Hi, I'm Colton

My time in nature has helped me grow, learn, and transform me into my best self. It's a special place to me and I love to to share my passion for the outdoors through a wide range of activities and places over the world.

Theory

Experience

Passion

Committed to promoting safe outdoor recreation practices through initiatives such as volunteering with Search and Rescue and creating a school club for increased outdoor accessibility.

From the deepest caves in British Colombia to climbing the tall lush cliffs of Thailand, or the frozen waterfalls of Ontario I have learned wide range of technical skills for the right time and place.

Understanding the role academic research plays in planning and guiding trips ensures safety, enriches experiences, and enhances learning outcomes for participants.

Highlights of Past Adventures

Backpacking and Koh Tao

Oct 2022 - May 2023

After graduating from university I felt that I needed to expand my worldview and really see different perspectives. I settled on Southeast Asia as a starting point and travelled through South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Thailand and Vietnam. Travelling through these countries really opened my eyes on how sheltered I have been living in Canada and I gained a valuable new perspective on life. After that, I moved to Koh Tao, Thailand where I got hired as head rock climbing instructor at Goodtime Adventures.

Glory'ole cave trip

Aug 22 - 25 2020

The final cave trip of the summer of 2020 before I went back to school. It took weeks of logistics and practice to prepare for the technical aid climbing required with some being up to 10 pitches long. Our crew camped on a bed of soft sand where the crew dug out small pits to put our sleeping bags in. I drilled 2 temporary bolts to hook in the hammock where I slept. We split up into smaller teams to tackle different projects like surveying new parts of the cave or bolting up a new potential lead. The warm sun on my face and changing into clean clothes was one of the most refreshing feelings I can remember.

Canmore, Alberta

June 04, 2022

This picture is from a canyon in Bow Valley, Canmore. I started canyoneering in the summer of 2020, and it quickly became my favourite leisure activity. It brings some of the adrenaline of rock climbing with the exploration aspect of caving or scuba and it has its own aspect of play. I don’t know of any other activity that brings such a pure childlike sense of play into people's life. Between the rappelling, sliding or cliff jumps into deep water it makes for a full day of fun.

Ice Climbing, Ontario

Jan 17,2021

Thunder Bay is at the northern tip of Lake Superior and I lived there for 5 years. This small city has some of the most amazing access to outdoor recreation that I have ever witnessed. Incredible biking, surfing, camping, hiking, rock climbing and incredible, towering frozen waterfalls in the winter. I learned how to ice climbing in Thunder Bay and spent a lot of my winters going out to practice my technique, I eventually got to know the different areas so well I got hired as an assistant instructor to help guide the students at Lakehead University to go ice climbing. The ice climb on the right is the first-ever WI3+ that I lead climbed.

Pukaskwa, Ontario

May 13 - 29th, 2022

In the final year of my degree my group and I had the opportunity to fully plan a 1-week trip in the wilderness down the Pukaskwa river which is filled with white water. We would be using tandem canoes to cover the majority of the distance including class 3 rapids. The logistics of planning this trip were challenging as we also had to plan training days to learn all the white water manoeuvring and rescue skills that we needed not to mention we had to be very precise in what food we brought and how much because we had plenty of overgrown portages to complete including one that was nearly 3km which needed to be done at least 3 times per person but we obviously also didn’t want to under pack.

Star Chek, BC

Aug 11, 2018

Star Chek is a classic 3 pitch climb in Squamish and was my very first multi-pitch. Fun fact I actually forgot my shoes the first time I completed it and had to do it barefoot, ever sense that experience I have been very diligent about checking a gear list before going out on big adventures I added this as one of my key highlights because it opened my eyes to the places climbing can take you and how free it can make you feel. I return to Star Chek once a summer and bring a new climber to give back the same experience that changed my life.

Honours Bach of Outdoor Recreation Parks and Tourism

September 2018 - April 2022

A unique program that blends theory and applied skills based out of the small city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. We learned about group dynamics, risk and legal liability and programming while strengthened skills like navigation, indigenous practices and a variety of outdoor activities.

The mix of the perfect program with engaging learning opportunities, an area with such a range of different outdoor activities and the friends that shared this experience with me created an incredible transfomrtive experience I never knew was coming and could never forget