
For the past 13 years, we have had had the great privilege of guiding the Deep Wilderness Experience for the Wild Gift, a local non profit dedicated to supporting better world entrepreneurs through mentor-ship, project funding and instilling a deep ethic of the wild. Each year, a class of recipients (known as Gifters) is selected from an ever growing pool of inspirational applicants who have begun social and environmental ventures. The 2016 class included 5 Gifters with varied and amazing projects across the globe and all related to this year’s theme on Climate Change including:
Dr. Arun Gupta: Who is developing ground breaking solar panels with his company, Skyven Technologies designed to capture thermal energy used to heat, process foods and for industrial applications.
Bryce Andrews: Rancher, writer and deep thinker, Bryce is beginning a non-profit educational institution: Swallow Tail Foundation, dedicated to critical evaluation of how to better ranching and farming in the West.
Tsechu Dolma: Growing up in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal, Tsechu Dolma recognized the need for developing sustainable solutions for the mountain people of the Himalaya. Her venture, the Mountain Resiliency Project , is dedicated to creating viable communities in these rugged and remote landscapes.
Sam Teicher: Has founded a company: Coral Vita, dedicated toward restoring threatened coral reefs by growing and replanting local endangered corals on degraded reefs worldwide.
Alex Wankel: Has begun a new social enterprise, Pachukuti Foods, to create markets for rare Andean superfoods while supporting farmers and protecting agro-biodiversity. Alex strives to tap into the huge potential of rare and underutilized crops by creating innovative new products that are uniquely natural, delicious, healthy, and good for the world.
Enjoy these pictures of our 18 days trekking deep in the wilds of Idaho with SVT guide, Joe St.Onge, and Wild Gift Facilitator, Raj Vable, and click on the links above to find out more about the Wild Gift and these phenomenal ventures:
- Clean lines in the White Clouds
- Sharing humor
- The magic of a secluded camp deep in the mountains
- morning beauty
- Blazing their own trails, Bryce and Sam point the way toward the future
- Stoked to make the pass, Castle Peak in the background
- Many fish were caught, providing tasty nutrition along the trek.
- Summit Stoke!
- Unbridled Joy!
- The 1st steps up into the Boulder Mountains
- presenting new ideas
- Sam collapses under his book
- Foot wash mid day
- Bryce, siesta at the 1st pass
- Pass #3
- Tsechu, feeling the air beneath her feet
- Climbing toward the magical land of peaks, lakes and the ancient White Bark Pines in the White Cloud Mountains
- Sunset/moonrise
- Alex, feeling the immensity of it.
- the team, deep.
- Looking toward the peak ahead
- Lunch break siesta on a big day
- mmm, a swim and then a some fish for dinner…
- Adrift in thought
- Castle Peak
- Entering the Chamberlain Basin
- The team after crossing the last of 7 passes on the route
- Taking a break on the loose descent off the pass
- The team atop Cheese Grater
- Boulder hopping between the Boulder Chain Lakes
- Arun, enjoying an alpine bath
- Alex, grazing on route
- Long shadow trek
- Dropping down into the Boulder Chain lakes
- Our 1st trail sign in 16 days was found at the very end of our trek, how fitting.
- Tsechu, bargaining with the bars
- Bryce, in his element
- Arun, psyched to to be high and exposed
- Joe and Bryce discussing options for the day ahead
- heading for the summit of D.O. Lee Peak
- Reflection on the day
- Sam, adrift in the wild
- Morning yoga
- Heading over into Karma Basin on the dark side of the Boulder Mountains
- Climbing the final granite slabs toward the “Cheese Grater” pass
- morning Yoga
- Joe, employing a rope for the descent
- heading toward “Cheese Grater” pass
- Straight from the source, Tsechu fills a bottle from the snout of a rock glacier
- Pass #4
- The Doctor, back in his element
- 2 legs and a pack among ancient sea beds and a living rock rock glacier at 11,000′
- Arun, enjoying the exposure
- Contemplating the wild, deep in the Boulder Mountains
- Each evening, ideas related to the wild, entrepeneurship and making of a better worls were shared, discussed and debated
- Focus on the final climb to the pass
- Climbing out of Little Boulder Basin
- The rock glacier above Cirque Lake is one of the few living glaciers left in Idaho
- YES!
- The team, atop White Cloud Peak #9
- The beauty of each camp was unique
- Lake contemplation
- Climbing toward the last rays of sun
- The “Board Room” at Sapphire Lake
- Tsechu, always smiling
- Castle Peak Board Room
- Wild, Sublime, Beauty
- a point in nature
- We began the trek at Coyote Yurt, deemed the “air lock”, serving as the acclimatization zone for the wild ahead
- Summit brain storm
- Rugged country, no trail and lots of potential
- Serene beauty in it’s natural form
- Climbing from one place of magic to another
- 8 hours into an 11 hour trek on day 6
- Loving the exposure high on the peak
- Arun, lunch contemplation
- Sam likes his fish al dente
- The team, heading for the Peak!
- Evening light
- The team, above Boulder Chain Lakes
- Camp at sunset
- Most mornings began with yoga and/or a meditation
- Gazing toward our home for the night
- Climbing above Cirque Lake
- Yahoo, the team atop the summit!
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