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About Me

I grew up on the shores of a wooded lake in Connecticut, attended Phillips Academy, Andover and then Brown University.  I earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado, in 1971.  The same year, in honor of Earth Day 1, I co-authored the first environmental science textbook in the United States.  It sold 100,000 copies and speaheaded the development of environmental science curricula in North America.
     At the same time, hounded by restless spirits, I began wandering the globe, visiting people and places that were so far from my childhood upbringing.  Over the decades, I have kayaked across the North Pacific and around Cape Horn, mountain biked through the Gobi desert, made first climbing ascents of big walls on Baffin Island, and first ski descents in the Tien Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzia.

      A few words about my personal life.

I married Chris Seashore in 1980 and we lived in
a small house in the Montana forest. We shared many journeys and at other times I traveled without her.

Chris died in an avalanche in March, 2005

I am now 66 years old, and still blessed with good health. My body and I have an agreement. I take it to places where we have fun; it takes me to places where we have fun. We're a team, my body and I.

I have three wonderful children and six grandchildren. Nathan is a computer programmer, Reeva, a veterinarian and author, and Noey, an organic farmer and rock climber.

In September, 2006, Nina Maclean and I fell in love and we decided to join our lives together. We have had a marvelous time, learning each other's ways, wants, and personalities.
We spend winters in a two-bedroom apartment in Fernie, B.C., near great skiing, and still own the house in Darby. In all the glory, madness, and tragedy, there have been two constants in my life: love of remote landscapes and writing. My accomplishments – the ego-centric physical waypoints of my life – are listed below. For the real journey, read my three books.

BOOKS

Speaking 

In addition to the writing, I speak frequently for a variety of venues on numerous topics

Magazines Textbooks

"OUTSIDE", "Canoe and Kayak" "SeaKayaker", "Paddler", "Sailing", "American Alpine Journal", "Rock and Ice", "Walrus", and others.

 25 Environmental and Earth Science Textbooks.  In late 2011 I retired from textbook writing.

 Major Expeditions
National Geographic  nominated Erik Boomer and me as one of the ten "Adventurers of the Year" for our Ellesmere Expedition My Paddle from Japan to Alaska was rated by Paddler Magazine as one of the 10 All-Time Greatest Sea Kayak Expeditions.

  • First rock climbing party to make big wall ascents in Sam Ford Fiord, Baffin Island. (Featured in American Alpine Journal and Fifty Favorite Climbs.)
  • First ascent of Lamo-she Peak (6070 meters), Sichuan Province, China
  • Kayak passage around Cape Horn.
  • 3,000 mile kayak passage from Japan to Alaska, following a 10,000 year old aboriginal migration route.
  • Unsupported crossing of the western Gobi of Mongolia on a mountain bike.
  • Several first ski descents in the Tien Shan and Pamir Alai ranges of Kyrgyzia, volcanoes of Kamchatka, and Appolobamba of Bolivia.
  • Five expeditions to northeast Siberia in search of a shaman's dream.
  • Recipient of three Polartec and four Gore-tex grants for outstanding adventures.
  • First complete circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island.

 
 A Few Random Statistics

  • Born: December, 16, 1945
  • Graduated High School from Phillips Academy, Andover, 1963
  • Graduated from Brown University, 1967
  • Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of Colorado, 1971
  • Published my first textbook, 1971
  • Published Cold Oceans, 1998
  • Published In the Wake of the Jomon, 2005
  • Published The Raven's Gift, 2010

It's sort of a funny list, as all such lists are strange and suspect.