ABOUT
US
A BackCountry Family
The
SAMUELSON’S
The Samuelson’s are an ambitious bunch who run several successful businesses (TM fencing, wedding planning, Lavender Elephant Boutique, industrial seamstress, youth horse camps…etc.) and are always eye’n new opportunities. Ehren and his wife Abbey own Jones Pass Guides alongside raising two children and bringing Dyson their dog where ever they go.
Having run a family owned hunting outfitter, jumping into the ski and ride hospitality business seems to be an easy addition. “I am a fifth generation Grand County ranch owner who grew up exploring the Fraser Valley. A rural upbringing in a resort town exposed me to diverse pursuits which built core beliefs, solid work ethic and hands on skills. A hunger to explore different cultures, mindsets and terrain took me abroad, where I experienced new hemispheres and ways of thinking and dreaming. As an active entrepreneur, life long snowboarder and volunteer firefighter, this recent acquisition has been a lifelong dream and I am dedicated to making outdoor recreation of this caliber safely attainable.” ~Ehren
OUR GUIDES
Beyond being passionate about the mountains our team is also dedicated to safety and preparation. Our crew is composed of certified EMTs, Firefighters, NSP Ski Patrollers, AIARE (Avalanche Research Education) Pros, Wilderness First Responders, Physical Trainers and Nurses. We are all committed to expanding our backcountry knowledge and continually furthering our education on the current safety procedures and best practices.
Scott Hefel
A longtime Winter Park local, Scott is the lead orange coat and always has everyone else’s needs in mind. He loves to gets sendy yet also assures everyone is safe and in good hands.
Nick Nagel
He likes to cut down trees, build fences and shred the gnar.
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Clear
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Dixie Chix
Delia Maher
Something random I’d rather ride trees than high alpine but on a board any day is great.
Little extra: interned pregnant in 2020.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
None of the above: Methods and back 1’s
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Strawberry
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Loge is an open door – frozen
Mike Wallace
Mike grew up a surf and skate punk in Destin, Florida. He also “worked” on sport fishing yachts and charter boats as a first mate and fishing guide. Moving to Colorado in 1993, he quickly fell in love with the ski mountaineering lifestyle, summiting and skiing a myriad of peaks around the state. A 20-year veteran ski patroller, with 8 of those seasons as Snow Safety Director, Mike has become a bonafide snow geek. Alongside forecasting for Jones Pass Guides, Mike teaches avalanche and rescue courses as an AIARE instructor around Vail Pass, Fremont Pass and Summit County. When not guiding fly fishing trips in the summer he’s usually on his mountainbike, floating down a river or camping.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Daffy-Twister-Spread (back in the day)
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Pineapple
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Anything Black Crowes
Annie
Annie loves sharing activities in the mountains with people on skis and bikes and on foot. She works as a Physician Assistant in an ER as her day job and was previously a raft guide and ski instructor.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Spread Eagle
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Strawberry
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
The greatest, sia
Josh Hochhalter
Born and raised here in CO, he started skiing as a kid and quickly fell in love with it. In the early 2000’s he transitioned to spending most of his ski time in the Backcountry around Berthoud Pass. He has skied all over the lower 48, and one trip to Alaska with fellow guide Eric Tollund. Being in the Backcountry and helping other people experience the awe of the mountains has been a passion of his as a guide for the last 11 years. He can’t wait to see everyone out there!
Ryndi Zastrow
As a Grand Country native, Ryndi grew up exploring the mountains of Colorado via bike, foot, boat or sks. She loves sharing her knowledge about the outdoors with others, having been an Elementary School teacher she also knows how to wrangle humans.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Spread eagle but make it a Kosac
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Rainbow (is that even a flavor)
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Anything Spice Girls
Liz Everingham
Her passion for guiding and outdoor recreation began when she became a whitewater rafting guide in college. Her love for sharing the outdoors with others inspired her and her husband to move to Colorado from California where she got her master’s degree in Sustainable Tourism Management at Colorado State University. “When I’m not working for Jones Pass Guides or Winter Park Resort, you can find me skiing in the backcountry, whitewater rafting somewhere in the west, or dancing my booty off at a bluegrass show.”
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Backscratcher
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Anything tropical flavored
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
TLC – No Scrubs
Daniel Reisbeck
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Spread Eagle
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Anything Berry flavored.
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Tight Pants Body Roll
Jared Trouillot
Born and raised in Denver with a huge passion for skiing followed by MTBing, whitewater rafting, and climbing. As a ski patroller he knows how to read the mountains and can handle (safely) anything the terrain can throw at him.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Spread Eagle.
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Pink (watermelon) because yellow snow is bad snow.
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
All my music is good music – no guilt here.
Lindsay Karge
She moved to the high mountains in Colorado back in 2015 and has the passion for shredding all the snow, from bumps, to trees, to steeps and more. She’s a huge hype queen and loves helping get ladies confident to do rad things!
Guilty pleasure song on my playlist is What We’ve Got by Manatee Commune.
Mark Purcell
He has been guiding for Jones Pass Guides for 3 years. Mark has a huge passion for being in the backcountry, and enjoys what the backcountry provides. His backcountry experiences started in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the maritime zone. He has been snowboarding since he was 15 years old, and has explored resorts all over America. He got into backcountry snowboarding in his mid-30’s with his wife and child. He and his wife , also a guide for JPG want you to feel the stoke and enjoyment of the backcountry that they do.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Powder Carve on a snowboard
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Cherry
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
Kaya, Bob Marley
Elise Brizes
Currently based in Crested Butte, Elise is a second year guide with JPG, and is a passionate facilitator for backcountry travel. She has been exploring the backcountry on skis for the past 4 years, with the Jones Pass zone being one of her favorite places to engage with the beauty of the mountains in the winter. She is educated with an AIARE professional certification, and a wilderness first responder certification to serve guests as best she can. When she isn’t guiding, she is out gathering snowpack and avalanche observation data in the Elk Mountains as a forecasting intern with the Crested Butte Avalanche Center.
Daffy, Backscratcher or Spread Eagle?
Daffy
Favorite flavor of snowcone?
Blue
A guilty pleasure song on your playlist?
9 to 5, Dolly!