Annie Getchell backcountry skiing

More about Annie

	Peek Into Annie's "Red Kit" Fix any equipment failure with her super-duper repair kit.

In doing research for The Essential Outdoor Gear Manual, Annie visited with many outdoor gear designers and visited factory floors, where she was impressed by the thought and care that go into making much of today's equipment."Well-chosen, high-quality gear will withstand more abuse than the weekend warrior can dish out," says Annie, which is good news considering that for most of us gear purchases represent a major investment. Annie is the consummate outdoorswoman. She has kayaked in Maine, Puget Sound, British Columbia, Baja, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Sardinia, Scotland, and Alaska, where she made a 20-day solo trip on the west coast of Baranof Island. Annie adores both flat and whitewater canoeing, and has run many legendary eastern rivers, from Maine's Penobscot to South Carolina's Chattooga. She's cruised the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior, and followed the Missinaibi River north through Ontario to James Bay.

Her love of skiing led to collegiate racing in Oregon and several seasons as a ski instructor. It was then that Annie discovered "the truth" in telemark turns and she is now a backcountry ski nut. She's had some great adventures in the California Sierra, hut touring in the Rockies and in Quebec's Laurentian Mountains, and pretty much anywhere else the white stuff piles up.

Annie cut her climbing teeth in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington, a classic training ground for all-around mountaineering. For the past 12 years she's enjoyed peak bagging, aid climbing on desert sandstone, summiting granite towers in Canada, sporty limestone hang-dogging on Sardinian sea cliffs, and ice climbing Quebec waterfalls. "All the different forms combine to make me feel secure in the mountains and sure of my judgment—I know when I am afraid," she says.

See Annie's Repair Kit