It’s RE Athlete shout out time again, our one and only Betsy!
The moment I met Betsy I knew she was exceptional, intelligent, determined, compassionate, hard working, and now years later so deeply trusted that I place all my faith in her with the Ripple Effect, an honor she shoulders with pride and a desire to excel.
~From Betsy~
I grew up among the waterways, dense forests, jagged cliffs and glaciated summits of the PNW exploring the wilderness with my parents and two sisters, calling Mercer Island WA home. After high school, I blasted across the US to attend Dartmouth College receiving a BS in Engineering, then landed a job as a mechanical engineer with a rapidly growing solar and LED lighting company in Albuquerque, where I first met Carolyn climbing in northern NM. Soon after, my work was relocated to LA, and although life wasn’t bad with a job and good income, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something important was missing. I quit my job, moved back to NM, a place I had unexpectedly fallen in love with, and my quick summer “break” became a launching point for an entirely new direction in life.
In the years since then, I have pursued river guiding, swift water rescue, ice, rock and alpine climbing, high angle rescue, mountain guiding, ski patrol, wilderness and emergency medicine, mountain biking, back country skiing, avalanche safety and rescue. Complementary to my adventures is the Ripple Effect. After working part time with Carolyn in NM, I transitioned to summers guiding and winters ski patrolling. In shoulder seasons I’d come visit Carolyn (who had since moved to Carbondale), say hi, earn extra cash, connect with community and keep my body strong. In time my fascination with the human body’s resilience, ability to adapt, heal and strengthen grew to become an intellectual match for my nerdy engineering-brain. With a bit of encouragement from CP, I moved to Carbondale to make it home and work with her at the RE.
Inspired by all whom I have had the honor to work with, I am grateful to have found “my people” – a community who doesn’t follow traditional rules, who cherish the solitude of wild spaces and need them in their souls to survive.