like horses. Yeh, you take your falls in this type of extreme sport but the rewards are endless.

Marissa Utterberg

I am a fifth-year student majoring in math. Though I am from Portland, OR; southwest Washington and the Gorge are my playground. Much like trees, I enjoy sunshine, rain, and dirt...ah, dirt! My favorite activities are backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, puddle jumping, rafting, windsurfing, hiking, kite flying, wine tasting...ok, I like pretty much everything there is to do here in the Northwest.

In the city I live it up at concerts, festivals, and as much trouble I can get myself into.

I prefer sunrises over sunsets (unless they're in Colorado), green over grey, "pub" over "bar", internal over external frame, white water over sea kayaks, and green over red peppers.

Hali Hutchinson

my name is hali hutchinson, hailing from cayucos california. i'm a senior majoring in psychology and minor in espanol. i'm happier outside, but love to watch good movies (ie, the lion king, little miss
sunshine, the suicide kings, when harry met sally, fight club etc.).
running, biking and swimming a regular part of my life and on occasion, rafting, mountain biking and hiking fing their way into my spare time.

I look this cool 'cause I'm from Cali

Brad Schwantke

I am a first year optometry student here at Pacific and have loved every minute of my short time spent here so far. I am originally from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and have been fortunate enough to find myself in another beautiful area of the country. I really enjoy all outdoor activities which I suppose is why I found myself at the Outback. My idea of going out on a Friday night is going mountain bike night riding. My passions are biking, snowboarding, hiking, paddling, enjoying good friends and music, and find those spots in the wilderness where all things just seem to make sense. I am more than excited for new adventures these next few years here in Oregon and would love for anyone to join.

I love waterfalls. Maybe that's why Oregon appealed to me so much!

Andrew Peter

Over the past few years I've been fortunate enough to seamlessly mix two of my passions: traveling and backcountry living. Nothing in the world makes me feel more "alive" than alpenglow on the mountains, crashing of icebergs in camp, or first tracks after an evening snowfall while "being out". However, sharing these experiences with others make them sooo much more memorable. Thankfully, I've been privileged enough to mix great excursions with great people and am now lucky enough to teach and share similar journeys with others at Pacific. My sleeping bag and I are closing in on 1000 nights together...help me hit the target.

Best seat in the house! You can see everything from here.

Eric Coats

Having lived in Central and Eastern Oregon most of my life I am very fond of the winter sports. Snowboarding is a passion of mine and I am willing to try any new run or mountain that I can. Throughout my experiences snowboarding I have learned many things, most importantly, though, would be that riding without goggles because they are filled with snow is a very painful experience. Along with snowboarding I enjoy almost any outdoor activity: hiking, biking, rock climbing, snowshoeing, fishing, driving, video games, ping pong, and many others. I've found that moving to the bustling town of Forest Grove from Canyon City, Oregon opened up many opportunities to do the things I love. Along with this Outback will prove to be the perfect catalyst to many of my favorite outdoor activites.

Eric catchin' some air after a fresh powder.

Sierra McCartney

If there are thorns that you have to plow through, bushes that you have to wack aside, relentless mosquitoes, shale that you have to scramble up, and a summit, then I'm there. I love to summit peaks, now one involving bugs and bushwacking may not be on the top of my favorites list but it is always worth it when you reach the summit. Actually, I take that back, Mt. Statin is an exception. If you're ever in Glacier Park and you want to return home looking like the same person then I would recommend not climbing it. Speaking of Glacier Park, I live in Whitefish, Montana which I love because it gives me the opportunity to take advantage of all the outdoor activites that I enjoy including biking, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, rafting, alpine skiing and nordic skiing, yes I am a nordic skier and I will admit it, I love spandex. Another one of my interests is art which I am planning on majoring in, but I am only a Freshman here at Pacific so hopefully I still have a little more time to decide what I want to do. I hope to see you out in an Outback activity and remember get dirty in nature!

Sierra at home in Glacier.

Mindy Ingebretsen

I am a junior biology major from Lowell, OR. My favorite season is winter because I enjoy skiing and winter trekking. Most of the time you can find me somewhere in Strain, toiling away on a lab or just hangin out... yeah... I like school, I admit it! My favorite place to be is out in the backcountry, especially after a fresh snowfall. I love water, both liquid and solid, and I would like to get more into climbing cause rocks ROCK! One of my passions is helping others, thus I spend my time volunteering for Forest Grove Fire & Rescue... so be safe when you're in my neighborhood! I love working at Outback, feel free to stop by and I'll see ya out there!

Georgia Doerr

I am a transfer student, originally from Wisconsin and completely new
to this area. I love the outdoors and getting away from civilization
from time to time. It always amazes me how little is needed in the
backcountry, I can be hiking for days with just me, my backpack and
some friends and be completely content. Some of my favorite outdoor
activities are, climbing, backpacking, canoeing, and sailing and I am
always excited to try new things. I am excited to work at Pacific
Outback and meet new people to share some of these passions with.

Ben Busch

I do lots of backpacking, hiking, and trail running. I'm a long time skier who recently took up snowboarding when my skis were stolen by a texan.
I learned to surf in oregon as a result of spending a lot of time on the
oregon coast.

I enjoy rafting and have rafted The Colorado River through the Grand
Canyon, The North Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho, White salmon River,
Oregon and more.
I lived in the Florida keys for 4 years and greatly enjoyed snorkling
and surface diving (in clear, warm, carribean water), I recently took up rock climbing, have climbed in Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, and Oregon.
I've seen many of the great natural wonders that America, especially the West, has to offer and love doing just about anything that gets me outside.

I went skydiving once. It was Awesome.

Joe Schroeder

I am a junior and am majoring in biology. I grew up throughout Oregon but primarily Portland, which is where I have had my biggest influence in getting outdoors via clubs, organizations, and family. I have always been an active person participating in sports whether it be basketball, football, or golf, but have been self-bitten by the outdoor bug because of huge diversity in both the sports and environment in which you can play them. Currently I enjoy mountain biking, snowboarding, mountaineering, hiking, whitewater and sea kayaking, and trail running. I think that one of the most wonderful things about participating in outdoor activities is the fact that I am able to enjoy the outdoors all year long throughout each season while continuously challenging my self and meeting great people.

Ally Steinmetz

Just another day out with Ally. Check out the sweet scrape!

Ethan Woodis

Kaely Summers

Kaely enjoys many outdoor activities, whatever the season, including backpacking/hiking, snowboarding, rock-climbing, kayaking, and traveling! Some of the most exciting adventures for Kaely were hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and kayaking in the San Juan Islands. The longest time she has ever gone without a shower was for a week in the Amazon jungle of Perú because there just weren’t any showers to be had. It was another amazing adventure though! Kaely is thrilled to work at the Outback to get other people excited about the great outdoors and explore things they’ve never experienced before in a positive learning atmosphere. If she could be any kind of camp food she would be an “O-So-Good,” which is dough wrapped around a stick, roasted, then dipped in butter, and finally rolled in sugar.

COLD! Kaely loves winter camping, she just wishes it was warmer.

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Pacific Outback Staff

Chad Toomey