Guides Gossip

Find your guides below. Les Parson’s story is a must read. This is the same guy who was backpacking in Afghanistan on September 11, 2001!

A few guides have been “tardy” with their updates (too busy leading adventurous lives!). If you don’t see your guides here. Send us an Email and we will provide an update.

Lana and Henry Madsen
Lana and Henry continue to live between Rocky Mountain House and Edmonton. Henry continues to guide. Lana has not been North since 96, and the birth of daughters, Kiera and Rhea. Both are very involved in the outdoors themselves, skiing in the winter and paddling in the summer. Lana is very active as an instructor with her company, HeLa Ventures, an outdoor education center near Rocky Mountain House. It continues to grow, with more bookings than ever, so although northern excursions have been reduced, paddling has not. Lana is teaching at the University of Alberta for the winter term in the faculty of physical education. Henry continues to work as a principal for Edmonton Public Schools. He is currently working on a program plan that may see students taking northern trips as part of an integrated experiential education program.

Kathy (Ronald) Chase
What’s new with us? Kathy (Ronald) Chase married one awesome man, Ian Chase; We live in Calgary and call it our "City Adventure". Our favorite past time is "Floating the Bow" with our two little guys - River who's 5,and Jade who is 2.

Les Parsons
Says he is not involved in anything new – right! Just...Federal Green Party Leadership and coaching Cross Country Skiing.
He says the photos he has are not appropriate for viewing.

Les - nothing new for me, just a wee bit of cancer..."I might have lost my stomach, but, I have lots of guts"!

Losing my stomach to cancer has been one of the more challenging things I have dealt with in my life. The past 4 weeks have been one tough lesson of: accepting reality and learning patience. And, more importantly, I have learned how much my family and friends truly love me....Read more...

Dr. Chad Jennings
Chad is enjoying winter at home in Golden, BC. The skiing in the Rocky and Columbia mountains is turning out to be one of the best winters in years.

Mike Neville
Mike Neville - Just finished another semester at Malaspina University, Nanaimo. Third year tourism degree program. Trying to hit the river as often as possible. Snowboarding when the conditions are good. Costa Rica with the family during x-mass break. Then back to another full course load in January.

Also working as a Work-op student on the weekends for the outdoor recreation program at school.

Geoff Holmes
I'm jammed in a smallish European apartment with some good buddies of mine, working here in St. Anton Austria, and living the healthy Alpine lifestyle. We get meat, eggs, and milk from the farming families in our local pastoral town, we have snow-covered mountains in our backyard, and spend all possible hours on skis in this Alpine paradise!

Mark Kyte (photo left)
Katie and are planning on traveling to New Zealand. I hope to find work teaching and Katie plans on going to teachers college. We just got married last week, and we're off to New Zealand by the new year!

Sarah Canning
I'm attending Simon Fraser University taking Psychology and Criminology. I'm working as a lifeguard and swimming instructor as well hopefully starting to volunteer for the Vancouver Crisis Line this January. I've been skiing A LOT and will continue to do so and I'm also playing hockey. I plan on travelling to Cuba this Spring and possibly over to Guatamala and Honduras.

Phillipe Mouchet on left
I will be mixing carpentry work and skiing while dreaming of the upcoming summer!

Tyler Dinsdale on right
When I finished my last Alsek trip I took 7 planes and ended up in Zambia guiding Multi day trips on the Zambezi for two months, where I survived the rapids and the booze cruises on the upper river and am here to tell the tales. Then I flew to Ethiopia and worked as a videographer on the Omo river for 21 days, where I survived Hippos, Crocs and aggressive locals and am here to tell the tales. Then I flew to Uganda to the Source of the White Nile for a month, where I slept late every morning, kayaked every day, and helped the sun go down with a tip of a glass every night, and am here to tell the tales............ Now I am here.........In Quesnel B.C running sled dogs and telling tales. See ya for the 2007 season!

Chloe Steep (photo left)
- I just survived 5 weeks of practice teaching in a grade one classroom and am half-way done my Outdoor Experiential Education teaching degree at Queen's University. Looking forward to getting outside this winter (if we ever get snow!) for a week-long snowshoe trek in Northern Ontario.

Rob Warburton
I am currently slugging away in the oilfield industry(groan) in a vain attempt to make my mortgage payment on my recently purchased new home in Golden BC. As often as possible, not daily so not often enough though, I am skiing and ice climbing to keep me in shape for the next guiding season. Keep the open side up and hopefully I will see some old faces, as well as many new ones, this summer.

Jeff Siddle
I am entering my last semester of school in my Outdoor Ed degree which will include Natural Luge and back country skiing amongst other more "intellectual" classes. I'm getting in some skiing in my spare time and trying to stay sane. Life is great and I can't wait for next season.

Scott Taylor-Bosman
Now a days I'm working as a ski patroller at Sunshine Village for the winters, doing first aid, avalanche control, but mostly skiing. Trying my hand at timber framing a little bit and working towards retiring before 25 in Haines Junction, Yukon. Hoping for the best, but if it doesn't happen until 26, then that’s ok too.

Jim Butterworth
Hope all is well with everyone. I am currently going to graduate from Outdoor Adventure from Algonquin College Pembroke Campus. My courses have included such things as: rafting, kayaking, whitewater canoeing, ice climbing, snowboarding/skiing, ice rescue, high angle rescue, swiftwater rescue. If all goes according to plan I will be rafting and kayaking down the section of the Green River known as Desolation Canyon for 7 days in mid April with some class mates. See you all soon and wish me luck.

Bruce Kirkby
Bruce and his new bride Christine are expecting a new arrival any day. Bruce continues his successful public speaking career and writing. You can view his latest work at www.brucekirkby.com.

Julia Bunting
I am applying for a masters of natural resource management degree with hopes to be studying in Africa next year...combining sustainable natural resource management with international development. Currently I am tucked into the mountains of Vermont on the backside of a ski hill, nursing my woodstove frequently. It’s a happy existence.

Tyler Garnham

Well, how things keep rolling along... My wife Megan and I enjoyed our 2nd wedding Anniversary in September as well as our killer hound Kosi turned 2 around the same time. Shooting lots of photos for magazines and the newspapers these days. I am heading up to Quesnel at the end of January to shoot a story on dogsledding for BC magazine. Trying to get as much skiing in as possible with this amazing snow fall we have received on the westcoast. Looking forward to the summer to get my fix of the North before I lose it down here in the city. Hope to see all of you up there soon.

Alan Christie
I have a busy schedule this term in the final year of my Paramedic Program, one class a week for two hours ! waiting for my turn to do a big block of rideouts with a paramedic crew. Out in the field getting some real hands on experience. Have taken up that well known game here in Thunder Bay, boot hockey ! never played hockey in my life before. Now I get to try run around an ice rink with broom ball boots on chasing a rubber puck, all very elegant. They take their boot hockey seriously in T-Bay, all organized with leagues and referees!

Melanie Siebert
Last winter Melanie travelled to South Africa to work with a narrative psychologist in creating a digital anthology of "hero books" -- personal stories of courage written by youth affected by HIV/AIDS. Melanie is currently working on her Master's in Fine Arts at the University of Victoria and is teaching a class there in creative non-fiction writing. Vancouver Island living is good since the rivers run all winter.

Jock Richardson
Hi all! After the summer guiding season, I went to Cataract Canyon with Roger and Linda and a crew of kids and friends. Our low water fall float changed into a fairly high water experience as the area was experiencing a 125 year rainstorm just prior to and for the first few days of the trip- the day before we started the area had more rain in 24 hrs. than the previous 15 months. As a result we saw lots really cool thunderstorms flash floods and high water. Fortunately the adventure swimming was restricted to adults and fairly short in duration. All in all, a great trip – the highlight for the kids was the whitewater as well as watching me stagger down the beach with a throw bag chasing swimmers. For the winter season, I’m at work at Sunshine Village as a member of the Snow Safety Crew- our work priority is avalanche safety, so I spend a lot of time playing with high speed explosives and skiing terrain to ready it for opening ( read powder skiing)!

Patty Chevalier and Moe Samm
For those that are not aware Patty and Moe are now the proud parents of two boys Skylar 1.75 years and Mackenzie 3 months. We are now living in Camrose, Alberta where we are setting up a holistic health practice, mostly using a modality called theta healing combined with other modalities. Theta healing is a great modality that teaches people how they communicate with themselves and with other people both consciously and subconsciously and how that communication affects their health, wealth and happiness. It is a really fun practice that really helps people unwind patterns in their lives that are not serving them. Moe is also coaching cross-country skiing and doing some environmental consulting work focusing on prairie water issues. Patty is spending lots of time being mom and she does such an amazing job. We are happy and well and it is so fun to play with and watch our boys grow up and learn. Hopefully they don't turn out too much like Moe although Skylar is proving that he has a good mix of his father in him as he keeps falling down the stairs (Good thing he got Moe's hard head).

Brad Kooy
Guide gossip: Well I've been pretty busy finishing up my last semester of university trying to wrap up my Mech Eng. degree. Going pretty well, most notably my thesis project designing a solar powered water desalinator. Other than that I've found climbing and have been climbing seriously for a couple of months now, and I've been spending a lot of time kicking around in my C1 boat.

Hector Mackenzie
Hector is mid way through another season as the Yukon’s Avalanche Control Manager. More importantly he is enjoying his first winter of wedded bliss to Miche Genest!

Tricia Duncan and Royce Casford
Tricia and Royce claim to be managing the “Inn on the River” near Johnson’s Crossing, Yukon. Those in the know say that they have found a way to enjoy a winter paradise and get paid for it!

Maya March (photo left)
Maya is finishing her final semester at McMaster University and looking forward to another season of Northern guiding!

Ron Morrison
We are expecting a new baby in June. A companion for Ava! Busy skiing and working. Business going well etc. Details of his paddling, rescue and First Aid courses may be found at: www.waveonline.ca.

Stu Herd
We are in Kaslo, BC right now, visiting our daughter and son-in-law. We just became grandparents today!!! so we are very excited about that. A little baby girl so that's pretty neat. They haven't decided on a name yet -- these new parents have so much to deliberate!Anyhow, that's my news. We should be back in Vermilion in a few weeks, although we will be selling our house there this spring, and moving out here. We will rent a house here while we build our new home. Our son is studying architecture at UofC so he is doing the design right now as a directed study, and then my son-in-law and I will be the general contractors and builders over the next year or so. Should be fun.The skiing has been great here, with tons of snow, but I am a bit slowed down for back-country as I broke 4 ribs and my clavicle in a ski accident in Vermilion just before Christmas. I was skiing down a steep hill on the trail in the park and ended up falling onto a beaver chewed stump that was hidden under the snow. Of course, I was skiing alone, so I ended up walking about 4km back to home. Anne took me to the hospital, then they shipped me to Edmonton, as I also had some soft tissue injuries (lung and liver). But, I am on the mend now, and back into nordic skiing anyway. Sure wish I could get into the backcountry, but just not fit enough yet. Kootenay Lake is open here and with the weather warming, I may try to do a bit of lake kayaking before we head back to frozen Alberta.

Roger & Linda Estey
Roger and Linda are enjoying the best snow and skiing in Edmonton in years. Roger is now Captain of the fire hall. They are looking forward to the northern river season already!

Nadine (Makarus) Burdon and Jamie Burdon
Jamie is teaching at Strathcona/Tweedsmuir School in Okotoks. Nadine is busy processing wedding images for their photography business. Check out their new website at www.janstudios.com.

Jacqueline Hutchisons
Jacqueline is currently trecking in Peru, and having too much fun!

Morten Asfeldt
Morten continues to enjoy his duties as Professor at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta. As a veteran guide, and Outdoor Education Professor, Morten serves as a “scout” for new guiding talent for our staff.

Dave Evans
Enjoying a fantastic snow winter here in Smithers BC. Great skiing and horseback riding!

Chris Ford (photo left)
Working hard as Operations Manager for the combined entity of Canadian River Expeditions and Nahanni River Adventures. Trying to fit in some skiing while getting ready for another busy summer!

Doug Reese
This winter will see my continued work as a firefighter trainer in Edmonton. I hope to be doing some skiing , basketball and traveling to latin american counties.
My son is getting married this coming year which I am sure will be a highlight.

Ian Goodge (photo right)
This fall I am back at University in the Teachers' Education program.
I'm helping to teach a psychology, and a photography course. On top of that, I'm helping direct a theatrical play. Hopefully, I'll get involved in a movie short at the same time.

Alaina Robertson (photo left)
I'm applying for a TA position in the Halton Board (west of Toronto) for an alternative outdoor experiential school called Bronte Creek
And am enjoying being out of school and working on my own schedule.

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.