Mike Gauthier started backpacking in the Washington wilderness at age eleven. His professional career began in Olympic National Park as a volunteer backcountry ranger. Ten years ago, he joined the National Park Service climbing staff at Mount Rainier where he is now the Lead Climbing Ranger. Mike has summited Mount Rainier over 150 times by twenty-four different routes, in all seasons and under all conditions. He regularly conducts workshops in mountain and rope rescue techniques, cold weather survival skills, backcountry snowboarding, and avalanche awareness. In 1998, he was designated a Wilderness Rescue Hero by the American Red Cross.