Staff Bios Brandon Meehl Year & Major Freshman Hometown Conifer/Evergreen, CO Position(s) Bicycle Mechanic Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Mountain Biking/Mountaineering Favorite Activity (Indoor) Watching Skate Videos Prefered Trail Food PB&J - You Can't beat it! Dream Trip To Alaska to climb Denali Favorite Trip When my dad and I climbed Capitol Peak Interesting Fact I had dreads for a while Quote "No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied it speaks to the very core of your being." Ansel Adams Cameron "Check" Frisby Year & Major Freshman, Mechanical Engineering Hometown Windsor, England Position(s) Rental Tech. Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Skiing a fresh run Favorite Activity (Indoor) CAPA for the win! Prefered Trail Food Beef Jerky Dream Trip Semester in New Zealand Favorite Trip Philmont Interesting Fact My dad slipped when we were ice skating forever ago (2nd grade) and the back of his skate sliced into my leg Quote [riding a bear] Look! I'm riding a fuzzy tractor -Steve Carell as Brick in Anchorman Carson Bates Year & Major Freshman, Electrical Engineering Hometown Westminster, CO Position(s) Office Manager Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Mountain Biking Favorite Activity (Indoor) Building Computers Prefered Trail Food Banana Dream Trip Bike across America, camping along the way, and getting a local job when I need the money Favorite Trip Lake Powell, Summer of ‘07 Interesting Fact I pole vault on the track team. Quote Be careful if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there. -Yogi Berra Cedes Hoffmann Year & Major Freshman Hometown Salt Lake City, UT Position(s) Trip Coordinator Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Backpacking and Snowboarding Favorite Activity (Indoor) Reading Prefered Trail Food Dried Pineapples and Bread-Baby Pizza Dream Trip Backpack the Pacific Crest Trail Favorite Trip NOLS Alaska Mountaineering '06 Interesting Fact Has five screws and a plate in her ankle Quote "I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when looked at in the right way, did not become still more complicated." -Poul Anderson Cole Denelson Position(s) Trip Coordinator, Rental Technician Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Anything that involves going outrageously fast down a hill Favorite Activity (Indoor) Super Smash Brothers on 64 Prefered Trail Food Quesadillas cooked on shovels...you can really taste the dirt Dream Trip Dream Trip Heliboarding up in Alaska or Canada Favorite Trip Camping and hiking William’s Lake in Taos, New Mexico with all my friends from highschool. Interesting Fact I have a lizard named Klause Quote "When I was 25, I thought I would live forever...Now that I'm 76, I realize I probably have." -Warren Miller James Hambleton Year & Major Freshman, Comp Sci. Hometown Littleton, CO Position(s) Rental Technician Favorite Activity (Outdoor) camping, shooting sport Favorite Activity (Indoor) reading, computers, building robots Prefered Trail Food pretzels, cheese, my own mix Dream Trip a trip around Europe Favorite Trip too many to name Interesting Fact I'm an eagle scout Quote Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein John "Rook" Simpson Year & Major Junior, Petroleum Engineering Hometown Littleton, CO Position(s) Trip Leader/ Rental Tech/ Climbing Wall Staff Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Mountain Biking Favorite Activity (Indoor) Reading Prefered Trail Food Crackers Dream Trip Mountain Biking the entire Colorado Trail Favorite Trip Backpacking and climbing in the Wind River Range, Wyoming Interesting Fact I like to mtn. bike in spandex Quote "Remember: If you take bivouac equipment along, you will bivouac..."- Yvon Chouinard Justin Stokes Year & Major Bachelor's of Technology in Mechanical Design & Manufacturing 2004 Hometown Clyde, OH "America's Famous Small Town" Position(s) Climbing Wall Staff Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Climbing / Day hikes Favorite Activity (Indoor) Hanging with family. Prefered Trail Food Tuna in a bag. Dream Trip England Favorite Trip Rocktober Fest '03 Red River Gorge KY Interesting Fact For every 15 summits on Everest, one life is lost. For every two summits on Annapurna, one life is lost. Quote "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever" - Lance Armstrong Kyle Bell Year & Major Sophomore Hometown ehh, military family, but I would say Colorado Springs Position(s) Bike Mechanic Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Mountain Biking Favorite Activity (Indoor) Indoor track! Prefered Trail Food Sweet and salty harvest valley bars Dream Trip Mountain Biking in Vancouver, British Columbia Favorite Trip Xterra off-road triathlon Nationals 2006 Interesting Fact Broke my tailbone twice in two years in middle school Quote Sometimes the hardest to learn was the least complicated Mary Jackson Young Year & Major : non-student (spouse of Chem E Grad student) and I have a BFA in Painting and Printmaking Hometown Woodbridge and Richmond Virginia` Position(s) Climbing Wall Staff Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Rock Climbing/Backpacking Favorite Activity (Indoor) climbing/yoga Prefered Trail Food Instant Rice with flavored Tuna packet and Snickers bars Dream Trip Climb in Yosemite/ Summit Denali / Trek and Climb in the Himalayas Favorite Trip NOLS Semester in the Southwest/ Travels in South America Interesting Fact I am the mother of a two year old who has his own pair of climbing shoes , which he uses! When I was in middle school I had both feet reconstructed using bone from my hips. Quote "Do something for the wilderness and make the mountains glad." -John Muir Michael Paschall Year & Major Sophomore in Mechanical Engineering Hometown Westminster, CO Position(s) Climbing Wall Staff Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Rock Climbing Favorite Activity (Indoor) Rock Climbing Prefered Trail Food Apples and Cheese (try it sometime its really good!) Dream Trip Olympus Mons Favorite Trip Officer Friendly on Wall of Justice in Clear Creek Interesting Fact For every 15 summits on Everest, one life is lost. For every two summits on Annapurna, one life is lost. Quote "Never give up, never surrender!" Galaxy Quest "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye too see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." Dune Rob "Hollywood" Thompson Year & Major Been there done that Hometown Golden, CO Position(s) Director Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Everything ... you can't make me choose Favorite Activity (Indoor) Sleeping Prefered Trail Food Cheese or Chocolate? Dream Trip 5 yr. tour of all the continents Favorite Trip NOLS Yukon Semester Interesting Fact I love Ohio sports teams Quote "Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi Robert "Echo" Conley Year & Major Class of 2009 Hometown Palatine, IL Position(s) Office Manager Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Backpacking Favorite Activity (Indoor) Hanging out with friends Prefered Trail Food Lasagna Dream Trip Long backpacking trip in Olympia National Park or British Columbia Favorite Trip Backpacking at Philmont Interesting Fact Cross Country and Track runner for CSM Quote "Hey, if you talk toward the table at this seat, there's an echo!" Ryan Ford Year & Major Senior, Applied Mathematics Hometown Palmer, AK Position(s) Climbing Wall Staff Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Skiing Favorite Activity (Indoor) Stochastic Simulation Prefered Trail Food Peanut Butter Dream Trip Denali... Next Summer Favorite Trip Baja Interesting Fact Alaska has a longer coast line than the lower 48 combined Quote "A witty saying proves nothing" - Voltaire Teresa "Mother Teresa" Rohde Year & Major Way past that Hometown Aurora, IL & Golden, CO Position(s) Climbing Wall & Rental Tech Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Rock Climbing Favorite Activity (Indoor) Indoor Rock Climbing Prefered Trail Food Dr. Pepper Dream Trip Mountaineering in New Zealand Favorite Trip Red River Gorge, Slade, Kentucky, Anytime Interesting Fact Oldest ORC employee ever! Quote "The best climber is the one having the most fun." Alex Lowe Patrick Langendorfer Year & Major B.S., Education in Recreation, Bowling Green State University 2007 Hometown Bowling Green, Ohio Position(s) Outdoor Intern Favorite Activity (Outdoor) Snowboarding, Climbing Favorite Activity (Indoor) Quoting movies, drumming Preferred Trail Food Shells and cheese with tuna Dream Trip The Alps. All of them. Favorite Trip Upper Gauley Whitewater Rafting Interesting Fact If chased by a bear, you don’t have to outrun it. You just need to outrun the slowest person in your group. Quote "If thy heart fails you, climb not at all." – Queen Elizabeth I

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Call the Outdoor Recreation Center at (303) 273-3184 or contact:
rbthomps@mines.edu - Rob Thompson, Director of Outdoor Recreation (303) 273-3907